Archive | Politics

A Government of Publicity Stunts

By Rami on February 20, 2019 in Politics

After a 9 month political deadlock, we finally got a new government that won the vote of confidence in the parliament last week. And with all the challenges ahead of the country, you’d think the new ministers are busy planning a way out of this shit we are in. However all I’ve been noticing lately are nothing but pathetic publicity stunts to make a positive impression, while in fact everything is still steadily deteriorating like the electricity supply for example.

Over the last 20 days, and according to social media which supposedly reflects the people thoughts, here are the major achievements of the new government.

Raya El-Hassan – Ministry of Interior

Just like every previous minister of interior, she started by claiming she will ban all illegal vending kiosks and tents that cause traffic on the highways, in addition to banning illegal motorcycles. Yep, good luck with both decisions in areas like Ouzai! But anyway, fast forward two weeks, everybody will forget about these decisions and everything will be back to “normal again”.

El-Hassan also called for establishing civil marriage in Lebanon (that is partly ruled by religious figures), while she knows very well that implementing it will definitely backfire on her political party and she would never allow that to happen. The move is only an attempt at scoring with civil and secular movements.

Mohammad Choucair – Ministry of Telecommunications

Cellular communication is expensive, and DSL internet is SHIT. So what does he do? He simply promises people an awesome level of service soon, and of course never forgets to mention fiber optics plans in his statements.

Fadi Jreissati – Ministry of Environment

There was a dying plant in the office of the previous minister, so the first thing he did was replacing it with a new one and posting about it on social media. And he also decided to drive to the parliament in an eco-friendly car. Meanwhile, Litani.

Nada Boustani – Ministry of Energy

Shortly after the formation of the government, the electricity supply was reduced due to shortage in fuel. So what does Mrs. Boustani do? She makes it public that working hours at the ministry should be highly respected. Ok.

They’re all against corruption

One thing all ministers are currently agreeing on is to make fighting corruption as one of the main goals of this government. So they all want to stop whoever is robbing the country’s wealth and resources. Because you know, it was the Italian Communist Party that has been ruling our land for the past 40 years.

Anyway, the whole thing makes me wish I was a minister. Making promises is quite easy, and the benefits are pretty cool. Who would object a high salary, cool circle of colleagues, getting worshiped by the people, driving like an asshole in tinted cars, and making TV appearances?! SIGN ME UP PLEASE!!!

Joe Show’s Segment on Lebanon’s Freedom of Speech and Public Debt

By Rami on August 6, 2018 in Politics

Make sure to check Joe Show’s latest video on God’s Heaven as he speaks about our public debt and the recent arrests over free speech.

This isn’t the first time for him to talk about Lebanon with the last time being about the elections I think, but what puzzles me every time is the number of people defending their sect leaders in the comments like they’re just flawless.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri Greeted With Animals Painted in Blue!

By Rami on May 2, 2018 in Elections, Politics, What the fuck!

I’m not sure where these photos were exactly taken, but they clearly show people painting camels and sheep in blue to greet Prime Minister Saad Hariri in their hometowns as he campaigns for his party ahead of the elections this weekend.

I totally understand people get over excited in some remote areas where politicians barely set a foot, but needless to say this is just too much…! I doubt people who come up with such ideas are mentally mature enough to choose their representatives in the parliament.

Electoral Camapaigns Bi Gheir 3alam

By Rami on April 16, 2018 in Politics

I’ve been watching for a while now what the parliamentary candidates have to say about their electoral programs and the amount of literal bullshit you get to see and hear is sickening. The promises almost everyone is making are so ridiculous and fanciful that I can’t believe there are real people supporting them and their programs.

Take for example this video by Nicolas Sehnaoui which promises a solution for the chronic traffic congestion.

They’re proposing widening the northern highway, increasing the number of buses, fixing the roads, organizing the public transportation system within the capital, and best of all establishing train lines between the main cities. Wlik w a*rrrr! Shu 3eyshin bi London?! I’m not going to put energy into explaining why each and every idea is impossible to apply with the current system in Lebanon, but seriously how do some people accept contributing to such ads? I really doubt the girl in the video is even convinced with what she’s saying.

In parallel with the above plan, this gentleman named Nazih Najem wants to also build 13 dams covering the whole country.

We live in a country where a pothole takes forever to get fixed, yet this candidate wants to convince us that 13 dams can be built with the flip of a switch.

I really have nothing personal against Sehnaoui or Najem, the above two ads just happened to have appeared on my Facebook feed and I’m pretty sure other candidates are promising similar stuff. The thing is, why can’t they keep it real? First of all, members of the parliament are in principle supposed approve laws and governments expenditure. Initiating projects on the other hand falls under the duties of each ministry, so how on earth can these candidates promise projects?

Anyway, I personally don’t care who wins and who loses, and I’m not interested to see new faces winning because thank god neither my life nor my income depend on any of them. In fact, I won’t even bother voting for anyone because I’d rather put the energy for going to the polling station into something more useful for myself. I just pity those who actually believe such campaigns and waste their time and effort supporting these candidates.

President Donald Trump is Clueless About Lebanese Politics

By Rami on July 26, 2017 in Politics

It seems like Donald Trump is absolutely clueless about Lebanese politics, and listening to the things he said in the below video makes you really wonder how does he take decisions when it comes to our country and the whole region…

As you all know, PM Saad Hariri is currently on an official trip to the U.S. and has met with President Donald Trump at the oval office yesterday. Following their discussion, the two held a press conference during which Presidend Trump claimed that “Lebanon is on the frontlines in the fight against ISIS, Al-Qaeda AND Hezbollah” (watch at the 1m05s mark) while in fact Hariri’s cabinet in fact has a couple of ministers from Hezbollah, and later even calls the party a menace to Lebanon and the middle east (at the 3m35s mark).

And it didn’t just end here, when Denise Rahme Fakhri asked him about his opinion when it comes to Hezbollah and their role in Syria, Trump appeared just like he has no idea what to answer by simply claiming that he will be expressing his opinion on the next day after meeting with his “very expert military representatives”. (watch at the 10m52s mark)

I bet PM Hariri silently went through several WTF moments during the press conference.

Another Epic Lebanese TV Moment – Cockfight on OTV

By Rami on July 10, 2017 in Politics, Television

OTV hosted Lebanese cleric sheikh Bilal Duqmaq and former Syrian MP Ahmad Shalash to discuss the Syrian war on “Bilmubasher” talk show, but things kept heating up until the two clown eventually decided to end it the way they’re most familiar with, bi ja7shaneh!

The two are known to have extreme views about the Syrian crisis, and I honestly believe TV stations like to get similar people on air for the sole purpose of making such scenes every now and then…

How Do Boycott Campaigns Work in Lebanon?

By Rami on May 30, 2017 in Movies, Politics

I remember at least two artists who were subject to online and offline boycott campaigns in Lebanon over the past few years due to their alleged support to Israel, Gad Elmaleh in 2009 and Lara Fabian in 2012. Gad Elmaleh was accused of serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (which wasn’t true) while Lara Fabian faced so much criticism for performing at an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel, and civil society groups of course tried to keep the two artists from performing in Lebanon.

Fast forward to the present, Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot is scheduled to start showing across Lebanese theaters on June 1st. However, Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress and model who first appeared as Wonder Woman in Batman VS Superman last year and her upcoming movie posters have been surprisingly all around the country for a while now! That’s not just any actress supporting Israel, that’s an Israeli actress who served as a combat trainer in the Israeli Defense Forces with her posters all around Lebanon.

I’m not writing this to call for the movie boycott. I personally love superhero movies and will definitely be watching Wonder woman. However, I’ve yet to hear about any call against screening it and in this case one can’t but wonder how do civil society activists choose which artists/projects to boycott or let pass. At one point you start doubting their campaigns could be sometimes fueled by business competition… International artists are all exposed to have a connection with Israel at some point during their career, which makes it easy for anyone to criticize them for the sole purpose of provoking those who are investing their money into getting such artists to perform in Lebanon.

Anyway, the movie is showing in two days so let’s see if any cyber activists will try to take a stance against it!

Update:

I just learned the Ministry of Economy and Trade demanded the General Security to withdraw the movie from Lebanese theaters. However, the questions I raised above still stand.

Syria Street – Everyday Life Stories From Jabal Mohsen and Bab El Tabbaneh

By Rami on February 15, 2017 in Photography, Politics, Social

Jabal Mohsen and Bab El Tabbaneh are two neighborhoods in Tripoli that got popular over the past 10 years for all the wrong reason.

Following the assassination of PM Rafic Hariri, the residents of the two neighborhoods got into more than 10 armed clashes mainly due to their division among different sects and having different political affiliations, and the rounds of violence eventually intensified with the start of the Syria war in 2011.

The two areas are separated by Syria Street, also known as Bab El Dahab, and it is a proof that while people in general think that their residents are vertically divided, they in fact share so much in common. Many of them run shops on both sides of the street, and they simply just rely on each other to get on with their lives. People from Bab El Tabbaneh go to Jabal Mohsen for good and services that might not be available in their area and vice versa.

What they also share the most though are their problems, concerns, and daily struggles. The residents of both sides suffer from poverty, bad living conditions, and lack of jobs which is unfortunately motivating their youths to search for any source of income even if it was coming from politicians in exchange of firing arms at their neighbors…

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon recently collaborated with photographer and filmmaker Brandon Tauszik who’s well known for GIF-based storytelling, in order to convey the real image about the people from both Jabal Mohsen and Bab El Tabbaneh. Brandon spent a week listening to residents from both sides and the result was some quite expressive visuals along with interesting stories from their everyday lives.

To explore more about this project, check SyriaStreet.com in hope that these two areas never take part of another rounds f violence, and that their representatives in the parliament stop abusing them every time they want to make some political gain.

What’s All The Fuss About Automotive Inspection Fee Hike?

By Rami on October 7, 2016 in Automotive, Politics

Have you ever been through the horrible experience of taking your car to one of the “mecanique” inspection centers in Hadath or other areas? The last time I went there 2 years ago I spent 6 hours there waiting in endless queues. The whole experience makes you pray for your car to pass the inspection not because you hate going to your mechanic, but rather because you want to avoid wasting another day over such silly task!

A while ago, it was announced that a new company called Autospect won the bid for running the existing inspection centers, and that part of its plan over the next year is to increase the number of inspection centers from 4 to 17 across the country which will help reducing the time needed to go through the inspection to 15 minutes, with the possibility to book your appointment online. This however will be at the cost of increasing the current fees from $22 to $33 out of which $5 are a new government tax.

Next thing we know, public transportation drivers started protesting the price hike by closing vital roads around Beirut every week or so. Disregarding how much I hate it when a group of people start blocking streets to make their points, I found their protests to be utterly weird.

Out of all the fuck ups in our country, this $11 or 16,500L.L increase is seriously the reason why these drivers are wasting their precious time to organize these protests? I bet each and every one of these people earns more than that amount per day, but given how sensitive they are about such increase, how on earth can they afford sacrificing their income by going to such all day protests?

I personally think it must be one of two things, the protesters are either not public drivers but rather people who for some reason believe the new developments are not of their interests, or the transportation unions are simply controlled by some influencing figures/businessmen who didn’t win the bid.

Either ways, whoever is willing to reduce the inspection time to 15 minutes can take my money because I’m tired of finding a “simsar” each time I have to take my car to the Hadath center! Protesting against such progress is ridiculous, and no please don’t demand for the government to handle the inspection process instead!

Bachir Gemayel The Series

By Rami on August 31, 2016 in Documentaries, Politics, Videos

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Bachir Gemayel is probably the most controversial Lebanese figure of our modern history whose personality was admired by his allies and opponents alike, and for the 34th commemoration of his assassination MTV Lebanon is showing a 5-episode documentary about him.

I personally have always felt curious to watch segments about Bachir’s short political life and rise to power, and there are several available documentaries on YouTube about that matter, but I believe this one is a must watch for those interested in our recent history because it was prepared by George Ghanem who already provided several great documentaries about Lebanese political parties and figures during his days at LBC. Moreover, the used material was provided by Bachir Gemayel Foundation and includes footage and speeches that were never shown before.

The episodes are being aired every Tuesday at 8:45PM with 2 episodes already out, and you can also watch them online here on MTV’s website.

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