Archive for October, 2009
Beirut Critical Mass Bike Rides
Critical Mass bike rides take place monthly in cities around the world. They are free mass participatory events, with no leaders or fixed agendas. However, the broad aim is to celebrate cycling and sustainable transport, and to give cyclists safety in numbers. The Critical Mass Beirut, Lebanon take place on the last Saturday of every month, The first of which will be this Saturday October 31st. Meeting point in Sanayeh Park at 12pm. Credits: Picture
Petition to Stop Smoking in Public Areas in Lebanon
Dear Lebanese Citizens, it is our duty to become a lobbying force when the health of our families and children is concerned. Our demand is simple: ask the authorities to make sure to provide a non smoking section in every pub, bar, restaurant, café or public place.
http://www.stopsmokinglebanon.org
PS: I found out about this from IdentityChef
And the largest Tabbooleh dish goes to…
The world’s largest Tabbouleh dish was prepared today in Saifi Market, Beirut, and earned a new entry in the Guinness book world records, in a giant effort to confirm that “Hummus and Tabbouleh are Lebanese”
Was it fun? Totally.
Was it a priority? I would have preferred to have the public transportation improved, however, a big tabbooleh plate does not prevent the authorities rfom fixing our roads.
Was it worth it? A new entry in the Guiness book, walaw! And economical gain, resulting from the branding of Hummus and Tabbouleh as Lebanese.
TheCedarTree considers this food contest ridiculous, Rami thinks it is habal, Maya that it is pointless, adiamondinsunlight bizarre.
What did Fady Abboud, president of The Association of Lebanese Industrialists have to say?
“The record-breaking attempt hopes to lay claims to the dishes’ cultural heritage and dispel international belief that the dishes are Greek or Israeli in origin. A lot of countries are trying to dishonestly appropriate these dishes and this in turn results in colossal losses.”
Assad decrees Syria smoking ban
Wow, even in Syria, smoking is banned inside cafes, restaurants and other public spaces, as well as in educational institutions, health centres, sports halls, cinemas and theatres and on public transport.
Syria
I wonder when the self-rated smartest-people-on-earth will follow.
Haifa wehbe singing I Will Survive
The international diva Haifa Wehbe هيفاء وهبي – in a clear branding shift from her children songs to a teenagers pop star singing her Arabic version of I Will Survive (انا قادرة أعيش, Ana Adra Aish) in Agadir (Morocco) on the 17th of October 2009, during the Concert pour la Tolérance, broadcasted by M6 & 2M
The video:
Rami Eid, aka. The man in the Cube, IndyACT
Indyact’s Man in the Cube project got more coverage than expected:
Starting from Indyact’s website, and the blog set this project
… to Lebanese blogs
Lebanese newspapers
Beirut distributing free compact florescent light bulbs!
YAY for the city of Beirut! In an unprecedented initiative to reduce global warming (and electricity bills), and since the Beirut Municipality care about its citizens and about the environment, the municipality gave away free compact florescent light bulbs at all Beirut Library branches this Saturday between noon and 4 p.m. The bulbs are provided as part of City Light’s Twist & Save program.
Finally, the public servants are doing some real work for the salaries we pay them!
Here is an excerpt for a Dailystar article that covered the event:
Beirut – Mayor Abdel Mounim Ariss joined community and business leaders today to launch Beirut Climate Action Now, a grassroots campaign to encourage everyone in Beirut to reduce global warming pollution at home, on the road and in their neighborhoods.
Sponsored by the city of Beirut with the support of community groups & nonprofit organizations, Beirut Climate Action Now (www.beirutcan.org) will help people make smart choices to protect the city and the planet from the threat of climate change. Using online resources and community events, the public awareness campaign will connect people across the street and across the city make a difference for the future of our environment.
Beirut is working to reach that goal by providing clean, renewable energy through City Light; encouraging the construction of energy-efficient commercial and residential buildings, promoting the use of alternative fuels; and making it easier and safer to walk, bike and take transit.
A centerpiece of Beirut Climate Action Now is a new web site – www.beirutcan.org – that will make it easy for everyone to get involved. It features simple steps that people can take to cut carbon emissions that are causing global warming. The site’s calendar and homepage will be a clearinghouse for information about climate-related events and activities across the city.The web site will also feature Zerofootprint Beirut, a first-of-its-kind climate-action planner that allows people to develop personalized actions plans for reducing their climate pollution. Zerofootprint Beirut also allows residents to see the effect of their actions individually, and it adds them up to show the community-wide benefit.
To good to be true?
This blog post about the issue of climate change on October 15th is part of the Blog Action Day annual event.
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Movie: The One Man Village سمعان بالضيعة
The One Man Village is currently played in Empire Sofil
In his comforting and humorous film, Simon El Habre observes the life in his quasi ghost village and tries to reflect on the collective and individual memory in a country that seems to live in a collective amnesia and is vulnerable to a new civil war.
Semaan El Habre: The film that we are shooting is actually my life story, how I live, how I deal with the cows. There is no scenario. It’s what I truly do every minute, every hour of the day…
Trailer & censored scene:
3rd Edition Of MIT Arab Business Plan Competition Launched
The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition is a competition designed to encourage all entrepreneurs in the Arab world to start their own company and, ultimately, create a nest of leading firms in the Arab world. It also brings to the Arab world all the MIT expertise in entrepreneurship and in running such competitions.
Armigatus 