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Sunday, December 25, 2011

will green roofs cover Beirut?

Beirut’s Rooftop Revolution (INTERVIEW) | Green Prophet

Lebanese women athletes shine in olympic games

Lebanese women put Lebanon on the sports map by winning most of Lebanon's gold medal in Doha

Golden Lebanese Girls, the Lebanese Women Basketball National Team and the Sprinter Gretta Taslakian, all Golden winners in the Panarab Games came home Dec 20th, 2011.

In Arab fencing Mona Shaito won 5 gold medals, and beats Tunisian Ines Bubakri 15-7 in the Final.

The Lebanese Women Basketball Team beat Qatar 72-34 and won the Gold Medal.


Katya Bachrouche won 4 Gold medals in the Pan Arabic games beating Moroccan Sara El Bekri (2:17:24) and Tunisian Sarra Lajnef (2:18:91).
By Dec 22nd it was 7 Gold medals for Lebanon, 4 of them alone from Bachrouche, and all of them won by our Women.



Female athletes pave the way for Lebanon at Olympics.

At the 2012 Olympics, the Lebanese delegation is made of 7 women and 3 men athletes. 







Wednesday, December 14, 2011

why Lebanon is the role model of democracy

Lebanon is still the liberal country of the middle east, but we have high hopes in Egyptian liberals

Islamists pursue gains in Egypt's phased election | Reuters

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

BBC News - Russia accuses West of 'immoral' stance on Syria

Russia denounces the fact that the US covers for violence by opposition forces in Syria, and uses unfounded accounts of death tolls: BBC News - Russia accuses West of 'immoral' stance on Syria

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Saudi regime vs. the environment

Saudi Acts as Oil Cheerleader at COP 17 Circus | Green Prophet

"Now We're Invented?", by Amer Zahr, The Civil Arab - halayc@gmail.com

Newt Gingrich said Palestinians were "invented", Amer Zahr has a field day ! I guess Americans heed the belief of other colonizers, Ottoman, Saudi, that once a culture is overpowered, its existence can be denied. In the middle east however colonizers faded and native cultures survived.

Monday, December 5, 2011

NNA - Official website Lebanon Beirut

The Lebanese news agency - NNA - is looking good! Maybe this will be the tool that will bring expats up to speed, and help then vote in the 2013 parliamentary in Lebanon.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Americans that lag far far behind: racist arrogant diplomats, racist churches...

Interesting, Kentucky church votes to ban interracial couples while in Lebanon we have advocacy group demanding civil marriage, to facilitate marriage between religions. How is it again, that Americans suspect the Lebanese of being regressive?!

The Ugly American | Inquirer News: the racism of US diplomats in the Philippines

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Egyptians cast ballots in post-Mubarak polls - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

One more step forward in Egypt, as Egyptians cast ballots but the west has yet to acknowledge that Lebanon is ahead regarding diversity, and as a result, Islamists do not have a significant block in the Lebanese parliament. Lebanon is ahead democracy-wise, because its largest 2 parliamentary blocks sgned an agreement to separate religion from state. This secures equality in politics, and differentiates Lebanon from neighboring countries where the word "minority" is taboo. This also clashes with corrupt political profiteers that fed on sectarian fears, and lately fake religious divides in Lebanon.
These 2 blocks include the patriotic party, the advocate of the first civil law to be proposed in the middle east. It secures equal rights fro citizens of all backgrounds, and both genders. The other inculded block is Hezbollah. This is one of the alienated Lebanese groups that the patriotic party brought back into the Lebanese democracy, by acknowledging their reasons to dissent. They emerged from a rural south treated like a second class area since the 40's, by a series of regressive post-colonial Lebanese governments. The south was also subjected to racism form Israel. This finally provoked the emergence of Hezbollah in 1980's. Not accepting the cownboy idea of "you're with us of I shoot you", the patriotic party created memorandum of understandings with several Lebanese factions, where they acknowledge the social inequities that provoked them, and agree that a civil law would solve these inequities.

From 1989 to 2004 it was also the only opposition to the past Syrian occupation, to be joined in 2005, at the 11th hour by the so-called pro-west block in Lebanon, made of leaders that openly pledge allegiance to the Saudi monarchy. This pro-Saudi block, along with the US administration, that seems more eager to switch colonizers, than end the colonization of Lebanon by foreign countries. The US administration has definitely approved of that, switching overlords instead of become sovereign, and has vilified the nationalist party in Lebanon, the one that made Lebanon unavailable for a civil war by finding common ground among Lebanese factions.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Rest in Peace, Myriam Achkar

Nadine Mouawad makes an excellent case against rape-related taboos in Lebanon. This after the horrific rape of Myriam Achkar. Let's speak up against rapists, and end sexism.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Dave Meslin: The antidote to apathy | Video on TED.com

People are not apathetic, they are silenced by barriers we don't notice at first sight.
Dave Meslin: The antidote to apathy
This applies to Lebanon as well, where I think an obstacle to politial engagement is how rude and macho political conversations can get.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Lebanese citizenship not an option - PLO chief

to anyone who thinks that Lebanese nationalists harm the Palestinian cause, and that the Saudi proteges (Hariri and co) support it:

Lebanese citizenship not an option - PLO chief

Saudi proteges in Lebanon, March 14, want to use the same Palestinians they infuriated for years as a "stuffing", something to add to Lebanon so they can manipulate the demographics according to their regressive sectarian agenda.

AUB, Byblos Bank launch first Consumer Confidence Index in Lebanon | AUB | AMEinfo.com

A Lebanese bank and a university in Lebanon are collaborating to add accuracy to Lebanese commerce:
AUB, Byblos Bank launch first Consumer Confidence Index in Lebanon
That's great, but I am still waiting for the "6 sigma" type program, a quality control program that will improve the level of customer-friendly businesses in Lebanon. Something that indicates how professional, polite and reliable service provider is there.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Once Lebanese rabbits and other animals are safe, something to look forward to...

I know Lebanon loves to take on the impossible, so here you go: something impossible, that's been done, and is perfectly sweet. A bunny rabbits jumping course, and the associated world competitions! I just hope that when these competitions become international, there will be a humane way to fly the bunnies across the world. Not in the hauls of planes, and without holding them at customs, in quarantines. This is the ordeal many countries put animals through, at their border.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Divide and conquer, again? Hint: it doesn't work.

A Christian-owned and a Shiite-owned establishment (to use regressive sectarian labels as they do in the west) were bombed in Tyre, Lebanon.
This has the words "divide and conquer" all over it, or should I say the words Saudi-American alliance hopelessly trying on more civil war, after the failed 2007 attempt by the Saudi regime to provoke a civil war in Lebanon.

Lebanon gets in the way of fabricated civil wars! Of course the catch phrase to get the west shreeking at the news is that Hezbollah also opposes fabricated civil wars: Hezbollah praises army for seizing Syria-bound arms


May 28, 2012: Here's why we use the words "fabricated civil war" in Lebanon, and now in Syria. As this (ironically!) Israeli reporter explains, Saudi-financed fundamentalists, AlQaeda, have highjacked the revolution in Syria and are fighting the Syrian army. The report says many Syrians don't want to go from dictatorship to Islamic Saudi colony: http://jcpa.org/article/alqaeda-jihadists-join-battle-syrian-regime/

Same AlQaeda is attacking the Lebanese army in the North of Lebanon, but not succeeding at starting a civil war this time.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Anna Mracek Dietrich: A plane you can drive | Video on TED.com

Anna Mracek Dietrich gave a TED talk on flying car, that her team is putting on the market in 2011!
Imagine these flying cars solving traffic congestion problems around the world, in developing cities in particular. I also like how they had to ignore absurd comments like "you know that's impossible right"? Makes me think of what the pro-citizenry Lebanese had to hear ever since 1989!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Saudi women denouce wahabi misogynist beliefs

In this interview on LBC, a Saudi woman-reporter denounces Wahabi misogynist beliefs.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Avaaz - 4 days to save our children from cluster bombs

Avaaz - 4 days to save our children from cluster bombs
Lebanon children are victims of cluster bombs, a weapon used by Israel against Lebanon. The UN made it illegal, but the US campaigned and reversed that law. Sign the petition to make cluster bombs illegal again.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

A new law differentiating between Lebanese who fled to, and those who collaborated with Israel

Nov 2: The Lebanese parliament passed a law proposed by the Block for Change and Reform, lead by the patriotic party and presided by Gen Michel Aoun. This law differentiates between Lebanese who fled to, and those who collaborated with Israel

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Capitalism, Democracy, and Food

The Huffington post in Capitalism, Democracy, and Food (Video) shows the need for local economies. This applies to Lebanon, creating food security while re-greening the country, through local and urban agriculture. I wonder if candidates of the 2013 parliamentary elections in Lebanon will care to focus on that.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Elections 2013 in Lebanon, last chance for reforms

PM Gen. Aoun said that the 2013 parliamentary elections in Lebanon are the last chance for reforms.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

the more unequal a society, the more unhappy its members

in this TED talk by Richard Wilkinson, statistical proof that among rich countries, income inequality lead to greater mental health issues, violence, and other social problems. The solution? Reduce income difference between classes. Will Lebanon make good news of this information?

Monday, October 24, 2011

AFP report: US warns Lebanon... to not take sovereign decisions?!

Below is the position of the US regarding having Lebanon fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, as reported by AFP. Some in Lebanon see the STL as a politicized and unconstitutional court. It was supposed to investigate the murder of several eminent Lebanese victims but it reduced this list to one: Rafic Hariri. The STL was funded among others by the Saudi regime, who's agenda is to silence the minorities that oppose it, including the Shiite minorities in Bahrain, Lebanon and elsewhere. Using a sectarian label is regressive for some of us, but from the Saudi Regime's point of view, it's the norm. Hezbollah represent the ambition of a large fraction of rural shiites, to become citizens with equal rights. They have, for better or worse, taken matters in their own hands in the south of Lebanon and Beirut suburbs, built the infrastructure the government was denying them, and got help from illegal sources when they had to. Not exactly loyal to Lebanon, but ultimately a reaction caused by the extension of the Saudi cast system into Lebanon. Lebanon treated southern Lebanese as a bottom cast. Back to STL, it is funded in part by the Saudi regime who is intolerant of the minorities that oppose it. It's no surprise then that some see it as a tool to provoke a civil war in Lebanon. AFP misrepresented the facts by saying that Hariri's death almost plunged Lebanon into a civil war in 2008. It was foreign Saudi manipulation that attempted and failed to manipulate Lebanon into a civil war. This was described in the New Yorker's article The Redirection by Seymour Hersh (March 2007). He reported how a Saudi backed foreign mercenary group, Fatah el Islam, was smuggled into Lebanon and attempted to provoke Hezbollah. Hezbollah did not react and the Lebanese army apprehended these mercenaries. This is not Lebanon plunging into a civil war, this is the Saudi regime trying to fabricate one. The STL seems like another attempt to do the same. It operated in an unprofessional manner, overlooked witnesses that self-professed to be false, and conveniently framed the party that irks the Saudi king, with the murder of Hariri. The Saudi regime has pseudo-colonize most arabic countries, and propped banana republics in them until the Arabic spring challenged that status quo. Today Memorandum of understandings between political parties in Lebanon have made it difficult to control Lebanon through fabricated divides. AFP used a racist, or sectarian label to be exact by saying the "Christian leader and his patriotic party in Lebanon". He is a Lebanese leader who championed these memoranda of understanding. His party identifies with a principle, but AFP reduced it to a clan formed around an icon. It's in fact a pro-citizenry party that advocates equal rights to Lebanese of all backgrounds, and a functional country free of corruption. This is what the US is waving its finger at, and the STL seems like the excuse. Some Lebanese say that colonial time is over. The Lebanese, not the US, will decide what action Lebanon should be taking.

US warns Lebanon on Hariri tribunal funding

(AFP) – 8 hours ago

BEIRUT — The US ambassador to Lebanon on Monday warned of possible "serious consequences" if Lebanon fails to meet its obligations towards a UN-backed court investigating the murder of the country's ex-premier.

Ambassador Maura Connelly made the statement in a meeting with Christian leader Michel Aoun, whose Free Patriotic Movement is allied with the powerful militant group Hezbollah that has a key role in the Lebanese government.

"Ambassador Connelly told General Aoun that the US expects Lebanon to meet all of its international obligations, including Lebanon's obligation to cooperate with and fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," a statement issued by the embassy said.

"She expressed the United States' concern that a failure by Lebanon to meet its obligations to the tribunal could lead to serious consequences if Lebanon does not meet its international commitments," the statement added.

Hezbollah toppled the previous government headed by Saad Hariri over its refusal to cut ties with the tribunal, set up in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, Rafiq Hariri.

The tribunal has indicted four Hezbollah operatives for the February 14, 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others in Beirut.

But the Shiite party and its allies, which dominate the new government, have dismissed the court as part of a US-Israeli conspiracy and have vowed to block any efforts by the Lebanese government to contribute its share to the tribunal's funding.

Beirut has yet to pay what it owes for the year 2011 and in 2010 transferred the funds without government approval.

Hariri's killing plunged Lebanon into a series of political crisis that brought the country close to civil war in 2008.
No notice, no mention in that report of the failed Saudi-west backed attempt to provoke a civil war in Lebanon in 2007. This attempt was lead by AlQaeda mercenaries, which were indicted on July 19th, 2007: Lebanon Indicts Dozens From 2007 Clashes : NPR.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

a Lego set for starting a civilaization!

I love it when PhD's go rogue! Here's a starter kit designed by Marcin Jakubowski to "transcend artificial scarcity". It's called the Global Village Construction, now seeking backers on Kickstarter. I hope to see this kit empower villages in Lebanon and throughout the middle east.

brutal bird hunting in Cyprus, Lebanon

1 million song birds killed in Cyprus. In Lebanon reports on LBC and MTV chanels encouraged this activity, revolting Lebanese environmentalists. I am waiting to find copies of these reports.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Lebanese-American academic wins award

Dr. Joseph Aoun, PhD ’82, President of Northeastern University, receives the 2011 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Science. He seems to have introduce the Lebanese "global villager" philosophy to Northwestern, he is "a highly respected voice on the value of global and experiential education, he has enhanced Northeastern's signature co-op program with opportunities around the world".

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The side of syria we don't often hear about

Head of Syrian dictatorship Bachar Assad went against his family's will and married an educated woman from the opposite clan, the Sunnite one. Of course in this article, we hear here-say about his wife Asma al-Assad, but not her opinion directly.  Why is that? I wish she was on twitter, so we can tell what she really thinks, and if she has a positive influence on her country. There is no doubt that Syria can do better than a dictatorship, but what if some of the members of the current dictatorship agree?

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Save Lebanon's heritage-fundraiser

An NGO campaigning to save Lebanese heritage is organizer its first fundraiser.

campaign for more humane jails in Lebanon

Soujoun is a campaign for more human jails in Lebanon. At their next outreach event, a Lebanese comedy troupe will help them convey the message!

an independent movie theatre in Lebanon

In Lebanon, it's more common to be an independent movie theatre like Metropolis. Two movies about turning a village around played there; "Where do we go now" by Labaki and "La source des femmes" by Mihaileanu.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

There is hope.. in ending littering and traffic jams

A Lebanese NGO found that campaigning to end littering is paying off.
Another group of organizations organized a bike protest to promote sustainable transportation.
Imagine if these organizations scored Lebanese political parties based on their responses to these causes, and if we could vote from abroad. We would use these scores to evaluate and pick candidates that would serve the causes shared by Lebanese NGO's and the diaspora.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

pharma accused of covering up data

Pseudo science takes over science, but not every supplement is bogus. More importantly, parmaceutical companies are not ethical in fully disclosing their research data, so how can we trust their trials?
In Lebanon, is the public safe from under-performing, imported pharmaceutics?

saving a Lion in Lebanon

Animals Lebanon uncovered an illegal trade of lions in Lebanon. They rescued this lion cub now relocated to South Africa.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lebanon, not Turkey is the democracy model

Turkey is not a model democracy, it has a crushing majority and a dismal understanding of religious diversity. It has yet to acknowledge its ethnic cleansing of Armenians, or its brutalities towards Greek-Cyprus. Armenians and many oppressed minorities fled to Lebanon over the century. It's the only truly diverse country in the region, and it's shaping up to be the only true model of democracy. If Turkey and the west bond, it will simply be a meeting of colonizers.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

pap smear could be replaced by DNA tests, and yet....

Dr. Debbie Saslow, director of Breast and Gynecologic Cancer at the American Cancer Society, pap smears are not only intrusive and painful, but they're also an obsolete way of detecting cervical cancer. This test could be replaced by a DNA test, but American doctors refuse this new method. Saslow says the reason is that North American medicine is plagued with paternalism.
Doctors in Mumbai, India have already demonstrated the reasons to use DNA test in this diagnosis.
Where will Lebanon stand from all this? Will it keep following suit in American medicine-paternalism?

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Baabda 1989, Budrus 2003, what else did western media censor?

Julia Bacha, Media Director at Just Vision directed and produced "Budrus", a documentary about a West Bank village that peacefully resisted a barrier across their land.  Here's her documentary site, and a TED talk about it. The west has equally boycotted the first cedar revolution in 1989 in Lebanon, documented in Daniel Rondeau's "Chroniques d'un Liban Rebelle". This was the emergence of Lebanese nationalism, triggered by the General Michel Aoun, and which became an antidote to internal divides.

To us these boycotts are a form of colonization, refusing to acknowledge that the natives can think.

PS: there apparently are several pacifist Palestinian-Israeli initiatives, and I suppose some if them are politically aware.

wikileaks: the best thing that happened to patriots in Lebanon!

Wikileaks keeps demonstrating the self-serving nature of Saudi loyalists in Lebanon, and the constructive plans of Lebanese Patriots:

Sept 8, 2011: a leak of a Frangieh - US ambassador meeting describes the Hezbollah - FPM alliance as a way t undo inequalities caused by the old sectarian system

Sounds to me like Syria is missing a Lebanese - type Patroitic Party

Judging from the divides in Syria's opposition, it's startling that the western media failed to contrast this with the string sense of Lebanese national identity, and clear national goals around which the Lebanese Patriotic Party has galvanized the Lebanese public. They were the opposition that toppled Saudi loyalists from the Lebanese government and are now the majority reshaping the country, or trying to as the remaining loyalists in the government attempt to sabotage them.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

reactions to energy bill and STL in Lebanon

Aug 23, 2011: Gen Aoun accuses March 14 of sectarian provocation
Aug 28, 2011: Gharios says it is transparent
Aug 29, 2011: Mitaki criticized
Sept 2, 2011: Abboud agrees over cabinet control of spending
Sept 6, 2011: Karam believes that electricity issue will be solved by Sept 7th
Sept 7, 2011: Safadi announces that electricity bill was approved 
Sept 8, 2011: Cabinet approves Gen. Aoun's electricity plan
Sept 8, 2011: Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra criticized Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun’s electricity bill
Sept 8, 2011: Kanaan, MP in the BCR, said that the STL was backed by countries with political interest, and was therefore politicized. 
Sept 9, 2011: Traditional ministers who never served Lebanese interests attempt to control new ministers as they revamp Lebanon.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Hezbollah is a mediator, how evil is that!

Intelligent technocrats, and Hezbollah acted as a mediator to make sure that the Patriotic Party's plan to revamp public power plants is not sabotaged. How would a western reporter describe that? First they'll ignore the technocrats, then say "as part of Hezbollah's evil scheme to take over the world..., they're preventing an old ruling class from freezing Lebanon in the past?!"

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

hypocrisy of pharmaceutics exposed!

In this Time article, pharmaceutics are said to not adopt a new drug discovered by researchers because it would not be profitable. And the part about our health?! This ridicules anyone who blindly trusts pharmaceutics to cure them.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Fact denial in this Jerusalem post article

Israel is certainly built on the denial facts. The same occurs in this article where they call "terrorists" the Lebanese that followed constitutional procedures, and filed a legal a complaint to the united nations to prevent Israel from infringing on Lebanese maritime territory. Israel is coveting oil that is about tobe excavated, partly in the Lebanese territory.


Monday, August 15, 2011

pro-Saudi extremists trying to destabilize Lebanon

Dr. Lamb, is the author of The Price We Pay: A Quarter Century of Israel’s use of American Weapon’s against Lebanon (1978-2006). He reported in CounterPunch on May 24th, 2007 about terrorist cells in Lebanon, created by the pro-Saudi Future movement, and how these tried and failed to drag Hezbollah into a civil war in 2007. 


In 2008 a Saudi woman-reporter denounced Wahabi misogynist beliefs in an LBC report, and in the US prince Alwaleed rejected a mosq in New York. 


5 Fatah al-Islam mercenaries, who fought the Lebanese army in 2007 escaped jail on August 14th. 
At the onset of the so-called civil war in 1975, Lebanese jails were emptied by a puppet government. Is this some hopeless attempt to revice the old way of dividing and controlling small countries? Fatah al-Islam mercenaries are openly financed by members of the Saudi regime, whom the US is still covering for (or co-colonizing with?!).

July 19th, 2012: Lebanon Indicts Dozens From 2007 Clashes : NPR

Thursday, August 11, 2011

about avaaz's petition re:Syria

I tend to trust what Avaaz petitions; they seem to have a sense of justice. On the issue of Syria however, they are covering for Saudi-armed, Al Qaeda-praised elements in the revolt. A revolution is not the same thing as a coup by Saudi extremists. It's democratic to replace a dictator, yes, but not substitute one for another, that is more amenable to the Saudi regime, as are the remaining banana republics in the middle east.  There was a time when an oppressive regime from Saudi Arabia colonized the entire area, tried to assimilate everyone into the Sunnite majority (not pertaining to all sunnites), and almost annihilated minorities. That didn't quite work, but Saudi extremists with a faded glory complex are still trying. Terrorist acts were all committed by people from that faded glory neo-colonizing Saudi movement, the one the US supports. I am still waiting for an Avaaz petition that condemns the bloody Saudi dictatorship.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

funniest religion!

True story by Omid Djalili!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Learn from Russell Peters!

Russel Peters challenges Arabic stereotype.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

The armed gang controversy in Syria

The armed gangs controversy: the violent side o the Syrian revolt, and the accuracy of western reports on the issue.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Civil law vs/ Islamism: follow Lebanon's example

This mideast article describes the islamist show of force in Tahrir square in Egypt. An yet, it is Hezbollah that scares everyone! Hezbollah was guided by the patriotic party in Lebanon to sign a memorandum of understanding (published by the Mideast monitor) where they agree to end sectarianism, and separate religion from state.  Scary isn't it, but islamist calling for an islamic government aren't.  The Lebanese Patriotic Party also proposed a unified civil law that abolishes sectarianism

Friday, July 22, 2011

In Lebanon we don't get angry, we lawyer up!

The Lebanese government is a first, it actually serves Lebanon! It is rectifying the incompetence of the saudi-affiliated ex government, and filing the proper legal paperwork to protect Lebanon's maritime territory from Israel. Is this what the US is lamenting, that we're not governed by incompetent slackers that they can take advantage of?
For those who lament Hariri, if he was so great, why didn't even file the right papers to preserve Lebanon's territory? This not to mention the $11 billions his government embezzled.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

the stories that won't make it to the west...

Here's one, about Yemeni Hip Hop! The video on Shake The Dust.org features Nadia al Sakkaf, who lead the Yemen Times into becoming an internationally credible news source. I love how they tsrat the video by saying that a queen once ruled their country, and they're as old as civilization, but these are not the stories that make it to the west. They said "our stories got lost, among the stories that others told".

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

there you go, that's the difference between March 8 (lead by Lebanese nationalists) and the old ruling class that opposes them

March 8 finance ministry in Lebanon vows to play by the rules, and leave out favoritism and vindictiveness. When did you ever hear Hariri and company even utter those words! They rule Ottoman style, they oppress the natives, deviate public funds, and when called out for doing that they say "isn't that still better than you having a civil war?". It's all very Moubarak of Egypt, all every ally the US ever had. In order save us from ourselves, which we demonstrated to be unnecessary, they ask in return for the right to pillage us. Well here comes the opposite of the old ruling class, the March 8 government, which works for Lebanon, not threatens it with a civil war while pillaging it.

Monday, July 11, 2011

So which is it? Does the Syrian government have a popular basis or not?

Sure, this article called syrian who protested at the US embassy a "mob", but it's still civilians protesting the fact the US and French ambassador were inciting a revolt in Hama.
So which is it, does the Syrian government appeal to any of its people, or doesn't it?
Biast adjectives like "mob" aside, a bunch a of Syrians answered the appeal to protest US influence in Syria. Could that be because the US rebranded Khaddam, a brutal dictator aid, "pro democratic leader of a revolution". My impression is that Syrians can have their own revolutions, untainted with ex-dictators. It also seems that real revolutions only happen when the US stays out of it. The US only replaces one dictator with another, or a dictator with a Banana Republic, but never really supports democracy. US foreign policy is still steeped in Pilgrim thinking, exterminate or at least sabotage the natives. Have you ever heard of pilgrims developing a natives reserve?

Friday, June 3, 2011

how to have more women leaders

great TED talk on how women can think, in order to get to the top

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

an intelligent lebanon would reward female skills

Why female skills are putting companies with women leaders ahead, in the US. Now how about in Lebanon?

rule of law: not a good fit with US allies

in Lebanon, US allies are reminiscent of the corrupt cops of 1930's San Fransisco.
They abuse power, hold back salaries of public employees, and hopelessly try to provoke sectarianism as a smoke screen.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Obama's government supported banana republics, until it no longer had a choice

January 27, 2011, Biden still supported Moubarak and State Dept spokesman Crowley said Moubarak "stabilizes" the region.

In May 19, 2011 Obama says in his Arabic Spring speech that this is "a time when the people of the Middle East and North Africa are casting off the burdens of the past". So, was the US holding us back in the past, during all the years it supported Banana Republics?

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

so when afghanistan does it it's ok

"Hezbollah, pro-Iran" is what the US shreeks at Lebanese that are not Saudi puppets. It's lost on them that we can be pro-Lebanon. Then again, assuming Lebanon was accepting aid from Iran, how is it that this makes pro-Iranians, but not so when Afghanistan accepts the same aid to fend off extremists that happen to be opponents of Iran?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

shiaphobia

Sectarianism like only US allies can promote.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

an ex-dictator deemed pro-democracy?!

It's classic American foreign policy to alternate their alliances with extremists, calling one a bad extremist and the other a good one. They have never however supported real democracy advocates :

In Syria they are re-branding an old dictator as "pro-democracy", to replace a current dictatorship.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Good dictatorship / bad dictatorship? Are the US, Saudi regimes and green movement not accountable for their criminal alliances?

Saudi and American regimes have supported with Moubarak and Ben Ali's regimes in Tunnis. Corrupt, abusive regimes that have paralyzed their countries for years, under the claim that the population is a group of extremists waiting to lash out. The corrupt leaders claimed that they were keeping these so-called anti-west extremists, which we know as college-educated middle class, under control. This is the same claim the US makes when backing the corrupt Hariri suite in Lebanon. They deny nationalism, the populist call to end corruption, the fact that Hezbollah emerged from internal racism, and that it signed a memorandum of understanding saying that it will disarm if all Lebanese had equal rights.  No, much like they did in Egypt and Tunis, they claim that the only choice is their corrupt allies or extremists. They only seem to mind dictatorships that don't bend to their will.
How then can we trust their position on Syria? The Syrian dictatorship is far from a democracy, but how can we trust that the US won't let it transition into a democracy, because they want to replace with a Banana Republic? We want a real democracy in Syria, not American posers like Moubarak, Hariri, Ben Ali and other US allies.

The British monarchy rescinded the wedding invitation to the Syrian ambassador. Great, now how about they do the same to the Saudi regime, responsible for funding murderous mercenaries sent to hopelessly try to provoke a civil war in Lebanon in 2007?

Even more contradictory is how Lebanese get vilified for having a will of their own. We make terrible colonial subjects don't we? Many from the Iranian green movement attribute guilt by association. They don't believe that small countries have a brain or political principles, they just want to know who we belong too. Haven't Iran's green movement, Saudis and Americans heard? Slavery is over, we don't belong to anyone. Don't try to tell them that though, they only want to hear if you belong to Iran or their friend the Saudi King. Oh wait, you say he's not their friend? How convenient! They can innocent themselves from the crimes of their political allies, but we are deemed guilty by affiliation. They point and scream "wicth", "pro-Iranian", because we oppose American and Saudi colonization of our countries, through their support for Banana republics? Are you calling the Egyptian revolution pro-Iranian, because they are certainly not pro-US.

We have our own Lebanese political agenda, and frankly it is grounds for us to culturally invade the entire middle east. Our agenda entails our supreme understanding of religious diversity and democracy, something the entire area needs to learn from the charter of the Lebanese patriotic party, and not from the US sabotaging the less malleable regimes, while supporting the dictatorships they approve of.

July 9th, 2012: Saudi protest crackdown leaves two dead - Middle East

Monday, April 18, 2011

Why Isreal is not a democracy

Ilan Pappé, professor at the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the UK, director of the university's European Centre for Palestine Studies, co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies, and political activist explain why Israel is not a democracy in this Mideast Monitor article. Israel has a political cast system, and just because the lower cats can vote, that does not mean they have equal rights.
He's the author of A Modern History of Palestine, and The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.


and how will a reporter add a sectarian twist on that?

A Christian-Islamic spiritual summit in Lebanon, that must be tough to report, in media that stereotypes Lebanese by religions. I guess they'll ignore it!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

White power rally in Lebanon last month

In this white power rally-equivalent in March 2011, Hariri speaks to a once-dominant and racist political cast. He blatantly plagorized GMA's 1989 speech!! Except 1989 was a call for national sentiment, and he's calling for saving a sectarian system. He wants to "breath"? Is that why his supporters said "we want pure neighborhoods, made of one religion"? This is a Hariri equivalent of a white power rally, they want "pure neighborhoods too". Racist Saudi puppet....

Monday, March 21, 2011

Why March 14th clashes with Lebanese National Sentiment

I received this email from a friend
Il semble de plus en plus visible et inquiétant qu'une certaine presse utilise des moyens pour attiser la haine sectaire. Mais qu'attends la justice pour condamner ces pseudo-journalistes? 

Mon Dieu, préserve-nous de cette propagande.
Guérissez ces malades assoiffés de sang et de vengeances gratuites...
Même le ridicule ne leur fait plus peur lorsqu'ils utilisent une image qui montre une réalité, qui se trouve être le contraire de ce qu'ils racontent (2ème video). La 1ère video est un pur produit de propagande alors que la 2ème est le fruit d'une enquête menée aux sources mêmes de l'image.


La Future TV joue un sale jeu et à sa tête toute la clique politique qui approuve ce type de message. Le seul moyen d'éviter la guerre civile est de répandre ces saloperies pour conscientiser les gens sur l'éducation que reçoivent certaines personnes et surtout pour condamner ces pratiques indignes et les rendre obsolètes.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Protests in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is next! Protests against the theocracy, demands of an elected parliament.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

great article that says it all: Mubarak regime source of sectarian unrest

Mubarak regime source of sectarian unrest  

This shows the parallalelism between Hariri and Moubarak's strategy: divide and rule. The west uses the Hezbollah smokescreen to over look that

The opposite of sectarianism is true citizenry.  Banana republics, provoked internal divides, never educated the mainstream on the cultures of minorities, never fostered dialogue, but the Lebanese patriotic party has. The west reacted by vilifying it!  It aims to create true citizenry, where everyone is treated as equals there will be no reason for instability.
"During the January 25 Revolution all the police abandoned their posts, yet not one single church in the country was attacked," al-Sayed points out. "Even the Jewish synagogues were left untouched after police vacated them." 


Friday, February 18, 2011

what to answer to "isn't Hezbollah bad"?

"everyone is entitled to their own opinion, not everyone is entitled to their own facts" - Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

In Lebanon as in Bahrain, a regressive Sunnite regime treated shiites as second class citizens. This is what provoked the emergence of Hezbollah.

The fact is that Sunnite marginals (who don't by any means represent Sunnites) are accused of 9/11. They are affiliated with Saudi Arabia, today's oppressive backers of Banana Republics in Tunis, Egypt, and Lebanon before that. They are also allies of the US.  The revolutionary association of women Afghanistan tells us that the US simply alternated backing this type of extremist groups in Afghanistan. Hezbollah on the other hand are shiites, and the Lebanese equivalent of the Zapatistas. No one could support their social cause, of racism against shiites in Lebanon while they were violent in the 80's, but now westernized Lebanese Christians like me have understood what triggered Hezbollah, and to reverse this process and make them feel respected within the Lebanese democracy. This lead to the 2006 memorandum of understanding between Hezbollah and Lebanese nationalists.

We are all ultimately responsible for every group of people that snaps, because we crush them with our indifference to their rights. We now know better, and we don't owe the US to stay frozen in the past: we enter the phase where we strongly define Lebanese citizenry in Lebanon, and no longer be available to a foreign-provoked civil war again.

This was entirely negated by the US media, the Lebanese citizenry movement in particular. Advocacy for true Lebanese citizenry was triggered in 1989, by Michel Aoun, leader of the anti-Syrian (pacifist) liberation movement in Lebanon. This movement was unlike the after-the-fact "anti-Syrian" pro-west government that waited until after the Syrian occupation ended to claim a pro-west (but never a pro-Lebanon) stand. It's also an anti-religious segregation movement, which denounces the :divide and destabilize" strategy used against Lebanon. It counteracts segregation through dialogue and bridging differences, with Hezbollah and every Lebanese faction. Aoun's movement was the driving force that lobbied to have the US sign the Syria accountability act in 2003. Unfortunately, the US only sided with that movement in 2005, to expel the Syrian occupation, in order to seemingly colonize Lebanon in their own turn. All of this goes entirely over the head of those who scream "get rid of them", in good old holly war fashion, and the STL tries to distract Lebanon from its new citizenry focus.

The memorandum of understanding between the patriotic party and Hezbollah (2006) is a multi-step program where they disarm and re-define themselves to better fit in a democracy. This was suspiciously blacked out by western media. This understanding also proves to us that we're not stuck, being a civil war waiting to happen. We can now become a country. Up to this day, we don't understand why the US vilifies anyone who doesn't want to be a Saudi colony and reduces them to an outdated Hezbollah stereotype,... it is all very shady. Lebanon identifies with Tunis, Egypt and others to come, who don't fall f saudi-backed sectarianism. They are also rejecting corrupt governments.

Note: I've used the equivalent of the N word by using religious labels here, but only to speak in terms still used in the media today. Like many nationalists , I reject sectarian labels and advocate equal rights for all Lebanese.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Monday, February 7, 2011

Lebanon, flagship for real demcoracy

Lebanese nationalists achieved change without violence, and are taking their message on the road:

Don't count on CNN however, the Colonial News Network, to acknowledge any of that. They still label us by religions, and reduce to bigots engaged in feuds. And we wonder why they were oblivious to the brewing revolt in the middle east.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Arabs get their dignity back

A dictator is no match to a close-knit Egyptian people.

After the fact, the anglo-saxon world is now pre-democracy. Well French parliament members like Dany-Cohn Bendit did better, they were against dictators while the anglo-phone world was calling them a stabilizing factor.

Dany-Cohn Bendit said in his recent parliament speech the west lamented how the alternative to dictators is fundamentalist, but there is now proof that there is a third choice. He said that this is event from a pro-egypt march in gaza that was crushed by hammas (first and second article), who are theocrats.

In fact, a third choice has been evident since 1989, when Lebanese nationalists emerged in Lebanon. Same for when RAWA emerged in Afghanistan.  

Here's an eye opener, much like the Lebanese one, the Tunisian Banana Republic was fixated on the capital and neglected the South and North. Classic post-colonial government.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

ah the baby steps of western media...

In this New York Times article (Jan 27th 2011) the reporter slowly wobbles away from calling those who toppled the Banana Republic in Lebanon mythical anti west monsters, but.. he still uses sectarian labels, obviate Lebanese nationalism and fixates on the colonial idea that Lebanon must be Syria's colony, or somebody's. The reporter also speaks of how is the US to have clout in Lebanese. Isn't the premise of decolonization that the west would work with other countries, and not manipulate them?
Baby steps!

In this older article they acknowledge that GMA fought off the Syrian occupation "then was exiled", but they skip that he led the only underground, and pacifist liberation movement until 2005.

Granted he visited dictatorships, but is shunning these neighbors, or communicating with them the answer? It's colonial to deny democratic middle easterns the chance to influence neighboring pre-democraties, and that starts with... visits.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

oh no, using Hezbollah as a smoke screen, to cover for corrupt allies is not working


In this New York Times article, the new prime minister Najib Mitaki, and Hezbollah are cited for insisting that they are not after a Hezbollah take-over, but simply join the patriotic party in demanding a functional country. This however is no match for the ingrained sectarian stereotypes that the same article perpetuates about Lebanon. Divided, religious fault lines... these are the ivory-tower terms that distant and out of touch observers repeat about Lebanon. The west is apparently not ready to admit that the natives of yet another ex-colony, Lebanon in this case, are capable of national sentiment and sophisticated political choice.

On the west supporting Hariri, Gen. Aoun asked, "Why do those countries want to rename a person accused of directing false witnesses in the international investigations", and on Hariri's corruption he asked "what would other countries do if they had millions of dollars missing like in Lebanon".


Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faysal's says he's concerned about divides in Lebanon, but that's more wishful thinking than concern. This is the same old colonization method, forbidding Lebanese people from re-constructing their country, while claiming to be "helping them".

Here's what the Gen. Michel Aoun had to say about the blind support of the west for Hezbollah.

لا يمكن لكل دول الأرض أن تفرض علينا الحريري
العماد ميشال عون في لقاء صحافي بعد إستقباله السفير مايكل وليامز
نذكّرهم بأن "لبنان أكبر من يبلع وأصغر من أن يقسّم"

إستقبلت اليوم السفير مايكل ويليامز ممثّل الأمم المتّحدة في بيروت، وبهذه الصفة طرح عليّ أسئلة حول الأزمة اللبنانية وبدوري حمّلته رسالة لجميع الأمم التي يمثلها، فسألته ماذا يحصل في بلدانكم أو في أي بلد ديمقراطي مع رئيس حكومة إذا اكتُشف أنه مرتكب لخطأ فأجابني "بالطبع يكون هناك محكمة"، سألته "في أي دولة ديمقراطية من تلك الدول التي تمثلها، أو في أي دولة ديمقراطية في العالم ماذا يحصل مع رئيس حكومة إذا كان هناك هدر في أموال الدولة وسرقة؟؟" فأجاب "يكون هناك محكمة" سألته هل يمكن أن يعاد تعيينه قبل مثوله أمام المحكمة؟ فأجاب لا. فقلت له لماذا إذاً تريد كل تلك الدول إعادة تعيين شخص متهم وهناك قرائن تدل على إدارته شهود الزور في التحقيق الدولي؟ هذا بالإضافة الى عشرات المليارات المفقودة على يده وعلى يد خطه السياسي وهو يغطي، من جهة يغطي شهود الزور، ومن جهة أخرى يغطي الأموال المفقودة والتي لا يريدون أن يقدموا أي حساب عنها.
كان السفير صامتاً معظم الوقت ولم يكن لديه أجوبة كثيرة، وانصرف متمنياً لنا الخروج من هذه الأزمة. وأنا أريد أن أطرح هذه الأسئلة على كافة الذين يتعاطون معنا بموضع الحكومة. فنحن عندما قلنا إن الحريري يجب ألا يعود للحكم فقد عنينا ما نقوله، وذلك ليس لأننا مختلفون معه أو لأننا على خلاف مع "السنّة" كما يشيع البعض، ففي الطائفة السنية أشرف الرجال وفيها أكفأ الرجال، أما من يعتبر منهم موقفنا التفافاً عليهم أو إهانة لهم فهؤلاء هم من يهيننا، إذ لا يمكنهم أن يفرضوا علينا شخصاً كهذا، ولو جاءت قوى الأرض كلها لا يمكننا أن نكون في دولة لها دستورها وقوانينها ولا نحترم هذا الدستور وتلك القوانين.. فإذا جلسنا حول طاولة لنتحاور فوفقاً لأي أسس سيكون حوارنا لنجد حلاً للقضية؟؟ أليس وفقاً للقوانين؟ أليس وفقاً للدستور؟؟ أليس وفقاً للتقاليد الإيجابية؟ فبأي منطق يطلبون منا ما يطلبونه.
هذه هي الرسالة التي أوجهها لكل لبناني، فلا يطلب مني أحد أن أويد أو أقبل بحل أقل من تحقيق ومحاكمة في كل المخالفات التي حصلت، ومن يقبل أقل من ذلك يكون مشاركاً، وليعرف كل الشعب اللبناني.

س: يبدو أن المسعى الذي قام به الوزيران القطري والتركي قد توقف، وبالأمس سمعنا وزير الخارجية السعودي يتحدث ربما للمرة الأولى عن تقسيم لبنان، فهل الوضع خطير لهذه الدرجة إذا لم يعد الحريري الى رئاسة الحكومة؟
ج: من لديه جيش ليفرض به التقسيم فليأتي به ويقسّم، لبنان لن يقسم .. لبنان أكبر من أن يبلع وأصغر من أن يقسّم، هذا الشعار أطلقته في العام 1978، وصار عمره 32 سنة، قلته يومها للاري بوب الذي كان مسؤولاً عن "Lebanon desk" في الخارجية الأميركية وكنت موفداً الى هناك بشأن تجهيزات الجيس اللبناني، فقال لي أي جيش تريد أن تسلّح؟ أين جيش لبنان وأين لبنان؟؟ لبنان قد يقسّم، فأجبته في حينه لبنان أكبر من أن يبلع وأصغر من أن يقسّم.
لبنان لن يقسّم شاءت أميركا ذلك أو لم تشأ، شاءت إسرائيل ذلك أو لم تشأ.. ونطلب من الولايات المتحدة أن تتذكر كيف تقوم بالتدقيق المالي في مصلحة الضرائب (Tax control) على بعض اللبنانيين الموجودين لديها، وكيف تعريهم وتبحث في كل قرش لديهم.. فهل تسمح لنا أن نقوم ليس بـ "Tax control" بل بخزينة "control" وأن نقوم بالحساب الرسمي لخزينة اللبنانية؟؟؟ هل يمكن أن " يحلّو عن ضهرنا"؟؟ جريمتنا أننا نريد أن نبني بلداً حديثاً فيه قوانين ونظافة، وهذا ممنوع علينا.. يجب أن نكون فاسدين وأن يشتمونا وهكذا يمكنهم أن يجرونا. هم يدعموننا في السلطة إذا كان شعبنا يرفضنا ونصبح منفذين لهم. لا.. نحن نريد شعباً نظيفاً وحكومة نظيفة تحترم القوانين الأخلاقية والنصوص القانونية ونريد أن نكون أقوياء ومستقلين.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Lebanon upgrades Prime Minister, the west still stuck on old sectarian labels

This is amusing: today the religiously diverse Lebanese opposition succeeded in nominating a new Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, but this BBC report still uses contorted racist sectarian labels (labels by religion) to describe the situation http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12267758 . It's like watching a Pilgrim come to grips with the fact that there's more to American Natives than their breed. Will sophisticated political choices of the Lebanese opposition, which rejects bigotry, ever stop going over the head of western media?
Besides, how can the west look us in the face and tell us that "mini Hariri", a daddy's boy that did nothing but drown us in debt, one who bought a fake college degree, is a better choice than a self-made business man with a real education from a US university? What is it with US-affinity towards corrupt Banana Republics, and their discomfort with national sentiment is emerging democracies? I believe that is called colonialism. Hopefully Americans will grow out of it soon, we kind of need them to join the 21st century, in that sense.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

US gov, Israel, the Saudi regime and Banana Republics on one side, and natives on the other

US, Israel, the Saudi regime seem to be collaborating as colonizers of the Middle East and North Africa. The Saudi regime supports Banana Republic, the well known loop hole after colonization became illegal. The US and Israel call these Banana Republics "pro-west" and "defenders of democracy". They also describe the opposition to the Banana Republic in Lebanon as an "anti-west" monster. This simply covers for these corrupt governments and their Saudi backers.

The Washington post, in this article on Hariri's death, again mystifies the Lebanese opposition and covers for a corrupt and exploitive ruling class in Lebanon just because it's willing to be a pon government at the service of the Saudi and US regimes. How shocking, coming from Obama whom we all campaigned for because we thought he is sophisticated enough to end colonization.

The manipulative divisive foreign policy of the US is the reason why the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was passed in 2005, and apparently forgotten in the case of policies towards Lebanon.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Hellen Thomas award

some links to bring you up to speed:

I'm sure by now you have heard the news about Wayne State University's decision to drop a journalism award that has been given in the name of Helen Thomas for more than twenty years. WSU's decision came after Thomas made comments about Zionism's stranglehold on "Congress, the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street" which WSU officials considered 'anti semitic'.

Here are some links to the story:

http://www.freep.com/article/20101204/NEWS05/12040418/Wayne-State-University-drops-Helen-Thomas-diversity-award-over-journalist-s-controversial-remarks

http://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/index.php/article/2010/12/helen_thomas_wsu_betrayed_academic_freedom#comment475

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/12/helen_thomas_wayne_state_unive.html

Background:
In a move that was offensive to all who believe in academic and journalistic freedom, Wayne State University decided to change the name of the journalism award named after one of the University’s most esteemed alumni. Helen Thomas, the 90 year old esteemed Arab American journalist and former Dean of the White House Press corps. Thomas is perhaps the best-known alum of WSU, having covered every President of the United States from the last years of the Eisenhower administration until the second year of the Obama administration. Her courage and independent questioning earned her a deep respect from her colleagues and the American people.

Unfortunately, some “public servants” at Wayne State University have reportedly been waiting for an excuse to rename the award after many supporters of Israel attacked Thomas for recent comments about getting the Israelis out of Palestine. The comments led to her forced resignation from her job. Most recently, at a conference December 2nd in Dearborn, Thomas remarked "Congress, the White House and Hollywood, Wall Street are owned by Zionists. No question, in my opinion." WSU leaders said they considered the remark anti-Semitic and pulled the award the following day.

http://arabdetroit.com/news.php?id=2379

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article=3734

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=OtherOpinions&article=3696

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-06-07/politics/pol.helen.thomas_1_helen-thomas-hearst-corporation-remarks?_s=PM:POLITICS

http://arabdetroit.com/news.php?id=2402

Friday, January 7, 2011

Emerging technologies that would make sense to import to Lebanon

I often see ads on Lebanese websites for trading in oil, or in the same old stock market, and I laugh. We're a renaissance waiting to happen, once the Banana Republic gets out of the way. Why would we do things the same old way?

There are some technologies, emerging around the world, that could propel Lebanon into the future. These cost a fraction of the budgetary spending made by the Saniora and Hariri cabinets between 2006 and 2009, and the $11 billion they embezzled, undocumented.

Eliodomestico, an energy passive desalinator for water

Graphene electrodes for making organic solar cells practical:

Maybe a solution to traffic and road maintenance in Lebanon, Australian built Hoverbike prepares for takeoff.

Camera gun, which provides a humane alternative to hunting.

BizTimes: 

Potawatomi digester to produce energy


Futuristic SeaOrbiter vessel (French architect), set for October construction.

3D-Printing with Nano-Precision, an industry that produces high-precisions parts, without the pollution and harsh conditions of a factory.

FanWing aircraft that uses a fan on the wings to blow air over it. It only needs 15 meters to take off, which means in small Lebanon this aircraft can transport patients, urgent supplies from and to short airports.

a revolutionary way of teaching, for free: Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education | Video on TED.com

Stone Spray builds architecture from the ground up: instead of using expensive bricks and masonry, we would be able to "spray" on Lebanese houses.

High-efficiency solar energy tech turns water into steam - from Rice University

GVentilation shafts cladded with greenery, from Greenroofs.com. Imagine this at the Zouk power plant ventialtion shaft.

Smart Bra May Replace Mammograms: apparently water pollution in Lebanon and the surrounding triggers cancer, among other diseases

Because toxicity from chemicals is not a detail: Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry

Animal shelters that show case the intelligence of animals: driving school for dogs in New Zealand.

For less traffic in Lebanon, maybe we can all have jetpacks: Redesigned Martin Jetpack deliveries expected to start in 2014

Self-lighting sidewalk, means actual sidewalks in Lebanon, and less spending on street lights PRO-TEQ: spray applied elastomeric polyurethane - polyurea coatings.

High-Tech Sensors Help Old Port City Leap Into Smart Future : Parallels : NPR: