Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
Saturday Evening Movie Thread 09/07/2024 [TheJamesMadison]
Hobby Thread - Sept 7, 2024 [TRex] Ace of Spades Pet Thread, September 7 Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Sept. 7 The "rules-based international order" vs. free speech? The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival Daily Tech News 7 September 2024 The Bric, The Brac, The Craic & All, Lets Call It An ONT TGIF Cafe The Week In Woke Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Back for a Bit |
Main
| Traders' Tea Party »
February 19, 2009
The Trip; General ImpressionsI added this as a long edit to the last post. Figured I should pull it out of there and make it its own post.
Here are some impressions: The country works, surprisingly enough. After a bitter 14 year civil war, the feuding factions are mainly peaceful and friendly towards each other. With the big exception of Hezballah in the south, of course. And, again with that major exception, it's very moderate. Not just moderate politically, but moderate in terms of religion -- except in Hezballah controlled areas, people can drink and women can dress sexily and so forth.* Just on the edge of Hezballah territory -- this area controlled by a more moderate Shia faction -- we passed a sex shop and then a lingerie shop with the odd name "Jolly Corner," which I'm taking to be some reference to the vagina, and might just start using myself. Israel gets discussed differently here than in other Arab countries. (Or at least as I've seen it discussed in other Arab countries, in their press.) About one quarter of the population, I'm told (and I think I believe this) actually supports Israel, at least to the extent they pound the hell out of Hezballah. Another quarter has the typical grievances about the Palestinians, but it is discussed in a more adult fashion. Israel is discussed as a threat or even an "enemy" state (the PM Signora called it such when we met him), but not as an apocalyptic one, not as a fantasy one. Those who don't like Israel tend to discuss it in the way Americans might discuss France, rather than if it were Satan's Asshole. Don't get me wrong -- a lot of people here don't like Israel. But there's a difference between opposing a state on political grounds and opposing it on apocalyptic grounds. I observed, talking to someone, that in Lebanon, they really can vote and make political choices and so forth; thus they tend to discuss real politics. In other Arab countries, without any sort of democratic tradition, there is no sense discussing real politics, as no one has any power whatsoever to contribute meaningfully to a real politics. So what gets discussed is fantasy politics exclusively; a fantasy world of Zionist Enemies and Great Satans and omnicompetent CIA agents able to do just about anything. Without a meaningful stake in genuine politics -- where outcomes can actually be influenced -- discussions turn to the surreally theoretical and from their into fantasy and conspiracy-mongering. After all, if you're talking about stuff over which you have absolutely no power whatsoever, why confine yourself to trivialities like water projects and taxes? Why not bullshit about big stuff like the worldwide Zionist conspiracy? I suspect this is what happens in American universities, too, actually, but without so much gunfire. In Lebanon, however, the discussions tend to be about real shit, like how do win the upcoming June 7 elections, will Jumblatt flip over to the Hezballah coalition, will Michel Aun flip back to the March 14th coalition, etc. Even Lebanon's civil war wasn't really a religious war per se -- it was fought to change the actual governance of the country. In the old system, Christians had an effective lock on most of the levers of power, which wasn't such a problem when they were the numerical majority; but in the ensuing years their numbers had fallen to about a third of the population, and other groups (such as the Sunnis and the Shias, each about a third, more or less) wanted their fair share too. A war sort of about religion, yes, but about something tangible and real, not merely killing for God. It doesn't hurt that the north of Lebanon is a commercially-oriented state, and that's good for liberal democracies generally, because people making money tend to want the government out of their way and in the smallest corners of their lives. As one academic said, explaining how the Christians and Sunnis and Druze had suddenly become quite united after killing each other for fourteen years, "Shopkeepers hold a country together." I would say the middle east needs more shopkeepers and fewer clerics, but I'm not sure that's exactly right; people are religious here. It's not the religion that's causing the problem, exactly. It's the type of religion. On Valentine's Day, February 14, they commemorated the anniversary of Hariri. At the time of his death, 12:55 (or thereabouts -- the Lebanese seem to be slightly loose when it comes to punctuality), the mosque blared out the call to prayer or some other verses from the Koran at the same time a church clanged its bells. It was actually quite a sweet and hopeful sound, the two sounding out together, not in competition, but in unity. As a side note -- I also got to meet Chalabi, the "Liberator of Iraq" as Hitchens likes to call him, who had stopped in Beirut en route to a talk he was giving in London. That was random, and hadn't been scheduled.
Why do you guys never stop talking about politics, I asked our Druze handler Makram. He shrugged and smiled. "There's nothing else to do." Which isn't really true. Beirut isn't just a loose city by Middle East standards; it's a loose city by American standards. In fact, it's a loose city by Vegas standards. Pretty much nothing is against the law and the shit that isn't against the law isn't terribly against the law. So I guess I still don't have a real answer to the question. * Oh, let me mention the women dressing sexily. I joked during the Feb 14 rally that the eighties didn't die, they just came to Beirut and mutated. There's a curiously standard fashion among young girls and women here -- very tight jeans and leather or suede boots coming up to the knee. Sometimes, in a flair I approve of, they roll up their jeans to reveal one or two inches of stockings or tights beneath, before the tights disappear into the boots. What they dress like, in other words, is all the "bad girls" I was so horny for in middle school and high school. If only the feather ear-ring came into style here, it would be perfect. How Lebanon Avoided the Financial Crisis: It's quite simple, it was explained. Due to the civil war -- when one might have money, but the banks were all closed, so your net worth was precisely defined by how much you had in your pocket -- the Lebanese became very suspicious of illiquid assets. They like cash. Cash in the bank, some in safe stuff like money markets or t-bills, and a fair amount actually hidden in the house. The banking system reflected this, and the banks were not permitted by law to dabble in very derivative instruments. By and large they had to keep their money in tangible stuff -- real estate and so forth. The net result is that Lebanon was only superficially wounded by the financial meltdown. The wealthy lost 18-20% or so (at least the ones bragging about it lost that much, but they seemed to mean that this was fairly common). So, as the Financial Minister told me, they're simply not worried about that; it just doesn't affect them very much. (They do worry about the global economic slowdown likely to follow, of course.) | Recent Comments
exdem13 FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT:
"210 I guess I collect books as well, actually took ..."
Learn More: "Really when someone doesn't know then its up to ot ..." Florida Peasant : "Not a collection but I wish it was. When I was a k ..." Skip : "WE HAVE A MOVIE MARQUETTE ..." Sharon(willow's apprentice): "So cool SiD. Take a picture so I can see in Texas. ..." Skip : "Popcorn time ..." Notsothoreau: "I see a lot of card collections at the local aucti ..." hart: "actually took 1 back to used book store yesterday ..." Reforger: "1950's construction techniques are a world away fr ..." screaming in digital : "And I gotta watch that Matchbox car vid. As a kid ..." Notsothoreau: "I am supposed to get a portion of my aunt & uncle' ..." Smell the Glove: "Thx T.Rex. I collected sports cards as a kid and I ..." Recent Entries
Saturday Evening Movie Thread 09/07/2024 [TheJamesMadison]
Hobby Thread - Sept 7, 2024 [TRex] Ace of Spades Pet Thread, September 7 Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Sept. 7 The "rules-based international order" vs. free speech? The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival Daily Tech News 7 September 2024 The Bric, The Brac, The Craic & All, Lets Call It An ONT TGIF Cafe The Week In Woke Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |