Imagine

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say I'm
a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one....
peace, love and harmony
happy new year 2007
G.

Aoun the Hero

for all who forget the truth of this Hero!!!!

The Message of the Christmas

The Message of Matthew 1:21
"And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins."

This angelic proclamation to Joseph is possibly one of the most culturally incorrect statements within the Gospel birth narratives. In this one sentence, the angel sent from God delivers to Joseph a message that runs contrary to most popular Christmas messages you are likely to hear on TV, radio, and from many pulpits. It also runs contrary to the worldly understanding of the message of Christmas, and what the birth of Christ means for the world.She Will Bear a SonThe angel informed Joseph that his betrothed was to become supernaturally pregnant. In verse 23, Matthew says that this startling revelation is a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (Is. 7:14). It has never ceased to amaze me how some try to wiggle around the idea that this was, indeed, a real virgin birth. Yes, the Greek term parthenos can be used to refer to a young maiden. However, in the context of the passage, the Lord was encouraging Ahaz to ask for a sign, something remarkable that would indicate to him God's hand at work. "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep," God says to Ahaz; but Ahaz does not want to be presumptuous, so the Lord offers the sign in 7:14. If all the Lord meant was "a young maiden will become pregnant and bear a son," that hardly seems a remarkable sign. Many young maidens became pregnant. Where is the "deep sign" demonstrating an act of God?Furthermore, this child was to be a son (huios), not a divine principle: a real, tangible, human being. But not just a mere human being. This was to be Emmanuel, "God with us." Was he just supposed to be a symbol of God's presence among His people, like the ancient Tabernacle? Not according to the gospel accounts. The angel spoke of a real child; Mary carried true flesh and blood in her womb for nine months. But this flesh and blood was more than merely a man. He was born "of a virgin" by supernatural intervention. This child was was God with us--literally. The baby that lay in the manger was fully man and fully God: God incarnate.He Shall Save His People from Their SinsNow the angel tells Joseph the purpose of God becoming incarnate. The child's name was to be Jesus, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua meaning "God saves." Who is God going to save? According to the angel, "His people." For those interested in textual variants, there is a variant at this point. The Curetonian Syriac text actually reads ton kosmon here, making the angel say that Jesus will save "the world." There are two things to note about this. First, this is the only text that says this; all other manuscripts, including the Byzantine manuscripts read ton laon autou, "His people." Second, this maverick reading in the Curetonian Syriac more than likely came about due to scribal error since the Syriac for "people" (`ama), is very similar to the Syriac word for "world" (`alma). (If you want to see this for yourself, take a look at this blog entry in Evangelical Textual Criticism. I am indebted to this entry by P. J. Williams for this information.) Christ did not come into the world to save every man. If He did, then you can be assured that everyone, from the most pious saint to the worst reprobate will be in Heaven when they die. Whatever God plans to do comes to pass (Psalm 33:11), so if God planned to save every person in the world, He surely would. Yet, we know He hasn't (John 6:44; Acts 13:48).So, God is coming into the world as a man to save a particular group of people that He will call His own. But what is God going to save them from? Sickness? Famine? Disease? Oppression and poverty? Every year, we are told by the secular media that the point of Christmas is peace, and that the birth of Jesus symbolizes God's love, so we need to share that love and peace in order to end all the evils to which we are subjected every day. That's what Christmas is all about, we are told. But that is not what the angel says. The angel says that Jesus Christ came into the world with one objective in mind: to save His people from their sins. If Christ came to do anything other than this, then there is no hope for us. The evil in the world is not caused by wrong thinking, mismanagement, poverty, abuse by authority, or bad upbringing. Evil exists in the hearts of men because man is at enmity with God. Until sin is dealt with, man can never be at peace with God. And men cannot hope to have true, lasting peace with one another without first having peace with God. World peace does not begin at the UN; it begins with proclamation of the Gospel: "You shall call his name Jesus; for He will save His people from their sins."God has made provision for the sins of men. Peace on earth is now possible, because Christ has come to reconcile God and man. God's perfect justice that demands payment for sin has been satisfied in Christ on behalf of His people.This is the message of Matthew 1:21, and the true message of Christmas.

As our world becomes increasingly secular, and the images of Christmas--and even the word "Christmas"--become replaced with warm feelings and empty platitudes, it becomes more important for us not to forget this. May the Lord be pleased to ignite our hearts with love and gratitude to Him for His awesome grace!

Byblos Bank Christmas Commercial

Shame on us all...
Merry Christmas all Lebaneses

Christmas in Downtown Beirut

Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone

It's my 1st Christmas away from home... i wish you all peace and love in your heart...
Enjoy the season...
G.

IF

Something to inspire us in the coming days, cheers!

[IF]

If you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
--Rudyard Kipling - 1909

Celine dion and Josh groban live - the prayer

Celine Dion - The Prayer Lyrics


I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go.
And help us to be wise in times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way
Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe

La luce che tu hai
I pray we'll find your light
nel cuore restera
and hold it in our hearts.
a ricordarci che
When stars go out each night,
eterna stella sei

The light you have
I pray we'll find your light
will be in the heart
and hold it in our hearts.
to remember us that
When stars go out each night,
you are eternal star
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
quanta fede c'e
when shadows fill our day

How much faith there's
Let this be our prayer
in my prayer
when shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Sognamo un mondo senza piu violenza
un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace, di fraternita

We dream a world without violence
a world of justice and faith.
Everyone gives the hand to his neighbours
Symbol of peace, of fraternity
La forza che ci da
We ask that life be kind
e il desiderio che
and watch us from above
ognuno trovi amor
We hope each soul will find
intorno e dentro se
another soul to love

The force his gives us
We ask that life be kind
is wish that
and watch us from above
everyone finds love
We hope each soul will find
around and inside
another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer, just like every child

Need to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
Need to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

E la fede che
hai acceso in noi,
sento che ci salvera

It's the faith
you light in us
I feel it will save us

First Anniversary of Gebran Tueni's Murder

First Anniversary of Tueni's Murder 11-12-06 05:20
BY: NAHARNET
More than 5,000 people, including journalists, Tueni's family members and friends, and politicians attended the ceremony

First Anniversary of Tueni's Murder: Honors and Praise

The editor-in-chief of the Yemen Times Nadia Al-Saqqaf was on Sunday awarded the 2006 Gebran Tueni prize on the occasion of the first anniversary of An Nahar General Manger's assassination.

Al-Saqqaf, who is the first woman ever to be appointed an editor in Yemen, received the award Sunday during the opening ceremony of the "Press Under Siege" conference at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center (BIEL).

The new prize from the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) aims at honoring an editor or publisher from the Arab region.
More than 5,000 people, including journalists, Tueni's family members and friends, and politicians attended the ceremony, a small distance away from the scene of an ongoing sit-in by anti-government protestors.

Sunday's ceremony went ahead despite heavy security in downtown Beirut ahead of a mass Hizbullah-led demonstration aimed at toppling Premier Fouad Saniora.

The prize honors the memory of Gebran Tueni, An Nahar's General Manager, legislator and WAN Board Member who was killed in a car bombing in the Beirut suburb of Mkalles on December 12, 2005.

WAN said that Saqqaf received the prize because she demonstrated the values incarnated in Tueni: attachment to freedom of the press, courage, leadership, ambition, and high managerial and professional standards.
The award carries a 10,000 Euro scholarship to enable Saqqaf to undertake advanced newspaper leadership training by An Nahar's training institute.

The ceremony included a documentary film about Tueni and speeches by world renowned journalists and artists who praised the late An Nahar general manager.

Tueni's daughter Nayla, who is also Lebanon's leading newspaper's assistant general manager, made a speech urging for the continuation of the Cedar Revolution and rejecting the toppling of Saniora's government.

She called on President Emile Lahoud to resign his post.

The dean of the Lebanese press Ghassan Tueni during his speech urged for a pact of honor that prevents media instigation.
Saniora also made a speech from the Grand Serail that was broadcast live to the conference at BIEL.

The prime minister vowed his government would overcome the challenge posed by opposition protesters.

Lebanon is a strong country. We will overcome this crisis," Saniora said.

He also played down the country's deepening divisions, saying there "is no divorce between the Lebanese" and reiterating his call for talks between the bickering parties.

LEBANON

L LOVE EACH OTHER
E ENJOY OUR FREEDOM
B BE LOYAL TO OUR COUNTRY
A ALLAH IS PEACE
N NO ONE IS BIGGER THAN LEBANON
O OUR LEBANON WILL STAY,
N NOW, TOMORROW & FOR EVER

Toto I Won't Hold You Back

Lyrics:

If I had another chance tonight I'd try to tell you that the things we had were right Time can't erase the love we shared But it gives me time to realize just how much you cared Now you're gone, I'm really not the same, I guess I have myself to blame Time can't erase the things we said But it gives me time to realize that you're the one instead [Chorus:] You know I won't hold you back now The love we had just can't be found You know I can't hold you back now Now that I'm alone it gives me time to think about the years that you were mine Time can erase the love we shared But it gives me time to realize' ' just how much you cared [Chorus:] You know I won't hold you back now The love we had just can't be found ( Listen to me baby) Y ou know I can't hold you back now [ Instrumental break] You know I won't hold you back now The love we had just can't be found You know I can't hold you back now The love we had just can't be found [Repeat until fade]
I Miss You My Real Eternal Love...
Peace,
G.

Killing Lebanon Economically

Killing Lebanon, economically
By Michael Karam

And so to the latest tented village. That the Rafik Hariri-inspired downtown area should be the field of battle between what must be seen - wittingly or unwittingly - as those who want prosperity and those who wish to obstruct it, is sadly fitting. Say what you want about the late prime minister, he was a deal maker of the highest order. In his book "Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East," Nicholas Blanford describes Hariri as "a corrupter rather than corrupt." That kind of behavior might be beyond the pale in Western politics, but compared to his colleagues in Parliament and the Cabinet, Hariri was an angel. He was the self-made prodigal son who rode into town on the back of a billion-dollar fortune, and set about realizing his dream to transform Lebanon into what he saw as its rightful position as Hong Kong of the Middle East.
But on Saturday night, while trying to make my way to the Hamra neighborhood from Achrafieh, I took a wrong turn and found myself somewhere I didn't want to be: near Riyad al-Solh Square, where opponents of the government have been protesting since last Friday. It was more Dante than downtown, as I watched a nation deliriously assisting in its own suicide. Was it really meant to be that way?
Crunch the numbers and it becomes obvious that this is neither the time nor the place for such a jamboree. Lebanon's total debt stands at $39.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.9 percent. The debt-to-GDP ratio is a staggering 190 percent. PM Fouad Siniora, a banker by training, is aware of the urgency of reform. He is also acutely aware that nearly 30 percent of government spending goes to servicing the debt. There is a $3 billion deficit in public finances and even more worrying is the imminent maturity of $5 billion worth of government bonds in 2007.
The Paris III economic conference, already a year late, looks like being postponed once again. Rating agencies have given Lebanon a negative outlook and any delay in Paris III without a definite new date will see an automatic downgrade to a CCC rating - one step away from a default, putting Lebanon on par with the likes of Belize, Ecuador, Cuba, Moldova, Nicaragua and Paraguay.
Without a donor conference the Lebanese Treasury will have to refinance its debt at much higher rates, as there will be few if any takers with an appetite for Lebanese risk. Any inability to refinance could see Lebanon "do an Argentina." True, the Central Bank could mobilize its foreign currency reserves, but that would leave the Lebanese pound exposed. Sadly the country might not be able to fight on two fronts. Remember that during the summer war, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait gave Lebanon $1.5 billion to defend the pound; otherwise the currency would have nosedived.
If the Siniora government is toppled then Lebanon could be in for it. There would no doubt be increased political tension within the country, and with Israel, and major economic reform, the single most important obligation international donors have imposed on Lebanon, could be blocked by Hizbullah and its allies. There would be a massive flight of financial and human capital and the gains of the past six years could evaporate.
At the moment, Paris III is scheduled for January 25, 2007. Lebanon needs a minimum of $4 billion to avert a slide, and ideally $8 billion to finance reconstruction and pay back its $2.4 billion Paris II loan that matures this month. The conference was meant to happen in January 2006, so time is of the essence. Siniora's is the only government that has so far demonstrated a commitment to economic and fiscal management of the country. The prime minister has the tools to reduce the fiscal deficit and debt and create growth - primarily by privatizing the two telecom companies, the national electricity grid, and Middle East Airlines. He has pledged to increase taxes and encourage investment. Even on a "good day" it is estimated that Lebanon looses $1 million for every day it stalls in carrying out economic reform. Does the opposition care about such figures? One wonders.
The resurgent Beirut Stock Exchange looks likely to suffer from a prolonged political crisis, especially as Gulf markets are also falling off. Three Lebanese banks - BankMed, Credit Libanais, and Lebanese Canadian Bank - were considering listing in early 2007, one year after they had originally planned to do so. In the current climate they will wait even longer. And let's not forget that because of the summer war, 35-40 percent of the exchange's market capitalization was rubbed out. It is still falling.
Lebanon's other sectors can ill afford political gridlock. Tourism, which at conservative estimates represents 10 percent of GDP, will be out for the count if this situation continues for much longer. Lebanese industry is also punch drunk. Any gains the sector made in the first half of 2006 - 51 percent growth in exports by all accounts - were wiped out during the war. Fighting also cost the sector $1.1 billion and damaged 142 plants. The outlook for 2007 is not good: Both tourism and industry are expected to shed jobs.
Yes, the economy is hurtling to hell in the proverbial hand basket. Latest estimates put crisis losses at $70 million a day with roughly 7,000 jobs on the line. Lebanon's image as the region's party town is evaporating faster than you can say Bacardi Breezer, while brand Lebanon, which nearly two years ago oozed with equity, is looking very brittle. A widely televised war, a gangster-style assassination in broad daylight, and the sight of soldiers behind razor wire defending a holed-up Cabinet are not good for business, and whether we like it or not business is what makes Lebanon.

Michael Karam is managing editor of Executive magazine, a regional business monthly. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.

i've to add that 80% of the new protestors are not paying any taxes for their houses, neither electricity bills nor traffic... they have more than 20,000 mid-range missles and receive financial aid from Iran... if you want to know the Lebanon they are looking for just visit the area where they lived... you'll be shocked
Peace,
G.

We Have The Right for a Merry Christmas Too

Les chrétiens aussi ont des fêtes
BY: L'ORIENT LE JOUR
les chrétiens aussi ont le droit de passer leurs fêtes et nous espérons pouvoir profiter de nos fêtes
Le métropolite de Beyrouth, Élias Audeh, s’en est pris, hier, aux organisateurs des manifestations et a affirmé, lors du prêche du dimanche, que « les chrétiens aussi ont le droit de passer leurs fêtes et nous espérons pouvoir profiter de nos fêtes comme les autres le font.
L’archevêque grec-orthodoxe a vivement critiqué les jeunes qui vont manifester et paralyser le pays.

Sommes-nous devenus aveugles ? s’est-il interrogé. « Ce sont ces mêmes jeunes diplômés, dirigés comme des moutons, qui vont manifester aujourd’hui, qui iront demain dire qu’il n’y a pas de travail dans le pays et qui boucleront leurs valises pour quitter le Liban », a-t-il souligné.

Metropolite Elias Awdeh’s (ArchBishop of Beirut and all coastal Phonecia, for Greek Orthdox) sarmon during Sunday’s mass was an attack on the blind people following their leaders like sheep , about the demonstrators in the DT, about the right for us Christians to have a merry Christmas.
He quoted: “Those who are planning our future should not forger we have the right to spend our Christmas peacefully as well”, Why is it that everyone who loves Lebanon is killed?
He continued: ” I am sad to see that all those educated young men are becoming like sheep and not thinking of their future, We are a blind people”.
Our economical situation is at its worst, and i feel bad to see our youth sitting uselessly and demonstratings, because those same people will be cursing Lebanon and leaving in few years time.
He finally concluded that we deserve to spend our holidays and asked those planning for all that to take into consideration that both of ‘us’ have holidays. He always addressed the ‘Saints’ demonstrating asking if they wanna save the country or destroy it? Are they feeding the poor people instead of cursing the government and accusing it of not feeding those?

He ended it with a beautiful quote :
” ان من يجاهر بحبه لهذا الوطن يتم قتله”.