Mustapha from Beirut Spring just made a great effort putting together an excellent roundup of the non-political events and stories that shaped the year 2011 in Lebanon.
The article might be a bit long with all the links inside it, but it’s definitely worth reading. Make sure you check it out!
This will probably upset people who got stuck for hours at the mecanique center and Nefaa, but it’s definitely good news to those who still didn’t pay their outstanding fees including myself!
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said Friday that he has extended the year-end deadline so that more people could benefit from a 90 percent reduction on outstanding vehicle fees.
“We have extended the grace period for people to pay their outstanding vehicle fees for two months,” Charbel told Voice of Lebanon Radio Station. Source
Here’s what you get when everyone (including myself) postpone paying their mecanique fees till the end of December. Some people fainted while waiting in lines today!
Regardless of how crowded the place is, the corruption you get to witness there is guaranteed to cause you a heart attack while waiting.
Most of the international bands/singers/DJ’s who came to Lebanon for a performance have at some point performed in Israel as well, and because of that you see some activists calling for boycotting some concert every now and then. The way they choose which concert to boycott is beyond my understanding, but for some reason they decided to protest against Armin’s upcoming Concert NYE-1. knowing that he has performed several times in Beirut before.
The NNA reported that youth organizations and supporters of boycotting Israel staged a sit-in on Monday night, facing ‘MacDonald’s” in Ain Mreisseh, in protest against “DJ Armin Van Burren’s” visit to Beirut after partaking in concerts in Israel.
Van Burren is scheduled to perform in Beirut on December 30. Source
I might be wrong, but I feel like someone is just trying to irritate Mix FM (the organizers of this event) with this move, I mean If these people are serious about what they’re doing why don’t they protest against every single performer who has been to Israel, or better yet, why don’t they call for boycotting their albums as well?
Spotted these flyers near LAU main gate yesterday.
I wonder what are their rates! And what do they mean by “Multi Services…..”? what additional services do they offer?
No matter how good or bad their service is, I just love MTC Touch’s 3G ads!
The annual survey on the quality of living in 221 cities around the world by global consultants Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked Beirut as the 170th most desirable city for overall living standards and 16th among 25 cities surveyed in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2011, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. Source
Pretty normal if up till now in 2011 we still have to worry about the basics like water and electricity.
According to the report also, European cities dominated the ranking with Vienna in the first place, while Baghdad (221) was the lowest ranking city in the world. And among the Arab country, Dubai (74) had the highest ranking.
The below photos were taken in Tallet El-Khayyat showing a police car running a red light. Definitely not a shocking scene as we’re all used to the reckless driving by the police in Beirut, but it’s cool to have their actions documented by Cheyef 7alak now!
And I know, they can always justify that by saying it was an emergency!
This has got to be the perfect stencil graffiti for parking meters in Beirut, especially the ones in downtown Beirut where you can’t park until very late at night.
Thank you Raissa
