Imagine the sum total of humanity – all of our religions and rebellions, our wealth and poverty, guns and love; our sex and celibacy, philosophies and knowledge, sciences and superstitions; our arts and our ignorances, our laughter and tears. Then imagine that sum total embodied as our Sun and all of our power being focused througha magnifying glass into a concentrated point of intensity. This point of intensity is Lebanon.

For such a full spectrum of human diversity to be represented on such a small pieceof land is truly mindboggling. It’s no wonder that so many of the Lebanese youth, especially Beirutis, are turning away from their parents conservative sectarian values and looking for a pressure release in drugs and hedonism. This is never the answer though.

The current social, political and economic upheavals of the Middle East and the world in general are expressions of the war between the old and the new; the fight

of people against power; poverty against wealth; liberty against repression; reason against religion, and knowledge against ignorance. This war has been brought about by two main dynamics - a rampant increase in the world’s population which has been facilitated by our exploitation of oil, and rapid advances in technology which has quickened the pace of relative time and allowed previously monopolized scientific knowledge to become accessible to the common individual.

When analysing the population issue it is clear to see that we cannot continue on our present course of growth and consumption. Old norms need to be challenged; our behaviour needs to change if we are to avoid a species apocalypse. We need to stop consuming the produce of our environment so quickly and thoughtlessly. We need to invest our thoughts and energies in peace and cooperation, not war and conflict. We need to invest our sciences and technologies in renewable, sustainable and clean energies. We need to value education over wealth. There’s a lot we need to do.

Rapid advances in technology have quickened the pace of relative time by speeding up the movement of, most importantly, people, ideas, knowledge and decisions.This means that time really is flying by – more and more things are happening in a shorter period of time, and this is a constant acceleration. Older generations who choose not to interact with new technologies and knowledge are becoming distanced from their children faster than any parents have become distanced from their children at any time in history. This distancing can be seen in the fracturing of societies around the world, the widening gulf in values, ideals and philosophies between generations. This is not to say that the younger generation will automatically produce enlightened leaders that will be able to pull humanity out of its self-created nightmare though; power is inherited and institutionalised – we need to break down the institutions of power that pitch man against man, and man against his environment. We need to revolutionise the institutions in which we operate before we can make any true progress towards enlightened living.

So, back to Lebanon, and another analogy. We’re living in pressure-cooker days and Lebanon can be seen as a valve on a pressure cooker. Emotions are going to become increasingly strained; the war of light against dark, new against old, etc etc, is going to be magnified in and around the borders of Lebanon. The Lebanese youth need to be prepared stand up for peace and social justice. They need to be the change they want to see in the world. They are already strong.

Knowledge really is power, it is also liberating, but with knowledge, power and libertycomes responsibility.

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Restless Ed

Every New Year’s Eve, Michel Hayek a.k.a. Nostradamus of the Middle East, fools millions of superstitious Lebanese—many of whom are living abroad—via the Lebanese Broadcasting Channel’s (LBC) air waves. During their annual TV special, airing on the evening of the 31st of December, LBC puts together a very entertaining program for the Lebanese audience. However, the most anticipated segment of the evening is, without any doubt, Michel Hayek’s Predictions.

This celebrated clairvoyant first appeared on the silver screen in October 2006 during a live talk show interview on the Lebanese TV channel “New TV”(Arabic Video). With a hypnotic swirl on the background screen—which I believe was used to create a feeling of mystery—as well as two mechanically moving chairs, on which both the host and the guest were sitting, Hayek read his prediction—or “visions” as he calls them. Even though there aren’t any ratings statistics of this interview, the show must have been a hit, because the following year LBC invited Hayek to be the guest of honor on their New Year’s Eve TV special.

Since 2007, Michel Hayek has been swindling the Lebanese audience with his spooky predictions. Our Lebanese culture is immersed in all sorts of superstition and bamboozle; ranging from the belief in the“evil eye” to spells and curses. In fact, there is an endless list of superstitious beliefs, in which a large number of Lebanese people believe. Starting at early childhood, these fallacies play a big part in our every day life; horoscopes, fortune telling, bad luck and good luck charms, and a multitude of other similar bamboozle and pseudo-sciences are very popular in the Lebanese culture, and they are almost always taken at face value. Because of their popularity, the media has taken advantage of this fact. They feature many charlatans and by doing so they increase their popularity. The Michel Hayek “phenomenon” is just one example of the many frauds appearing on TV.

I know that many con artists are doing the same thing all over the world. However, the reason I dedicated a complete post to this story is because of the huge number of people who believe in Michel Hayek’s fraudulent predictions despite the obvious evidence of their falsehood. The reason many people are fooled by him is because during the New Year’s Eve special, and before the new predictions of the upcoming year are read out loud by Hayek, they play a short documentary featuring his previous predictions, and how many of them were fulfilled. Every year, many of these “visions” are shown to be fulfilled prophecies. This “fact” reinforces the audience’s belief in these fallacies. The sad reality, however, is that those people are mislead by a simple bluff, used by fortune tellers for centuries. With a little common sense Hayek’s con can be spotted. The way Nostradamus of the Middle East, bamboozles the audience, is by deceiving them into thinking his “visions” are specific predictions; while in fact they are but general forecasting of highly probable events.

In order to give a clearer idea of the type of predictions Michel Hayek pretends to dream or see, I have dedicated another post (click here) including a list of his 2011 predictions, which I translated into English. Even though some the “visions” might not be clear to non-Lebanese readers, the technique used by Hayek to trick his audience can still be made out. I wish many of those who believe in Hayek’s supernatural powers would consider this claim; I am certain that anyone who re-reads these “mind blowing” prophecies, with a little bit of common sense, will easily spot the fraudulent technique used by this sadly popular charlatan.

Today I posted my first article (originally posted here) on the MideastYouth website. It is an active community of young men and women from the Middle-east, writing about a wide variety of interesting subject. With their open-minded attitude, they are trying to show the world that nothing can hold them back from expressing their views about the experiences they are living in the Arab world.
This vibrant group of free-thinkers are getting the exposure they deserve in the regional media, which will definitely help them in spreading the word throughout the Middle-East.
Make sure you visit this great website anytime you feel like enjoying a good read or if you would like to stay up-to-date with the latest news on Religion, Atheism, Secularism, Politics, Lifestyle and many other interesting topics related to this side of the world, written by a large number of fresh voice from the young Arab community.

I stumbled upon three articles today that made me ask myself “is god losing some of his powers?” It is apparent in his own people’s lack of confidence in him and in his superpowers. Take a quick look at the articles in case you are not familiar with the stories: “Guns in Church Bill Dies in La. House” , “Thieves Steal War Memorial – The Cross in the Mojave Desert” and “Swede cartoonist Lars Vilks attacked”.

Let’s start by the first one. I mean come-on you guys, can’t god at least defend his own house? He who created the whole Universe and everything in it, needs YOU to keep a concealed gun inside the church for security purposes? Where is your faith in him now? Or is it that you prefer not to take the risk when it comes to “real” situations?

In the second article you might wonder why doesn’t the church or the Christian community asks god for the identity of the thieves instead of the police? Doesn’t he know everything? Can’t he miraculously make an impression of the name or face of the culprit in the clouds or on a burnt toast? Or is it a busy time for him now with all the nuisances caused by the Pope?

After reading the third article, which of course didn’t come to me as a surprise, I wondered why didn’t the prophet file for a complaint directly to god and asked him to smite Vilks instead of letting his people avenge him?

Both Muslims and Christians believe that one of god’s many magical powers is Omnipotence – well at least this is what they’ve always claimed to believe. Are the people of faith starting to have second thoughts now or has it always been the case?

“I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence” – Doug McLeod