The world’s richest man is currently in Lebanon and is having dinner tonight at Pr.Sleiman’s palace.
He beat Bill Gates by “only” 500 million dollars. Only 2el !
I was reading a bit about this man and he is very different from other billionaires. He does not use a computer, he has a very humble house, he meets with his kids for a regular dinner every Monday. [Article from the Telegraph].
More Info on Slim from Forbes
Net Worth: $53.5 bil
Fortune: Self Made
Source: telecom
Libya has reportedly threatened to oust Lebanese nationals if Beirut decided to boycott the Arab League summit in Tripoli.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Libya has prepared the “appropriate response” should Lebanon decide to boycott the summit
Let’s wait and see how the Shiites, mainly Nabih Berri, will respond to that.
Over 20000 Lebanese working in Libya are at stake here.
For those not knowledgeable, Lebanon has been boycotting Lybia for over 30 years for a presumed role in the kidnapping of Moussa el Sadr, even though there was no proof concerning that matter and many accuse Nabih Berri & the Palestinians of involvement in the dissapearing of Moussa el Sadr.
Till when will Europeans be victims of their moderate and selfless acts ? I don’t know, but time to react and do something about the Islamization threat is running out.
“It is against unbelieving and apostate Switzerland that jihad (holy war) ought to be proclaimed by all means,” Mr Gaddafi said in a speech in the Mediterranean coastal city of Bengazi to mark the birthday of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.
“Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism,” he said.
“Any Muslim around the world who has dealings with Switzerland is an infidel (and is) against Islam, against Mohammed, against God, against the Koran,” the leader told a crowd of thousands in a speech broadcast live on television.
3a 2bel 3anna 
[Ukraine Elections]
On the streets of the capital, Kiev, Yanukovych supporters have been gathering, hoping to bid a final farewell to the Orange Revolution.
At last, the victory that we have been waiting for,” said chef Galina Khomchenko, 43, as loud music blared from the stage set up in the square.
“This Orange nightmare has finally come to an end.”
The famous bomb detector that most Lebanese go through in all malls, shopping centers, government buildings etc … apparently does not work !
a BBC Newsnight investigation reported that a computer laboratory said the card it examined contained only a tag used by shops to prevent theft. [More]
The man behind the ADE-651 was arrested and accused of fraud.
This is an immoral and unacceptable act. I hope Mr.Jim McCormick, director of the company behind those useless bomb detectors, doesn’t get away with it !
They are in use everywhere from Thailand to Pakistan and Lebanon
Let’s hope one day our own government will be stating such a clear truth and be strong enough to disarm this militia with the help of the Lebanese army. Until then, it is always good to hear people talking common sense and facts.
Cultural Attaché at the U.S. embassy in Beirut Ryan Gliha has stressed that Hizbullah is a “terrorist” organization, reiterating that Washington’s stance from the group “won’t change.”
“Al-Manar television and al-Nour radio station are trying to tarnish the economic image in the U.S.,” the U.S. diplomat said.
“These two media outlets have not been classified as terrorist channels for that reason, but for their extreme support for Hizbullah,” Gliha added.
A disastrous earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti two days ago. [Pictures] More than 50,000 are believed dead, Port-au-Prince was flattened and there are still thousands of people missing under the rubble.
The Presidential palace was destroyed as well. Haitian president has no place to go as his own house was destroyed too.
To make things worse, Bottlenecks and infrastructure damage have been holding up aid efforts in Haiti. [More]
May God be with those people and with all the Lebanese stuck there.
Here is an early live footage of the quake taken from a surveillance camera facing the presidential palace.
A party that sets bombs in embassies outside Lebanon, founds terrorist cells in foreign countries, trades cocaine and all sorts of drugs all over the world, yet legalized by the Lebanese government.
Wel Balad machi … wala yhemmak !
All March 14 leaders, mainly Saad Hariri, will regret dearly not standing up to Hezbollah, even if it meant a new civil war, because the alternative they’ve chosen is taking them and all the Lebanese to a much darker path.
German investigators are probing Hizbullah’s alleged cocaine smuggling in Europe and the transfer of the profits to Lebanon via Frankfurt airport, a German magazine said.
A report in Der Spiegel magazine on Saturday said initial suspicion that Hizbullah was raising funds by smuggling cocaine was raised in May 2008 when around 8.7 million euros in cash were found in the luggage of four Lebanese men at Frankfurt airport.
Those receiving the money in Lebanon are said to be members of a family with contacts with the highest levels of the Hizbullah command, including leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Knowing that the Muslim population of Switzerland constitutes 4%, i am not sure if this is a good decision or not to be honest. Freedom of thought and religion are sacred in Europe, but so is secularism.
If you read the article below, you will notice how subjective and one-sided the author is, and how stupid was the reaction of some of the Muslim community throughout the world (boycotting swiss products for example).
I posted this on purpose to prove a very valid point in which i might agree with the Swiss on this decision:
- Why can’t a swiss practice Christianity in a muslim country but a muslim finds it insulting that he can’t build mosques minarets in Switzerland ?
Dubai, Qatar and KSA have plenty of Christians living there, yet i don’t see them complaining about practicing religion because they respect those nations’ laws.
Why can’t Muslims do the same in Europe ? Why Isolate themselves instead of integrating the society ?
PS: Next thing you know, they will ask Switzerland to change its flag because it has a cross on it !!
Der Spiegel | By Gabor Steingart
When he entered office, US President Barack Obama promised to inject US foreign policy with a new tone of respect and diplomacy. His recent trip to Asia, however, showed that it’s not working. A shift to Bush-style bluntness may be coming.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against the use of crucifixes in classrooms in Italy.
It said the practice violated the right of parents to educate their children as they saw fit, and ran counter to the child’s right to freedom of religion. [More]
I have seen pathetic decisions in my life and this is one of them. Fortunatelly, this court has no legal power inside Italy and can’t do anything to impose such a “shameful” rule.
Here is a post done by a member of the LF forum that pretty much resumes my answer to this decision.
“While driving yesterday, I was listening to talk show on radio. They were discussing this topic. A muslim caller (a lady) said that for her it is offending and it is intimidating to see a cross in a classroom. Another caller called and replied, When I see you with scarfs or in black from head to toe it is offending to me and my country’s culture. It is you who have to adapt to my culture, you immigrated here and not me. You have to follow the culture of the country you immigrated too and not me adapting to your culture. He also added, how come as a Christian, I can’t visit Mecca or build a church or show a cross in Saudi Arabia.
He added, your demands make harm to you and Islam more than helping. “
What started as a “soccer diplomacy” was followed by a historic accord to normalize the relations between the two countries.
Was it a mistake for the Armenian president to normalize the ties with a country that refuses to acknolwedge the massacre of over a million Armenians during the 1915-1922 period ??
I honestly believe it was an ethically wrong move but pragmatically correct and unselfish and the Armenian people will thank their president in the years to come for it.
Reasons behind this normalization are three:
1- Armenia has suffered for more than 16 years now from the embargo set by Ankara, described as one of the longest such sanctions in the world. Added to that, its conflict with Azerbajian (Turkey’s ally) over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has damaged the economy even further. (See Map & Article).
2- Pressures from E.U & the USA to normalize the relations and pave the way for a new pipeline (The Nabucco pipeline) that would run through Turkey and cut Europe’s dependence on Russia. [...]
Of course, Armenia would have to withdraw its troops from Azerbajian for that matter to happen.
3- Normalization would avoid Armenia & Turkey a humiliation. How so ?
Armenians still have few years to make Turkey acknowledge the genocide, after that, they will lose their right to do so as any genocide having occured over 100 years ago cannot be legally pursued.
Turkey on the other hand will never have to acknowledge the genocide and therefore avoid an internal crisis if Turkey’s founder Ataturk was found guilty of war crimes. A historian claims Turkey is scared of admitting the genocide due to its repercussions.
In conclusion, reopening the border would increase Turkey’s chances of integrating the E.U, and give landlocked Armenia access to Turkish and European markets and boost its economy.
Who said Arabs aren’t creative ?
I’d be surprised too if i were him.
Not that i have anything against Obama, but i can only imagine such a Nobel Prize going to someone like Mother Theresa or Mandella etc …
But then again, if Yasser Arafat managed to get himself a Nobel Prize for peace, why wouldn’t Obama manage to get himself one ?
Some Middle Eastern leaders expressed hope on Friday that Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize will push him to fulfill promises made to the world’s Muslims [More]. I guess Arabs cannot last long without making a complete joke of themselves.
Last but not least, the Nobel Prize Obama won is worth 1.4 million dollars.
An Afghan bill allowing a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex has been published in the official gazette and become law.
The law has been backed by the hardline Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohseni, who is thought to have influence over the voting intentions of some Shias, who make up around 20 per cent of the population. Mr. Karzai has assiduously courted such minority leaders in the run up to next Thursday’s election, which is likely to be close, according to a poll released on Friday.
Nchallah Kel marra hek
A deadly Iranian plane crash on July 15 was caused by the explosion of ammunition destined for Hizbullah, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
According to the report, the pilot of the Tupolev plane, which was making its way from Tehran to the Armenian capital of Yerevan, sent an emergency warning 16 minutes after takeoff.
Shortly afterwards, the Caspian Airlines plane crashed near the city of Qazvin, northwest of Tehran, killing all 168 on board.
According to sources in the Middle East, the plane was meant to transfer the arms from Iran to Armenia, and from there to Syria through Turkey, and finally to Lebanon.
President Obama yesterday stood by his criticism that Cambridge police “acted stupidly’’ when they arrested Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.[More]
How can the president of the United States allow himself to disrespect the police in that way ??
I read a lot of stories on the incident and nothing was “racist” about it. The Sergeant accused of “acting stupidly”, a highly respected veteran supervisor with a distinguished record in the Cambridge Police Department, refused to apologize. [Story]
Obama has been doing everything except being a president since he came to power. Unclear & conflicting positions on most issues, lack of courage in decision-making and some even went as far as calling him a narcissist. Only last week he was pitching in a baseball game, but of course since he is the first black American president, we don’t critisize him. Of course, if it were Bush u would have had already flash games mocking him.
Tons of critics arose upon Obama’s clumsy statement, two worthy mentioning:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, thought if it was “appropriate for our nation’s commander in chief to stand before a national audience and criticize the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day.’’
Some also wondered why the nation’s first black president, who ran a campaign that attempted to blunt race as an issue, addressed race so directly on a national platform.
