Stories about Lebanon from April, 2008
Bahrain: Why are Adult Sites Popular?
Why are adult sites popular in the Middle East, asks Bahraini Esra'a, who posts a video opinion from Lebanon.
Lebanon: Remove the Mufti
“The Mufti (religious leader) of Mount Lebanon is a foul-mouthed demagogue who needs to be demoted as soon as possible,” writes Beirut Spring from Lebanon.
Lebanon: “Embarrassed Arabic Language”
“Arabic is an embarrassed language. Not embarrassing, but embarrassed,” comments Tantalus about how cryptic some Arabic writers become in order to avoid taboo words.
Lebanon: Roumieh Prison Mutiny II
“The prisoners handed over the seven warders they were holding hostage and returned to their cells after having negotiated and handed over demands to the chief of internal security,” reports Lebanon News Network on the peaceful ending of the prison mutiny.
Lebanon: Cultural Renaissance
“There's a sort of Renaissance taking place in Lebanon – attributed partially to an massive influx of European tourists (and a marked absence of Gulfies) – art, culture, and creativity are becoming more the norm than the exception in public & semi-public spaces,” notes Finkployd with photos and video on...
Lebanon: Roumieh Prison Mutiny
“….of interest to the laymen, Roumieh prison is where the 4 Generals, Assayed, Azar, Hamdan; Hajj are kept … and where many of the Fath El Islam elements are imprisoned … I remain suspicious,” noted GPC on the mutiny taking place at the Roumieh prison in Lebanon.
Lebanon: CLuster Bombs
M Bashir from Lebanon draws our attention to the dangers of cluster bombs in his country – which are still claiming lives today.
Lebanon: Valet Parking
Valet parking provides a luxury service and VIP treatment for customers. This is not so in Lebanon any more, where the practice has become so widespread that it is found even at fast food outlets and career fairs attended by young unemployed people, who are looking for jobs. Moussa Bashir looks into what bloggers are saying about the phenomena.
Lebanon: The Lebanese Leftist
Bassem Hassan explains the “simple” things that qualify someone as a Lebanese leftist.
Lebanon: Media reporting on Gaza
“So now the headline is that there is ‘unrest’ in the Gaza strip. Last week, I felt unrestful: I didn't know whether to take chicken taouk or shwarma – but I didn't kill five children in the process…” Burghol commenting on how the media reports about Gaza.
Lebanon: Sunnification of R. Hariri?
“When religion sleeps with politics, the outcome is an ugly bastard,” declares Tantalus while suspecting the beginning of the “Sunnification” of the late Rafic Hariri, who was previously dubbed as “Pan-Lebanese.”
Lebanon: Show-off all the time
“In Lebanon, everybody live in community. Everything you’re doing have to be known, by your friends, your family, your neighbors… it is show-off all the time,” observes élodie while writing about Lebanese fascination with social networking such as Facebook.
Lebanon: Commemorating the Civil War
April 13 marked the 33rd anniversary of the beginning of the Lebanese civil war which ended, officially, in 1990. Lebanese, who are anxious that the violence may be renewed any time, commemorated the occasion with events to raise awareness against it. Bloggers too wrote about the war from different angles as usual; some with lengthy analysis of what caused it and others with reports on some of the anti–war activities, writes Moussa Bashir, who brings us blogger reactions.
Lebanon: Turf on concrete sidewalk
“…some dude ‘planted’ turf right on gemmayze street… midst a heated turf war right on gemmayze street! (pubs vs residents),” reports finkployd with photos and video.
Lebanon: On leadership, governance and justice
“You are one ugly, evil, money hungry, conniving bastard, will you marry me?” writes Jamal about the Lebanese opposition and other political peculiarities.
Lebanon: Where to go for scenery and adventure
Liliane suggests where to go when visiting Lebanon if you love beautiful scenery and adventure.
Lebanon: ‘I Love Gemmayze’ Protests Nightclub Curfew
Lebanese blogger Pink Ployd from Blogging Beirut has launched “I Love Gemmayze,” a campaign protesting the curfew imposed by authorities on the pubs and nightclubs of Gemmayze, a district of Beirut.
Lebanon: Selling Air
With Lebanese air now canned and exported around the world, bloggers are torn between considering the move as a nationalist or money making scheme. Moussa Bashir reports from Beirut.
Lebanon: Polygamy and the End of Empires
Jeha writes about different points of view to polygamy and small stuff that ends empires.
Lebanon: Teachers’ Strike
Lebanese teachers went on strike (April 3) to protest low wages, high cost of living and inflation, as reported by Sursock.
Lebanon: Mughnieh's Billboards
“We came up with a stencil of him so that people can remember him like they do Che Guevara,” said the “creative director” responsible for Mughnieh's billboard design, as quoted by Sursock.
