[High-Res]

I always asked myself why do they bother write in English? Is it to look cool or to make us laugh harder?

[High-Res]

Fun Fact: The road on the left is a dead-end. I don’t know who’s the genius who built it but if they had continued it, cars would have ended up in the Mediterranean sea.

Very Nice Pictures by Ahmad Moussawi

I think we can safely say that Beirut is still better than other capitals in the Arab world when it comes to accepting homosexuals and lesbians but there’s still a lot of work to do.

Talk to Beiruti gays and lesbians, and you’ll find the truth seems to be as complex as the rest of Lebanon’s social politics. In a country held together by a wary part-truce between many religious and ethnic splinters, most things there seem to have a spirograph-like intricacy on closer inspection. Beirut’s waxing and waning reputation for tolerance reflects both Lebanese governments’ conflicted attempts to align themselves with the West and anxieties about the country’s future. [Full Article]

The author would be glad to know Ghost reopened, at least until now. I wouldn’t go as far though as linking the Ghost case to the status of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the illegal curfews being set.

To people whose lives haven’t been affected by homophobia, discussing this might seem trivial while Syria (whose capital is just 55 miles from Beirut) is pushing ever closer to Armageddon. In complicated Lebanon, however, the two issues are not unconnected. Local activists who asked to remain anonymous told me that patrons harassed at Ghost, the raided gay bar, were actually Syrian refugees, disobeying an autocratic ordnance by the local mayor to stay home after 7 p.m. Many Syrian refugees have arrived in Lebanon recently, often to mistrust and hostility from locals who remember Syria’s occupation of the country and fear the war next door spreading. The fact that their appearance in a Beirut gay bar might have been enough to spark a crackdown suggests how capricious and unstable Beirut’s no-questions-asked tolerance really is.

According to LebanonDebate, Ghost Club was given permission to reopen its doors by Mount Lebanon’s Governor Antoine Sleiman. However Dekwaneh’s citizens, mainly their religious representatives, don’t seem too happy about this decision and threatened to protest in the streets Ghost reopens.

Here’s a [link] to my previous post on the topic.

Who Broke my Glass Roof Top?

The truck spilled almost over 20 liters in the minute I was behind him and kept switching lanes. Is it so hard to stick to the right lane and drive slowly? Why are they in a hurry?

I think the ISF and Army should consider adding a hotline on the back of their vehicles to report misconduct or reckless driving.

I don’t think we needed a poll to realize that but this is yet another proof, a scientific one this time, that Lebanon is not doing well and that businesses will suffer this summer unfortunately. More importantly, it’s a wake up call for all Lebanese to cast their votes wisely in the upcoming elections and elect those who chose to help the country not screw it over and over again.

Nine out of every ten Lebanese believe the country’s economic situation is bad, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center published Thursday. Of those nine, nearly two thirds describe the economic situation as “very bad”. A mere one percent of Lebanese say the economy is “very good”.

The outlook for the future is equally dim. 48 percent of those polled expect the economy to get worse over the next year, while 47 percent predict today’s generation of children will be worse off than their parents. No wonder 88 percent say they’re dissatisfied with the country’s direction — more than in any other Arab nation surveyed. [Executive-Magazine]

If you want to check the original research paper, click [Here].

The sign is placed outside his shop lol!

Picture taken from ThisisGloucestershire

I thought this was some sort of joke at first but then I searched for Deghre Messengers and found an [official Facebook Page] and a [YouTube video].

Deghre Messengers is a fast, clean and Eco-friendly delivery service for a greener Beirut. I think that’s a great idea and I wish Matt all the luck in his project!

This idea reminded me of the movie “Premium Rush“. Hopefully few years from now, we’ll have a Beirut version of that movie inspired by Matt’s initiative.

Cycling has become more than a hobby for a Cheltenham man living in Lebanon. Matt Saunders, 25, who grew up in Cold Aston, near Bourton-on-the-Water, has put plans in place to start his own courier business in Beirut, the capital city in Lebanon.

“There really are too many cars on the streets here, and this results in noise, smog and hour-long traffic jams.
“I thought I saw a big gap in the market for fast, environmentally friendly delivery, and drawing on my experience as a courier, decided to move to Beirut, mobilise my contacts, and try it out.”

Since he started his venture last month, he has taken on three cyclists.
His business will be called Deghri Messengers.
Deghri is the Lebanese colloquial Arabic for straight on and right away.
The couriers are in training and are getting ready to work full time when it launches in September.” [Source]

The Winning Team – Image Source

Lebanon ran away with the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division IV title last night at The 7evens in Dubai, beating top seeds Pakistan 45-12. It was the third successive Division IV finals appearance for Lebanon and their convincing win sees them advance to next year’s Division III competition. In the final, winger Joseph Zidan grabbed a hat-trick of tries and flyhalf Karim Jammal added 15 points through three penalty goals and three conversions as the Cedars’ 15-man approach proved too much for Pakistan. [Source]

The Lebanese Rugby Union team finally won the Division IV title after 2 previous attempts in the past two years and convincingly advanced to Division III. I had the chance to meet one of the players and you should know that these guys are really working hard to produce strong results and advance from one division to another.

Congrats to the whole team and wishing you the best of luck next year!

What is the Asian Five Nations?
The Asian Five Nations is an annual international rugby union competition held between the top five Asian national rugby sides. The teams play a round-robin competition held on five consecutive weekends throughout April and May.
The competition represents the highest tier of international rugby in Asia, and is the apex of a multi-divisional Asian international calendar. [Wiki]

Here’s a nice report on the final game:

[YouTube]

It looks like Lara Kay and Myriam Klink might have some serious competition on their hands. In case you missed out on what happened with Rola Yamout, aka Haifa’s sister, in Hamra street, check it out [Here].

Thanks Nadz!

Source: Tripoli Facebook Page

via Trella

Haha!

Law 174 – No Smoking Lebanon Facebook Group proudly posted today that the latest research conducted by Dr. Jad Chaaban (AUB) has revealed that the “the indoor smoking ban that went into effect in September 2012 has *caused* a revenue increase of +3% for the sector”.

The full research was not published yet but I do hope that they are only considering restaurants that applied the non-smoking law because no one seemed to care about this law in most of the places I visited lately, whether nights, pubs, restaurants etc…

In a press conference today, Dr. Jad Chaaban (AUB) revealed the results of his latest research, which is based on official historical data from the Ministry of Finance:
1) The “restaurants, cafés, pubs, and nightclubs” sector in Lebanon has experienced a revenue growth of 27% over the past three years. This contradicts several claims by the Syndicate of Restaurants stating the sector has been performing very poorly.
2) The indoor smoking ban that went into effect in September 2012 has *caused* a revenue increase of +3% for the sector, which has helped offset the large losses due to political instability. This contradicts the Syndicate’s claims last year that the law would lower revenues in the sector by 25%.

So let’s recap: Law 174 saves 10 Lebanese lives per day, increases the revenues of the hospitality sector by 3%, saves the government $350M in yearly healthcare costs, and could generate $2M-$10M in government revenues TODAY if the pending fines are paid.

Instead of blaming all the woes of the country on Law 174, IT IS TIME TO APPLY IT!

[YouTube]

This video is a month old yet pretty much shows how fragile the security situation is in Tripoli. It’s more than shameful to treat a human being this way, regardless of what he might have done.