Persiflage & Paroxysm

To all those going out to have fun at our country's many night spots, remember, the journey is not a show of strength or Machismo, its a way to get to where you are going, so read the poem below, laugh a little, learn a lot. Drive safe, don't drive drunk, stay within the speed limit and prove my poem wrong about Lebanese drivers: Etareeq ilee, etareeq ilee Zeehu 3ajanab, etareeq ilee Ifhamua ba2a, etareeq ilee Ana el saye2 eLubnani, Sayeq seyarti Dafa3a ruba3i, bshafet, bdakhen, Bzayzi2 Beshta5 bid3as al benzene Btseer mitlil saroukh Katyusha aw zilzeli Zeeh 3a janab, zeeh 3a janab Shu mabtifhamu, zeehu 3a janab Etareeq ilee, etareeq ilee Bilza2 min wara, bilza2 min wara Bdawi Btafi, bi3meek min wara Jayeek min wara, jayeek min wara Bidi eqta3, bidi eqta3 shuma sar Ifta5li tareeq, shu mabtifham! B-hawrak bil wadi, b-hawrak bil wadi B-wade3 wladi, b-ssali ssalati, bid3as 3al benzene B-hawrak u-b-hawer 5ali Etareeq ilee, etareeq ilee Shu mabtifhamu etareeq ilee Ana Lubnani Mabtif...

Did Jesus intend for his followers to worship him or just worship the Father in Heaven? Putting such a question to the Church of Rome today would be considered absurd and borderline heretical I have no doubt, and yet it is this point of Christ’s divinity that has troubled me. Can it be that a flesh and blood man be the offspring of God? Or was Christ ordained God’s ‘chosen’ son, in as much as the People of Israel were declared God’s chosen people? Was Christ King of the Jews? He certainly could have been with his lineage, he was descended from Jewish kings we are told. Did Jesus ever say, or more to the point, was it ever recorded that he said: “I am God’s son”? I’ve read the Gospels as a requirement for my Humanities courses in college; I do not recall Jesus being that specific. He did talk to “his” Father in Heaven, but do we not all at one point or another have the need to talk to Our Father in Heaven. Did Jesus straddle that middle ground between the unseen, brilliant Light of God ...

(In Pidgin Arabic, in Latin Script... my apologies in advance to my great Arabic teacher Mr. Khalifeh) Ana mish Lubnani! Asrukhu: Ana ay Ishi, bass mish Lubnani Is-alni ana shu, ma-ba3-ref shu, bass mish Lubnani Fi Tufulati Al Sahrawiya Kuntu Arza Lubnani Arsumu Fi Ayami al Awakhiru Arzu Qalbi Yatamazaqu Tanzifu du-mu-i min Ajli Shaabin Ahmaqu Yarmi Jarahu wa yata-ayaqu bi-alfazin wala aqbahu Ind-al-Jadi, Yahzimu Amti-atu Yasrukhu « Shu hal balad » Irhal, Yalla Irhal, Mafi minu Nawa – Hal Balad-u Watanun, At-fallahu tas-fa-3u Shu-yukha-hu Yatajawaluna nisfa 3u-ratin min hanat-il Jumayza ila makhamiri el Hamra’u Wa 3u-quluhum mashghula bil Sex-i wal Football-u Wa-Ind-al-Jadi, Yahzimu Amti-atu Ila-l-Khaleeji Yazhabu --- Amreeka-tul Fuqara-u Ya3-malu, Ya-kidu, Ya-sh-tahidu Ya-ray-tahu Kana fi Wanatu Fil-Khaleeji Yasrukhu “Shu hal balad” Irhal, Yalla Irhal, Mafi minu Nawa – Hal Balad-u Apologetically By Hani M Bathish (A poet-pretender does not need a PhD in language, only to feel, have a ...

Every Christian learns it in Sunday school, but what few know is how different the original Prayer to Our Father is from the version we recognize (In Arabic or English). The original, sung in Aramaic, is far more complex and deep, I like it, in fact I prefer it. The Lebanese 1980s singing star Pascale Sakr recorded a version of the Aramaic prayer set to the most sublime music. Below the Aramaic version and the English transliteration. The Prayer To Our Father (in the original Aramaic) Abwûn "Oh Thou, from whom the breath of life comes, d'bwaschmâja who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration. Nethkâdasch schmach May Your light be experienced in my utmost holiest. Têtê malkuthach . Your Heavenly Domain approaches. Nehwê tzevjânach aikâna d'bwaschmâja af b'arha. Let Your will come true - in the universe (all that vibrates) just as on earth (that is material and dense). Hawvlân lachma d'sûnkanân jaomâna. Give us wisdom (understanding, assistance) for our daily ...

They will call you mad, bad and dangerous to know, they will label you a spy and a terrorist and consign you to a deep dark dungeon if they could, they will accuse you of fictitious crimes, they will pull out your finger nails and water-board you, but that's just in a day's work for the US Government and its allies. But, Mr. Assange you must not give up, nor must you’re dedicated following of tech-savvy digital freedom fighters out there struggling to keep us all informed about our governments’ dastardly dealings. You are a hero to so many, you have shown us how ineffective the Press has become, how sycophantic we have become, and you have laid bare our inadequacies, bravo! You have poked at the red, white and blue bear and now he is up. It comes as no surprise that every government agency and intelligence resource is being mobilized to silence and hunt you down Mr. Assange, you have finally taken the spot light away from Ussama bin Laden, for that all turban-wearing peoples th...

I am sorry to say our nation, its people and government are at a stand still, like so many cars stuck in Beirut's pre-Holiday traffic. Sadly, we follow the lead of men whose leadership skills are highly suspect. So, when things get tough, we usually tend to run. Having an exit strategy today is more crucial than ever, if renewed civil strife does not consume us, then forest fires may very well do. When LBC opened its report this evening about a massive forest fire in Israel, we saw the Israeli Prime Minister go on television to address the nation. In Lebanon, our prime minister is absent much like the long awaited rains. Forests burn, government business grinds to a halt, and we are all left to stew in our own sweat, wondering whether to pack a suit case or stock up on perishables. Everyone wonders why the Lebanese cannot solve their own problems, why must we wait for a third party to intercede between us? And even then finding a solution is not guaranteed. I'm sure Mr. Moussa ...

As I see it there are few men in history that have had the gift of truly inspirational speech, 'fighting words' that can rouse men from a state of barely-functional stupor (a common state to be in in Lebanon) to a mass of resolute, unified, dedicated fighters. Hezbollah chief, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is such a man, Theodore Roosevelt, the long-dead US President and noted 'Rough Rider', was another. William Shakespeare's Henry V was also such a man too, whether the real King Henry was a verbose and gifted public speaker or not is another matter. There are common strains running through all these great men: first, an unassailable and robust sense of right and wrong, second, they exude an aura of infectious self confidence and last, clarity of thought and speech. Trust me; I have interviewed a few politicians, that last one is a deal breaker. Clarity of thought and speech is vital and it is in short supply, especially in Arabic speaking cultures. I have to admit, I lov...