Persiflage & Paroxysm

Money, money, money There is an ongoing if slow burning war of words, arguments and counter arguments, between Lebanon’s commercial banks and the State, which includes the State owned Banque du Liban. Run independently by a board and a governor, the extraordinary amount of power and independence allowed BDL’s governor makes him a central figure in the unfolding financial tragedy. This war of words is seeing ever rising levels of acrimony between former “partners”, in both politics and money, over who ultimately is responsible for the huge gaping hole in our financial system which deprived the Lebanese of their hard earned savings and institutions and private businesses of their liquid capital.   Each side has their truth to tell, each side’s tale differs wildly in their conclusions as to who has the legal and moral obligation to provide restitution. A recent ruling by the State Shura Council, while “inapplicable at present” as stated by the Association of...

I wasn't born yet when our side lost Jerusalem to the Zionist state, when the newly minted king of the Hashemites and sovereign over Jerusalem failed to stop the Israelis from taking it. I mention Jerusalem because my mother was born there, so technically, mom and I can be counted among the subjects of his majesty King Abdullah II and his predecessor, under who's suzerainty Jerusalemites lived, loved and prayed a stone's throw away from Israeli forces who had always made it known they would capture the eastern part of the city sooner or later. Crossing the Al Hussein Bridge into Jordan during the Naksa   Today, I hear echoes of the Arab failure of 1967 (Al Naksa) that gave Israel Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. I hear it in the defensiveness and denialism of many of my Lebanese compatriots when faced with a catastrophic failure by Hezbollah in preventing the cascade of misfortunes that befell them and their wider community this past week. Pagers e...

  I've always marveled at the apparent disconnect between literary ideals as expressed and expounded upon by the greats across the centuries, and the real human animal that by instinct pounces on his prey without much through once the opportunity presents itself, for food or fucking, reducing his victim to bare bones to feed either his desire for conquest or his burning furnace of life that requires the calories. One life is taken (metaphorically) to sustain another.    These are the true values of humanity, not "a true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good" as Samuel Johnson is said to have said once, or "a true measure of a man is what he does with power," as they say Plato once said, or J.K. Rowling who said "If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." Everyone of these blow hard philosophizers seem to hold humanity up to a very high standard in...