Blogosphere, November 28, 2006

A quick and easy election
Frances came and picked me up and we drove to the polling station in our neighbourhood (in Bahrain) to cast my vote. The ample car parking made the process of reaching the venue easy; even considering the muck left over after the rains earlier in the day.
We negotiated the path from the car park to inside the school where polling was taking place, walked into the hall and then almost immediately to the checkpoint where they scanned the barcode off my CPR card, made sure that my name is on the electoral list and handed me the two polling papers; one for the municipal and the second for parliamentary elections.
The electoral papers had clear pictures of the candidates with large check boxes and candidate's names each in an individual block which is amply separated from other candidates'. This reduced the chances of selecting the wrong box.
I went to one of the many non-curtained booths and made my selection, watched from a dais by the judges and other officials, then I walked to the ballot boxes and deposited the papers in their appropriate box and walked out.
The whole process from leaving home until coming back again did not take more than 20 minutes!
http://mahmood.tv/

Learning lessons
The Lebanese should calm down, look at Iraq, and reflect. I have my strong opinions and convictions. So do my political opponents. But unlike many observers believe (or perversely seem to wish for), neither my camp nor the opposite one wants a civil war. In fact, every single person in this country saw enough bloodshed to last a lifetime, and we do not wish to see another war in the near or far future, thank you very much.
My opponents and I also have a common belief: An external force is bent on fighting with our bodies. I believe it's Syria, my opponents believe it's the US and Israel. We are both convinced that the "foreign villain" is intent on using the tense situation to cause mayhem in this country.
Wisdom demands that we both watch what's happening in Iraq today and learn our lessons very well.
http://beirutspring.blogspot.com/

To hell in a hand-basket...
That's where Lebanon's leaders seem intent on taking their countrymen. Two camps with diametrically opposed views, alliances, interests and intents. Each of them stubborn; unwilling to concede. There's bound to be an explosion sooner or later.
As for yesterday's rally, it was merely a wave; a wave that washed up against a rock and receded back into the sea. That temporary, almost fickle, nature of the March 14 protests is the reason that people who argue "the Syrians could not have killed Gemayel and all the other politicians because it runs counter to their interests" are wrong.
The March 14 protests constitute nothing but bursts of activity that ultimately whither away into oblivion. For God's sake, if the murder of Hariri himself did not change much in Lebanon's internal political dynamics, how much would the murder of George Hawi, Gebran Tueini or even Pierre Gemayel bring? One could counter that Hariri's murder lead to "a Parliamentary revolution". However, all it takes is one look at that institution's irrelevance in politics today to notice how inconsequential that electoral victory turned out.
http://lebanesebloggers.blogspot.com/

Impending gloom
March 14th statement that the purpose of Pierre Gemayel's murder is to stop the international tribunal is too absurd to believe. The resolution on the tribunal was passed unanimously with no debate as a result of the murder. This has happened before when resolutions were to be passed on Lebanon; resolutions that would have taken some discussions and maybe undergone some changes. The accused must be extremely dumb to keep repeating the same mistake of accelerating the international tribunal that will indict them.
The respect gained whenever leaders (Jumblatt etc) state that they were mistaken for taking a certain path quickly vanishes when they decide to stay and lead to and through another righteous path that they just discovered. The people (poor etc) pay the price.
Olmert is worried. He is afraid; in fact he is praying that the latest assassination will not lead to the destabilisation of the region.
I may just be too simplistic and idealistic in my analysis or maybe I am suffering from the syndrome of living in Beirut continuously for more than two decades.
http://urshalim.blogspot.com/

Madness?
I mean it's either madness or stupidity. One of the two. There is no rationale or logic behind what is going on in Lebanon and Beirut these days.
I haven't been since before the war. I'm scheduled to go for New Years.
What the hell is the point? Go and feel that little pull at my heart when I set foot in Beirut and see the leftover of the most recent war?
What the hell for?
So I can agonise again over a country that won't even claim me back because if they did, I'd be counted as one of the Muslim sinne group which would in the future somehow miraculously harm the numbers of the Lebanese Christians? But I don't need papers to tell me I'm Lebanese mind, body, and soul. I also don't need papers to tell me that there's a part of me in Northern Palestine. It's what I make of it.
But this latest insanity is just not right. Everybody thinks it's Syria behind it this time. I don't care who's behind it. Could you all just stop and think for a minute? Think of the damage? http://devilwaresprada.blogspot.com/

Road toll: Bring it on!
I am gonna go on a limb here and say something that many of you will hate: I honestly think Road Tolls is actually a good idea.
Okay, before you roll out the big guns, just close your eyes, relax and take a deep breath.
Now, let's see.. Who are you?
If you live in Sharjah, believe me, road toll is the best thing that ever happened to you since the invention of toast bread. Seriously speaking; why did you move to Sharjah anyways? If you live in Sharjah and work there, then road tolls will mean squat to you.
However, if you live in Sharjah and work in Dubai, then 99.99999% of the reason you moved there is because of the absurd rent situation in Dubai and you refuse to pay the cost of a studio apartment in Dubai while you can get a spacious sea view 3bedroom one in Sharjah.
You pay less rent in Sharjah but in return you get stuck in traffic for at least 3 hours more every day.
But hey, with road tolls, main roads will clear out big time because the ones who can't afford them will chose other alternative roads.
http://dubaiconsumermirror.blogspot.com