What Started This?

So, Saudi-owned mouthpiece Alsharq Alawsat published a super lame-ass caricature with the Lebanese flag and the words “April Fool’s Joke” in Arabic above it. This comes as part of the painfully awkward meltdown the Saudis suddenly started having when Lebanon decided to abstain from a Saudi-led anti-Iran Arab League decision. But, it’s a flat, one-dimensional, juvenile joke. The kind you’d expect from a cartoonist on Saudi Arabia’s payroll.

This is the lame caricature:

The Wrong Retaliation

A bunch of people stormed into the newspaper’s Beirut offices and thrashed the copies that contained the caricature, in a painfully scary violent action to suppress free speech and create an environment that does not tolerate dissent from one’s own rigid opinions.

Of course, I’m glad many Lebanese did not condone these actions, and dismissed them as an overreaction similar to Saudi’s and completely not in line with values we hold dear as Lebanese.

The Right Retaliations

The first was Stavro Jabra’s subtle but powerful jab back at the Saudi newspaper, with the Lebanese flag with its cedar tree tied down by the ball and chain that is the rest of the Middle East. It is no secret Lebanon is and has always been a victim of its surroundings, dragged into their conflicts and dragging them into ours. Saudi is a big part of that Middle Eastern problem, just like Iran and Israel and Bashar El Assad’s Syria.

Stavro

The second was by a group of activists that included Tony Orian, who hung up a banner that in my honest opinion accurately depicts Saudi’s oppressive and barbaric government: the Saudi flag with a bloodied sword and a severed head. It was hung on one of the main entrances into Beirut, in the Zalka area. It was a perfect retaliation to Alsharq Alawsat’s lame caricature, and a powerful message highlighting that many Lebanese disagree with the storming newspaper offices method and prefer the more balanced, appropriate response.

Of Course, the Lebanese Government Screwed It Up

For the storming in and thrashing of Alsharq Alawsat’s offices, the government chose to prosecute the people who participated in the action. Personally, I am against them being arrested or prosecuted. However, I wouldn’t mind seeing them sued by the newspaper for the cost of the damages and given a fair trial (which must include ZERO seconds in custody or behind bars).

But, the government chose to do the same and arrested and issued arrest warrants for the folks who put up the banner in Zalka (who else other than enemy of freedoms in Lebanon, Ashraf Rifi, who even after he resigned still haunts us). Now, this is outrageous, given the only thing they did was express themselves peacefully. They did not storm into private property, they did not threaten or harass employees and they did not disrupt the peace. All they did was hang a banner, which is a fitting and appropriate response to the initial insult taken.

This is unacceptable. Charges against them should be dropped. To equate peaceful satire to forcibly entering and outright bullying is incredibly naive. In the effort to lick the boots (or sandals) of the Saudi government, the Lebanese one is extolling the same level of punishment for two very different ways of expressing outrage at Saudi. One of those ways though is quintessentially Lebanese: using morbid humor to illustrate multiple aspects of the issue being raised. The other is more akin to intolerant autocratic governments and their lackies, attitudes and mentalities that take a jab into the essence of what it means to be Lebanese.

It’s Just a Flag Guys

I’ve heard this over and over and I find it troubling it’s given so much importance: “They insulted the flag!” A flag is of course very important, the symbol of a nation that people rally around (or should at least). But, if we compromise what the flag symbolizes in order to “react to insults” to it, then what’s the point exactly? Being macho?

Lebanon’s freedoms should be entrenched like the cedar tree’s roots on its flag. The sanctity here is for those freedoms, then the flag, which is supposed to represent those ideals and values. Violently suppressing such freedoms, to react to a lame insult, is an even bigger insult to the one thing that makes Lebanon special in this vast Arab World.

So, chill guys. And here’s to hoping kissing Saudi ass stops making the government break its own laws to try and punish taxpayers merely expressing themselves freely.

When I was in Boston late last year, I got confronted with a question we all grew up with in Lebanon. “Do you see yourself as a Phoenician or an Arab?” from a very dear Taiwanese-American friend of mine. The context and setting of that ancient question was different this time though, and it made me meditate on it for a while. Here’s why:

Phoenician vs Arab in Lebanon is a Euphemism

The question of Arab vs Phoenician in Lebanon is another way of revealing one’s religious and cultural affiliation. Christians in Lebanon traditionally look towards the West, or at least away from other Arabs. Muslims in Lebanon have usually looked to the East, towards the Arab and Islamic world. So, the argument that they are Phoenician is less about genetics and more about culture. But, so is the vehement counter-argument.

No one should care that much about where their genes come from, but the strong, often immovable and irrational positions people take on either side of the aisle, is more of a declaration of one’s subscribed to ideology. Do I want to be an Arab with an Eastern mentality? Or should I insist I’m not an Arab but instead a Phoenician who is more similar to civilizations on the coasts of Europe instead of the shores of The Gulf?

Growing up in Lebanon, you know to toe that line carefully and adjust it to not seem too Christian-right or too Arab-left. But when I was asked by someone I knew was not aware of these intricacies and did not have a Lebanese sect to worry about, it rekindled a question I’ve been grappling with for years: what am I?

Misfits in the East, Misfits in the West

In staunchly Arab circles, my liberal and secular convictions seem like something the West is peddling on Arab culture to try and “destroy” it. Words like “imperialist” and phrases like “embassy dwellers” are not uncommon when you advocate for basic human rights like civil marriage or issues on gender equality.

In staunchly Western circles, the portly, bearded person people see as akin to terrorists in the East. I lost count of how many times US veterans working doorman or bouncer jobs muttered things to me in New York that were obviously islamophobic and incredibly insulting and uncalled for. No matter what, the first glance many Westerners will have of me will make one word pop up: terrorism.

But, I’m not a brainwashed Western stooge, and I am definitely not an Islamist terrorist. Here you are “too American”, there you are “too Arab”. I liked to think of those two extremes as more of a spectrum and that I and many like me lie somewhere in the middle, hopefully with the good aspects of each culture with the bad traits discarded and replaced for something we find more appropriate.

Again though, that wasn’t who I was. There were too many contradictions in that definition of self, contradictions I did not feel and couldn’t relate to.

Macho-man Circle-Jerk

Lebanese authority figures try to be progressive, pride themselves on it even. However, the patriarchal sentiments of entitlement to decide what’s right or wrong and what’s “in your best interest” or isn’t, still creep into a lot of situations and ruin them.

This can manifest itself in many ways, such as muslim religious leaders vehemently attacking civil marriage as a “tool of the West to destroy our societies” and that anyone who supports it is not a true Lebanese. It can manifest itself in a conservative christian dad who cannot accept his son is gay, and calls up his cop friend to “beat they gay out of him” for a couple of days at the police station, and the cop agreeing. Despicable as these things might be, their perpetrators sadly think they are doing the “right thing” in a way. The dad and cop are just “fixing the boy”, the muslim religious leaders are “protecting our societies from the evils of Western society” (which is basically more gender equality and less religious power).

So, this aspiration to become better and more liberal, always falls into the macho-man trap. It has become the circle-jerk we seem to be stuck in for some 4–5 decades now. The moment gains are made in civil and human rights issues, they’re undone by a patriarchal, misinformed current that calls itself “Eastern Man Mentality” (عقلية الرجل الشرقي).

Putting Conditions on Identity

All the above makes being Lebanese or Arab have conditions. You aren’t really an Arab if you don’t do this and that, or think this way or the other. This is frustrating because it encourages you to subscribe to ideologies en-bloc and discourages dissent from what most people see as the “norm”.

But one’s identity is his or her own. Why should one abide by constraints created by others long before we were ever even born? Fair questions, but usually more associated with teenage angst and confusion, not lucid reflection on one’s identity when adulthood has fully kicked in.

That’s when I decided that I didn’t really care for my Western Stooge/Arab Terrorist spectrum theory and decided to own up to my Arab identity, but also make it my own.

You’re Just As Arab or Lebanese Too

Don’t you just hate assholes that say in a debate, “well, if you don’t like Lebanon, go somewhere else!” The audacity of such a rude thing to say escapes many of us, and we just shy away and angrily say “yeah, maybe I should! But my Lebanese passport doesn’t really allow for that, so thanks dawle!”.

But, why should we? Who the hell are they to tell you to leave if you don’t like it? You’re just as Lebanese as they are, you pay the same taxes, you have the same number of votes. So, you are entitled to your own defintion of what it means to be Lebanese, and work accordingly to push that agenda, and that’s completely ok.

If someone tells you it’s not “Lebanese” to share embarrassing photos of streets and forests drowning in trash for months, but you think you should, never for a millisecond think they’re right and you’re at fault. For them, being Lebanese is hiding the bad and pretending everything is ok even when it’s not, you know, to save face and fool those stupid tourists we want to rip off. For you, being Lebanese means working tirelessly to peacefully apply pressure to fix something that is not ok in Lebanoin and that includes shaming the government who failed for 8 months to remove the garbage, failed for 18 months to elect a president but went into full crisis-mode when Saudi got pissed off at them.

Same goes for being Arab. Why the hell should Saudi decide what it means to be Arab? Or Bashar El Assad? Or Abdelfatah El Sisi? Who the hell are they to decide what it means to be Arab and what Arabs aspire to? Why should I be expected to submit and go along with their policies and wishes because they are a “sister country” and we are pro “arabism”? I don’t, and that doesn’t make me any less Arab.

I’m An Arab

I am an Arab, whether I like it or not. Everywhere I go, I’ll be identified as Arab. Too long though has that narrative been written by others. I am proud of many things about being an Arab, but also ashamed of many others. And that’s ok. I am part of a generation of Arabs that is secular, liberal, tolerant, science-oriented and hopeful. A generation that does not idolize death, but cherishes life. I’m also an Arab that enjoys offensive satirical jokes and one that has left his Christian faith years ago and embraced a happy life without god. I want a woman to be president, weed to be legal and the information ministry taken out of commission. I want to end censorship and fight corruption. I want my vote to matter and for politicians to be public servants, not rehashed warlord chieftains. I care more about individual rights than group mentality.

In other words, I’m many things people usually think Arabs should or cannot be. But, I am an Arab. Just as much as the next unlucky person born in this part of the world and forced to always choose between a rock and a hard place.

Being Arab is hard, and not just cause of the random security screenings at all airports beyond Greece to the West. It’s hard because we’ve been told for so long what an Arab should be, when all along, it’s us who decide what it means to be Arab.

My point is, whenever you are taking a stance or forming an opinion, stop thinking of yourself as a misfit. I’m not really Arab, just kinda. No, you are. Form that opinion and voice it as an Arab. A gay one? A female Arab? An atheist Arab? A feminist Arab? These “ists” should stop feeling like oxymorons when paired with “Arab”. When you feel invested in a topic, instead of just tiptoeing around it, the results are far better. And, I know most of the outcomes turn out bad for liberals in the Arab World, but, there’s always hope. We look at Syria, Libya, Egypt and shake our heads in horror and disappointment. But, we also look at Tunisia and Lebanon’s civil society and regain some hope.

So, I eventually told my dear Taiwanese-American friend that I am an Arab. Just, a different kind of Arab. Dare I say a silent majority in places like Lebanon. A less angry, more pragmatic and tolerant Arab generation slowly and steadily finding its voice amid all the howls of extremist thought trying to down them out while the West grapples to understand what’s happening.

It is with utter disgust that I heard the news of yet another thrashing and harassment of journalists by over-zealous “activists” trying to go viral. I’m talking about Pierre Hachach and the 12 or so men who raided the Asharq Alawsat Beirut offices, shaming their employees and thrashing the office in what looked like a scene being executed by Bangaldeshi islamist extremists, or maybe Donal Trump supporters.

For those over-excited 12 men, let me enlighten them about what freedom of speech and expression means:

Free Speech Includes Stuff You Don’t Like

Lebanese people LOVE to show off how “liberal” they are and how progressive their attitudes compare to other Arabs’. However, having strip clubs and a casino when we still can’t grasp what free speech and expression means, doesn’t make us liberal nor progressive.

The Saudi newspaper published a caricature of Lebanon’s flag with the caption “April Fool’s Joke”. Yes, it is probably the lamest, laziest most childish “joke” you’ve heard this year, but then again, what did you expect? It’s a Saudi newspaper. I’m surprised they didn’t chop their heads of for “celebrating satanic western rituals” like April Fool’s Day.

When one believes in democracy and free speech, that includes opinions one does not like or agree with. I hate ISIS, but I am against silencing their accounts because it makes us like them, intolerant and savage, while not really solving the issue (they can make 10 accounts for every account shut down). Look at what Saudi did and is doing as an overreaction over offense they went out of their to take. It’s making them look juvenile and frankly stupid like some toddler on a temper tantrum that isn’t really working.

However, such an aggressively macho “protest” for something so minor and stupid, made the Saudis look like the bigger people. It made the activists similar to the sunni extremists that burned and rioted when a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. It made them quintessentially Saudi-like: stupid, intolerant, overly zealous and incredibly shortsighted.

Imagine how this looks if you’re not an utra-nationalist Lebanese: it looks like a newspaper did a cartoon that offended the sensibilities of a bunch of extremists that decided to take matters into their own hands and went about it in the most awkward and unjustifiable way.

I appreciate that Hachach loves the limelight, and I am one of his fans, but not this time. We are used to his Trumpian antics that go viral, but for someone that has stood for people’s rights and against oppression and bullying we suffered from the Lebanese government and ISF over the past few months, he has become more similar to those thugs in uniform than we’d like to imagine. A trait more and more common in the age of ISIS, when in the name of “protecting oneself” or “protecting honor”, one becomes as despicable, intolerant and frankly as stupid as the run-of-the-mill ISIS operative.

Does Not Represent Me At All

I am no fan of Saudi, nor that newspaper, but the actions of these 12 folks has put me on the side of the group and mentality I utterly despise. You either have principles you stick to, or you are just another Lebanese politician, saying one thing to look good and doing another to prove otherwise.

An attack on people’s right to express themselves, even when it’s something we don’t like, is unacceptable. One of Hachach’s videos would have been a much better way to handle this, why they chose to go about it in such a wrong way is beyond me, but then again, in a country where many activists care more about their social media klout than the issues at hand, it is not hard to see how someone would jump upon this thinking they’d come out the hero. They didn’t, they came out as the folks that could take a joke less than the Saudis… Saudis who behead people for “sorcery”…

It’s about time for people here to understand that it’s none of their business what other people say or think. You are not “dads” sent to this earth to “discipline” people. You’re nobodies, just like everyone else. Nobodies with the sacred right to say what you want, without using force, threats or hate speech.

What a sad day when activists fighting the system and its two-faced hypocrisy, become so similar. It’s like Rifi was orchestrating this raid, the number one enemy of free speech, democracy and tolerance in Lebanon. The guy who prosecuted Lebanese taxpayers because he was insulted when they burned an ISIS flag.

I am massively disappointed with what happened. It shows an uncivilized and intolerant face many Lebanese have that seem more at home with the Saudi royal family than Lebanon, the alleged beacon of liberalism in this ultraconservative, violent region.

Grow up. Take a joke. Don’t be macho men from the 1880s. Don’t make Saudis look better and more tolerant and progressive than you. Simple.

And as a nice way to express my disapproval of what happened, I’ve attached the caricature at the top of this post, even after the newspaper itself retracted it. I personally think the Lebanese government really is a joke, of course, not as bad a jokes as Saudi Arabia, but still a joke.

ما تخاف من الحرية، خاف عليها

If you guys follow me on Instagram and Snapchat (@GinoRaidy), you’ll know I spent the past week in Amsterdam for the DGTL festival and Awakenings one. As you can imagine, there was a LOT of AMAZING music in such a short span. Below are some of the most memorable tracks from each festival and a few others that made this trip to Asmterdam one of my absolute favorite of all time.

DGTL

This set of tracks are the ones that in my opinion had the most massive impact on the crowd (myself included). The set of the weekend for me was perhaps Maceo Plex’s beautifully crafted set that had people go from confused and in awe, to ecstatic and satisfied in the Ellum stage. Solitary Daze was perhaps the eptiome of that set. It’s like thousands of people suddenly threw their hands in the air, riddled with goosebumps and shivers running down their spines and indulged in the magic that is electronic music. Top.

Friends that know me well and have partied with me will know that Recondite has a very special place in my heart. His live set on the Digital stage was beyond words and even though this was the fourth time I see him live, his rendition of Caldera (which you can see a snippet of on my Instagram) was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Caldera — Recondite

Awakenings

We managed to survive 3 days of DGTL and after Nina Kraviz wrapped up DGTL, we headed to Amsterdam’s legendary Gashounder venue, where Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann were taking the intensity up like a thousand nothches. The venue was beyond description, and when Ben dropped this gem, my friends described me as “Gino, our pet creature” dancing to Subzero…

Helios (Ruede Hagelstein Remix) — Baal

Two Suns in the Sky — DAVI

Mistral (Stephan Bodzin Remix) — Rodgriguez Jr.

Much love and appreciation to everyone whom I shared this amazing weekend and sets with. Hashem, Sophie, Samer, Camille, Yara, Alexandra, Maya, Carla, Youmna, Magalie, Stephanie, Mego, May and Christel. You guys are awesome.

I’ve highlighted issues concerning the Jewish community in Lebanon on more than one occasion on this blog. Personally, I am fascinated by this community and the mystery surrounding it. Most sources agree that the Lebanese Jews still residing in Lebanon are no more than 200. However, the Lebanese Jewish Community Council’s president Isaac Arazi said there are some 2000 Jews in Lebanon this week, to much heated debate.

Before continuing, I have a LOT of reservations about our pitifully outdated constitution, but one thing I do love about it and hold on to is its preamble, which states:

C) Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic based on respect for public liberties, especially the freedom of opinion and belief, and respect for social justice and equality of rights and duties among all citizens without discrimination.

source (ironically, it’s hosted on the presidency’s website, with spelling mistakes…)

This means that your right to believe in whatever you want, or nothing at all, is guaranteed to you as a Lebanese citizen, something unheard of in our Arab surroundings. It’s the article I refer to when someone poses the question of how Lebanese am I really if I am an outspoken, staunch atheist. It’s important to note that a lot of the sectarian intricacies and absurdities are not in the constitution, just tacit agreements, unwritten “laws” and the Taif Accord that ended the Lebanese civil war.

Judaism falls under that too and is actually recognized by the Lebanese state as one of the its 18 “official” sects. So, a Lebanese Jew is just as Lebanese as a Lebanese Shiite, Maronite, atheist, etc. So, if you’re argument is that they don’t have the same rights and duties the rest of us do, it is invalid, even when it comes to our broken laws and constitution.

The Synagogue Dilemma

Everyone was excited about the Magen Abraham synagogue in Downtown Beirut being renovated over the past few years. Even Hezbollah sang its praises, highlighting that one should differentiate between people of the Jewish faith and supporters of Zionism. However, press release language doesn’t necessarily mean that it reflects the reality on the ground of a viciously sectarian Lebanon. In other words, even if HA or others are openly all for the synagogue, it’s no secret many on the street level couldn’t care less about lofty headlines about coexistence and are not ecstatic about an operational synagogue in the capital.

Given the turbulent history, it’s no wonder that many Lebanese Jews would rather keep a low profile and not be too overt about their faith that has largely gone underground since the late 1960s. This created an optics problem for the Lebanese Jewish Community Council (LJCC) since many people in Lebanon saw the Magen Abraham synagogue as the official reintroduction of Lebanon’s Jews back into Lebanon’s diverse society. It was a problem because security concerns meant that the synagogue and the community was not gonna spring back to action overnight and that was seen as proof that the community has in fact dwindled beyond recognition and the triumphant return to normalcy seemed less and less likely.

To understand the threats Lebanese Jews must feel, just look at some of the Facebook comments on the LJCC page. Random folks demanding “lists” and “addresses” of Lebanese Jews in Lebanon. I mean, if I were a Jew and saw that, I’d think either Trumpian or Nazi policies, or maybe an ISIS operative fishing for new targets.

Numbers Don’t Matter

Faith is something private. No one should be forced to reveal what their ancestry is or what they believe in the privacy of their homes. It doesn’t matter if there are 2000 Jews or 2 Jews in Lebanon, it does not diminish their claim to rights and expected duties as Lebanese taxpayers. In other words, the debate the past week was on the wrong issues. We shouldn’t be arguing about the real numbers or if the security threats are real or not. We should instead be discussing how this community can get back in touch with the rest of Lebanese society which has shown remarkable excitement about the return of that community into the open.

One way is to open up the synagogue or other Jewish landmarks for non-Jewish visitors to come and explore the history of this community that predates that of the Christian and Muslim ones in this tiny country. Lebanese Jews who have no problem being open about their faith and its practice should help a hugely misinformed Lebanese public about what Judaism is and what role it had in Lebanon’s history.

The security threat excuse is one we all live with. We all know that we might die any day because of a car bomb somewhere, a suicide vest at rush hour or sporadic sectarian gun battles, but that doesn’t mean we stop going about our lives or practicing what we believe in (or don’t). Some of the most eye-opening moments for me was when I participated in different sects’ religious celebrations. It’s how I became familiar with the Sunni and Shiite faiths, the Druze one and Christian faiths other than the Maronite one I was born into. In other words, dusty articles and unofficial reports do more harm than good, especially when it is such a divisive subject with so much heated rhetoric and ideological rigidity surrounding it.

Many Jews in Lebanon are still worried about their safety, and that’s a fair concern to have given then utter failure of Lebanon’s government to even remove garbage from the streets and the regular unpunished murders and terrorist attacks in broad day light across the country. But, many Lebanese Jews wouldn’t mind opening up and allowing other Lebanese to become more familiar with their community. And they should. I would love to go to Magen Abraham and have a chat with a Lebanese Jew, and so would many folks.

So, I hope the LJCC figures out a safe way to create this outreach that will hopefully snowball into wider acceptance, understanding and tolerance during such intolerant and frightening times. In a part of the world with so much hatred and violence and lack of compassion, Lebanon’s role as a melting pot for all the different faiths and cultures needs to be reinforced more than ever. A counter-narrative to the violent extremism that keeps many of us up at night…

As prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau put it when asked why his new cabinet was gender-balanced, “because it’s 2015” (it’s 2016 now, bass inno). The trend of gender equality awareness in big parts of Lebanese society are far ahead of our archaic laws, which do not grant the most basic of rights to more than half the population such as passing the Lebanese passport (though useless) to their foreign spouses and kids.

Anyway, one place where inclusion and tolerance are always a main driver is nightlife. Electronic music and the events and venues that cater to electronic music lovers are well-known for their tolerance of everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexuality and class. Even in Lebanon, a good portion of the artists we love and look up to are amazing ladies who I’m happy to call friends.

That’s why, tomorrow at uberhaus, Smirnoff Sound Collective and Audio Kultur are celebrating this diversity and helping recognize that gender doesn’t matter and should never matter in this day and age. The lineup includes Ladybug, TIA, Blu Fiefer ft. Lilane Chelala, Jana Saleh, DJette, Dana Ruh and Mira.

So, RSVP and go down tomorrow in support of equality in electronic music and everything else! (Also, get a sneak preview of the amazing upcoming documentary on just that!)

So, I usually stay off Snapchat on weekdays, but on the weekends, my snapchat story is all about partying in Beirut. Of course, there’s always good music in the background and lots of you guys text asking for track IDs, so, I thought why not bring back sound selections on this blog with the tracks that were basically the soundtrack of the past weekend. Oh, and my snapchat is @GinoRaidy

Eliksyr — Henry Saiz

Henry Saiz was just at uberhaus a few days ago! This track got the most requests for track ID. It’s a pretty solid one, enjoy!

Noise & Girs (German Brigante Remix) — Smash TV

Smash TV is a regular fixture at The Grand Factory, this track is one of the many, many reasons why.

Laminaria — Geju

The tracks I stumble upon on soundcloud are often the ones I get hung up on the most. It’s awesome discovering a track at a club by sneaking a peak at the CDJs, but it’s always nicer to listen to something for the first time while your soundcloud player shuffles through what you might like and you actually like it!

Metronome — FreakMe & Stan Ritch

This track has some epic moments, makes for the perfect snapchat clips and guaranteed wide smiles and shuffling feet, hands-in-the-air at a club.

Leichtigkeit Des Seins for Cottonmouth

Cottonmouth is a Beirut-based blog that hosts some amazing sets on their soundcloud. The most recent one, their 30th episode, was fantastic. It’s slow and experimental but never gets boring, with trance-inducing remixes of tracks by the likes of Oceanvs Orietanlis, it’s the perfect after-after-party set to help you relax, while you’re on a long drive or working on your laptops.

@GinoRaidy

I know I talk about banned stuff and censorship in Lebanon a lot, but it’s usually when a movie or book or website is banned by the General Security’s censorship bureau under pressure by political and religious figures or organizations.

However, a far more dangerous form of censorship is steadily increasing in Lebanon, as we have seen over the past few years (like the distributor cutting 20+ minutes from Wolf of Wall Street, changing “gods” to “kings” in Gods of Egypt, and many many more). Now, there are two main reasons for this:

Government’s Fault

If you were a distributor and signed contracts for very expensive products from abroad, ship them to Beirut, only to have them banned, you’d lose a lot of money. So, after years of unfair and unchecked and simply uninformed banning from the GS’s censorship bureau, some distributors auto-censor for fear it’ll definitely get banned and to avoid the financial repercussions.

Greed

Sometimes, it’s just greed though. Three years ago, nudity and sexually explicit content would have been a no-no, but, thanks to pressure from folks like MARCH, this is no longer the case and most bans today are to appease anxious religious figures and politicians. But, some distributors use the censorship excuse to chop down long films and be able to screen it more times per day. Of course, no one makes sure if and what they censor, which makes matters worse and the situation harder to catalog.

Auto-censorship is Wrong

And I promise we are working on naming and shaming every single distributor found to have censor or ban a certain production for the reasons discussed above. Also, we are going to file an official complaint with the parent companies abroad for every movie, book, etc. they tamper with or choose themselves not to get to Lebanon for whatever reason.

Spotlight

This movie won the oscars a couple weeks back, but none of us have seen it. At first glance, it’s easy to think that it was most certainly banned by the GS’s censorship bureau under extreme pressure from the Maronite Catholic church in Lebanon. But, upon further investigation, its local distributor decided that the movie wasn’t good enough and won’t make enough money, that’s assuming it won’t get banned.

So, technically, the movie was never banned in Lebanon, the distributor just chose not to import it. Now, gun to my head, I’m pretty sure even if they did, it would have been banned quicker than the Da Vinci Code books and Metallica albums. But, still, an unacceptable move by the distributor.

That’s why, and even though I don’t like encouraging illgeal streaming, there’s a link to stream Spotlight (the one I used to watch it myself). I loved the movie personally, makes you appreciate how crucial investigative journalism is and how wicked the church can be. Love the cast too!

Stream it here.

So, on Sunday at around 10AM, the Paint Up and all the volunteers headed down to a playground in Nabaa with the intent of beautifying and cleaning up this severely neglected part of the city.

The day kicked off with the awesome folks at Recycle Lebanon giving a talk to the volunteers and residents about how beautification of a location means keeping it trash-free. The talk was followed by a clean up of the location and sorting of the trash which was picked up by Recycle Beirut for further sorting and recycling

After the session with Recycle Beirut, 400 paintbrushes and 200 buckets of paint were distributed to the hundreds of volunteers. Throughout the day, Tanjaret Daghet played a one hour set and then C U NXT SAT’s The Inse(k)t took over the entertainment for the rest of the day. L’Atelier Arts and Crafts also had a space for toddlers to have some fun as well!

Chady Abou Sleiman and Ghaleb Hawila, two absolutely amazing artists, also did a live session at the event. Feast your eyes on this:

[envira-gallery slug=”paint-up-nabaa”]

Photos by Nadim Kamel

If you love what these people do, and want to go to their next event, make sure you follow Paint Up and stay tuned. Also, the awesome guys at Recycle Lebanon doing weekly actions to help fight the garbage crisis!

Earth Hour is an hour in which most of the cities around the world turn off the lights in a symbolic gesture that highlights the need for cutting down our CO2 emissions to curb the negative effects of global warming.

In Lebanon, lots of people joke that we already get our lights turned off every day because the government can barely supply us with a few hours a day of power. But, for the rest of the day, we use an even worse source of power: illegal generators in our neighborhoods that significantly add to the freighteningly high air pollution we already suffer (have you ever seen Beirut on a weekday from the mountains surrounding it? Horrifying.). Add to all that the daily burning of thousands of ton of garbage, and you get air quality that will soon become as bad as some of China’s cities.

Anyway, G NGO’s yearly tradition of holding a fundraiser for Earth Hour to support environmental and conservationist projects, is back this year and with a vengeance. It will feature Lebanese comedian Adel Karam, with Audio Kultur handling the rest of the night’s entertainment at Uberhaus!

The event will be fully solar-powered and all proceeds will go to support the organic apple empowerment program, several schools, universities and green initiatives across Lebanon.

RSVP here. Buy your tickets here.