Ideally overthrowing the bourgeoisie in the West ;)

Any contribution for the anticolonial cause, be it material or immaterial, is cherished. I am afraid I cannot as of now recommend any organisation to donate to for aiding refugees (maybe the red cross and red cresent??) but I will look into it. And thank you for your wishes.

The Prime Minister has been calling for a ceasefire and the application of resolution 1701 (which on the one handdefunds hezbollah and replaces it with the Lebanese army, and on the other hand forces Israel to withdraw from the south). Of course, the resolution is unfeasible but that's a whole different matter.

From the humanitarian aspect, the government is employing a support plan in cooperation with NGOs and the UN to help and accommodate refugees. The state's treasury is dry so most assistance depends on donations.

For context: the cabinet was officially dissolved in late 2022 but was not replaced since we still await the election of a new president. In other words the current government is effectively useless.

No optimism in sight. The Zionist entity is far from collapsing anytime in the foreseeable future considering all the funding it gets from the West. I think its destiny is connected with that of the United States. Keep in mind that this is not our first war with the entity.

From the Lebanese point of view, the curewnt zeitgeist is a pessimistic one, almost to a numbing effect. In 2019, mass protests occured against the sectarian establishment. In 2020, the economic crisis happened. Also 2020 vovid happened and has only died down (or given less attention) in late 2023. And now the Israeli invasion.

As a leftist, I look at the issues from the feasibility of a proletarian revolution which had looked hopeful prior to 7 october with how the economy was moving. But the working class is still divided by culture wars and strategies employed by the sectarian bourgeoisie. In 2022-23 a surge against syrian refugees and immigrants took place, officials here like in Europe claim that the immigrants are the reason for the economic crisis to alleviate their responsibility from the mess they created since the 90s due to neoliberal austerity measures. Anyways I am digressing. Point is, we need rebuild the political left as well as the labor movement. These opinions do not reflect those of the average Lebanese.

Oh that was a common concern. Especially directly after the incident, there was a lot of fear mongering being perpetuated. Some claimed that the batteries of phones and laptops were also rigged or, worse, lithium batteries connected to solar panels were going to explode (FYI, the majority of households use solar energy and virtually every roof has at least one station).

Also, you reminded me of this

There has been a divide in the Lebanese political scene since 2005. The march 8 coalition was pro-syrian and pro-resistance, while the march 14 coalition was against the Syrian occupation and is critical of Hezbollah. The current anti-resistance discourse is blaming Israeli invasion on Hezbollah, same as with the war in 2006)

Despite their differences all parties and share a common stance of anti-zionism. Though their modus operandi obviously diverges: some support the resistance axis whole others are critical of it and demand enforcing UNSC reaolution 1701. Note that these differences go beyond sectarian lines. For example the Free Patriotic Movement (christian party) is an ally of Hezbollah, while the Lebanese Forces (also a christian party) staunchly opposes Hezbollah. The Progressive Socialist Party (majority druze party) tip toes between the two sides depending on the context.

As for the North-South divide, there can surely be some disconnect from the part of citizens in the North. But shelters have been opened across the country in solidarity with our displaced brethren.

Lebanese cuisine conquering the world is the only imperialist endeavour I approve 😎

It's very interesting because many of our dishes we share with the neighbouring countries due to cultural and historical ties. One factor could be that the Lebanese among the arab nations were the first to immigrate (circa 1840's) to the west. They were mostly christian minorities who fled and were very successful in establishing themselves abroad. This could also be a case of xenophobia and islamophobia. But I am no expert.

Also, the food tastes even better if you visit the country.

Hasbara and liberal, disconnected expats. They never reflected the political culture and now more than ever. And they always spoke in English. Lebanese have a severe case of westoxication.

بإذن اللّٰه

Let me start by what isn't a split.

Contrary to the west, there isn't the typical left-right split. Frankly, the two competing, mainstream currents are both right-wing to different degrees (yes, Hezbollah isn't keen on leftism and had fought with the communists during the civil war; but of course, obligatory critical support yada yada).

Equally the split, unlike what bigoted orientalist journalists and correspondents claim, is not of a sectarian/religious nature and never has been. Although parties employ sectarian discourse the reality is each religion and sect has two parties or more who contradict each other and are allied with parties from different sects.

In reality, opinion is split regarding foreign policy and allegiance. Some parties are affiliated with Saudi Arabia (and by extension the US) while others are funded by Syria, and Iran. This has been the case since the establishment of the state. Historically it was the British and French. Then it was the Americans and Egyptians (Soviets by extension) which led to the events of 1958, a mini civil war of sorts. The 1975 civil war was mainly caused by disagreement regarding support for the Palestinian cause.

To clarify, this is the mainstream political narrative. But there is a class narrative which has always been overshadowed.

Depends on the occasion. Safest option would be chicken Kabsa.

As for music I'd recommend from the new alternative/indie scene Mashrou' Leila, Rudy Ayoub, Mayssa Jallad (1, 2, 3).

More or less inexistent. The Lebanese Communist Party has no more popularity even after it rebranded itself as soccdem in the 70's.

The Progressive Socialist Party adopted sectarian politics after the assassination of its former leader.

There is the Communists Action Organisation in Lebanon which still upholds its socialist character.

After the 17 october 2019 protests, a new grassroot party emerged called "Citizens in a State" whose leader is an approved communist. But the party's constituents are diverse, from liberals to socdems, neoliberals, socialists and so forth. Wasn't very fond of their programme.

I think the main issue of the political left is its failure to attract and mobilize the working class. The only recent example I can recall is the establishment of a labor union by the workers of Spinneys (supermarket chain) after intense legal battles with the help of the communist leader that I mentioned earlier. I highly recommend reading about it: https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/27198

New relevant podcasts discovered. Now I want to know her. Thank you!

Writing, reading and composing music. I'm working on so many recreational projects to the point of exhaustion. But it makes me the happiest goober.

Also the walks in nature.

Strained (read: Greek) yoghurt with vegetables

The genocidal entity is not a controversial matter here of course so there is no need for convincing. As for leftism, I think I had a bit of luck with the legal pieces I wrote concerning labor law and unions for an online magazine. I expected the publisher to censor the shit out of it since I quoted Lenin and Stalin but surprisingly it was praised.

The contention towards leftism (soccdem excluded) comes from the decades of indoctrination and anticommunist repression, so a good marxist has to intelligently discuss and write about those matters, aggressive attitude towards our fellow proletarians leads to nowhere. Reading Freire's pedagogy was very helpful in this respect. I'm also writing my own book on related matters so I hope this could contribute to anything fruitful.