2011 May 11 – Gino's Blog

Beirutnightlife.com Shamelessly Steals Intellectual Property

Before we start, it is mostly my fault for trusting BNL. I should’ve put things down in paper, cause I have learned how unprofessional, cheap and sad that website is the hard way. I have learned now never to trust in anyone motivated by one thing: money.

When I submitted my resignation at BNL, I decided to keep things to myself, after all, what’s done is done. However, consecutive transgressions on the part of BNL has forced me to shed some light on a few, very sad things. I won’t discuss all the dirt, because that’s not who I am. I will only state the things that involve me personally.

The Weekly Leaks name was created by a close friend of mine, for me. I published it on BeirutNightlife as my own column, much like the “La Wloooo” series by Rita Dahdah. In other words, I created the concept and content, despite BNL’s protests against the name, and my insistence on putting it. Also, anticipating that BNL will seek to capitalize on it after my departure, I made sure I registered it legally, and on the Creative Commons website. BNL have no right to use this name, and they are in breach of copyright.
Intellectual Property Theft I have created dozens of post in my time at BNL. You will be glad to find that my name has been removed from every single one. The reply to this by BNL? Very mature, and grammatically correct! Check the tweet

These are merely the formalities, I will not dirty this page with the rest of the insults, double-crossings and double-standards that have gone down.

So, next time you’re on that site, spare a thought to how bad intellectual property theft is, how professional the BNL management is and of course, how never to trust an employer without a clear-cut, fair contract, or suffer the consequences like I did…

Sorry for bothering you all, and thank you for all your support =)

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The Weekly Leaks: The ABC-Le Mall Race in Dbayeh

ABC Dbayeh was the first mall in Lebanon. I’ve spent many hours crying there as a child, after hours of shopping with my mom and aunts. It was the nightmare place I could never navigate alone. However, over the years, I’ve grown to love ABC Dbayeh and must confess that whenever I’m serious about buying something and shopping, it is my prime (and only) destination.

ABC Dbayeh has undergone a lot of transformations over the years, and is virtually unrecognizable now. More spacious, lotsa natural lighting and a whole bunch of new restaurants like Leila, Casper & Gambini’s, Nestle Toll Booth, Roadster and Napoletana. It also has everything you need, from accessories, clothes, sports utilities, books and loads more.

However, a mere 300 meters away, Le Mall Dbayeh is under construction, with 8 floors for a 4-story mall, and several buildings specified as residential areas and office spaces. What has been confirmed is that a cinema multiplex is going to be opening there, rumored to be larger than CityMall’s Cinemacity, is set to open there. Here are some pics I shot on May 11th of Le Mall’s construction progress

Le Mall’s construction was set back due to sea water leaking into the planned mall’s foundations. This grave incident let ABC Dbayeh breathe a sigh of relief, and allowed the temporary locations for Roadster and Leila to the East of the complex. However, people were shocked to see these two restaurants were forced to relocate to the Northern part of ABC, months after opening in the initial area. Days later, construction began in the East section of ABC, and is now, as you can see, well underway. A Grand Cinemas multiplex is also planned here, which, also, is supposed to eclipse Cinemacity in grandeur. Here are some pics of the ABC Dbayeh expansion project taken by me on May 11th, before we attempt to discuss why this change was put into effect so hastily.

This was sparked by the hasty and efficient rectification of the leakage issue in Le Mall. ABC realized it had much less time than initially assumed, and that the opening date for Le Mall was going to be in the last quarter of 2011 or early 2012.

Like the other 124,999 cars that pass through there everyday, it’s been very interesting for me to watch this race as I drive by (if you can call it a race that is, since “Kfoury” contracting is working on both). But, this poses many questions about the future of this duo-mall phenomenon, both equipped with the finest shops, restaurants and soon enough cinemas.

As a proud champion of capitalism and the free market, this is a dream come true! Two major malls, 5 minutes from my home, and 30 seconds apart. I don’t have to settle for anything, and neither do any of the shoppers/diners/moviegoers. If there’s just a Starbucks at ABC, there’ll maybe be Costa or Carribou in Le Mall, and you catch my drift.

Another awesome thing is the closeness to one of Beirut’s major suburbs and the Maten caza, which means no traffic! It also means that if our beloved warring factions decide to burn tires or some other brainless acts in Beirut, where apparently most of the mentally feeble partisans decide to live, these areas will not be affected with temporary hysterical fits of civil wars.

This area will join the likes of the Antelias boom, the spontaneous exodus of major clubs to the Citymall area and Jounieh’s resuscitation, helping people and businesses migrate away from Beirut. Perhaps, this is on of the upsides of absurdly gulf-standard-high real estate in Beirut proper: the migration away from the pollution-traffic-infested capital.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I for one, am super-excited! Also, feel free to bash my capitalism confession all you silly communists and socialists! =D

Feel free to like the Weekly Leaks page, where you can submit your own Leaks and our team will make sure it is pursued and properly leaked! =D