A couple of years ago on the day Israel decided to wage war on Lebanon, I remember a conversation with a friend, telling him, that everything will be ok, this kind of thing happens all the time. That war cost Lebanon thousands of dead and millions in economic and property damage. Years before that after PM Rafic Harriri was assassinated, and the cedar revolution began, we all thought it was the end of tyranny in Lebanon. Little bombs started soon after that. ...More »

In July of 2006, I spent many nights up listening to bombs go off. Everyday that passed I would feel more and more helpless and yet my hate for what Israel would only increase. We couldn't leave our homes, The airport was blocked off, and Hizbullah we thought would be our own way out. Though I never was a Hizbulllah supporter, never agreed with their views, at that time I respected them for standing up to those who were invading. Today ...More »

It took the cable company a week to get someone in to come and install my new digital land phone line. March 31 between 8 am and 5 pm was my appointment. And so today as I got out of bed I made sure to take what maybe the fastest shower in history, worrying the whole time that he would come while I still had shampoo in my hair. But no worries, that didn’t happen. I was worried that if I ...More »

What is it about people who when angry resort to burning tires? There must be stocks of tires waiting for such occasions in the areas surrounding the airport. Last year on January 23rd the opposition decided to enforce their type of democracy by forcing the country to shut down. They burned tires and blocked roads and eventually lead to the deaths resulting from clashes. Last week in an ingenious effort by the opposition to remember that day they staged another protest, ...More »

I came across this newspaper article yesterday, so I thought I would share it. Four Lebanese university students have been jailed for a week for making crude remarks on the Facebook social networking site about the singing talents of a woman they met at a party, media reports said on Thursday. Local newspapers reported that the students -- all male -- were ordered to be detained on January 10 after the young woman's father objected to the authorities in the eastern town of Zahle. The four were charged ...More »

No news is good news. For the last month, I have given up on the politics of Lebanon. Internal bickering has left me sick and nauseated. Presidential elections have been postponed for seven times in order for the two feuding parties to come to a consensus. The opposition seems to find fault in anything put forth by the majority and the majority makes empty threats of not involving the opposition if they don’t participate willingly. This has been going on for ...More »

I was shocked to read that at UCLA, four of their police officers received "Taser Awards" by the manufacturers of tasers for "law enforcement officers who save a life in the line of duty through extraordinary use of the Taser". I mean I don't see gun or baton manufacturers giving awards for their products use. The incident in Vancouver is not the first disturbing story of brutal taser use. Since 1999, 84 people in Canada and the United States have died after ...More »

There he goes flexing his muscles again. I am sick of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nassrallah's unrelenting threats and hypocrisy. In his latest speech Nasrallah went on to remind the world that he will not allow anyone to disarm Hizbullah. He argued that Hizbullah's weapons & fighters were prepared "day and night" to defend Lebanon. "The resistance is ready, day and night, to defend South Lebanon as well as all of Lebanon ... to achieve a historic victory that will change the face of ...More »

Sex is quite the taboo subject in the Middle East. Being a more conservative society than the west, pre-marital sex is a huge no no. But it wasn't until I moved to Lebanon that I found out that what is forbidden is what is mostly desired. So are all Middle Eastern women virtuous? I found out they really aren't that much different from western women. The only thing holding them back is culture. A woman that is not a ...More »

There are wars currently being fought around the world. Off the top of my head I can think of Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan, and I am sure there are others that I just can’t think of at the moment but feel free to add to the list. I guess I am just appalled by the main media news. The only time you hear about what is going on in those parts of the world is when there is some sort of ...More »