Fairouz - I Miss You - اشتقتلك

Fairouz - I Miss You Despite the fact what'd happend previously And enough time to forget And my self-pride as a human being I Miss You And despite the mistake itself And our story which is time To forget it all I Miss You And it's clear that you forget me And don't need to console me You don't intend to hurt me I Miss You I miss you, you miss me I know you're not going to tell me Fine, I'm telling you I Miss You Fine, it is not a deal not telling me Actually this is not the issue The issue is you don't miss me And I Miss You And I know that it's wrong Something stopping me from inside Something I feel it stronger I've missed you And this old tree That we never like I loved it and I miss it And I Miss You I don't know what's happening with you You are totally... Don't tell me I didn't tell you I Miss You Now you're living lonely And tomorrow you're going to miss me And you'll ask who was telling me: I Miss You

فيروز - اشتقتلك رغم الحاصل من زمان الوقت الكافي للنسيان عزّة نفسي كإنسان اشتقت لك ورغم الغلطة ومحلاّ وقصّتنا ياللي حلاّ أنّو ننساها كلاّ اشتقت لك وواضح إنك ناسيني ومش محتاج تواسيني مش بقصدك تقسيني اشتقت لك اشتقت لك اشتقت لي بعرف مش رح بتقللي طيب أنا عمقللك اشتقت لك طيب مش قصّة ما تقللي أصلاً مش هون العلّة العلّة ما تكون اشتقت لي واشتقت لك وبعرف أنّو مابيسوا شي يمنعني من جوّا وشي تاني حسّو أقوى اشتقت لك وهيدي الشجرة العتيقة ياللي ما كنّا نطيقا حبيتا واشتقتلا واشتقت لك مابعرف شو صايرلك أنت ع بعضك كلك ما تقللي ما قلتللك اشتقت لك هلأّ عايش عالقلّة وبكرة رح تستفقدلي وتسأل مين كان يقللي اشتقت لك

السؤال هو الإنسان

السؤال هو الإنسان.
الإنسان سؤال لا إجابة.
وكلُ وجودٍ إنساني احتشدت فيه الإجابات فهو وجود ميت!
وما الأسئلة إلا روحُ الوجود.
بالسؤال بدأت المعرفة وبه عرف الإنسان هويته.
فالكائنات غير الإنسانية لا تسأل، بل تقبل كل ما في حاضرها، وكل ما يحاصرها.
الإجابة حاضرٌ يحاصر الكائن، والسؤال جناحٌ يحلق بالإنسان إلى الأفق الأعلى من كيانه المحسوس.
السؤال جرأةٌ على الحاضر، وتمرّد المحَاصَر على المحاصِر.
فلا تحاصرك الإجابات، فتذهلك عنك، وتسلب هويتك.

وأنت يا ابنتي معذورة في حيرتك، وفي التردد في طرح السؤال…
فقد نشأت في بلاد الإجابات،
الإجابات المعلبة التي اختزنت منذ مئات السنين،
الإجابات الجاهزة لكل شيئ،
وعن كل شيئ،
فلا يبقى للناس إلا الإيمان بالإجابة،
والكفر بالسؤال.
الإجابة عندهم إيمان،
والسؤال من عمل الشيطان!
ثم تسود من بعد ذلك الأوهام،
وتسود الأيام،
وتتبدد الجرأة اللازمة والملازمة لروح السؤال.


― يوسف زيدان، ظل الأفعى

Some we love…البعض نحبهم

Some we love… But we don’t get close to them As they are prettier from afar As they are higher from afar As they are more precious from afar Some we love… We desire being near them, Share details of life with them We get hurt if we had to leave them And it is so hard for us to imagine life without them Some we love… And we wish to live a nice story with them And we invent causes to meet them We fake coincidence to see them And we live with them in imagination more than reality Some we love… But between us and ourselves only And we keep silence in spite of the pain And we don’t announce our love, not even to them Because the consequences are frightening And it is better for them and us To keep the doors between us closed Some we love… And we fill the world with their love And we talk to the universe about them And we need them, like water, like air And we suffocate in their absence Some we love… Because we find no other And the need for love pushes us towards them Because days are passing by And life is ending And time never stops And it terrifies us to be alone Some we love… Because people like them, deserve to be loved And we can’t but love them And we rebuild many things with them And we repaint life all over again And we work so sincerely To give them some happiness Some we love… But we find no echo for that love in their hearts And so we fall apart and we break down and we flop in futile stories We never hate them nor forget them We never love other ones And we cry for them after each failing attempt Some we love… And it remains only for them to love us Like we love them. ― Khalil Gibran

البعض نحبهم… لكن لا نقترب منهم فهم في البعد أحلى وهم في البعد أرقى وهم في البعد أغلى البعض نحبهم… ونسعى كي نقترب منهم ونتقاسم تفاصيل الحياة معهم ويؤلمنا الابتعاد عنهم ويصعب علينا تصوّر الحياة حين تخلو منهم. البعض نحبهم… ونتمنى أن نعيش حكاية جميلة معهم ونفتعل الصدف لكي نلتقي بهم ونختلق الأسباب كي نراهم ونعيش في الخيال أكثر من الواقع معهم البعض نحبهم… بيننا وبين أنفسنا نصمت برغم الألم لا نجاهر بحبهم حتى لهم لأن العواقب مخيفه ومن الأفضل لنا ولهم أن تبقى الأبواب مغلقة البعض نحبهم… فنملأ الأرض بحبهم ونحدث الدنيا عنهم ونحتاج إلى وجودهم.كالماء.والهواء ونختنق في غيابهم أو الابتعاد عنهم البعض نحبهم… لأننا لا نجد سواهم وحاجتنا إلى الحب تدفعنا نحوهم فالأيام تمضي والعمر ينقضي والزمن لا يقف ويرعبنا بأن نبقى بلا رفيق البعض نحبهم… لأن مثلهم لا يستحق سوى الحب ولا نملك أمامهم سوى أن نحب نرمم معهم أشياء كثيرة نعيد طلاء الحياة ونسعى صادقين كي نمنحهم بعض السعادة البعض نحبهم… ولا نجد صدى للحب في قلوبهم فننهار ونتخبط في حكايات فاشلة فلا نكرههم لا ننساهم لا نحب سواهم ونعود نبكيهم بعد كل محاولة فاشلة والبعض نحبهم… ويبقى فقط أن يحبّوننا مثلما نحبّهم -جبران خليل جبران

The New Lebanese Passport

The new Lebanese Biometric passports are officially available as of 1st of August. Anyone can apply for the new passport and those who wish to replace their old passports can also do so. According to the Lebanese General Security, the documents needed are as follows:

• Passport Request Form to be filled out at the mayor’s office.
• Applicant’s original Individual Civil ID issued in the last 3 months at the most and his original new Lebanese ID card.
• One recent color photo showing full details of the face with a white background. The photo to be certified and signed by the competent mayor
• The old passport if available.
• The fees will remain the same, $40 or 60,000 LL for one year and $200 or 300,000 LL for 5 years.

The Story behind the New Design

Handwritten passports are a thing of the past... except in Lebanon, where they were still officially issued to citizens until mid-2016. The passports weren't machine-readable causing us all a little bit of awkwardness at border control when travelling about the developed world.

Biometric passports are basically e-passports that have security info embedded into a microchip, a technology most of the world adopted back in 2005 when it was first introduced. But, ideas can travel slow and sometimes require ten years to make a debut in countries like Lebanon, where federal and public services are notoriously slow. The Lebanese Directorate General of General Security started issuing biometric passports to Lebanese citizens in August 2016.

Designed by Beirut-based communication agency GraphicShop, the new biometric passport was without a doubt one of 2016's highlights.

GraphicShop has previously worked on various legal documents such as the Lebanese currency, the central bank’s check design and the soon-to-be-released vehicle plates, driving license and mechanic stickers. They were selected to take on the job due to their history, experience, and profile.

They submitted three different options of the new Lebanese Biometric Passport, and the one that is being deliberated today was the winning option.

The design elements of the new passport

There is six different Lebanese passports:

• Passport,
• Diplomatic,
• Special,
• Services,
• Laissez-passer
• Palestinian refugees

Having trilingual (Arabic, French and English) text, and 22 Landmarks:

	Raouche Rock, Tyre Temple, Beaufort Castle, Hasbaya Castle, Jezzine, Sidon Castle, Beiteddine Palace, Lake Qaraoun, Niha Temple, Anjar Castle, Beirut Forest, Martyr's Square, Beirut, Jeita Grotto, Baalbek Lebanon, Fakra Temple, Kfarzebian, Byblos Castle, Qannoubine Valley, Msailha Castle, Tripoli Castle Barouk Cedar.

Across the 22 spreads with the illustrative trace of the landmarks, is a sun that starts from the East (first spread) and ends at the West (last spread) where in daylight the sun appears to set as the spreads are flipped, and under UV light happens the movement of the moon in reverse.

The security elements of the new passport

The parties that put their efforts on the new Biometric Lebanese Passport were Minister of Interior, the Public Security team, Gemalto team, and Inkript team in collaboration with the GraphicShop team.

The security features are as follows:

• PKI – Public Key Infrastructure - IPI- Invisible Personal ID
• 2D Bar code
• Machine Readable Zone (MRZ)
• Security Substrate and Laminate
• Ultra Violet features Micro Printing
• Holograms
• Watermark Paper
• Security Ink
• 3 Colour Intaglio Printing - Guilloche Patterns

As of August 1, 2016, all new Lebanese passports issued are to be biometric passports and machine-readable and have a contactless smartcard RFID chip embedded inside the polycarbonate data page (3rd EU generation) or a booklet in which the chip is embedded at the bottom of the front cover under the word "PASSEPORT". Facial recognition technology is being introduced to coincide with the release of the Biometric Passport. This technology is used to improve identity verification, reduce identity-related fraud, and protect the legal identity of the citizens of the Republic of Lebanon. Similar technology is used in the Lebanese Identity card.

The biometric data that is to be included on the Lebanese passport is the bearer's name, gender, date and place of birth, and a digital image of their face, ten fingerprints and palm prints. Lebanese immigration checkpoints are not the only ones with the technology to read and authenticate the data from the RFID chip using a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition technology.

In addition to biometric data and the personal information stored on the information page, the chip also records the bearer's travel history of the last ten entries and exits at Lebanese border control points (Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, Beirut Naval Base, Port of Beirut, Port of Byblos, and Port of Tripoli).

How do I love thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death. .

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
(Sonnet 43)