Good Morning Sydney... And Aoun

This morning I woke up fresh and early, 6:30am Sydney Time (9:30pm Beirut Time). As I was pouring milk delicately over my Weet Bix, I thought I would watch the sunrise program on channel 7, as I turned on the tv Marchel Ghanem's oh so familiar voice came blaring out of the speakers in my quiet lounge room. It was mabashar, an interview with The Generale, Michel Aoun... My dad was watching LBC the night before.

Aoun has so much energy for a 74 year old. He speaks with passion, he speaks with determination as he attempts to get his point across over Marchel Ghanem's "question within a question" blitz. Well groomed and still patient with a sense of humour after so many years of war and politics. Not bad for a man from Hrait Hreik.

He continued talkinga about the current tug-of-war discussions with Shi-ite leader Nabih Berri regarding the allocation of christiam naweb (representatives) in the upcoming elections. Well they were not so tug-of-war-ish in the eyes of Aoun, who said that Berri calls him not an 'Ally' but an 'Ally Ally' (Reminded me of that tv series The Wonder Years, when asked "do you like him or do you like him like him"). He even went further by showing documents to emphasise that his allocation entitlements were guaranteed in the round of Doha talks.

What surprises me most is Hezbollah's cool and relaxed demenour regarding Aoun and Berri's 'negotiations'. As if they were not the Hezb's two most important Allies in the opposition's creatively named March 8 bloc. I even read that the Hezb was willing to give away a representative of theirs in the Jnoub if need be. Kind of symbolises the fact they know they pull the shots in Lebanon, especially after the May 2008 street 'battles'.

Regardless on how the allocation progresses in the Jnoub, I think there tends to be more unity in the March 8 camp then the March 14 camp, which will be left for another time to discuss...

Welcome - Ahlan Wa Sahlan

Welcome to the premier blog of Lebanon Reflection.

Or as they say east of the Mediterranean, Ahlan Wa Sahlan.

Firstly, you will notice some bi-lingual talk being used (Nour - Shine, Welcome - Ahlan Wa Sahlan), for the record this is an English blog with dips of Arabic to enhance the Middle Eastern feel. I originally prepared to title the inaugural blog simply "Welcome", but I remember when my mate Ali and I were at university in the V -Building and were trying to decipher my newly purchased Arabic language book. The front cover had beautiful calligraphic Arabic script, after half an hour of trying to read it we finally gave up. We took a photo on my Nokia and MMS'ed it to my friend Deyaah, he kindly explained the meaning for us.

Lebanon Reflection will aim to give my perspective and voice on current affairs and past events. At the very least it will give my email group of Friends a rest from my continued analysis of Lebanon. I will be guided with what our community is discussing in respect to Lebanon and also of course the comments and interest the blog may create, thus aiming for an interactive experience. Issues affecting Lebanon will be discussed, such as events in the Middle East, the foreign policy of respective countries and anything that may spark my need to put finger to keyboard.

A little about myself: I am a Lebanese Australian or Australian Lebanese, depending on which country I am residing in. I must admit, my thoughts on this land we call today Lebanon began during the July 2006 war. What an effect this had on the path I will follow in the years to come. As we have it, in 2009 I have created a blog as my vehicle of communication.

To keep this brief I will end with saying I am 42 days away from coming back to this beautiful (is using the word 'beautiful' objective?) land. 42 days away from me being reunited with Fatima and oh dearest of them all Mira, inshallah. I will arrive on the 7th of May2009, one year after the internal fighting in Beirut or as referred to by the media the "near civil war" and one month before the June elections. Oh what a time to arrive. I have heard from a few people now that I should leave Lebanon before the elections in case violence breaks out, however I take anything that happens in Lebanon as 3udi 3udi (The Norm).

Looking forward to the Mustaqbal and many more blogs.