Ever since they fixed Zouk Mosbeh’s industrial road, I’ve been spotting banners asking to stop installing a concrete mixer in the area as it will cause more pollution and is a threat on people’s lives.

There are also banners stating that it is a threat on the NDU students as well.

Does anyone know where is that concrete mixer going to be placed? And why are they making a big fuss out of it?

For all I know, Zouk Mosbeh is a hopeless case as it has large industrial areas and initiatives should have been taken long time ago by the municipality and local MPs to stop polluting the area.

An expired website and probably stolen alloy rims, best business ever.

But not to the extent of covering the rear car window with Leb army backgrounds!

PS: I think Lebanon is the only country in the world where people hang army chiefs’ posters on their cars or on the walls.

Didn’t know Mar Elias was in the water transportation business. Sounds like a smart marketing idea to sell “blessed” water since religion is in almost every aspect of our daily lives in Lebanon, even when it comes to sandals.

That looks like quite the challenge but Salma Hayek seems committed to making it work. [Read More]

According to Marwan Charbel, the new Minister of Interior, the security situation in Lebanon is excellent and the best in the Middle East and that the minor incidents happening are common and there’s no reason for Lebanese not to feel safe. [Source]

Aside from the purely “personal” conflict few weeks back in Antelias that involved C4 explosives and killed two people, here’s a list of what happened this week (Noting that Sunday incidents were not yet reported).

1- A fight erupted in Tyr between Naji Tohme and Hamadeh Al Kott and his brothers and gun shots were heard. Maryam AL Jamal and her mother in law were injured as a result.

2- An old dispute between the Abou Assman and Ghazi families in the Bekaa turned into a gunfight leaving 17 injured. Light machine guns were used.

3- A dispute over a generator in Sad el Bouchrieh led to a gunfight using light machine guns, leaving 7 people injured. 6 people were at least involved in the shooting.

4- In Baalbeck, a family dispute over a piece of land turned into a bloody gunfight, killing 6 members of the same family and injuring two.

5- In the town of Ali Al Nahri, a fight between two brothers led to a gunfight leaving one of the brothers and a citizen passing by injured. A pump-action gun was among the weapons used.

6- In Hermel, a dispute between an army man and three other people led to one person injured.

7- Last but not least, members of the Khanssa family decided to block the main road on Saturday night by lighting up tires because a man accused of shooting one of their family members was not yet arrested.

All in all, 6 disputes involving the use of machine guns and light machine guns, leaving 6 people killed and tens of them injured. I don’t know about you people, but I don’t see how we can call the security situation as being excellent in Lebanon. Seems to me everyone is armed to the teeth and impatient to try out his new weapons.

Spotted the sign above before the bridge in the middle of the highway near City Mall. Traffic Local? The correct English is “Local Traffic” but that still doesn’t mean inside road which is what the Arabic translates to.

Accidents happen, but this cop car has been parked in Gemmayzeh since August 16! I can’t say I’m surprised that the car is in this condition. None of the cop cars in Lebanon are in good shape.

The traffic you see in the picture is because another cop car (Nissan Pathfinder) had a dead battery and was blocking the road…

Update: I just looked at the picture again and it’s obvious that the cop in the passenger seat was not wearing his seat belt… tsk tsk tsk

Residents in the neighborhoods of Ain al-Remmaneh and Furn al-Chebbek have forced a bargain retail store in Beirut to close its doors after they protested against “controversial” merchandise sold there. Ali Fakih, a Shia Muslim, was forced to shut down his Big Sale store because he was selling sandals (pictured above) adorned with the Christian cross. [NowLebanon]

I am not sure why would the owner of a bargain store gets sandals with crosses on them on purpose and ruin his business. He probably did not pay much attention to his merchandise. I hope that people will calm down and realize they are taking things way out of proportion.

Lebanon-based Birdy Nam Nam launches a new version of their iPhone app game today, an answer to the extremely popular “Angry Birds”– in Arabic. While you may remember the clever video that referenced Angry Birds in light of the Arab Spring, transforming Arab dictators- Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gaddafi- into pigs that the birds tried to oust, Birdy Nam Nam offers a different take that is no less addictive.

The game was created by two Lebanese brothers, Lebnan & Arz Nader, as well as Jean-Christophe Hoelt. It was downloaded more than 300,000 times since its launch. [Article]

I don’t know why they are comparing it to Angry Birds. It’s a whole different game with different rules. I gave it a try yesterday and it’s not that great.

I visited Maki restaurant last week for the first time since two months or maybe more and I was in for many surprises.

1- They added mirrors on the wall which used to be empty before. It looks much nicer now.

2- Their menus are on iPads now instead of the endless booklet we were handed before. As you can see in the picture above, the menu’s sorted into categories making it very easy to choose from.

3- Last but not least, they changed the whole dessert menu and introduced new items. I tried the Tiramisu and the Chocolate Fondant and they were delicious. I was told there’s a new dessert called Beirut in Maki Kuwait branches but it was not available.

Aside from those changes, food is still as good as always, and customer service is excellent.

Looks like it wasn’t all work and no play for Richard Quest. CNN just aired a segment on the Beirut Night Life scene covered by Richard Quest. Pretty cool. [YouTube]

Thanks Caline

You gotta adapt… Horses can’t play polo in the sand! You gotta use camels for that!

Spotted at Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia

Knowing that Halabi Restaurant is still open elsewhere and is a competitor to Karam, isn’t it weird that they put “Previously Halabi” to indicate its address?