Persiflage & Paroxysm

If anyone imagines that the question of arms outside the Lebanese national military establishment is an easy one to address and resolve to the satisfaction of the international community, it isn't. 'Si vis pacem, para bellum,' a phrase coined by the war-like Romans, roughly translated from the Latin means: if you wish for peace, prepare for war. Lebanon has long wished for peace but because of its geography is always prepared for war. In fact I doubt there are a people as well prepared for war as the Lebanese. This is not to say we wish to start one, we are far too insignificant regionally to do that, but if God wills it then his Party on Earth is prepared for one, or so we hear. Any talk of war makes one come off looking belligerent and uncompromising, which is not my intention. I am the first to welcome any realistic peace plan for the region with even the slimmest chance of being acceptable to all parties concerned, but there simply isn't one on the horizon. The stat...

In 2009, Lebanon was ranked 110th in the world by the Happy Planet Index (HPI), down from 83rd place in 2006. Not only does this mean the Lebanese are less happy, healthy and fulfilled than they were at the end of the Summer 2006 War, it also means we are less ecologically efficient and that we are using more and more natural resources to maintain a lifestyle that is making us less and less happy. This makes us truly among the saddest people on the planet. We can at least take solace in the fact that people in the US are sadder still. The HPI is an index of human well-being and environmental impact introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a British think tank. To be fair, the NEF makes its clear that the HPI is not meant as an indicator of the happiest or saddest country on Earth. But, it is my belief that the well being or lack thereof of our natural environment affects us both physically and psychologically. The purpose of the index is to measure the level of human happiness...

Dear Minister Baroud, Please save us from the motoring bullies on our roads. Lebanon, it seems, is destined to fight one war after the other and pay the heaviest of costs. Today we are faced with a new war, the traffic war. This is a war we must win. People need to feel safe on the roads once again. The blood letting on our roads has to stop. The solution is a reeducation campaign backed up by a get-tough policy that imposes hefty fines on violators of the traffic code with a black points system that keeps drivers in line. Mr. Baroud, back in my college days (1994) I took part in a traffic survey that examined attitudes and behaviors of drivers as part of a social psychology course. We designed a questionnaire and used scientific methodology to arrive at our conclusions and we submitted our findings to the UAE Interior Ministry. (The study was later entered into a competition as part of a traffic safety campaign and won first prize) I can send you a copy of the survey and our findings ...

UNSC Resolution 1701 (2006) is quiet clear concerning UNIFIL's freedom of movement on Lebanese territories south of the Litani River. Paragraph 12 states: "Acting in support of a request from the government of Lebanon to deploy an international force to assist it to exercise its authority throughout the territory, authorizes Unifil to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilised for hostile activities of any kind, to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council, and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment , ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers, and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence; As for UNIFIL being ...