Lebanese International Solar Week Show

I already told you I moved to solar panels - which could have been my smartest decision in the last 4 years (here). The other day some "driveway philosophers" (as called by the wonderful Garrison Keillor) - including myself - gathered on my porch and we started comparing how many panels and batteries each installed, the efficiency of our system, if the participation to the communal generator was kept (mine was not) and apparently I was the only one totally off the grid (meaning not even Electricte du Liban turned on).

But all this to say how rampant solar power has become, and thankfully so. Is it efficient? Yes. Does it need wise use? Yes, especially during the winter storms. Is it money-saving? Despite the initial investment and compared to the obnoxious numbers Electricite du Liban and the generators are charging, yes it is.

Which brings us to the "Lebanese International Solar Week Show" at the Habtoor. I am not sure if a full such an exhibition is required but truth be told, perhaps some people still need converting. Also interestingly, there is no less than 4 different ads on the streets for different battery brands. By batteries I mean those rechargeable entities responsible for fueling your solar panels system.

It does say something when there are so many ads for the same kind of product on the market. And yes, the man who installed my own system is not even coping with demand at this point.

Residency and citizenship by investment exhibition and conference

So - any questions?

Yes, Lebanese are all over themselves trying to obtain a second passport, one that does not require a visa to go to the bathroom as is the case with the Lebanese passport (getting a Schengen visa is so convoluted, one to the United States is even more difficult, and the list goes on!) - please check this link which even if old is still valid (here). So it is only normal for a full exhibition to happen about "Residency and citizenship by investment". 

Currently there is an ad on the streets which advertises a second passport starting 100,000 USD. I know the figure sounds astronomic, but wait till they put you in a glass chamber in front of the whole airport as you land with a valid visa in Europe, for 45 minutes without anyone talking to you from the official security and everyone else at the airport looking at you oddly. Suddenly 100 grand seems acceptable!

Lagoon - what real do we speak of?

Lagoon.... A new brand of hair and body care products. Lagoon seems to suddenly be everywhere on the billboards with their ads - specifically their roll on deodorants. 

Well, I truly and sincerely have no idea about their origin (I am assuming they are local based on this link here) or pricing (logically since they are manufactured locally they ought to be competitively priced but as I mentioned prior a local washing liquid is more expensive than one that was made in Germany which included free additional 1 liter, so I am not even sure of what I am saying any longer!).

Now, on the streets there is a line that goes "reveal the real" - with the roll-on deodorant present with a backdrop of nature. Unfortunately, I am not sure such a line can be applied to deodorants. Because revealing the real in this case, implies the "real body odor" which one uses deodorant to cover! Actually right there on their facebook page there is a line "escape back to nature" which whereas a bit... primary, could fit more to all their product categories - deodorants included (here).

Beirut capital of Arab media 2023

So Beirut is Capital of Arab Media 2023. Ok, let me go back to what Minister Ziad Makary said in a communique (he is the caretaker minister of Information in the current government), Apparently the ministry is keen to "create a common space between Lebanon and its Arab brethrens, reflecting full, constant and continuous solidarity at the various levels."

A per minister Makari's words: "Lebanon is keen to demonstrate its Arabism through the title “Beirut, Capital of Arab Media,” adding “This title constitutes a challenge amid Lebanon’s difficult political and economic conditions; yet we have accepted this challenge. We will ensure the success of all events that will extend for a whole year.”

To go back to that joke in the sitcom when the man asked his heavily pregnant wife is she wanted a foot massage, to which she replied "this is what got us here in the first place". A bon entendeur salut...
Now, about the ad - it is based on the statue of Martyrs' at the Martyrs' Square in downtown Beirut (by Italian sculptor Marino Mazzacurati) and instead of a torch the statue is holding a microphone (you know to signify the media). I like the line "houna Beirut" - this is Beirut (speaking) - which is how radios used to identify their place of broadcast. I do think the photoshop could have been better with the mike though. But all in all, it does worry me what the "Capital of Arab Media" is supposed to do...

For reference about the Lebanese media check this link here.

Almaza - between a deja vu and a reference past its selling by date

I know you will not believe me but this pun has been played before. All right, first the Almaza pun "Almaza aw la aha - wala sabt". This, believe it or not is a double pun. The first is "Anta aw la ahad" the first Mexican telenovela which opened the floodgate to dubbed programs (In Mexican it was "Tu o Nadie" and it introduced the Lebanese to "Raquel" - or Lucia Mendez making "Corazon de Piedra" (the title track of the telenovela sung by Mendez) a ubiquitous hit back then and I am taking 1991 here).  Please note, anyone who is younger than my own generation has this pun lost on them as no one is aware of it. 

The second pun is a wordplay on the word "Ahad" which means both Sunday and Person in Arabic. So the line means "Almaza or no one/Sunday" which continues into "or no Saturday". The issue, this has been played before by the Al Mustaqbal newspaper (now defunct) in its Sunday edition ad:

"No one/Sunday stands in the way of the future (Al Mustaqbal means future)... and no Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday..."

Told you, it's been done before.

So between only select generations will understand and one that has been done before - Almaza brings little to the table

Adel Imam and the debacle of his 83rd birthday

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly based on typography of movie posters where Adel Imam appeared

Egyptian actor Adel Imam just celebrated his 83rd birthday. And now twitter is ablaze with comments.

To begin with the images that were circulating from his said birthday by other stars were - to put it mildly - not flattering. One of them shows him without his dental fixtures, the other in sad, tired eyes. Oh and his age it is obvious he is still dying his hair jet black. I mean seriously people, I started having grey hair in my late 20s - so reaching 83 with such a hair is simply genetically impossible.

Now, there is no shadow of a doubt of the popularity of Imam. He reigned on the comedy circuit for a very long time - weather he is extremely expressive is to be honest quite debatable, because his charisma was there more than his acting chops (again, I could be biased towards such a giant star but let us be honest, he relied on slapstick more than anything else).

The other major issue with Adel Imam was his - many - movies attacking the "Ikhwan" or the Islamic uptight religious party in Egypt. Yes, whereas Egypt was portraying itself in its movies and its stars as very open, tolerant, permissive, the shadow of the Muslim Brotherhood was slowly creeping over the Egyptian society. And Imam was on the forefront of warnings about this - Touyour Al Zalam (birds of darkness) comes to mind - or his fight against labels such as Al Irhab wal Kabab (Kebab and terrorism).

Do note, I am not in any way an expert in Egyptian cinema and much less so in Adel Imam's archive. But I guess like everyone, I had caught glimpses of him when our neighbor was running a VCR of his iconic play "Madrasat al Mouchaghibin" (school of the dissenters) or when "Chahed ma chafch haga" (a witness who saw nothing) which is another of his iconic roles was running somewhere on TV.

Imam is known as "Al Za3im" (or The Boss) and his legacy is preserved. But his health seems to be declining and rumors about his Alzheimer or dementia have been swirling for ages (Imam did a telephone interference for his birthday in a popular TV program basically berating the TV host who said that Imam taught his girls Arabic to which Imam retorted "so you are saying you are "ibn nas" (high class) and your daughters do not speak Arabic?"). 

Actually Imam himself did a movie called "Zheimer" (the funny story is that "al" in Arabic means "the" so basically when "Alzheimer" was translated to Egyptian it became "zheimer" because they through the "al" was a prefix and ergo disposable), and at this point his family securely guards his mental/physical health - there are very recent images that circulated as of late of the actor in the condolences of the father of an Egyptian movie director where he looked incredibly old and frail (and yes with grey undyed hair) but somehow the latest images want his public to keep the public in the same remembrances of him as he was in heyday. 

I truly wonder why there are so many rumors surrounding Imam's health (both physical and mental) and why his family is preciously guarding him and always communicating the same "Al za3im is fine" news. And if his phone interference in the talk show (of which I spoke earlier) is correct then the man did not exactly lose his wits. But once more, all this shroud of mystery is doing nothing but adding fuel to the fire.

Between keeping his memory alive and intact for his public, and facing the fact that Imam is growing old, all I can say is: let the man be. He is 83. He already made the public laugh. Just cherish his memory and move on.

Keo beer - a reintroduction to the Lebanese market

OK, forgive my ignorance - am not much a beer drinker. So Keo slipped from the radar - please check here and here. Interestingly, whereas the pages seem inactive, the brand just launched an outdoor campaign. The secret lies in the fact that it seems it has changed importers in the meantime, so its newest home seems to be here. Well, the original campaign which dates back to 2019 was a little too childish a la "alcohol you later", so thankfully, having just the beer and its various sizes and shapes with a simple logo is much better fitting. 

In case you did not know (and I did not, I had to search that!) Keo is the beer with the largest market share in Cyprus. Also, I found it funny that they had a large unipole right next to the Almaza brasserie in Dora - my first reflex was that the said brasserie is now brewing it. But I guess that was either a cheeky move, or just random luck.

So voila, Keo is back in the market - after what seems to be a failed first attempt.

Zeit Boulos - now online

Zeit Boulos can now be ordered online. The interesting part? They managed to do a pitch perfect continuation of their - eternally running campaign. By eternally running I mean - and whereas I have no specific date in my archives - this goes back to 1998 or so.
OK, the line? "Iza de2et 3le2et" (once you taste it you get hooked up) dates back to the 90s (to my shame my first recording of it in 2012). Just for the advertising anecdote, the brand changed the line briefly with "Zeit Boulos, Boulos, Boulos" in honor of Lebanese basketball player Boulos Bechara's performance as partof the Sagesse team that won the first Asian title for Lebanese teams in 1999 - again for the reference it was Lebanese presenter Tony Baroud (himself an ex-basketball player) who initiated the "Boulos, Boulos, Boulos" catchphrase. Otherwise? A yellow background with an oil bottle was just the campaign since... forever.
So now that we established the credentials of the campaign, for their online - they added "heik heik 3ele2et tloba online" which translates as "now that are hooked might as well ask for it online". Again, the consistency of the campaign, which is almost unchanging as I said is truly remarkable. Because at this point, beyond the idea if the campaign is nice or not, it is simply "there" - immediately recognizable, totally in-your-face, and comforting to know it does not change.

Hotel-Dieu de France, a faith in the Lebanese hospital system

I suppose one needs a dose of reassurance from time to time. Certainly, Lebanon, navigating from crisis to crisis, or rather having a lot of crises at the same time combined, definitely needs such a jolt of faith. "Lebanon shall remain the hospital of the orient" - which, truth be told, prior to the major collapse engulfing Lebanon since October 2019, it actually was. And well, I am not saying the situation is "improving" by any stretch, but it seems the system is readjusting itself - for better or for worse (OK, fine, mostly the worse as now everything is Dollarized which is the only way for anything to keep operating).

So Hotel-Dieu de France is actually advertising what is now its chain of hospitals across the Lebanese territory, which are mainly also learning centers for their doctors-to-be. Again, at some point, it is comforting to just know someone keeps the faith (implicitly, it is not me). But the ad speaks volumes - even with its generic image as a background. 

Dubizzle became OLX and is now Dubizzle - again....

So how is that for a name change? Olx already an international name is now Dubizzle in Lebanon, mind you Dubizzle defines itself as the leading website for classified ads in the UAE. 

Once more, I am not versed in the business side of this - both Olx and Dubizzle seem to be in the same business (or as you shall see below, are the same business). Well, there you go as soon as you type the old website the new one comes immediately. For a week now the app on instagram has been notifying people that "something is happening" and that the app name is about to change (here) - image below as well:

Interestingly, the image above says "OLX "by" Dubizzle" whereas the banner says Olx "became" Dubizzle. The two sentences are very very different. But wait, in this article from 2015, it says clearly that "Dubizzle is OLX" (here), as if the whole name change is not confusing enough.

So in short - Dubizzle became OLX which became Dubizzle.

To quote the film Victor/Victoria  with the delightful Julie Andrews quipping - "So, I'm a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman."

Or Dubizzle pretending to be OLX pretending to be Dubizzle.

Panda Boutique - a cute but confusing campaign

Panda Boutique by Panda Plast has a cute new campaign, if a little too... confusing.

Apart from the fact they used the teaser/revealer which implies the same people need to see the original ad and then discover what it was all about, and right now both teaser and revealer ads are sitting at the same time on the Jounieh highway which is a little odd (but this is what happens when one books with different agencies which work at different speeds).

The major oddity in the campaign is the slogan of the revealer - "bnoss Jounieh" (right in the middle of Jounieh) which is the name of the yearly festival initiated by the Jounieh municipality (here). So I am wondering if Panda is involved in any way in the festival or not - although honestly, maybe they ought to have stuck to their original line "I saw a Panda in Jounieh" which headlined the teaser.

Considering Panda Boutique several branches, this is not some line they can stick to everywhere. But I guess they were trying to grab attention. 

Lux - copywriting at its finest (via Pimo)

So let me toot my horn - I told you so. Here. So here are my words "Lux hits the mark here and major props to the copy which suavely integrates "tamiyiz" (differentiation/discrimination) with "tamayoz" (brilliance/excellence)." And what does the billboard campaign do? It focuses on "tamayoz" and "tamiyiz" all while eclipsing "against" with flowers" the hashtag which only drives the point home translates as #my_strength_is_being_a_woman - all right, all right, now is the customary hats off to Pimo for what they are doing with Lux!

Khoury home goes feather light

Khoury Home. Yes, been a while indeed. But Khoury Home is advertising its sale.

"Our prices are light as a feather" - the headline is kind of cute... But of course, it had to be reemphasized by... a feather used as a parachute. And... OK, are these a watermelon and an ice cream in the background? Not that they sell any... But I guess this is all part of the "summer vibe" they wish to project - interestingly, whereas some days the temperature is soaring, there are others where the sky is so overcast. So summer still did not come knocking on our door yet. But hey - items are on 50% off...

Coronation of Charles III - but let's make it branded

Now that the coronation came and went with all its glitz and glam and orb and specter, now that the UK and other territories have a new king, it's only fitting to see the best campaigns that emerged from the event. Sure, everyone tried to capitalize on it, but only few raised above the fray.

I think Burger King, but omitting their "burger" from their logo got a major hit  and truth be told I was surprised they did not take off the "king" - because you know, like highlanders, there can only be one, and it would have indicated more deference. But still, this one works and does so beautifully.

The other campaign? The Times and The Sunday Times who did a great "the waiting is over" by capitalizing on images of the man who waited so very, very long for her majesty ("mummy!") to - well.... 

On all accounts the two campaigns merit a lot of respect for what they did and how they did it....

No Truce in Beirut, Only Virgins - republishing the art installation by Tarek Chemaly

Originally published in 2011, the art installation "No Truce in Beirut, only virgins" by Tarek Chemaly (yes, that would be me!) is republished below having lost none of its socio-politico-economic connotations since it was first unveiled.

Bill Farrell, the Middle East correspondent of the New York Times once said “There is no truth in Beirut, only versions” as the country stands as divided as ever on key issues and as the “war” in its metaphoric sense has never ended, everyone is looking for a respite – for a truce. However, no matter how damaging political acts are on all sides of the spectrum, everyone rushes to dip them into a patriotic sauce claiming innocence, good intentions, and “virginity” from all error.


This art installation will be composed of several set of diptychs:

1a) A Paul Smith diary filled from start to finish with the words “Art is useless, resistance is futile”

1b) Another Paul Smith diary filled from start to finish with the words “la jadwa min al fan wal moukawama a’abathiyya” (The Arabic transposition of the above-mentioned English sentence)

2a) An old photo of Georgina Rizk (Taken by Studio Nicolas), the Lebanese beauty queen crowned Miss Universe in 1971 – few people know that she was married to Ali Hassan Salameh, one of Yasser Arafat’s top lieutenants and upon his assassination she vowed “to continue the struggle.”

2b) A photo of the flowers on the grave of Audette Salem, mother of Richard and Christine, who were abducted during the war and are 2 of the 17,000 missing people whose whereabouts are unknown. For a very long time she was a key driver in keeping the issue of the missing people alive.

3a) A photo of the Khaled Alwan plaque near the now Vero Moda shop in Hamra (Formerly Wimpy restaurant) who killed an Israeli officer who was sitting there shortly after the Israeli invasion in 1982 in one of the rare acts of individual resistance in the city.

3b) A photo of Lt. Colonel Mansour Diab, the Lebanese Army officer who confessed to working with the Israeli intelligence and who was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. The photo is a personal photo I have of him who was my own trainer as an officer during the military service.

4a) An old photo (Taken by Studio Nicolas) of Hafez el Assad, late Syrian President.

4b) A notice bearing I(Heart) – the classic I(Heart) NY sign typography – but with NY replaced by 452. Read in its entirety the statement becomes I(heart)452 or 10452 the area of Lebanon in square Kilometers.

5a) A book dating back to 1979 which details the exploits of the Lebanese Forces during the 100-day war in Achrafieh against the Syrians in 1978 (June – October).

5b) A book dating back to October 2006 which details the exploits of the Hizbullah as it fought the Israelis during the July-August 2006 war.

6a) An old Medieval image depicting the conquest of Jerusalem by the crusaders – highlighting the internal fraction of the Lebanese population that still believes that external forces are capable of defending Lebanon and bringing peace to the Middle East.

6b) A mural found in the Southern suburb of Beirut which depicts Hizbullah fighters on their way to Jerusalem with the word “Kadimoun” on it (We are coming) signifying that Jerusalem can only be liberated by Arab – perhaps even Lebanese - fighters.

7a) A photo of a window shop in Hamra back during the Cedar Revolution in 2005 asking for the “truth”

7b) A copy of Bill Farrell’s statement “There is no truth in Beirut, only versions.”

8a) A statement by Abou Ayyad (top Palestinian officer in Lebanon) which went: “The road to Jerusalem goes through Jounieh” (Which is a seaside city north of Beirut). Whereas the statement was a geographical impossibility, it implied that the Palestinians wanted Lebanon as an alternative country.

8b) A copy of a forwarded joke about Lebanon whereby during Genesis, God was saying he was going to create a great country with great people, and when the angels asked the Lord why he was being so generous with that new nation, he answered: “Wait till you see what kind of neighbors I am going to give them.”

9a) A photo taken from Al Anwar newspaper (Dated 15 January 1984) of Duke Walker, a private in the Marines stationed by the Airport with a mouse held in his mousetrap.

9b) A photo of the memorial dedicated to the slain Marines in Beirut after the suicide attacks on their barracks which lead to the killing of more than 280 of them.

10a) Poster for the first post-war concert by Feyrouz: In a discussion with my 1st year university students about the symbols representing Lebanon, they dismissed the Cedars and the flag but only agreed on Tabboule and on our national diva Feyrouz who throughout the war, refused to do concerts in Lebanon and only gave her first on Martyrs’ square on September 17th, 1994.

10b) Poster of the “National Tabboule day”: an action initiated by artist Ricardo Mbarkho.

11a) The cover of issue number 200 from Al Jaras magazine which headlined the old Al Mutanabi verse of poetry “Only buy the slave (Which doubles in meaning as any person with a dark complexion) with his baton with him, for the slaves are an evil and spiteful breed.” Following the accident whereby a mistreated Ethiopian maid threw her employers’ baby from the balcony before committing suicide.

11b) The photo of a stencil which goes Sri Lankese is different than maid (Since often the Lebanese use the words interchangeably as proven by the absurd words of my student who said “Our Srilankese comes from Ethiopia”).

12a) An ad which appeared in newspapers in 1984 about the Commodore hotel selling off its “London taxis.”

12b) A photo of the new London taxis in Beirut which became all the rage in 2010.

13a) An old postcard of “modern Beirut” with a view on the pool of the St. George Yacht Motor Club, a hotel which severely suffered from litigation with Solidere (the company which rebuilt downtown Beirut and owned by late P.M. Rafic Hariri) which deprived the hotel of its marina. Ironically, the owner of the St. George says that he suffered in Hariri’s death more than in his life because the huge explosion that killed the P.M. happened in front of the hotel.

13b) A small article which appeared in the Al Diyar newspaper about the reenactment of the murder of Hariri in an Army barrack in Bordeaux, France where a full scale model of the St. George was built for the purposes of the exercise.

14a) A pin with the inscription “intifadat al istiklal” (“the uprising of the independence also known as “the cedar revolution”) which I wore in 2005.

14b) Another pin with the inscription “Lebanese opposition” which I also wore in 2005. However, the opposition became the “other camp” and so it is difficult now to know which opposition the pin depicted.

15a) Lebanon is ruled by the equation “al jaysh, al sha3b, wal moukawama” which translates into “the army, the people, and the resistance” (i.e. the Hizbullah) which was adopted as an official idiom of defense of the country and a way to recognize the operations of Hizbullah as being outside the realm of the army, although supposedly in coordination with it. To illustrate this point, the cover of the Mehdi magazine aimed for children which states “in July (2006) my people have prevailed”.

15b) Lebanon is also ruled by another equation, “Sin-Sin” (or S-S) which refers to “Syria-Saudi Arabia” two of the major regional powers with stakes in the land, indicating that Lebanon will forever be at the crossroads of international (and often conflicting) interests specifically that Syria has close ties to Iran and Saudi Arabia is a major ally of the United States. Ashekman, a rap and graffiti crew have designed a t-shirt with the Superman logo in Arabic (namely the letter S), so it will be shown in lieu of the original politically oriented S-S.

16a) Two postcards and a poster from artist Walid Zbib which depicted respectively Beirut’s Hamra street in 1987, the museum area and the seaside corniche in 1990 symbolizing Beirut’s chaos.

16b) The return to the scene of these place and how they looked in 2010.

17a) An article written by Suleiman Frangieh (who later became president of the republic) addressed to the then president mentioning politicians accusing other people of being “cheese eaters” (i.e. corrupt – a term coined by then president Fouad Chehab or “fromagers”) when legal documents indict them in person (i.e. being “cheese eaters” themselves). The found article is undated but could be traced back to circa 1968.

17b) An article written by Khaled Saghieh in Al Akhbar newspaper (published on Sept. 21st 2010) mentioning the same “cheese eaters” indicating however, that those eaters, no matter how corrupt, had at least the interest of preserving the “cheese”.

18a) In order to understand the inner workings of Lebanon, you must:

Get 2 puzzles of the same number of pieces, and edited by the same company Assemble the puzzles independently/Start mixing the pieces from the two puzzles/The end result will be two sets of puzzles, of the same number, whose pieces actually fit – but that do not make sense on the whole (because the pieces come from two different sets)/Extrapolate the above, and apply it to the Lebanese case: Lebanon is a country where all the pieces fall into place, but that don't necessarily make sense once put all together. This rationale has been applied to two puzzles of the map of Lebanon.

18b) The complementary set of pieces of the map crisscrossed from one puzzle to the next.

19a) During a manifestation of Arab nationalists in the 1960s on the Bourj area in Beirut, those at the beginning of it were shouting “Falyaskot wa’ad Belfour” (let the declaration of Lord Belfour be nullified), the same declaration that promised a home for the Jews in Palestine (under the condition that “nothing shall be done to prejudice the civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”)

19b) The manifestation grew so long that those at the end of it were shouting, instead of “Falyaskot wa’ad Beflour”, “Falyaskot wahad men fowk” (let a head from above topple) a proof if any was needed that the crowds only need a catalyst to join in – no matter what the manifestation is for (or against) and that slogans – through an “Indian telephone” system could be subverted as long as they phonetically rhyme.

20a) In a notorious incident, a commission of the delegates went to Kamel Assaad*’s father who was one of the most influential Shiite feudal lords (or dignitaries to put in mildly) in the South of Lebanon and asked him to build schools for their children, his retort was: “Kamel a’am yeta’alam a’ankon” (Kamel is studying on your behalf!) (*Kamel Assaad became speaker of the house after the parliamentary elections that preceded the war of 1975 and remained until the end of the self-prorogating law which lasted until the first post-war elections which included “nominations” of certain MPs).

20b) A banner for the Mehdi schools (schools backed by the Hizbullah) emphasizing that their students (mostly coming from Shiite underprivileged classes) have scored high on a national level (with one being first in her category in all of Lebanon).

21a) An undated article from Annahar newspaper (most likely going back to 2000) where the Israeli press gives Hassan Nasrallah (leader of the Hizbullah) chances of becoming president of the Lebanese republic now that the Shiite Moslems are going to ask for it (an impossibility since by constitution the president is Maronite Christian).

21b) Based on the idea by Haaretz columnist Bradley Burston following his article “Hassan Nasrallah for Prime Minister of Israel” which appeared in the Israeli press after the 2006 war, this is the photo of an imaginary election campaign for Nasrallah in Israel (overimposed on Benjamin Netenyahu’s own).

22 a) President Obama was notified by the hit team that “Geronimo EKIA” which translates into (Osama ben Laden) “Enemy Killed In Action.” Stickers and t-shirts were sold on the internet to celebrate the event.

22b) Another message “Geronimo IKEA” which translates into “I Kill Every Arab” which roughly translates the mood of the Arab street following the death of Ben Laden and the anti-American sentiment that keeps brewing – in addition it also translates the view that Al Qaeda was also killing Arab civilians in its operations.