Persiflage & Paroxysm

The goals of corporatism are incompatible with the goals of ecology. No matter how we look at it, no matter how benevolent a corporation may be or how wide reaching and well meaning its CSR program, its prime directive will always be to encourage conspicuous consumption in one form or another. If by slaping on an eco-label on its product it can make a customer feel good about buying that product then that is what a corporation will do. The aim remains the same to keep us buying, to keep us consuming and most important of all to ensure we keep disposing of old stuff at regular enough intervals and replacing it all with new stuff. It is the raison d'être of the corporation. If a corporation stops it dies, like a shark that needs to keep swimming even while it sleeps, otherwise it sinks. We all saw what the cloud of volcanic ash did to the travel industry! I am not arguing that corporations are bad or evil in some way. They are a tool of capitalist society, a society that at one point

Competitive driving off the track and off the rally course places people's lives at risk, much like firing a gun into the air, both are criminal offenses. The problem in Lebanon is that every driver thinks himself a driving instructor, infallible and above reproach. There are some car brands that seem to attract those competitive drivers that are the bane of our roads, most of these brands are German. My apologies to the Germans, your cars are top notch, perfectly engineered and blameless, your only fault is producing really fast cars. In Lebanon, these vehicles are usually driven on our roads by 'head shaven' young men between 20 and 40, who no doubt believe shaving their heads offers less wind resistance and therefore adds to their speed. They believe the overtaking lane is their prized possession and they hold on to it with vigor. God help the poor fellow who strays into this lane, he/she will be tail gated to hell and back with bright xenon head lamps blinding him/her f

Anyone who follows this blog or drops in occaisionally will know I have many pet peeves and an utter disdain for the arrogant, self absorbed and inconsiderate Lebanese. But what annoys me and angers me more than anything else are negligent parents. A child is helpless and trusting and it is the parents' job to protect their children. Buying a child of 12 or 13 a quad bike in Lebanon is sheer insanity and to leave that child unsupervised to ride it without a helmet or other protection is criminally negligent in my opinion. The fact is the Lebanese have an obsession with the internal combustion engine. Motor show season finds most people taking time off work to head down to Beirut to see the latest model and shiniest gas-guzzlers and the newest four wheel drives so they can use them to bully people off the road. It is a disgusting obsession that is turning our roads into death traps and our youth into rude, arrogant punks. So why be surprised when parents buy their child a mini gas-g

"And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment - what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say therefore, I say as the Father has told me," Luke 12:44 to 12:50.