If you think that was it and “they” will actually agree on something in Qatar, then your wrong, prepare yourselves for another round of pleasant events!
Archive | Lebanon
So is it over?
Today started with an Arab league delegation coming to to Lebanon to meet with the rival leaders in a trial to come up with a solution that satisfies everybody, seemed impossible for me. Anyway I didn’t follow up on what happening during the day though, but next thing I knew was Ghazi Al-Aaridi on TV declaring that the government has revoked its two measures concerning Hizbullah’s communication network and the head of the airport security. Let’s see if roadblocks will be removed now and the airport will be functional again.
By the way, did you hear all the shooting tonight after the government announcement?!
Recalling what happened in the past week, I think to myself – is it worth? Each time people need to “solve” a problem, there SHOULD be some killing involved, shedding lot of blood, and then funerals follow. Nothing can actually describe Lebanon’s current situation like this cartoon from LifeGeeked does.
Footages of Halba massacre
When I first read what Darko had to say in his blog about the incidents that occurred in Halba and resulted in executing 11 SSNP (Syrian Social National Party) fighters by the Future Movement militia, I was saddened by the fact that what we thought was part of the past is haunting us again…
Today, videos of the massacre started circulating everywhere, and I was literally in awe watching the disturbing footages, I am not claiming here that SSNPers are angels, actually each party is guilty in the current crisis, but executing people (or fighters or militia or whatever you wanna call them) in such a brutal way, and then kicking and beating their dead bodies is JUST PLAIN INSANE!!
What irritated me the most was one guy telling the cameraman “Film me while I place my sandal in his mouth” (pointing at one dead body). How sick is that!! Anyone would call that massacre a war crime…
Despite all this, Future Movement are still denying being a militia! I just wonder what would they do when they officially declare themselves as a militia! I am not pro SSNP, nor pro Future Movement, but I sure am pro humanity!
If you wanna have a look at the videos (there are 3 of the already), I will be publishing links to them below, but download them on your own responsibility because they’re so violent. You may as well check the videos site as they were also published on YouTube.
Video 1 hosted on Plus961.com (I have uploaded the first video on my server just in case all of the links above expired, let people watch our shame even in 10 years from now!)
Give peace a chance
This photo you see above is shot by my friend Antoine Khater from All Day I Dream About Photography (ADIDAP) and titled “Give peas a chance”, he took it nearly 1 year ago on May 22 2007.
Antoine is another Lebanese blogger who feels disgusted of the current situation in Lebanon. For that he launched a campaign today to give peace a chance in Lebanon, and he’s calling to spread it across the Lebanese blogsphere, non-Lebanese blogs are also welcome to join! All we have to do is to copy a little piece of code into our blogs to add a ribbon on top of the page, and the ribbon will remain there until violence is stopped in the street of Beirut and Lebanon.
I hope keeping the ribbon will be for a VERY short period of time. If we were blogging back in the 1975 we would have kept this ribbon for 15 straight years!
Anyway, here is the code that you should insert in your blog (preferably in the header of your blog):
<script language=”javascript” src=”http://www.adidap.com/LebRibbon.js”></script>
I look forward to see it on other blogs as well, we are no more than bloggers and I don’t think we can demonstrate in the roads against war, and we don’t want to do that in the first place, but the least we can do is to unite and express our rejection for what is happening.
Ras El-Nabeh today
I live in Ras El-Nabeh, where clashes have been raging for the last 2 days, and thanks god today is relatively calm and under the Lebanese army control. But still, I didn’t go to work in fear of not being able to come back! Yeah feels like being under siege!
So far the opposition has defeated the Future Movement militia in our neighborhood and in almost every other area in western Beirut. Although this result was expected (to me at least), but I really didn’t expect for the Future Movement militia to fall apart that fast!
Lesson learned: A cat should never mess with a lion.
I am wondering what will the opposition do next, I am pretty sure things will not be over at this stage, but I hope the situation will not get worse.
Oh and by the way I really feel like going out and shooting with my camera, I’m sure there will be a lot of scenes that are worth keeping for history, but I am afraid someone might beat me… Anyway here is a panoramic photo I took today morning from my balcony (it’s made of 3 photos), it shows “Basta” to the left and “Ras El-Nabeh” to the right. Unfortunately my camera is a DSLR and doesn’t capture video, otherwise I would have posted some very interesting sounds from yesterda’s clashes!
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FUCK YOU
Today I would like to join Tantalus in saying FUCK YOU to each and everyone involved in today’s incidents in Beirut. And to those who launched RPGs I say FUCK YOU twice, since you made additional effort in fucking up the day.
Also FUCK those who try to pretend they’re angels, while we know very well that it takes AT LEAST 2 to start a fight, so it’s quite obvious that 8 March and 14 March are both assholes.
I’m at work now and I still don’t know if it will be safe to go back home or not… Oh that’s one more FUCK YOU to the “wado3” (situation).
This is Beirut – The mix
I feel frustrated tonight, I have just found that the videos site is not working! This is what you get when you keep on messing with the source code…! I’ll be working on it.
Anyway, I’m publishing today a trance music file for a song titled “This is Beirut”. A small part of the file has been widely spread as a ringtone for cell phones, so for anyone who might be looking for it, here is a download link for the full version.
Update: The videos site is working again!
Almaza: keep drinking
Using the political situation to make an advertisement is one of the things that I would describe as “حربقة” (Clever in english), or shall I call that creativity..? Check their latest advertisement below.
To those who don’t understand Arabic, the advertisement tells that Lebanese people have been celebrating and drinking Almaza since 1933 and kept on doing that throughout the good and bad times they went through (Independance 1943, Earthquake 1956, Miss Universe (Georgina Rizk) 1971, Beginning of the Lebanese war 1975, End of the war 1990), and at the end they say that in 2008 nothing will keep them from drinking and celebrating (given that the political situation is in deep sh*t).
**By the way, you can find other Lebanese videos like Almaza’s on Plus961 Videos.**
And while searching today, I found another photo of a billboard from their campaign last summer on Lebanon-Update.
The billboard says: “All eyes are on the chair this summer”, knowing that last summer everybody was wondering who’s going to be Emile Lahoud’s successor and become the new president.
I believe they can still use this billboard yet again this summer! don’t you think so?
Catch of the day
I came across this news article in Annahar newspaper today.
The article is about a campaign launched by the municipality of Beirut to exterminate pests (roaches should be afraid now). It’s quite a normal news.
But notice the attached photo, showing some personnels along with the head of the municipality taking a photo beside the vehicle to be used in that campaign. Isn’t that similar to taking a photo beside a Baygon bottle? I just wonder…
Saida’s Palaces
Although it is the third largest city in Lebanon, but I’ve never went to Saida and made a tour in the city until a few weeks ago. It might not be the best place in Lebanon but WOW, I was impressed!
Call me an ignorant, but I really didn’t even know there was a gorgeous old city there with people living in it! The streets are so tight and cozy, at some places they’re barely 2 meters wide.
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I was also surprised to know that the Audi family (yes those of Bank Audi) were involved in manufacturing soap bars in the old city of Saida, and they have actually established a soap museum in what used to be their soap factory.
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The museum is maintained by “Fondation Audi“. If you get to visit it, you will be able to also the Audi’s palace since the museum is located on the ground floor of it, and they’re both open to the public.
Oh and not only the Audi’s are famous there, but also the Debbane family! They have a great palace in Saida, which is nearly 300 years old, and it is also open to the public. Check its entrance in the photo below.
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It’s awesome from the inside but unfortunately I was not able to take good photos there. However, you can always refer to the Debbane Foundation’s website and preview the available photos there, although I believe they do NO justice to the palace.
I do recommend that you visit Saida in case you still have not done it yet, and make sure to go through the old souk. But, if you’re looking for luxurious places to have lunch and stuff, then Saida is SO NOT for you.
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