I’ve been hearing about such studies for the past 10 years and still nothing has been done to extract that gas. Maybe it’s better if it remains buried as I have a feeling it will only bring us trouble.
An international firm has estimated the volume of gas in Lebanon’s south-west corner to be close to 25 trillion cubic feet, valued by experts to be worth over $40 billion.
“In the 3,000 square kilometers we are covering in the south-west corner of Lebanon, near the borders of Cyprus and Israel, an initial assessment [indicates] there may be 25 trillion cubic feet of gas,” David Rowlands, chief executive of Britain-based Geo Ltd. Spectrum Company CEO, told The Daily Star Friday. [Link]
Our dear Energy Minister Gebran Bassil “said the initial survey by Spectrum suggested that one of several blocks in the area contains a potential 12 trillion cubic feet of gas that could meet Lebanon’s electricity production needs for 99 years”, but what he did not tell us is how many years do we have to wait before this happens?
Forget the armed groups kidnappings citizens all over Lebanon…
Forget the armed militiamen firing at each other killing innocent people in the process …
Forget the criminals, thieves and rapists …
Forget the thugs burning tires and blocking roads …
Forget the fanatics burning down KFC, Hardees and a bunch of other shops …
Forget all those minor threats to our security and meet those behind the insecurity in Lebanon:
Approximately seven activists from the Chaml civil rights group took to Parliament Street this morning dressed in wedding attire and holding placards calling for the passing of a non-religious personal status law, aka civil marriage law. Their demands were met by the same reaction. They were arrested, beaten and humiliated with one of them being subjected to sexual harassment with a use of a rifle. [Link]
Judge Nadim Zwein prohibited on Monday the airing of the anti-Islam film, Innocence of Muslims, in Lebanon due to its “great offense” to Islam. The decision was made after it was found that the movie contained several scenes that are considered to be offensive. [Link]
The place is still the same, the atmosphere is great and I had a lot of fun, but I think 60$ is a bit too much specially that the buffet is small and food is average. I mean I had to wait at least 20-30 minutes at the grill to get a small piece of steak and an undercooked chicken breast.
Maybe it’s better if they charge us the 60$ and let waiters bring us drinks and food. Nevertheless, I still think it’s a great place to spend your Sunday at and would probably go one more time before it closes down mid-October.
I went yesterday to Rikky’s in Faqra-Kfardebian and the whole road from Zouk to Kfardebian was paved with new asphalt. It was the smoothest ride I’ve had in ages to Faraya.
It looks like some candidates have already started their electoral campaigns!
I was leaving the house this morning when I got a phone call from Xcite, a local electronics store here in Kuwait letting me know they received the new iPhone 5 and if I was interested in picking it up to check it out. Luckily traffic wasn’t that bad and I was over at their head office 15 minutes later picking up the phone.
The new iPhone 5 looks smaller than my iPhone 4s even though it’s taller. It looks very slick and slim while the iPhone 4s which I didn’t have a problem with an hour ago now looks pretty bulky sitting next to the iPhone 5 on my desk. I have the black iPhone 5 with me which is black all over including the side trimming which is what is also helping the iPhone 5 look smaller than it actually is.
Even though I was expecting the iPhone 5 to be light based on the reviews I read online, I wasn’t expecting it to feel this much lighter than the 4s. It’s really the first thing that grabbed my attention when I picked it up and it kinda feels like the phone is hollow on the inside. The second thing that grabbed my attention was the aluminum back of the phone. To me it doesn’t look or feel like aluminum but more like a plastic. I think it’s because I was expecting the metal to have some sort of texture which is doesn’t.
The iPhone 5 uses a new nano sim card which non of the Lebanese telecom providers have released yet. So right the now the only way to get the iPhone 5 working is by cutting up and sanding down your sim card to the size of the nano card. It’s not that difficult to do and you can watch the video below to see how.
LBCI: The army detained Hassan Karaki, also known as Antar, after he opened fire at an army patrol in Beirut’s southern suburbs of al-Ghobairi on Friday.
Myriam Klink is not very happy about it and vowed vengeance.
Here’s a link to the song Antar in case you missed it [YouTube].
I don’t want to sound too optimistic but I’ve been noticing an improvement in the security situation in Lebanon recently, especially after the ISF and Lebanese Army were given a sort of “green light” to go after kidnappers and criminals. We all thought the situation is going to explode after the Pope leaves but surprisingly the army & ISF are now raiding previously “forbidden” areas, freeing hostages and capturing all criminals and terrorists.
I had posted two days ago about Youssef Bechara, the owner of Bechara Bakeries, who was kidnapped and taken to Dahieh where his family had to pay 400,000$ to get him back. Well one of the kidnappers was arrested yesterday and 380,600$ were given back to Bechara’s family. [Link]
Like I said at first, I don’t want to sound too optimistic but I think the security situation cannot but improve if there are no obstacles preventing the Lebanese Security Forces from doing their job to the fullest.
Here’s a great promotional film about the Lebanon Mountain Trail done by Dana Smillie.
For those of you who missed it, Caroline Brooks will be hiking the full length of the Lebanon Mountain Trail in just 17 days from Monday 24 September to Wednesday 10 October to raise money to support the AMAR International Charitable Foundation and Her Centre. [Link]
Caroline Brooks will be hiking the full length of the Lebanon Mountain Trail in just 17 days from Monday 24 September to Wednesday 10 October to raise money to support the AMAR International Charitable Foundation and Her Centre. The Lebanon Mountain Trail is the first long-distance hiking trail in Lebanon which extends from Al-Qbaiyat in the north to Marjaayoun in the south. It is a 440 km (275 mile) trail that passes through more than 75 towns and villages at altitudes ranging from 600 to 2,000 metres (2,000 – 6,500 feet) above sea level and usually takes 26 days to complete.
Caroline’s aim is to raise 20,000 pounds to be split equally between Amar Foundation and Her Centre. Amar Foundation is a charity working in medicine, health, education and basic need provision within refugee and other communities living under stress in Lebanon and Iraq. [Link]
Caroline will be needing a suitable accommodation along her trip, so if you happen to know anyone who lives in any of the villages she will be passing by, or know of anyone / any guesthouses that might be willing to host Caroline for the evening, you can contact Rima Baasiri on 03 600 631.
Here’s the list of villages she will passing by:
23/09 Qbaiyat
24/09 Tashea
25/09 Qemmamine
26/09 Sir ed Danniyé
27/09 Ehden
28/09 Bcharre
29/09 Hasroun
30/09 Tannourine el Fawqa
01/10 Aqoura
02/10 Hrajel
03/10 Kfar Aaqab
04/10 Mtain
05/10 Ain Zhalta
06/10 Barouk
07/10 Jezzine
08/10 Kawkaba Bou Arab
09/10 Hasbaiya
Walk with Caroline
For those of you who wish to join Caroline on a particular journey, you can contact Farah Haddad in Lebanon on 03 116 275. Here’s the trek itinerary:
Monday – 24 Sept – Qbaiyat – Akkar el Atiqa – Tashea 20km (moderate to difficult)
Tuesday – 25 Sept – Tashea – Fnaydeq – Michmich – Qemmamine – 21km (moderate to difficult)
Wednesday – 26 Sept – Qemmamine – Kfar Bnine – Sir ed Danniye – 30km (moderate)
Thursday – 27 Sept – Sir ed Danniye – Ehden – 23km (difficult)
Friday – 28 Sept – Ehden – Wadi Qannoubine – Bcharre – 19km (moderate to difficult)
Saturday – 29 Sept – Bacharre – Hasroun – 19km (moderate to difficult)
Sunday – 30 Sept – Hasroun – Tannourine el Fawqa – 20.6km (difficult)
Monday – 1 Oct – Tannourine el Fawqa – Aqoura – 18.8km (moderate to difficult)
Tuesday – 2 Oct – Aqoura – Afqa – Lassa – Qahmez – Hrajel – 38km (moderate)
Wednesday – 3 Oct – Hrajel – Kfar Aaqab – 18.2km – (moderate to difficult)
Thursday – 4 Oct – Kfar Aqab – Baskinta – Mtain – 39km (moderate)
Friday – 5 Oct – Mtain – Falougha – Ain Zhalta – 40km (moderate)
Saturday – 6 Oct – Ain Zhalta – Barouk – 22km (moderate)
Sunday – 7 Oct – Barouk – Jezzine – 34km (moderate)
Monday – 8 Oct – Jezzine – Rachaiya – 39.5km (easy to moderate)
Tuesday – 9 Oct – Rachaiya – Hasbaiya – 24.5km (easy to moderate)
Wednesday – 10 Oct – Hasbaiya – Marjaayoun – 15.6km (easy to moderate)
The seven-story pad in Knightsbridge, London, has been valued at 1,300 times the price of the average UK home. The 60,000sq ft residence is the most expensive to go on the market in Britain yet. It has several lifts, underground parking and a decor rumoured to contain millions of pounds worth of gold leaf. The property is also said to have a large swimming pool and an industrial-sized kitchen. It is one of the largest single homes in the capital and is twice the size of the mega-mansion Roman Abramovich considered building nearby. [Link]
The stucco-fronted property, initially built as four separate homes, was owned by the late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Last night was the first time I watch Ahmar Bi Khat L Aarid for more than 10 minutes simply because Malek Maktabi was hosting Lara Kay and Pierre Hashash. Lara Kay was a complete joke (as usual) and I think Pierre Hashash said everything that needs to be said on Lara Kay and other issues in Lebanon. This guy may look like he’s just having fun and fooling around but he’s smart. For those of you who don’t know who Pierre Hashash is, he is the one who killed JFK. [Pierre Hashash killed JFK]
Watch Lara Kay starting Minute 17 and Pierre Hashash starting Minute 44.
[YouTube] Lara Kay claims there’s a message behind her song; If you can’t find the message, add another “Dislike”
