Ali, Jad, & Meej get together for a casual political chit chat with our two guests: Claire & Hadi.
Claire & Hadi do not necessarily share the same outlook on things in Lebanon and that made for quite an interesting discussion about the upcoming Arab League summit, the presence of USS Cole near Lebanese waters, and a few other things.
Lebanon: 30LL Political Correspondent Habib Gives his Insight
Souss: We’ve been without a President for 3 months now, and all efforts to resolve the deadlock have proven unsuccessful. Are we a nation incapable of governing itself?
Habib: If by incapable of governing itself you mean, at the forefront of political philosophy and application of ground-breaking concepts to the field of global decision-making, then yes.
(awkward silence)
Souss: I’m… I’m sorry? What?
Habib: Souss, Lebanon is taking multi-lateralism to the next level. The time of old-fashioned elections when only the “people” get to choose who heads the country is gone. The truth is, we live in the 21st century, and in what is termed the “Global Village”. And it’s time we started acting like one. I mean, what more of a demonstration of human brotherhood do you want, than having Bernard Kouchner and Amr Moussa participate in one same process of electing the Lebanese President?
And we need to bring even more people into the process until every single country is involved. Albania, Trinidad, Uzbekistan? Come on down! The Lebanese people are happy to share this decision with their human brethren and sister…ren. I’m not sure that’s a word… But you get my point: This my friend, is called progress. Are you an enemy of progress?
(awkward silence)
Souss: P… Progress? No I think I am for progress.
Habib: Good. ‘Cause you can’t stop progress.
Souss: But isn’t the whole point of having a country, isn’t the whole point that its people be able to decide how it functions?
Habib: (surprised) Country? Who said anything about a country?
Lebanon is not a country, Souss, it’s much more than that. It’s an experiment, a message, as the late Pope John Paul II described it. It’s time we went beyond the rigid concepts of the 20th century. We are in an era where flexibility is crucial, where adaptability is key, where versatility is a must. And our politicians are at the forefront. Look at [Druze leader MP Walid] Jumblat for example. He may be the most versatile human being on this planet.
And while regular folks and ignorant retards like you may not get it, the people in charge do, and thank God for that. New ideas, new concepts, new technology. And this, with the same leadership we’ve had for the past 20+ years. Isn’t that amazing? Imagine if we were to bring in some of that young talent we have. I don’t think the world could take it. I have goose bumps just thinking about it myself!
Souss: Some would argue that having the same politicians for such a long time is a sign of lack of political maturity…
Habib: We are showing to the world what political maturity is, Souss. Our politicians aren’t egocentric or power-hungry. They are already passing the torch to the next generation. I mean look at Samy Gemayel, or Michel Moawad, they are living examples of that new talent I was talking about. Just a couple names in the sea of young heroes who are sons or daughters of current politicians, ready to continue in the direction their parents are taking us now.
But like I said earlier, the world is not ready for that Tsunami of Talent that we have in bank. We don’t want to shock the planet with too many revolutionary ideas at once. Slow, well-planned, well-thought out progress. That’s what we’re all about, Souss.
When Mrs. Moawad decides to retire, Michel will be there, with his solid, clear-cut ideas and that cute way he pronounces Rs. A real man from the rugged mountains of the north, yet with a pure, soft and innocent way to communicate. (becoming slightly emotional) God bless you Nayla for bringing him into this world.
Did you know that it takes 4 hairdressers and on average 9 hours everyday to fix her hair? All this to make herself beautiful for Lebanon, Souss.
Souss: 9 hours? Wow.
Habib: Yes, the hairdo also holds a built-in snack compartment (courtesy of Ghandour), and a 5L container of unleaded fuel, you know, for emergencies. Quite amazing, actually.
(awkward silence)
Souss: Okay… That’s terrific. Thanks very much Habib.
30LL correspondent Samir Na3na3 (SN) is on a tour to interview different political parties’ delegates (PDs).
This week, he conducted his first interview. SN was the host of the Progressive Socialist Party delegate, and here’s the text:
SN: Mr. PD, why did you change the party’s flag’s color?
PD: In the current situation we decided that it is in the best interest of our constituency to become the party that defends the Druze interests. Even though we are a secular party, with the current rift in the society, we are now the self-proclaimed defenders of the Druze community.
SN: But doesn’t that contradict what the party stands for?
PD: Well, our leadership knows better about what the party stands for, so please don’t try to act smart with me.
SN: Absolutely not Mr. PD, but I was just wondering because I thought you believed in accountability?
PD: I really feel you are antagonistic, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt. We do believe in accountability. As a matter of fact we hired a lot of Lebanese accountants to be able to arrange some of the irregularities that went on in the ministry of the displaced, but …
SN: Hold on, hold on. What? I was asking about accountability of the leadership, but what you said is very dangerous. How in good conscience could you say that?
PD: Oh. Well, the country was under occupation, you need to understand that. This is why we needed to do it, we needed to protect our citizens.
SN: I see. I never thought of it that way. Mr. PD, can you tell us what exactly is the agenda or the political program of your party?
PD: Of course. Here were our main priorities from a couple of years and until today.
1) Privatization of all governmental institutions. Not yet achieved, we’re working on it.
2) 12 TV interviews per year for the Bek. 8 of which need to set higher standards for fiery speeches. Excellent performance.
3) Insult Fairuz. Achieved.
4) Insult Majida el Roumi. Passed with flying colors.
SN: Why is insulting the artists part of your agenda?
PD: I don’t know. Can I call a friend?
SN: It’s OK, we’ll call you back later for further details. What about privatization? It’s not a particular characteristic of socialist parties to ask for privatization.
PD: I understand the people’s scepticism on this issue. But I would like to clarify that this measure is being taken for two reasons, one is administrative and the second is corruption. They are somehow interrelated.
SN: Wow, Mr. PD, I never thought I’d hear it from you. Please continue.
PD: What are you talking about? This issue is related to both the party and the coalition. Many of our cadres find it unfair that Marwan got a beneficial treatment with the Telecom sector. Our allies also think that tourism is not a good ministry, if you know what I mean. So we have to be fair to all, otherwise we will start having internal problems from which the enemies of Lebanon will take advantage.
SN: I see. I was completely off track on that one. The final question for you, how do you see the Bek in his last TV appearances, some of your allies are saying not to take his words literally?
PD: Yes, of course. I see that some people are trying to hold the Bek responsible for the exact words he said. This is a known strategy that our coalition has learned to endure from the Syrian tools. Anyway, the Bek is bigger than the criticism of these few possessed souls manipulated by the big devil in Syria.
SN: Ah OK. Thank you Mr. PD for your time and valuable insight.
PD: My pleasure.
Jad is out on the streets again. This time attending an event titled ‘Ou3a: Watch Out, Wake Up!’.
He came back with 4 very interesting interviews with some of the people who were present there.
Listen as they explain why they’ve organized/attended this event, what are their objectives and expectations, and what are their plans for the future.
A conference was held at Concordia University, Montreal, to raise awareness about the state of Jews in Lebanon. Speaking at the event was Aaron-Micaël Beydoun, founder of TheJewsOfLebanon.org. You can read the full speech transcript here.
Ali, Joe, & Souheil attended the conference and came with some very interesting interviews with the attendees.
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To start off, Souss interviews Joelle, a (non-Jew) Lebanese who attended the event. Joelle is very intrigued by Judaism and showed a lot of excitement for the issue.
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For the second interview, Souss picks the brain of a Lebanese Jewish lady who left Lebanon in 1967 and currently resides in Canada. Listen to her story.
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Our third conversation, a bit on the lighter note, is with Jad aka The Jade (Not to confuse with Jad/BM our 30LL.org colleague). Jad has a special request for 30LL.org correspondent Bahij M3errewe.
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In this one, Ali interviews Ben, a Lebanese Jew who helped organize the conference. Ben chips in with his 30LL about Lebanon and his thoughts and plans about visiting Lebanon in the future.
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Last but not least, we talk to Aaron, the speaker at the event. We ask Aaron what got him to choose this specific issue as a cause.
Roula studied communication arts in the St Joseph University in Beirut. She ran her own production company from ‘94 to ‘96 when she moved to the US to work as an intern at an Arab-American Business Association and helped the Democratic party in Cleveland, OH.
Not long after, Roula was hired as political coordinator/lobbyist between that association, Arab embassies in Washington DC, and the American administration.
She returned to Lebanon in October 2001, and worked as a political and media advisor. In late 2004, Roula was appointed to establish an information office for Lebanon in Washington, D.C.
Ex-PM Hariri was then assassinated and everything was put on hold & a decision was then taken to follow up with the ministry of information instead.
Roula appeared on major news networks like CNN during the July ’06 war, she was reporting directly from Beirut on “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer.
Roula now contributes a weekly column (political satire) to Ad-dabbour magazine.
Joe meets up with a German lady & a Colombian man and picks their minds on the whole Middle East conflict as well as a few candid question relating to Lebanon.
Old man Joe meets up with young man, let’s call him Montrealer.
Montrealer’s put to the test when it comes to favorite Lebanese food. He obviously knows Basha* but his favorite Lebanese food might surprise you.
On a more serious note, Montrealer’s got to come up with solutions for the middle east conflict.
Here’s what he had to say
(10 votes, average: 4.3 out of 5)
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* Basha: A well known Lebanese fast food chain in Canada.
Jad has a rich interview with MP Salim Salhab.
Dr. Salhab goes through the highlights of the year 2006 and dishes some insight as to how things unraveled to reach our present situation.
Jad hooks us up with two more interviews from Lebanon.
In the first one we have an unorthodox opinion (by sectarian standards at least) on the current state of Lebanon and Lebanese politics.
In the second interview, we get to recall the great rides of merry-go-rounds of Lebanese government, who here ever had to get some official’s stamp or signature in Lebanon? You probably had to go through some of this.
Jad went for an encore in Downtown Beirut, and came back with a wealth of interesting interviews.
From kids to coffee vendors to Frenchies and returning immigrants with an accent…
This batch’s got it all.
Jad met Faysal, a young man who usually lives in the USA and is originally from Baaklin.
On the spot, Faysal is put to the test in trying to guess people’s religions, listen to see how he fares.
The crew in Lebanon has been going around interviewing people demonstrating around downtown Beirut. An Interviews section has been added to the website.
Following is an interview Jad had with a bunch of young men coming from Southern Lebanon and the Southern suburbs of Beirut.
Here’s what they had to say
(20 votes, average: 4.7 out of 5)
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(16 votes, average: 4.19 out of 5)
