Paying respect to Lebanon’s Ayatollah
From The Electronic Intifada: There is a lot to say about Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, the Lebanese Shia Muslim cleric who passed away on 4 July 2010 at the age of 75. Unfortunately, much of what there is to say is being left unsaid for more of the same sensationalist reporting on this region [...]
Beirut protests Israel’s attack on Gaza aid convoy
Thousands take to streets of Beirut to protest Israel’s attack on the Freedom Flotilla
An American not in Tehran
After publishing my article “An American in Tehran” in In These Times, one commentator named Danny Postel wrote a critical response from Chicago and brought in a bunch of his friends to support his positions. One of his friends even dismisses my article as “propaganda” and a “sham.” In a strange move for most publications, [...]
The long march for secularism
Images from yesterday’s march for secularism in Beirut. This is a good opinion piece in the Guardian on Lebanon’s struggle for secularism, and an article on the march in the LA Times. The impression that I got from most Lebanese friends when I asked what they thought of the march was something like, “it was [...]
An American in Tehran
An American in Tehran The ‘Green Revolution’ won’t come as soon as we think it will. by Matthew Cassel http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/5736/ I awoke as the plane’s wheels touched the ground. Two women in the row ahead of me secured their scarves over their heads, and I popped some gum into my mouth to cover up any [...]
Teddy Afro came to Lebanon
Before yesterday, many Ethiopian friends who I’ve come to know recently through a photography project I’m working on documenting the lives of foreign domestic workers in Lebanon found it hard to believe that their country’s top musical icon would perform in Beirut. One male Ethiopian friend who manages a shop and is savvy about Lebanese [...]
Destruct and detain
It breaks my heart to walk out of my house and see the below. The destruction of some of Beirut’s oldest and most beautiful buildings is happening across the city to make way for new buildings that make more efficient use of the space. While at the same time the demand for foreign workers is [...]
Juice boxes and Persian patriots
Azadi Tower is one of my favorite architectural structures anywhere in the world. I’m still not sure if my attraction to it is for purely aesthetic reasons or because of the fascinating history behind it. It’s definitely a combination of the two. Azadi Tower was built by the Shah of Iran in 1971 to commemorate [...]
Plane crashes off Beirut coast
An Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed into the Mediterranean Sea just minutes after taking off in Beirut early this morning. Ninety people (including seven crew) were aboard the flight bound for Addis Ababa that included 54 Lebanese and 22 Ethiopians as well as passengers of other nationalities. Early reports indicate that most of the Lebanese passengers [...]
Speaking to children
On his visit to Beirut this past week, Emory Douglas, former Minister of Culture and artist for the Black Panther Party, repeated a quote to me that he was once told in the early days of the Panthers: “speak in a language that a child can understand.” He told me that he tried to model [...]
Suicide in Lebanon
Theresa Seda fell to her death from a 7th floor balcony across the street from my home.
Photography
It’s incredible that scenes like this still exist in an age where I can photograph them with a camera on my mobile phone.
