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 مكتبكم والتي تعبر بين مزدوجين عن الحوار الوطني او لقاء بعبدا ( اعلان بعبدا ) على عهد الرئيس ميشال سليمان وكأنه يحلم وفرحان ان كل المنظومة اتفقت وهذا فعلا ما زال حلماً لليوم […]

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.

by James Zoghby — thenationalnews.com — Most policymakers and pundits are confounded by what to do about Lebanon. They ask: “What do the Lebanese people want? How strong is the hold that the sectarian elites and Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy, have over the population? And is change even possible in Lebanon?” In an effort to answer these questions, the American Task Force on Lebanon and Zogby Research Services conducted a nationwide poll of 859 Lebanese citizens in September. Broadly speaking, the poll was constituted to assess their current situation and to identify their political priorities and their hopes for the future. The findings are both instructive and fascinating. There are, for example, multiple areas where a consensus on critical issues exists from every demographic and religious sub-group. And despite the extreme hardships, for a strong majority, next year’s parliamentary election presents a make-or-break moment for the future of their country. What comes through clearly from the findings is the profound impact the economic collapse is having across the country.

Nine in 10 respondents said that they are worse off now than they had been just five years earlier. More than eight in 10 said they have experienced shortages in fuel, electricity and drinking water. For one third of respondents, there are occasions when they have been forced to go without food. Among the poorest Lebanese, one in five said they “very often go without meals”. And almost two thirds reported that they do not have enough income to make ends meet. As a result, a disturbing two thirds conceded that, if given the opportunity, they would emigrate to another country. These figures are hardly surprising, given that the country has been through much political turmoil over the past few years that has led to the economic hardships its people are currently facing. However, despite these hardships, people retain confidence in some of their country’s institutions. Scoring high among all religious sects and demographic sub-groups are the Lebanese Armed Forces, civil society, the religious leadership, judiciary and what has come to be known as the 17 October Revolution, the national protests in 2019 that were triggered by planned taxes on gasoline, tobacco and VoIP calls on applications such as WhatsApp.

Attitudes towards Hezbollah are divided, leaning negative, and confidence in Parliament and in the traditional parties are low. On the issue of Hezbollah, it is striking that two thirds of all Lebanese, including a majority of respondents from every religious sect, expressed the belief that their weapons and forces should not be allowed to operate independent of the state and, instead, should be under the control of the armed forces.

BEIRUT (AP) — Turkey’s foreign minister said Tuesday his country is ready to offer whatever support it can to help mend relations between Lebanon and Gulf Arab nations, embroiled in an unprecedented diplomatic rift. The spat with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states unraveled late last month and has threatened to destabilize the new Lebanese government and escalate the country’s economic tailspin. It erupted over comments by a Lebanese Cabinet minister over the war in Yemen that angered Saudi Arabia.

During a visit to Beirut, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged support for Lebanon’s government to ensure the small country’s stability and that general elections scheduled for next spring take place on time. “We have expressed our sadness over the recent crisis between Lebanon and the Gulf. We received information concerning the latest developments toward its resolution. And if there is anything that can be done for the issue to be resolved as soon as possible we are ready to carry it out,” Cavusoglu told reporters after meeting his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib.

by reuters — Seven thousand runners from 59 Arab and foreign countries filled the streets of Beirut under the slogan “united we run for hope.” Tens of thousands used to participate in previous years. May El-Khalil, founder of the Beirut Marathon Association, said that the 2019 protests and the coronavirus pandemic, which broke out the […]

by alarabiya.net — President Joe Biden has nominated Elizabeth Richard, the former US ambassador to Lebanon, to become the State Department’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism, the White House said Monday. Richard was most recently the ambassador to Lebanon from 2016 to 2020. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. […]

by voanews.com — The National Symphony Orchestra of Lebanon is feeling the effects of the financial crisis in the country. The crisis has left many people in Lebanon suffering from poverty and struggling to meet simple needs. The crisis worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The August 2020 Beirut explosion also worsened the crisis. The explosion killed more than 215 people and damaged parts of the city, including the building where the orchestra meets. As the value of Lebanese money fell, the 100 or so musicians in the orchestra watched the value of their pay fall from $3,000 to around $200. Most foreign musicians left the orchestra and the country. It is not clear how long the orchestra can keep going.

Cultural loss

Lubnan Baalbaki is the conductor of the orchestra, someone who leads the musicians as they are playing. “We used to do very big productions that would cover the entire classical repertoire. Now it’s very difficult,” Baalbaki said. The pay of those who remain now covers little more than the price of fuel to drive to weekly practices. This has forced Baalbaki to reduce the number of shows from around 30 a year to just a few. This follows a wider loss of Lebanon’s cultural place and activities due to the crisis and the pandemic. One of those loses is summer holiday cultural events. They were seen as a guiding light of the arts in the area. They included famous musicians and Arab celebrities.

By Nana Asfour — nytimes.com —  Etel Adnan, an influential Lebanese American writer who wrote a seminal novel about the Lebanese civil war and achieved acclaim in her later years as a visual artist, died on Sunday in Paris. She was 96. Her death was confirmed by her longtime partner and only immediate survivor, Simone Fattal, who did not specify the cause. For much of her life, Ms. Adnan, who grew up in Lebanon and spent several decades in California, was an international literary figure, her lyrical prose reverberating with generations of Middle Eastern writers. Her most widely acclaimed novel, “Sitt Marie Rose,” (1978) based on a true story, centers on a kidnapping during Lebanon’s civil war and is told from the perspective of the civilians enduring brutal political conflict. It has become a classic of war literature, translated into 10 languages and taught in American classrooms.

Ms. Adnan also wrote numerous collections of poetry. Her latest, “Shifting the Silence,” was published in October 2020. Reviewing her previous collection, “Night,” for The New York Times Book Review, Benjamin Hollander described it as “a meditative heir to Nietzsche’s aphorisms, Rilke’s ‘Book of Hours’ and the verses of Sufi mysticism,” and “an intricate thread of reflections on pain and beauty.” In her poetry, novels and nonfiction, Ms. Adnan often wrote about political discord and violence. Her books on the Middle East, like “The Arab Apocalypse,” a poetry collection from 1980; “Of Cities and Women (Letters to Fawwaz),” from 1993; and “In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country” (2005), address the region from sociological, philosophical and historical perspectives. Ms. Adnan caught the attention of the international art world in her late 80s, when her paintings were included in Documenta 13, the contemporary art exhibition in Kassel, Germany, in 2012. The invitation to the show resulted from a serendipitous visit by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Documenta 13’s director, to Lebanon, where she saw an exhibit of Ms. Adnan’s geometric and vibrantly colored abstract work on generally small canvases.