If you go to City Mall anytime soon, make sure to pass by Chantilly’s Chocolate Christmas crib. It is really big and very nicely done.

Rehearsing for war?

Stamping money is a very Lebanese thing. Some companies use invisible ink, others stamp and sign the bills. Most people hold up the bills against the light, some scratch them. I never understood scratching; I understand that there are different textures to a bill, but scratching it with your nail? What the hell does that show you??

Have you ever tried exchanging a stamped 100$ bill abroad? Not easy to get rid of!

This reminds me of a story that has nothing to do with this topic. A couple of years ago I got back a counterfeit 10,000LL bill from a restaurant. I only realized it when I got back home. The janitor of our building told me that he’d take it and that he knew how to spend it without getting caught. Since going back to the restaurant and arguing with no proof was gonna be a complete waste of time, I decided to cut my losses, and hand him the bill. It cost me a 135$ to bail him out of jail… He tried spending the money in a mini market. The owner beat the living crap out of him and THEN called the police, who also knocked some sense into him (literally, I think the cop’s fist was called “sense”)

Anyway, stop stamping money!

The Lebanese army succeeded on Sunday in releasing Ahmed Zeidan, the owner of Liban Lait who was kidnapped on Wednesday. He was found in the outskirts of the town of Brital in the Bekaa, reported Future News on Sunday.[Naharnet]

I think it’s time the Lebanese army surrounds Brital and keeps checkpoints around it until all the criminals are caught. If they are able to go in and arrest the kidnappers then they have the political green light to go ahead and finish off with those gangs.

Her father is Egyptian/Italian and her mother is Lebanese. Lara was a semi-finalist on the Lebanese reality talent competition Star Academy during the 6th season. [Wiki]

Crappy song.

Spotted by a friend in London.

After reading what he did to the girl, it’s clear that this guy is a disturbed human being.

May she rest in peace.

Spotted near Mat7af.

The cabinet on Wednesday approved a wage increase decree other than that proposed by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, amid the objection of Free Patriotic Movement ministers.[Naharnet]

I think the Mikati plan is more reasonable than the Nahhas one as it only increases minimum wage by 100,000LL and specifies reasonable wage increases in 2 different ranges.

Increases per ranges are as follows:
Under 1 Million => 30% increase
(200,000 maximum amount allowed)

Over 1 Million => 20% increase
(275,000 maximum amount allowed)

Nahhas wanted to raise the minimum wage even more ( Up to 1,200,000 LL) and also pushed to “authorize the government to pay National Social Security Fund sickness and maternity fees” and “adding the proposed transportation and education allowances to the basic salaries.” [Link]

Spotted at Zalka. What is that supposed to be?

[YouTube]

Lebanon scored 40.530 during the third quarter of 2011, ranking 14th on a regional basis and 222nd on a global basis, slipping from the 190th global place it occupied in the second quarter of 2011 (score: 29.869) and the 174th place in the first quarter of 2011 (score: 43.215).[Link]

The indexes rank all countries and territories based on how they are perceived in leading international media, published quarterly and annually. This report is done by East West Communications, a leading Washington-based company developing nation branding indexes and reports.

This is almost as worse as our internet ranking even though I am a bit surprised by it. We can’t be that bad!

Kuwait ranked first among Arab countries, followed by the UAE & Qatar.

I haven’t been able to check my balance and 3G consumption for 3 days now. It looks like one heck of a maintenance!

Not only we have to endure the December traffic nowadays, but car accidents seem to be increasing dramatically. Yesterday, a truck flipped on the Jal el Dib highway spilling oil everywhere. Today, I saw 3 accidents on my way to work and spotted this car on fire on the bridge linking Dekwaneh to Achrafieh.

This driver’s unlucky but I feel like all Lebanese are in panic mode these days. Badna nrou2!