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A Lebanese Blog

  • Lebanese children and discrimination

    This is one of the saddest videos I’ve seen lately. And while it’s no surprise that in 2014 we’re still living in a discriminating society, the stuff that these kids have said are just quite shocking and should serve as a wake-up call to NGOs, schools, media, and of course parents.

    Update:

    The video’s privacy was unfortunately set to “private” by the uploader and I’m trying to see if it’s available somewhere else on the web. For those who couldn’t watch it, it was about an experiment with Lebanese children where they were given some papers with illustrations of a kid in different skin tones. The children surprisingly kept on picking the kid with the white skin because they believed the ones with darker skin color are bad and look like Syrians!

    In another experiment the paper contained a man of  white skin with a christian name, and they had to match him with one of three available girls, two girls having a white skin and muslim names, and one girl of a dark skin and christian name. The children in that case chose the girl of dark skin color because they believed the man should marry a christian girl like him or else would run into troubles!

    Update 2:

    Just found the video again.

    Post by ‎علماني‎.

  • Uf Chou Laziz – Sexy birthday gift prank

    Uf Chou Laziz is an initiative by Uf Concepts to promote fun through pranks, flashmobs, and random acts of kindness.

    In some of their earlier videos, they pranked a delivery guy from Deek Duke, gave away free fuel coupons to random drivers, and went scuba diving in Anterlias’ pothole!

    For more about Uf Concepts you can check their Facebook page.

  • Fail – Khoury Home billboard for Valentine

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    via From Beirut with Funk

  • “I am Alive” for politicians now available for download

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    You’re definitely aware of “I am Alive” app which helps Lebanese people let their loved ones know they’re safe by sending a tweet saying “I am still alive! #Lebanon #Latestbombing” through a single tap every time there’s an explosion.

    Just two days ago, Sandra Hassan and Myra El Mir, the developers of this satiric app, released the VIP version of it intended for politicians to help them automatically issue condemnation statements when a bombing occurs!

    Overwhelmed by the number of bombings in Lebanon? Can’t keep up with the demands to issue statements to the public?
    Now you can easily tweet your reactions to yet another bombing in Lebanon.

    No need to bother your communication crew with trying to come up with a new reaction to the security related events, heck you can just fire them all. This app does it all for you!

    The responses provided for you have been designed by our team of highly specialized political analysts who have scourged over the stream of condemnations that have already been issued and synthesized the most effective and up to date reaction statements just for you.

    It’s a fast and reliable tool. And what’s more; you can tag one of your friends in your tweet!

    And if there’s a statement you think should be added to the repertoire, we’re waiting to hear from you. Just tweet at us @lebvip

    I am Alive VIP is available for download on Google Play.

  • A 110 year old Ottoman palace destroyed by fire in the South

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    Dar El Darwiche (or El Darwiche palace) in Zefta was unfortunately destroyed by a fire incident last week.

    The palace is considered as a historic Ottoman heritage due to its architecture and the old antiques inside it, same as some of the palaces in Beirut like Al Daouk, Salam, Boustros, and Sursock.

    Un incendie a ravagé dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi le palais historique Darwiche dans le village de Zefta, à Nabatiyeh (Liban-sud), rapporte l’Agence nationale d’information (ANI, officielle).

    Les flammes ont détruit tous les meubles et antiquités historiques que le palais renfermait.

    “Après l’avoir entretenu durant 100 ans, tout a été détruit”, a déclaré le propriétaire des lieux, Hussein Darwiche. Il a précisé que le palais avait été construit au début des années 1900 sur une superficie de 1.200 mètres carrés. L’édifice comptait 15 chambres.

    Le palais contenait des trésors historiques remontant à l’époque ottomane. Le palais Darwiche était l’une des rares bâtisses historiques bien conservées dans le sud du pays. Source

    Below are some of the photos I managed to find on Facebook through Rabih El Darwiche. It definitely sucks to see it all gone now, and I hope El Darwiche family will be able to restore it soon.

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  • Pierre Hachach on Jackie Chamoun’s photos

    This guy is just hilarious! Make sure to follow him on Facebook since he publishes his newest videos there.

  • On Jackie Chamoun and Chirine Njeim posing topless in Faraya

    Al Jadeed posted today a video  of Jackie Chamoun (who’s currently competing at the Olympics in Sochi) and Chirine Njeim posing topless on Faraya ski slopes for six-time Mexican Olympic skier and photographer Hubertus von Hohenlohe.

    The photos were meant to be published in Hubertus’ calendar “Ski Instructors”.

    Needless to say, Al Jadeed are calling it a scandal and were wondering if the Lebanese Ski Federation was aware about these photos since it “harms our reputation”, as if our reputation worldwide really needed two gorgeous skiers posing to the camera to get ruined!

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    Regardless of whether our society is conservative or not, I believe Chirine Njeim and Jackie Chamoun are totally free to do what  they want, especially that a lot of international athletes have posed either topless or completely nude and it’s nothing strange to sports.

    You can check the truth about these photos here, and below is what Jackie Chamoun had to say about them.

    It was positive for me. I don’t regret it at all. When I started my job, for example, people when they search for me on the web sometimes they can see these pictures directly so you think maybe it’s not the best thing, not the best image you can give someone of you. But, I don’t really care, though. I really enjoyed it and I don’t regret it. I like these photos. I have no problem with it.

    Al Jadeed could use a chill pill, no?

    P.S: The video is NSFW

  • Sex sells. But here’s how not to do it!

    Sex sells, it’s undisputed, it can even get you tons of traffic sometimes. But the way Lebanese-forces.com did it today on Facebook is definitely just plain stupid.

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    Is that a screenshot from some porn movie or what?!

    via @ghazayel

  • Tannourine introduces new glass bottles

    Just like Sohat did last summer, Tannourine are also launching their glass bottle and calling it “Via”.

    I started seeing some ads of it around Beirut today and found the above TVC on YouTube.

    I have no idea about Via’s price yet, but I don’t expect it to exceed that of Sohat, 2750L.L for 1L and 1750L.L for 330ml, which I believe is reasonable for those who prefer to get glass bottles on special occasions while European alternatives are more than double that price.

  • Aline Lahoud on The Voice France

    Lebanese singer Aline Lahoud auditioned on The Voice France last night and had all four judges Florent Pagny, Jennifer, Mika (who’s of Lebanese origins), and Garou turn around to claim her before she decided to join Florent Pagny’s team.

    aline lahoud

    I’m not and was never a fan of Aline but I believe she gave an impressive performance singing Khidni Maak by her late mother Salwa Katrib. Moreover, I found it quite humble of her to audition for The Voice, while whoever appears once on TV here starts labeling himself as a celebrity, and singing competitions become a no-no for them.

    Good luck to you Aline!