Archive | June, 2010

Lebanese blogosphere weekly link roundup (2010/06/27)

This week was somehow special on the Lebanese blogosphere since it witnessed an initiative by the Lebanese bloggers to write in Arabic in support to “نحن لغتنا” campaign aiming to revive the use of the Arabic language. You can refer to this post on Lebanon Aggregator for a round up of all the blogs that participated in that initiative.

And now let’s check what else were the Lebanese bloggers up to. 14 Links for this round.

See you next week!

4

Ivan M. from Cafe Del Mar at Amethyste Lounge

Amethyste Phoenicia 1

Last week I got to enjoy Ivan M., one of the world famous saxophone players from Cafe Del Mar, playing live in Amethyste Lounge Phoenicia.

Below is a small video I recorded during his performance. The light is very low so you wont be able to see how the ambiance really was… but you will still enjoy his tunes.

Good food, great music, what more can one ask for?!

Amethyste Phoenicia 2 Amethyste Phoenicia

2

Movie tickets giveaway result

Few days ago I announced the second giveaway on +961 sponsored by CineKlik offering 6 movie tickets for the premiere of “The Losers”, all what you had to do is to post a comment and share the giveaway on Facebook.

Just few minutes ago I asked @vipwoody on Twitter to randomly choose the 3 lucky winners, and they turned out to be Dany Awad, Abed Salam, and Gilbert Rahhal.

The snapshot below shows how it went:

Giveaway winners

Congratulations to the winners, I have just e-mailed you the result and how to collect your tickets.

2

Lebanese blogosphere weekly link roundup (2010/06/20)

It’s Monday again! And I’ve got 15 links for this week’s roundup

See you next week!

6

Overdoing the World Cup 2010 – V

I was surprised to see this image of a German flag with a Nazi swastika in the middle on Chroniques Beyrouthines blog a while ago. According to the author, the image was taken in Bteghrine. I would have understood if it was put there to make a political statement… but for the World Cup? Come on!

Flag with Nazi Swastika in Lebanon

Apparently Germany got irritated, and its foreign ministry protested to the Lebanese foreign ministry because of similar flags.

الخارجيّة الألمانيّة تعترض

بعثت وزارة الخارجية الألمانية، عبر السفارة في بيروت، رسالة إلى وزارة الخارجية اللبنانية، تلفت فيها الأنظار إلى الأعلام الألمانية الموجودة في الأسواق اللبنانية بمناسبة كأس العالم، وبعضها يحمل الصليب النازي. ورأت أنّ الأمر يعدّ إساءة إلى الديموقراطيّة وحقوق الإنسان ودولة ألمانيا الاتحادية.
وأشارت الرسالة إلى رفع لبنانيين مهاجرين إلى ألمانيا هذه الأعلام والشعارات، ما دفع الخارجية الألمانية إلى الطلب من الدولة اللبنانية العمل على إزالة كل هذه الإساءات.

Source: Al Akhbar newspaper

2

Giveaway: 6 tickets to watch The Losers premiere

CineklikIcon2

Thanks to CineKlik.com for sponsoring it once again, +961 is holding a second giveaway! This time CineKlik were generous enough to grant me 6 tickets for “The Losers” premiere next Wendesday June 23rd. So this time we will have 3 winners instead of 1, and each one will get 2 tickets.

Entering the draw is pretty easy, all you have to do is to leave a comment on this post and click the Facebook Like button on the top.

Three lucky readers will be chosen at random on Tuesday night and announced in a separate post, they will also be contacted via e-mail to be informed on how to claim their tickets (so make sure you’re using a valid e-mail when commenting).

Update (June 22nd 2010, 10:01PM):

Comments are closed, will publish the name of the winners in a while.

é Café at Eddé Yard Jbeil

I went to é Café at Eddé Yard Jbeil upon the recommendation of a friend back in March for the first time, and have fallen in love with their food ever since!

E Cafe Jbeil

Passing by the old souk of Jbeil, there’s no way you can miss é Café and the barbecue placed outside their kitchen. The place consists of a beautiful outdoor area and a cozy interior space, offering 2 small french and italian menus, in a very nice ambiance. However, you wont need to check on their items because you will know what to order the minute you start watching the chef grilling mouth watering pieces of entrecote!

E Cafe Jbeil 1

The entrecote will be grilled to your taste (I recommend medium well) right in front of you. Once done, the chef will place it on a bed of grilled onions and potatoes, accompanied with a sauce containing butter and some other things but tastes good anyway, and a bowl or rocca salad with balsamic vinegar, all tasting very good!

E Cafe Jbeil 2

When done, your experience will seriously be incomplete if you don’t order their Gauffre au chocolat! Ignore any other topping mentioned in the menu, and go straight for the dark chocolate, it just tastes like heaven!

E Cafe Jbeil 3 E Cafe Jbeil 4

The staff at é Café is very friendly, and it’s impressive that their service was very timely each time I went there. If you plan to visit the place, then I recommend you go there on a Saturday night during summertime as the old souk is now packed with outdoor pubs and bars, and gets crowded with people on Saturdays creating a nice atmosphere.

10

A stand againt ESSA and the new Lebanese E-Transaction law

Via Social Media Exchange Beirut:

We need you to ACT NOW to stop the E-Transactions law.

Tomorrow, Parliament is scheduled to vote on a new E-Transactions law that could have terrible implications for the Lebanese economy and for professional and personal privacy. To date, private sector and civil society have not been allowed to comment on the the law.

Among the articles of concern are:

  • Article 92, saying anyone providing online services must apply for a license. Result: More paperwork, more bureaucracy, more delays, less revenue.
  • Article 82, allowing for the warrantless search and seizure of financial, managerial, and electronic files, including hard drives, computers, etc. Result: The government has pre-approval to seize your company and personal assets and information, without cause.
  • Article 70, establishing the Electronic Signature & Services Authority, a new regulatory and licensing body with practically unchecked powers. Result: Another agency, who can make or break your organization at their whim.

More on why you should stop the vote.

We may need some regulations on doing online business in Lebanon. But, unless the key stakeholders can comment on the law, it will be one-sided, flawed, and dangerous to the economic prospects of Lebanon and the privacy of your daily life.

ACT NOW! Many deputies are rallying against this law but want to hear your voice. Ask your MP to postpone the vote on the E-Transactions Law, pending a public review.

Here are quick and easy ways you can help:

  • Call your Member of Parliament and urge them to postpone the vote, pending a public review period.
  • Forward this message to your colleagues, family, and friends—anyone who uses the Internet will be affected!
  • Post on the Facebook Pages of your MP, calling on them to postpone the vote, pending a public review period.
  • Join the Stop This Law Facebook Page.
  • If you’re a journalist or blogger, consider writing a short post highlighting the potential pitfalls of the law.

You may check other bloggers’ take on the matter on the following links:

Independence ’05
Beirutspring
SMEX Beirut
Beirutiyat
The Identity Chef
Maya’s Amalgam
Sara Hilal
Trella’s Blog
خربشات بيروتية

8

Lebanese blogosphere weekly link roundup (2010/06/13)

It’s Monday, the time for our weekly dosage of blog posts! Today’s roundup consists of 12 links.

See you next week!

2

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes