بعد أزمةِ الصواريخِ في كوبا (1962) ثم اغتيالِ جون كينيدي (1963)، تَرشّحَ ليندون جونسون لخلافتِه سنةَ 1964. أعدَّ جونسون لحملتِه الرئاسيّةِ فيلمًا دِعائيًّا ناجِحًا عُرِف بـــ"ديزي" (Daisy). نرى فيه فتاةً صغيرةً تَنزعُ أوراقَ زهرةِ أقحوانٍ ورَقةً ورَقة. وما إِن تَصِلُ إلى الورَقةِ الأخيرةِ حتى يُسمعَ صوتُ رجلٍ يَـعُـدُّ بصوتٍ جَهوريٍّ عكسيًّا من عشرةٍ إلى صِفر كأنَّ العالمَ يَقترِبُ من لحظةِ إطلاقِ صاروخٍ نوويّ. وسُرعان ما تَظهرُ صورةُ انفجارٍ هائل، يَعقُبه صوتُ جونسون يقول للأميركيّين: "رِهانُنا أن نَبنيَ عالَـمًا يَعيش فيه كلُّ أبناءِ الله بأمانٍ أو يَغرَقوا في غياهبِ الظُلمات. فليُحِبَّ بعضُنا البعضَ الآخَر لئلا نَصلَ إلى انفجارٍ نووي جديد ونموت".

بعد نحوِ ستّين سنةً لا تزالُ رمزيةُ "ديزي" صالحةً للعالم، وبخاصّةٍ للبنان. هل نريد أن نبنيَ لبنانَ ديمقراطيًّا، حرًّا وآمِنًا وحضاريًّا لنا جميعًا، أم سنواصِل العَدَّ العكسيَّ حتّى الصِفر والعَدْوَ نحو الانفجارِ الوطنيِّ الشاملِ والارتطامِ النهائيِّ؟ سابقًا، بَلَغنا الانفجارَ أكثرَ من مرّةٍ من دونِ أن نَرتَطِمَ، واستَعدْنا الحياةَ وأَكْمَلنا الشَراكة. أما اليومَ، ففي لبنان مَن يُصِرُّ على إكمالِ العَدِّ العكسيّ حتّى الواحدِ وفي ظَنِّه أنّه يُخيفُ اللبنانيّين فيَستَسلِمون قَبل الصِفر، لكنّه سيَخْسَأُ اليومَ كما خَسِئَ سِواه بالأمس. فاللبنانيّون لا تُخيفُهم الأصفارُ والأرقامُ والأعداد. يوجدُ في لبنان مَن يَقتلُ "ديزي" ويحافظُ على الرجلِ الذي يُقرِّبُنا من ساعةِ الصِفر. هؤلاءِ نَزعوا أوراقَ جميعِ زهورِ الأُقْحوان وسائرِ الزهور، وآثَروا العيشَ في الظُلمات. وَلِعوا بساعاتِ الصِفرِ وبأصواتِ الانفجارات. نَشروا روحَ العَداءِ المختَلَقِ كأنّنا لسنا جميعًا أبناءَ الله، ولا أبناءَ وطنٍ واحدٍ وأبناءَ قرى ومدنٍ واحدة. لماذا النزعةُ العدائيّةُ المجانيّةُ والعبثيّةُ تَطغى على إرادةِ الشراكةِ والحياة؟

By Najia Houssari  arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Just 72 hours before the deadline for expatriates to register to vote in the Lebanese parliamentary elections currently scheduled for March 27 next year, President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement party on Wednesday lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Council over amendments to electoral law recently approved by the parliament. On Oct. 28, an absolute majority in parliament approved plans to amend the 2017 electoral laws so that parliamentary elections can be held in March instead of May. They also scrapped its provisions for the election of six members of parliament to represent expatriates and the introduction of a biometric, magnetic card that would allow voters to cast their ballots where they live rather than returning to their home towns to vote. Aoun had previously rejected these amendments. FPM members walked out of parliament in protest when they were approved.

In its appeal to the Constitutional Council, the president’s team argued that the decision not to allow expatriates to have their own elected representatives in parliament has “canceled a basic and fundamental right of a special Lebanese group.” It added that “the amendment of the deadlines is a violation of the principle of separation of powers, as the parliament is not entitled to discuss the date of the elections determined by the executive authority, which constitutes a violation of the provisions of the Constitution.” The appeal also argued that “the abolition of Article 84 of the law, related to the magnetic card, which allows the voter to vote in his place of residence, will affect the credibility and transparency of the electoral process.” FPM member Alain Aoun said: “The Constitutional Council will issue its decision within a month and the FPM will abide by its decision.” He also warned against “any step that could be taken by the minister of interior that entails inviting the electoral bodies to convene before the Constitutional Council issues its decision regarding the appeal.”

مقتطف من مقابلة وزير العدل السابق ابراهيم نجار ضمن برنامح بكل حرية على قناة suroyo tv    الصحافية: لفتتني اللوحة الموجودة في …

by lb.usembassy.gov -- Ambassador Dorothy C. Shea delivered the following remarks at Hamat Airbase today: “Sabah el-Kheir, Good morning, General Joseph Aoun, General Haikal, distinguished guests. What an honor it is to be with you this morning. As you probably know, General Aoun and I recently traveled to the United States where we were hosted for a series of meetings about U.S. – Lebanese military cooperation and coordination, and I am proud to have the opportunity to demonstrate how real that commitment is with yet another major equipment delivery. Look at this beautiful specimen. So today, we welcome the provision of six MD-530F+ Light Attack Helicopters to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Air Force. I loved this video we just watched and I just want to seize on the theme of teamwork that you identified, the same teamwork that we see between these MD 530(s), we see between the LAF and the United States military.