Adonis Diaries

Archive for July 13th, 2016

8 suicide bombers hit the town of al-Qaa (Bekaa valley in Lebanon) twice in a day

Posted by: on: July 13, 2016

If the town of al-Qaa (Ka3) were in Beirut, would we have cared more?

By • June 27, 2016

Although Lebanon has been witnessing a rather cautious calm for the past year in light of the wave of terrorist attacks that mostly targeted its capital Beirut and surrounding suburbs in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and which left scores of civilians dead, this calm was broken on Monday when 4 suicide bombers blew themselves up among a group of civilians in the village of al-Qaa in the Bekaa.

All victims were civilians, while three Lebanese soldiers were among the wounded, the mayor of al-Qaa told Voice of Lebanon.

At 10pm, while the town people were assemble in the church to prepare for next day funeral, another 4 suicide bombers hit the church. So far, 5 more additional injured.

“al-Qaa, mostly Christians, is the gateway to the rest of Lebanon, and here we stopped a plan for a much bigger explosion,” said mayor Bashir Matar.

According to the Lebanese Red Cross, at least 5 people were killed and 15 were wounded, 4 of whom are in critical condition.

Voice of Lebanon identified them as: Joseph Lewis, Boulous al-Ahmarm, Joseph Fares, Faisal Aad and Majed Wahbe.

A claim of responsibility has yet to be made.

Al-Qaa is a predominantly Greek Catholic village that nears the border with Syria.

A tragic history:

2006 war

This is not the first time this seemingly forgotten village bore the brunt of conflicts.

In 2006, dozens were killed when an Israeli air strike hit Lebanese and Syrian farm workers filling a refrigerated container with boxes of produce. Casualties were mostly Syrian who come to the border village looking for work.

The attack against al-Qaa was the result of geographic contiguity as the town falls close Hermel, a Hezbollah stronghold, which was hit by at least three Israeli airstrikes during the July 2006 war.

Civil War

Three decades ago, plainclothes Syrian agents went door to door seeking men, who were abducted and killed in a notorious chapter of Lebanon’s civil war. The residents of the town were set to observe and commemorate the tragic event that occurred on June 28, 30 years ago.

They were left to fend for themselves in the past, in the same manner in which they are today.

Complex dynamics:

Although the [Hafez al-Assad] Syrian regime and its Lebanese culprits are largely blamed for the 1978 al-Qaa massacre, the village’s nearly 2,000 Christians now side with the [Bachar al-Assad] regime due to the rise of Islamist extremists on its porous border.

To them it’s a choice “between the bitter and more bitter.”

Standing between the militants and the village are Lebanese soldiers aided by Hezbollah troops, whose men are also fighting for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Lack of governmental attention:

The village, like many others lacks development and governmental attention. The dysfunctional Lebanese State has so far failed to provide protection, apt development and assistance to towns like al-Qaa and neighboring Ras Baalbeck and Arsal, who have seen a large influx of Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian conflict.

Lack of national attention:

The lack of governmental attention largely mirrors our own. Two weeks ago a bomb explosion rocked the Verdun neighborhood of Beirut. Although no casualties were reported, save for two slight injuries, the media ran amok with analyses, and hours of live broadcasts. Social media also played a part in fueling the already brewing panic with many sharing warnings allegedly issued by foreign embassies, all of which remain unverified. Beirut succeeded in stealing the media spotlight, and the interest of social media users alike, a phenomenon which has yet to repeat itself in the same scale when it comes to towns and villages that already suffer from neglect and poverty.

Perhaps therein lies the root cause of many of our problems. This skewed view that grants more attention, more compassion, more empathy for areas deemed as more vital, and less to others, has gravely contributed to division and instability within our nation.

And while this is certainly understandable since Beirut is the capital city, perhaps it is time for us to look beyond our own interests.

If al-Qaa, Rass Baalbeck, Hermel, Arsal at al., were in Beirut, would we have cared more? It’s a question I ask myself.

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Don’t get played Chump

Posted by: on: July 13, 2016

Chump (Don’t get played)

How did Bernie Madoff do it?  (The financial uncontrolled system let him do it?)

How did he steal twenty billion dollars from people who should have known better? It doesn’t matter if you went to university or not–you can still be played as a chump.

To pull off a significant deception, you generally need two things: A deceiver ( and his team of collaborators)and a crowd of people open to being deceived.

Once those are present, the deceiver brings out the big lie.

For lots of reasons, people are open to looking for shortcuts and a new reality, even if no shortcuts are available. They may have been mistreated, might be struggling, or they may merely be greedy, looking to outdo the other guy.

In the case of Madoff, he was even able to take in charities, with boards that meant well but were in a hurry to scale.

Frustration in the face of the way things are makes us open to the big lie.

Frustration and fear and anger can suspend our ability to ask difficult questions, to listen to thoughtful critics, to do our homework.

And the big lie is always present when we get played. To be a chump (not merely the victim) is to be open to the big lie. Not merely open to it, eager to buy into it.

Numbers make it easy to tell a big lie. People hate numbers, and they seem so real.

Anti-intellectualism, disregard for the scientific method and conspiracy theories also set the stage for a big lie.

And demonizing the other, the one who is already held in low esteem or feared by the chump, this is usually part of the big lie as well.

In retrospect, the warning signs around Madoff were obvious.

Just about any skeptical, thoughtful investor could have seen through the big lie if he wasn’t so busy being a chump.

When a population gets played, the responsibility lies with the liar, with the con man, with the person so craven that they’ll trade trust and productivity and a bit of civilization for some power and authority.

But the chump also has to take responsibility. Responsibility for looking for the shortcut, giving into the fear and for eagerly believing the big lie, ignoring the clues that are all around.

Chumps aren’t restricted by nationality, by education, by income. Chump is an attitude and a choice.

We’re not chumps. Not if we don’t choose to be. (After the lie and the trick are thoroughly explained and disseminated to the wide public?)

Posted by Seth Godin on June 30, 2016

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Going Hunting: What animal instincts they fear in me?

Posted by: on: July 13, 2016

Going Hunting (1998)

  1. I’m going to war.

My government has decided.

I need to release my animal instincts.

For economic reasons,

For political reasons,

For religious reasons.

I’m going to war, today,

For no reasons:

Just kicking butts.

  1. What animal instincts do they fear in me?

I’ve never seen animals killing others

From miles away.

I’ve never seen an animal

Who has just gorged

On hamburger and pizza,

Going a-prowling,

To kill and maim.

  1. Never seen an animal

Returning from the hunt,

In clean and spec fur,

Shining from shoulders to boots.

 

Never seen an animal

Returning from the hunt,

To eat more and get drunk silly.

They used to find themselves a cool shade

To rest and sleep off the feast.

  1. What animal instincts do they fear in me?

I had a dream of cannibals at war

And I was a reporter of this war.

Once a victor felled his enemy, he would kneel and achieve him.

The victor is serenely and religiously eating his enemy flesh, raw.

For him, the war is already over:  He stops killing other victims,

He is not helping his tribe worriers to overcome more enemies.

His enemies will not interfere with his eating;

They stay away from this pair,

Both finally at peace.

  1. For both the victor and the victim the war is over.

When the dust of war settles down all the living warriors from both camps

Prepare a joint bonfire and finish off the remains of their victims.

They leave the battlefield in peace.

They don’t carry any leftovers:

Nature and its beasts need to take their shares of the slaughter.

What animal instincts do they fear in me?

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adonis49

adonis49

adonis49

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