Mind Soup

Below is a guest post by my favorite politician in Lebanon, HMA Tom Fletcher , the British Ambassador to Lebanon. In Lebanon's Hands Lebanon tends to be high on our August watchlist. This year there was no major single crisis, but five developments raised anxiety. Israel accused Hizballah of involvement in the Bourgas terrorist attack. A pro-Assad former Minister was arrested. Kidnappings returned in a dangerous 48 hours. Some Gulf countries told their nationals to leave. The Tripoli powder keg re-ignited. Throughout, the media were quick to accentuate the negative. Lebanon has learnt to live with a certain level of instability. Periodically, for millennia, it has gone through phases of fragility, as regional tectonic plates and delicate demographics shift. The result is often conflict and political realignment. Are we in such a phase? Not yet. But I think there is an increasing realisation among Lebanese that Assad’s ability to directly influence political life in Lebanon is...

Dear Minister Nahhas, I had the unfortunate displeasure of attending your so-called "open discussion" last week at AUB.which was hosted by the Youth Shadow Government  I have to begin that the whole lecture (which cannot even be considered an "open" discussion because there was nothing open about it) was very pointless and was not informative at all about the telecom situation in Lebanon. What it was though is extremely depressing. Your excellency explained that decreasing the costs of telecommunications will not solve any problems. You also said that equalizing chances between countries will not be achieved if telecommunications became better. I am sorry to tell you that this is a pathetic excuse not to improve the communications sector in Lebanon. Your speculations that such improvements are not necessarily advantageous to the Lebanese society are invalid. I don't know if you realize how important the internet and fast communication is for the Lebanese yo...

Photo by Naharnet Every week while on my way back to my home-city in the South of Lebanon, I pass by an infamous area called Ouzai.This area is getting more hideous week by week due to the cramming of construction that is going on there. This construction, as you might have guessed, is as illegal as most of Dahye and the South. It seems that Hezbollah is gradually taking over the place. A common trend is fulling constructing a one-floor building (with painting it and occupying it) and then continuing to construct more floors. This way they can claim that the building has been there for a while and not brand new (not that it would make much sense). What's even more irritating is that they are even taking the law into their own hands there. Members of Hezbollah start asking for IDs of people they think are suspicious, as if they are the ruling power in Lebanon. Kinda reminds of stories my parents used to tell me during the Lebanese Civil War where different political groups...

I was in Baalback this past weekend with the AUB Ambassadors and the new students showing them around Bekaa and AUB's farm (AREC). What caught my attention is that everywhere I looked, there was a guy or a stand of Hezbollah T-shirts. What's worse is the look on the seller's face when you decline to buy a shirt from him. Seriously, I don't want to buy a shirt from you! I wouldn't even take it if you offered it to me, even if it was covered with gold! Is this how Hezbollah is now funding its illegal weapons now? (By the way, rumors are that these shirts are Made in Iran...) © Mind Soup © Mind Soup

Below are a few posts I have enjoyed reading this week. Shoot As You Walk "Plug Into E-Cycle Movement" Pictures (NourSpot) Photo by NourSpot Futurist Project (Joe's Box) After five years of hard work and research my sister made a nice final project for her diploma, a nice creative project that i personally loved and i guess we need those kind of projects as Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented boom in shopping malls. A museum of archeology and history In Byblos as the city is a tourist destination visited annually by many tourists. [...] Where are the tourists? (Blog Baladi) In June 21, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud said that the number of visitors to Lebanon has increased by 26.6 percent compared to this time last year, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Wednesday. Since then, we haven’t heard any updates on the number of tourists in Lebanon and to be honest, i think the numbers are going down and drastically. [...] Why Not? (Independence ...