Picture from The Beirut Report

The decision was taken almost two months ago yet the demolition works only started today and so far are going quickly. By tomorrow, the residence of Amine Maalouf, the author of The Rock of Tanios and the first Lebanese to enter “l’Academie Francaise”, will cease to exist.

As I stated previously, I have nothing against building new skyscrapers and modern buildings, but the way this case has been handled is quite shameful and suspicious to say the least. According to Al-Akhbar, Culture Minister Gaby Layoun had issued an official paper back in June 2012 forbidding the demolition of Maalouf’s residence and asking to preserve it, only to change his own statement few months later by claiming that the house is worthless and approving his destruction. How is that possible and what made the minister change his statement? Isn’t that worthy investigating?

Either ways, if you are wondering why Amine Maalouf is still in France and has no plans to come back to Lebanon, I believe this is more than a good enough reason for him to stay out.

You can read both statements [Here].

On my way down from Mzaar on Sunday, I took the Kfardebian road and noticed groups of people walking up to the snowy areas all the way until I reached a roundabout where tens of buses were forced to park on the side by Kfardebian’s police. From what I understood, buses were not allowed to go all the way up to the slopes in order to lessen traffic during the weekend.

Mashewe wel shabeb

While I agree with Kfardebian’s municipality on such a move, I believe they should have provided an alternative for these people instead of letting them walk all the way up. I am not saying that because I don’t want them to get tired, but because it’s highly unsafe to walk on these roads with all the crazy drivers in their Audi Quattros and SUVs. To make it even worse, some of the groups were walking in the middle of the road at some point holding Derbakkes and singing.

As stated previously, Kfardebian’s municipality should have provided an alternative such as getting few taxi drivers from the area or small vans to transport the visitors at low cost. That way, they would have avoided any unfortunate accidents and benefited locals.

My friend went to watch yesterday “The Impossible” at Grand Cinemas in ABC Achrafieh and I was truly surprised to hear what happened during the session. I’ve always had good experiences at Grand Cinemas and never had anything to complain about, except the annoying people talking during the movie but I can’t really blame them for that.

Here’s a brief summary of what my friend texted me after he left:

” In the middle of the movie, the screen just went black but the sound kept going for like 3-4 minutes. People started clapping and shouting and some walked out. After they fixed the picture, the movie was rewinded some 15 minutes ago but once they realized the mistake they fast-forwarded it a little. Then the screen would just freeze every few minutes and people would start yelling and cursing until it works again. This happened at least 8 times and the picture would come and go at critical scenes which pissed off the spectators even further. It was really frustrating and chaotic and ruined the movie for us. At the end when we left, I wanted to talk to someone or expected some apologies but there was no one to talk to”.

I am surprised no one went after the guy showing the movie lol!

On a serious note, knowing Grand Cinemas and out of personal experience, I believe it’s a one-time thing but it wouldn’t hurt to investigate it and know what really caused all this mess.

A report on LBCI to raise further awareness on racism against domestic workers

Here’s an excerpt from a report by Afrik.com on women fleeing poverty in their country Madagascar to work in Lebanon, and the horrible experiences that they’ve been through here. It’s truly disturbing to read some of these stories and I wonder why can’t we do anything to change this stupid law and give all workers more freedom? In fact, if no one’s ready to make changes in Lebanon, countries like Madagascar and Ethiopia should follow the Philippine’s path by blacklisting Lebanon and forbidding their workers to go there.

Rentrée en septembre 2012 à Madagascar, Marie-Emmanuelle porte encore les cicatrices de ses blessures. Elle n’oubliera jamais le calvaire qu’elle a vécu au Liban. Comme elle, des milliers de jeunes filles y ont migré pour travailler comme domestiques, rêvant d’une vie meilleure. Agée aujourd’hui de 23 ans, la jeune femme n’en avait que 19 ans quand elle s’est envolée pour le Liban. Lorsqu’elle raconte ses rudes conditions de travail, sa voix fluette en tremble encore d’effroi : « Je suis partie pour aider ma famille qui est très pauvre. Mais une fois sur place, j’ai vécu un véritable enfer ! Je travaillais comme domestique pour huit familles différentes. Je commençais à 6h du matin et finissais à minuit. Je ne mangeais qu’un repas par jour. J’ai subi des violences. Mes employeurs m’insultaient et me battaient tous les jours ! Ils ne m’ont même pas payé la totalité de l’argent qu’ils me devaient », déplore-t-elle.

Des brimades. Des humiliations. Sandra aussi en a vécues au Liban. Partie à l’âge de 19 ans, elle a subi, durant trois ans, des violences sexuelles. « J’étais violée tous les jours par mon patron. Et ses enfants me battaient », raconte-t-elle. Elle réussit finalement à contacter des membres de sa famille qui l’ont aidée à rentrer. Seulement, le retour à Madagascar est loin d’être de tout repos. Les jeunes femmes sont rejetées par leurs proches, qui espéraient qu’elles rapporteraient beaucoup d’argent. C’est le cas d’Olivia qui a été abandonnée par sa famille. « Mes frères et sœurs ne veulent plus m’adresser la parole ». Elle aussi garde un souvenir amer du Liban, où elle a été incarcérée dans des conditions effroyables après avoir été accusée par sa patronne d’avoir volé les clés de sa voiture.

Il n’est aussi pas rare que des mineures âgées d’à peine 14 ans tentent également l’aventure. C’est le cas de Marie, contrainte par sa tante à aller au Liban. Une fois sur place, son patron l’a violée régulièrement. Elle tombe enceinte. Lorsqu’il s’en rend compte, il la chasse. Livrée à elle-même, la jeune fille accouche seule et jette son bébé du huitième étage d’un immeuble. Une affaire médiatisée qui a d’ailleurs ému l’opinion publique malgache. [Link]

You know what is the thing that upset me the most about those two videos? Her singing and destroying a Melhem Barakat song! Why you ask? Because I had no expectations for this show whatsoever and I am a big Melhem fan.

I think OTV should seriously reconsider airing “Sorry Bass” if that’s the best they can pull.

Several investors in the southern city of Tyre have reportedly become victims of embezzlement, radio Voice of Lebanon said on Thursday. “Saleh Basma and Chawqy Arab pretended to be businessmen and cheated their victims into depositing $8,000,000,” VDL explained, adding that the depositors thought their money will be invested. [Link]

Haven’t they learned not to trust such investors with their money? Did they forget already about Salah Ezzedine, Lebanon’s Madoff, who stole more than a billion dollars from his clients’ money back in 2009?

Lebanese blogger Khattar Torbey shared the same exact views on the recent “We Believe” ad that I wrote about this morning. I thought of sharing it given the importance of the issue and because it could reach a bigger audience since it’s written in Arabic.

بخصوص هيدي حملة “نؤمن” لمناهضة (؟) العنف ضدّ المرأة، وهالفيديو يلّي عارضينلنا فيه سحبة من أعلى رجال الدين مرتبة بأبهى حللهم وهم يدينون العنف ضدّ المرأة \ الزوجة ويوصون بها خيرا، سؤال:

طيّب إذا هيك من الّذي يمنع إقرار قانون العنف الأسري؟! هم رجال الدين أنفسهم، علنا وباسم الدين! فإذا لا بدّ من حملة في هذا الموضوع، وجب إدانتهم على مواقفهم، على حؤولهم دون حماية المرأة قانونا من أي عنف تتعرّض له. لا أن نكافئهم بحملة تبرّئ ذمّتهم في هذا الموضوع!!!

أو أنّو القضيّة إنّو نستعيض عن القانون بالنصح الأخلاقي؟؟؟… يا عيني… يعني كان بعد فيه هيدي!!! بكرا منلغي قانون العقوبات ومحلّ القاضي منعيّن واعظ أخلاقي وديني، وكلّ ما واحد قتل أو سرق، منقلّو يصلّي المسبحة، وفوقها 2 أبانا وواحد سلام، ويقرا الفاتحة ويروح يعملّه 500 ركعة بالزاوية!!!

Read it all [Here].

This is not really a question we should be asking ourselves as one should never compromise his freedom. In fact, sacrificing your freedom in order to feel safe leads to losing both (As quoted once by the great Benjamin Franklin). This being said, the bickering that is taking place between Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui and the Information Branch does not fall in the Security vs. Freedom debate, even though most people felt their privacy was invaded by the ISF’s controversial request.

The reason why I am saying that is not to defend one side over the other, but to clarify a matter that was blown out of proportion and is being dealt with in a destructive way. To sum things up, the Information Branch submitted a request to the Telecom ministry to provide them with the text messages that occurred across Lebanon two months before the assassination of Wissam Al-Hassan. The request was rejected originally so the Information Branch modified it to demand the circulating text messages in Beirut and Mount Lebanon only.

At this point, no one had any idea of what’s happening before certain newspapers leaked information that the Information Branch (Fere3 el Ma3loumet) had requested Facebook passwords from the Telecom ministry. Even though there was no such request, as the Information Branch is only interested in data logged by mobile operators and not ISPs, the Lebanese online community started a sort of campaign defend their privacy and Minister Sehnaoui’s Facebook post (see below) came to boost that campaign.

« Tonight, for the sake of our Privacy, I am calling for your support. A call to all bloggers, e-journalists, Tweeters and Facebook Users and all members of our Social Media Community. Our Internet Privacy as Lebanese People is at stake.
Today I took a decision and refused a request from “Fer3 Ma3loumet” demanding content of all SMS as well as username and password of all data sessions, BBM Webmail of 4 Million Lebanese. This request is unacceptable, illogical and cannot be justified. We cannot solve a crime by committing another crime.
The decision is now in the hands of the Council Of Ministers and this is where I need your support. I need you to share awareness everywhere to put pressure on all Members of the Council and stop this invasion of our Privacy. RT, SHARE, EMAIL, BLOG. Use ANY means you find fit to say “As a Lebanese Citizen I refuse to give up on my Internet Privacy.” »

Even though I agree that our privacy should not be invaded, I believe Minister Sehnaoui should not have publicized the matter and made a big deal out of it, specially that the request came to investigate the murder of Wissam Al Hassan. In the same way, the Intelligence bureau should not accuse the minister or any party of covering up for the murderers if the complete data is not handed out to them. Just to be clear again, I am not saying Sehnaoui should have accepted to give out the data because the victim is important, but instead of inciting Lebanese against the Information Branch that had just lost its founder and one of the key figures on the Lebanese scene, both sides should have met and agreed on better ways to resolve the problem specially that it’s not the first time it happens [Old Data Requests from the Information Branch].

As much as we all (I hope so) want our freedom above all, we also want to know who’s been killing key figures in Lebanon, spying for Israel, kidnapping foreigners and other security-related issues. Having said that, the Information Branch has been doing a great job throughout the past few years in capturing criminals, spy cells and preventing assassinations by monitoring calls/emails/SMSes and all sorts of data. This however does not mean we should keep on giving them full access to our data but also does not mean we should make a drama out of it when they ask for data. It’s really sad to see a ministry pulling a decent job, and a security apparel working efficiently, waste their time over such fights.

What I am suggesting, given the complexity of the situation in Lebanon, is for the the Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Branch to coordinate efforts and set up a mechanism whereas the Intelligence Bureau is granted access to specific data under the supervision of the ministry (in one of the ministry’s offices preferably) and a representative from the judicial authorities. By working together, the ministry’s personnel and the judiciary delegate would make sure that no one’s violating the constitution and Law 140 while the Intelligence Branch would have whatever data is needed (and permissible) to conduct their investigations. More importantly, the data would stay in one place.

After all, Lebanon is not the only country in the world where intelligence agencies monitor data to prevent terrorist attacks and assassination attempts, yet I don’t see parties bickering over that matter anywhere in the world.

Picture taken from Zaitunaybay.com

LebanonFiles reported today that restaurants at the Zaitunay Bay are not doing well and Solidere is seriously considering closing down the whole thing given the bad economic situation and the lack of tourists.

I don’t know how accurate this piece of news is, but the solution is definitely not by closing it down, but by lowering the incredibly high rent prices. I have already discussed this matter back in February as I was wondering if it’s really profitable to operate at the Zaitunay Bay.

I guess we will know the answer soon.

I got this message from Spinneys today and wanted to clarify that it’s not Halloween that we are celebrating few days from now but Saint Barbara. Both may be a bit similar in terms of traditions and costumes but they are two different holidays and we celebrate each of them separately.

Picture taken from TheDailyStar

Pierre Hashash was intercepted two days ago by plain-clothed army intelligence and beaten with rifles on his head in broad daylight outside Dunkin Donuts in Batroun. He was taken to Batroun’s serail then to Qobbeh prison in Tripoli where he’s being held as we speak. For those of you who don’t know Pierre, he’s an artist and a controversial figure who runs for parliament using sarcastic slogans and banners.

The reasons for which he was detained are still not clear, as some are saying it’s because of insults against the Lebanese Army and its chief that he posted on Facebook, while others are saying his arrest was due to a personal dispute with an army officer. In both cases, the way he was beaten up is unacceptable and unnecessary. As for the legal aspect of his arrest, some are arguing that it’s illegal while the army is saying there are several legal cases against him.

This being said, I find it surprising that the army would behave that way a day before the Independence specially that their slogan for this year’s Independence celebration was “Jayebli Salam” (English: Bringing peace). I also find it hard to believe Army chief Kahwaji would allow such a thing on the eve of a ceremony that he’s been working on personally. It could be a personal dispute like some media sources suggested, but that doesn’t justify one single bit the method used to apprehend Pierre.

So until things are cleared out, I honestly believe everyone should calm down and stop taking shots at the army and its head, because it will only make things worse. Pierre has a lawyer taking care of his case and hopefully some politicians or high-officials have already done their calls to settle this case once and for all.

4G Live Test reaching peak of 100Mbits/s – Picture taken by @NicolaSehanoui

“Let’s Connect” took place yesterday at the Beirut Digital District where Telecom Ministry Nicolas Sehnaoui talked about the progress done by his ministry between June 2011 and June 2012 and announced plans for the launch of the 4G service next year. You can read the one-year report [Here].

I was unfortunately unable to attend the event but I have to say there’s been a significant improvement in the 3G and DSL services over the past year not just in Beirut but also outside it. In fact, I had major issues with the DSL in the first few months (I live in Jounieh) whereas it would disconnect for no reason or slow down but I haven’t had any noticeable problems for at least the past 3-4 months. As far as the 3G is concerned, the coverage is much better and the service is more reliable but there are still a lot of areas without a decent 3G coverage and I am not talking about villages in the middle of nowhere but major cities like Jounieh and some areas inside Beirut (Achrafieh Sioufi for example).

In July 2012, Touch network already consisted of 5,612 antennas and 15 mobile stations, while Alfa’s had 4,505 antennas and 15 mobile stations.

This being said, no one can deny the improvement in the internet service over the past year but there are still few points I’d like to highlight:

- I’ve had DSL for almost a year now but cannot upgrade from the 1 MBPS I have because that’s the maximum speed my phone line and the “Centrale” in Jounieh can handle.
- There’s a major problem related to the availability of landlines in some areas like in Jbeil where you can’t apply for a new phone number because the network is full.
- There should be a decent alternative to DSL as there isn’t any at the moment. Mobi and Wise are terribly slow and the 3G dongles and routers plans are ridiculous.
- The 3G launch in Lebanon could have been much better had the infrastructure been ready for such a thing. I hope that we won’t be facing the same problem with the 4G launch.
- 3G prices are great but the caps need to be increased.

On a last note, I am glad the Ministry of Telecommunications’ website was taken down and is now under construction. [Website]

Picture taken from TheBeirutReport

The residence of the author of The Rock of Tanios and the first Lebanese to become a member of the presitigious “l’Academie Francaise” will probably be demolished in the next few days. The Maalouf family had moved into the building, located in the Badaro area, around 1961 and occupied the second floor apartment. Amin Maalouf spent his formative years in the home from the age of 12 to 22. [Source]

Amin Maalouf’s 91-year-old mother was the last of the family to reside in the home. She packed everything up late last year after losing a number of legal battles to the owners and developers. From what I’ve read and heard, the Lebanese Ministry of Culture didn’t do much to help the Maalouf family keep their residence.

According to the Beirut Report, Kettaneh group, the construction firm behind this new tower, had proposed a sort of monument for Amine Maalouf to be incorporated into the tower’s new structure, but it was rejected by the family representative who argued that “the Maalouf home, an ornate 100 year-old garden mansion that gave birth to the career of one of Lebanon’s greatest writers, should be preserved”.

I have nothing against building new skyscrapers and modern buildings, but it doesn’t mean one has to demolish landmarks and destroy Beirut’s past to do so. I cannot really blame the construction firms looking for new investments, but the concerned ministry and Lebanese authorities for not making any effort to preserve that house and other monuments.

Ever since the smoking-ban law 174 went into effect on September 3, there’s been an ongoing debate on whether this decision will affect negatively the restaurants and pubs or not. For that sake, the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants in Lebanon came up with a study conducted by Ernest & Young that proves that indoor smoking ban will harm the economy, only to be refuted few days later by the AUB Tobacco Control Research Group and activists from Lebanese civil society.

I will not bother dig into those studies again as they don’t reflect what’s happening on the ground, at least not from what I’ve seen in the past two months. In fact, all the restaurants that serve Shisha that I’ve been to lately were almost entirely empty indoors and packed outside and to name few, Babel, Saniour Sea View, Leila, Republic, Public, Al Falamanki, Saif el Ba7er and Basma. As for restaurants that don’t serve Shisha, those with an outdoor area had a clear advantage and attracted more clients, with few exceptions like Roadster diner that wasn’t really affected by this law. Pubs I’ve been recently were just like in this video I posted yesterday.

Therefore, the effect the smoking-ban law had on restaurants and pubs is rather visible but that doesn’t mean we should not keep it as it is or protest against the ban in the way the syndicate is doing. Raising slogans like “are you sick of smoking outside already?” is rather stupid and will only weaken their demands. On the other hand, the government is properly enforcing the law in Beirut and Mount Lebanon but failing to do so in remote areas and in some governmental buildings and offices.

Having said all that, should the law be amended? In my opinion, yes and I will explain why.

1- As I had explained in previous posts, the problem in Lebanon is not the cigarette but the Shisha because there is no such thing as a smoking lounge in Lebanon, but there are a lot of restaurants that people frequent just to smoke Shisha. Those Shisha places are very popular nowadays and also attract a lot of Arab Tourists, which is why they should be given some special license to operate legally as a Shisha lounge. Nevertheless, the licenses should be limited and a pre-condition for those thinking of starting a new Arguile place.

2- The decision to ban smoking should have been delayed by few months as it came at the worst moment for all businesses, specially after the weak touristic season we had. If the government insists that no amendments should be done to the law, they can always put the implementation on hold until after the winter season ends.

3- Even in the most advanced countries, licenses are given for smoking lounges, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t happen here. If some people insist on smoking, let them all go to a place dedicated to smokers only. That way, they will only be harming themselves.

4- Implementing the smoking-ban law should have been done gradually, and not all at once. Even though there was a year notice, but I believe no one was prepared for that law and the government didn’t make any effort in that matter. For example, the simplest thing to do would have been stopping new Shisha places from opening during that year, which did not happen.

When I first read the title, I thought it was terrible news but then I checked the source (Addiyar) and I started laughing. I am not sure how Addiyar newspaper didn’t turn yet into a film production company because the stories and conspiracies they come up with are fascinating!

It’s like they have nothing to write about, so they come up with a shocking story to frighten the Lebanese without any proof or proper sources to back it up. In fact, if you read the article closely, it says a major disaster took place in the last 24 hours in the US when a group of Lebanese students were no longer reachable by phone or internet due to the storm. How exactly did they assume they were missing? Just because they were unreachable? Aren’t Addiyar aware of the electricity outage that hit NewYork and other cities?

حصلت كارثة كبيرة في ال24 ساعة الاخيرة خاصة في صفوف الطلاب اللبنانيين من شباب و صبايا, بقيت خطوط الانترنت تعمل في نيويورك وظهر ان 98 لبنانياً هم مفقودين لايردون على نداء الانترنت و ليسوا في منازلهم و طبعاً لا تعمل اجهزتهم الخليوية مما يعني انها معطلة و الاسماء هي التالية فاذا عرفتم عنها اي شيء فالرجاء ابلاغ الجهات المسؤولة لطمأنة اهلهم : الان زغبي – ريما كرم – احمد كركي – جورج الياس بشير – جورج كرم – روزيت كرم – ديما و ريما و طوني كرم و هم اولاد عائلة كرم المفقودة – انطوان شديد – جورج قرداحي – بدري فغالي – مروان فغالي – جوزيف فغالي – انطوان ابو معشر – ادوار نصار – جورج نصار – جوزيف معلوف – محمد عيتاني , هذه الاسماء و المطلوب عند معرفة اي شيء عنها ابلاغ الجهات المسؤولة اضافة الى انهم من الجالية اللبنانية التي تعاني الان في نيويورك [Link]

Needless to say, Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour denied the story today stating that he contacted Lebanon’s permanent representative to the United Nations, who informed him that all the Lebanese expats are well.

I don’t know how our permanent representative to the United Nations made sure that all Lebanese are all well, nor why the Lebanese Ambassador in the U.S wasn’t contacted, but I don’t expect much from Adnan Mansour whose last count of Lebanese expats eligible for voting was a pure joke.

Having said all that, it would have been better for our dear Foreign Minister to question Addiyar over their sources than just deny such reports, and punish them if needed. Spreading fake news and fabricating stories have become a trend lately in Lebanon that has to be stopped at any cost, even if it means closing down a newspaper or TV.

Only a week ago, Ehad al-Azzi almost started a war in Beirut after he fabricated a story about Sunnite Extremists cutting off his fingers in Tariq Jdide. The story spread because it was published in many renowned local media sources, mainly Annahar, Lebanon’s leading newspaper.