Free Thinking Lebanon

Finally Some Tangible Data on Telecom Sector Progress!

2012-11-17T00:08:00.001+02:00

Could this be my first positive post ever on this blog? Probably! I’m not pessimistic, I’m just realistic; and the way things were going on lately in this country dictated an air of negativity that was caught by most of us.

Today, 4G testing has taken place in Beirut. Headed by Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui, the obtained results were really amazing. Average download speeds were hitting the upper 100Mbps limit (see picture below). These results are really wonderful and very promising. Additionally, a yearly report (English Version – Arabic Version – French Version) tackling the progress the Ministry of Telecommunication (MoT), from June 2011 till June 2012, shows very positive figures. I really enjoyed the professional yet friendly look of the report. Being prepared in the form of an infographic is very relevant.

Reading through the numbers, one can really notice the huge leap Lebanon has taken in terms of Internet speeds and Mobile Networking. Below are a few statistics showing the improvement in various Telecom sectors:

Mobile Network:

- 15% increase in Mobile Subscribers

- Additional 20% of Mobile network signal antennas have been installed

- 11% decrease in both prepaid and postpaid mobile plan costs per subscriber

- 45% Increase in number of available lines

- 73% Increase in number of available Products and Services for Mobile Users

- New service bundles for young people

Internet Service:

- 30% Increase in DSL subscriptions

- 20% Increase in Broadband Subscriptions

- The number of DSL equipped centrals have doubled

- 231% Increase in International Capacity Availability

- 15 times faster average DSL speed

- Free Internet at night

My readers may have noticed a contradiction between two posts. A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article on problems a lot of people have been facing in Lebanon concerning the mobile network. However, this does not contradict the fact that a lot of advancement have been experienced in the Telecom field. In fact, at the moment it seems the problems I had mentioned earlier are no longer as serious as they used to be. And one should be honest and say that the mobile network services have exponentially improved over the past year.

Also from my personal experience with DSL, I can vouch that my 4Mbps internet connection is delivering amazingly. Even though I had to go through a lot of trouble to get it to work (for some reason when I called 1515 they told me there was a problem with my central, but when the maintenance guy came over her told me that there’s nothing wrong with the central, but that something must be done by Ogero that hasn’t been done, And in a few minutes he got it to work. Now I have a fully working 4Mbps internet connect! Sweet!)

All in all, it is fair to say that regardless of what your political views are—whether you support Minister Sehnaoui’s political affiliation or not—you cannot deny the fact that for the first time, real tangible work has been done, and results have been felt! I hope this will be a lesson for future projects. We have had enough of listening to empty speeches; and it’s not our fault that we need hard proof now to believe, political corruption have made it so!

Shameful: Fortune Telling On Lebanese Public Radio

2012-11-09T00:17:00.001+02:00

On my way back from work, I switched on the radio and tuned in to Radio Orient, and what I heard blew me away, and I drove the whole way back in disbelief. Below is a recording of what was being broadcasted on public radio!

Carmen Chammas (@CarmenChammas), an astrologer/fortune-teller, answers calls from gullible people who call to ask her to read their fortune or that of someone they know. Carmen asks for their birthday and the time their were born at, and from what it sounds, she enters the info into a computer, and she starts telling those poor ignorant folks about their present and future. Using astrological nonsense, she answers their questions, and she advises them on what to do in their lives.

I honestly can’t believe stuff like that is allowed to be broadcasted on public radio. What does that say about our society and culture? Is this the level of intellect we are portraying as Lebanese?

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! I never imagined people could be so stupid. As for the fortune teller, well I never blame the charlatan, because they themselves know they are fooling the people, and they are taking advantage of their gullibility! In my opinion, they are frauds who should be locked up!

Just listen to this lady who is asking Carmen about her Son who works in Algeria. She wanted to know about his work and his love life. Listen to what she says about the girl he is in love with. How is this going to effect them? I don’t know if you’ll realize how dangerous this stuff is. People’s lives could be seriously affected by the idiotic prophecies made by a fucking irresponsible woman!

All I can say is shame on you Radio Orient!

All I Want Is To Make a Simple Phone Call!

2012-11-08T23:17:00.001+02:00

Let’s be honest, our mobile networks suck big time. For the past couple of month, trying to reach any party over a mobile phone took several attempts before you could get your call connected. There seems to be a certain ritual before you are able to talk to another person. The first couple attempts end up giving you connection error signaled by 3 beeps; then, if you’re lucky and a connection is made, you get the annoying tune which indicates that the person you’re trying to reach is out of service. If you haven’t given up by then, or you have completely forgotten why you were calling in the first place, you might give it one more shot, and if you’re really lucky this time you’ll reach him or her on your 10^th attempt. However, a minute into the call (I’m being generous here) the call drops!

During the past month, my friends and family would call me and tell me that they’ve been trying to reach me for an hour, but they couldn’t because my line was unavailable. I wanted to test whether there was something wrong with my phone. I tried calling it a while keeping an eye on the service bar indicator—which showed full coverage, but ironically I would get that same annoying tone. Similarly, and using other phones to test the same issue, it turned out that around 4 out of 5 times, you would get a no coverage message. So I realized that there must be something wrong with the carrier and not the phone. I discovered later on that I wasn’t the only one experiencing these irritating issues; everyone was talking about how bad the mobile service has become.

Meanwhile, on twitter, @NicolaSehnaoui, the Lebanese minister of Telecom—and the “#1 politician on twitter” according to his profile—keeps on tweeting about the installation of several new coverage stations throughout Lebanon, which are supposed to improve the network. Following his tweets you would feel proud of your country and the efforts the minister is putting into the Telecom sector. And to be honest, at first I was impressed by the hard work portrayed by Mr. Sehnaoui—whom I sincerely encourage and applaud for his attempt at publicizing his actions on twitter and other social media websites; but then I wondered what’s the use of all this if in reality the mobile network is becoming worse than what it had been prior to the new “improvements”. With all due respect Mr. the minister, but many of us just don’t get how adding new coverage antennas worsens the network?

This issue is no longer as bad as it had been a week ago—at least not for me. Now only 2 out of 3 attempts to call someone fail. But try calling 111 (the helpdesk) if you dare? Believe me, you have a better chance at reaching the Dalai Lama than getting connected to those guys. Every single time I try calling 111, I get a message telling me that due to the large number of calls I should try again later; but it seems our understanding of the concept “later” is totally different.

I know we’ve come a long way compared to where our Telecom industry was a couple of years ago, but we’re still way behind compared to the other countries.

Like so many of you, I’ve had lots of issue with my carrier. I have written a post once concerning the period when the so-called “revolutionary 3G” data connection was being implemented. Back then you could hardly browse a webpage. Slowly and painfully, though, the 3G network “improved” over time. However, the coverage remains sporadic; and the constant switching back and forth between 3G to 2G—which drains the battery and interrupts the internet connection—is still a major failing point for our Telecom oligopoly.

Ironically, minister Sehnaoui is hinting at some sort of 4G testing, which will be implemented in Lebanon soon. But for all the reasons above, I’m really sorry Mr. Sehnaoui but that doesn’t excite me a bit. My question to you Mr. the minister is shouldn’t the coverage be fixed first, and the prices—of the already existing 3G plans—be lowered before ”updating” to 4G? Isn’t a stable 3G connection over a working calling service a much preferred option than having 4G which doesn’t really work?

Tripoli Expects The Worst: The Calm Before The Storm

2012-11-03T00:48:00.001+02:00

I learned some very worrying news today about the current situation in Tripoli. Violent clashes, between the two regions of Bab-al-Tabani and Jabal Mohsen, have been going on for the past few months, but an eerie calm reigns over this ill-fated city at this time.

Many people, who work in that city, including myself, have been profiting from this piece. The pausing of the fighting has rekindled the busy city-life of Tripoli. However, most of us didn’t know that this was the calm before the storm.

As I’m writing this post, preparations for another “round” of violent attacks are taking place on both fronts. Defence lines are being built out of stacked-up sandbags and used tires; arms and ammunition are being resupplied in large quantities; and in Jabal Mohsen women and children are being evacuated.

How much truth underlines these claims, and how much of it is hearsay, I can’t really say, but I can confirm that the sandbag defence stations are real; I have seen civilians stacking them up, with my own eyes.

You don’t need to be a Michel Hayek to foresee what will ensue next. But you might question how such obvious preparations could happen under the noses of the Lebanese Armed Forces—who are supposed to be maintaining a line of peace by deploying heavily armed troops between the two regions. But the sad truth is that the LAF have simply retreated from the fighting zone under no publicly stated pretence.

The reason for this decision, as the locals have learned, is due to the lack of political cover for this mission. In other words, not a single politician, from our worthless lot, is willing to be associated with any decision taken regarding this situation. Therefore, the only solution was to fully retreat to the nearby city of El-Mina.

Today, the LAF simply lurks in the neighboring region, sending small units in sporadic patrols around the hot-zones.

How long before burning bullets and exploding grenades reignite the skies of Tripoli, no one knows, but we can all be sure that they will sometime soon.

Lebanon In Numbers: The Public Debt Case

2012-10-27T03:46:00.001+03:00

If you are one of the lucky ones to have been born in this lovely country—just like me—then the number 54 Billion must have a great significance to you. In US dollar terms, this is the amount of debt our beloved country owes to the public. 54 Billion United States Dollars is the price which you and I have to repay; the price of our parents’ and grandparents’ partying years.

Every day, we hear people talking about the $54 billion debt, but what they don’t tell you is what does it mean? You know it’s a lot, but what can you compare it to in order to understand whether it’s a big deal or not? I can tell you that Australia, for example, has a debt of about $400 billion, but we both agree that Australia’s economy is better than that of Lebanon. In fact, when you compare the size of the debt to the size of the economy (what economists call Dept-To-GDP ratio), on a list from 1 to 145, with 1 being the “worst” debt-to-GDP, Australia ranks at 113 while Lebanon is proudly the 5^th.

As part of the new segment on Free Thinking Lebanon: “Lebanon In Numbers”, I give you my first ever Infographic. I hope it will offer you a better insight into the Lebanese public debt issue.

Don’t forget to share!

Tripoli As Google Sees It

2012-10-25T18:49:00.001+03:00

While looking for pictures to add to my latest post “The Ghosts Of The Civil War Visit Tripoli”, I searched Google Images. I simply queried the term “Tripoli Lebanon” and the results Google returned were shocking. Every other picture shows acts of violence in the city. Is this the image we are portraying to the world? This is very sad.

Below is an example of the images. I suggest you try yourself; simply search for “Tripoli Lebanon” in Google images, and see for yourself.

The Ghosts Of The Lebanese Civil War Visit Tripoli

2012-10-25T18:23:00.001+03:00

Today is my first day at my Tripoli office after the Achrafieh Bombing of last Friday. During the past couple days, entering the city wasn’t advised at all. Those who attended their daily jobs were soon warned to leave immediately. Stories of snipings, and of insurgents shooting their automatic guns at random, were not strange to anyone who had been following the news lately, especially regarding the doomed situation in Tripoli. What is new, however, is the fact that in the aftermath of the Achrafieh explosion, the situation escalated considerably. You might be wonder “what could be graver than civilians shooting each other, and shelling each other’s homes?” Well, believe it or not, in some of Tripoli’s side-streets, people were encountering road-blockers who were asking for a sort of tax in order to let them pass.

These “gatekeepers” were mainly kids; some of them carrying guns that look so heavy on them that “their shoulders appeared to be dislocated,” a co-worker later told me. He was held at one of these roadblocks (I don’t remember the name of the street but I recall that it was not one of the main roads of the city). A kid with an AK47—strapped to his crooked shoulder—approached him and asked him to pay up if he wishes to cross to the other side of the blocked street; when he replied by saying that he had no money on him, they took his pack of Marlboro lights, his lunch and an apple.

If you are finding it hard to believe that such things were taking place in Tripoli, Lebanon, I can’t blame you, because I didn’t believe it either at first. However, an additional recount from a different co-worker, describing the same detail, made me want to check for its validity. Toward the end of business hours, everybody in the office was talking about this; sadly these things were truly happening!

If you still cannot believe it though, you might want to check what was happening in other regions in Beirut, Tripoli and South Lebanon, where some road-blockers were asking for the identity cards of people. Those innocent men, women and children were discriminated by their religious identity—which could be determined by their First and Last names. Depending on your religious sect, you were either let go or “bullied”. Accounts of this taking place in various regions throughout Lebanon were all over the news. These shocking stories reminded us of the horrors of the Lebanese Civil War.

As I arrived to Tripoli this morning, I was surprised by how “normal” everything was. Traffic was blocked as usual; people were walking in the street as if nothing had happened; and shops were open for business. City-life in Tripoli was back to normal. Many of you would consider such a scene as a positive sign that street violence was over. However, what I felt, when I encountered this awkward normality is completely different; to me this was a scary and worrying.

The question I pondered—which is the direct cause of my pessimism—is whether we, the Lebanese people, have become so accustomed to such waves of violence and civil insurgency, that we no longer show signs of fear and despair; and as soon as the situation allows it, we carry-on living our lives as if nothing had happened.

I know the Lebanese people have had enough of these devastating events; and that many of us have given up on this country—after having raised our voices to no avail, but regardless of all these facts, I could never understand how we no longer give these scary realities their deserved weight. Similar events have disturbed our parents during the civil war, and there is no reason why they wouldn’t end up extremely damaging to our own generation. Today, it might still be limited to a pack of smokes and a fruit, or maybe a couple slaps to the face, but who knows, maybe these bloody scenes that have given terrible nightmares to our parents in the past, might come back on day to haunt us.

The Achrafieh Bombing: a Sad Incident and an Even Sadder Reaction

2012-10-20T01:59:00.001+03:00

I wish it didn’t have to get to such a tragic event for me to return to posting on this blog. Friday October 19th, 2012, a horrific terrorist attack shook Sassine Square in Achrafieh, Beirut, and all its neighbouring areas during rush hour (around 02:30pm). The blast, caused by a car bomb parked in the street, caused massive damage to the cars and the buildings in the vicinity; but worst of all were human casualties: 8 dead and more than 100 injured.

A couple of hours into this national blow, Lebanon learned that this cowardly attack had targeted the convoy of Internal Security Forces Information Branch chief Wissam al-Hassan, and had resulted in his death.

This scene was a deja-vu to all of us. A series of political assassinations that took place four years ago had a similar beginning to what we have witnessed today. A number of highly respectable MPs were killed during these bombings; a state of constant fear reigned over this doomed country; and despite those attacks having stopped a few months later, Lebanon stepped into a period of instability and economic stagnation which still cripples our country today.

During their coverage of the incident, the media was communicating irresponsible accusations uttered by different Lebanese politicians—mainly from the March 14 coalition—who, instead of conveying a peaceful message, were pointing fingers at the parties whom they believe are behind this attack. Even though one can sympathise with their situation—the assassinated figures were all from this coalition, however we have learned the hard way, from previous similar situations, that such behaviour causes terrible counter-effects in the form of violent street demonstrations carried out by angry mobs expressing their rage by burning tires and vandalizing.

Following the announcement of the death of Chief Wissam al-Hassan, many TV stations began reporting acts of violence all over the country: tire-burning in one place, shootings in an other, and road-blocking. On hearing these messages, I couldn’t but curse out loud. A wave of disgust overwhelmed me. What is becoming of this country? Are we heading toward total anarchy? Corruption, politics, and secularism have become a malignant cancer, slowly eating Lebanon from the inside out.

Violence, murder, rape, theft, public property vandalism, and now terrorism have become more frequent and more damaging than what we were used to in the past. It seemed lately as if any event, regardless of its gravity, is apt to light up the short fuse of depraved rioters—followers of a certain political leader.

These gullible members of society are not be the root of all that evil, but their damaging conduct fuels the terrorist machine that threat our own existence on a daily basis. Today’s violent reactions to an already horrible incident made me realize how worse our situation have become

A viable explanation of the above increasingly degrading situation came up in a conversation with my fiancée today (and it is the reason why I’m blogging about this in the first place).

The unstable situation in Lebanon, both in terms of internal security and worsening economic conditions, has been the major drive behind the ever-increasing number of Lebanese expatriates who keep on deserting this country in search for work abroad. This economically and socially detrimental process has significant consequences on the demography of Lebanon.

The majority of those who leave the country on a daily basis are educated young Men and Women, holders of a university degree, and who would otherwise waste their credentials by surrendering to the domestic low-paying job market.

The high demand for fresh graduates has attracted the learned slice of our young workforce. Less and less of our productive working party is now being represented by educated youth; instead the generation on which the country relies on to build the future is being overstocked with the unqualified, the illiterate and violent street thugs.

Once viewed from this perspective, the sad reality we live in today becomes justified. How do we expect to move forward and overcome the social and economic barriers put in place for us by the plague-ridden regional politics and the international agendas that dictate our destiny in this disaster-prone part of the map? I understand that we are facing a difficult multi-layered problem; however, we must not ignore these fundamental social and economic issues which are the pillars a healthy country builds on. Today, the footprint of “good” people is still considerably visible, but will it always be if we continue on the same path of ignorance? Maybe the next time I’m voting I should stop for a second and remember #Achrafieh #Sassine.

Depressing: The Case of the Internet And 3G in Lebanon

2012-01-09T00:19:00.001+02:00

In two days, my 1GB mobile 3G plan (ALFA) will be reset. My total consumption, so far, during a whole months minus two days is 162.18 MB ( = 15.8%). Compared to the first month 3G was implemented, when I reached my limit after just 8 days, it is a huge difference!

At my parents’ place, their “WISE” 1Mbps wireless broadband consumption is at 69% with three days to go. Prior to this month, they used to recharge at least 2 or 3 times in a single month.

What is happening? Are we using the internet less? We’re no longer heavy internet users?

No ladies and gents, it is not us! The ridiculously slow and intermittent mobile and wireless broadband connections are making it impossible for us to use the internet.

A couple months ago, Lebanon witnessed a huge campaign aimed at the improvement of both mobile and home internet speeds. When new plans—faster plans—started to emerge we all thought this was a great step for every Lebanese internet user. Prior to that, internet in Lebanon was literally the worst in the world.

Despite the small increase in the maximum traffic bandwidth, which is not still ridiculous, as well as the small drop in 3G plan prices—$32 for 1GB of max. traffic, we thought “Hey, let’s not complain, this is a great step forward!”

But guess what? Today I AM COMPLAINING!

I just got off the phone with the technical support of one of the Cash-Cows/companies (I won’t say which one. Hint: see 2nd paragraph or click here) who supplies my parents’ home internet connection. I called to complain about the unbelievably slow speed which has been so for the past couple weeks. His response was (I’m not kidding):

“It seems the base you are connected to is at full capacity. I’m sorry we can’t do anything now (it was 07:30pm) tomorrow we will have someone looking into it.”

Not bad! It seems they will fix it tomorrow! I DON’T THINK SO! And the reason I know is because this is the same exact response I’ve had for the second time in a row in less than a week! They could literally turn it into a recording and play it for all customers calling for support!

Moving to the infamous 3G. I’m sure most of you who use the same carrier as me (I won’t say which. Hint: see paragraph 1 or click here) are well aware of the 10 second hang up problem which has been going on for a quite a while now. In brief, what is going on is that if you’re connected to the 3G network you are most likely going to be disconnected from any call you make after just 10 seconds.

So I called ALF.. Oops.. I mean the company, and they told me they’re having a “temporary” problem with their 3G network(it seems temporary has a different meaning in their dictionary, because two months is not my definition of temporary). Anyway, because of some issues with the network, they are advising all their clients to switch their smartphones to 2G-ONLY modes.

Two months later, I’m still on 2G-ONLY mode, meaning that I can only use the slow EDGE connection—but which is faster than 3G at the moment. Every day, I try testing the 3G network: I get the famous 10-SEC Disconnection, and the internet is slower that what WAP was 5 years ago.

Now the solution in my opinion.. Forget it! I give up! I have no solution, and I guess neither does anyone! Am I too negative? Fuck it I don’t care!

My disgust with how things—everything—in Lebanon are regressing. The world moves forward while we run backwards. I’m starting to give up on my country (I put “starting” just to ease up on the negativity).

How about you? I would love to hear how you’re managing with all the negativity taking place in Lebanon?

PS: I hope I’ll be able to UPLOAD this post over this …. connection!

A Post Of Acknowledgment

2012-01-04T02:43:00.001+02:00

Every person who has ever started a new personal blog—a serious one—knows how much effort and time it takes to launch one and maintain it. Those of you, who are considering creating a new one, need to be aware of the great amount of dedication in order to make such a project work. But don’t be discouraged because, if you ask any blog owner who has succeeded, it is worth every second of hard work you spend building YOUR blog.

My personal experience was not different. Looking back at the first couple months, I can still remember the obstacles I faced trying to make it between the already successful blogs. I tried every tool available for bloggers to promote their work. Sometimes I even considered giving up; but I really glad I didn’t.

Then one day, a twitter user whom I started to follow, followed me back, and started retweeting my tweets. Then on May 19, 2010 I was surprised to read a blog post on this guy’s personal blog; a post inviting his readers to check out my own blog! He claimed it was a decent attempt that needs a little encouragement.

This guy to whom I am greatly in debt for of his genuine support of Free Thinking Lebanon. This great person who goes by the handle vjack (@vjack); the man behind one of the best Atheism and free thinking blogs out there: “Atheist Revolution”.

vjack this post goes to you buddy for all the good things you’ve been throwing at me for the past couple years. Thank you. Cheers!

Wacko of the Day #3 – Saying “Merry Christmas” is Worse Than Murder

2011-12-22T01:03:00.001+02:00

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Human Being or an alien, you’re out of luck this holiday season. Don’t expect any warm wishes from your fellow Muslims.

The reason for that, according to a Muslim cleric, is that wishing someone “Merry Christmas” is considered a sin much more serious than murder. To find out why, watch our Wacko friend—below—explain his fatwa.

PS: For this issue of “Wacko of the Day” I had two nominees; and trust it was a very hard decision, since both shared the same level of idiocy. So I decided to include the other video(the second one) as well in this post.

Wacko of the Day #2 – Bryan Fischer

2011-12-18T02:56:00.001+02:00

So much buzz surrounded the sad death of the great Christopher Hitchens. From the controversial Twitter Hashtag #GodIsNotGreat—which reached the top ten trending topics, but was removed after complains from christian users—to the many blog posts related to the subject, different sentiments were expressed. However, one video stood out from the lot, which compelled me to write this post.

Hence, today’s “Wako of the Day” title goes to Bryan Fischer, host of the radio show “Focal Point” on American Family Radio—and complete pinhead. In the video below he claims the late Christopher Hitchens was sent to hell by god as a demonstration of his love for him.

Listen to his argument in the video below; and once you do, I’m sure will understand the reason I chose him as today’s WOTD!

Dawkins on Darwin: A Documentary Screening At Masrah Beirut

2011-12-18T01:10:00.001+02:00

Last Saturday, CLAFA (Coalition of Lebanese Atheists, Freethinkers and Agnostics) announced a special event, which I believe is going to be a great step forward for all Lebanese free-thinkers. On Monday 26 December, 2011, a screening of a Documentary by the Richard Dawkins Foundation titled “Dawkins on Darwin” will take place at 07:30pm at Masrah Beirut in Ain el Mraisseh, Beirut. A half-hour introduction on Evolution, by Dr Riyad Sadek—Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Herpetology at the American University of Beirut—will precede the screening; and a Q&A open discussion session will follow it. The guys at CLAFA will conclude the evening with the announcement of their new website FreeThoughtLebanon.com.

I encourage you all to attend this wonderful event—which by the way is free of charge. Try to make it early; the seats are limited, and seating will be on a first come first seated basis.

As an atheist and free-thinker I would like to see more events like this in the future. Check back on the 26th to find out how it all went—I will also have some pictures posted.

Farewell Great Voice of Reason

2011-12-17T23:27:00.001+02:00

Less than a month ago, I finished reading Christopher Hitchens’ (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) memoir “Hitch-22”. Even though I had always been a great fan, after reading his autobiography I felt some sort of connection to him, especially after reading about his experiences in Lebanon.

Learning about his death, last Thursday, felt like loosing a close relative and I great mentor. Nothing would ever express the sadness of loosing such a great voice of reason. Farewell dear Christopher Hitchens… Your words will live on forever, but you will be missed!

Wacko of the Day #1

2011-12-15T17:14:00.001+02:00

Out of all types of stupidity my favourite is definitely that which seems to be a common trait of all overzealous religious wackjobs. My choice for the first “Wacko of the Day” post belongs to this group of lunatics: Dr. Zakir Naik. Holder of a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, but who doesn’t practice medicine; instead he is a public defender of Islam, who wants to spread his religion throughout the world by preaching--using unbelievable idiotic arguments--that Islam is the only true religion.

I’ve listened to and read hundreds of arguments from different religious zealots, but this guys is something else! You can’t listen to his arguments without having a “what-the-fuck” look on your face (seriously, that is the only way I can describe it).

To see what I mean, and to understand the level of absurdity and madness which earned him the first “Wacko of the Day” title, all you have to do is listen to him speak in any of the videos below!

A New Segment: “Wacko of the Day”

2011-12-15T17:00:00.001+02:00

It’s been a long time since I last published anything on FTL, and I terribly miss doing so. I’ve been wanting to get back to blogging, but somehow i couldn’t find the time. However, I hope I’ll be able to write at least one post per week.

Anyway, now that I’m back I have a new idea for the blog; I’m going to start a new segment called “Wacko of the Day"—I don’t think there’s any need to explain what it will be about. I believe that, along with the “Fatwa of the Day” segment, this new section would hopefully bring back the pulse of this blog.

Car Crashes Into Wardieh Pharmacy; Almost Running Over My Friend.

2011-07-13T03:28:00.001+03:00

This was shot off the monitor of the security cameras of Al-Wardieh Pharmacy in Beirut Lebanon on 12 July 2011.

After midnight, while my buddy mahmoud K. (pharmacist) was walking out the door of the pharmacy, this car slid off the main road after getting into an accident and then hit the pharmacy's main entrance and display, barely missing Mahmoud(you can see him jump away once he sees the car coming straight to him).. Nice reflex buddy!

Cannabis: The Word on The Lebanese Street

2011-07-06T16:39:00.003+03:00

Interested in cannabis?

Soft Secrets UK travel reporter 'The Professor' took a recent trip to Lebanon to investigate the local hash cultures... You can find the article in UK Issue 3 (pp 31/32)

Free download here

Beirut Montage: Political Street Art

2011-05-26T18:21:00.014+03:00

It may not be the most colourful or artistic street art in the world, but it packs a strong political punch. Frustrated, angry, desperate, funny, informed and profound, this is a montage of Beirut street art circa May 2011.

A sprayed and barbed wire wall around the AUB; loads of graff around here. The fact that knowledge and learning needs to be kept behind a military-style wall says a lot about the city.

Pure vandalism that begs to be photographed.

"Wake Up and DreAm" Anarchism - look it up if you aren't clued up.

Owls: They see in the dark, a common metaphore for people who understand truth in times of propaganda saturation and widespread misinformation.

A dig at sports fans I think - sports being a major tool of distraction as far as some people are concerned.

Beirut would be better if... Society was looking after this woman a little better. She might not have to sit on the street all day every day trying to sell gum for pennies.

The owls are everywhere...

Lebanon: A Magnified Ray Of Humanity

2011-05-24T18:34:00.001+03:00

Imagine the sum total of humanity – all of our religions and rebellions, our wealth and poverty, guns and love; our sex and celibacy, philosophies and knowledge, sciences and superstitions; our arts and our ignorances, our laughter and tears. Then imagine that sum total embodied as our Sun and all of our power being focused througha magnifying glass into a concentrated point of intensity. This point of intensity is Lebanon.

For such a full spectrum of human diversity to be represented on such a small pieceof land is truly mindboggling. It’s no wonder that so many of the Lebanese youth, especially Beirutis, are turning away from their parents conservative sectarian values and looking for a pressure release in drugs and hedonism. This is never the answer though.

The current social, political and economic upheavals of the Middle East and the world in general are expressions of the war between the old and the new; the fight

of people against power; poverty against wealth; liberty against repression; reason against religion, and knowledge against ignorance. This war has been brought about by two main dynamics - a rampant increase in the world’s population which has been facilitated by our exploitation of oil, and rapid advances in technology which has quickened the pace of relative time and allowed previously monopolized scientific knowledge to become accessible to the common individual.

When analysing the population issue it is clear to see that we cannot continue on our present course of growth and consumption. Old norms need to be challenged; our behaviour needs to change if we are to avoid a species apocalypse. We need to stop consuming the produce of our environment so quickly and thoughtlessly. We need to invest our thoughts and energies in peace and cooperation, not war and conflict. We need to invest our sciences and technologies in renewable, sustainable and clean energies. We need to value education over wealth. There’s a lot we need to do.

Rapid advances in technology have quickened the pace of relative time by speeding up the movement of, most importantly, people, ideas, knowledge and decisions.This means that time really is flying by – more and more things are happening in a shorter period of time, and this is a constant acceleration. Older generations who choose not to interact with new technologies and knowledge are becoming distanced from their children faster than any parents have become distanced from their children at any time in history. This distancing can be seen in the fracturing of societies around the world, the widening gulf in values, ideals and philosophies between generations. This is not to say that the younger generation will automatically produce enlightened leaders that will be able to pull humanity out of its self-created nightmare though; power is inherited and institutionalised – we need to break down the institutions of power that pitch man against man, and man against his environment. We need to revolutionise the institutions in which we operate before we can make any true progress towards enlightened living.

So, back to Lebanon, and another analogy. We’re living in pressure-cooker days and Lebanon can be seen as a valve on a pressure cooker. Emotions are going to become increasingly strained; the war of light against dark, new against old, etc etc, is going to be magnified in and around the borders of Lebanon. The Lebanese youth need to be prepared stand up for peace and social justice. They need to be the change they want to see in the world. They are already strong.

Knowledge really is power, it is also liberating, but with knowledge, power and libertycomes responsibility.

peAce

Restless Ed

A Simple Meaning To Life

2011-05-20T03:16:00.001+03:00

Every now and then, during a conversation with someone who had just found out that I am an atheist, I find myself having to answer the same question: “What is the point of living if you do not believe in anything supernatural such as God or the eternal soul?”

To some, my answer sounds somewhat poetic and even lame; but to others, especially to those who don’t mind being honest about their own emotions, it sounds convincing. To me it is simple truth.

What I would say in reply to this question is that “Love” is all you need to have meaning in your life. The love I have toward my friends offers me a feeling of security and belonging. That which I feel toward my family gives me a very powerful reason to take care of them, and to make sure they are as happy as they make me feel. They have been taking care of me beyond the age at which anyone except to be taken care of by his or her own parents. This love sets a goal for me, to try and offer the same safety-net to my own children.
Besides your family and friends the love that will give you a true purpose to your own existence is that which you share with a special someone; for me it is a special girl—Thee—with whom I wish to spend every second of my life with. Even though, this sounds like a cheesy romance flick, to me it is as real as the keys I’m typing those letters with.

All I can say is that I’m a billion times better-off finding purpose and meaning in my tangible lame life than to base it on a myth that would only serve as an entertaining literary classic, better stacked in one’s library next to Homer’s The Odyssey and The Iliad.

Note to Thee: Cheers beebz! If the other 99% are as nice as half the 1%, it would be amazing!

A Pantomime of Reality: Beware the New Unreligion

2011-05-06T11:28:00.003+03:00

‘There’s a reason that our traditional institutions and religions are crumbling; it’s because they are no longer relevant!’

Bill Hicks

It is clear for any visitor to see that there is a major cultural and religious clash being played out within and around the borders of Lebanon; Christian icons dot the local landscape whilst mosques and churches compete for grandeur in her cities. Arab Christians mingle freely with Caucasian Muslims, the ‘Army of God’ prepares for war with the Zionist behemoth on its southern flank whilst the Lebanese government forever lurches from crisis to crisis. It is no wonder that the youth of Lebanon is questioning the values of its older generations.

Lebanese youth must beware the void though. The new unreligion of the western world is shooting its roots into Lebanese society faster than anywhere I’ve ever seen before; her highways, the veins of the country, are littered with billboards appealing to the narcissism of the new consumption generation. The beaches of Beirut are polluted by steroid-pumped egos that strut and flex their grotesque forms in a bizarre ritual of worship to themselves. Dolly-bird women caked in their war paint sit like shop mannequins in the passenger seats of absurdly expensive look-at-me vehicles…

The transparent irrelevance of the world’s modern institutions and religions has left self-worshipping consumption as the new unreligion being promoted by our corporate slave-masters; we are becoming a parody of ourselves, a hollow pantomime of reality, as we fall into this trap of spiritual emptiness and synthetic aestheticism.

So, how many anarchists does it take to change a light bulb? None, the light bulb must change itself.

Fatwa of the Day #10

2011-05-04T03:35:00.000+03:00

For those of you who enjoyed my previous “Fatwa of the day” posts, I’m sure you are going to love this one. This Fatwa revolves, once again, around the issue of breastfeeding.

Back in 1974, a Fatwa was issued by the Egyptian Dar Al-Ifta (Arabic for Home of Fatwa Issuing) in response to following inquiry:

A man was wondering whether he is allowed to marry a women whom his grandmother had breastfed almost 40 times, back when she was a baby (as you will see below, the number of times—here 40—is very important).

Dar al-Ifta, issued a Fatwa in response to this inquiry (you can read the arabic version here). The verdict was as follows:

When a woman breastfeeds a baby not her own, and she does it more than five times, that baby is considered her child. He or she become a sibling to her own children.
Hence, in the case above, the inquirer is not allowed to marry the woman who breastfed from his grandma. She is an aunt to him per breastfeeding; and marrying your aunt is forbidden!

There are literally hundreds of Fatwas concerning the issue of breastfeeding that you can read about on the Dar al-Ifta website (the texts are in Arabic). One other Fatwa, in particular, caught my eye. It says that if two people are already married, a similar discovery to the case above—the partner had breastfed from the mother or grandmother of the other—the marriage must be annulled! Can you imagine the consequences?

Fear and Loathing in Lebanon

2011-04-30T03:20:00.000+03:00

I’m sure many of you have heard the following statement:
”We are still in a better position than the other middle-eastern counties. At least we don’t have a revolution in Lebanon!”
Honestly, I wish we had a revolution going on. At least, we would be calling for a change. But what are we doing instead? Nothing! And what can we do? Again, nothing!

I’m being pessimistic I know. But whom of us folks, currently living in this country, isn’t? I would love to meet them, get closer to them, raise my hand as if to shake theirs, then slap them across the face instead; then I would tell them to wake up!

What kind of future is my country offering me? The bleakest one possible. I have completely lost faith in the system. I challenge anyone to offer a single positive attribute of being a Lebanese citizen. This is the first time that I sadly say: fuck patriotism, when the country I should be patriotic about offers me nothing except depression, fear and insecurity.

I know many have already blogged about the terrible situation in Lebanon. But, that didn’t stop me from adding my voice to theirs. I have reached a level of loathing for my country, so high that I really can’t shut up about it anymore.

Suprisingly enough, there are still many who believe that Lebanon is an amazing country. Since this is a subjective thing, I cannot refute it; however, I will try to convince you with simple facts that those people are not living on the same planet as the rest of us.

The following are statements we’ve all heard—and sometimes uttered ourselves—which the Lebanese tend to say whenever they are trying to convince others, like foreigners for example, about the greatness of this country. Here’s what I think about each one of them:

-“We have a moderate climate in Lebanon. Winters are mildly cold, and summers are perfectly warm.”

As I write this post, with the month of May a couple of days away, it’s raining like crazy outside! Yesterday, howling winds were so strong that you had to be careful while driving not to be hit by a flying cardboard box(I wasn’t that careful).
Every single year, you hear elderly people say how much they miss the old days when we used to have four distinct seasons.
In my opinion, the above statement should say instead:
”We have crazy random weather in Lebanon. Winters are freezing and never come at the same time; summers are terribly humid and suffocating, and tend to stay forever.”

-“In Lebanon, one minute you could be skiing in the mountains, and in less than twenty minutes you could drive down to the beach.”

Those who claim so are either incredibly naive or they are referring to the days when people travelled on the backs of donkeys.
Have you ever tried to drive down from Faraya to Beirut during the skiing season? You’d be lucky to make it under three hours.

Traffic has become unbearable in Lebanon—not only from Faraya to Beirut—but everywhere. The roads were designed to handle much less traffic(I’m not sure designed is an apropriate word for roads in Lebanon). And yet, a huge number of imported cars are crossing the border every month; while old obsolete cars are turned into public transportation. Just imagine the traffic jams we would be stuck in sometime in the future.
So, instead of the above claim I would say:
”Lebanon is the only country in the world where if you were to walk to walk to your destination you would arrive much sooner than if you were to drive there.”

-“Lebanese are extremely smart and witty; it’s in our genes. Many of the world’s leading people are of Lebanese origins.”

I can relate to one part of this claim. I lived in the United States of America for almost two years. I have noticed that we Lebanese are street-smart. I believe this is due to the difficulty of living in Lebanon. Because of the lack of facilitations and social services, we learn to do everything ourselves.
I agree that Lebanese people possess knowledge in many fields. However, when it comes to mastering one of these fields, I can’t point to any advantages for being Lebanese. In other words, we are a bunch of novice know-it-alls.

The part which I disagree with is the claim that “many of the world’s leading people are of Lebanese origins.” First of all, I wish there were any statistics that support this. I’m not saying that none of these successful people have a Lebanese heritage; however, most of the former folks aren’t.

An apropriate quote would be one said by David Hume, and which Nassim N. Taleb, a famous Lebanese American philosopher, have titled his book after:
“No amount of observations of white swans can allow the inference that all swans are white, but the observation of a single black swan is sufficient to refute that conclusion.”

In my opinion, instead of the above claim a more adequate one would be:
”Lebanese immigrants are extremely smart and witty; they leave Lebanon as soon as they realize they are special”

I can go on forever refuting similar attempts to single out the qualities of Lebanon; instead, I will list some of negative aspects of this country:

A perpetual financial crisis; hugely expensive—as well as terrible—ectricity and telecommunication services; The worst internet connection in the world—or shall I say Ontornet; never ending political instability; a serious case of stagflation; a huge public debt to GDP ratio; high rate of unemployment; very low wages compared to prices; a marriage between religion and politics; transparent political corruption; and even an unpredictable weather, unacceptable traffic jams, and a highly naive population (for the last three I’m being ironic).

In conclusion, I would like to respond with the following to those who proudly say “We are still in a better position than the other middle-eastern countries. At least we don’t have a revolution in Lebanon!” There are two simple reasons why we are not undergoing a revolution in Lebanon: The first reason being the fact that we don’t have a distinct ideology against which to protest; but rather, we would have to rally against the whole Lebanese culture. The second reason is the fact that even if we succeeded in forming a protest, against which party would we rally? In other words, no one is offering a solution which we could on which we can base our demands; we simply have no replacement to the current situation.

Questions, Language and Interpretation

2011-04-23T19:47:00.006+03:00

The post-modern world is increasingly about questions, language and interpretations… What do Christians mean when they talk about God? What do Muslims mean when they talk about Allah? Obviously not all Christians understand ‘God’ in the same way, just as there must be differing interpretations of ‘Allah’ within Islam…

Does Atheism mean a lack of spirituality? Is it a rigid rejection of all forms of organised collective spirituality? Is it a rebellion against religious parents? Or, is it a dismissing and rejection of the irreconcilable squabbles between opposing religions and religious factions?

Are atheists anarchists by default? Or, are there branches of positivist atheism?

Are there any statistics on Lebanese atheism?

How does atheism relate to communism? Is there a place for an atheist political platform in Lebanon? As an atheist, do you accept that people have a right to believe in their particular religion?

I loathe to pigeon-hole myself, but if I had to I’d say “I’m anarchist”. I don’t believe in the Christian idea of God as “the Creator”, I’m not sure what the dominant interpretation of “Allah” is within Islam. Some of the most generous people I know are deeply religious. I don’t agree with them but I accept their choice to have faith in something they’ll never know to be correct or not…

Is there a ‘greater force’ that connects us all? Could one apply the word ‘God’ to the Universe itself? God as the creation, not the creator? I am the proud wearer of a pagan Celtic cross tattoo – a cross that shows the physical elements of water, earth, air and fire working together to create the 5^th element, which is consciousness.

Are religions merely crude doctrines that were necessary for organising societies in times of scientific ignorance? Or, were religions always used by the social elites to control the masses ‘beneath’ them?

Maybe you know the answers to some of these questions, or have strong opinions on what the answers should be… One thing is for sure though, whatever our opinions are in the realms of God and religion all they can ever be is just that – opinions. The whole God/Religion thing is totally improvable, which is why I like the response Buddha had to the question ‘Is there a God?’, he is said to have replied ‘Who, on earth, can answer that question?’ Don’t you dare try and call me Buddhist though!