A Lebanese company called DoubleU S.A.L has developed two Itunes applications that provide information on any Lebanese citizen, including his first name, family name, father’s name, marital status, full home address, financial debt status and lots of other information for only 6.99$. [App1, App2]

All you need to query is one’s mobile number or car plate.

Copying or stealing databases is a direct violation of the Lebanese Penal Code. The only people who can legally solicit this information are the police or judicial authorities. “Therefore, any kind of usage of this information…is strictly illegal,” states Dr. Toni Issa, lawyer and president of the IT Committee for the Beirut Bar Association. [NowLebanon]

I personally know many people who have access to those MS Access databases, which are regularly stolen from the authorities and put on a cd and distributed around. I join here BloggingBeirut’s call to all privacy advocates in Lebanon to spread the message on this unethical behavior and serious breach of privacy.

Here is more information about the company, Double U SAL:

Ziad Salameh
DoubleU S.A.L
81St. George Bld. – Maarad Str.
Nejmeh Square , Beirut, Downtown, Beirut 00961 Lebanon
(961) 198-8883

During the summer, i turn on the AC most of the time, so i don’t really smell anything on the maritime road, but now is this time of year where it’s too cold to turn on the AC and too hot to close the windows. This is where you get to enjoy the smells of the various part of the maritime road, all sponsored by our loving and caring ministry of tourism.

In Part 1 as shown above, you have the Garbage Mountain smell, a unique and breathtaking (literaly) smell.

In Part 2, there was a bubble gum smell yesterday. I have no clue where it came from but it was there.

In Part 3, you get to smell rotten fish and last but not least in Part 4, you have all the Matn sewers being dropped into the sea.

Of course the concerned officials made sure there’s traffic at any time anyday on this road in order for us to embrace the smells well.

I spotted this bus the other day but could not take a picture of it in the middle of traffic. Good thing Beirut Drive-by Shooting caught it.

I was reading about this two days ago, and it apparently took place today. We officially have another Guinness World record, the biggest handprint painting measuring 4,600 square meters created by youth members of the Lebanese Red Cross. [Naharnet]

If we put the largest Hummus bowl, Tabboule bowl and largest wine glass on the painting, we will have the biggest picnic blanket ever.

So he did, after 65 days of hard work Michel ended up looking like a Spartan on Halloween! You can check out his costume pictures [Here] and also watch an interview with him on MTV [Here]

Amazing!

I had this banned Lebanese movie for a while now and haven’t seen it until yesterday.

What a crappy movie that was! No plot, no proper acting, no proper footage, no nothing!

I had the uncensored version and the whole controversy done on this movie was about the main actress Joanna Andraos, playing a prostitute called Souraya, showing her breast at two or three occasions.

What annoyed me the most about this movie is that i could not relate to anything that happens that often in Lebanon.
- A prostitute who has a gay friend and likes to do threesomes with rich customers.
- A beggar who gives away all his money to buy a gun and kill whomever tried to kill his prostitute friend.
- A businessman who is preoccupied with killing the prostitute.
- A poor fat taxi driver who breaks into rich houses to take a bath (They show us his ass as well).
- A gay guy who has no problem kissing other guys in night clubs and in front of everyone.

And the list goes on and on …

Honestly, i think this is the worst movie i saw this year, right after “Lebanon“, that Israeli-made movie that is also really bad and boring as hell.