All the Beirut news.

Picture taken from @Nicolasehnaoui
Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui has launched an online campaign few days ago blaming Ogero Chief Abdel Menhem Youssef for the internet slowness lately and asking him to release the bandwidth. Youssef hasn’t been answering any requests or calls lately according to the ministry and causing Lebanon monthly losses estimated at 750,000$.

Does that perfectly cooked steak have your name written all over it? It does now with BBQ Branding.  A great gift for father day, don’t you agree? This fun and functional BBQ branding iron lets you brand outgoing messages on every piece of meat that leaves your grill. With every letter of the alphabet, plus »more...

Fighting Crime in Gemmayze
I know this is too good to be true, and that chances are slim complaints will be taken seriously but it doesn’t mean we can’t give it a try.
Here are the steps as shared by Gino to report ISF wrongdoings:
1- CATALOG IT. We all have cameras on our phones, take a video or photo of whatever you saw was wrong, and try to get the name of the officer, or number of the vehicle misbehaving

The Museum of the Great War (Musee de la Grande Guerre) in France brought World War 1 to life by imagining if Facebook had existed in 1914 and posting the story of an individual young man and his family. The campaign, through DDB Paris, created a Facebook profile for  Leon Vivien, an ordinary young man who becomes torn apart from his family by the War (and eventually dies, in 1915). When the campaign kicked off in April, the page already contained 10 months of posts, and two months of live daily updates then followed.

On this blog, I never rant without trying to find a solution. Many folks write to bash, and propose no alternative or solution. My recent posts bashing the heavy-handedness and corruption of the ISF and the corruption, blackmail and woe they cause many of us, got the attention of the ISF and with the help of a good friend and mediator, Kareem Zreik, we got a response.

What's next? Le Chef in Gemmayze? Is nothing sacred anymore? Boubouffe, the ubiquitous restaurant on Mar.

Design is extremely important. It can make or break a movement, an event, a venue or a product. Unfortunately, my design credentials are meager and all I can do is photo-chop a little. I do have an eye for good design though, growing up with two designer parents and understanding how tough and important design is.

The most accurate photo of the ISF ever taken (not at stereo, this is an old one taken in downtown)

In case you are wondering whether it’s better to swim in a beach or a pool, this LBC report and DailyStar article will make you reconsider going swimming in the first place in Lebanon.

The Leader of the BNP Nick Griffin is in Beirut and has tweeted several times from there. Here's a sample:

Beirut traffic as bad as London.
— Nick Griffin MEP (@nickgriffinmep) June 10, 2013 There's lots of speculation about what he is doing there. Here are the most likely scenarios:

He's there to learn about Hezbollah's anti-Jihadi programme

No comment. Seriously, no comment. Just check this for good measure.

I wonder what’s keeping Al Jadeed TV from cutting the interview once they start the insults. Is that the only way to get views on YouTube?

Monday 3 June 2013, Radio Lebanon 96.2FM (8-9pm) 1. Rabih Beaini 2. Morphosis 3. Tasjiil Moujahed 4. Munma & Liliane Chlela 5. Liliane Chlela (RadioKVM rework) 6. El Rass & Munma (RadioKVM rework) > Listen to Part 1: 7. Fareeq el Atrash 8. Boikutt 9. Tashweesh (Ruptured Session) 10. 98weeks’ OUR LINES ARE NOW OPEN, […]

Very safe indeed! One protester was killed and several were injured Sunday outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. via Naharnet
Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud stated today that Lebanon is ready to welcome tourists and the decision Gulf countries took to prevent their citizens from traveling to Lebanon is wrong.