After winning a parliamentary majority in June, the US-backed March 14 coalition has struggled to form a national unity government with the Hezballah-led opposition.

Lebanon's political heavyweights had agreed soon after the elections on a cabinet formation that respected the country's delicate sectarian balance, and ensured opposition parties were not excluded from the decision-making process.

The cabinet includes 30 ministers, 15 from the ruling coalition, 10 the opposition, and 5 selected by President Michel Suleiman as a neutral buffer.

Obviously, this was all easier said than done. In reality, squeezing in over 10 political factions - each of whom vying for a greater share of government portfolios and influential ministries - proved more difficult than one could imagine.

Political wrangling over the seats of power is a trademark of Lebanese politics, and thus, the Lebanese blogosphere expressed little shock throughout the five month saga.

Nevertheless, having endured nearly half a year of a government-less state, Lebanese bloggers were understandably relieved, but remain cautious about its prospects.

And rightly so, as signs of tension within the two-day-old government were picked up by the blogosphere as soon as its formation had been deemed official.

March 14 ally, the right-wing Christian Phalangist Party (al'Kata'eb in Arabic), responded to its sole ministry post of Social Affairs with anger, threatening to unravel the new government line-up.

In his analysis of the Phalangist fallout, Lebanese political blogger Elias Muhanna senses a shift in alliances, Qifa Nabki:

On the one hand, I can understand the frustration: Social Affairs is a pretty lousy ministry, especially given the fact that the Lebanese Forces (another Christian ally of March 14 with more or less the same parliamentary weight as the Kata’eb) was given two portfolios in the new cabinet, one of them the highly visible Ministry of Justice.

[Phalangist] Sami Gemayel had been calling publicly for the Education Ministry earlier last week, presumably so that it would look like [Prime Minister Saad] Hariri gave them what they were demanding, were he only to give them one seat. But to dump them with Social Affairs alone looks like a snub.

Muhanna continues by declaring the March 14 versus March 8 rivalry dead:

Here’s a guess [for Hariri's snub of the Phalangists]. As we’ve said before, the era of the March 14-March 8 rivalry is over. It died, more or less, on the day after the election, and [PSP and Druze leader Walid] Jumblatt’s decision to drop out of Hariri’s coalition was the final nail in the coffin. The March 14 coalition, or what’s left of it, doesn’t command a majority in parliament, so what’s the point of trying to maintain it anymore?

If Hariri wants to be able to govern effectively, he needs to build a new coalition. Or, at least, he needs to re-build the kinds of partnerships that his father constructed and manipulated so masterfully, reaching across the aisle to court erstwhile opponents like Hezbollah, AMAL, and the FPM. Those are the parties with the real clout in their communities and the seats in parliament. If I had to guess, this is more or less what’s in the back of the young PM’s mind.

Left-leaning As'ad Abu Khalil at the Angry Arab blog conducted an overview of the elected ministers, but remained adamant that the cabinet will not solve any of Lebanon's woes:

So there is a new Lebanese cabinet. Nothing new. Lebanon was and will be always on the verge of civil war, even if it does not descend into civil war. The cabinet will not solve a thing.

Ghassan Karam from Rational Republic offers an equally pessimistic outlook, alleging that the government is simply a mini-parliament:

From here on the Lebanese cabinets are to be formed according to the newly established principle; each parliamentary bloc will be represented in the executive branch of government according to its share of parliamentary seats.

Goodbye democracy and welcome to the unworkable hybrid where many will be and not be at the same time. They will function as opposition and yet change their fedoras, whenever it suits them to become part of the government that they oppose. Thank you March 14, for driving in the final nail into the coffin of the Cedar revolution and the aspirations that it gave rise to.

Harsh criticism is given in an interesting commentary titled “Contradictions” on the French language blog, Le Liban:

Sitôt formé, le gouvernement d’union nationale se démène déjà dans ces problèmes.

Non pas dans les problèmes quotidiens des libanais, problèmes sociaux comme l’appauvrissement de la population, économiques comme la crise dans laquelle se démène l’industrie locale ou politiques locaux et régionaux comme les menaces israéliennes et la guerre prévue pour le printemps prochain, mais dans les propres contradictions de la majorité parlementaire avec les menaces de retrait des partis phalangistes.

Twitter response

Several Lebanese bloggers on Twitter also engaged in ridiculing and expressing frustration at Lebanon's political elite.

Alexandra Tohme (Twitter alias alexzawya) drew up a mock counter Lebanese Government made up of “Twit-Ministers”:

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions. The announcement that a cabinet had been formed 5 months after elections had me singing from the balcony, a few hours later and breakaway parties threatened to destabilize the whole thing.

I tossed and turned.  I fretted. I ate chocolate cake. In this day and age, I thought, we no longer have to be at the mercy of delayed talks, stalling tactics and idle bickering whilst the world moves on. What we need, is a quickly assembled alternative cabinet that can be swiftly deployed in the event of war, acts of god (or gods), government strike or overly long lunch breaks.

Samia Badih (Twitter alias samiaonthemove) revealed her disappointment with the following tweets:

Why is any war criminal still in Lebanese government?

What a joke! How is this guy the Minister of Culture? http://tinyurl.com/ylfl8ms #Lebanese #Government #Shootmenow

Philippe Kalaf (Twitter alias planetlebanon) ridiculed the government as being headed by clowns:

Kataeb aren't happy, they want to quit the cabinet (Sayegh from social affairs) and break alliance with M14. Country run by clowns…

Someone should make a map of the most “profitable” (for ministers of course) ministries in Lebanon. It would help explain the happy/sad ppl

The Lebanese blogosphere's deriding response to the government formation signals a clear disconnect between Lebanon's political elite and those underneath it who can only see a comedy show ahead of them.

At first, the participation seemed impressive even before the start of the event. Thirty-five pubs in Gemmayzeh street announced their participation and the campaign sounded promising.

Maya Zankoul, a Lebanese blogger at “Maya's Amalgam“, a graphic designer and one of the campaign sponsors designed the poster and saw how it was all over the streets:

But talking is cheap, and when the day came, almost none of the pubs had a smoking-free night.
Maya wrote about how bad it was and said it was a joke:

It was quite a disappointment that we failed to achieve the relatively simple task of having dinner in a non-smoking environment – on a night consecrated to non-smoking! It showed a major lack of determination in the pubs’ policy, and showed that the reason they agreed to support the cause is probably for the free publicity they got.

Not only did the pubs not participate, but some actually posted “Smoking Friendly” signs on their doors. Samer Karam from “Blogging Beirut” was there and took the photo below. He added:

Times have changed in Beirut - Smoking Friendly Environment must be Explicit! Check photo

Liliane, a Lebanese blogger at “My Lebanon is being burned into ashes” and a non-smoking advocate was angry at the failure of the initiative and wrote:

Congratulations fellow Lebanese on one of your other lousy sense of humanity, logic and respect. Kudos! Ya3tikoun el 3afieh. I am glad I didn't go to Gemmayze because if I did and had found people smoking, I would've probably caused a scene.

[…]
Sign Petition to pass an electoral law to ban smoking in public places here.

Meanwhile, Syria has recently issued a decree that bans smoking in public places. Can we see this happening in Lebanon anytime soon? Or will it be a failure as well?

Courtesy of © Maya Zankoul, mayazankoul.wordpress.com

As many as 300 Lebanese chefs gathered yesterday in Beirut to make the largest ever plate of hummus in an attempt to claim the reigns in ownership of the popular chick pea dip.

The new world record is part of an ongoing campaign in Lebanon to reaffirm the country's claim to a number of dishes being produced in Israel - with the ownership of hummus being one of the main quarrels.

Israeli and Lebanese producers of hummus have been logged in a stiff competition for the growing global appetite for the delicious Middle Eastern dip.

Lebanese producers claim Israel is ripping off ‘Lebanese' dishes and promoting them worldwide as their own.

The Israelis, for their part, were the previous world record holder for the largest hummus plate, prompting the Lebanese to react.

Officially in a state of war, the two countries appear to be widening the battle front to incorporate the fight for hummus.

The question now remains will other producers of the same dish, including the Syrians, Jordanians and Palestinians, enter the food fight?

Lebanese bloggers have offered their viewpoints on the battle for hummus.

Maya Zankoul ridiculed the battle with a humourous caricature of the event:

Yesterday, Lebanon broke the world record by making the largest hommos plate. I passed by the event location after the plate was made, and did not find it THAT big… So I imagined that after a while someone else would take the challenge of breaking our record and so on and so forth. W ba3den (and next)? Come on someone has to stop this nonsense!

Similar sentiments were echoed on The Cedar Tree blog:

At first, I heard about the largest kibbeh plate and I thought those Lebanese women were so cute. Then came the fight for the largest hummus plate and I thought this is starting to become ridiculous. But despite my personal opinion, apparently the Lebanese feel very passionate about their hummus and so we’re officially in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest hummus serving. I hope everyone’s happy about it. Can we move on now? No. There’s only one more fight left (let’s hope it’s the last) and that’s for the largest tabbouleh plate, scheduled to take place tomorrow on the 25th of October. Okay, now I’m thinking are these people out of their minds? What’s the point? So we make it into the book and then what? Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE Lebanese hummus, but I really think there’s way more important issues that are WORTH fighting for besides food and world records.

There are two questions I would like to find the answer for. One, how much money was spent to make this event today and two, what happened to all the hummus?

A blog post on A Diamond's Eye View of the World revealed equal bemusement (or amusement) to the event:

I agree that having Israelis and pseudo-Israelis try to correct my pronunciation of “hummus” as “KHumus” - say it with extra phlegm for full effect - is beyond irritating. But claiming a dish by cooking an obscene amount of it? And being PROUD of this? And creating an embarrassingly lame slogan - in English, no less? Good God.

In adding another dimension to the battle, Asad Abu Khalil at the Angry Arab blog highlighted that the origins of  hummus may not even be Lebanese, but Palestinian:

“”No one has the right to call hummus and falafel his national dish,” said Siham Baghdadi Zurub, a Ramallah-based chef and author of the Arabic-language cookbook The Palestinian Cuisine. She argued that in fact Palestinians were the first to make hummus of chickpeas, since the crop was plentiful, rather than from fava beans as done in Egypt and Syria. “Putting copyright on certain dishes is a selfish trend that reflects insecurity and lack of common sense.”"

The hummus tug of war between Lebanon and Israel also captured the attention of Twitter users:

Whether it is to be considered a matter of national pride or source for comedy, the latest battle for hummus undoubtedly adds another twist to the firey relations between Lebanon and Israel.

As bloggers around the world geared up for October 15 to write about climate change and the environment, the Israeli blogosphere focused on a different date. This year, environmental organizations, activists, and perhaps bloggers as well, will mark October 24 as a day of climate change protest across the Middle East.

Events are being organized under the auspices of Friends of the Earth Middle East and 350.org. Activists in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria are all expected to participate. 350.org provides lists of regional protests, including one for Israel, while the Green Prophet blog supplies an additional list for all known Middle Eastern activity.

The name “350″ sources from the idea that:

350 parts per million is what many scientists, climate experts, and progressive national governments are now saying is the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere.

Our current count is 387.

Blog Action Day

A number of Israeli blogs have chosen to use Blog Action Day to bring the issue of climate change to the forefront, advocating for continued attention to the issue beyond the designated day.

JGooders promotes the Jewish Climate Change Campaign, urging readers to get involved with Jewish Social Action Month (JSAM), which begins on the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, starting October 19. JSAM, JGooders explains, will be commemorated by social action events in Jewish communities throughout the world.

While communities and environmental activists seek to raise awareness in the global community, what better way to get their ideas across than through images, videos in particular?

Alison Avigayil Ramer of Your Virtual Community Organizer posts “Top 10 Climate Change Videos for Change.org's Blog Action Day.” Among these is a video called “Flat,” by Israeli filmmaker Nitsana Bellehesen, which portrays the world in 2050. The video shows boys and their fathers visiting an exhibit dedicated to the female breast– which no longer exists due to the cancer induced by environmental and atmospheric toxins.

At one point, a boy points to a photograph in the gallery and says, “Look at that one. That baby is eating her breast.” The father responds, “Well, that's actually how babies used to be fed.”

While viewing of this powerful film is highly recommended, you should be warned that there is explicit nudity.

Ramer encountered the film, which was shown at the Breast Fest 2009: A Film Festival that Targets Breast Cancer, at the hub for social entrepreneurs where she works in Tel Aviv. She writes:

Web video can be an extremely effective way to raise consciousness about a sustainable business or cause. Video is a great interlude to all the text online and is relatively inexpensive to make, share and watch. The moving images and music can captivate an audience and convey thousands of words in just a few minutes. Especially today, now that we have numerous ways to share video on social networks and blogs, video has great potential to become viral and carry your business, non-profit organization or cause to thousands or even millions of viewers.

Note that while thinking about climate change can be disturbing, that feeling of discontent should lead to action, not apathy. At Judaism and the Environment in the Talmud, Carmi Wisemon, executive director of Sviva Israel, a prominent environmental organization, writes about the role of reflection in Jewish practice.

Israel and the Jewish world have just celebrated the holiday of Sukkot, in which they build huts where they eat meals with their families, spend quiet meditative time, and sometimes even sleep under the stars. Like Shabbat (the Sabbath), as well as many other Jewish holidays, Sukkot provides the opportunity to cease all action and think about our place in the universe.

Wisemon writes:

So this Sukkot [holiday], as we relax in our sukkot [huts], and admire the natural splendor of our lulavs and etrogs, think about the deeper meaning of the holiday. We can all do our bit to prevent climate change, and that includes a 2,000 year-old tradition of praying for rain to fall– neither too little nor too much– in Israel, but also in the Philippines, Indonesia and even Atlanta.

On my own blog, The New Jew, which focuses on philanthropy and social innovation, I published a post on “Caring About the Environment, Jewishly.” There I share a speech by environmental activists who urge us to think about how the practices of traditional Judaism connect us to the natural world.

Shabbat– is an ecological treasure! A day to rest from shopping, manufacturing, driving!

Kashrut (keeping Kosher)– the idea that what we eat matters, that it’s upon us to minimize suffering of animals! We need to update this to take responsibility for the full impacts of what we eat, the stuff we buy, and what we put into landfills. We vote with our dollars and with our forks for the full story of our food and our stuff.

Brachot (the blessings over our food)- invite mindfulness of where our food comes from. To bless food we have to figure out whether it grew from the ground or a tree; from there it’s a short step to thinking of how it was raised, whether the people involved in getting it to us were paid a fair wage, whether its story helped or hurt our environment.

In keeping with the natural theme, Elisha at O'Sprinkles profers beauty through photography and reminds us what our fight is really about: growth and renewal in the natural world.

As you finish up October 15th, urge yourself to use Blog Action Day as part of a continuum. How can you reduce your carbon footprint, improve the way you use natural resources, and reassess your consumption patterns?

The Jewish Climate Campaign leaves you with some suggestions.

Writing as Bedounia at Dove's Eye View, Leila started blogging in January 2004. In that month she wrote:

The point of this blog is to focus on a vision for peace. Concentrating on the solution is the only way to bring that about.

When her father died in 2006, Leila wrote:

Elias Abu-Saba lived the values I hope to promote in this blog: mutual tolerance, social justice, and concern for the earth. He wanted to see those values embodied in Lebanon, his beloved homeland, as well as in
America, his adopted country. Because many people in Lebanon and around the world read Dove's Eye View, I am going to tell you some important things you must know about him.

More on Mr Abu-Saba's amazing story here.

Sympathies from around the world poured in after Leila's death on October 12.

From Egypt, The Arabist has fond memories of Leila, saying:

Leila Abu Saba, of the blog Dove’s Eye View, passed away yesterday after a long struggle with cancer. Laila was a frequent reader of this blog and, especially in its early days, a prolific commenter. She was dedicated to peaceful coexistence among Palestinians and Israelis and, more generally, Muslims, Christians and Jews. We agreed on these issues but disagreed about her pacifism (or my anti-pacifism). She was an optimist, as this entry on her blog from a year ago, “Hello Kind World” shows.

Fellow Lebanese-American blogger Dr Assad Abu Khalil, or the Angry Arab, writes:

I never met Leila, but she often communicated with me on Facebook and on email. She even brought me books from the Middle East. She once participated in a “fly a kite for peace” affair in Oakland, and I wrote some smart ass comments and mocked it. She was not pleased.

John Ballard, at Newshoggers, is distraught:

Leila Abu-Saba has died of cancer.
A part of me dies with her.
I cannot write any more about her yet.

At About.com: Middle East Issues, Pierre Tristam notes:

We'd exchanged many emails and links over the few years we knew each other through our sites. She never let anyone imagine that her voice would be silenced. Not so soon. Or that her copious world of words would become a memorial. But there they are. Let's hope the site, Leila's testament and sanctuary to supreme civility, never disappears.

And Canadian Maryanne Stroud Gabbani, who lives in Egypt, borrows a title from one of Leila's blog posts to mourn her friend. In A Dove Has Flown, Maryanne writes:

One of the wonders of the internet is the ability to keep up with friends of ours from all over the world…and to make these friends in the first place. Many years ago when I first started blogging, Leila Abu-Saba posted some comments on my blog and we became net friends. We followed each other's blogs and when we discovered Facebook we connected there as well. For quite a few years, Leila was battling first breast cancer and then liver cancer as well and just recently she lost her fight to stay with us.

She continues:

The title to this piece is a link to Leila's blog post which was a meditation on cancer, forgiveness, and politics. I don't know anyone who could have expressed this better. Friends of hers are making sure that her books get published, the task that she was trying hard to finish in her last days. Look for them and let her words, thoughts, and spirit live on.

Leila's manifesto for hope is a good place to start.

On Twitter, Middle East commentator Marc Lynch remembers:

Lebanese blogger Mustafa, who blogs at Beirut Spring, shares similar sentiments:

And her sister-in-law Debbie McLeod writes:

May her soul rest in peace.

Photo of knafeh cupcake by Frankom, cupcake by Glaze (Kuwait)

“Yes, We Speak Cupcake” ran a headline in the New York Times this week.  The accompanying article noted the growing popularity of cupcake shops across the Middle East, crediting Sugar Daddy's, a popular Amman cupcake shop, with bringing the miniature cakes to stardom in the region (the shop now has franchises in Dubai and Beirut as well) and starting the cupcake revolution.

The New York Times isn't the only outlet talking cupcakes lately.  Bloggers in the Middle East and beyond have noticed the prevalence of the dessert as well.  Frankom, a Kuwaiti blogger, writes of being asked to sample local cupcakes based on traditional desserts, listing a few [ar]:

Kunafa on a bed of pistacio cupcake
Baqlawa on a bed of walnut cupcake
Rahash with rahash filling cupcake
Halwa with halwa filling cupcake
Zalabya with saffron cupcake

Jordanian And Far Away, remarking on Frankom's post, expresses trepidation at the thought of a knafeh cupcake, saying:

Now that is creativity. I’m not sure I’ll order them if they were in Jordan, the idea of knafeh on a cupcake is a little offensive to my Nabelsi genes, but I can’t help but appreciate the idea.

Cupcake-themed blog Cupcakes Take the Cake offers a photo post on the various cupcake bakeries in Kuwait.

Ramadan-themed cupcakes in Dubai; photo by Cupcakes Take the Cake, cupcake by Sugar Daddy's

Moving to the United Arab Emirates, where cupcake shops have found a market. Cupcakes Take the Cake has written about a number of such shops.  Regarding Sugar Daddy's in Dubai, the blogger shares an e-mail sent by the bakery's chef, describing one of the shop's special Ramadan cupcakes:

Blind Date: Tradition states that the Prophet Mohammad ate dates at the end of his fast, and the fruit is ever-present during the holiday. We have come up with a spice-filled date sponge that we frost with a swirl of cinnamon-flavored icing that has just a touch of coffee.

Yet another Dubai resident, Mahryska, writes about her favorite cupcake shop, Kitsch:

went there the other day and got myself coffee and a cupcake that looked darn good. and yes, it was good!

3 hearts for kitsch cupcakes for opening their store! ♥ ♥ ♥

The House of Cupcakes created this 500-cupcake masterpiece for the 37th National Day of the UAE celebration

Another Dubai shop, The House of Cakes, has its own blog where it shared an incredible photograph of 500 cupcakes in the shape of the Emirates' flag (see photo at left).

The final stop in our whirlwind tour of cupcakeries in the Middle East is Bahrain, where cupcake shops are using new media to get the word out.  Cupcakes Bahrain blogs on the Blogger platform to share photos of their cupcakes and information about their store, while  Clever Cupcakes has a presence on Twitter and Facebook, to share information about their product such as this:

We only serve clever cupcakes! A Cupcake that you can't forget..
Impress your guests and loved ones by ordering your clever cupcakes.

Syrian flag cupcakes by Canadian bakery cococakes

We'll conclude with these final words from Lebanese blogger Jad Aoun, who notes the New York Times‘ coverage of Arab and Israeli cupcake shops alike, and quips:

Maybe its time we all make peace over a round of strawberry cupcakes. We wouldn’t want to be serving hommous or falafel now would we?

Syrian cupcakes (and photo) by cococakes

JustImage: Matthew Cassel

Anger and protests erupted in response to the Lebanese Government's decision to suspend the reconstruction of the Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp.

Hundreds protested in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli last week against the suspension, but as Lebanon-based photojournalist and blogger, Matthew Cassel, explains on his blog, JustImage, even that was a difficult process:

JustImage: Matthew Cassel

Hundreds of refugees from the camp and their supporters gathered in Tripoli, the closest major city to Nahr al-Bared. After being denied a permit to protest at the police station near the city’s center, organizers changed the location to an area far away from symbolic government buildings and people.

The camp was the centre of a bloody insurrection in 2007 when Islamist militants of Fatah al-Islam clashed with the Lebanese Army, killing dozens in the process.

Much of the camp suffered significant damage during the fighting, forcing thousands of Palestinian refugees to find shelter in neighbouring, overcrowded refugee camps and villages.

Slow reconstruction plans were dealt a further blow on August 13 this year when the Lebanese Government decided to suspend reconstruction efforts for archaeological purposes.

JustImage: Matthew Cassel

The move was spearheaded by Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader, Michel Aoun, who cited archaeological artifacts newly discovered under Nahr el Bared as a pretext to halt reconstruction. Critics believe Aoun's stance is politically motivated.

Two years since fighting ended at Nahr el Bared, thousands of Palestinian refugees remain stranded without homes and, along with a number of Lebanese, are simply fed up.

The blogosphere was quick to respond with the creation of a new blog dedicated to the promotion of the rights of the Palestinian refugees of Nahr el Bared.

Informative maps and updates on the progress of the reconstruction can be found on the new blog, Nahr Al Bared. This is what a blogger had to say about the halt in reconstruction work:

This action comes after two years of delaying bureaucratic procedures, where every decision concerning the reconstruction project, including planning and design decisions of the master plan, required governmental, ministerial and political approvals. More significantly this is the first time that a decision which halts actual work on site is taken, hence prolonging the displacement period of more than 20,000 Palestinian refugees.

Outrage was also expressed by blogger, Mlokheya Resistance:

After two years of destroying Nahr ElBared refugee camp, its residents were delighted to hear that the reconstruction plan was about to become a reality. However, once it was launched, the Lebanese government has suspended the reconstruction of Nahr ElBared, AGAIN!!!

Twitterers were also on the ball, retweeting and raising awareness of the plight of Nahr el Bared refugees:

Other bloggers, including Body on the Line and Green Resistance also publicised the Tripoli protest.

*Images supplied by JustImage

“Bekhsoos” means “concerning…”, and is a reference to the changing topic of each issue. As well as news articles and opinion pieces, Bekhsoos includes poetry, fiction, and personal stories that focus on queer and transgender identities in the Arab world. It also plans more investigative reports.

Nadz, one of the editors, explains the relaunch:

This is the new Bekhsoos. We’re back after almost a whole year of no publishing (the last issue we put out was in December 2008). So what’s different? For one thing, we’ve decided to publish weekly. […] Bekhsoos.com started out as a replacement for a “real” print magazine. We knew we probably couldn’t manage printing a magazine because we’d need lots of money to purchase a publishing license, do the printing, and it wouldn’t fit too well with Meem’s underground nature. At the time (exactly 2 years ago), Bekhsoos online was a replacement. Today, and with the way information sharing has evolved, it is clear to me that Bekhsoos actually belongs online. That’s where young LGBTs in Lebanon are looking for information, connections, and support. So it’s up to us to provide the information quickly, accurately, and consistently.

Nadz continues:

The age of “wow, gay groups in Lebanon, that alone is impressive” is over. It’s not impressive anymore. Now is the time for us to become engaged with our own societies, to think analytically, to advance politically, to understand the truth about oppression, to create, to research, to be proactive, to write, to write, to write! The LGBT community has always had a strong online presence – way before people were calling it “ICT [information and communication technologies] 4 social change” and “social networking.” That’s because we had no other choice. So we built websites and chatrooms on mIRC. Then we became bloggers. Then we came out on MySpace and started groups and causes on Facebook. Then we started a YouTube channel. Now, we’re tweeting. And guess what? The world is now moving into our side of the playground. And when media moves online, they’re coming to where we are strong and numerous and unafraid. They’re coming to where the younger generations are. And no, of course, this side is not the best because it leaves out the older generations, it leaves out the people who can’t afford internet or computers, it leaves out my mother. But they are on the course to getting there. It’s getting more affordable, more Arabicized, and more widespread. The Middle East is adding 500,000 internet users a month. That’s 6 million a year. If the queer community is everywhere online, then the internet users are bound to bump into us somewhere. They’re bound to listen to what we have to say.

A recent Bekhsoos article was called “5 Reasons Health Care for Lesbians in Lebanon is at Stake”:

Lesbians and bisexual women are alienated from the health care system in Lebanon. Barriers to medical care that lesbians face can cause poorer mental and physical health. […] Heterosexism and homophobia are endemic in Lebanon. “Coming Out” to your physician, even though essential, might be challenging. […] Lack of any adequate training of health care providers about lesbian health issues. The absence of formal education about homosexuality in medical school and residency training leads to an alarming lack of understanding of health issues relevant to homosexuals. Misconceptions and dogmas about homosexuality are prevalent in Lebanon. […] Some physicians still believe homosexuality is a mental disorder even 15 years after the World Health Organization has removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses.

Conspicuously titled “Lebanon“, the autobiographical film is set entirely in a tank as it recounts the Israeli military's involvement in the conflict.

“Lebanon” is the second Israeli autobiographical film depicting Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers in action in the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), only a year after the Israeli animation Waltz with Bashir was released.

Both films have attempted to highlight - in the most gory and confronting fashion - the brutality and devastation of modern war.

Due to the political sensitivity in Lebanon surrounding events of the civil war, the latest film was always going to arouse controversy and interest among the Lebanese.

The film has received international acclaim after winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, but what do Lebanese think about it and its world fame?

Asad Abu Khalil of the Angry Arab News Service, who has yet to see the film, poured cold water on the film's success in Venice with the following comment on his blog:

“”I dedicate this work to people all over the world that come back from the war safe and sound,” the director told the audience at the award ceremony. “They work, get married, have children, but the memories get stuck in their souls.”"

So this Zionist clown dedicates this movie to the warriors (I will review it once I get my unpurchased copy) and not to the victims of the terrorist Israeli warriors.

Some Lebanese on Twitter also criticised the film for attempting to humanise Israeli soldiers and refusing to incorporate the stories of those who suffered under Israel's invasion of Lebanon … the Lebanese people.

Some of the critical tweets from Lebanon are as follows:

justimage Another killer makes film to alleviate his guilt. Tell stories of those you terrorized, then I'll watch.

MXML Great, yet another Israeli film about #Lebanon that only humanizes Israeli soldiers and not Lebanese/Palestinian victims.

abdallahdeeb and the “#Lebanon” movie is made in #Israel. How weird is that?

RamsayShort oh my god the gall of this new Israel film ‘Lebanon‘ - if it was Hizbullah with guns defending against the Israelis would it be so acclaimed?

Interesting how the Israelis appropriate even ‘Lebanon' the name in the new Venice film. Sad too how awards are given for films about the poor

Israeli soldiers who did so much damage in ‘82. Let's care about what they did in South Lebanon & Beirut when they came..

The Lebanese won't forget the Israeli soldiers

A Lebanese Facebook group on the film has, however, offered a contrasting view.

Supporters of Israel's former allies in the Lebanese Civil War, the far-right Phalangists, have launched a Facebook group in reaction to the film, calling on a film to be made about Syria's involvement in the war as well.

Comments on the group's page - “We Want a Movie about Syria's WAR on Lebanon” - also criticise Israeli filmmakers for portraying the Phalangist militia as the villains while sanitising the IDF's actions and ignoring the atrocities committed against their own communities:

Jeff Merheb (Lebanon) wrote

Israelis have done a movie about the Sabra and Chatila massacre accusing the Lebanese (Phalangists),we need a movie on DAMOUR massacre too to show the world that WE were the victims too

Jeff Merheb (Lebanon) wrote

They (Syria) burned and destroyed Lebanon during the 1975-1990 war, they killed thousands of innocent and civil children with their bombed cars, they killed hundred of thousands of Lebanese with their bombs, they divided Lebanese even inside the same community to better rule them, they kidnapped thousands of Lebanese during war and during their occupation, they stole billions of $$ from Lebanese state for 15 years, they brought thousands of terrorists in Lebanon in case they want to blow up the country, they gave full credits and unlimited weapons to Hezbollah, they killed with cold blood every politician that could resist them from Kamal Joumblatt and Bachir Gemayel till Rafik Hariri and 14 March politicians passing by Dany Chamoun, they are using a group of destroyers (Opposition politicians) who have as only target the destruction of the Lebanese state and the return of the moukhabarat (Syrian intelligence) rules…

And there are still Lebanese people who support them ”mikeye” on other Lebanese…this is very sad

Any film on the Lebanese Civil War was always going to elicit such diverse opinions from a highly polarised Lebanese society.

“Lebanon” has not only rekindled painful memories of the war, but forced many Lebanese to relive the horror and emotions they previously experienced.

While many may disagree on the motives, intentions and focus of the Israeli-made film, it certainly has people talking.

Buj al Arab, from the UAE, discusses the changes in the world since 2001.  He remembers the victims of 9/11 and remarks on how much the world has changed since:

On this fateful day eight years ago more than 3000 people lost their lives in New York city. Unfortunately the murder of those innocents lead to more lost lives all over the world. This day changed our modern world forever, and some might say the change was not for the best…

…8 years feels like a long time and indeed I cannot remember much about how air travel was prior to 9/11. How uncomplicated. I cannot also remember how easy it was to enter the USA, since I never attempted to do so in the last 8 years. Let us hope that we can change things to the better, to push for more freedoms and civil liberties, to give voice to the weak, and to only use war as a last resort or a no-resort.

Will Donovan, an American blogger whose blog is entitled Some Guy in Lebanon, shares how 9/11 changed his world:

I’d like to reflect on that date for a moment – September 11th doesn’t need an introduction. It is a day that will long be remembered in horrifying imagery as America was attacked in an unprecedented terrorist incident. On that day, it seemed, the long arm of Middle Eastern politics, upheaval, and affairs, reached out far across the seas, as Saudis, financed by oil profits, and under the nose of one of America’s key allies, obliterated our sense of security and isolation. Suddenly there was an enormous realization that America did not stand alone in a vacuum. There was a new interest in the Middle East – People took Arabic in unprecedented numbers, and our President and our foreign policy took a new interest in the region, often for the worse. It is impossible to deny that September 11th awakened me to an interest in the Middle East, as well.

American interest had its many disasters, including, obviously, the Iraq war, the disastrous financing of Fatah in Gaza, and a blind eye to Arab dictatorships, new allies in the “War on Terror,” as they brutally cracked down on moderate Muslim democratic movements. But it had one interesting moment – Bush loudly backed the “March 14″ coalition in Lebanon when it streamed into the streets in 2005 to protest Syria’s occupation of the country following the assassination of Rafic Hariri. I will not attribute the entire thing to American foreign policy, but it is hard to deny that, in an ocean of failure, this was one bright spot for the post-September 11th American agenda. It paved the way for my life now.

Another American living in an Arab country is the blogger behind 760 Days in Morocco.  As an American of Arab descent who is a convert to Islam, she shares a unique perspective on how the day affected her life:

It is that day eight years ago when a gross atrocity occurred.  “The day the world stood still.”  The day we all remember exactly where we were, and exactly what we were doing.  The day so many lives changed forever.  The day we have memorialized every year since then.  The day when a friend called me and said “Why are y’all doing this to us?”  I was not a Muslim then.  I had never really thought about Islam much then.  I had never heard of Bin Laden or Al Qaeda then.  Yet, still as an Arab-American of Lebanese decent, I was partly to blame for this event that even now as a Muslim I condemn with my whole heart.  I’m not the only one.  Most Muslims around the world condemn these actions too.  I believe deep in my heart that Allah has condemned these actions also.  What those people did is against Islam in every sense.  What they practice is not the religion I have come to know, love, and accept.  If what they did had anything to do with the true religion of Islam, I would certainly not be a part of it.

The blogger concludes by sharing a story about how she contributed to greater understanding:

Yes, we have to put ourselves out there to do that.  I recall a story my aunt told me about a Muslim family who lived in her small town.  After 9/11, the family organized a talk for the community to explain what Islam is and how terrorism is not related to it whatsoever.  They put themselves out there so that their neighbors could gain greater understanding of the truth about Islam.  At the college where I worked previously, I joined a faculty and staff discussion that was often way over my head in order to bring the Muslim voice to the table.  I had to put myself out there so that the others at the table could gain a greater understanding of the truth about Islam.  Putting ourselves out there to spread the true word of Islam is the real jihad, and it continues not only 8 years after that day, but until the Day of Judgement.

Moroccan blogger Myrtus shares a simple message:

I pledge to promote peace, love, freedom and coexistence whenever/wherever I CAN, with simple acts of kindness……and remember we're all humans first and foremost.

For an interesting perspective on how American views of the Arab world and Muslims have changed since 2001, the Pew Research Center for People and the Press has published a study entitled “Muslims Widely Seen as Facing Discrimination.”