This article first appeared on May 18, 2023 on CNN Business Arabic in Arabic (link)

The rapid growth of social media platforms and their impact on modern society has raised concerns about how to regulate these digital spaces. While some governments, such as the United States with its RESTRICT Act, are pushing for bans on certain platforms, there are more effective and balanced approaches to consider. By adopting regulation similar to the EUs data privacy laws, promoting media literacy, and acknowledging the limitations of bans, governments can protect both national security and individual freedoms without resorting to outright censorship.

One critical point to consider before delving in deeper, is that bans on social media platforms can be easily circumvented using tools like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and proxy servers. By using these technologies, users can bypass geographical restrictions and continue to access banned platforms. This makes bans not only ineffective in addressing the core issues but also potentially counterproductive, as it can encourage users to seek less secure and less regulated alternatives.

Furthermore, platforms like TikTok have become important channels for citizens to share their opinions and engage in public discourse. Restricting access to these platforms for national security concerns creates a slippery slope that may cause more harm than good. Curtailing the ability of citizens to express themselves freely could stifle open dialogue and hinder the growth of a healthy, vibrant democracy.

In light of these concerns, it is worth noting that Jordan is preparing to present its...

I was fortunate enough to attend an early viewing of one of the episodes from the captivating limited series, Ghosts of Beirut, courtesy of Showtime, at a movie theater in Washington, DC this week.

The previewed episode was the third of the series, in which the elusive Radwan, or Imad Mughnieh, is finally unmasked after prolonged attempts by the CIA and Mossad to capture (and kill) him.

Simply put, if you found Fauda intriguing, youre bound to find Ghosts of Beirut irresistible. The cast is brilliant, with Hisham Suliman (Abou Ahmad in Fauda) playing an older Mughnieh, and the fantastic Dina Shihabi playing a Lebanese-born CIA agent born in South Lebanon.

One aspect that gives this series an edge over Fauda, in my view, is the Lebanese influence. Key contributors to the series include scriptwriter Joelle Touma, as well as series consultant and Hezbollah expert Hanin Ghaddar, both hail from Lebanon.

An intriguing aspect of Ghosts of Beirut is its commitment to factual integrity. As the director, Greg Baker, explained after the screening, it is a meticulously researched piece of fiction. This indicates that the narrative is as close to the actual events as can be verified, considering the shrouded life Mughnieh led and the classified status of the CIA and Mossad files on his assassination (for now).

While I cant write a comprehensive review after viewing only one episode, I found episode three thoroughly engaging.

Like many fellow Lebanese, I became more aware of Mughniehs influence posthumously. He was the brains behind Hezbollahs infamous plane hijackings, suicide bombings, and hostage executions in Beirut during the 1980s and terrorist attacks from Argentina to Kuwait. This included the devastating US barracks bombing in Beirut in 1983, which claimed the lives of 299 individuals, including numerous US Marines and French Paratroopers.

Mughnieh was a confidant and valued operative of Qassem Suleimani, frequently meeting with him in Syria to receive instructions from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the subsequent course of action. You get to see this relationship dramatized on screen, and it was nice to see how the creators imagined those meetings were like.

Ill pen a full review once Ive had the opportunity to watch the entire series. If youre scouting for an intriguing weekend watch, Ghosts of Beirut should be a prime contender.

Ghosts of Beirut: Imad Mughniehs Rise and Fall was originally published in Ginos Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting a...

Sarde had me hooked from the get-go, and let me tell you, its not just because Mouin and I go way back, or the fact that Medea has been in my ride-or-die close circle for the past few years.

As Sardes inaugural non-host guest, I found myself caught in the whirlwind of early pandemic lockdowns, the relentless tempo of life under a besieged Sulta, and my own dance with the authorities courtesy of those countless and recurring illegal detentions and intimidation.

Fast forward through 100 episodes, and my love for the Sarde After Dinner podcast has evolved beyond my friendship with Medea and Mouin. Its become a weekly rituala delightful surprise every Thursday as I eagerly check the teaser for what Ill be watching (and often earning from) come Sunday afternoon (even if I occasionally get an insider scoop on the next guest).

If you havent checked out a Sarde episode yet, do yourself a favor and swing by their YouTube channel and give their video library a quick scroll, and I know youll find plenty of guests with stories youll definitely want to hear.

Episode 101: Looking Back, and Forward

The past three years have been one hell of a rollercoaster for me. Stability? Yeah, that was pretty much off the table. Just like everyone else, I had a ton to process and work through. Plus, adjusting to life far from Lebanon and embracing that diaspora vibe definitely took some getting used to.

So, I feel this episode came at the right time. After over two years of soul-searching, writing, reading, and engaging in tough yet meaningful conversations, I think Ive got an idea about whats coming nextor at least what I hope will. I feel like I see the hits, the misses, and the could-have-beens better, but more importantly, what we need to do next.

We dove into a wide array of topics that have been on my mind for a while, and coupled with the clarity that comes from some the forced distance, and fewer distractions (like the endless game of cat-and-mouse with the Sultas corrupt jud...

Im going to cut down on it

I havent touched my Instagram account much since October 3, 2022. It was fresh off my accounts third suspension since 2019. I thought, I need to cool all that heat off of the account. Four weeks later, when I was dipping my toe to doom-scroll a bit (still not posting) I was surprised that my account was yet again suspended. For the fourth time.

It turned out trolls were going back to posts from months and years ago, flagging them as terrorist organization because they were critical of Hezbollah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah. So, I archived most of my posts that Instagrams terrible moderation mechanism might be duped into banning. Three weeks later, account archived from anything remotely reportable, I realized how big of a toll Instagram was taking on me.

My Instagram Story

I have been blogging since 2010, so when I created my Instagram account in 2013, it didnt take too long to garner a following on there thanks to the blogs boost. By 2019, I was at 37K followers.

After the 2019 revolution broke out, Instagram became an immensely valuable tool for me. By the summer of 2020, the account had more than doubled to around 80K. The live, on-the-ground coverage became something very important to me. Something that consumed me.

In retrospect, maybe a bit too much. Enough that I wasnt a part of a lot of things I maybe should have been. I was too focused on cataloging and amplifying whatever I felt needed to be shown. Stuff you wont see on a fixed TV camera taking vox pops from people like the infamous shu nezil ta3mol hon? A springboard for the emotions a lot of us felt, and I could help make sure gets to as many folks at home and in the diaspora.

It was all surreal. It felt like a movie I was in. I dont like using the term out-of-body experience, but driving down highways dotted with burning tires and barricades, with my gas mask on, to go live from Martyrs Square it sure felt like a movie.

I am grateful for every moment and every person I met in those many days. Many filled with horror and dread, but better ones were filled with hope and righteous anger, and dare I say, a feeling of empowerment and like, we mattered for the first time ever. We couldnt be ignored for once.

The second massive spike was after the August 4 blast, where it shot up to over 120K. It was because most users back home were picking up the pieces of their lives after the blast, but I had just arrived to the US, so all I could do was post everything I could get my hands on and verify.

Thats why it spiked that second time, and that feels horrible. It didnt help that I had just left Beirut days earlier. I think thats when I started to sour on Instagram. Today, the account rests at around 110K.

Before that, things had gotten pretty bad. I am still processing a l...

I didnt want to write this piece.

Im close to at least six of the 13 MPs. Ive known them for years. Ive worked alongside some, was a student under others and campaigned for a few of them over more than one election. Almost six extremely disappointing months into their terms though, I had to pen this down.

Their tenure has been a horror show. Its like a car crash thats in slow motion, but on repeat since May 2022. Every massive blunder and tiny misstep is like a punch to the gut and the successive feelings of disappointments have transformed into confusion and anger.

I wish it wasnt so. They had so many chances to do the right thing, but it doesnt feel like thats going to happen.

The Never-Ending Internal Bickering

The cringe-worthy stunts during parliamentary sessions felt more like kitschy performance arts pieces, than opposition MPs on a platform in the building hundreds of thousands of Lebanese tried to occupy peacefully for months ( years even) with their bare bodies being met with bullets and tear gas and Hezbollah thugs every time.

But those stunts arent even the worst part. The worst part is how 6 months in, the 13 MPs we got elected, still didnt form a proper working framework or system to collaborate if not form an actual alliance.

Theyre a bloc, but not really. Some members dont talk to each other. They couldnt even agree on a voting mechanism to take decisions when 9 out of 13 voted yes.

In other words, each one of the 13 has had veto power. That same tawafukiah democracy heresy that has dragged Lebanon into the abyss. The reason that any hope for democracy in Lebanon died ages ago: needing every single last person to say ok, or nothing gets done.

Thats not how democracy works. Thats how a dictatorship pretends its getting a consensus when the reality is one armed militia is guiding them, by any means necessary, and they all do the song and dance of consensus like kids in the DPRK do for Kim Jong Un at lunchtime.

There is no excuses that 6 months in, they dont even have regular meetings or simple mechanisms of making decisions that even Zoom and Google Meet have integrated in them now.

I get that they all ran in different lists, maybe some didnt even know each other before becoming parliamentarians. But six months is enough to do many difficult things, and doing what was clear voter sentiment in the elections, which was uniting forces, hasnt happened.

Its ok if you dont want to be united, just come out and say it, instead of Sulta-style tweets and press releases that give empty slogans and cliffhangers in wooden Fusha Arabic.

Just come out and say it if you don...

In the run-up to the 2022 Lebanese parliamentary elections, I started a 15-episode podcast series where I tried to showcase candidates I believed in and endorsed. I felt the impact of these long-form, measured and less bombastic (than IG stories) podcast episodes was impressive, and I enjoyed recording them.

After the dust had settled, I decided to longer episodes with guests I respect or admire, discussing areas of their expertise or a lived experience I feel is worth sharing with whoever wants to listen. The first episode of this series was with a dear friend of mine, Pamela Ghanem, and we discussed a subject often taboo in our part of the world: being an atheist.

The conversation kicked off with our personal journeys of losing faith. For me, it was starting my Biology studies at AUB as a heavily religiously conservative Maronite Catholic. Soon enough, I realized the complexity of Nature and how elegant natural selection was, the need for a creator wasnt cutting it. I felt immense guilt, as Catholics usually do. Maybe its Satan testing me. Let me read a few books about scientists who found faith. Every book made me lose faith even more though. Eventually, one behavioral neuroscience course with a professor that literally changed my life, kicked me from the precarious cliff to the other extreme, and after a years struggle, became a happy, fulfilled person without a god.

We then jumped in to compare the rise of religious extremism everywhere, whether in at home in the Middle East, or right here in America with overturning of Roe vs Wade in a major victory for the Christian right and an even bigger blow to womens rights.

The conversation then moved to why faith seems ingrained in us, and my take on how nature selected for us to assign intention to inanimate things, and how that evolved as we settled down in sedentary towns and cities and became more creative with our belief systems (that often reflect civilization at the time of each belief systems golden age)

The conclusion was a message to Arab men and women in countries where their lack of faith could land them in jail, or buried in the ground. If it compromises your safety or liberty, you dont need to risk it. We care about you, we...

Youre hanging out with friends, and one of you is wearing an Adidas hoodie. The iconic trefoil logo has an extra knot though. A quatrefoil, if you will. You wittily quip when you get Adidas, but from Ali Express! and your friends start laughing even though theyve heard a million versions of that joke, way too many times already.

The from Ali Express is a running joke now, often aimed at poorly executed attempts to knockoff a better product, person or situation. Hezbollah, and their handlers in Tehran, keep making sure this joke remains relevant, no matter how many times no one falls for their poorly-made propaganda props.

A few days ago, Hezbollah-affiliated accounts started sharing screengrabs of what looks like a cheap Boston Dyanmics Spot robot dog wearing a black jumpsuit.

Habiba hodroj on Twitter: " *" " * " " " " pic.twitter.com/d3QKgUoUH7 / Twitter"

*" " * " " " " pic.twitter.com/d3QKgUoUH7

Lets Hope Hezbollah Never Figures Out Googles Reverse Image Search

A quick Google Lens treatment of the most widely shared photo while between Subway stations and barely any connection, shows that it is from a Russian army forum in August 2022. You can see the actual video the screengrab is from on Ruptly. I froze it on a part of the video where the pink pants and sneakers are the same:

Kinda sad they think anyone is naive enough to believe the Captagon smuggling brigades of Nasrallah could actually build a fully-functional robot with an RPG on it

You might forgive the Hezbollah twitter army for taking the liberty in choosing their own photo for this high tech Hezbollah technology, but one was kind enough to share a BTS photo from an event this weekend in Baalbek where Nasrallah appeared on a large screen from his hiding place.

.... ... Jihad Ayoub on Twitter: " ... pi...

Over the years, Ive teamed up with QS International for their fantastic graduate studies events in Lebanon, the UAE and Egypt. This time were giving extra attention to Dubai, given so many of my readers have moved there in the past couple of years.

Embarking on a new life in a new place is tough as it is, with a crowded labor market and fierce competition. One way to stand out from the crowd, is to supplement your undergraduate degree with an MBA or Masters (or both!). Of course, if youre like me, the application process and figuring out financial aid and scholarships is a daunting task and makes me anxious.

The Details

QS Masters Fair

Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Habtoor Grand Resort
Registration: FREE

Register here

QS MBA Fair

Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Habtoor Grand Resort
Registration: FREE

Register here

Reasons to Attend

First, its free. All you need to do is register online here.

Second, it includes some of the most prestigious universities across the globe, like:

Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School
ESSEC Business School, France
HEC School of Management, France
IE University, Spain
Imperial College, UK
Kings College, UK
University of Cambridge, UK

Check the full list of more than 30 universities here.

Third, if youre not sure if a Masters or MBA path is right for you, this is the place to help you figure it out. You can interact with representatives from these universities, found out about scholarships and jumpstart your preps ahead of applying for admission.

Fourth, if youre like me, going through the application process might feel quite daunting, and I get it. It always helps to listen to advice and...

To cut to the chase, its their obsession with the 2005-era March 14 vs March 8 alliance. Those of you too young back then or unfamiliar with that toxic dichotomy, Lebanon was occupied by Assad forces for three decades. After Hezbollah and Assad assassinated Rafik Hariri in 2005, mass protests and international pressure forced Assad to retreat from Lebanon, liberating Lebanon. Ahead of that glorious day, Hezbollah gathered its subordinate sectarian political parties to thank the Assad regime on March 8, 2005 for occupying Lebanon for 29 years. A few days later, even more people showed up to tell Syrias Assad to get out of Lebanon on March 14. That set the tone for the next decade or so, with March 8 and March 14 politicians teaming up to steal what was left of our life savings and dignity. When March 14 wouldnt stick to Nasrallahs wishes though, a March 14 politician would be blown up into pieces somewhere and get them to fall back in line under Nasrallahs fat robe.

This week, ahead of the August 4 two year commemoration, a slew of self-proclaimed leftist figures on Twitter (and probably behind closed doors too) attempted to derail the planned itinerary with the families of the victims of the August 4, 2020 blast. Their excuse? It included Monika Brogman, Lokam Slims partner. It also included Giselle Khoury, Samir Kassirs partner. Both Lokman and Samir were killed by Hezbollah (and Assads backing for Kassir). So, the left had a meltdown (but behind anonymous accounts of course, cause the optics would make them seem even more cruel and stupid thant they were being) because it would become a March 14 event in their eyes.

Now, were used to shameful Hezbollah-washing by the self-proclaimed left that often aligns itself with Hezbollah talking points. The lefts poster child, Jad Ghosn, regularly hosts Hezbollah minions like Asad Bu Khalil, to entertain fantasy conspiracy theories that aim to gaslight you. Things like, wheres the proof that Hezbollah killed or blew up someone, at the same time Hezbollah was attempting to kill the judge investigating the August 4 blast linked to the Iranian-commanded terrorist group

Is it our fault that Hezbollah killed March 14 when it saw them as a threat, and now is killing us when March 14 is gone? Was it the victims families that chose Nasrallahs hitlist over the years, or the terrorist group itself?

March 14 was killed, partly because of how much Hezbollah put them down, but also because politicians like Saad Hariri, despite a verdict confirming that Hezbollah killed his father, kept working for Hezbollah, no matter what they did to him.

March 14 basically died in 2005, a few weeks after March 14 when the politicians betrayed the people...

After an astounding performance in the parliamentary elections for change-makers, its time to actually govern

This article was originally published on NOW LEBANON

There are plenty of moments in Lebanons history one can point to as a harbinger for what unfolded on October 17, 2019. It could be the 2005 Cedar Revolution for some, although Id beg to differ. Maybe it was the You Stink protests in 2015, and thats an option I can get behind.

After a timid initial response in the streets, the protests in Lebanon swelled into an unprecedented movement: a non-sectarian and leader-less movement. But as is commonly seen in Lebanon, it was violently put down by the Lebanese political establishment and the weapons of Hezbollah that protect it.

Naturally, the following years municipal elections were an important milestone. Beirut Madinatis list, a coalition of secular reformists, received more votes than any other traditional political party, close to 40 percent of the total votes in 2016. However, the killon ya3ne killon parties all coalesced to make use of the winner-takes-all law back then, and managed to maintain their control over Beirut Municipalitys billions of dollars in budget.

2023 is not like 2016, however, and although the odds are stacked against alternative parties this time around, theyre also better equipped to organize their voters and attract the traditional parties disgruntled base. Economic collapse and a sense of hopelessness and helplessness are never good news for change, but in 2016, we werent as organized as we are now.

The 2022 parliamentary election results can also help.

First, because we managed to pull away many more seats than expected, proving that people still want change, despite the authorities best efforts to quash that hope. Second, because we finally have real-world numbers that represent the level of support for, up until then, largely untested new groups and political parties.

In other words, some alternative parties that were expected to do well did terribly, and other less vocal parties showed that their grassroots initiatives were able to succeed. Therefore, walking into 2023, we already know how many voters each of the alternative parties can rustle up. So, theoretically, forming coalitions shouldnt take as much time and effort as it did in...