Today is a historical day for the Lebanese and the Maronites specifically as the Vatican has agreed to place a statue of Mar Maroun on its external wall. It will be the 12th and last statue. [YouTube]

Our Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, President Michel Suleiman and a number of politicians have traveled to Rome on Tuesday to participate in the ceremony at St Peter’s square.

Male hair stylists in Gaza are now under threat. A new order from Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, says any man who cuts a woman’s hair will face legal consequences.
For women who wear the hijab, or headscarf, Islamic tradition forbids showing their hair to men who are not related. But hair stylists were never a problem for Hamas–until now [Source]

This “stupid” decision was taken last year and implemented now. Come to think of it, the great majority of hair stylists for women are men, at least in Lebanon. Imagine this law is implemented here, we will probably have women protesting all over the country.

I wonder what’s next? Ban women from sleeping next to walls because walls are male? Oh wait, the Taliban have already beaten Hamas to that lol.

I was listening to Mix FM like half an hour ago when they had some competition going on and the question was: What is the largest man-made structure in the world?

The correct answer is not the Great Wall of China as Simon said but is the Fresh kills, the rubbish dump on Staten Island, New York.

I demand that winners be disqualified and blogbaladi compensated for having the right answer! (Not sure though what the prize was in the first place).

Nevertheless, I never thought there’s a dump bigger than the Karantina one. This is utterly disgusting! But of course unlike our dear government, the American government has plans to turn it into a park and ordered its complete shutdown few years back.

There are many funny things in this picture:

1- Watch the small blue sign next to Road Runner snack that specifies special parking lots for the chief of police and some officers.

2- A shop selling clothes having a Valentine pinkish decoration and called Spartakus.

3- the Mercedes SL parked in front of the special parking lots for the chief of police. If this is what the Burj Hammoud chief of police earns, then I want to apply.

Roadster diner introduced proudly their low-cal menu two or three weeks ago and even though it looks delicious and isn’t that bad, the pricing is just unacceptable!

Check out those two burgers, one from the original menu and another from the newly introduced low-cal menu:

P.L.T: Patty, Lettuce and Tomatoes. (7000 LBP)

Ever Slim Burger: Grilled Patty, Lettuce, Grilled onions, Tomatoes, pickles and our Low-cal sauce. (11750 LBP)

The only difference is the onions and the pickles and the low-cal sauce. Do those amount to 4750 Liras?

I was thinking the other day how Chili’s was the most expensive diner in town and is now more affordable than Roadster and many other diners and have much bigger portions.

I hope something is done about those prices in Roadster because I am starting to think twice before going and I am sure many are doing the same, not that I cannot afford it, but it is just not worth it.

I could understand the Mercedes SL but a handicapped driving a motorcycle?? Really?

Thanks Amin!

Not only one has problems finding trustworthy mechanics in this country, but you cannot even rely on an electrician to fix your radio.

I am having problems with my car radio, whereas the sound is just going off for no reason and randomly. After asking around, I went to a place in Dekwaneh that is assumingly good. I told him what my problem was and he told me he needs 3 hours to figure out what’s wrong, as it could be from the Amplifier, the radio, the CD box or the cabling.

He then took out his Mercedes scanner, which is surprisingly found at most mechanics even though it should cost a fortune, and started checking out the defects. Some 20 minutes ( 3a 2asses 3 hours) later, he unplugs the cd box and takes it out and tells me to drive around for a bit and let him know if the problem persists. Ten minutes later, I come back and tell him the problem is still there.

Next thing he does is take out the radio as well and put a used one he had and asks me to try it and get back to him on Monday.

The radio he put worked fine and I came back on Monday to see what happened with my radio. He tells me the radio processor is messed up (processor is screwed) and can’t be fixed; therefore I have to change it. I ask him how much does a new one cost and he answers back 130$.

Afterwards, I asked him to put everything back in place and told him I will get back to him as I wasn’t convinced about this whole processor thing. Funny thing is that as he was putting the cd box back, all the cds were not in place, turns out he was playing my cds on his stereo!

That was 3 weeks ago, since then my radio started working normally with few cuts from time to time and the cd box which was working fine is disfunctional now!

There is another guy which I was told about in Beirut which I will give a try next.

Is it so damn hard for Lebanese to do their jobs properly without cheating or stealing? All I want is a professional who doesn’t charge me some 800$ for a new radio like the Mercedes garage does in Lebanon or messes up my radio and cd box like this guy did.

[Picture from plus961.com]

If you think those heavy rains we are experiencing are normal, think again. According to Professor John Pomeroy, who was on a visit to Lebanon, “Lebanon must brace for more heavy rains and storms, coupled with long periods of drought and water shortages as the affects of global warming continue to take their toll.” [Source]

In few words, it is crucial that we start implementing an efficient and long-term water management plan because the majority of Lebanon’s water comes from underground aquifers which are refilled annually by melting snowfall. Therefore, if it keeps on raining and doesn’t snow anymore, our water reserves will be exhausted and we will have a major water shortage problem.

You will never experience such a thing except probably in Lebanon.

There is a storm in Lebanon nowadays but it’s a natural one, meaning heavy rains and violent winds and that’s about it. Meanwhile, political storms are taking most of the countries around us. I never thought a day would come where our country is relatively calm and stable and the Arab countries around us have such problems. Let’s just hope we are not in the calm before the storm period and stay that way.

I’ve been following up a little bit and there are things happening that are more than horrible, mainly in Libya where people are getting shot at, or in Iran where violent riots are erupting as we speak. Everyone is just going crazy!

Along with the largest cross in the world, the largest monument dedicated to Jesus Sacred Heart is now being built in the district of Shouf, considered the ancient capital of Mount Lebanon. The monument is some 57 meters (187 ft) tall.

CNN iReport has more information on this project.

I was out washing my car in the morning when I could not help but notice three cars with the same exact number parked there. Two were Nissan Xtrails with tinted windows and one GMC envoy. It is simply ridiculous how easy it is for politicians to just put wrong plates on all their cars for “security reasons”. I wanted to take more pictures of every plate but the drivers/bodyguards/militiamen/hitmen were giving me the looks.

“Khalifeh has taken an important decision to revoke the investment license of the factory owned by Zein al-Atat, which is located in Dbayyeh,” said Majdalani after the meeting.[Source]

This should have been done from the start, unfortunately he was supported by a politician who doesn’t give a damn about the Lebanese’s well being.

Via BeirutSpring

I ended up going again to Mrs. Robinson to attend the meeting and I decided to give their burger a try; so I ordered the Swiss Mushroom Burger and I was honestly a bit dissapointed.

The bun was very average but the major turn off was the patty. It tasted funny and wasn’t juicy at all and relatively small. Something was just wrong with it and I wasn’t the only one to notice it. I should have ordered the famous strawberry salad instead.

BlogBaladi featured in the Communicate Levant Edition Magazine in its February 2010 edition. This is the second time we are mentioned in the Blogosphere section of the magazine.