Articles From "The Monthly"

ESOMAR, the world organization for opinion and market research, held a seminar “The Role of Opinion Polling in the Election Process” in Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel on Tuesday 6th December 2011.

The seminar was under the patronage of former Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and with the participation of ESOMAR Secretary General Venn Roney, former Director of Surveys at CBS News Kathleen Frankovic, Founder and Director of Strategic Communication Consultancy (S2C) Mr. Ramsay Najjar and Founder and Managing Partner of Information International SAL Mr. Jawad Adra. The representative of ESOMAR in Lebanon Dr. Tarek Ammar introduced the participants to an audience of roughly 70 people including researchers, scholars and representatives of research and statistical analysis firms.

Mr. Adra’s speech included the following:

ورد عن مركز أنور السادات ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) في الثالث والعشرين من نوفمبر عام 2011 التالي: “أصدر الدكتور شبلي تلحمي، وهو أستاذ في مركز أنور السادات في جامعة ماريلاند ورئيس غير مقيم في مركز سابان في معهد بروكنغز نتائج الاستطلاع السنوي الذي أقامته جامعة ماريلاند حول الرأي العام العربي عام 2011 والذي ركز على مصر واليقظة العربية. ويمكن الحصول على النتائج الصادرة عن هذا الاستطلاع عبر زيارة الموقع التالي: http://sadat.umd.edu

ونستعرض فيما يلي أبرز النتائج التي تم الوصول إليها:

الانتخابات المصرية

تؤمن أكثرية الشعب المصري (43%) أن المجلس العسكري الحاكم في مصر اليوم يعمل على إبطاء أو عكس الانجازات التي حققتها الثورة في حين يؤمن 21% أن المجلس يسعى إلى تحسين هذه الإنجازات ويعتبر 14% أن السلطات العسكرية غير مبالية بما يجري.

يشير نحو ثلث المصريين إلى أنهم يميلون إلى التصويت لحزب إسلامي في الانتخابات البرلمانية.

أما فيما يتعلق بالمرشحين المصريين للرئاسة، ينال عمر موسى دعم 21% من المستطلعين ويليه كل من محمد البرادعي وأحد شفيق.

The Constitutional Council is among the most recent bodies that came to light in 1993 following the 1989 Taif Agreement.

Establishment

The National Reconciliation Accord known as the Taif Agreement introduced a series of political, administrative and judiciary reforms including the establishment of a constitutional council responsible for interpreting the constitution, reviewing the constitutionality of laws and arbitrating conflicts that arise from parliamentary and presidential elections. The President, Speaker, Prime Minister and a number of MPs (10) were granted the right to turn to the Council and religious leaders were accorded a similar privilege whenever concerns pertaining to religion and personal status emerge.

The Monthly held in “Al- Muntada” conference room, on the third of November, 2011 a reception in honor of the magazine’s readers. In attendance, were highly prolific figures from social and political arenas.

Mr. Jawad Adra, executive partner of Information International which publishes The Monthly, highlighted that this reception is an opportunity for the magazine’s readers and friends to get acquainted with each other, noting that The Monthly will hold a larger celebration in February 2012 on the occasion of its one hundredth Arabic issue. Mr. Adra stressed that the magazine does not express any personal opinions, but rather conveys the reality through accurate figures and statistics that lay the foundation for a reliable scientific research. For this reason, the magazine has gained wide popularity and was held in high regard among readers and researchers. Afterwards, Mrs. Ghida Margie Fakih presented a summary of the phases the magazine went through since its first English issue in 2002 and Arabic issue in 2003. Mrs. Margie also shed light on the various topics discussed in the magazine and underlined the progress it made in both, form and content. At the end of the reception, the attendees filled out a questionnaire designed to evaluate the magazine and suggest ways to improve it. Hereafter are some photos of the audience, noting that many invitees who arrived late were not photographed.

 To View the photos. Click here

Etymology: In his book “Name of Lebanese Towns and Villages”, Aniss Freiha mentions that the origin of the name Jaj dates back to the Syriac and Hebrew word “gag” which means the summit, the crest and the rooftop. The town was probably given the name “Jaj” for its high altitude.

Location: Jaj is located in the Qada’a of Jbeil in the Mount Lebanon Mohafaza at an altitude of 1220m above sea level. The village lies 65 km from Beirut and 25 km from the Qada’a center in Jbeil. It spreads across 1169 hectares.

مشـــروع وزير العمل شربل نحاس للتغطيـــة الصحيــة

الشاملــة -

بيروت في -13 أيلول 2011

و

التقريـر عن نتــائج أعمــال لجنة المؤشر وتوصياتها -

بيروت في 8 تشرين أول 2011

مشـــروع التغطيـــة الصحيــة الشاملــة

انطلاقا مما ورد في البيان الوزاري عن وجوب «تصحيح النمط الاقتصادي القائم، واعادة الاعتبار الى مداخيل الانتاج مقارنة بمداخيل الريع، وتكريس الوظيفة الاجتماعية للدولة، وتثبيت منظومة الحقوق الاجتماعية للمواطنين، واستحداث صيغ جديدة توفر التغطية الصحية الاساسية للمواطنين جميعا»،

The Social and Cultural Development Association (INMA) held in its conference room “Al-Muntada” in Beirut, a workshop for 12 Iranian journalists on “Media and Human Rights” from the 26th till the 30th of September 2011.

-  Journalist Sanaa al-Jack held discussions with the participants throughout the 5 days over the Iranian media practices with regard to laws and human rights. She also highlighted the obstacles faced as well as the facilities and means necessary to promote further media openness and state and self-censorship. Al-Jack drew attention to the stereotyping exchanged between the East and the West and accentuated the media approach towards religious, sectarian and ethnic issues that spark controversy. The participants shared their experiences and drew the similarities and differences between Iranian media on one hand and Lebanese and Arab and International media on the other.

The Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon WU Zexian held on the 26th of September 2011 a reception ceremony at the Phenicia hotel on the occasion of the Chinese National Day on one hand and the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomacy relationships between Lebanon and China on the second. The Monthly conducted an interview with WU Zexian and inquired about his resume and the relationships between the two countries.

A massive explosion blasted in Beirut on 14 February 2005 claiming the lives of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 other people besides the suicide bomber. Right after the assassination, security forces and judicial authorities initiated immediate investigations to bring the perpetrators and their accomplices to justice and confer punishment upon them as supposedly happens in any state. Soon after the explosion, many voiced their distrust in the Lebanese judicial and security authorities and called for an international investigation commission which would refer the case to an international judiciary system through the International Criminal Tribunal or the establishment of a special tribunal for Lebanon. Consequently, a fact-finding mission was dispatched to Lebanon and an international investigation commission was set up, leading eventually to the establishment of the international tribunal. The commission issued reports highlighting the ongoing progress in uncovering the truth. Mehlis, Brammertz, and Bellmare reports featured contradictive contents that politicized and personalized the truth. However, the final word remains that of the international tribunal.

FitzGerald’s report: Syria responsible for pre-assassination tension

قضايا ومواضيع كثيرة تستحوذ على اهتمام وتشغل بال اللبنانيين؛ من الوضع الحكومي إلى الوضع في سورية وقانون الانتخابات النيابية وسلاح حزب الله والمحكمة الدولية.

حول هذه المواضيع وغيرها استطلعت الدولية للمعلومات، “Information International” في الفترة ما بين 25 آب - 27 آب 2011، بواسطة الهاتف، رأي عينة من 500 لبناني توزعوا وفقاً لحجم التمثيل الطائفي والمناطقي ومختلف الشرائح العمرية والجندرية.

الحكومة والالتزام بالبيان الوزاري: 45% لن تلتزم

تعتقد أكثرية 45% من المستطلعين أن الحكومة اللبنانية الحالية لن تلتزم وتنفذ جميع ما ورد في بيانها الوزاري، يخالفهم 40% ويعتقدون بأنها ستلتزم بنود البيان، وأجاب 15% لا أعرف.

وفي توزع الإجابات تبعاً للطائفة فان 61% من المستطلعين الشيعة يعتقدون أن الحكومة ستلتزم بالبيان الوزاري مقابل فقط 22% من السنة، 33% من الموارنة وترتفع النسبة إلى 46% لدى كل من الأرثوذكس والدروز ويتساوى الموقف لدى الكاثوليك (35%).