Not sure how new these two bottles are but I spotted them today at the supermarket. I ended picking up a few Light bottles to try them out and they’re actually not bad. Best of all they have 38% less calories than the regular beer which is great.

The 113 points that Mouttahed basketball player Mohammad el-Akkari scored against Bejje will probably never make it to the Guinness book of records or any sport record, because the whole game was a scam. As you can read from this article, and from what I heard about the game, El-Akkari was simply standing on the 3-point line and his teammates kept passing him the ball while the Bejjeh players were standing still.

Added to that, the reason Bejjeh key players did not participate in the game is because they haven’t been paid for the past three months if not more. In such cases, the team should withdraw from the game not let in a bunch of inexperienced kids.

The funny part is that no one has a footage of that game, so we can’t even prove that he scored them and even LBCI was not there to film the game as it was an unimportant one. Let’s just hope this game won’t reflect negatively on our league.

I drove next to this garden for years without once entering it. It’s small and a bit dirty but beautiful. For some reason, both statues in the garden are beheaded (not sure if they were always like that).

The Saint Nicolas Garden is located on Avenue Charles Malek in the Tabaris neighborhood of the Achrafieh District, one of Beirut’s largest districts. The garden that opened in 1964 was designed by the Lebanese architect, Ferdinand Dagher.[1] The area of the garden is 22,000 square metres (240,000 sq ft)[2]. The garden, which faces the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Nicolas, was also named in honor of Saint Nicolas. [Wiki]

I think the municipality of Achrafieh should work on improving the garden and adding few benches. It doesn’t cost much and the street is full of financial institutions and companies that wouldn’t mind throwing a buck or two on a public garden.

It would be fun if they changed the note to “God is watching you through his CCTVs” or “اذا مفكّر الله ما بيشوفك بالليل صار عندو كاميرات”.

On a serious note, it’s quite shameful and sad to hear about all those churches being robbed lately.

[Source]

To sum up the article published today in Al-Akhbar newspaper, a Lebanese police officer in charge of guarding prisoners at Nabatieh’s justice palace raped on February 14th a Bengali woman behind bars and was only sentenced to 1 day by a local judge!

Fortunately though, after the Bengali woman was transferred to Baabda prison, the prison warden noticed the bruises on her body and asked her what happened. As a result, the case was reopened and Judge Sakr Sakr ordered to keep the officer detained until further notice. I am not sure if we should be happy about the outcome, because the officer will probably be released within few days or weeks and reinstated soon after, but it’s better than nothing.

The sad part is that the Bengali woman was jailed in the first place after she ran way from her employer for undefined reasons. Did anyone bother investigate if they were beating her? raping her?

Last but not least, why doesn’t anyone point out the name of the judge who sentenced the man to 1 day in the first place? It’s unacceptable that they stay in their position without any punishment.

In other related news, U.N. human rights experts on Tuesday urged the Lebanese government to investigate the death of an Ethiopian housemaid, named Alem Dechasa, who committed suicide a few days after she was beaten by a man in Beirut. [Naharnet]

I got this really cool invitation yesterday from Falamanki restaurant yesterday inviting me to the opening of Dekkenit el Falamanki on April 20th 2012 between 4 and 8 pm. The invitation came in the shape of a Wooden Spatula with the card wrapped around the top. It was also written in Lebanese and reading the names of the hosts made me laugh.

For those who don’t know it, Falamanki is a traditional Lebanese restaurant located in Sodeco. It has a large variety of Lebanese dishes and has a nice garden. You can check out more about it [Here].

As the story goes — and, to be honest, we’re having a tough time processing it ourselves, especially without video of some made shots — the 27-year-old Akkari, who had averaged just 7.6 points per game in the 23 games he’d previously played for Tripoli basketball club Mouttahed this season, scored 113 points on 40-of-69 shooting in a 173-141 win against Bejjeh in a Lebanese Division A League game. That total, which reportedly includes a ludicrous 32-of-59 mark from 3-point land, would FAR outstrip every single-game mark in the history of FIBA competition. [Link]

One of our readers (Gianni) posted a link to the story mentioned above in my previous post, so I called a friend of mine who plays for one of the Lebanese basketball teams to make sure it’s not a joke and it turned out to be true!

The game between Mouttahed and Bejjeh ended 173-141 and Akkari, who plays for Mouttahed, did indeed score a total of 113 points (32 of 59 3-pointers). However, what the article does not say is that Bejjeh’s key players did not participate in the game and it was more of a training session for Mouttahed. I don’t know what the reason behind Bejjeh not participating is but the Lebanese Basketball Federation should have stopped this game and let Mouttahed win 20-0. Akkari apparently was rehearsing his 3-pointers and barely made any effort on defense. That doesn’t mean he’s not a good player, but that’s now the way to make records as it’s harmful to the team and to the Lebanese league.

The fact that he averaged just 7.6 points in the last 23 games he played says a lot about this game and about how unprofessional Basketball in Lebanon has become.

The funny part is that the ticket dates back from October 2011 and it just appeared! How the hell do we know if there are others still pending?

My friend checks the ISF page every day and he just saw two speeding tickets back from July 2011!

[Source]

Prayers were said for the first time in decades in Sidon’s main synagogue Monday, as two rabbis visited what is now the house of Palestinian refugees and other Jewish sites in the city, drawing the surprise of locals. Rabbis Yisroel Dovid Weiss and Alter Vaskhkal from the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta International movement toured the city years after the last of Sidon’s known Lebanese Jews left, entering what was once a synagogue in the former Jewish neighborhood of the old city. [DailyStar]

Even though I am from a village close to Saida and I know the city pretty well, I didn’t know there was a synagogue there. I did some research and there’s apparently four synagogues in Lebanon, one in Beirut being renovated, one in Sidon and one in Aley. I couldn’t find any reference to the fourth one.

Beirut’s synagogue is located in Wadi abou Jamil quarter and its renovation, funded majorly by the tiny Jewish community of Lebanon and also by Solidere has begun in 2010. [Link]

For those interested, I found some really old pictures of Synagogues and Jewish neighborhoods that you can check [Here]. There’s also a YouTube video on the jews of Lebanon that you can watch [Here].

I think it’s really important that we preserve such monuments despite our ever-lasting conflict with the so-called Jewish state.

Jal el Dib residents held a sit-in at the location of the dismantled bridge of Jal el-Dib to protest the lack of an alternative for traffic [Naharnet]. They have been blocking the road for an hour and 15 minutes now but according to MTV, the police started opening the roads just now (8:14am).

I honestly can’t blame them and I would do the same, even if it upsets Lebanese going down that road. Jal el Dib needs its vital bridge and it’s the Jal el Dib residents’ right to demand an alternative for the dismantled bridge.

You can check their FB group [Here].

Can’t believe we messed up this beautiful bay!

The Zouk power plant was already there.

For more old pictures of all Lebanese regions, check [Here].

Thanks Boudz – via plus961

[Source]

[YouTube]

I’ve been to MAD twice in the past 2 weeks and I must say it’s one of the best indoor clubs I’ve been to lately. It’s spacious and very nice from the inside, has good music and its location is adequate for all.

In fact, I used to worry about its location (Nahr el Mot seaside) as there’s no parking space and I hate giving my car to the Valet, but I was informed by a friend that I can park my car on the side of the road and pay the Valet 5000LL (There’s some agreement between MAD valet parking company and the police). Added to that, they opened a new parking lot next to MAD where anyone can park and it fits up to 600-700 cars if not more. Traffic-wise, there’s not much at the moment but things will get worse during the summer.

The club from the inside is divided into two main areas, with the bar in the middle surrounded by small tables and high chairs, and then on the left and right sides small lounges on a more elevated level. Once it gets crowded, you can barely stand though and it could get a bit uncomfortable but that’s how it is in all night clubs in Lebanon with few exceptions such as Buddha bar where you really have your own space.

I had a funny incident the first time I went there. It was around midnight and the place was already full. My friends’ table was on the left side overlooking the middle area, so I headed there and put my stuff on the small couch. As I was talking to some friends around the table facing the couch, I thought of pouring myself a drink, but then I saw a guy giving me the weird looks. Turns out I was pouring from someone else’s table even though all my friends were around it! I apologized to the other table but that’s just to tell you how crowded it could get. We were around 20-25 on a table that could barely fit 5 seated people.

The music is a mixture of house music, followed by commercial pop & RnB songs remixed, with old remixed songs in between. Things pick up around 12:30/1am up until 4/5am. Added to that, and similarly to White, sexy female dancers entertain the crowd for around half an hour by dancing on the bar. [See Video above]

Money-wise, you will end up paying between 75-100$ per person if you have a table and around 50$ or maybe less if you find a spot on the bar without reservation.

Mad club is located on Nahr El Mot-Seaside Road, right before Pier7 if you are heading towards Jounieh. You can reserve by calling this number: 03 060090.

Zooming in …

Via Chahe