Forming a Cabinet Won’t Change Anything, But It’ll Make Politicians Stealing More Difficult

The past year has been horrible. The first was the incredibly disappointing, rigged election after a decade of none. An election that renewed the unfortunate mandate for our warlords in suits. The second was the inability of this cabal of corrupt octogenarians to form a government twice the size of the US’s.

The situation is not new, and we’ve spent years and months without governments or presidents, and life goes on. I guess that’s testament to how ineffective and useless our government is.

However, the “good” thing about a government is their weekly meetings, where they can haggle and hassle each other. The past 8 months, each minister is basically king of his cabinet, doing as he pleases without the need to get an OK from the entire cabinet as is done when a cabinet isn’t in “caretaker” status.

Now, caretaker governments mean that the ministries can’t take big decisions or major policy changes, but we know our crooked politicians couldn’t care less about our laws or constitution. So, what’s basically happened, is that they’ve been allowed to roam free and pillage what little money is leftover, without any of the other ministers saying a peep.

So, for everyone putting so much hope on formation of a cabinet, don’t, it’s just a recycled version of all the other ineffective and corrupt governments of our lifetime. However, the current state means that the microscopic oversight that existed, is gone now, and the ability for the former militias to derail other militias’ attempts to gorge themselves on our taxes, is basically gone.

Must be nice to be a caretaker minister raking in the big bucks while we’re stuck in inundated traffic, with shitty Internet and a cop writing us a ticket half our salary…

Hilton Hotel Downtown Beirut Finally Opens

The 8-story building was completed quite a few years back in 2007, and just before it was set to open, it didn’t. Speculation immediately began that the deteriorating situation in the country scared off the luxury hotel giant from opening it’s third property in Lebanon. This was especially worrisome, given that the original Hilton Beirut was set to open just a day after the 1975 Civil War broke out in Lebanon.

However, it seems that the geopolitical and local situation wasn’t the issue that kept it from opening, but good old-fashioned business wrangling between the parties involved, as explained in an Executive magazine article in 2010.

It’s Finally Open

The hotel will have 158 guest rooms, and plenty of space for workshops, events and has a rooftop pool that opens in summer.

Here are a few shots of the completed, and finally open Hilton in Downtown Beirut.

12 Gorgeous Aerial Photos of Lebanon by Rami Rizk

With the always-deteriorating bad news we’re bombarded with, the severe hopelessness most of us feel, the tough living conditions we endure and the desperate wish of many of us to leave, it’s easy to lose some of our love for Lebanon.

However, despite the garbage, the poor urban planning, the dumping of toxic waste in our sea, rivers, mountains and valleys, Lebanon remains gorgeous with its many hidden gems and constant contradictions.

Rami Rizk is an aerial photographer, and his feed on Instagram is full of breathtaking photos from across the country. I selected a few of his photos to share with you here, you can see the rest of the 450+ here.

Of course, my favorite one was a bit biased, but it was taken in my beloved hometown of Ehden, with an almost daily event where the clouds rise up and settle at the foot of the town. Rami was lucky enough to find a clearing that looked like a heart ❤ (it’s the photo at the top of this post)

“Questioning Radicalism” Ad Causes Uproar in Lebanon After Journalist Shares It

It’s like a legion of angry men is at the ready at their keyboards for each Dima Sadek post, ready to unmask their thin mask of civility and unload on the popular news anchor. It also feels like Dima knows this, and trolls these people to show how they really feel and think for the rest of us not in her position.

Regardless, she shared one of the the three images below yesterday on Facebook, and the comments below are gut-wrenching honestly. In a way though, she kinda proved the message the ad was questioning (radicalism), was indeed valid, and the majority of the comments show that people here cannot take an opinion that doesn’t go in line with the fake party line most people subscribe to but don’t really believe in.

Anyway, the ad is by Y&R PRague, for The Reporter, a monthly magazine in the Czech Republic that focuses on independent, investigative journalism. The campaign was called “Changing Perspectives” and the one Dima shared was called “Questioning Radicalism”, which along with “Questioning Neo-Nazis” and “Questioning War” have won several ad awards since it came out in the spring of 2018.

I love this campaign because it’s controversial enough to spark outrage from people who sympathize with some of the ideologies being questioned, but not overtly offensive enough to merit slander and libel claims. It just makes people anxious I guess when the possibility that some people might not conform to their wishes is put into art work.

I thank Dima for always trolling the bigots, because no matter what your opinion of the piece of art is, the reactions that its sharing garnered are the real story here, and what we should all be concerned about.

Avoid Traffic Nightmares: TMO’s App and Live Cameras

The last few days were a reminder of how even more hellish Lebanon’s roads can become with a bit of wind and some rain.

The Dbayeh flooding, the Cola Bridge scare and lots of other traffic incidents and misinformation led to historic traffic jams and people needing dinghy-riding paramedics to rescue them from their inundated cars.

Finding reliable information is tricky, given Whatsapp broadcasts are overwhelmingly false or fabricated, Twitter threads are rarely fact-checked before spreading widely and radio stations and live TV broadcasts might not be as readily available when you’re planning your way home from work or school.

Being forced to commute to and from Beirut every day, means there’s a few hidden routes and tricks I’ve learned over the years, but the one which has been most helpful that I don’t feel enough people know about, is the TMO app.

TMO stands for Traffic Management Organization, and it’s a joint initiative that combines Lebanon’s traffic authority, the ISF, the National News Agency and concerned citizens to try and rectify traffic-related issues and raise awareness and provide guidance for motorists and commuters.

The App

Their app is a functional one, with several tabs that can be of service for drivers in Lebanon.

The most valuable function for me is their live traffic map, with camera feeds updated every few minutes on all the major choke-points of traffic in and around Beirut.

Apart from the color-coded maps like Google Maps and Waze, you can click on the cameras on your route to check the current state of traffic on your way, and plan accordingly or take a different road.

Here’s an example when you click on one of the cameras:

Notifications

Apart from that, the app sends regular push notifications about road closures, snow piling up or accidents.

Mecanique Fees and Live Cameras

One cool use is calculating your mecanique fees in-app, you can also check the lines at the mecanique centers where you need to take your cars to make sure they’re road-worthy before paying your annual fees.

Driver’s Ed

If you’re about to do your driving license, there’s even a quiz tab where you can brush up on your material before your exams, although I highly recommend everyone go through that quiz given how many poor drivers we have on the street.

Report an Issue

Apart from reporting accidents and traffic issues to TMC on Twitter, you can do it form the app as well, by submitting a photo and some details about what happened so the necessary authorities can proceed to fix it.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Android

iOS

Pierre Rabbat Sinks to New Low: Lying to Police After MTV Boss Underage Son Not Allowed in Club

Each time I think MTV’s posse has hit rock bottom, they prove me wrong and dig even deeper. The Satanism fabricated news and “how to eat a banana with a fork and knife” TV station’s star host, did something that even I couldn’t fathom he’d be able to do.

Rabbat’s Descent into Cheap Thug

The MTV owner’s son is underage, but despite that, Rabbat takes him out clubbing regularly for some reason. However, one club wasn’t ok with underage kids going in, no matter who their dad is.

Rabbat’s first impulse was to take petty revenge, or at least try to, by telling a fake tip to the Tourism Police scouting the area. He went apeshit after his underage friend was denied entry, and told the police that his own underage friends are in that club right now, and that they should go into and fine the club.

The police followed up, and entered the sanctity of the club in their uniforms, something extreme and unacceptable in a country like Lebanon. They even wrote up the ticket, without a single underage person found. After being confronted with that, the tourism police had no choice but to void and tear up the ticket, given there was no evidence of anyone underage, and Pierre Rabbat was just trying to be a two-bit thug for the underage kid of the guy that pays his salary.

Kinda sad really. But it’s also extremely nice to see him fail so miserably and humiliate himself for trying to attack the clubbing scene in Lebanon, because a club was following the law, and didn’t want to let in his underage buddy in their wasta-driven mindset of breaking the law.

Pierre Rabbat and His Underage Friend Should be Fined

If the Tourism Police want us to have faith in their work and noble mission of fighting underage drinking again, they need to do more than just cancel the fine, they need to fine Pierre Rabbat and his underage BFF for wasting taxpayer’s money, the police’s time and trying to terrorize a club and its patrons for not doing a wasta for some spoiled brat and his 30-something friend.

I hope the Tourism minister takes the necessary measures to make sure the Tourism Police is never again manipulated by despicable people like Rabbat again, and forced to become something that hurts tourism for petty ego trips instead of protect this vital, embattled sector.

Also, I hope for once that the clubbing community comes together instead of bicker amongst themselves, and ban these two wannabe thugs from ever gracing a dancefloor in Beirut with their negative energy and pitiful, petty, downright thugish selves. No clubber should ever feel threatened by losers like this pair. They crossed a massive red line, and they should not be welcome in our clubs.

Let them stick to fabricating news and stealing people’s intellectual property for their twitter-bot-fueled rated-third-always “show”, and leave the men and women dancing their worries away in Lebanon’s clubs from their delusions of grandeur and thug-wannabe impulses.

Rabbat, you should be ashamed of yourself for what you did, and apologize publicly for this disgusting stunt you pulled. Grow up, and stop hanging out with underage kids at clubs.

Boshies x Gino’s Blog: Limited Edition تكنو T-Shirts

I met Elias, the founder of Boshies, late last year. We met up so I could get my very own iconic “حب” hoodie. We sat down and he opened his laptop and explained to me the idea behind “Boshies”.

“Neo Oriental”

Identity crisis is an understatement when it comes to Lebanese folks, especially the younger ones. Arab, Phoenician, Persian, Ottoman, European and the list goes on and on. This struggle to define our identity is something I myself felt for years. Am I Arab? Can I be? Should I be?

After living abroad for a few years, I finally understood that yes, I am an Arab and Lebanese man, and I’m damn proud of it. Instead of getting hung up on stereotypes and ideas that I don’t agree with when it comes to the mainstream idea of being Arab, I decided I’d own my identity instead of be confused about. I decided that I’ll be my kind of Arab, one that’s secular, liberal and values individual rights above the mob mentality that plagues so many of our 22 countries.

I quickly noticed Elias felt sorta the same. Instead of shunning things like the “Tarboosh”, he reimagined it, made it his own and made it fit our lifestyle and attitudes.

Since then, the products Boshies has rolled out have all had an empowering message of love, tolerance and freedom. Repackaging what it means to be Lebanese and Arab so it fits more with our nation’s liberated youth.

Boshies x Gino’s Blog

A few months later, we thought it would be a cool idea to create a limited edition line of t-shirts. We quickly realized that a lot of the swag we wear to parties and festivals is imported. There was almost no local alternative, in our mother tongue and made here. So, we decided to create a “Techno” t-shirt.

Boshies t-shirts are made in Lebanon. They’re cut, stitched and decorated right here in Beirut.

We released the first limited edition with “Techno” in Arabic, glitched with the colors of this blog’s logo (a serotonin molecule), on t-shirts and crop tops.

There’s no reason not to wear locally-made, locally-designed apparel that fits our lifestyle and moods. Enough being confused about our identities, we need to start making our own.

If you’d like a Techno t-shirt, please get in touch with Boshies. We deliver all across Lebanon, and if you really want it, anywhere around the world.

Special thank you to my beloved Krystelle for her support and modeling the crop top, and The Grand Factory family for letting us debut the swag in their club ❤

MARCH’s Hona Beirut Christmas Pop-Up for your Last Minute Christmas Shopping for a Cause!

Many people ask me what I exactly do for a living, and the answer is for a couple of years, I was full-time at MARCH Lebanon, an NGO I’ve been part of for more than 6 years now. I might not be full-time anymore now that my career path has taken me on new adventures in TV, but MARCH and our activities are something still dear to my heart and always support.

What’s Hona Beirut?

Earlier this year, the intense months of hard work were done, and Hona Beirut opened its doors. Hona Beirut stands on a plot of land that used to be a junkyard on the border between Beirut and Ghobeiri, right across the highway from Horsh Beirut.

Today, it’s green again, with a large garden and outdoor spaces all around a prefabricated cultural cafe, recording studio, workshop space and a fun place to hang out for some wholesome fun for Beirut’s young men and women.

If you are looking for a place to have a meeting, or just work on your laptop, play a board game or even take a free workshop, I recommend you go there when you can. The staff is all young men and women from Beirut’s most marginalized areas, and the prices are extremely affordable.

https://www.facebook.com/HonaBeirutCafeBKaffak

Christmas Market of Handmade Goods!

This Christmas season, MARCH has its young men and women’s work on full display at Hona Beirut.

Over the years, MARCH’s Kahwetna in Tipoli, and Hona Beirut in the capital, have trained and supported hundreds of young men and women from neighborhoods like Beb El Tebbeneh, Jabal Mohsen, Khandal El Ghamik, Tarik Jdideh, and many others.

This included graphic design intensive workshops, furniture upcylcing courses, music making and choreography. Everything from witty tote bags and t-shirts, to purses, jewelry and even furniture is on display for you to buy for yourself or as a gift this holiday season.

Along with the Christmas market, live entertainment and yummy food and beverages will be available. All the items are very affordable and handmade with love and hope, so it works for your Secret Santa at work or school too!

RSVP on the event, which is happening Thursday December 20, 5:00–10:00PM

https://www.facebook.com/HonaBeirutCafeBKaffak

Both Ragheb Alameh and Hikmat Deeb are Wrong, but Ragheb Wins This Round

The whole debacle about Ragheb Alameh’s new pop song “Tar El Bald” (The Country is “gone”) is just as stupid as our politicians and ruling class.

The obvious money-grab by a pop star trying to sell some albums off our despair and distress, was threatened on Lebanon’s barely-watched, probiotics-peddling, pro-governmental mouthpiece of OTV.

The MP Hikmat Deeb, one of the 128 thieves who stole taxpayers’ rights to vote for 8 years by illegally extending for themselves, resorted to an ISIS-style threat of beheading the washed-up pop star.

Why Ragheb is Wrong

Ragheb Alameh is part of the elite. He sings at weddings of Lebanon’s princesses and princes for hundreds of thousands of dollars. He makes house calls to MPs and ministers ahead of their elections to boost their chances.

So, seeing him use footage of taxpayers like us being beaten and gassed in the streets, to sell records, was in poor taste. It made me think of Kendall Jenner giving a soft drink to some cop in the protests after Trump’s racist policies became a reality for a horrible Pepsi ad. It’s extremely tone-deaf, and aims to capitalize off our plight in this stinky, dark and corrupt piece of land on the Eastern Mediterranean.

So, I’m sorry Ragheb, but you don’t get to use the people’s struggle to make a new pop song, when you’re BFFs with most of the octogenarian warlords in suits and are allegedly guilty of many of the crimes like tax evasion and “wasta” that they are also charged with.

Why Hikmat Deeb is More Wrong

Hikmat Deeb did a much bigger transgression because his salary is paid by you and me. Ragheb makes his money by people choosing to pay or listen, but Deeb and his ruling party are paid for by our taxes, and unwillingly by the overwhelming majority of us, given how they kept extending for themselves till they created an electoral law that ensures they stay superglued to those seats.

Secondly, Deeb’s party and their allies are notorious for arresting taxpayers for simple statuses and tweets that mention their royal family. So, how dare he threaten to decapitate an artist, and pretend “it’s just spontaneous” when people who criticized his boss spent days and weeks in jail for much less extreme comments?

If you wanna arrest the people that pay your salary for a status, then you better shut your mouth when it comes to threats and insults, and focus instead on making our lives a little less shitty so Ragheb Alameh can’t make songs about how bad of a job you and your buddies are doing.

Grow Up

It’s sad how the macho-man stupidity affects most people in positions of power and influence. Deeb, you’re doing a shit job, so don’t go apeshit if someone sings about it. If your culture is decapitation and stuff, keep it at home, not on TV while you’re doing the job my fuel and phone bill pay you for. Because you’re working for us, not your political masters, and we aren’t with beheading people who don’t clap for us regardless of our terrible track record.

Anyway, here’s the video, nkeye bi that FPM woman who threatened (Trump-style) to use tax evasion against Alameh. Habibteh, if he’s evading taxes, why did you wait till now to go after him? Says a lot about your 3ahd that you just go after those that don’t bow down and worship your master every day. Shame on you all.

The Rise of B 018

A chalet with the number “B 018″ was a place where Naji Gebran would put on some music and gather some friends to drown out the sounds of bullets and artillery shells that drowned Beirut in the 80s.

As that chalet musical refuge grew, the location shifted to Sin El Fil and became a cornerstone of Beirut’s post-war clubbing scene. In 1998, the club moved to Karantina, the capital’s former “quarantine” zone that was extremely undeveloped and just a segment of the city you just drive by without ever stopping.

The iconic club was designed by Bernard Khoury to mirror the location’s tough history, quickly put Beirut back on the nightlife map, with friends I’ve met across the world telling me they’d love to visit Beirut and try the subterranean club where parties lasted well after dawn.

The Rebirth

Luckily, Bernard Khoury was tapped for the redesign, and here’s what he had to say: “the authentic spirit of this nightclub will remain intact; B018 will always be incrusted in the heart of Quarantina and will retain its heartbeat. The new design will certainly pay tribute to this spot’s glorious history, while reflecting its character and authenticity”.

What’s New

Uberhaus’ Nemer Saliba, Ali Saleh and Romy Habre are also partners now, and will be working together with B0’s CEO Michel Ghanem.

The interior has been rebuilt from scratch, with a sleek, solid stone floor, walls, bars, bathrooms and even AC diffusers.

Here are some shots I took this Saturday night:

Schedule: Jazz, 80s, Techno, Disco PLUS Food

B 018 began as a jazz club, with acid jazz helping make B 018 the clubbing icon it has become in Lebanon. In a nod to the club’s early days, Tuesdays and Wednesdays will feature live acts from Lebanon and abroad, paired with a modern Asian cuisine by Mario Jr. Haddad.

Tuesday & Wednesday: Live acts
Thursday: 80s Night with Rodge
Friday: Electronic music night
Saturday: “Nu-Disco” with Cotton Candy’s DJette, followed by Techno and House music till late

I think it’s great that Asian food will now be available at the venue, with five days a week different themes and music, with the weekends catering to B 018’s die hard fans who’ve been eagerly awaiting the renovation (myself included).

It Opens This Week

See you all there!