Monday, September 21, 2015

Ultimate insult: Barbar sandwich shops in the Washington Post

1) who but a Western correspondent in Beirut would refer to barber as "kabab house"?  It is so much more than that.
2) Who but a Western correspondent in Beirut would write an article about food and not invoke Hizbollah? "After violently taking over Barbar’s neighborhood in 2008, fighters linked to the country’s Shiite Hezbollah movement even dropped by for scrumptious treats, employees say."  Notice that he makes it sound that Shi`ites of Hizbollah don't belong to Beirut. As if they came from another land to eat there. Secondly, he talks about May 7, 2008: it is a MERE ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE CITY, damn it but in Western reportage it is made as if it was as long as the Israeli occupation of Palestine.  Thirdly, on that day, it was NOT Hizbollah which took that part of the city, but their secular allies, the SSNP, who are residents of that quarter of Beirut.  
3) Look at this sentence: who but a Western correspondent in Beirut would consider CNN the world expert on Kabab: "Two years ago, CNN ranked Barbar first in a list of the world’s best kebab places, coming ahead of restaurants in Israel, Iran and Greece."  Coming ahead of Israel?  Are you sure? That is impossible.  Israeli kababs are world famous, as you know.  Simon Peres brought the best Kabab recipes from Poland with him.