Persiflage & Paroxysm

We tend to forget that Turkey , just as Iran and Russia , is a big bully, that behind all the diplomatic banter and the smiles, it really looks down on the Arabs. After all we never fought the Turks for our freedom; someone else defeated them in World War I so we could be rid of Ottoman shackles. And there are still those in our Levant who miss those shackles it seems and their reasons are foolishly romantic and purely sectarian, that is as far removed from being rational as is possible. Whereas the Turks act out of pure national self interest, not out of some romantic obligation the former seat of the Caliphate may feel towards its erstwhile subjects. The Turks will shift alliances when it is convenient for them to do so. The European powers were assigned by the League of Nations , forerunner of the equally incapable UN, to prepare the ill equipped Arabs for independence and statehood just over 90 years ago. They failed miserably, that much is clear. Instead of strong independent

Christians of the East do not wait to be 'given' anything by majorities in Arab countries, their rights as citizens are full and self evident, participatory and unabridged. We wait for no one's charity, we are not window dressing, we are as much part of this world of ours as other groups are, but we are more, amidst the sectarian rifts and conflicts that grip this land of the East, pitting Sunni against Shiite, pitting Muslim against Muslim, we are a guarantee of stability, we are the masons that shall build and craft the edifice of State, an edifice that is truely democratic, secular, governed by one law under which all citizens shelter, we must never leave the East though our persecutors multiply. The Pope's visit to Lebanon is a strong message of support to the long suffering Christian communities in Iraq, in Syria, in Egypt, and across the East, that their suffering is not without meaning, that their sacrifices are not unrecognized. Lebanon is the perfect place from

On the face of it banning smoking in public places is a step in the right direction, after all non-smokers have as much right to not inhale second hand smoke as smokers have the right to smoke if they wish. But, in a country like Lebanon taking away people’s right to light up with their morning coffee or in pubs and nightclubs, is only going to drive them over the edge. People already hate government, and I do not mean ‘the government’, I mean any government, the concept of being governed. ‘How dare they think they can tell me what I can or cannot do as if I am a child,’ is what many say, that and ‘they can’t stop the armed family wings and the tyre burnings but they have the audacity to give me a fine for smoking!’ These are but a few of the many reactions to this new law, a law that would be welcome in any other country but over here. Let us ask ourselves why people smoke. In war time and in prison cigarettes are currency, so too in the trenches of life in Lebanon, they are a psychol