Yazan is an old friend from back in my AUB days. He even designed one of my blog headers a few years back. Last Friday, Yazan completed his latest masterpiece, a mural near Sodeco Square, on the former “Green Line” that used to divide Christian East Beirut, and Muslim West Beirut.
The mural is part of a larger project called “White Wall” by the Institut Francais du Liban (the cultural arm of the french embassy) and Goethe Institute.
The Premise: West Beirut 27 Years After the End of the War
Ziad Doueiri’s “West Beirut” is a classic movie all of us have watched time after time, and reflected on how the situation back in the 70s, is still relevant and significant today. Tarek is a young Muslim boy, and the movie revolves around him and a young Christian girl called May, whose family sought refuge in West Beirut.
In Yazan’s own words:
The mural is a reminder of Lebanon’s post-war settlement: a political system built on sectarianism and business interest that blocks true national cohesion. The persistence of the current political class in fueling sectarian grievances and obstructing the rule of law reflects in the ever-growing government debt, absence of basic services and limited civil rights. Case in point, 27 years after the end of the Civil War, with the absence of civil marriage Tarek and May would not be able to get married if their story had continued (…in the way I imagine).
Below are some making-of shots. If you want to see it live, make sure you go down to Sodeco, and walk towards the National Museum (Mathaf) area, and it’ll be on your right hand. It’s important to note that the “Noueiri” building that features this mural, suffered heavy damage during the Lebanese Civil War, and was rebuilt after, making it the perfect canvas, in the perfect location, for such a powerful message.
I don’t know about you, but I love Halloween. Everyone dresses up, they can be as scary, slutty and funny without anyone making a huge fuss, you know, cause it’s Halloween. Of course, you’ll always have the MTVs and Tony Khalifehs of the world thinking Halloween parties are “satanic rituals”, but what else can you expect from people like that? For me, it’s even funner that there’s a chance a hapless MTV crew might come and do a documentary about a costume party, or that annoying friend on your list that complains that “St Barbara is on December 4th, stop indulging in Western satanic stuff”.
Anyway, now that my rant against conservatives is over, let’s get down to business:
I don’t know about you guys, but I miss Thursday nights at AHM. I almost ordered an Uber to go down there the other week, forgetting they were taking a 2-week break before this Halloween banger.
All the usual fun of Love Night, only with even more props and extravagant outfits. Yes please!
TeknoAnd are back at B018 to continue their epic series of bookings this year, this time with none other than DAX J! I had the pleasure of seeing this man destroy Gashouder in Amsterdam during Awakenings, and given his marathon 10-hour set at Berghain, this man is a living Techno legend. Friday night, wear your costumes and head down to B018 for a Halloween party with DAX J ❤
Skin City are opening up their 3 rooms this Friday, with 6 artists making sure your costume will be able to do that dance routine you’ve been practicing in it the past week or two.
Papa Sven and Maurizio Schmidt are in town this weekend, in what’s arguably one of the biggest bookings at a Lebanese club this year. Who better than the vinyl-armed Techno deity to celebrate this Halloween with? Fuck, yes!
There’s a couple of cool private events to, but respecting the hosts’ wishes, I won’t say where and when exactly, but ask your cool friends about them, and get yourself on those guest lists!
I’m sure you all saw the Careem billboards challenging Uber to a Dance Off. I personally saw them while stuck in traffic in Ubers all this week since my car is in the shop. Anyway, the campaign was all over the place, and here’s the official challenge posted on Careem Lebanon’s Instagram page.
Pepsi vs Coca Cola abroad? Almaza vs Beirut Beer here at home? Yes please! I love the more aggressive marketing campaigns that make each brand seek to one-up the other in comebacks and execution of each campaign.
It’s been a delight, although a little confusing, seeing that unfold between Careem and Uber in Lebanon the past couple of weeks. Lots of you asked me what this campaign was about, and to be honest, I just understood what was happening today, after the Dance Off had already happened…
Post-Dance Off
Now, for some reason, the Facebook Live video on Careem’s Facebook page doesn’t have any dancing in it, just over 9 minutes of the MC introducing what’s gonna happen after no audio for a few minutes at first. I guess maybe they’re working on the final video with the actual dance off, but as of this post, 2 hours after the #DanceOff happened in Beirut Souks, there was still nothing.
I did manage to find a clip posted by Beiruting.com on their Instagram page though:
I was wondering why Uber hadn’t come out with anything, seeing how the Careem campaign was all over the place. Then, they unleashed this savage comeback, turning Careem’s publicity stunt into a chance to do some positive impact by painting one of Beirut’s iconic stairways, as well donate to the Ayadina NGO. Ayadina’s “about” section states:
For children and youth, the association offers an Arts Education program. This unique program addresses social problems by providing opportunities for channeling emotions into creative expression, cultural and artistic exposure, talent development, improved academic achievement, and economic empowerment
I guess it’s safe to say that Careem just got seriously #Ubered… Here’s why:
The campaign wasn’t clear. How is it a dance off if Uber isn’t part of it? Who’s gonna do the dancing? At first I thought they got the Uber and Careem drivers to rehearse interpretive dance routines and perform them on a Sunday afternoon at Beirut Souks. I was obviously wrong 😛
The technical difficulties and lack of engagement on the #CareemDanceOff hashtag made the handful of people who happened to be in Beirut Souks actually see what happened.
Uber Lebanon’s savage comeback was both tasteful, and for a more noble cause, making Careem’s fun and edgy dance off idea seem a bit tasteless in comparison. Uber was “too busy painting stairways” *BURN* to participate, but committed to donate an amount that matched Careem’s viewership on their Dance Off live-streamed video to Ayadina. That’s some woke stuff. Brilliant.
So, I’m calling the first round in this epic marketing clash between Uber and Careem in Lebanon, to Uber. Can’t wait for the next one!
I was born after the Lebanese Civil War. If you regularly read this blog, you probably were too. In the past few years, with all the political turmoil and rollercoaster of high hopes that interrupted a general feel of depressing hopelessness, one thing has been tough to do: find a common denominator between us all.
You can see the diversity in every spontaneous movement, which eventually fractures into several groups each occupying a different lane on a highway that kinda seems to be leading to the same destination. Whether you’re a YouStink advocate, or a Badna Nhaseb supporter, joined Sabaa or are part of Mouwatinon wa Mouwatinat, your longterm goals are quite similar: an independent, secular, transparent and progressive Lebanon you can be proud of.
The Post-War Generation
Perhaps the unifying theme in all the movements, no matter where they lie on the political spectrum, is that we’re all the post-war generation.
We’re the folks that hear about the war from those around us older than us, but never had to go through it ourselves.
We’re the ones that inherited a bias to one side or the other depending on where our parents stood during those dark 15 years.
We’re the folks that suffer the consequences of the war we were never part of, witness to or even taught about after the guns were silenced.
We’re the folks that got stuck with the war’s warlords as our politicians and leaders, warlords that we never chose.
The War Generation Has Failed Us
Those that were alive during the war, have failed us miserably after it. The hostilities stopped, but the war mentality never did. The warlords took off their military fatigues and donned ill-fitting suits, gave themselves amnesty and pretended like nothing happened, and moved to bank on the “rebuilding” efforts since the early 1990s when that became more lucrative than fighting.
Not Your Cash Cows
Perhaps the biggest sin of that generation, is that they see us as Lebanon’s finest (and only) export. We spend fortunes going to overpriced universities, are wrapped up in a nice package and sent off to other countries for a few years to generate some disposable income, and are expected to come back and spend it here, all the while regularly sending money back to replenish a struggling economy where we still don’t have electricity 24/7, decent Internet or a road not perpetually blocked by suffocating traffic.
We’re not seen as active participants in our society, but only the crutch older generations lean on to pay for their decades of incompetence, lack of vision and criminal corruption. We don’t have a say in how things are run, we can’t even vote when we turn 18. I’m almost 27 years old and I’ve never voted in a parliamentary election yet…
We’re not allowed to vote. We’re not allowed to run. We’re encouraged to get a degree, land a job in the Gulf somewhere, save up and come back to spend on an economy that has never seen a single reform, just lots of tax hikes, burdened by public debt we will never be able to pay off and growth that has proven to be unsustainable since the turn of the century.
The Mada Network
Mada is one answer to that current situation. I don’t want to leave Lebanon and work a job I don’t like, in a country I don’t want to live in, cause this piece of shit minister or that piece of shit member of parliament’s needs me to send money back to pay for the taxes that get siphoned off to their own pockets. I’m not the only one who feels that way, and I believe you share those same beliefs if you clicked on this post and are still reading.
Mada was born to coordinate and group Lebanon’s student movements and youth under one network working towards reforms and demands that Lebanon desperately needs, and that we deserve as this country’s youth.
Mada wants to restore our role in Lebanon’s political, social and economic life. A secular, progressive, civil liberties focused network of young men and women that seek to achieve affordable education, employment opportunities, civil rights gains such as civil marriage, the right to vote when you turn 18 and gender equality and more.
Most of us start to be progressive and proactive in our thinking when we’re still on campuses like AUB’s, but often, after graduating, there’s nowhere to go, no alternative to the parties and movements that were part of the war. Mada might be the answer to that. After your 3 or 4 years at university, and all the progress you might have made there, you can still sustain that in a movement that goes beyond campuses and into society at large.
Join the Effort
We whine a lot. It’s so much easier to complain, protest and post snarky statuses on Facebook. Stop complaining, and do something. Connect with Mada during this early stage, and help form it into what you want it to be. It’s high time the youth become a force to be reckoned with in this country, not just another cash cow to exploit by the country’s loser politicians.
We live during a time where protest and demand movements are transforming into organized efforts that have the potential and ability to set the tone and conversation, instead of just repeat empty slogans and futile rants.
Don’t like the performance of Lebanon’s independent movements? Join them and put what you have to offer on the table. In 2015, we broke the fear barrier and demarcation lines to discover that we weren’t alone, and that we are a majority that no longer wants to be silent.
If issues such as affordable education, sustainable jobs, economic reform, civil liberties, democracy, freedom of speech, gender equality and civil marriage are what you want, then it’s time to start organizing and mobilizing. The elections are coming up, and to ensure they actually do happen, and we transition from being beaten up in the streets, to sitting in elected office, we need to start work. Now.
Connect with Mada today, and be part of the change that’s been long overdue.
In Lebanon, 27% of people are under the poverty line. With the government’s recent savage tax hike, more than 100,000 extra people are expected to drop under that line within a year. The UNDP found out that 49% of people in Lebanon worry about being able to eat regularly throughout the year, and 31% can’t eat healthy, nutritious meals year-round.
FoodBlessed is an awesome Lebanese NGO founded in 2012 with a mission to feed those who would go hungry otherwise. FoodBlessed rescues perfectly edible food that would have been thrown out, from shops, caterers and restaurants and redistributes it to those most in need of food assistance. Apart from this noble, all-volunteer humanitarian mission, FoodBlessed helps raise awareness against the danger of wasting too much food environmentally, and directs those with organic waste, to farmers to be turned into fertilizer, instead of littering haphazard dumps in Lebanon and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently, FoodBlessed launched the #MaBadda2iste7a campaign to encourage everyone to stop wasting food, either by over-ordering in the sometimes wastefully “generous” attitude of Lebanese hospitality (3 out of every 9 plates on Lebanese tables aren’t completely consumed), or being too “ashamed” to pack up your leftovers at a restaurant to eat them later, give them to a friend or relative, or donate it to someone searching for their next meal.
The hilarious video shows a couple ashamed to sneakily hide whatever they didn’t finish having at an expensive restaurant, in their bags and jackets. In contrast, another woman on a nearby table just asks for the rest of her meal to be packed, to which the server graciously obliges. You need to start doing this always, because more than a quarter of our garbage is just food we didn’t finish…
Here’s what you can do to help:
Pack and take your leftovers with you to have later / give to someone you know instead of end up in a garbage dump
If you are hosting an event, or work at a company, or caterer/supermarket/etc. and have perfectly edible food surplus, please don’t throw it away, and if it’s enough to feed 15 people and up, please contact FoodBlessed and arrange for them to take and redistribute it to those that need it the most.
Volunteer with FoodBlessed, which counts on a community-driven, volunteer-based model. Get your office to volunteer together one day. Maybe you and siblings and cousins can help cook and serve food for folks who need it the most. With over 400 volunteers, FoodBlessed’s Hunger Heroes has been able to serve more than 250,000 meals in the past 3 years.
Donate to the Souper Meals on Wheels (SMW) initiative, which is an ingenious idea of a food truck selling pizza to clients at night, to fund their mobile soup kitchen initiative during the day, making them able to go to where they are needed most, instead of those in need of food assistance having to come to them. It’s already at 25% of its 30,000USD funding goal, and just a few dollars from each of us can ensure they reach their funding goal in no time!
In 2015, the AUB Secular Club got 4 USFC members (University Student Faculty Committee). In 2016, they won 5 USFC seats. This year, they won 6 USFC seats. One in each of AUB’s 6 faculties.
These encouraging numbers don’t reveal the real impact this independent, secular student political movement has really had though. What’s amazing, is that the Secular Club’s “Campus Choice” campaign ran for every single one of the USFC seats, something even the traditional political party coalitions couldn’t do.
If you’re not familiar with the AUB Secular Club’s mission since 2008, this video will help.
A New Hope
Perhaps the most encouraging thing for me, is the change in tone and message by the current AUB Secular Club. The problem with many anti-establishment and anti-status quo movements in Lebanon, is they are very vocal about what they’re against, but not so much when it comes to what they’re for.
Many of the movements over the years have based their entire messaging and plans, on shaming and discrediting the current political elite and their abysmal performance over decades of corruption, violence and inequality. The Secular Club has moved past that. They’re no longer just chastising the laughable, pathetic performance of political party stooges, they’re also doing their own thing now. They’re setting the tone. They’re past just the protest phase, and in the stage where they set down a comprehensive platform and vision, and fight for it fairly and democratically. Something we have never seen the political partisans do.
This was even clearer when I got in touch with the current president of the AUB Secular Club, Nadine Barakat, to congratulate her and ask her about this shift in discourse, to which she said: “students now vote for our platform and what we have planned on a university level, not just because we’re not running as political parties” adding
“We used to be the opposition, now we’re the largest campaign on campus.”
The Establishment Strikes Back
The problem with Lebanon’s politically affiliated youth, is they are just as corrupt and hopeless as their alumni handlers. Instead of running campaigns they believe in, they calculate probable losses and victories, and divide their efforts accordingly. “Give me this seat in this faculty, and I’ll leave that seat in that other faculty for you”.
This explains why the March 14 remnants-FPM coalition, and the March 8 remnants coalition, did not run for all the seats up for election. “3teene ba3tik” in a sad mirroring of what happens off campus, when politicians that supposedly are at odds, suddenly come together to fight against independent movements, or to at least divide the pie amongst themselves, leaving their constituents’ choices inconsequential. Remember the municipal elections? When folks like Hezbollah, Future, Lebanese Forces and FPM suddenly ran on the same list to oppose Beirut Madinati? Pathetic.
Revenge of the Establishment
Despite the impressive, hope-restoring performance of the Secular Club, AUB’s administration scheduled the election of the USFC cabinet on November 7. That’s almost a month after the elections results were announced. From where I stand, this can only mean one of two things (or maybe a bit of both?)
Give the political parties enough time to deliberate who gets to be VP, Secretary and Treasurer based on their performance in the first round of elections.
Waste time so that the USFC isn’t formed in time to do anything meaningful in the Fall Semester, thus allowing the university administration free reign to do what they want without student resistance to things that might not be to their benefit.
Now, you might think opposing political coalitions might prefer an independent candidate take the VP spot, instead of their political rivals. This might have been the case when I was still at AUB in 6 or 7 years ago, but everything in the political climate in Lebanon the past two years proves otherwise.
Political parties in Lebanon will always collude against a strong, independent, secular movement. Beirut Madinati is an example, Naqabati is another, even Hanna Gharib’s ousting is a great example of how the establishment will get over their seemingly irreconcilable differences, to ensure the prize stays in the hands of the corrupt, not the independent.
The Secular Awakens
I’m optimistic again. I’m a believer again. I haven’t been either for a while. It’s been so humbling to see movements I love and support transform from a ragtag group of hesitant protesters, to organized, progressive and determined political movements.
We’re coming for you in the spring of 2018. Then again in the spring of 2022. And again four years after that. All the smear campaigns, lies, police state tactics and dirty tricks haven’t worked, and they never will.
The march of a post-war, secular, democratic, progressive, tolerant youth might be slower than we’d like, but it’s surer than they think.
Ghoraba2 is a 4-person rap group from Akkar: Fady Torfeh, Omar Adawieh, Youssef Sayyouf and Omar Ali. They started spitting rhymes and making beats in 2009, and formed the current group in 2014 under the moniker “Ghoraba2” which roughly translates to “strangers”, given they are all from different backgrounds, towns, sects and rap in different styles. It’s also because they feel like “stangers” in their own country, like many of us sadly do.
Working in Tripoli and Akkar with MARCH Lebanon, I’ve had the pleasure to follow their journey since the early days. All of us at MARCH love their passion and dedication, and they are always staples in our events in Tripoli, Akkar and Beirut. We’ve supported them over the years both on an individual basis, and as an NGO, and their latest single “Tabi3a” is a perfect example that our faith in them wasn’t in vain.
The flow of this song is sick. It’s been stuck in my head since last week when they debuted their “Rayyes” album at Radio Beirut. The message is also uplifting, and promotes a somewhat positive “natural” body image in today’s extremely frustrating snapchat-filter, make-up-centric online personas many of us try to promote.
Their songs are very empowering, embracing the negative stereotypes people unfortunately attribute to folks from Akkar, and transform them into rallying cries against the injustice, neglect and corruption the Akkar governorate suffers from. “Mou-Si2a” is a great example of this political-leaning rap, with sick rhymes and a fun beat and a beautifully shot music video (they produced and shot themselves) around different parts of Lebanon’s northernmost district.
Ghoraba2 also collaborated with several other young local artists in Tripoli and Akkar, creating “Kif 3aychin”, a powerful song that asks more privileged people to “not whine” and “look at how we’re living” while disowning the drivers towards violence, sectarianism and extremism, in this epic music video shot and edited by Wissam Kamal.
The last track I’m adding in this post is one I find hilarious, called “Tatleh”. Tatleh is what many northern Lebanese call jam, and they used that somewhat funny word in this track featuring Fady. I can’t help but chuckle at almost every verse in it. Be warned though, it has a tendency to get stuck in your head and get you singing “badde ekol tatleh! nater tijeh el 3atleh! la roo7 a3mel fatleh! baddeh 2e2rot satleh, w ba3da ekol atleh!” at the office all day.
I think it’s very important we highlight the awesome talent we have in this country, other than the horrible “motribat” and “motribeen” we are constantly bombarded with. Supporting local talent is something I am very much fond of, and these guys are awesome. They self-produce, record, shoot and promote their own music, and if you wanna support them, hop on to their Facebook and message them to buy their newest album for just 10,000LL.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel gleeful at such ironic poetic justice… That the person heading the bureau that had summoned and arrested so many civilians, journalists, activists and bloggers for shares, retweets, likes and statuses, would be sacked from her job for “liking” a tweet about Saudi Arabian women being able to drive now.
However, past the initial “you deserve it” gut reaction, there are several worrying things about this case, which I will try to discuss below.
Saudi Arabia is a Topic You Can Be Fired for in Lebanon
It’s a bit sad that all the violations of the Cybercrime Bureau, didn’t cost anyone there their jobs, but a tweet seen as “insulting” to Saudi Arabia did the trick.
Where were her superiors when university students were lured to the offices under false pretenses, like “your phone is a stolen one” only to be arrested and thrown in jail for days and weeks over an article they shared or a status they wrote? What about the random phone calls afterhours, asking a person to show up for “coffee” the next morning, only to be interrogated, without the charge or reason being specified, and without officially summoning them in person, as the law states.
The message being sent to taxpayers by the ISF, is that if its bodies abuse citizens’ rights, no one will be held accountable for that, but if you “like” a tweet poking fun at Saudi Arabia, the main financier and godfather of several political parties in Lebanon, then you’ll be out of a job at lightning speed.
This is both demoralizing for taxpayers like us, but also honest cops, who know that they will not be punished for breaking human rights law, but might suffer the full wrath of their superiors if they dare utter, by mistake or not, something that a foreign ambassador might not like…
Hobeiche’s Response Was Even More Censorship Attempts
You’d think that being at the receiving end of censorship and bullying, that the former head of the Cybercrimes Bureau would realize the error of her ways and the negative, unfair and obtuse impact of trying to control what people can and cannot say, share or agree/disagree with. Instead though, she has filed a lawsuit against the person who caught her “like” of Charbel Khalil’s tweet. Whether by mistake or not, she did like that tweet, and punishing the person who revealed that, instead of taking it up with her superiors as a misunderstanding, shows that this ironic twist of fate didn’t really hammer in the idea we might have hoped it would: that trying to shut people up by force, and twisting their arms when they say something you don’t like, is never the answer.
Alas, this is not the case, and I wish that person luck in the upcoming investigations.
The Real Problem is Still There
The Cybercrimes Bureau is a symptom, not the disease. The real issue is with the judiciary, especially the general prosecutors, which are the folks who forward cases to that bureau. The problem is, any and all Internet-related cases are sent there, whether it’s child porn or a tweet that someone found offensive to the “symbols of the nation”. So, it’s no surprise the detectives there treat you like some criminal for a like or share, if what they’re supposed to be investigating is heinous crimes like credit card fraud, sexual abuse online, blackmail and malicious hacking.
That bureau is no place for a journalist or activist who in their passion said something that the current ruling elite were ticked off by.
The removal of Hobeiche, will not solve anything, and in the spirit of not prejudging her successor, he might do a better job, but he might also ramp up the bureau’s bullying activities as a tool against anyone who dissents from the general party line of the ruling political parties and politicians in Lebanon.
In Conclusion
The Cybercrimes Bureau needs to focus on real crimes, and stop wasting our tax money and arresting people for something they wrote, shared or liked. The judiciary needs to keep up with the times, and appoint qualified people who enforce laws that don’t date back to the 1950s before the Internet had even been concieved in fiction novels of the time.
What happened to Hobeiche is a valuable lesson for everyone in power, that the loopholes and ambiguities and lack of accountability you use to bully taxpayers like us, can come back to haunt you yourselves one day.
I hope the Cybercrimes Bureau will stop being a tool of oppression against taxpayers, and instead do the job it’s supposed to: fight online crime, not online free speech. For this to happen, public prosecutors need to stop wasting the bureau’s resources and accomplishments against actual crimes, in order to bully innocent citizens of Lebanon.
Being the godless asshole that I am, the closest think I have to faith is in Techno. It’s not just a genre folder on my playlist, it’s all my playlists. I love the music across the Techno spectrum, but I love the culture that surrounds it even more. The unspoken, unwritten things you just know, like always wearing black, enjoying yourself the most when a 4-kick is blasting in your ears and of course, appreciating the genius of live Techno created on analog machines.
The below sets are an acquired taste, I admit. I doubt a person teleported here from 1960 would last more than a few minutes watching SNTS or Headless Horseman do their thing.
I love it though. The SNTS set is playing in the background as I write this. It’s what I’d want to listen to if I was a Sith Lord on my Devastator star destroyer. It’s what I imagine a cult of sentient robots would party to. It’s dark as fuck, and scary, and at times intimidating, but it’s also beautiful.
So, I hope you enjoy these Boiler Room sets by Headless Horseman, SNTS and Lady Starlight.
Headless Horseman
I remember Kelly saying Nur Jaber was playing at Tresor on a Friday, and taking the bus on Kopenickerstrasse all the way from Planterwald where I was living, to the massive 25-year-old legendary club. Nur played an awesome set, but after she was done, I had just barely started, and I remember loving the artist that came after her.
Tresor is dark and foggy, so it wasn’t till half an hour later that I could actually see the DJ booth, and what I saw was a black silhouette, head covered with a black hood and face covered with what appeared to be a black cloth. I called him “Kylo Ren” that night, a Techno Kylo Ren. It was one of the best nights I’ve had at Tresor, ever. Next day, I checked their website to see the lineup that weekend, and that’s when I realized I had just witnessed Headless Horseman live for the first time…
Imagine seeing the below, in a dark basement of a Berlin club, for the first time ever. Yes.
SNTS
I’ve never had the pleasure of witnessing SNTS live yet, but soon. Enjoy!
Lady Starlight
I remember Jan texting me he got us on the list for a Boiler Room session at Arena Club, just 5 minutes biking from my Berlin apartment. I gladly said, fuck yes, and met him in line in front of Arena. The last BR I had attended wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, with disco, housy vibes that just didn’t do much for me on a Tuesday after the pulling off a Kater-Sisy-Berghain hat trick the weekend before.
Boy, did that Arena Club Boiler Room make up for the one before at Badeschiff. The best act for me that afternoon was Lady Starlight, one of Lady Gaga’s best friends and a strong influence on her persona and music. Now, I know what you’re thinking, Gaga’s BFF and hard-hitting, Detroit Techno, live? Really? Well, that’s what I was thinking too, and wondering why the hell was she on the lineup… Then she started, and I shut up, and danced my long black socks off. It was unfortunate to see Konstantin be a racist douchebag towards her earlier this summer, and I’m glad he was punished by booting him off the Berghain lineup for his misogynistic comments. This set might be less dark and scary and the two above, but I feel it captures the early days of Detroit and Berlin Techno beautifully. I hope you enjoy this pleasant surprise as much as I did! Also, I was at that Boiler Room session, and
Mabrook! The Constitutional Council in Lebanon has halted the taxes today. The very poorly drafted law, even by its writers’ own admission, has been shot down because of how poorly it took into consideration Lebanon’s highest law: the constitution.
What Happened
The above is the decision by the Constitutional Council which came out today and will be published in the Official Newspaper tomorrow. It basically states that there are several issues with the law’s constitutionality.
Basically, in a nutshell:
They voted wrong. They should have voted by show of hands when called, they didn’t wait to be called. How bad of a parliament do you have to be if you don’t even know how to vote according to the constitution and your parliamentary by-laws?
This law was made to pay for another law, in the absence of an actual budget for the country, which is technically unconstitutional. We haven’t had a budget in over a decade I think, so making up laws, then making up one after it to pay for it, isn’t how government or legislative work happens.
This is the controversial “bank tax” issue. The tax law proposes a tax on the banking sector, which is a breach of the fact that taxes should target all sectors, not just a few. This is a controversial one, and I’ll get to it in more detail below.
The last reason is that the 11th article in the tax law is too vague, which makes implementing it a problem, which the council saw as even more reason to shoot down this law.
How it Happened
After the melodramatic way the MPs tried to pass this law, after the president suspended parliament’s work for a month, Kataeb chief Samy Gemayel promised to appeal against the taxes law. His bloc is 5 MPs, and he managed to get 5 other MPs to get the 10 minimum to be able to send an appeal to the Constitutional Council.
Apart from the 5 Kataeb MPs, the other MPs were Boutros Harb, Dory Chamoun, Salim Karam, Fouad Saad and Khaled Daher.
Now, here, I have extremely harsh reservations about some of the names, especially Khaled Daher. The anti-army, pro-extremist groups MP from Akkar who has been at odds with his Future Movement bloc for a while now, is a disgrace to Lebanon. However, if his signature helped kill that law, and that he signed for reasons that might not be ideal (just to spite his political party), then so be it, the law has been stopped, and hopefully he will be voted out in the upcoming elections.
The Bank Tax Issue
Many people will give this clause as an excuse to downplay how important this decision was. They state that it’s just protecting the banks’ interests in Lebanon, stopping them from paying taxes on their massive yearly profits.
I agree, and think banks in Lebanon should pay their fair share, especially since they own most of our public debt. However, people need to remember that the Constitutional Council’s job is to ensure laws are constitutional, not right or wrong on a moral, ethical or big-picture level. They’re the guys that decide if something is off-side, not if the general direction of the government is going down the toilet.
So, I think it was a smart move including that clause, to further shore up the claim about the law’s unconstitutionality. In other words, if you’re in the “fuck the banks” camp, don’t fret, this isn’t just about them. Singling them out in the law though, helped bring that law down, and that’s definitely a win for everyone.
What this Says About Our Government
That they are incredibly incompetent. I mean, have these MPs even read the constitution they’re supposed to protect? How incompetent can a public official be? Apparently, enough for the Constitutional Council to unanimously say “Nope.”
What can we expect from “lawmakers” that noticed the mistakes in their law, but said, “it’s ok, we’ll ratify this now and fix it later”. I mean, what the actual flying fuck? If you had any other job, your ass would be kicked out on the street for saying something so incredibly stupid and insulting to the taxpayers that pay your bloated salaries (for life and after life), who you are trying to steal from, again.
What’s Next?
The parliament can retry to pass a similar law, without all the mistakes and gross violations of the constitution. But, this risks another shoot down by the Constitutional Council. They can try to pass a budget, and include ways to figure out how to get money to finance the wage hike (that is still an active law).
They can also try to reform the corruption and wasteful spending, like taking dozens of people, including family and friends, on expensive trips to NY for the UN General Assembly and other trips. They can stop renting out ministries from their buddies in prime real estate locations, when the government owns plenty of empty buildings and lands. They can tax the illegal properties that occupy most of the Lebanese coast. There’s a million and one ways to finance the wage hike for public employees, that doesn’t include taking money out of those same pockets, and our pockets, employees of the private or non-governmental sectors.
It’s important to keep pressure on the parliament, so that they don’t try to rob us again. I don’t envy the government, who now has to figure out where to pay the wage hike from, given the taxes law has been dumped. Knowing them, they’ll still try to tax us despite no law, and that is when things will get dangerous, maybe violent even. Lebanese people are getting poorer by the day, and there’s only so much corruption we can stomach, given the tax law that was just shot down, would have pushed more than 100,000 of us under the poverty line…
The Elections are Coming
And we must remember who did what in this entire scandal. Samy Gemayel did Lebanese taxpayers a huge favor, and their stubbornness and understanding of the law and constitution helped ruin the plans of the ruling parties to syphon more money from us, without doing any reforms. As far as I’m concerned, the 128 illegitimate thieves, are now 123 illegitimate ones, cause 5 of them just did their jobs right for a change.
Everyone with those taxes, without any reforms, needs to stay home and never walk into parliament again. We have too many old farts that are political MPs, but not enough lawmakers who actually understand their job, the law and the constitution.
This will hopefully reinvigorate the movement against the ruling parties, and energize the independent campaigns being formed to run in the upcoming elections.
Mabrook everyone! Now let’s keep an eye on what the illegitimate MPs try to do next!
Gino's Blog 