Just a Bachir Gemayel Speech from 1979

This is Bachir Gemayel

I recently started reading a book by Rani Geha, which has the speeches late Lebanese president Bashir Gemayel between 1979 and 1982, titled: “Words from Bashir.”

With the little time I have with Med School and all, my advancement with the book has been rather slow. But it’s still an eye-opening experience to see such speeches on paper and how true they reflect on Lebanese society and politics today.

In February 1979 and in a speech in front of a crowd in Jal El Dib, the main points Bachir Gemayel made are as follows:

1) There is a need for a radical change to move the Lebanese state from one that is subservient to Syria and Palestine to one that only answers to its own people.

2) We need a Lebanon where the foreign ministry is the foreign ministry of Lebanon, not a spokesperson for Syria or Palestine or any other nation.

3) The institutions in Lebanon need to be the property of the Lebanese citizen.

4) Lebanon is too small to be divided: one part for the Syrians, one part for the Palestinians and one tiny part for the Lebanese.

5) Those who want to grant the Palestinians a country, let them grant that country from their own share not from Lebanon’s share.

6) Let the West appease the Arabs as long as the Arabs produce oil. The West is losing its values and, as such, we cannot rely on it for support anymore.

7) Syrian entities in Lebanese uniforms, using Lebanese weapons, are not to be accepted as part of the country we want to live in.

8) In 1958, the Arabs had Abdel Nasser. Today (1979) they have Hafez Al Assad. The school of thought shared by these two men can bring nothing but a catastrophe.

9) From 1943 to 1975, we were ruled by a school of thought that never believed Lebanon to have a cause or anything to fight for. We were governed by a school of thought that supposed we should unconditionally align ourselves with whichever Arab nation proved to be the strongest, in a way to keep our heads, while internally we were ruled by apparatuses and typewriters. We were ruled my moral submission.

10) Many Lebanese do not have the faith and self-confidence that they have can change things on the ground, creating a de-facto situation that many nations around the globe take use of.

The fact that these 10 points are still as true today as they were in 1979 is not a reflection on our society but it’s a reflection on our region. The school of thought shared by Abdel Nassar and Assad is still alive and kicking today, actively patroned by their descendants. We even have a statue for one of them on Beirut’s sea promenade. There is constant talk about nationalizing the Palestinians in Lebanon, giving them a piece of a country they are not entitled to. There is constant talk about taking out Syrian intelligence and arms from inside Lebanon.

And it all stays as such… talks. Why? Because at the end of the day, there’s simply so much that a Lebanese can do in going against the current of what the big nations want. But you know what, for what it’s worth, and looking at the circumstances we’re living in, we’re not doing very bad for ourselves. 

Until then, long live the memory of a president whose words resonate true 33 years later.

Carrie Underwood Reveals New Single. And It’s Called…

“Good Girl.”

As she had hinted before, Carrie Underwood wasn’t misleading her fans. Her first single off her upcoming album is indeed titled: “Good Girl,” as Carrie announced via a video shared exclusively with members of her fan club.

Good Girl is one of the titles included in the list of songs I had posted before that Carrie had co-wrote for the 4th album. You can check the full list here. The song was written by Carrie Underwood, Ashley Gorley and Chris DeStefano. Previous hits of the former include Carrie Underwood’s own “All-American Girl” and the latter has cuts such as “Let Me Down” on Kelly Clarkson’s newest album, Stronger.

I’m personally not a big fan of the title. However, after Carrie’s own comments regarding the material on this album being darker, edgier and among the best she’s ever written, I don’t think the single will disappoint. I think the title will most probably be wordplay à la “Crazy Girl” by Ely Young Band: “Crazy girl, don’t you know that I love you… I love you like crazy, girl.” Although I do expect Carrie’s material to be much more interesting than that. Her enthusiasm about the song is enough to signal so.

I do, however, love the single cover:

Yup, Carrie Underwood’s a “good girl” and she’s flaunting it.

Here’s the online confirmation:

And the video from the Fan Club:

The song will be sent for adds on Country radio on February 23rd. And according to this description by Country Music is Love, the song is “pretty rocking.”

Or you can read Carrie’s own words about it:

“We went into the writing session thinking we need to write something that just kicks butt, and Chris DeStefano, one of the writers is — I call him a little mad scientist on all of his Pro Tools stuff — he, like, plays every instrument you could possibly think of, and he, like, started makin’ this track, and we started…we just went. It was fast. We wrote it fast, and it’s just fun! It’s upbeat, it’s fun, you stomp your feet, and you can dance to it. It’s got this really rockin’ verse, and this really, like, rockin’ country chorus. So, it’s just a really cool song.”

Lebanon’s Electricity Crisis: The Gebran Bassil Paradigm

As I’m writing this, I’m looking at the light bulb we have installed in our house to let us know if the electricity we’re having is provided by our “moteur” subscriber or by Electricite du Liban. It is lit. So much for EDL.

What’s troubling is that this lightbulb has been lit a lot these past few days. Hold on, I stand corrected. This light bulb has been lit a lot these past two months. I know this firsthand because my father is one of those moteur providers you like to hate so much for overcharging you. But when you don’t get electricity for 330 hours in a given month, the moteur provider will have to charge you.

What I don’t get, however, is why Lebanon’s electricity has suddenly gone into dying mode, especially in the last two months. I understand having to go through a weekend of total blackout in Beirut due to a protest in a power plant. But to go on for two months without getting half a day of coverage is way exaggerated if you ask me.

Has Lebanon’s need for power suddenly exponentially increased beyond what it was a couple of months ago? I hardly think so. Did the dismal capacity of our power plants exponentially decline in the past two months? I hardly think so as well. What has changed in the last two months is the way the Minister of Energy’s brain neurons are firing.

This is Gebran Bassil – Batroun’s “pride and joy”

I’ll just come out and say it. I do not like Gebran Bassil. Never have and I’m guessing never will. Perhaps that’s why we voted against him and got him to lose twice. But how good is that when he’s always finding his way to power?

Gebran Bassil reminds me of kindergarten days. That short, plumped bully kid you all hate and have no idea how he can actually bully everyone. Then you remember. Someone has his back. The fact that he lost two successive parliamentary elections and still made his way to three successive cabinets, even becoming a major hurdle to the instillment of the second, is only indicative of how spoiled he is and how used he is to getting his way, never hearing no as an answer to anything he requests.

The latest? He’s actually threatening the current government of taking it to the streets to get his way when it comes to the proposed electricity bill. I’m not sure he knows this but wouldn’t he be protesting against his own allies? And wouldn’t taking it to the streets to fight for a proposed law be a hurdle towards the advancement of a state the way Michel Aoun & co want it – “change and reform”?

As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to the electricity situation in Lebanon nowadays, Gebran Bassil is not reforming. He is deforming. There’s nothing working about it. And as long as he keeps acting like an insolent brat and not a minister, it will not head in the right direction anytime soon.

Perhaps when a politician’s allies are not responsive to the “plans” he or she is introducing would be an obvious enough hint that they’re doing something wrong. But I guess that logic doesn’t flow well with Mr. Bassil. The fact that he is part of a one-sided government and is constantly facing hurdles doesn’t warrant him to feel paranoid and targeted. It simply means he’s not doing things right.

So dear Lebanese, plan your showers according to the electricity cycles in your correspondent region. If your electricity coverage is not adequate, there’s always a bucket and a stove for you. Or better yet, plan your whole life to constantly fluctuating electricity cycles. Let’s add another fear to the long list a Lebanese society suffers from: electrophobia.

A Separate State of Mind… One Year Later

Well, what do you know, this little blog has turned one today. The appropriate thing would be to wish it happy birthday, no? I guess my Beirut outing later tonight will serve as a double purpose then.

I am actually proud of what A Separate State of Mind (Facebook page) came to be. I remember wanting to get 10,000 hits to feel like I’ve accomplished something. And now, one year later, I have over 300,000 hits and 3200 comments to top it off. Bloggers who tell you they don’t care about reception are liars. You need to feel there’s an audience for you out there – that people want to know what you have to say. And I’ve felt that throughout this past year. This blog has become my medium to communicate my ideas and thoughts. And there’s always someone’s reading and listening. It makes you feel good.

Throughout this year, I’ve had help from many people. Very good friends have helped me many times with posts, especially when it comes to sensitive subjects where I tend to tell it like it is, without being very diplomatic. So thank you awesome people. You know who you are.

For all matters and purposes, I think it’s been a good, successful year. Thank you for those who stuck with my long posts, my rants, my country music reviews, my political posts with which they don’t agree. Thank you for those who read everything, regardless of length or anger or music genre or political opinion.

Here’s hoping 2012 turns out just as good, if not better. 

Just Some Egyptian Salafis in their First Parliament Session

They say a picture is worth a thousand words… I’m sure most will agree this is worth ten times that:

Sure, they’re not the first politicians caught asleep on the job and they sure won’t be the last. Say all you want about how boring parliamentary sessions may be… but at least be awake for the first parliamentary session after a revolution that changed the path of your country.

I guess you can’t expect much from people whose campaign posters were something along this line. Either way, congrats to Egypt their new parliament, one-sided as it may be. I, for one, will take my time in considering visiting now. Voting people like these to power is a a reflection of the population. Do I want to go to a country where the majority considers me an infidel? I don’t think so.

Too bad though, I really wanted to see the pyramids up and close.