Author Archive | Rami

Lebanese blogosphere weekly link roundup (2010/10/17)

14 New links for this week’s roundup.

See you next week!

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ArabNet 2011 Beirut Workshop

(Click to enlarge)

The American Embassy in Lebanon is hosting the US-Lebanon ICT Forum on Oct 14-15 at BIEL.  The forum will showcase 60 companies active in the ICT sector, and will feature a series of seminars about trends in the technology and communications sector.

As part of the forum, ArabNet is organizing a free entrepreneurship workshop, Speed Up Your Startup, to help entrepreneurs:

  • turn their ideas into a business case and get personalized feedback
  • learn about their legal options for starting a business in Lebanon
  • understand how the fundraising works and what investors look for
  • meet with experienced entrepreneurs and learn about growing their business, managing talent, and building a corporate culture
  • learn more about the latest trends in the web space

The workshop will feature speakers from Tandem (Consultants), Kobeissi & Frangie (Law Firm), Middle East Venture Partners, Element^N and Yahoo!

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Park it like a douchebag

I took all of the below 4 photos at the Beirut Mall parking, and I really have not made any effort searching for these douchebags. I just parked my car and went straight to the elevator, so these were just the ones I encountered on my way!

First thing that came to my mind was this post from Body Wotwat! Seriously, بي يلي عطاكن دفتر سواقة @#$%

… and here’s a bonus photo I took earlier at ABC Achrafiyeh.

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Lebanese blogosphere weekly link roundup (2010/10/10)

17 New link for this round. The list is getting bigger every week!

See you next week!

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Bank Audi, I apologize

On October 1st I published this blog post criticizing Bank Audi for planning to buy Ahwet El Ezez in Gemmayze and turn it into a new branch,  and I based my post back then on a couple of blog posts that I saw here and here.

But according to Tarek, a fellow blogger from Waja3Ras.com who sent a complaint letter to Bank Audi about the matter, the whole thing turned to be a rumor, and below is the comment he left on my post:

From Banque Audi after I wrote a complaint email:

“We would like to assure you that Bank Audi has not bought and has no intention to buy ”Ahwet El Ezez” to establish a branch in Gemmayze. Please note that we already have a branch in that area.

On the other hand, Bank Audi is committed to preserve national and cultural heritage and has in the past shown its commitment. For example, the old villa in Achrafieh-Sursock has been preserved and turned into a cultural center/ museum.”

Therefore, and based on Bank Audi’s reply, I would like to apologize to them for the post. I should have double checked the news before writing about it.

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Abou Talal – Saida’s best news analyst

Are you following Chi NN on NEW TV? It’s a new (relatively new!) comedy show featuring two news anchors, Fouad and Edmond, who keep us up to date with Lebanon’s social and political news in a sarcastic way, with the help of Jad who does on the ground funny news reports and Abou Talal who’s from Saida and positions himself as the best news analyst!

So Abou Talal knows it all and always has an answer to ANY question, be it related to politics, sports, or society! He’s just hilarious, from the way he dresses and fixes his hair to the way he comes up with smart conclusions! The video below features the best sketches for Abou Talal from season 1 of Chi NN. Make sure to watch it if you want to start you weekend with a laugh!

Chi NN is currently being aired every Monday at 8:40PM.

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Lebanese blogosphere weekly link roundup (2010/10/03)

15 New links for this week roundup.

See you next week!

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Captured on camera: Lebanese cop beating a taxi driver

A lot of people often claim that Lebanese cops only use force with the poor people who are not backed up by anyone. The video below just proves it…

I wonder how would the cop have acted if the same driver was riding a 2010 Mercedes/BMW with a black number plate.

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Bank Audi is insensitive!

I really don’t understand how Bank Audi who agreed to execute the below ad to promote a new credit card is the same one who’s planning to replace one of the oldest coffee houses in Beirut, Ahwet El Ezez, with a bank!

The old man in the ad (who appears to be living in a beautiful old house) is recalling the good old days of Lebanon, when he used to commute using the tramway, and go to Saint George, Teleferique, Casino du Liban, AUB, and Carlton (which was demolished few years ago). I’m pretty sure Ahwet El Ezez fits very well in this ad, but with Bank Audi’s decision to replace it, they’re just acting like a guy who hates himself! With the memories he’s recalling, the old man in the ad would never in his life want to see Saint George being demolished for example!

Photo via Beirut Spring

I totally understand Beirut is short on spaces for big offices, but it isn’t like Ahwet El Ezez is the last available space in the city.

Bank Audi is just committing a crime against Beirut Heritage. Who do they think they are?!

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Rotten meat at TSC Supermarket (City Mall)

Having TSC Dora (located inside City Mall) very close to my workplace, I got used to passing by it on my way back home to buy my groceries and take advantage of the crazy offers they do every now and then.

Few weeks ago I wanted to buy some entrecote steak, so I went there and just asked one of the butchers for what I wanted. He proceeded with picking one of the vacuum packages, opening it, and cutting the meat on one of the table, but just as he started working with the meat he grabbed a large portion of it, smelled its odor and directly threw away the whole package. I immediately concluded that the meat must have been rotten from the expression on his face, still I made sure to ask him as he approached the refrigerator to pick another package and he confirmed the meat was bad.


The meat refrigerator at TSC Dora

I disregarded what happened and said to myself it might happen anywhere… but I got really surprised when the same thing happened when he picked the second package and threw it away, and AGAIN with a third package! As he picked the fourth one, he opened it right in front of me, smelled it and said “This one is OK”, but I insisted to check its odor by myself, and turned out it was really ok. I was a bit hesitant about continuing to buy the meat, but then just told him to proceed and give me 2 Kilos. Note that the packages were all refrigerated and had the very same color.

Few days ago, I went to get some rib cutlets, and that’s when I got shocked. As usual after getting my order, the butcher proceeded to pick one of the packages and went to his table. He opened the bag, and this time directly smelled the meat and threw it away!!! He approached the refrigerator and picked another package without giving me any explanation, so I just called him and told him to disregard my order. I wasn’t ready to risk my health again!

The first time it happened I just assumed it might be a bad coincidence, but turned out it’s a recurring thing at TSC! And by observing how the butchers were behaving, it seemed like they’re very used to encountering rotten meat while working.

And I’m not the only one who’s complaining about it, I did a quick search on Google for reviews on the meat at TSC, and found that the same thing happened to Samer almost 2 years ago. The funniest thing about his experience was when the customer service personnel told him he’s ready to cook the meat and eat it as a proof that it doesn’t cause any harm!

Needless to say this is so wrong on all levels, and I hope the people in charge at TSC can read this post or Samer’s to implement the necessary controls on their meat before making it to the shelves for people to buy.

My experience probably poses the issue of food safety in Lebanon in general and not at TSC only. I happened to be one of their regular customers, but the same thing might be happening at Spinney’s, Le Charcutier Aoun, Abi Khalil, COOP… or any other place! Which is scary indeed…

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