We here at qifanabki.com are completely befuddled over the question of what all of these brilliant political ad designers are going to do when the electoral campaign is over.
What do you see as the subtext here? No, no, no, I refuse to believe that there is no subtext… we may be a superficial people with surgically-altered noses and silicone-enhanced lips, but we’ve also got plenty of cheek, which is where the Aounists’ tongues are firmly implanted, as far as this ad is concerned.
What’s the target? The beautiful people, the so-called valentinos of March 14th? The candidacy of Nayla Tueni? Or is it all just fun and games?
Speaking of fun and games, is anyone having more fun these days than General Michel Aoun? He was positively jovial in a recent press conference he gave, where he heralded the demise of the March 14th alliance. On the subject of Jumblatt’s notorious camera-phone moment (in which he took a big old dump on his own Christian allies), the General had this to say:
“We watch comfortably as March 14 ranks grow weaker,” Aoun said following the weekly meeting of his Change and Reform bloc.
“The only common factor that brought together the March 14 forces is external. This factor is starting to break up leaving them without a national strategy to follow,” he said.
“In the meantime, they are still stuck in power struggle,” Aoun added.
Aoun said “he expected noting better” from Jumblat, who described the Maronites as being “useless.”
“It is only natural that he says that,” Aoun said, adding he was not waiting for an apology from the Druze MP.
“Jumblat’s allies are the ones who should ask for an apology, not me,” he added.
I rarely say this, I know… but the General seems to have a point. Are the wheels finally starting to come off the wagon?
Qifa Nabki 
only in lebanon
Posted by bint abeeha | April 20, 2009, 10:47 pmI wonder what Nayla Mouawad’s reaction will consist of?
Posted by Jim Ramsey Khoury | April 21, 2009, 5:33 amI’ll vote for her, regardless of her economical or political program.
How refreshing!!!
Posted by Ras Beirut | April 21, 2009, 7:23 amRas, I’m with you. You think she’s running in Beirut 1.
Posted by Johnny | April 21, 2009, 7:45 amJohnny,
Personally, I think she’s a Metn girl. Regardless, I think she can sweep Beirut 1, 2 & 3 or any other district for that matter. Just look at her eyes, and you’ll vote for her.
Cute ad really. Hard to tell what the message is, but who cares.
Posted by Ras Beirut | April 21, 2009, 7:58 am“We here at qifanabki.com are completely befuddled over the question of what all of these brilliant political ad designers are going to do when the electoral campaign is over.
wordpress stats”
Quite simple really.
One group will make ads that swipes at the majority (whoever they are) and the other will counter those….
Posted by Jim Ramsey Khoury | April 21, 2009, 9:43 amnow the question is, how will nayla tueni counter this one, as there can only be one babe running on the babe list. i’m sensing some kesrwan – sursock chick fight in the air…
Posted by bint abeeha | April 21, 2009, 10:52 amman i struggled to get a good picture of it!
and here you post it all shiny and clear..
Posted by Bech | April 21, 2009, 11:49 amI think that I am the only one who finds this add demeaning and insulting. I had hoped that the Tayyar would have applied the saying properly and remained silent ( Soi belle et tais toi).
Posted by marillionlb | April 21, 2009, 11:52 amBech… I prefer your picture! Shows that this is not a joke, but a real campaign thing.
Reload your pages, folks… I’ve added some more text to the post above.
Posted by Qifa Nabki | April 21, 2009, 11:58 amThis is what Bech was talking about.
h/t: Remarkz
Posted by Qifa Nabki | April 21, 2009, 12:00 pmI have to admit as well that for a very long time now, I can agree with words the General utters. Life never cease to amaze me.
Posted by marillionlb | April 21, 2009, 12:52 pmlol… I love that the only “Possibly related post: (automatically generated)” that WordPress could come up with for this topic was:
Getting Seniors to Vote
Posted by Qifa Nabki | April 21, 2009, 12:53 pmmarillionlb,
Just checked out your blog… I love this line:
If it wasn’t for pubs and restaurants, Gemayzeh would still be a ghost town with a price tag by the square meter similar to that of Zabougha. So kindly excuse my French when I say to the residents of Gemayzeh “you fucks do not bite the hand that feed you”.
Pretty hilarious… keep it up.
Posted by Qifa Nabki | April 21, 2009, 1:03 pmI enjoy reading your posts as well. Thanks
Posted by marillionlb | April 21, 2009, 1:11 pmWell, Lebanese know now in which field Change and Reform IS NOT coming…
Or is there a picture coming soon of a gorgeous teen boy, -whom, probably like the girl in the add, would not be able to vote- with “SOIS MIGNON ET…VOTE” on it?
bint abeeha,
Don’t know about Nayla Tueni, but now that you mention her…I thought Tayyar’s main argument against her was precisely her being a “babe”…in opposition to the soundness and experience, I suppose, of their candidate. If that is the case, is really “vache” to make her compete with a glossy-paper-fhotoshopped babe, who can simultaneously entice voters (“hey ladies, don’t be vieille-peau-de-vache, BE like me, vote for me”/ “hey men, look at me, how could you NOT vote for me?”) down from dozens of billboards all over the christian neighborhoods…Maybe La Tueni has already reached the maturity degree in which every woman is able to multi-task…but I guess multi-location is still out of her reach…
By the way, I’m surprised by the tone of the answers…is there any woman around this blog?
Posted by mj | April 21, 2009, 1:16 pmQifa Nabki said,
‘lol, I love that the only “Possibly related post: (automatically generated) that WordPress could come up with for this topic was: “Getting seniors to vote”‘
YEP
Posted by mj | April 21, 2009, 1:28 pmI fully agree on the rest of Qifa’s remarks -I had read only the first part when I posted my comment-. Jumblatt has surely offered a big present to his presumed political foes. But I don’t think that was wanted, nor do I think is Jumblatt’s monopoly to make nasty comments on political allies in relatively closed circles. I just assume march-8 have better spies…
Although six weeks can be a long time in Lebanon, march-14 will have a hard time correcting the image of disunion and lack of self-confidence it is displaying at the moment…And political assassinations end up taking their toll. They boost the targets’ stance as victims to sympathize with, but the leaders that are no longer there cannot really campaign, can they? (yeah, you can always exploit Hariri The Father’s picture, but he cannot decide any longer if Mustaqbal goes with Jamaa Islamiya, can he?) And now I will be belle et shut up.
Posted by mj | April 21, 2009, 2:24 pmSlightly off topic but related to the subject of voting. I think this current parliament has failed to reach quorum more than any other in the history of parliaments. I understand that pre-May there may or may not have been legitimate reasons for our elected officials to not show up to their basic work duties… However, I thought we got past that with Doha and the election of our dear president.
Can anyone shed light on why there hasn’t been a quorum in what seems like a month or more? Seems like every week Naharnet has an article on the subject. According to them, the only thing on the agenda is “bringing heads-of-state and cabinet ministers to trial, a draft law to grant a general amnesty for crimes committed before April 27, 2005 and eliminating taxes on gas.”
Is there a roll call in parliament? Can we find out who is NOT showing up for work so at the very least we can eliminate them from the potential list of candidates to vote for this June. I can’t see a point in voting for anyone that is not going to show up to work…
Lastly, who are we planning on giving amnesty to? Is their a better incentive for criminality than these general amnesty’s that seem to be handed out every few years?
Posted by Johnny | April 21, 2009, 10:29 pmJohnny
Couldn’t agree more. It’s a travesty.
Posted by Qifa Nabki | April 21, 2009, 10:37 pmI’m sure you saw this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/world/middleeast/23lebanon.html
Posted by Joe M. | April 23, 2009, 6:13 am“He looked at me,” Mr. Maalouf recalled, “and then he said, ‘Go back to America.’ ”
Haha! Wow! That was somewhat expected.
Posted by Jim Ramsey Khoury | April 23, 2009, 10:09 amCheck this out to see the Lebanese Forces response to the Aounist campaign, and the Aounists response to the LF!
Pretty hilarious.
The final poster is referencing Jumblatt’s statement about the Maronites as a “jins atel” (“a bad sort”) and Geagea as “shoo-esmo” (“what’s his name”), as captured on the infamous cell phone video.
Posted by Qifa Nabki | April 23, 2009, 10:17 amLove Lebanon with all its tayyar shit
Posted by Dude | April 25, 2009, 5:33 pmmj,
Please don’t tell me she is too young to vote. If that is true, then I am too old to lust after her.
A ridiculously stupid campaign ad. Reminds me of
http://rall.com/gallery2/v/Cartoons/9-18-08.jpg.html
Posted by Abraham Rotsapsky | April 27, 2009, 9:19 am