Category Archives: Lebanon

Tayyar.org: Not Sure If Tabloid or News Site

Tayyar.org is nowhere near my go-to site when it comes to Lebanese news (nor is Lebanese-forces.com for that matter). But you’d expect a self-proclaimed reputable website to at least be respectable enough not to post a picture like this on their Facebook wall:

To make things even more “appealing,” they had this news shared next to the picture calling the whole affair a “masra7iye” – Lebanese for play.

And then I remembered something: their timeline cover picture. So for reference, here it is:

Underneath their title, the words: Precision, Speed & Credibility are typed out. I really have no idea how a mocking picture of the head of one of Lebanon’s main parties can be considered as precise, speedy or credible.

I guess the admins who run that page and those who run the corresponding won’t stray much from the morals set by the leader they follow, nor are the people that follow said leader.

So for all matters and purposes, Tayyar.org is not a news website. It might as well call itself TayyarJaras.org – but wait, that would be degrading to Nidale el Ahmadieh’s tabloid. So let us tweak that a little bit and make it: TayyarJorsa.org – for yes, jorsa is what they are.

Some Lebanese Reactions to the Samir Geagea Assassination Attempt

Some people appall me.

I never for a moment thought people could make fun of a person narrowly escaping death. That is until Samir Geagea escaped an assassination attempt.

You’d think people would be more considerate. After all, I’m pretty sure if any one of those ridiculing the whole thing were in Geagea’s shoes, they probably wouldn’t have died because of the shots they would have dodged, they would have died because of the panic they’d be going through afterwards.

Instead, they’re busy manufacturing their own version of the story to conform with their sick, twisted, demented, useless, silly fantasy.

For some, Samir and Sethrida Geagea are just bored people in their fortress who decided to come up with a scenario to keep themselves entertained. Yes because entertainment can only come in 10 inch bullets and advanced sniper riffles.

For others, Samir Geagea is the new Neo from The Matrix, working his way around bullets as if they were nothing. They even created a meme for it. Some people just have way too much free time. And way too little courtesy.

Simply disrespectful and not even funny

For others, Geagea came up with his own assassination attempt because he’s politically bankrupt, whose followers are “idiots” (I’m quoting) without high-school diplomas. Yes because the argument is so flawless that I can’t fathom addressing the impeccable structure of it, you BS-holder you!

Others are seeing this as a pattern of Geagea’s lies, which started in 1990, wishing the bullet had hit its target. They would know about lies, I’m sure.

I’d like to see what those same people would have done if their leader was subject to Geagea’s assassination attempt. Odds are they wouldn’t be this humorous. But no, their leader would never be subject to an assassination attempt because he knows with whom to strike “protective” alliances.

So seriously, spare us your useless humor, your ridiculous attitude and your flawless logic. At the end of the day, what can you expect from people whose political reference is the Socrates of modern day logic?

And in case they still think it was a play, perhaps their very own minister Marwan Charbel describing the whole thing as a serious affair would be enough. Who am I kidding? It will never be enough.

Ridiculous people will forever be ridiculous. Glad to know the only way an assassination attempt could be considered as such by some people is for an explosion to happen and for the victim to lose a few limbs. But hold on, their leader doesn’t even consider those who went through such an ordeal as worthy of any recognition. And some of them were relieved Geagea hadn’t went down that road – not for humanitarian purposes, but because it would be a nuisance to have to deal with.

There’s a line between being critical and being downright retarded. You are strutting the retarded side magnificently… and to conclude it Lebanese-ly: TFEH!

Red Hot Chili Peppers Coming to Lebanon for Concert on September 6th

Mix FM just announced that rock band Red Hot Chilly Peppers will be coming to Lebanon for a concert on September 6th at Beirut’s new Waterfront.

Tickets will be available from Wednesday April 11th, starting 60$ at Virgin Megastores. I’m pretty sure they’ll run out fast so if you’re a fan of the band, I suggest you get on it quickly.

Red Hot Chilly Peppers will perform their greatest hits at the concert, such as “Californication, Scar Tissue, Give It Away, By The Way, Otherside, Dani California” as well as their new hits like: “Adventures of Raindance Maggie, Monarchy Of Roses and Look Around” – all part of their I’m With You World Tour.

Will you be going?

 

My Favorite Non-Religious Things about Lebanese Easter

Here’s #1: Kebbet el 7azine.

 

No meat goes into making this. Instead, they use pumpkins and chickpeas, as well as various herbs. Try it with lots of garlic paste and you’re set to go.

Kebbe el 7azine -

And #2:

Maamoul b Tamer:

Can’t go into the recipe. Too complex and tiring. But let me tell you this, homemade Maamoul is the best and my mom is especially good at making them. I haven’t tried this year’s batch (they contain butter) but I’m sure they’re equally good. At least they look delicious.

Maamoul b Joz:

Maamoul b Joz

Sa7tein! Omnomom :p

 

Censorship in Lebanon: Not Exemplary in the Middle East?

The Samir Kassir Foundation recently shared this study that they conducted regarding various forms of censorship in the region. It’s an  interesting read. You can get the PDF here.

What’s interesting to note about the study is that cases of censorship in Lebanon are not among the region’s best. But fear not, it’s not the state that’s actually doing all the censorship.

In Lebanon, two phenomena raised concerns among defenders of liberty. First, the physical assaults on journalists by non-state actors, whether members of political parties, demonstrators, or a new category of activists commonly called “the inhabitants” (Al-Ahali) of some delicate regions. All sides of the Lebanese political spectrum were responsible for such acts.

In fact, in the facts & figures part of the study, a graph showing attacks on journalists in each country of the study had the following results:

The low number in Syria is not to be interpreted positively, as the study conductors noted. The attacks, when they’ve taken place, were brutal, as others graphs of the study show: Syria has the highest rate of violence against intellectuals and journalists.

What’s interesting about the results, however, is that 51 out of 55 attacks on journalists in Lebanon weren’t carried out by State authorities, but by non-state entities. Examples given are: Hariri supporters attacking journalists on the “Sunni Day of Anger” when Hariri’s government was toppled, as well as Hezbollah forces attacking journalists investigating their transgressions in Lassa and other villages in South Lebanon.

Another interesting fact to note is that the sector most affected by censorship in Lebanon was cinema with more than 10 movies being banned from being screened in Lebanon. Officials justified the decisions as a necessary precaution to preserve Lebanon’s relation with Syria and Iran and our civil peace. I think they were referring to the abysmal Beirut Hotel in one of those points.

For the non-state bans in Lebanon, one is regarding the LMFAO concert ban which happened due to some groups protesting the band’s anti-Christian feel in their song’s video. MEA has banned the newspaper Al Akhbar from being distributed on its flights. And last but not least, the infamous incident to hide Steven Spielberg’s name off the “Tintin” movie poster.

All in all, while Syria takes the cake when it comes to fighting liberties, the situation in Lebanon is not exactly peachy according to this study. Honestly, I didn’t think we had this bad compared to neighboring countries, which leads me to my conclusion.

What I think is a grave flaw in the conduction of this study is that such events in neighboring countries do not make headline news as they do over here, making our numbers seem inflated compared to them. Most of the transgressions that happen in them might be hidden or kept under the radar, making the situation seem much better than it is.

Either way, I’d take the results of this study with a grain of salt. While it is always an interesting read, I don’t think it’s correct nor is it a representative comparison between the countries of the region. Perhaps a look at the numbers of countries known for championing freedom is a clearer comparison. At least you’d know that being skeptical regarding their numbers is unfounded.