Adonis Diaries

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Tidbits and notes. Part 410

The first priority of Lebanon mass demonstrators is to roam the streets and remove/tear all the portraits and banners of political figures. The politicians were supposed to remove themselves their portraits by law, and they failed to obey the law. This is good priority for the Iraqis, the Egyptians, the Tunisians, the Syrians…

An #Israeli soldier approached a 74-year-old #Palestinian woman Ghalya Abu-Rida. He gave her water, then took a photo with her and then he shot her in the head. And He watched her die

I say, every one must have his identity: Death has forced on us the I.

I say, what exists must be discovered: Death impressed on us to know.

I say, every feeling must be experienced: Death created stages for us to grow.

I say, there must be a meaning to life: Death did not leave us a choice in that.

I conjecture that all these frequent pre-emptive wars of USA overseas are meant to dissipate the prevalent racism spreading quickly and deeply, or manifesting itself too blatantly during the brief periods of US non-virulent active aggression on other countries.

I am reading “Mr. Gwyn” by Alessandro Baricco, a French translation. I don’t dare jump to the last chapter. Even if the ending is Not that satisfactory, I wouldn’t mind repeating the experiment, of creating portraits in words in the book, by changing the variables, in the timing, the luminosity, the music and the setting…

Aux moments difficiles, dire une connerie qui vient du coeur se pardonne volontier, mais pas un silence confortable

L’espoir fait surtout vivre ceux qui en tirent profit: les voyantes, les gourous…Des promesses qui n’engagent que ceux qui y croient.

Bournesh? In northern Albania, the tradition is to appoint a girl to become the head of the clan, given that the family could Not have a boy. Thus, the bournesh is to swear never to marry or have kids. The essential right is: “the bournesh will have the right to avenge the blood of a member of the clan...” Fortunately, this tradition is vanishing.

Quand on a mal, on ne trouve plus d’endroit pour se refugier: on est exproprie’.

Classification of pains, les douleurs. Celles qui rongent, qui dechirent, qui pressent, qui broient. La lancinante, l’ invasive, celle qui pulse, qui vous plie en deux, celles qui viennentt avec ses outilles d’ Inquisition, celle qui vous reveille, les viscerales, les osseuses, les nausees, essouflement, oppression, vertiges, les frissons, celle qui vous agacent comme une mouche, celles qui vous disloquent…

Wish a few houses open their salons to welcome functional elderly people, to meet for a couple of hours, to chat, re-group… before returning to their isolation at home. A paid administrator can coordinates the visits and the transport. And I am willing to contribute to that project.

It’s unclear if poor facial recognition causes introversion or if it’s the other way around. (Thus, AI facial recognition programs are certainly extroverts?)

Every demonstration, march… is a blessing. It keeps the government on tip toe, Not taking the citizens for granted.

In one longitudinal study, two brain areas associated with movement and learning were smaller in bullied teens. (Consequently, you could conjecture who was bullied, even if he refuses to admit it?)

Nazism adopted the USA racist classification that discriminated among the landing immigrants in the 1920’s. Even WWII didn’t change much in the rooted racism in the Silent Majority.

Actions speak louder: civil disobedience in Lebanon of driving private cars.

Let’s start a trend of stopping to drive to main cities one day in a week. Let’s select a Saturday. People might realize that taking taxis and service cars and sharing cars is much cheaper at all levels.

Let us promote this suggestion on social media. It will take some time for people to get moving, but persistence is key to any change

Comments and snippets posted on FB. Part 263

Pluie d’éte? Ayloul (September) tarafo mabloul?  It would be great to experience a cat and dog kinds of rain at this junction of 7 months of dry season

How do you evaluate the experience of this cinema Star? Why do you have to attach Star to actresses? So she won’t antagonize me. What? nowadays, the behinds of non-famous are Stars. (Late Youssef Shaheen)

If you have talent in attracting positive opinions and large audience, a few truthful positions may compensate for the dozens of lies you disseminate: No attraction of the public, no roots for any valuable position?

Faire la solde des lingeries Fines? Have you heart of lingerie epaisse, non-sexy, non-chic, couleur suspecte …? Et cet homme, accompagné par sa maitresse, tous les yeux des femmes le fusillant hainesement, marchant sur ses pieds, une bête traquee…

The nastiest of calamities during this confrontation on May 2008, Hezbollah against Seniora PM: the burning of the achieve of “Khaleek bil bayt“. Most TV interviews with cultured authors and poets were burned, such as Adonis, Youssef Shaheen…  Do you think those who burned the Old TV station of Al Moustakbal knew of the presence of the archive? Those who claim they are the bastion of our culture?

Et si il n’y avait pas de preuve de mort? Ca viendra tout de meme, la mort. Meme si la Court International de Justice (pour Rafic Hariri) durerait un siècle?

Titus a quitte Berenice, reine de Palestine, un siècle après JC. Titus a cesse d’aimer Berenice. Titus est mort, finalement. La question demeure: Pouquoi Titus a cesse d’aimer Berenice? Plus grave encore: Est-ce vrai que Berenice aimait toujours Titus, avant ou après la grande affaire? (As far as I can remember, it was Emperor Tiberius who dispatched Titus to tame the rebellion of extremist Jews and expelled Jews from Palestine in around year 70)

Today, my eyes got wet: I read beautiful passages. I don’t recall ever crying: lack of imagination or feelings? Better late than never: I think that I’m recapturing some of my lost capacity for imagination and feelings.

The children of Palestine and those living in shantytowns of refugee camps, are systematically denied the basic rights of happiness, and of enjoying periods of laziness and boredom. The occupiers made sure to rob these kids of the basic feelings and their innate innocence. They are more mature than other children, and yet, more receptive to all kinds of feelings and emotions.

Que fait l’Art pour nous? Il met en forme et rend visibles a nos senses nos emotions et appose ce cachet d’ éternite qui incarne l’universalite des affects humaines. L’Art immortel genere l’emotion sans le desir ou la convoitise.

Qu’est ce que cette histoire de centaines de noeuds que forment la psychologie des hommes? Vous croyez que les psychanalystes savent quelque chose a la topologie?

Les grands (princes and presidents…), que les moins grands dedaignent, sont poutant heureux s’ils deviennent leurs gendres.

Qu’il y a peu d’humains et que le monde est desert? Mais pouquoi les gens sont mechants? Ou pretend l’etre pour qu’on leur fiche la paix?

Vous avez une petites vessie qui t’envoie sans delai au petit coin après une tasse de thé? Votre autonomie est reduite quand vous etes en voyage et que l’illusion d’avoire une petite vessie vous tracasse? Peut-etre qu’il y a des vessies plus reduites que d’autre, mais pas a compares avec celles des chameaux. C’est pas la vessie: chercher d’autre causes plus raisonable qui excitent la vessie

Quoi? Toute invasion au nom d’ un Dieu prend une dimension inhumaine et sauvage? Et les invasions aux noms de la finance et l’ economie pour recuperer des dettes souvereignes, sont- ells classes comme humaine et rationelles?

Les homes de la Renaissance Europeenne? Mais durant l’ empire Arabe/islamic, la plupart des intellectuels etaient des hommes et des femmes de Renaissance dans la diversite’ de leur connaissance multiple et leur talents artistiques.

Je ne peut me resoudre a negliger les appels (les noms des eleves), surtout le matin. Le son que fait votre nom a des vibrations de diapason. Better, welcome your students as they enter the classroom (as in Protestant churches?) and imitate their responses, particularly the variations on “Present”.  Other teachers demand that the students wait in ordered line and in silence before the teacher opens the door of the classroom: Acquerir un peu de politesse  n’a jamais fait mal a personne. In the afternoon, let the exhausted students listen for a couple of minutes to the noise outside and compare it to the noise inside the classroom, and proceed to speak at a lower volume.

Existe-il la possibilite de devenir ce qu’on n’est pas encore? Saurai-je saisir cette possibilite et faire de ma vie un autre jardin que celui de mes peres?

On s’epuise vite des monos: On veut de la diversite d’adoration. Ils sont des menteurs endurcis et chevrons, ceux qui prechent le monotheism ou la loyaute sexuelle des couples.

Avec l’age, ce qui est adequat dans la societe s’oublie: on devient trop ferme et inebranlable dans nos idee-fixes.

Pronoms adverbiales? Comme ces y, en, ca, tout… Comme dans: Je m’en moque, ca me gonfle, je m’en batte les coquille, je n’y arriverai jamais… Ces pronoms adverbiables sont utilise comme des planques que nous ne revisitons jamais, des poisons a long term. Savoir si l’ecole est faite pour les etudents ou pour retenir les profs. je n’y arriverai jamais? Mais vour arrivez quand meme: vous frimez,  vous deprimez, vous derivez, vous gueulez, vous cognez… Des nuls fourvoyes dans un univer absurd.

Si on ne peut pas concevoir un future radieux, on ne s’installe pas non plus dans un present frais, enjoue et fructueux

Vous vous fiez a l’ordre actuel de la societe sans songer que cet ordre peut etre boulverser? Qui peut vous repondre de ce que vous deviendrez alors? Vous, vos enfants, votre famille…

Vous n’étes rien du tout sauf a etre Roi? Gloire aux rois dechus qui remonte a l’etat d’homme, que si peu d’hommes savent remplir

Avant le peché on etait un diamant, et après on est devenu un charbon? Alons, le temps qu’on apprenne ce qu’est le vrai peche’ qui nous ronge la vie. Il faut apprendre a conquerir les petits peches pour faire face et confronter le plus villain des peches.

On jout a l’alchimiste: traiter le charbon tout au long de notre vie pour obtenir un petit diamant: Ca vaut la peine.

Couturiers du Liban: Elie Saab, Rbi3 Kayrouz, Abed Mahfouz, Zuhair Murad, George Hobeika, George Chakra, Reem Acra, Basil Soda

Lebanese bands:  Mashrou3 Layla, The Incompetents, Who killed Bruce Lee, Pindoll, Jammit the Band, Wanton Bishop

Lebanese Caricaturists: Armand Homsi (Al Nahar), Rene Najjar (Revue du Liban), Stavro Jabra, Antoine Kassabian (Darius), Klimos and Carali, Zo d’Axa, Izzat Khourchid, Diran Ajamian, Moustafa Farroukh, Khalil Achkar, Pierre sadek, Jean Mish3alani, Ma7moud Ka7eel, Mel7em Imad, Niyazi Jalloul, Imad She7adeh, Mohamed Kobeissi, Pol Mall, Nabil Kaddou7, Habib 7addad, Elie Saliba, Naji 3ali (Palestine), Ali Farzaat (Syria)

Ideas are processes at work: No relentless work, no pragmatic ideas

You have the right to leave, if your society fails to convince you to the contrary

Commencer vite, en bas age, a memoriser des textes et des poems que tu aime. A l’heur ou la memoire se compte en gigas et au bout de l’index, point necessaire de memoriser des passages lumineuses de la literature? Voyons, ce que nous aimons on le memorise, que le prof nous le demande ou pas. Surtout les poems chantes (des chemins varies aux differents parties de la memoire.

Correction d’une dictee: Acces au sens exact du texte? Et la poesie: Doit-elle avoir un sens exacte pour etre corrigee?  Et que vaut un zero en orthographe si la dictee fut sentie belle par l’éleve et qu’elle fonde comme un bonbon acidule?

Dinayk baddon tosh meet. Yey yey… hal neswan shou bte7keh. Shou? Shou 7ekyet. Baddi a3ref hal bint elle eletlek enno… dinayyeh 7assassat

Ces yeux ne lui suffisaient pas pour lire a haute voix: Elle a besoin de macher l’air. Ce contact permanent de l’air et la chair les levres.

Le supermarche du chagrin d’amour (Racine)

The basketball team of Beit-Chabab need bostat to accompany it: You cannot win if you have no audience to clap and cheer you up, shou makan el le3b. The mothers and dads of the players byeste7o yessa2fo

C’est une loi invariable:La diplomacie echoue toujours quand le rapport de force est equilibré. Dans le cas de la Syrie, il parait que la diplomacie entre (Russie et USA) serait infructueuse pour la duree

Douce insomnia? Ca n éxiste pas. Sinon, pouquoi dormir?

Massare7 Beirut toukkarress wa la toukkaddess? Shou? The pieces of theatre btetkaress min meen? There are a couple of thousands who can afford to attend theaters: Half of them are enfants a maman. The other Half of them are considered VIP, to be admitted free of charge, which raise the ticket prices. They are the same and see them everywhere you go. Beirut for them is movable feast.

A country where the foreign workers transfer $4.5 billion while the immigrants pump in barely $7 billion… must have a sharp deficit in its social structure

Le jeu est la respiration de l’effort: il ne nuit pas au serieux de l’apprentissage. Sauter a la corde peut avoir des resultats avantageux: on peut devenir un boxeur. Mieux, adept a des sports plus meritant a une vie prolongee et epanouie

Exercice d’Ennui: pour s’installer dans la duree de 20 minutes et apprendre a échappe a la pensee magique que le present est perpetual. Ne rien faire, rien de rien. Pas de conversation. Pas de music a entendre. Pas de iPhone ou TV, rien manger ou boire. Rien de rien. N’addressez pas la aparole a personne, pas de visite aux cafés, on ne reconnait pas les copains, on entre notre chamber, on s’ assoit sur le coin du lit, on n’ouvre pas le cartable, pas de Walkman… Attender, l’oeil dans le vide.

Comment apprendre a finir des zeros en series, la fatigue de rester tapi au fond de la nullite, romper le sort, sortir du rond… Apprendre a échappe a la pensee magique que le present est perpetual et qu’il n’y aurait jamais de future… et commencer a comprendre que nous ne sommes pas victims d’un charme, et que chaque cours doit sonner l’heure du reveil

“I don’t drink alcohol”. Excellent, you exposed your personal choice. Just don’t impose your life-style and harass your neighbour, the one sitting next to you on the airplane, the restaurant… Simply because your religion forbid it. Live and let live. Everything in due time: you might revert to drinking and your neighbour might quit his addiction. Mind you that smoking is of a different nature: It pollute the enclosed environment and affect many non-smokers.

“Elle n’y a droit qu’une fois, alors elle en use 15″(La reine des abeilles). Chaque faux bourdon qui remplit la poche spermatique de la reine doit mourire: il laisse son organe genitale (emputer). Le second boudon doit extraire l’organe de son predecesseur avant de laisser aussi sa peau. Au moins 15 boudons doivent perir durant la journee pour que la reine ponde 200,000 oeufs chaque annee durant les 5 ans a venir. Ca valait la peine. Si la reine des humains faisait de meme? Mais non, elle doit massacre des milliers chaque annee pour ne ponder qu’un cretin, unique au monde.

L’Absurde: Sinus a sur sinus b. Je simplifie. J’elimine le sinus et il me reste a sur b. Noter comme fausse une reponse absurd et y attacher un zero, sert le cancre qui se vautre a observer les zeros alignes. Le problem de differencier entre une reponse fausse et l’absurde cher l’eleve est de le faire resonner, patiemment. Une tentative après une autre a la raison, en refusant de leguer un zero, peut aboutir a une percee. Gardez-vous de traiter l’eleve comme sujet hors sujet. Il faudrait changer la regle du jeu: On ne repond pas pour repondre a une question. Tan7er, a7ssan. Keep your silence if you ignore the answer

Est-ce que je lui en pose, ce prof, des questions moi? Pouquoi doit-il me casser les pieds, tous les jours, avec ses questions absurdes qui n’ont que des reponses absurdes?

L’ecole, l’armee, le system politique au Liban… une sale prison. Tout le monde tourney en rond, soucieux de chercher des coupables que de trouver des solutions

Ce n’est pas une ardeur dans mes veines cachee, C’est Venus tout entire a sa proie attachee

La reciprocite dans l’amour? Ca ne marche pas. C’est le cas de la diplomacie quand les forces sont egales.  L’amour ca revient a une personne dans le couple. L’autre “moitier” lui doit le respect d’avoir consenti a etre l’esclave de l’ amour. N’abuser pas de l’un l’autre: laisser un espace pour la diplomacie (Not from Jubran)

Le poison est l’autre nom de la verite? Mais le poison est reel et peut tuer en grande quantite. De meme, la verite qui persiste a defier le reel, tue aussi, á n’importe quelle dose.

Les virage ont souvent l’impulsion des retours? Souvent, des retours a la con, qui n’ont aucune valeur legitime.

Je suis fascine par l’abnegation dont nous sommes capables de consacrer une enorme energy a la quete du rien, et au brassage de pensees inutiles et absurdes. On aspire a un sens qui va au-dela des pulsions? Mais la quete absurd, n’est-elle pas la plus sublime des pulsions? La pulsion qui n’aboutie a rien qu’a se charger de graves illusions. Quelque chose qui nous sauve de l’eternelle tristesse des destins biologiques. (Une version editee d’un passage de L’Elegance du Herisson de Muriel Barbery)

Et pourtant, tant de gens beneficient de ces travailles absurdes: secretaries, employees, fonctionnaires, chauffeirs, concierges, coursiers…

L’Eternite, cet invisible que nous regardons tacitement, et qu’on s’efforce a categoriser tous les singularites qui peuvent etre assembles

Le prof soigne une cure de depression nerveuse. L’eleve cancre explique: Ce prof manquait d’autorite

Matra7 ma brou7 wa bejeh, ma3arefeh, mattat aw 3am bit mout (wa al ma3rife kaman) Al 7ayat zaa2elat? wa 3am netsallah. wa khod ba2a: Tfarrajo 3al 3ounfouwaan keef byetsallah.

She likes to repeat her stories and expand on them each time she tells them. She starts and I do the disappearing act: Out of sight but still hearing her telling the story. I finish the first task, out of sight, and she is at the story. I finish the second task until I can’t hear her talking. I try Not to come into her sight, fearing the broke record might restart.

Raye7 jeeb bnatleen 3am 2asserhat. Afdal t2ajel hal to2ssir. Ba3dak 3am to2ssar, enta aw al mouda.

“Ce n’est pas faute si tant de pesanteurs empechent mon genie reformateur” repond le minister: A chaque nouvel arrivant, les fonctionnaires du Ministere annoncent: “De toute facon, monsieur le minister, on n’y peut rien”. Ecrit moi ca au tableau, monsieur le minister. “On y peut rien”. Ajoute un “n” devant le “y”. Il faut absolument qu’on trouve ce que “y”veut dire. Sinon, nous sommes tous foutus. (Daniel Pennac dans Chagrin d’ecole)

J’etais comme un chiot, je courrais derriere ma truffe. Les profs croyaient que je le faisais exprés, etre un cancre, et j’ai quitte l’ecole. J’aurais pu devenir un aptron dirigeant un multinational. J’aurais envoye le tout par le fond et partirais avec un gros cheque et les felicitations du President aussi.

“Tu le fait exprés”: La vedette est l’adverbe exprés, qui est directement associe a Tu. Comme Tu exprés. Faire est secondaire, auxilliaire a la phrase et le pronon “le” est incolore. Tu exprés est visualiser par un index tendu a l’accusé. Tu exprés? Non, “je pas”

“Tlateh bi wa7ad” growled Abu Saleem, as he received ther Murex d’Or, accompanied by Fehman and Ass3ad at the podium

L’insu en matiere de concept est bien plus puissant que tous les desseins conscients? Faut-il ramener tout a une puissance absolue d’un Dieu?

Les privileges des elites donnent de vrais devoirs? Devoir server a la mesure de la gloire et la fluidite financiere? Perpetuer une scolastique universelle a l’auto-reproduction de steriles elites?

Ma 7ada ajdarr men al mousika al 3azbat fi estidafat al 3assafeer? 7otto al tofl 3ala jeneb, hal moussika 3azbeh 3endha shaghleh tanniyeh 3ind al enssan?

Question: Si la vie avait un sens, croiyez- vous quelle serait aussi compliquee et complex

Always the pragmatic: It’ s up to you. You ether simplify or complicate your life. The more you simplify, the more meanings life acquire

The more the living gets complicated, the more striking is the corollary: Life has no meaning

Governments that need to spread the concept that life has meanings among its citizens: reduce, simply and make laws more general in nature. Otherwise, all kinds of phobias will mushroom in the social fabrics.

The municipality planted a road sign: “Allowed to park here“. The lady parked and was issued a parking ticket. The officers quipped: nsabnelek kameen. (A line of Filimone Wehbeh in one of the Rahbani’s brothers scenes)

Government issue secret ordinances: for you to learn by paying the price at your expenses

Ne pas laisser sortir le chat et ne pas laisser entrer la concierge est l’ adage de base des dames socialistes

“3al baal” was a TV show related to the issues of prisoners and presented by Najwa Kassem. Any other shows currently in any Lebanese TV? An hour per week dedicated to all kinds of prisoners, political, criminal, administrative, financial… criminals of freedom of expressions, in words, films, songs, marches, demonstrations, civil disobedience… in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Kingdom…?

“Khaleek bil bayt” hosted and interviewed many former prisoners who were released by Israel and occupiers, such as 3abd Kareem 3obeid, Khadija 7arz, Souha Bishara, Anwar Yassin (and his mother Jamila Jawdat Nasser), A7mad Isma3eel, Nabih 3awadat, Mila Sofonji, Kifa7 3afifi, Mohamad Ramadan, Samir Kontar…

“You sentenced me to be executed? Are you aware that you are also sentencing the tradition of Freedom in your own country? And yet, you will be unable to prevent Algeria from snatching its independence and become free” (Jamilat Bou 7ayrad). The brothers ra7bani composed “Ta7iyat ila Jamila” and sang by Fayrouz

The colonial French refused to teach Arabic in Algeria, but they gave the Jews living in Algeria the French nationality since 1870.

A child, born from two parents who were deaf and mute (abkam). He learned to speak at age 7 and communicated in signs. Said Maarouk still knows how to sign and created the video clip “E7sass Jadeed” for Nancy Ajram who is communicating by sign with the one she fell in love with. Said used to accompany his shoe-shine father to Sa7at al Borj. “The camera 3allamatni tekaniyyat wa 3allamtaha al e7sass”

Hal moustashfat mdaye3ni: yaom mneih, yaom 3am naze3. Raddan 3a sou2alek: Al yaom mneiz, reja3i bokra (Min banaat moukhayalti. 7atta esh3aren aakhar)

I am doing basket shoots from near the hoop. I take the fool position and shoot. Jad said: “It is illegal to jump in this position”. I do my best Not to jump. “How am I doing?” Jad quipped: “Fine. ballet shooting is allowed” as I tip toe to shoot for better leverage. This is my story with rules: Each time I bow to rules bentekess: My right shoulder hurt. Train your kids to ballet: It might come handy, later, at an older age.

Ya Sami. Hal she77ed maghroom bi 3aynak. Baddak esfilak 3anynak? Ya Rita, jibeh 2otneh. Wa shou baddak ta3mel bil 2otneh? Baddi fanter 3aliha. 3abdallah: min emmatta betfanter 3a osba3 majrou7? Bardo, jibeh hal 2otneh Rita. Sami: wa hal marra shou? Khalleh 3abdallah yezarzeb 3aliha. Sami: ayreh bi hal 2otneh wa bi fnateerkom. Tarriha hal layleh ya Sami. Ma baddeh tarriha. Basita, kebab? Kebb shou? Hal 2otneh.

Mon ami, tire-moi de danger; Tu feras après ta harangue (La Fontaine dans L’ Enfant et le maître d’ ecole, le Magister)

On n’ a plus l’ habitude, sauf comme receptionist, de dire: “Qu’ est ce que je peux faire pour vous?”. Bien que toutes les demandes sont interessees, quand quelqu’ un prend la peine de vous visitez, prend les devants: “Comment puis-je vous aider?”. A vous de repondre a la demande qui t’ interesse.

Le mot deviant gros quand il est ecrit dans un livre. A l’ oral, les mots ne sont pas si gros: on s’en branle, on nique ta mere, on bat les coquilles… Meme celles ecritent sur les murs des toilettes. C’ est que, meme si on ne lit plus, on donne toujours au livre un status sacre: sa place est dans le department d’ archive, un tresor national.

Est-ce que l’ innocence s’ oxide en un rien? Et qui veut de cette innocence, cache du monde du reel? On a besoin de tout l’ oxygene pour infiltrer les mondes clos hermetiquement.

The people in our region manzoureen lel mawt wa al shahada? A decade ago, it was the subjugated Iraqis who had to write their history in blood, from Sumer, to samera2, Falluja, Anbar to Mosul.  Today, it is the turn of the Syrians to do the same: From Dar3a, darayya, Tadmor to Aleppo…

JAMMOUL? balsho 3ala zgheer. Ma fikon tefshkho kbeer ba3d 20 senneh of inaction

The pair of shoes that Montazar Zaydi projected toward Bush Jr.: From the Iraqi widows, orphans and million of civilians that you humiliated and left behind… You are the sole responsible of those thousands of criminals against humanity. After 8 years in the Black/White House, I dare Obama to come down here and give another one of those lame speeches on democracy, liberty, the new world and freedom of expressions. Manna bahdaleh. Shou khallah le Trump or Hillary min ma3assi?

La solitude: Ceux qui se sent exclus, confronte a ceux qui le sont vraiment, (people of old age)

Vos opinions deviennet acceptable quand l’ auditeur sent que vous n’ avez rien a vendre

L’ orateur: Il sait polir le reel au point de le render lisible et rassurant. Plus on apprend a enjoliver le mensonge, plus on devient expert a polir le reel.

La ferocité du puissant quand il joue les victims. La feroce candour des majorities de pouvoir devant l’incomprehension du people des varieties de norms: Elles croient toujours a un complot universel. La ferocite du nanti quand la pauvrete campe a sa porte. La feroce complication de vivre de l’enracite flairant le diasporique (les noveaux immigres des guerres). Et ca vaut pour le petit caid de banlieu suspectant l’ennemi sur le trotoire d’en face. La disparite dans la comprehension des codes deviant trop dangereuse. (Daniel Pennac)

Le sabir du pauvre (son parle) est l’argot du pauvre d’hier: Pour faire croire au riche qu’il a quelque chose a lui cacher? Et pourtant, le pauvre n’a rien d’important a cacher a qui que se soit. Mais il peut inventer son argot, un monde a lui tout seul et qu’on aurait besoin de toute une langue pour l’exprimer. En cherchant mollement, je n’ai trouve que meuf, keuf, et teuf dans la derniere edition du dictionnaire. La force de l’argot est dans le ton: le meme mot passé d’une connotation a un autre, de l’insulte a la caresse, de la violence a la tendresse.

Ne pas laisser sortir le chat et ne pas laisser entrer la concierge est l’adage de base des dames socialistes

What kills the elderly people is their loneliness and total exclusion from the community.
No one shows up at their doors
No one to pay them a short visit
No one to invite them for a short trip, tour, journey
Wa la bosta twa2eff wa tzammer

History retains the stories of warrior empires, that conquered and occupied other tiny empires.
Tiny empires who created culture and civilizations are ignored.
The tiny empires who were robbed of their civilization and heaped on the warrior empires
Current archaeologists job is to uncover the Big lies, one leaf at a time.
Mostly in documentaries.

The municipality planted a road sign: “Allowed to park here”.
The lady parked and was issued a parking ticket.
The officers quipped: nsabnelek kameen. (A line of Filimone Wehbeh in one of the Rahbani’s brothers scenes)

What is this? LAU charges $750 for the graduate to get this piece of paper called diploma? Why? is that a fee (zemmat) for the USA to recognize LAU degrees?

In 1713, Louis 14 of France decided to completely erase the sanctuary of Port Royal. He displaced 3,000 of the dead remains to unknown locations. Pascale, Racine… and their families were buried  in that gravesite, in a valley, 20 km from Versailles. Louis 14 didn’t want this sanctuary to become a pilgrimage place for all the Jansenistes and Calvinists of the world.  This sect welcomed people and small poor girls who decided to retreat from the external world and considered music and dancing as the work of the devil.

Mont Lebanon was famous to attract all people in the Levant desiring to be cloistered in grottos, away from the external world. For many centuries, the Maronite monks and the soufi Moslems spent extended time in these reclusive corners of high altitude for prayer. These Moslems are no longer converging to Mount Lebanon: Not for this purpose.

Bless the community who respect the simple in the mind, who can creates meanings to life.

C’est aussi vrai aujourd’hui: vivent les forts et meurent les faibles, dans des jouissance et des souffences, proportionnees a leurs places hierarchiques. Ca veut dire que la proportion des souffrances est nettement plus elevee chez les pauvres.

La main de fer du destin qui donne aux mort-nes des meres mortes, des beautés profanées, d’avoir voulu renaitre. Il semble qu ‘il soit possible de changer de destin?

Pouvons-nous etre si semblable dans la solitude et vivre dans des univers si lointains?

Quelle est cette guerre que nous menons chaque jour pour survivre la solitude et l’isolement? Dans l’evidence de notre defaite, un peut retardee?

Un oeil qui percoit mais ne scrute, croit mais ne questionne, recoit mais ne cherche… Comment peut-on dire adieu au desir, sans faim ni croisade?

No. Not for this ending, generations of the civil war donned the mourrakat, wrote articles and poems, left behind mothers and sisters and dropped into Beirut and fell in love with Beirut. They have since withered away in silence and shunning their old friends of the struggle and hopes.

Un “toujours”dans le “jamais”. C’est beau de traquer les  “toujours”dans les “jamais” de la vir. Ces moments ephemeres de beaute ou le temps n’est plus le meme. Et plus ces moments sont frequent, plus on est heureux.

Someone commented on an article of the oldest languages still alive. He was wondering why Arabic was excluded. Arabic is Not such an old language: It is a version of Aramaic and Syriac. The local Arabic slangs in various communities do Not match the formal Arabic, in States that claim that Arabic is the official language. Abu Nuwwass spent time among tribes of beddouins in the desert in order to learn the real spoken Arabic. Besides the shades of naming the night, moon, camel, horses and the desert environment…You cannot find in his urban setting poems any relation to this rough culture, but how a camel pisses

I don’t want to be buried in a jarrour. It is unconscionable that any municipality would Not consecrate a piece of land to be an open cemetery. Every parcel of land of churches is transformed into concrete: salon, car parking lot… Even the symbols for the dead are being obliterated. Why? Are the living feeling more alive than the dead in this period?

When I suggest a small open air cemetery, I have in mind temporary burial for a month, before moving the remains to the box (jarour). Why Not build half a dozen of prefabricated burial tombs, deep in the dirt, where the cover is easily removed after throwing some dirt on top? After the families and friends pay visits to this cemetery during that month, pray and even eat together, the remains can be transported into the jarrour. In the meantime, the families and friends of the dead can spend quality time with the departed and plant a few flowers and roses, and pray for all who passed away that month.

Les Jansenistes et Calvinistes separaient les garcon des filles, meme les adultes cloisonés dans des sanctuaires etaient separes. La music, la dance, planter des fleurs et gouter aux sucreries… etaient defendus. Les nonnes Catholique sequestrer souffraient plus que ces moniales vierges: ells avaient goutees aux plaisirs et beautes de l’exterieur. Elles pouvaient chanter, planter des fleurs and occasionellement avoir des gateaux…

Si la lecture est une dissection, le commantaire ne peut etre qu’une cicatrice. Il faudrait relire plus tard nos commentaires pour decouvrire celles des cicatrices qui ne s’est pas encore cicatrises.

Asl al fata ma kad 7assal, fa3al… Wa asl al fatat? 7assalat, fa3alat. Shi tabi3i, ma badda falsafeh wala ash3ar. No. Badda wa noss

Remember: My comments and notes are open sources. Copy them and Shares as if they were yours, in any social platform that you patronize. Otherwise, why the bother? Scroll as far back as you desire and keep sharing.

Ba3d fi diyya3, baydatah mawdara. Over 200 cars pass you by, and nobody dare stop to give you a lift. The list of excuses can fill pages. One of them is that women drivers surpass men drivers. As if women are forbidden to give lifts to a member of the community. It is clear in my mind: the bottom line is that the community has become faint-hearted. The community has lost any hope that it is worth salvaging or sustaining the community: Let it die its natural death.

Les profs nous prennent la tete? Ta tete est deja prise. Par les marques de consommations que vous ne savaient de nom que la Marque: vos chassures, les blousons, les lunettes, les casquettes, les cellulaires, les baladeurs. Ces produits vous coutent trop cheres: Les enfants clients, ils coutent trop cheres. Ils ne veulent que le dernier cris, le plus neuf. Est-ce que l’ecole doit aussi s’ouvrire a des cours de consummation comme une categorie d’information et d’identité? Ta tete est deja prise et les profs essayent de te le render, par liberer les mots de leurs marques, les Nike et semblabe…

Le cancre supreme de la classe est visible immediatement: le regard bienveillant du prof quand le cancre prend la parole, les sourires anticipes de leurs camarades, un ton déxcuse, une vehemence vacillante… Le cancre oscille entre l’excuse d’etre et le desir d’exister, de trouver sa place et de l’imposer par tous les moyens. Et quand il echoue a la fin the l’annee: “Mais prof je ne suis pas ce que tu penses. Les eleves m’ont designes comme leur bouffon. Mon pere est un paysan et sa sueur m’envoie a l’ecole”

When Al Mannar channel of Hezbullah allows women to be shown without 7ijab, I start to believe that freedom of expressions could be possible in Lebanon in the future.

Avant de connaitre le Christ, beaucoup d’ auteurs etaient indecents? Ce qui ne les empechaient pas d’etre grands (Virgile, Ovide, Ciceron…). Et Avant Mohasmmad? Les auteurs Johhals (non-croyant a un Dieu unique) etaient aussi grands. Qu’on y croit a un Dieu unique ou multiple, tacitement multiple par tout le monde: “Pale d’une mort prochaine?”

I can understand that it is easier to wear all white or all black for washing purposes. Why the dead are Not permitted to wear colored garments? Do you think what they donned would ever be washed again? At least, let the dead enjoy a moment of revolt to suit his eternity.

De quell mal souffre la reine Didon? Son sang qui coule comme une lave? D’un mal qui n’existe plus, depuis que le Seigneur s’est revelé. And for those that Christ never was revealed to them? Of  what sickness suffered Didon? (Didon, Allissar, from Virgile)

On deviant sage quand les noms ne sont plus aussi puissants que les choses. Et pourtant, c’est la revolte des jeunes qui rend ce monde plus vivable et interessant: les noms sont plus important, surtout les noms des marques commerciales. Tentation d’exister en tant qu’image.

A Calamity for a child is an existential knowledge. For the adult: simply existential, and No questions asked. And they mourn the suffering of the child, instead of the apathy of the adult. Allah yer7amo. Tawwel bi 3omrak. 3awwed bi salamtak.

Des symbols incompatibles? Ecarteler entre des cultures differentes? Comment exister si on ne sait pas ou on est? Alors, on brule des voitures. La misère et le chomages ne sont que des corollaires a une identite brumeuse, voire obscure. On vit avec des croyamces magiques qu’on ne peut pas assumer.

And the collateral victims of  shouhada2? The many who succumbed to suicide bombings of whatever leader or mosque or church or wedding ceremonies… Don’they have names? Didn’t they have a story to tell? Shouhada2 al sodfat? They woke up and died and their illusions faded away.

The game petanques, boules, batchi.. is hilarious. You learn to acquire a sense of humor, 7ess al foukaha. Ma3koul? You’re holding 2 boules (baydaat) and you wait for your turn

If the wind is soft and fresh, that’s perfect “iza nassam al hawa, mnee7”. And years pass by like an instant “Al 3omr ghaflat”. The responses of an 128-year old woman from south Lebanon

Comment savoir si notre phase est entendue comme bonne (grammaticalement), si on n’a pas navigué dans des cercles cultives? Ou avoir lu les livres de valeur?

L’Histoire des WC sert-il a bien faire pipi et caca?

Que le jour recommence et que le jour finisse. Sans que jamais Titus puisse voir Berenice (Racine)

La personne n’incarne pas le violence: il est le messager? Il filme toutes les scenes violentes comme son devoir d’informer?

Toutes une categorie d’adolescents ait mis au coin, un bonnet d’ane vissé a la tete. La meme chose avec les nouveaux immigres: le bonnet d’ane et au coin.

The first grip of the new-born on the finger of dad: Is dad now his slave?

When all blows feel to be on the nail, we lose our dignity

It used to be: darbeh 3al 7afer, darbeh 3al mesmaar. It is dizzying: This high rate of “3al mesmaar”

Le sense de l’humour ne prend son elan que quand on decide de s’integrer dans une communaute de jeunes eduqués.

Il semble que toutes les vies aient besoin de se disposer autour d’un centre?

Trop de fidelité conduit a confondre le mort du vivant

Une traduction litteraire separe la langue du corps se celle de l’ame.

Dead rats and cameleons: Not picked up. They blend in and mash with the asphalt.

Le plus traumatisant, c’est que je suis aussi un malade mental de plus que ceux qui m’entourent et que je n’ai pas la competence de les guerrires. Je ne peux pas me soigner en punissant ceux que je ne peux pas guerrir.

Les ecoles sont un system social, une chaine industrielle sociale, pour cristaliser les divisions de classe, au plus profound de ses raciness. Cette amalgam d’eleves qui se rassemblent, sont deja formes avant d’entrer a l’ecole. L’ecole ouvre la voie libre de se rassembler en groups: les gangs, les serieux, les faibles, les endurcis… Ceux qui ont des potentiels divers, ceux qui entreront dans les institutions publiques, les armees, les prives… Les ecoles trillent cette amalgam de jeunes gens et les distribuent dans divers branches sociales.

Et puis j’ai compris: Je souffrais pareceque je croyais que je ne pouvais faire de bien a personne autour de moi. Que je suis incapable d’etre utile a ceux qui n’ont vraiment pas interes a me nuire ou a m’ humilier. On peut surmonter une mort dans la famille, mais on a beaucoup de mal a surmonter la mise en scene de son proper chatiment. Quand la mort d’un bien-aime est infligee par une classe sociale differente de la notre, une classe qu’on ne connait que par les contes des tiers, et qu’on n’a pas frequentee serieusement. (Edited from a passage of “L’elegance du herisson” by Muriel Barbery)

Qui seme les desires (opportuninités et potentiels mal assouvis) recolte l’oppression

It requires more reflection to discriminate among the tacit oppressions in the developed nations.

La difference entre un outil et un mauvaix prof? Ce derinier n’est pas reparable.

“The Capital” of Marx? Not that hard to read, just so boring to finish. I read it many decades ago, and at every new chapter, I hoped a new idea or a new equation might pop up: Nothing new. Plain regurgitation on the same equation. This fundamental unique equation must be outdated with more complicated variables. It is the chapter describing countrymen converging to urban setting and joining the masses of the work force that is catching. It turned out that Ibn Khladoun described the same phenomena 6 centuries ago. The power of Marx is in his articles, describing in details the fundamental economic and social underlying of the successive revolts and upheavals in Europe 19th century.

Time to give credit to all teachers who made a difference in your live: name them and say something about them.

William 7asswani? How he managed to juggle so many talents and commitments, and concentrate so much energy and dedication in everything he undertook? He had a great voice too. After a long day teaching in Notre Dame of Furn el Shebbak, he practiced and played in almost all of the Rahbani’s Brothers pieces of theatre and movies. He was the main or sole lead during the morning mass, perched on a high choir. He taught math and blackened the board with neat calligraphically hand writing and perfect geometric circles and graphs. He published a wonderful poem book, kind of imitating La Fontaine.

On apprend qu’il faut devenir trop bon pour l’etre assez et etre accepter par un group de jeunes qui apprennet a avoir le sense de l’humour

I got the sense that the syndicate of engineers in Lebanon adopt the Madoff pyramid game to pay for the retreat of the old members. Rich and poor and homeless engineers are treated the same on the basis that it lacks an investigative branch to check on the veracity of the claims. Meaning: they all pay the same amount (zimma) before processing the claims and hopefully receive the same monthly amount.  The basic idea is that 95% of the lebanese are cheaters and the remaining 5% have to adjust to that precept and pay for the rich guys

I had a brethren  teaching me physics in my last year matheleme at Sacres Coeurs Gemmayzeh. He wasting old, tall, strong, and standing like an arrow. He filled the blackboard on the process Einstein managed mathematically to get E=MC2 by considering mass as another variable in E=mv2. I had copied the entire thing and lost the notebook. Anyone stumbled on a link to refresh my memory?

Ce Bonheur  d’ enseigner sa matiere etait si convaincant et efferent d’ innocence que les eleves eloignes cette envie de chahuter ou de se moquer de lui

La passion communicative de certain profs de leur matiere a enseigner: ils creaient l’ evenement. Ils patageaient le desir meme du savoir.

There was this young teacher of modern math in my class de seconde. I scored 20/20 on the first lengthy and exhaustive homework (these group circles that intersects…), The bright math minds scored way far behind. The prof. concluded that I was a math genius. And then my mind went blank with the algebraic concepts and notations. The prof was confused why I failed to give the best of my potentials. My apology: my brain neuro network was Not that adapted. I wish I can recall his name.

“La vie a un sens que les grandes personnes detiennet?” Qui sone ces grandes personnes? Quel sens detiennent -ells? Do your due diligence. Create your sense of life: Efforts, study, cooperation, engagement

La langue figuré est celui des maitresses de maison: “Il a un appetite d’ oiseau”… l’oiseau mange leur poids une fois par jour. La langue proper est celui des meres: “Tais-toi, essuie-toi la bouche…)

Les eleves friandise: ces rare eleves brillants et concentres… Plus rare encore, ceux qui sont dediques a apprendre avec un sens de l’humour

Apprendre pour respire, ouvrire les fenetres. Apprendre pour apprendre a m’envoler. Apprendre pour avoir une competance pour pouvoire aider… de l’air, de l’air

Je dois tout a cette ecole, ce maître, ce leader…? Quand meme. Reflechisser avant de prononcer Tout, Rien, Zero, 100 pour 100, akeed, la shakk…ces superlatifs a volonte.

I faut reussir pour comprendre? Ou pour communiquer avec plus de conviction ta reussite?

Peut-etre qu’il ya une correlation entre aptitudes et vertus: meme 100 de correlation positive ne prouvera jamais la source de tes vertus.

Que sont nos reves de jeuness devenus? Mais vos reves d’objets de consummation sont nulls. Vous etes devenu une mouche qui se cogne a la meme vitre.

L’eleve qui oppose le moin de resistance a l’enseignement est consideré comme Normal. C’est ce normal qui est la plague de tout réforme.

La vie n’est pas ce que l’on croit? Elle doit changer avec nos nouvaux croyances? Est-ce que l’arbre peut devenir un animal? Pouquoi pas? Dans une autre vie.

Les poetes doivent s’exprimer dans leur langue proper, maternelle? Si vous ecrivez dans une autre langue, probablement vous n’exprimer pas l’esprit de votre langue. Et si c’est cette esprit qui vous choque et vous force a aquerrir une autre langue?

La suffisance (l’arrogance) attrape les gens comme du miel. Qaund ces gens lechent totallement ce miel, de quelle maniere doit-tu augmenter ta suffisance? Avant quelle n’écoeur tout le monde?

Hommage aux bons maîtres? Voltaire a Tournemine et Poree; Rimbaud a Izambard; Camus a Martin; Julien Green a Lesellier; SimoneWeil a Alain; et Alain a Jules Lagneau…

Et les profs  de seplaindre de n’avoir pas ete forms pour enseigner (le ca qui ne se fait jamais cerner): Commnet communiquer l’empathie aux eleves, comment se concentrer Durant les classes, et après les classes, comment se concentrer aux autres choses qui nous donnent du plaisir a faire? Comment transmettre le savoir? Que les eleves apprennent quelque chose durant les classes?

It appears that non-productive institutions and syndicates must tacitly adopt versions of Madoff pyramid schemes: The new members subsidize the retirement of the older ones

Going about your daily routine pressure the worries to circulate around your tasks and delay devouring you whole, as in a tornado.

I have a problem: The Ordre des Ingenieurs (Beirut) ka7alletneh bi 4 million LP (bara2et Zemmeh) before it starts paying my monthly retirement rights. It refuses any kinds of instalments. Ma bterda ella check bancaire aw cash

A quoi sert de mourir si ce n’est a ne pas souffrir? Tant qu’on ne souffre pas physiquement et mentallement, Prend la vie a plein dents. Tous ces sans dent. La souffrance viendra sans cogner a ta porte.

Hokku (3 vers), tanka (5 vers), manga (bande dessinee), seppuku (se suicide sans souffrance)

Il faut se donner plus de mal pour se faire plus bête qu’on n’est: Ca demande plus d’effort qu’un cancre a ratrapper les annees perdues

C’est beau de pousuivre les etoiles et naviguer parmi elles. Apprennez comment ne pas finir comme des poisons rouges dans un bocal? C’est tout le probleme

Comment poursuivre ses reves, s’il y a une de valuable? Do your due diligence and be resilient on the side of the lures.

Un cave, un loquedu, un blaireau, un bolos… un eleve client des marques commercialles qui veut ressembler a sa tribue de classe et n’a pas les moyens d’en acquerir.

Si on croyait que l’existence est absurde, notre reussite aurait plus de valeur. La lucidite amer vaut plus qu’une mediocrite dans les illusions.

Les enfants sont instrumentalisés: l’ enfants client qui va a l’ecole, L’Enfant producteur dans les champs et les sweat shops, L’Enfant soldat, L’Enfant prostitute, L’Enfant dans des bateaux d’immigres, L’Enfant qui meure de faim, de maladie et de guerre civiles..

La dette d’amour sans fond: substituer le temps consacre a L’Enfant par acheter ses desir d’objets de consummation, les plus neufs, les plus cheres…La difference entre L’Enfant desiré et L’Enfant collateral. La difference entre education et instruction, entre apprendre a raisonner et appliquer les regles, regulations et cette vorace envie des biens de consummation.

Gratuite et obligatoire: Savoir lire, ecrire et compter. On ne doit pas payer pour memoriser et appliquer machinallement des equations et formules. Quand a raisonner et reflechir, on doit payer le prix fort. Combien de familles sont pretes a payer pour que leurs enfants apprennent a reflechir? 

La difference majeure entre les eleves d’aujourdhui et ceux d’hier: Ils ne portent pas les vieux pulls et livres de leurs grands frères et soeurs. Les vetements n’avaient pas les etiquttes de marques. Et c’est maman qui les reveiller, meme les plus “normaux” des éleves

Vous pouvez zigzaguer le monde par avion, voire les montagnes et vallees.  Vous pouvez atterir et prendre des taxis, des bus, des trains…La traverse des oceans par bateau, seulement peut donner un sens a “L’autre bout du monde doit etre different”. La traverse des deserts a dos de chameaux et mules, pour des semaines, genere la meme sensation. A l’exception des vues magiques des ports. Les cruise touristiques ne compte pas: manque le facteur d’immigration pour donner le ton de changement.

L’entretient de la douleur d’etre un cancre l’occupe advantage que le desir de la guerrir. Le cancre ne se considere pas un ignorant: Il ne veut pas de tes lessons

Recruit teachers who were bad students to handle handicapped learners: They might recollect their painful situations

Patience: Taking courses in ignorance to recall how ignorant can your students be?

Une vague promesse d’avenir contre l’exercice solitaire de la reflexion?

Les profs ne sont pas prepares a la collision entre le savoir et l’ignorance? Ils etaient de bons eleves et ne conprennent pas l’etat d’ignorance oú mijotent les cancres de la classe?

Si vous croyait que l’education coute cher, essay l’ignorance. C’est beau mais ne resout pas le problem: Comment eveiller les besoins de s’instruire au detriment des desirs urgents de l’adolescence? Quelle sorte d’education? Pour quelle societe? Pour faire quoi?

Abraham Lincoln s’est eduquer par lui-meme et avec perseverance pour un future plus dure que l’ignorant

Il n’est point une necessite qu’il y ait du sang et des morts dans une tragedie. Il suffit qu’on y ressente les tristesses majestueuses et les passions excitées.

Racine, the Jansenist/Calvinist, is probably the best tragedian and poet of the French literature. He died at 56 of cancer and was a year younger than king Louis 14 who demolished Port-Royal in 1713 and transferred 3000 dead body in its cemetery so that it won’t become a pilgrimage destination. Racine and Pascal and their family members were buried there.

Moliere, un sinister qui ecrit des choses droles

Les riches partagent avec les pauvres des intestins nauseabonds: Personne ne se rendrait compte de cette verité si les riches prennent en charge la maintenance de leurs domiciles

Another couple of months to wait: for a glimmer of light at the end of the horrendous dark labyrinth

We are never aware of this Red Line, Not to cross. Where we start refusing any trade-offs. And our subconscious dictates to us that there is No chance to backtrack

Traquer la poussiere? La belle affaire quand on doit ramasser le vomi des animaux domestiques

Un jour je serais un nom: A glamorous person. How glorious a name? As much as you are willing to degrade your health

Just a tiny open-air cemetery. For temporary dwelling, so that the families and friends feel welcomed to vent their sorrows.

Avec les annees, on apprend de ne s’infliger que ce que peut adoucir notre peine

L’acharnement au business rend un talent renumerant.

A migratory bird hits the window. I reanimate it and let it rest. I let it continue its long journey. That’s just what an immigrant from a civil war expect: To be cared long enough before going free.

Comment ecrire sur ce qu’on n’a jamais vécu? Vit pleinement, si ta vocation est d’ecrire, de peindre, de composer de la music…

La communaute des “Vétements Blancs”, precursseurs des Anabaptists/Calvinist, ces amalgams de juif/Chretiens, vivaient en 200 AC pres du fleuve Tigre (Iraq) pres de la ville de Ctesiphon dans l’Empire Perse des Sassanides. Ils etaient persecutes par l’empire Byzantine (Ouest de  l’Euphrates) comme des heretiques. Cette communaute recluse and sectaire invoquait Jean-Baptiste, le Nazareen, Thomas et baptiser par immersion dans le fleuve a 3 reprise. Chant, dance, eouvre d’art… etaient prohibés. Elle etait vegetarian aussi

La punctuation juste? Je m’en fous: J’ecris comme je lis. De la facon que je comprend: je lis lentement

Did you pay your “dolores” today? Not the bill, the daily headache. Great to discriminate among the pains

Chaque passion suit sa logique. Faut apprendre des versions du raisonnement logique.

Le Bonheur est un moment fulgurant: et on commence a detester le temps qui use ce qui est beau.

Nous ne parlions pas en famille. Chacun vaquait dans sa solitude interieure, ses chimeres et ses conjectures

Tidbits and notes posted on FB and Twitter. Part 212

Note: I take notes of books I read and comment on events and edit sentences that fit my style. I pay attention to researched documentaries and serious links I receive. The page is long and growing like crazy, and the sections I post contains a month-old events that are worth refreshing your memory

The name “Federal Reserve Bank” is totally misleading: It is Not federal, nor is it owned by the government. It is privately owned. Its employees are not in the civil service. Its physical property is held under private deeds, and is subject to local taxation.

And yet, US Federal Reserve Bank controls the times, dictates business, affects Americans’ homes and practically everything in which Americans are interested.

US Federal Reserve Bank is an engine that has created private wealth that is unimaginable, even to the most financially sophisticated. It has enabled an imperial elite to manipulate US economy for its own agenda and enlisted the US government itself as its enforcer.

Obama speech in Jerusalem, sucking up to Israeli youth: the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and justice must also be recognized. 

Put yourself in their shoes Obama – look at the world through their eyes. It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of his own, and lives with the presence of a foreign army that controls the movements of their parents every single day.

It is not legal when settler violence against Palestinians goes unpunished.  It is not right to prevent Palestinians from farming their lands; to restrict a student’s ability to move around the West Bank; or to displace Palestinian families from their home.

Neither occupation nor expulsion is the answer. Just as Israelis built a state, Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their own land.

Question: Since when Palestine was ever a homeland to the Jews from every corner of the world?

Major civilizations built empires and cities along major rivers such as the Nile, Euphrates, Tiger, Indus (Pakistan), Ganges (India), and the Yellow River in China.

The best approach to explain the succession of civilizations and Empires in the Fertile Crescent (Near-East Levant region) is its topography (Rivers, plains and once the mountain chains on its borders are crossed, armies can advance easily)

The hospital in Beit-Chabab (Lebanon) decided to release mother: For 3 days and nights, mother couldn’t eat or swallow. And they didn’t even attempt to make her walk. Serum is about the best they are willing to provide with acute staff shortage. Mother returned rej3et la min idat wa la min ijrat. As if I am a physician and the house a dispensary to take on the slacks

Since I have no opinion while I’m the one who is taking care of mother full-time, next time anyone claims mother needs to check on a hospital, they’ll have to handle the entire problem from A to Z: I am in travel.

ليست المرة الاولى التي تستخدم الرياض سلاح المال كوسيلة لمعاقبة لبنان على خلفيّة سياسته الخارجية. فقبل أن تلغي المملكةُ «الهِبة» المكرّسةَ لتسليح الجيش اللبنانيّ، وقبل وجود تنظيمٍ اسمه «حزبُ الله» (1982)، بل قبل انتصار «الثورة الإسلاميّة» في إيران (1979)، وقبل مشروع «تصدير» الثورة الإسلاميّة إلى «المحيط العربيّ السنّيّ،» قبل ذلك كلّه، قامت جهاتٌ سعوديةٌ مقرّبة من العائلة المالكة بسحوباتٍ ماليّةٍ ضخمةٍ من الجهاز المصرفيّ.

Soltat safakaat bil $milliards, tawato2 ma3 zo3amaa2 militia.

Soltat “faakidad shar3iyyat”, wa toz tozzayn. Hal al mashaane2 btestarje3 ba3d el shar3iyyat lel sha3b?

Za7leh Madinati, B3albak Madinati, Beirut Madinati, Saida Madinati… 7erak Madani aw Madinati? Tasgheer Loubnan lal madinat ma byebneh watan

Balwarat khiyaar siyasi 3ala shakelat khodrat al khiyyar? Kanoun nesbi, aktari, taa2ifi, e7tikari… wa kol 7aleef saar 3adou “moufaddal” . Al tabakat al siyasiyyat min azka mann tafalsafat pragmatikiyyan. Rational Western States cannot assimilate our complex political mind.

Where are the natural counter-power intellectuals?

The natural counter-power intellectuals feel helpless when citizens are asked to vote for God or civic laws in the Arab World: The mission has always seemed insurmountable.

The hero is an Intellectual with a jihad mission to go one step further in this 100-year war…It took more than 3 centuries of such kind of “fallen heroes” to gain just a foot-hold…

La pratique intellectuelle a pour mission de s’interroger rationnellement sur le « comment » et le « pourquoi » de toutes choses.
Elle a pour essence le doute ,et le brouillard, et pour objectif le flirt avec la verite’ a travers l’acquisition du savoir pour enfin regarder le monde avec un esprit critique et le penser avec du bon sens.

La pratique intellectuelle a aussi pour mission de questionner et de faire réfléchir, elle est à la fois une gourmandise infinie et un contre-pouvoir.

Elle est même le plus puissant des contre-pouvoirs contre l’obscurantisme et le dogmatisme, l’aveuglement superstitieux et les préjugés.
L’intellectuel, se veut engager.

Or il n’y a d’engagement sans dérangement.

Le confort intellectuel est l’autre nom de la bêtise. Il faut donc frapper là où ça dérange, afin que l’on ait envie de participer activement, ardemment, au débat et finalement à la vie de la cite’.
Le plus scandaleux, c’est quand ceux-la n’alertent plus, n’avertissent plus, ne denoncent plus, gardent leur silence.

Pire c’est quand ils passent d’un cote’ de la barriere a l’autre.
Pendant longtemps, l’intellectuel dit « de gauche » a pris la parole et s’est vu reconnaître le droit de parler en tant que maître de vérité et de justice.

Meme dans notre monde arabe ce fut le cas. On l’écoutait, ou il prétendait se faire écouter comme représentant de l’universel.

Etre intellectuel, c’était être un peu la conscience de tous. (…) Il y a bien des années qu’on ne demande plus à l’intellectuel de jouer ce rôle. (…)

Les intellectuels ont pris l’habitude de travailler non pas dans l’universel, l’exemplaire, le juste-et-le-vrai-pour-tous, mais a ghettoye’ le savoir, de l’instrumentaliser au profit d’une personne, d’un capital, d’un engagement materiel.

Finies les luttes pour l’autre, on lutte pour soi, mais avec quel acharnement.
De generateurs de consciences collectives, de contre-pouvoirs, d’eclaireurs de nouvelles voies, les intellectuels des regimes arabes et ceux du printemps arabe, reduisent leur role a celui de “ la voix de leur maître” et non comme une “Voix” a part.

Ils n’ont garde qu’une cigarette en main et une chemise deboutonnee, et un esprit sclerose.

(Inspire par Bourdieu/ Foucault)

Note: The intellectuals in the Middle-East still are confused about their Nationality. Most of the are sectarians and confine their opinions within their State/regime. Many, and they are majority, implicitly dream of an illusory Islamic/Arabic Nation, just because it is Not founded on any tangible reality and they stay within the realm of daydreaming wishes because they are confused in their political objectives and appease their leaders.

The objective and engaged intellectuals should view the Syrian nation (including the States of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq) as the most rational and effective strategy of a unified One People to defeat our existential enemies in Israel and expansionist Turkey of Erdogan.

Among these clichés: What your personal experience Disprove?

1. Good things happen to who can wait…

2. Love can conquer all difficulties…

3. Follow your strong passions…

4. Man is a rational specie…

5. Genes/Nature account for most personal characteristics and life achievement…

6. Timing is everything…

7. Success is the result of consecutive failures…

8. Practice has nothing to do with theory…

9. Formal Education should not be an official obligation…

10. Critical moments Completely change your world view model…

Cases of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya…

Are secular and national concepts anathema to Arab/Islamic spirit?

The successive “freer election” processes in the Arab/Islamic States that overturned dictator regimes are bringing in to power Islamic political parties, with almost landslides. 

In Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, where parliamentary elections have proceeded, the Islamic “Muslim Brotherhood” parties called “Party of Justice”, in emulation of the Turkish Islamic party in power, have captured no less than 40% of the votes. 

In Egypt, even the ultra-conservative Islam (the Wahhabi Saudi Arabia brand of extreme obscurantism) has come second to the “Muslim Brotherhood” party with about 25% of the votes…

The election laws and procedures are very complicated, favoring the political parties with heavy financial funding from foreign States such as Saudi Monarchy/ Arab Gulf Emirate States/USA..

.The Islamic parties are the best organized and have invested in rural areas for decades: Such as local schools, health services (dispensaries, hospitals…), social services for the poorer communities..

.Basically, filling the vacuum that regimes failed to cover and care for…

Religions in all States have the basic power of rallying the poorer classes and downtrodden around mythical concept that play on the hope of better life, if Not on earth, at least in heaven.

Islam is one of the religion that through daily praying practices assemble millions in specific location. These assemblies are perfect for propagating coded orders to elect specific candidates

Fractured State of Reading, Writing, and Publishing: What Kindle has to do with the future?

For a long time I never thought I would have any use for a Kindle.

After all, who wants to read on a computer? And what about marking up the text, dogearing pages, or having more than one book open on my desk at a time?

Well, those behaviors are mostly my self-fueled obsessions when authoring original works of nonfiction.

For recreational reading, the mechanisms for highlighting passages and bookmarking pages on the Kindle are, while somewhat clumsy and indirect, still good enough to get the job done.

And then there’s the instant gratification aspect.

This weekend, I was up at my cabin, at 3000′ elevation and nestled deep in the alpine pinnacles of the Cascade Crest, and I decided that I wanted to read another one of the mystery anthologies edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg because I recently read By Hook or By Crook on the recommendation of Kristine Kathryn Rusch and it was fantastic.

So I just brought up the book in the Kindle store, paged through the related reads, and within sixty seconds of the impulse I was reading Between the Dark and the Daylight.

But now I have to read the bloody thing on my smartphone until my new Kindle arrives.

And while I wait, it occurred to me that the fractured Kindle screen pictured above strikes is a perfect image of the publishing industry and the entire state of reading these days.

The old world has been shattered by feedback loops in technology and ongoing market forces that just keep reinforcing one another.

Paper books ain’t going away soon, but I’ll probably live to see the day where they are uncommon for most titles.

Bookstores will be relegated to specialty boutique status, like the camera and stationery stores populating the deserted shoals of strip-malls.

And you know what that smells like to me?

Opportunity.

The Courier was one example of how these shifts might spawn whole new experiences or categories of devices.

The Amazon Tablet might well be another. But whatever the next hot gadget or gizmo is, rest assured, I feel like a technological wolf, scenting a long series of innovations-to-come in the shifting winds, and I’ll be looking to make a killing. :-)

What of tablets with pen and multi-touch? What of Nicholas Chen’s Multi-Slate Reading System, a federation of cheap slates that you can scatter about your office like the glossy marketing brochures you get in the mail, tossed aside for the day where you may or may not read them? What of flexible, paper-like displays?

We’re still in the stone age here, folks, as far as e-readers are concerned.

We’ll look back fondly on the Kindle and its ilk as the quaint auto-buggies that presaged a sleek, sophisticated, and nearly unrecognizable future.

That’s where I want to be, even if I have to cobble it together with clunky prototypes, Frankenstein monsters of acrylic and delrin etched out by the laser cutter of my dreams.

In the meantime, you could do a lot worse than to follow Kristine Kathryn Rusch and her husband, Dean Wesley Smith, as they talk about what this means for readers and writers and the publishing industry writ large.

Note:  The original link http://kenhinckley.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/the-fractured-state-of-reading-and-publishing/

And I yet has to try reading on Kindle: I still has no such gizmos because I love hardcover books and read 3 of them at the same moment. Yes, I get bored reading a single story in one setting.

And I love to take notes and share the opinions and expressions that I liked

Today, four of the five pillars that had sustained Lebanon are collapsing, creating fears for the future.

Note: This article by Maha is a year old and since then the Lebanese majority are in much worse conditions. We lacked public electricity and the private providers were unable to supply more than 4 hours a day, simply because of lack of diesel (mazout) and the inability of customers to pay for the exorbitant bills they received. We lack public water, Not even for washing, and the public providers in citernes increased the bill by 3 folds on account of lack of mazout. Potable water are bought in bottled recipients and the price increases every week: I fee that potable water is more expensive than kitchen gas bonbones. Bakeries closed their doors for lack of mazout and affordable ingredients.

In just 2 weeks, the army was directed to clamp down on “reserves” of mazout and benzine and managed to siphon 10 millions liters and distribute them to hospitals, bakeries, municipalities…And the criminals were Not brought to trials, since everyone of them is backed by at least one militia/mafia leaders.

Lebanon was unable to form a government since the resignation of the government in 2019. Frankly, the Lebanese knows that a government means hoarding whatever loans is extended to the State.

Hezbollah has decided to import mazout from Iran, whether the “government” likes it or Not: We can no longer submit to the sanctions of the USA on the faked ground of the increased power of Hezbollah, military and civil administration of the ignominy that the Lebanese are subjugated to.

Lebanese politicians are pushing their country over the precipice.

Eight months into a complex crisis that is threatening Lebanon’s foundations, they have yet to take steps to stem the collapse. On the contrary, they have pursued a malign business-as-usual approach as they hedge their bets on a system that is no more.

Today, four of the five key pillars that have long sustained Lebanon are crumbling.

First, the power-sharing arrangement that has characterized the country since its foundation is no longer working and is characterized by persistent and debilitating blockages. This arrangement rests on an equitable distribution of government posts among the country’s different sects. It was also based on a double negative of a “no to the East” and “a no to the West,” whereby Christians would not seek Western involvement in Lebanon’s affairs, and Muslims would not seek Arab intervention.

The power-sharing system is in no danger of immediate collapse. However, the last time it was contested, Lebanon entered into a 15-year civil war between 1975 and 1990.

The Taif Accord, the settlement ending that conflict, foresaw Lebanon’s transition to a civil state in which sectarian representation in parliament would end. In exchange, all sects would be represented in a new Senate, whose authority would be limited to deciding on major national issues. Yet those parts of the accord were never implemented. Today, sectarian governance has become far more entrenched in state institutions, making change extremely difficult.

Second, Lebanon’s role as a merchant republic,(mercantile system of importing and Not exporting,) based primarily on banking and services, is at an end. In 2018, financial services contributed 8.5% of GDP and the tourism sector (mainly hotels and restaurants) 3.1%.

Today, losses in the banking sector are estimated at $83 billion. In a country that imports almost everything it consumes, informal capital controls and the cancellation of lines of credit to businesses show a banking system that no longer functions.

Similarly, around 800 tourism-related establishments closed permanently between October 2019 and January 2020. Tourism and related services employed 25 percent of Lebanon’s labor force, but some 25,000 individuals lost their jobs in the sector during that same period. It’s likely that this figure has increased because of Covid-19 containment measures. The scale of the crisis is threatening the basic integrity of Lebanon’s economy. Experts now estimate the economy will contract by 25 percent in real terms over the next two years.

Third pillar is the collapse of the middle-class. This economic collapse and the ensuing destruction of wealth is wiping out the country middle class, historically one of the most affluent, resourceful, and professional in the region. Lebanese society is being rapidly impoverished, while the youngest and brightest seek opportunities elsewhere.

One in three Lebanese have reportedly lost their jobs, and many others are likely to be pushed into the informal sector. The Lebanese pound has lost some 80 percent of its value on the black market.

To cite but one example of the effects of this, the average annual salary of an assistant professor at the American University of Beirut is LL94 million. This used to be equivalent to $63,000 a year, or around $5,000 per month. At today’s exchange rate of $1 = LL8.000, the monthly salary has dropped to $11,000 a year, or $900 a month.

The middle class is swelling the ranks of the poor, with the World Bank estimating that around 50 percent of Lebanese now live below the poverty line, while thousands are going hungry. Clothes, food, and fuel are becoming unaffordable as year-on-year purchasing power has been halved, with inflation reaching 90 percent in June 2020. The price of basic goods increased by around 55 percent in May alone. All this represents an epic collapse with a generational impact.

A fourth pillar of the Lebanese system, namely freedoms, is also being eroded. Since independence, Lebanon has been renowned for freedom of speech and a flourishing press. By the end of the 1940s the country was publishing 39 dailies and 137 periodicals in three languages. In its heyday Lebanon acted as a safe haven for dissidents and refugees, boasting a cultural and intellectual life unparalleled in the region, a role it continued to play until recently, albeit much less effectively.

The decline in fundamental freedoms and the repression of free speech is apparent in the alarming increase and systematic targeting of activists, dissidents, and refugees over the past few years, with the help of more aggressive security services and a pliant judiciary. While Lebanon’s constitution upholds freedom of speech within the bounds of the law, its penal code criminalizes defamation against political and religious officials. Since October 17 at least 60 individuals have been arrested or summoned for interrogation because of things they posted on social media. More recently, there were reports that the country’s top prosecutor ordered a security agency to investigate social media posts offensive to the president. In response, a coalition of fourteen organizations has been formed to defend freedoms.

Finally, the Lebanese system’s fifth pillar, the army and the internal security forces, is also feeling the impact of the economic crisis.

Like all Lebanese, military and security personnel have seen their incomes and pensions disappear. The salary of the army’s commander has declined in dollar terms to around $750 a month, while that of a colonel has gone down to $300 and a soldier to $150. The personnel may be faring better than those who have lost their jobs, but they no longer enjoy many of the benefits they previously did. In an environment of heightened tensions, economic pressure on the military and security sector will only grow. More worrisome, this is happening as crime rates have risen in recent months.

In response to this dire situation, national-level decisionmaking has been slow, with politicians displaying callous disregard for the country. They continue to seek short-term gains and are looking for ways to hang on to power, plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis. By dragging their feet they are imposing further losses on depositors, who cannot withdraw their U.S. dollars from banks except in pounds, and at an official rate far lower than the black market rate.

Agreement on an economic rescue plan is critical for unlocking desperately needed financial assistance. Yet, the government and parliament are still bickering over the size of Lebanon’s financial losses as the government negotiates with the International Monetary Fund. Rather than introduce reforms, the politicians have continued to behave much as they did in the past. This was evident in recent civil service appointments that privileged political clientelism over merit. Without reforms, external support will not materialize.

Meanwhile, political parties are returning to their sectarian reflexes, fracturing the Lebanese polity even more. Trends visible on the ground point to increasing fragmentation, with villages, towns, and neighborhoods initiating self-protection mechanisms.

Against the background of Covid-19, increasing crime rates, and collapsing state institutions, parties have revived their protection rackets and are providing food and medicine to constituents in need. This is happening even as many Lebanese seek a nonsectarian state that upholds their rights as citizens, not merely as members of a sect.

Lebanon’s problems can only be addressed if its political leaders place the country’s, and their own, long-term interests above short-term gains. That means an agreement to shoulder some of the losses stemming from the crisis and bringing in a government capable of envisioning and implementing an immediate stabilization program and a medium- to long-term recovery program. So far, however, these do not seem to be priorities for Lebanon’s political leadership.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

Excuses of this Zionist  Roger Cohen  for Israel’s successive preemptive wars on Gaza

Glenn Greenwald posted this news:

New York Times columnist Roger Cohen  is explaining why he has always been and still is “a Zionist”.

He wrote the crucial paragraph that gives the vital context for the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Any discussion that excludes these facts is inherently unreliable:

New York Times columnist Roger Cohen - explaining why he has always been and still is "a Zionist" - writes the crucial paragraph that gives the vital context for the Israeli attack on Gaza. Any discussion that excludes these facts is inherently unreliable:
Note: And that generated a counter reaction of a Messianic Islamic fundamentalist movements in Daesh, Nusra, Qaeda… claiming the same land area as Israel, a land we call it “Greater Syria” or the Levant and Iraq.

The Cosmos, Acoustics…: Who is Pythagoras?

Pythagoras used a screen so that his students won’t see him and focus on his words, thus the Greek word acoustic.

”The Cosmos (ˈkɒzmoʊs)
Is the universe regarded as a complex and orderly system; the opposite of chaos.

The philosopher Pythagoras used the term cosmos (Ancient Greek: κόσμος) for the order of the universe.”

Pythagoras is originally from Tyre (current Lebanon) before his family moved to Athens.

has traveled to East and he got his most Study and Knowledge from the East . And we all know that Armenians were the Masters Astrologist .
”( Carahunge ) is the best proof ”
As by Dr. Setyan Vahan the Author of” Language as a FingerPrint ” ”Basques and Armenians ” ” Enigma of the Armenian Alphabet ” ….
Contrary to immediate assumptions of many, the term – COSMOS, is not an immediate reference to the stars or universe but of ORDER OF THINGS.

In Greek ‘Kosmos’ means ‘order’, but it lacks a root etymology or explanation and it is a language much younger than Armenian.

The Greek – OS ending is misleading and hides the root- Kozm or Kazm. We can define Kosmos or Cosmos in Armenian, with the words – (Kazm)el, (Kazm)vatsk, Kazmakerputyun and Kazmakerpum [կազմակերպում], all expressing [order, to contain and organization.]

Thus, Cosmos and Microcosm express order of things, from the very small to the very large. And since, we have a much older language that expresses the idea of ‘order’, we can point to a very old language that has begun to resurface from its dormant and neglected state.

I will speak more about this and psychological barriers that hinder conceptualizations and internalizations of new data in my upcoming Book 2.

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adonis49

adonis49

adonis49

May 2024
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