Dissecting Lebanon

Happiness

2007-06-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Whenever I ask myself if my happy, I immediately think of a quote by Leo Toltsoy,"If you want to be happy, be.". It is odd, but this is all what it takes!

This past month, we have seen death and hate and I was tempted to just lose hope and feel sorry for myself.

But, then I smile and feel instant gratification when my smile is returned. I speak to my parents and feel their deep love for me and I feel all warm inside. I call my brothers(they are both abroad) and they ask about me and sense how much they care for my well-being and I cannot be but thankful. I play with Milo, my cat and Maestro, my dog and experience a love given for no expectations, a love so pure and immediately the world around me becomes more colorful.

Today, I spent the day with my cousin's 6 year old girl and she was so happy with me and we read stories and rode the bicycle and played with Barbie and believe me she left and I am still smiling. There is nothing sweeter than a little girl's innocent happiness and love. It is truly contagious.

I don't know but I keep finding that happiness is not something you pursuit. It is just there, within your hands. The trick is just to choose it over the easier temptations of following the trend of blame, stress and sadness...

Kiss

2007-06-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

I felt like posting this picture,it makes me smile :)

I am tired, truly tired

2007-06-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am tired. It is getting too hard to keep the faith. The assassination of Walid Eido has not passed 2hours and already there is finger pointing to this side or that.
Just give us a break! The blood of the man and the others who died is still fresh and both political parties are trying to use his death to settle scores!!!!

Where is hate taking us? We are like a dune of sand eroded by the elements, only we are eating ourselves up... I just read a comment by a none other than a Lebanese saying that he is happy Eido died since he was playing cards in the July war!!!

Blame, revenge, hate, spite, the list goes on and on! The man is our countryman! Forget his and your political affiliation and mourn where we are going. Mourn how our country is losing its people through killings, wars, immigration, embezzlement, corruption, sectarianism and what say you.

I am truly tired. Tonight was supposed to be a night of candles and wine for me but I should have known that happiness is something of a rarity in this country. I should have prepared myself for a night in front of the TV set, listening to silly politicians speeches and feeling sorry for our lives that are being squeezed out of every hope of a better living...

Strangers

2007-06-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

the day is dripping with longing
desire is waning
one-by-one
the colors somberly drip off the painting

leaving behind a blank canvas
like an empty soul
a dream deferred
love is put on hold

he is a rose!
but doesn’t smell as sweet
after the men have lined up and
feasted on their meat

a blank canvas is art
molded out from the genius
of the abstract painter

as the nightly reshaping of Love
is love new-formed
in the hapless arms of strangers

Take Me Home

2007-06-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

If only I had a moment to figure out what’s going on,
But my sorry concept of time has negated the moment.
Last night was a whisper of the pleasurable past
Today is a haunting reality check of a daunting future.
The seconds drip with intensity like melodies from a violin.
My lament is one in the same as the hunger pains of a stillborn.
A loosened piece of gravel has more significance to the world
Than me. It has aesthetic beauty

My mom used to tell me that she saw generations
Of ancestors when she looked into my eyes:
“I see everyone, I swear I see everyone,”
She would say with her silver-chipped tooth smile.
My heart is with her at home where she is now.
If I were to change how would she recognize me
when I see enough enough hate and killings.
Would she still be so adamant?

My culture is my only possession
as I take my first foreign steps.
My clothes are soiled with various sorts of filth
And smell of the reek rawness of the voyage.
It’s so busy, people bustling by like race-cars
I don’t know what day it is, or long it took to get here.

Last night I still felt my home in my bones,
I was with my peers. We spoke in our tongue.
Now I feel loss, if only I had a moment.
“Excuse me sir,” he doesn’t understand my accent
“Do I go this way or that way”
I pass the same illegible sign
I’m walking in circles
I stop to ask for help; all I hear is politicized religion
No one is listening.

Maybe if I was a loose piece of gravel
They would pick me up and take me home.

Take me home,, where there is no religion
Take me home, where there is no wars
Take me home where there is no greed
Take me home where there is no poverty
Take me home where there is no hypocrisy
Take me home where people ask why
Take me home where people don’t judge
Take me home ;I want to smell love
Take me home

If only I was a loose piece of gravel…

Untitled

2007-06-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

Diluted hearts, impure and unjust
Dissolve humankind’s righteousness.

I’m ineffective with words now,
It all burns down
To a molten stew of mumble-jumble
That NO-body is hearing,
So I remain humble in presenting my building

BLOCKS

I’ll just let those letters create their own path.
What’s present and past
Adds on to the aftermath
Of consequence,
So incidentally
I implement
A regiment
Of conscious thought
With the intimate
Relationship of ears I so hard sought

On the eve of dooms-day
With 5 minutes left ‘til midnight
I’ll write a rhyme to God
Giving thanks for insight.

So whom may doubt,

This paper doesn’t
That’s why it’s emitting me out.

On the last Sabbath of time
Some may fine-ally understand this rhyme.

Define energy:

A universal synergy
Aids in the Will’s escape of injury
In a hell-hole of misery.

Where the thoughts are thoughtless
And the hearts are heartless,
Which coincides
Where there’s no regard of Life

Regardless:

Of friend or foe;
Stranger or kin;
Maker or men.

The burden of binge
Has anchored us in
The ports of consumption;
Lying in the Bay of Complacency.
In the soul of sin
In the citizen
Lies a vast vacancy.
A total empty,
Anarchy
With lurid tendencies,
Horrid memories
Strike the body with a force
To strip you mentally.

That’s my window of vulnerability,

But we gotta keep moving
We gotta keep grooving
To the drummer infinitely
Pursuing
The centerpiece/inner peace
The glue in
To the U – N –
I
Versal mystery.

Where death be the release?…
Or death be the Penalty?...

Humming Bird

2007-06-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Whenever I hear gunshots
All I hear are screams of hatred.
I see the hatred in the face
Of a person firing a pistol
Thinking

Die. Die. Die.

With sport a hunter shooting its game;
In a drive-by shooting;
The hatred of bullets
Fired in retaliation,
Blood thirst vindication,
Screaming

Die. Die. Die.

Police firing forty plus shots
When one gets the job done,
Enemies in a war
All screaming through their guns
Damn you!

Die. Die. Die.

Even when one must shoot
In self defense, unless
You aim for the feet of your assailant,
But hardly,
More likely
Subconsciously
Praying

Die. Die. Die.

What I think of is the moment
The brain decides to pull the trigger,
The thought must be
Before the callused squeeze
Please

Die. Die. Die.

I’ve once felt that aggression,
I’ve once felt that hatred.
I was ten
I shot a b.b.
At a humming bird

On the branch It lingered
As I watched
It grasped on to the tree
Like the tree was Its life
And It clung on for dear life

But It plopped down,
To this day I still hear the sad-sad sound
Of Its body hitting the cold-cold ground,

The sound of Its life seeping out
Into nothingness
Like air from a flat tire.
Nothing to comfort It
Besides me, Its killer
And with each breath

It die (inhale), die (exhale), died (expired)

February 14th: Day of Love

2007-02-13T15:43:00.001-08:00

As people prepare to mark the anniversary of Hariri's death and indeed all the other martyrs including those who fell so horribly today, I hope they remember that it is Valentines' Day. I hope they go to downtown to celebrate their love to Lebanon and their love to their countrymen. I hope this day is not driven by revenge or sectarian feelings or show of force or flexing of muscles.

Give us the ability to dream again of a Lebanon that our parents wanted to see and were faced with civil war instead! Tomorrow is a day of love, it is not a day for sunnis or Saad Hariri per se as the pathetic few are trying to portray.

Let us show the world that we are a civilized people and a few thugs that are terrorizing us, killing our people, forcing us to immigrate, and draining us of money are just losing and soon will be put behind bars and the true Lebanese will remain resilient forever.

You Are Lebanese!

2007-02-13T15:38:00.000-08:00

I wrote this in 2005 in yalibnan.com and ironically it fits today's terror perfectly...

Expressions - You Are Lebanese!
Saturday, 16 July, 2005 @ 3:46 AM

The little girl was crying. She wanted to listen to the music. She has grown accustomed to loud noises; the opium to her ears. The day she didn't feel the vibrations rock her bed, and the sounds shake her awake, making her shudder; she felt empty.

She started calling her mother, "Mommy, mommy I want to hear the bombs. Why are there no fireworks today? I want to see the fire burning and the red color everywhere!"

The little girl's mom was mystified. What was she going to tell her petite daughter? What was she to convey to the baby whose little limbs grew with the sounds of explosions and killings? How was she to treat her infant's addiction to terror and mayhem? She needed the wisdom of the Oracle to help her darling from falling into the abyss. "Oh Oracle, help me!"

Lightning lit up the skies of the tormented city. The Oracle woke up with a fury. This country and its people need to be tutored in La Vida rules! The Oracle summoned the wise men of her commission for an urgent assembly.

Samuel Butler said, "Authority intoxicates, and makes mere sots of magistrates; the fumes of it invade the brain, and make men giddy, proud and vain." The security forces and intelligence have been inflated so much, that there is no more space for their minds to function. Power has been rooted deeply in their veins that targeting any threat however minor is their utmost aim. Little girls pay the price of their egoism; they drink up the violence along with their mothers' milk that weaning them off this danger becomes a menace itself!

Thomas Jefferson interrupted saying I am afraid my dear friend it is too late for the little girls to be rescued. For you see, "When the government fears the people, there is liberty; when the people fear the government, there is tyranny." And the people of this country have developed the leaders' phobia; they do not trust their own judgment. They prefer fear over their will to overcome terror ... I am afraid it is a lost case!

Sir Winston Churchill was poked into retaliation, "Never give in. Never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." This concerned mother should not be put into submission. She should not be convinced that her daughter has no hope in conquering her craving to the bloodiness of the horror of detonations and blasts! I know that the people of the Cedar Nation do not succumb to trepidation.

Lord Chesterfield nodded his head with approval. The people of this historically mighty nation must be given a chance. The nightmares of dread and assassinations should not point them into relinquish. It is only a step they have to defeat to win their freedom to govern their lives. After all, "Arbitrary power has seldom... been introduced in any country at once. It must be introduced by slow degrees, and as it were step by step."

The Oracle looked towards her favorite disciple and asked him to give his ruling towards this issue. Albert Camus removed his glasses, rubbed his forehead and said, "Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear." The perpetrators of these cowardly crimes know this even more than we do. They are experiencing this with every bomb they direct towards an innocent life. They feel the hate build in the peoples' bodies, in mothers' wombs, in children's' eyes. This series of terror will be over soon, for the offenders are reaping what they are sowing.

"The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience." Those oppressors' want the dwellers of this blessed land to be like that toddler. They want them to give them the excuse to remain the autocrats. They want them to show their mothers and the world that without them, there is no hope. No survival!

The Oracle fell silent. She engulfed the realm with a warm glow. To the concerned mother, the Oracle stated: "Do not fear for your child. You grew up during the blood-spattered war and you are now a wife, a mother, a working woman. No my dear lady, do not worry. You are resilient people; no bomb is going to make you yield! You are a country worthy of its name, you are Lebanese!"

So Lebanese

2007-02-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

This pic won the World Press Photo 2006. It is so lebanese, don't you think?

A guy in a mini cabrio going around with four women through the devasted areas after the israeli bombings :)

The New Saints

2007-02-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

As I was taking down the elevator this afternoon, a man addressed me by asking, " Isn't this nice?" ; he was talking about a lazer pen that reflects a picture of a political figure. Honestly, I was totally bewildered that the woman with him thought I was a foreigner and told him she doesn't understand you.

I am still bewildered. Now, those "zaims" are like saints that we carry along with us and light our way through their faces!! Call me naive, but are we this insecure in our own skin? Do a few war lords reign over our lives in every aspect and then invade our private homes and work places??

We seriously need a reality check. I am not saying that if x or y is a personal favorite of us then it is a problem but let us return them to their humane level so that they admit their realities and stop stepping all over our dignities and honor!

Life in a halt!

2007-02-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

so it's been months and months over since we've been on this deadly halt! halt that's only interrupted by assasinations, crimes or mini civilian wars..

So the opposition decided to escalade the confrontations back at the end of 2006 by throwing their people on the streets, invading public and private properties against all laws, increasing the tension between the people and giving a hard break to any economical activity left in this country. Despite the different reasons for the opposition that change between 1 party and another and get to change with time to better suite their need.
Opposition claim that the gov, who tend to work their best with the potentials that are left, is not listening to their demands. A claim that physically manifest itself with the fact that March14 camp managed to postpone their demand for an early presidential elections, managed to accept the solution of a 19+11+1 that can help us reach some sort of a resolution to this frozen state of life; against the fact that the opposition only managed to escalade tension further and further while increasing their demands to almost an imaginary state like this early parliamental elections demand that is only so sad yet so funny!!

..wonder what their next demand would be, hopefully something humanely possible.

Sarko vs Aoun

2007-01-29T14:19:00.000-08:00

This is how Sarkozy aims to win the presidency while Michel Aoun aims to do that by allying with Hizbullah, propaganda and accusing everyone of corruption...

As Robert Fisk says, "Pity the Nation" !

The Vanished Lebanese Dream

2007-01-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

We had this dream to grow as high as a tree,
to be something every eye could see.
So we let our roots to let us be;
glory was what we wanted to seek,
but, how can one be happy while climbing to the peak?
We just felt hopeless, desperate and weak.

We met a people who fought for the Madonna,
they were sure with their sect they’d reach nirvana!

We thought no one could defy our sage.
it’s now time to break out of the cage;
to build a new stage and open another page.
Yet,how can we continue our dream with broken feet?

So we found ourselves a seat
hoping our tears won’t cool out our heat.
Okay! We can forget about Our Lebanon
without letting them have our share:
that is poking them to be more fair.

Now, I keep wondering if we can reach our goal
with this handicapped soul...
Must we learn how to crawl?

Damn you Mr. Chair,
you have left us too blind to bare!

Courage

2007-01-28T02:35:00.000-08:00

As I am watching Courage the Cowardly Dog right now,do you know what comes to my mind? Aoun! Yes, this is a man whom I think the creators of the show modeled their character entirely-not loosely on him.

If we read into the history of this man from the civil war till now, a very clear trend is drawn. A man who is always pretending to be the liberator of his people from corruption, oppression and whatever there is in the dictionary that implies bad deeds and at the end of the day....flees like the wind!

Over and over, this man who I am sure has issues that stream from his challenged height tries to project courage through illogical and crazy schemes and still his followers/supporters flock behind him towards the doom.

But, there is a big advantage that Courage, the dog holds over Orange Aoun and that is losers' luck. Somehow, at the end of each episode fate ends up giving Courage a chance towards yet another mishap. As for Aoun, time is not his ally. He is well into his 70s and Alzheimer is building bridges in his brain.

Burning tires to him is constitutional!! I wonder what he is planning with his new best friends this Tuesday. Do you think he is going to declare that burning people down is constitutional???

My advice is for him to go look into his will (leave something to your son-in-law, will you? ) and choose a good quality casket for your "holier than thou" corpse since it maybe too valuable to both your "worshipers" and the rest of "us" together!

History of Lebanon

2007-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

A quick summary of our past and present.. will we accept this as our future?!

I Bow to You

2007-01-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

Wow! Now, that was a great day! I wonder if the mobs who cracked each others' heads and limbs would feign innocence and find a way to blame their lack of intelligence and their fang revealing instincts on Israel or the United States or or...

What I keep seeing day after day is a people so addicted to blood that they would always seek war. The July war wasn't enough for them, and it didn't give them the satisfaction of feeling the bones break and smell the blood and sweat up-close.

Bashar must be packing some bags, he is expecting his return very soon. His father came to "restore" peace in an earlier insanity period, so he is betting on the international community after seeing the parade of stone throwing and pipes wielding to beg him to come back to Lebanon. After all, we are proving that we are not Lebanese. We are shia and sunnis and maronites and druze so who cares who govern us? I hate to say this but it seems to me that Arabs deserve dictators like Saddam to curb their fanaticism and tribal emotions.

At the end, I want to salute the youth who participated today in showing us and the whole world how civilized and classy we are... I bow to you!

Intro to Civil War

2007-01-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

what's the new course this semester?
it's how to destroy your country from the inside!! sure we already had the course on how to do it from the outside back in July and now it's time for the 2nd way, a more effective way that could generate much better results!
today i can say i had my fair share of the mini-war today, shootings, ppl throwing rocks, burning cars, beating each other and the result is what? additional taste of "the law of the jungle".
I no longer believe in chances and fake innocence, what happened today alongside 'Paris III' cant be a mere coincidence, that just insults my intelligence!
They said that what happened today is a fight at the university, sure it started there but looking at the footage on TV, one would need few seconds to realize that the ppl who are fighting are not university students, i doubt if they even made it to school!!
this time i needed no TV to know what's going on as i had the a row seat of all the action, people defending their neighborhood and their homes against masked thugs with weapons who are burning and destroying cars just because they believe these cars belong to the ones living in this area, attacks based on hatred, hatred of the other, and they claim they want to share!
it doesn't need a genius to know who attacked who, who's invading the others' homes and who's destroying the other's properties..
do they seek civil war? do they want to destroy the country?!
in these religious days to some sects, i say thank you for another sample of your democracy and peace, thank you for being the stars on today's news over all the TV networks, thank you for performing to us MEN IN BLACK III!

LEAVE OR DIE

2007-01-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

The law of the jungle: to the civilized world, it is a figure of speech. To us, the Lebanese, unfortunately it is a full blown reality. Individualism scares us. We try to paint a picture of civilization but when the clock ticks 12, the curtain falls unveiling various “packs” that follow their leader unconditionally. We burn our country down, chanting silly slogans handed to us over generations and bringing ourselves down further into a black abyss.
Today, as I was watching the people who are burning tires and besieging our lives on TV, I thought of my cat and dog. My cat and dog always fight for the control of the household but they have an understanding that at the end of the day the cat is the chief and my dog always retreats. Yes, even animals with their instincts have boundaries. We do not.
We should have a Dr Moreau. In the Island of Dr Moreau, the animals had a set of rules that they recited: “thou should not walk on all fours; thou should not eat meat…” I truly believe that we should be programmed like this. We keep seeking wars for the survival of the tribe and the only solution to elevate us from the animal kingdom to the civilized world is a Dr Moreau.
I am ashamed of my nationality today. I am ashamed of my countrymen. There is fashion week in Paris today and we have “BURN OUR COUNTRY DOWN” festival. I am ashamed, yet I do not want to attack. Words fail me when I see those painful images. Words fail me when I try to imagine what is next.
Eventually, there are only two options for people who do not follow the law of chaos and mayhem. “LEAVE OR DIE”. Our country belongs to militias with katyushas and tribal men. “LEAVE OR DIE”.

Democracy

2007-01-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

democracy, does it really exist in our current culture?
After trying to throw democracy down the drain when the circumstances turned unfavorable to their personal interests, we had the honor of witnessing how democratic protests can be peacefully performed. Dozens of smashed cars, numerous civilians wounded, more threatened with their lives and safety of their properties in case they don't join, and the list goes on and on.. sure people have the right to protest and go on strike but where’s the right to not to? Where’s the right to go to work, go and try to make a living in this paralyzed economy especially when I’m not one of the “patriotic” people who are getting paid with the clean, blessed and righteous money coming from the clean and blessed pro-resistance country and in form of US Dollars!!
The funny question one would ask nowadays is how come people who are ready to break every rule in the book in order to reach their goals are requesting to govern the lands? With what rules left will they be able to build what they claim to be destroyed by others? (while ironically leaving themselves out of any responsibility).
Are rules made to be followed just when you're on top or otherwise made to be broken at any possible opportunity?
Are we to believe that all this destruction was spontaneous? All these tires, rocks and piles of sand weren't distributed by an organized party? That the hundreds of visitors who came to pay my neighborhood a visit and bring with them many gifts of rocks and canes were the result an unstructured movement? Are we to become deaf, blind, brainwashed and maybe mentally retarded?!

Thank you for giving us a sample of what to expect if you ever get the opportunity to govern, in case we miraculously managed to forget the past 25 years!

Thank you for turning a peaceful strike into a realitytv street fights day!

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T04:19:00.001-08:00

Pacem in Terris

Pope John XXIII, 4/11/63

"May He banish from the hearts of all men and women whatever might endanger peace.

May He transform them into witnesses of truth, justice and love.

May He enkindle the rulers of peoples so that in addition to their solicitude for the proper welfare of their citizens, they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.

May He enkindle the wills of all so that they may overcome the barriers that divide, cherish the bonds of mutual charity, understand others, and pardon those who have done them wrong.

May all peoples of the earth become as brothers and sisters, and may the most longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always among men and women."

What Did I Miss?

2006-12-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

Today, I read this phrase on somebody’s msn, “ First the car, then the girl”. And I thought, “ Have we really reached rock bottom in every single aspect of our lives whether it is socially, economically or politically?”
How did we end up this way? Women not appreciating their minds, just looking for someone with some money to spend and if a husband comes along the way then why not?- Men, living on bread and water to get the “bling bling” car and buy a bottle of champagne in some club to be the “hunk of town”.

What did I miss??

Where is our culture? Why don’t we have a healthy relationship with ourself and others? Is it all hypocrisy now? Is our society this empty? Dealing with ourselves and the other people is a buy-sell package and the best marketing strategy is to put your display of false wealth on the dealing table to be reserved for the auction? Are we this afraid of the future that investing in “nurturing” a productive mind and channeling our money into a business is such a silly idea? Is the genius idea now to package an empty box with a golden gift wrap and fooling ourselves and others into thinking it is of value?
I am not trying to preach now, but in all honesty I do not understand what happened. Really, what is going on? Why is reading such a bad thing?? Why is seeing the world and learning from different cultures so bad? I have no conclusion for this because I do not know the real basis of this conception of fake grandiosity so I am just going to say, God help us…

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T03:19:00.000-08:00

May this Christmas bring you happiness, love and peace!

This is a funny animation

http://www.ecardology.com/christmaskookies/christmas_animations/ecards/ck033.php

The Alarming Facts of Smoking in Lebanon

2006-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

“No! Really? You don’t smoke?! You look like someone who smokes!” This is the reaction I almost always get when people find out that I do not smoke. In a nutshell, to most people, smoking is prestige, power, sex appeal, and fun!

Smoking prevalence in the adult population in Lebanon of 53.6% by contrast, the reported prevalence of smoking in the USA is 25.6% and is continuing to decline emphasizing just how unacceptable is the Lebanese prevalence. (It is interesting to note that the prevalence of smoking among Lebanese immigrants living in the Detroit area is higher than that for the US population overall!) .

Intensity of smoking is also comparatively high in the Lebanese population. The average daily number of cigarettes smoked daily is 23, compared to 15 in France. Furthermore, 67.4% of Lebanese smoke more than 20 cigarettes/day compared to 27% in the USA (R. Baddoura, C. Wehbeh-Chidiac, 2001)

Following the war period that extended from 1975 until 1990, cigarette smoking has increased (Karam et al. 2000). An estimated 52.6% of individuals 19 years and above are current smokers (National Tobacco Information Online System of CDC, 2003).

Anti-smoking legislation in Lebanon is effectively non-existent. The Lebanese economy is significantly boosted through the trading and advertising (which is completely unrestricted) of tobacco products. The lack of restriction is due to the fact that the country’s mass media organizations are affiliated to the different political parties and they derive substantial revenues from tobacco and alcohol advertising. Political leaders and social figures smoke during television interviews without any post-production editing. Schools seldom or almost never focus on educational programs aimed at smoking prevention and control. Astonishingly enough, schools are not smoke-free areas, and neither are most hospitals. Smoking-related-health-hazards public campaigns are singled out one-day annually activities. Research is fundamentally carried out by nongovernmental organizations, which lack adequate support. The medical community is poorly committed to smoking prevention and awareness policies and medical curricula do not include the community dimension of tobacco-related diseases (R. Baddoura, C. Wehbeh-Chidiac, 2001)

Moreover, there has been a revival of old methods of tobacco use known to have bad health consequences, as exemplified by argileh smoking(H. Tamim et al. 2003). The popularity of argileh smoking has risen in the last decade, among both genders and among practically all age groups. Argileh is rapidly becoming the new ‘‘hip’’ smoking device among all society in Lebanon, where argileh is commonly viewed as ‘‘healthy’’ compared with cigarette smoking (M. Chaaya et al., 2004).

There is, however, increasing evidence of the harmful health effects of argileh smoking. Most notable are the pulmonary effects with reduced ventilatory capacity (lung capacity) such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Others include cancer and coronary heart diseases. Argileh contains the same toxic chemicals present in a cigarette only nicotine is less filtered compared to the cigarette. Tar, a carcinogenic agent, is not soluble in water and hence it is saturated in higher concentrations in blood leading to higher cancer probabilities. Carbon monoxide which could lead to mental problems such as psychosis is also present in higher concentrations. (Al-Fayez, Salleh et al., 1988, El Hakim&Uthman, 1999, Radwan, 1999, Shihadeh, 2003).

In a study by M. Chaaya et al. published in Elsevier Ltd. 2004, relatively few Lebanese women answered correctly on all knowledge questions for argileh (9%) and cigarettes (13%). Knowledge about harm to participant’s fetus and newborn from smoking was also slight.
Attitudes of participants towards smoking were not generally expressed in strong terms, particularly regarding argileh. Consequently, several issues arise such as concerns on the influence of cultural norms, whether women in Lebanon have adequate awareness about their own health rights, and whether they have the power to protect these rights in a ‘‘heavy-smoking’’ society, and the need to upgrade women’s knowledge of and attitudes toward both forms of smoking especially argileh. (M.Chaaya et al., 2004).

While the common norm in the developed world is the decreased smoking and increased smoking risks awareness among the middle and upper classes as compared to lower and less privileged classes (Malmstadt et al . 2001), the opposite is the case in Lebanon. (Papazian, 1993, World Health Organization: Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, 2002).60% of the young Lebanese who smoked belonged to the upper middle class while 22.5% belonged to the lower class.

This was not the case with argileh smoking, which was not significantly different among the different educational levels; argileh smoking is now an activity that cuts across social groupings, and people from all positions in society practice this type of smoking (H.Tamim et al. 2003, Kandela 2000) and hence the greater danger and the pressing need to implicate special educational awareness programs.

A strong relation has been documented between cigarette smoking and excessive alcohol consumption and extreme weight reduction methods, thus suggesting the ‘risk behavior syndrome’ in Lebanese youth (H. Tamim et al. 2003, Robinson et al. 1997). As cigarette smoking has been used as a means to control weight (French et al. 1994), anti-smoking programs should also take into consideration this fact and address both issues together. In contrast to cigarette smoking, argileh smoking and weight concerns were not related, indicating that argileh may be associated with a tradition-oriented social profile rather than being clustered with adolescent risky behaviors and hence more stress should be on social morality. Nevertheless, argileh smoking was significantly associated with excessive alcohol drinking as well. (H. Tamim et al. 2003).

This alarming trend should be tackled very soon and effectively. Interventions should start at assessing the vulnerabilities of smokers especially adolescents particularly targeting extreme weight control measures, alcohol drinking, peer pressure and accepting society trends. ( J. Yeretzian, R. Afifi- Soweid et al. 2004). Effective strategies to control and prevent smoking are essential to improving health outcomes of populations, particularly in Lebanon where other factors such as poverty, poor nutrition, polluted cities, and diversion of resources to armed conflict predispose to less than optimal health. Anti-smoking initiatives such as those taken by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists in the USA in June 1996 whereby they agreed to add smoking to the list of reportable diseases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be obtained, thereby requiring the involvement of health professionals in anti-smoking public health policies (R. Baddoura, C. Wehbeh-Chidiac, 2001).

Will the Well Dry Up?

2006-12-18T07:25:00.000-08:00

The time is 7.15am. Grocery stores and bakeries are starting to open. The TVs are tuned to the news already. Politics and news are on the radio waves of every cab driver of the city. Two men are already arguing and "analyzing" the political situation, etc. This has been my daily breakfast every day for the last few weeks on my way to my internship...

Today, that made me think, what if the Lebanese suddenly woke up and the political tension of the Middle East was suddenly over? Would the withdrawal symptoms be too intense that they would need rehabilitation?

There is a story about a man in Nazi Germany who used to wake up everyday and curse Hitler. One day, he woke up to a different situation. Hitler was dead. What did he do? He hung himself! You see, his life suddenly felt meaningless. Hate was fueling his days and when that was gone, he felt like a well drained out.

Would we all feel dry and cracked up if by a miracle we were given the chance to live in peace? I do wonder...

The Lebanese Epidemic

2006-12-15T07:18:00.001-08:00

A girl got pregnant today without getting married. She didn’t have any premarital affair and still there was a baby growing inside of her. The physicians were perplexed. They have done every test possible and still all tests returned the same result. It was impossible that the egg was fertilized by a sperm.
The story was taken by the media like a storm. People from all over the globe started to flock to her residence to visit her and maybe get blessed… For you see, she must have been touched by a divine force! In a matter of days, the “blessed” girl was a holy woman and her home, a worship site.
However, this did not last long. In no time, reports of other women encountering the same fate started to surface. This was starting to become a national epidemic. Quickly, an international research group was formed to investigate the bizarre phenomena.
After numerous hours of study, the committee was ready to submit their conclusion. People from all around the world were gathered around their TV sets awaiting the findings of The Lebanon analysis. Finally, the foreman announced their review. He read, “From numerous labs, diagnostics and interviews we were able to confer that the cases we studied were indeed pregnant without sperm fertilization. Inside the virgin uteruses, there were already amniotic fluid and a placenta. Yes, this is not normal physiology. Each and every one of them is rearing so protectively their own insecurities and paranoia.
Charles de Gaulle said, “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.” This fight for “national unity” is fueled by the distrust and hate of the sects other than that of one’s own tribal sect leader. The new fetuses were fertilized through the push to manically defend the subjects own communities’ survival. They are already post-term and screaming for a C-section. The committee warns that this phenomenon may affect the whole Lebanese population given that the rate of expansion is unprecedentedly high. We urge the leaders who we hold responsible for the epidemic to look into their conscience and stop fueling the impressionable minds of the citizens or there would be a state of emergency in this country. End of announcement”.

The Orange Prophet

2006-12-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

Throughout history there came some individuals who were able to preach to people and make them loyal followers. One of their success recipe ingredients was their ability to understand the peoples’ psyche and in consequence use it to their advantage. The Prophet Mohammed, for instance, initially wanted the abolition of the Hajj site because it was the heathens’ worship place. How did hajj then come to represent one of the major pillars of Islam? Well, Mohammed was a strategic man. He knew that the pilgrimage was a key economic route in addition to it being a cultural and ideological dome of the then wealthy Quraish tribe.
Today we have a new prophet. This prophet is gathering the people around him. He certainly did not agree with their cause earlier or their controversial arms. But things do change…
Machiavelli describes a means by which a simple citizen could become a prince which is the popular support of the common people. Another strategy to gain esteem is, “If your allies win, you benefit whether or not you have more power than they have.” Thus, Aoun- the new prophet-has followed history’s lesson and became a Machiavellian Prince of prophetic abilities. He allied himself to Hezbollah, a party representing a growing sect with a “divine” cause and took himself the robe of “cleanliness” and “resistance”. As for the prophetic abilities, splendidly (only in Orange Land), he came to transform from an avid seeker of Hezbollah’s disarming (remember the famous House of Congress speech?) to their protector and godfather. This parallels with a famous Mohammedian methodology. Mohammed, originally, sword fought people into Islam submission and then found out how marrying into other tribes was a more efficient and desirable way of approach.
Except, history has also taught us that fake prophets who were only good in mimicking tactics that worked in previous times and previous situations were washed out as quickly as the steam bubble that disappears into vapor. And even his Machiavellian policies are limp since he chose to take the ones he can milk out now neglecting that if a prince is given to changing his mind, his reputation will suffer and of course, he must have the wisdom to recognize good advice from bad…

Perfecting the Blame Game

2006-12-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

“ Mommy, mommy…MOM!”
“ What baby?”
“ Mommy, can I smoke?”
“ What? Of course not!”
“ But why not mama? Why not?”
“ Because smoking is bad, that’s why.”
“ But how can I make sure? What if you are lying to me?”
“ Mommies never lie.”
“ At least let me try.”
“ Okay, but remember this is just a trial.”
“ Thank you mommy, you’re the best.”

“Who gave you this cigarette?”
“ No one.”
“ Who gave it to you?”
“ Mommy! She said I should try it. She said that’s how I learn that smoking is bad.”

“ Now repeat to the judge what you have just told me….”
…”YOU ARE A DISQUALIFIED MOTHER!”

The Hero

2006-12-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

It was night. The moon was full. She was dreaming. She saw her son; a doctor. She always wanted him to be a doctor. A knock on the door. Who could it be at this time? She opened the door; an officer and a soldier. They said: “the country needs him, it’s war and our country will fight for our future.” He went with them. Will she see him again? That’s what she dreams now. But she rarely dreams. Nightmares wake her up to check him from the window. Is he out there? Is it the wind or is he knocking the door? She checks the door every now and then….then she goes and checks his bed…
A knock on the door; an officer and a soldier. “Where is my son?” she shouted, “why isn’t he with you?”. The only words she heard; “your son is a hero now, he died so the country will live”. She goes to his bed…she lies there and cries…she sees her son…he is smiling…he is crying…he is fighting…he is dying…
They told me before they took him that the country will live… But how could it live without its blood?

The New Grinch Who Stole Christmas

2006-12-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

On the TV, two separate demonstrations one in Downtown Beirut and the other is in Tripoli. Now the 2 are loud, flag waving, speech ridden and solve nothing. The strategy of people “spilling” into the streets reflects a society un-willing to look into its cancerous problems of national debt, struggling economy and youths’ despair.

Ray Davies has a poem about corrupt politicians, it goes like this;
“Money and Corruption
Are ruining the land
Crooked politicians
Betray the working man
Pocketing the profits
And treating us like sheep
And we're tired of hearing promises
That we know they'll never keep”

Today was the Peace Nobel Prize ceremony. Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus said he hoped the award would inspire bold initiatives to fight poverty and eradicate the root causes of terrorism. This man whose country is draining in extreme poverty and corruption was able to make a difference to his countrymen without empty speeches or demonstrations. He actually felt he could make a difference and did. Why doesn’t this happen here? 10 days have passed since this “divine” demonstration, and what has the outcome been? Money lost in the millions, a Christmas season kidnapped before its time and a common fear of the days to come.

I wonder if Nasrallah, Aoun and Co are the “Grinch who stole Christmas”….

The "Outsider"

2006-12-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

He knocked on her door. “Are you ready sweetheart?” It was the tenth time he asks her. But, that was only natural since he was going to marry and she was the bride-to-be.

As she started walking towards the altar, women screamed while men froze in their place. Everybody started giving him-the groom-the “how dare you propose to this woman?”…”Where did you leave your brain when you thought of marrying someone from outside your sect?”
…She was still walking gracefully towards him and his eyes were getting closer and closer to the floor. To him, his life was ruined. Ruined by the one he loved. The one he loved till this moment. As soon as she reached him, she smiled. She was so happy. “Did you like my dress?” she asked.

Indeed he did, and the bullet that went through her head was the frankest answer she could get.

…She always wanted to wear a red dress for her wedding…

The Demonstration's Patriotism

2006-12-07T03:09:00.000-08:00

What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility ... a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime--Adlai Stevenson

Indeed, the responsibility of each Lebanese is the protection and uplifting of his/her country so that the sense of self-reward grows. On the contrary, what we are seeing these days are tribal emotions conquering patriotism. The lust after the "presidency" or the paranoia of arms are leading the masses towards a fearful path while all the while Lebanon is the scapegoat.

Barbara Ehrenreich said, " No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots." This couldn't have been said in a better way to suit the present context. The warning to raise the demonstration's tempo up is an alarming sign for if the death of a demonstrator and sectarianism highlighting was a lesser level of the Sunday's level, then we have to brace ourselves to face more difficulties.

I do not want to be a pessimist but this veil of faith that is the umbrella of this movement is making it hard to beat. And (I acknowledge I am quoting a lot today, but the quotes are fitting this jigsaw puzzle perfectly) "The heights of popularity and patriotism are still the beaten road to power and tyranny; flattery to treachery; standing armies to arbitrary government; and the glory of God to the temporal interest of the clergy." David Hume

A Glimpse of What May...

2006-12-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

It was 4am. She was lying down in bed, her eyes wide open. Another sleepless night, another night of fear and dread of what may... She couldn’t make herself close her eyes, what if the memories came back? There were many phantoms in her life, and at times when the world was sleeping she could clearly hear them giggling and madly ecstatic.

Could she really remember how the first ghost sprang into existence?

“You naughty girl, I told you to never puke in my classroom! You make me sick to my stomach!” Oh, how sensitive she was. The youngest in kindergarten, she was stuck in that vicious circle of vomiting everyday, shuddering of fear of the teachers insensibility and aloofness.
The little skinny girl sat in a corner alone during recess thinking of a way to throw away her sandwich without being caught. Suddenly a classmate, Christine, came to her and said, “My dad told me you are a Shia Muslim, you can’t be my friend”. “A Shiite? No I can’t be a Shiite! Shiite is bad! I am not bad; I only have a weak voice and a retching problem.”
That afternoon, her dad pulled the belt off his trousers and warned, “There would be no talk of religion in my house!” As she lay under the covers crying she kept asking herself, “What did I do? What does religion mean?”

Funny, religion should have been a very comprehensible word to her. Being born to parents raised during a bloody civil war in Lebanon means religion is fed through the amniotic fluid in the womb. Still, she would learn what religion could destroy and reap in a hard way…

Two months later after the Hizbullah Dec.1st sit-in,

Another stormy night, hail showering down breaking into homes and into hearts. The hail is not cold but hot as their summer barbecue coal and as dark as the hate engulfing people around her. Her mom is screaming as a maniac foretelling their death, calling for the selfish leaders burning in hell. “Hurry, hurry, and get out of bed; we have to sleep in the corridor tonight.” She took her cat and followed. Her aunt and daughters were all camped there each already halfway through their own version of the end of their lives and total Armageddon. A knock on the door, it is her cousin. “I have found a safe place for us to sleep, tonight. It is the small bookshop warehouse.”

The warehouse is small and smells of unhealthy mold. The girl can hardly breathe, her cat is for some reason hiding behind the toilet seat and that scene suddenly reminds her mom that her parents should join them.
They find the girl’s grandparents having morning coffee at their house’s porch, having small talk and for some mysterious reason unaware that shellings not yet cold are covering the grounds around them. “Your generation is cowardly,” he said, “I would never hide even if rockets were being launched directly at me. No human could change fate. Death-if your time has come-will strike you even if you hide in China.”

That night, her grandfather died. He didn’t need to run from death to China, death came to him thanks to the stubbornness of the so called “Defenders of the national unity” and the girl blamed herself. She is Shiite as Christine told her so she must have had a hand in his death for sure!!!

This is a gloomy glimpse of what may, please do not make it happen and dare to say no!

Farewell!

2006-12-06T02:42:00.000-08:00

The newly resurrected cafes in downtown are a huge hit. They are, apparently, attracting a huge turnout of "visitors/dwellers/occupiers". It is a first class family entertainment with extra arguileh smoke and foul language.

If I were one with a "holy cause", I would never go home and be reminded of the recent war and death. I would have a constant party, meet new people, and have a euphoric cult-like experience.

I recently asked a loyal arguileh demonstrator what his reasons were behind his sit-in and his reply was simply an unmentionable insult to the government. When I persisted, he said, " They should know we are shia and thus to be feared!". Nice, convincing answer, if you ask me. Nothing beats, " I am holy. Don't ask. I just am". Another line of thinking I like is the, " And didn't they do this or that?". Never support your claim, merely attacking the other side would take you places!

This is what we excel in best, attacks and counterattacks, slumber parties, resentments, blame-games, and sooner or later: farewell!

The Intense People

2006-12-05T04:46:00.000-08:00

The people's faces I see on the streets are different from what we as kids learned to read as busy or happy or sad etc. They seem as if they have replaced their complexions and bought angry expressions from the same bazaar.

I wonder where they found this intensity. They certainly are not intense enough to seek their right for a better living or a respectful entity.

Now, a few men who only a while ago were singing each other's praises are on bad terms and everyone is so spiteful that I want to stop and address them, "Buy a punch bag and vent your anger or you will start a fight any minute now."

I really have no problem with intensity. It is what gives color to life if it is channeled into a productive deed. If those people who are demonstrating in the thousands, would come together as they did in this massive sit-in and from groups that would clean up the destruction and organize appropriate clubs in their neighborhoods they would be at least alleviating their detoriorating position. Unfortunately, all they are accomplishing now is inciting hate, reaping havoc and making every Lebanese poor and desperate. But, as the french say, "Sing to an ass and he will fart in your face"!

The "Martyr"

2006-12-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

The "martyr" is having his day in heaven today. I heard he was going to the infamous downtown for the general worship. Didn't you know that if you die during a fight with your fellow men you become more important than people who are desperately trying to believe in a country long lost?

What is going on? Did we wait so long for "Godot" that we forgot that at the end of the day Lebanese will remain Lebanese? "The common sense is not the common" says Voltaire and indeed today's festival/carnival (I do not really how to describe it) clearly proves it!

I am not saying that he shouldn't be remembered but for heaven's sake, we are all dying and a slow, painful death; shouldn't we reserve our ticket for a downtown funeral?

I think it is a self-service and I want my turn!

Who is Falling Next?

2006-12-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, he fell sinking in his blood. What did he die for? Did his so called fatherly leader weep for him? Did his family consider him yet another martyr in the endless list of Lebanese martyrs? I wonder what made a 20 year old forget about his youth and love of life and focus on his so called shia right to exist...

I pity this land, this land of sectarian identification. This land of zaims and so called holy leaders. What is Tariq Jdeedeh and what is Dahiye? They are 2 adjacent neighborhoods and yet too distinct in ideologies that they were able to shed each others blood for a non-existent cause!

Why doesn't Nasrallah leave his hideout and for once in his life explain the reason behind his constant need for wars and hate and bloodshed? Why can't he explain what he hopes to achieve without calling everyone who had different opinions a traitor or a Zionist or an American or or?

Enough hate and self-serving agendas. Enough families taking their little kids to hateful demonstrations rather than educating them. Enough I am a shiite or a maronite or a sunni etc! Enough immigration and separations.

Live and love life as they posted on the billboards. Please, think about tomorrow for one time and stop making everyone of us bleed!

Nasrallah&The Shia

2006-12-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

I wonder what makes a whole community submissive to a human being who has not distinguished himself in intellect nor common sense… Why is it being a Shiite automatically means that you should regard Hassan Nasrallah as some holy figure whose words are divine demands that should be followed against better judgment?

Why didn’t the people clustered all over down town Beirut demand their rights of re-compensation after they were forced out of their homes, their properties lost, their lives destroyed due to a war started by Nasrallah and now they flock Beirut and ask for the government’s resignation? How come they do not understand that each day they paralyze the economy, due to their inability or their unwillingness to think individually, they are adding to their poverty which they claim they are demonstrating to change?

The problem with religion is like Plato’s cave analogy. People have their back to the sun and if someone dares to say they are seeing the shadows and not the real people he is outcast as a blasphemous. The followers of Nasrallah are so afraid to admit the truth they see underneath all that hypocrisy or they would be labeled traitors to their community that they sadly ruin their country and are convinced they are doing what they are doing according to their will…

I hope that tomorrow like the kid who said that The Emperor is naked, someone dares to speak up from that water-pipe camp they have built and admits that Nasrallah is an Iranian puppet and their responsibility as Lebanese should be to raise the Lebanese flag in their minds not on TV’s and in squares. Then, I hope we will try to pick up the pieces that are getting too small day after day to glue together.

Dark is Their Tunnel

2006-12-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

Son, Napoleon Bonaparte is quoted as having said, “In politics stupidity is not a handicap.” Indeed, the Assad regime relied on the archaic notions of Arab unity and one Arab nation to have the necessary support from a people so hung on the past and still not cured from their humiliating wars with Israel.

The civil war proved to the Lebanese and the world that just because the League of Nations carved out Lebanon from a map doesn’t mean that the Lebanese have stopped to be loyal to their clan and religion and became patriotic. However, Syria did not get the message. Not only that, but it also wanted to have Lebanon as a part of Syria and thus the enormous mistakes and atrocities done to the Lebanese.

But, dad, you have still not answered the question. Why now? And how can we have hope when assassinations and economical siege and what-say-you are being practiced??

Why you ask me, well nobody said it better than Aleksander Solzhenitsyn. He said, “You only have power over people so long as you don’t take everything from them. But when you’ve robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power – he’s free again.”
The Syrians have held us literary captives to their whims and fraudulent policies for so long. They idiotically believed that we would remain under their control providing they terrorize us in all means and any measures possible. Well, we have proved them wrong and they are so shocked and dry that they have managed to be even more politically “stupid”! And what is worse for them is that the international community has turned against them after September the eleventh and they are dumbfounded! Honestly, their molestations right now are not so surprising for you have to think using their logic that is that of a five year old kid. What does a child do when he is being reprimanded? He shouts, breaks things and kicks etc. They are assassinating and breaking our economy…

How shall the Lebanese people have hope? Easy! What do you think the kid does after he gets tired from crying and reaping havoc? He sits in a corner, sucks his finger and wonder what his punishment would be and how long it would take until his parents forgive him…

The dark tunnel the Lebanese are in is getting brighter by the day and as for their tunnel, well I will say this, “In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger ended up inside.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Lebanon

2006-12-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

Land of the Cedars and prophecies
Entry into the exotic East and industrial West
Behold, for they seek your mighty heart
Arrogantly, they try to steal away your strength and dignity
Not respecting your people, nor your sovereignty
Open their wicked eyes for they do not fathom your resilience
No one could ever rob you of your freedom, of your soul!