Who would want to kill Samir Geagea?

Dr. Samir Geagea is a man with a colorful past. Let’s leave it at that. Any more info on the man can be found on his Wikipedia page (a rather glowing biography).

The Lebanese Christian leader has been taking it easy in recent years, sticking to a narrative he espoused during the civil war and backed up with military action during the 1980s. Given the goings on in Syria, and given Lebanon’s (or at least this government’s) relationship with Damascus, Geagea has been striking a chord of anti-Assad opprobrium that has gone down predictably well with partisans and even generated some unexpected bonhomie with champions of wildly different ideologies who happen to have found, in Geagea, a mutual Bashar basher.

Two orientalist takes on the Party of God

Sorry for not posting for a while; circumstances beyond my control have limited my access to WordPress.

Anyway, I’m sure you’ll have seen the recent article about four western journalists – all pretty well established – going paintballing with Hezbollah in south Beirut.

If not, I won’t spoil it. As you’d expect from the authors, it is at least entertaining…but not terribly illuminating. I know exactly why it was pitched – it was accepted by VICE editors after all. Outlets still have a perspective from which they approach Hezbollah; that the party is tough and mysterious and highly organized, and predominantly hostile to Americans. It is all of those things, of course, but it’s also a highly functioning social outfit, an organization with links established in education, construction, infrastructure…even scouts groups.

For Jeita Grotto, I vote no-confidence in MPs

Jeita Grotto, Lebanon (courtesy of new7wonders.com)

A senior minister is about to embark on a tour of Latin America, paid for by the state, with the aim of getting Lebanese expatriates there to vote. Given that we are roughly 18 months before Lebanon’s 2013 parliamentary elections, and given that expat voting is one of the major issues featured on the latest draft voting law, it makes sense to educate those living outside the country on how they may be able to vote.

Not so fast. Yes, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud is going to garner support from voters. For Jeita Grotto.

Lebanon 2 – 2 Kuwait

Kuwait's Defence Fahed Awad Shaheen (L) fights for the ball with Lebanon's Forward Hassan Maatouk (R) during their 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian zone qualifying football match in Beirut, on October 11, 2011. AFP PHOTO /JOSEPH EID

I shan’t bore you with the details of our miraculous entry to Camille Chamaoun stadium, seconds before Lebanon kicked off its World Cup Qualifier versus Kuwait in Beirut. Suffice to day, it involved an awful lot of shoving, judicious use of some blue language and several showings of spurious press credentials.

The game itself was less remarkable than the atmosphere surrounding it. Lebanon drew, twice throwing away a lead after a promising first half and a brilliantly worked goal capped by wunderkid Hassan Maatouk (who went on to have an entirely unspectacular game).

An interview with HMA Tom Fletcher, UK Ambassador to Lebanon

Yesterday I met with the new British Ambassador, Tom Fletcher, who last month replaced the popular Frances Guy as the U.K.’s representative in Beirut.

I was impressed. He remained on message, but thoughtful, on a whole range of potentially thorny issues, including the STL, Syria and Hezbollah. Below is the full transcript of the interview:

Q: What are your thoughts of the country so far?

A: The first thing is just how stunning the place is. Even though everyone had told me to expect that, I still find that overwhelming. When I drive up the mountain in the evening and look back at the sunset, it’s just extraordinary. But then also, as we discussed, the complexity of Lebanon, and the fact that on the surface so much is logical and yet beneath the surface it becomes much, much more complicated. So I’m very daunted by the scale of the challenge in trying to understand how politics and society works. I think, most of all, [I’m struck] by the energy and the dynamism of life here and of people here. You know, the talent of the people I am working with at the embassy, who actually are more talented I think than any group of staff I have worked with in much bigger embassies, but also then the talent of the people you meet around the circuit, it’s just overwhelming how many incredibly well-educated people you come across, who have a point of view on everything, very articulate, often in a third language. That is extraordinary. I think that encourages me that this is somewhere where, as an ambassador, you can actually have an impact because people want to talk and people are receptive and people are engaging. It’s not a country where an ambassador is just writing reports for his capital and going to diplomatic receptions. Here you are actually part of the game.

Latest Lebanon WikiLeaks: meh

After having spent the most part of 10 hours going through the more than 1,000 leaked diplomatic cables on Lebanon released last night by WikiLeaks, I feel qualified to advise against you doing the same. It’s really not a fulfilling pursuit.

Whereas the last tranche of cables, released late last year, from the US Embassy in Beirut and other consuls throughout the region, were in the “kind of interesting, but we probably already know that” vein, this latest batch is decidedly less eyecatching.

Here are some mildly interesting cables I’ve come across:

Former PM Fouad Siniora accused Iran of discouraging Lebanon to make a big deal out of Shebaa Farms in order to perpetuate a pretext for Hezbollah.

TIME interview and the ensuing storm

When the article dropped, myself and several colleagues were stunned. TIME magazine had gotten an interview with one of the four men accused by an international court of killing Rafik Hariri. This man was subject to an INTERPOL arrest warrant and, if we are to believe the Lebanese authorities, the focus of a nationwide manhunt.

What the anonymous suspect said was not exactly life changing. It didn’t need to be. The sensational point of the article was that the magazine had managed to get an interview in the first place. The shockwaves had began.

Gas canisters and games: Blast in south Beirut raises eyebrows

With all the riveting news spewing from Beirut dailies concerning a draft law on maritime borders and Lebanon’s decision to disassociate itself from a U.N. Security Council statement condemning ongoing protest crackdowns in Syria, you may have missed this.

Last week, there was a small and largely overlooked explosion in south Beirut which, at least in south Beirut, set some chins wagging. Hezbollah – the group that controls large pockets of the southern suburbs, or dahiyeh as the area is loosely referred to, was quick to point out that the blast was nothing more sinister than an exploding gas canister. Sure, one person was injured, the party said, but that’s to be expected in a country where virtually nothing is done to monitor fuel safety. Right?

Miss Lebanon 2011: Yara Khoury-Mikhael with photos

Yara Khoury Mikael (19) waves after winning the Miss Lebanon 2011 beauty contest in the commercial center of downtown Beirut on July 11, 2011. AFP PHOTO /JOSEPH EID

Firstly, thanks for overlooking that desperate titling attempt to generate some hits. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

Last night was Miss Lebanon 2011, a show so glitzly you needed sunglasses just to watch it on TV. In the end, Yara Khoury-Mikhael, armed with little more than a degree from LAU, some strategically placed masking tape and an army of Facebook fans blew away the competition to take the crown.

Here’s how she managed it:

Cabinet? Yes. National salvation? Hardly.

Talal Arslan was a minister today for about 60 minutes

Trying to look at Lebanon’s latest government without cynicism is like trying to pass a Cabinet with no female or opposition representation off as progress.

It may have taken more the best part of half a year to form, but Najib Mikati’s 30-strong administration looks like it could have been scribbled on the back of a cigarette paper, a list of no names and partisans that will struggle to implement the thousands of badly needed legal reforms crippling the country.

It also appears as depressingly backward-facing. After having covered conference after conference on the need for electoral development – particularly the necessity of greater female representation in national and local government – it’s hard not to feel betrayed by the male-dominated line up. It’s not surprising, so much as extremely disappointing, but it’s not as if Lebanese politicians have ever truly cared for much other than themselves and their sect.