Leb – Gino's Blog

Branson: “Virgin Galactic Will Start Sending People to Space in December”

May 14, 2013 By Gino 3 Comments

I was one of the very lucky few who got to sit wit Sir Richard Branson earlier today at Beit Misk overlooking a rainy Beirut and got ask him a couple questions. Most of my dear colleagues asked questions related to Virgin Radio Lebanon and business and entrepreneurial questions. I frankly was many times more interested in his exploits of outer space, and asked him a couple of questions about Virgin Galactic

1- So, you basically answered everything else. I want to ask you about Virgin Galactic which I am extremely excited about. When are you gonna start sending people to space?

We’ve been working on it for 8 years, and it did take longer than expected, but we’re there. Starting this December, we are going to start sending our first 600 Virgin Galactic customers into space. And when you think of it, only 500 or so people have already been to space, so sending our first 600 is very exciting. 80% of people sitting in a room will tell you they’d love making it to space, and our challenge is making that economically viable so anyone in this room can afford it. Our reusable spacecrafts can make over a 1000 trips, and I think that’ll help bring down the costs.

2- Apart from the commercial plans to send folks to space, do you plan on going further into space exploration considering governments and public sectors are investing much less in the space industry?

Oh yes. We’re planning to deploy a network of satellites, go into orbital flights and maybe eventually deep space exploration. We’re also considering colonizing Mars. One should dream of those things, right?

After I asked him the two questions, the extremely delightful Sir Richard Branson joked “would you like to go to space” and that’s when my heart skipped a beat and after regaining my composure answered “I wanna be amongst the first, I’m gonna start saving up from now” to which we both chuckled and he jokingly said “I’d wait for the second round if I were you.” (and that was in reference to the fact that the first 500 tickets will be sold for 200,000 USD while the second wave for 20,000 USD)

All in all, it was a very pleasant chat. Sir Branson is a very charming person and very easy to approach and candid in his answers. He’s also a big fan of Beirut’s nightlife, and was very excited for tonight’s big launch party of Virgin Radio Lebanon at White. As for the other questions (including some of those you guys submitted), I’ll share what my much more qualified colleagues and friends will publish. For now, here’s the news I’m most excited about!

It was an honor meeting someone as successful as Sir Richard Branson, and as happy customer of Virgin Megastores, Virgin American and recently Virgin Mobile and Virgin Radio, it was surreal getting to meet, greet, chat and joke with this fascinating man.

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Beirut Escort Services Online: A Thinly Veiled Prostitution Ring?

May 14, 2013 By Gino 17 Comments

A reader forwarded this link to me, and I found it extremely interesting because it looks like this has been happening for quite a while and they even have hundreds of fans on their Facebook page and followers on Twitter.

It’s hilarious because they talk about “sensual experience” and a “beirut sex guide” but insist that these are “independent women (and men)” as if to legally shield themselves from being indicted with running a brothel, or at least a prostitution ring, something illegal in Lebanon.

The suggestive photos and “hourly rates” are eerily familiar to the stories you hear about prostitution rings, only minus the taxi cab drivers and disgusting venues. Just browse the website, get in contact, and it seems you’ll have quite a good time with the girls and boys available.

What’s funny is that it looks like it’s a booming business with subsidiary websites, YouTube montages and a presence on social media. As for the “massage” and “manicure” ploy, come on guys, why do I need photos of my manicurist or masseuse in a bikini and sexy poses if there wasn’t a “happy ending” involved? And blurred faces?

I don’t really have a problem with people selling their bodies for sex of it’s their free choice and they’re safe. It’s their bodies after all and I don’t really have the right to tell them what they can and cannot do, regardless of the laws. However, prostitution isn’t a dream career, it’s usually one rife with violence, human trafficking, unhealthy working conditions and even a form of slavery and often underage sex workers that are forced into this by “pimps” and the absence or failure of scumbag parents who “sell” their kids to feed their own vices.

That’s what I’m worried about most, the rights and working conditions of these sex workers, and that’s why I feel something should be done. It would be completely unacceptable to find out for example young boys and girls are being exploited, or that refugees or illegal immigrants trafficked here are being taken advantage of by criminals.

What are your thoughts? Especially with the recent “moral crackdown” by a few stupid Lebanese officials on the homosexual community that has yet to be found guilty of any crime while this obviously illegal practice is thriving?

UPDATE

Turns out the images are ripped off from foreign escort websites! Thank you Jean Marc S. for digging further and finding this extra irregularity! I guess when you order one of the models, you’re gonna probably get disappointed with the actual “escort”

Fake “Melissa“

Real “Melissa“

Fake “Cassandra“

Real “Cassandra“

Filed Under: Leb, Thoughts

10 Things You Need To Know About Virgin Radio Lebanon + Photos of Their Studios

May 13, 2013 By Gino 7 Comments

I can’t stress how happy I am of the leak earlier this year, and how lucky I was that I got on the good side of the guys behind it and apart from getting to meet Sir Richard Branson this week, I got the first scoop into what Virgin Radio Lebanon is gonna be all about, and how, as so many of us have wondered, will it compete in the already over-saturated English-speaking radio channel industry.

Here’s a summary I broke down into an easy-to-read list of what Najy Cherabieh, the General Manager, had to tell me.

1- It’s All About Social Media

It’s not an extra thing for them, it’s the most important one. Everything will be online and you can think of the FM as the manifestation of what’s happening online. Form song requests to competition participations, roadshows, events and even “hype” gauges, it’s all going to be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Whatsapp.

2- Studios Open for the Public

Radio studios in Lebanon are usually apartments that were refitted, and rarely have any human eyes seen them. I mean, has anyone seen a radio studio? I’ve seen two, and I was not impressed. The Virgin Radio Lebanon one will not only be open to listeners, but also has a fully-equipped bar and a large rooftop lounge where I’ve been told events will be held, such as interviews, small shows and even signing sessions.

3- 10 Hits in a row

Most stations have a 3 or 4 song interval between ads, and if you’re like me, you switch to another one the second ads start to play. The ad campaign, which I didn’t get at first, is that VRL will play 10 hits back-to-back between radio spots, so that’s a solid 35-40 minutes of uninterrupted music, making actually putting the radio on outside of your car when stuck in traffic a viable option.

4- No self promotion

All the stations are number 1 in Lebanon. All of them have exclusives. All of them are the biggest, etc. VRL won’t ever do any of those things because it’s against the Virgin branding guidelines. So, yaaaay!

5- Ad-less Weekends

After 4:00PM on Fridays and Saturdays, there will be no ads at all. That means that when you’re going to a club, back from one or wherever else you were, you won’t here 3-minute epic poetry about whichever washed-up artist is coming to Beirut. I think this is awesome, and would be interesting to see how other stations react or try to adapt to that.

6- Non-Electronic Weekends

I’ve always loved the fact that all the 3 big stations feature electronic music sets on the weekends. But, I also am aware of how almost everyone else hates that. Plus, if you’re an EDM connoisseur, chances are you get your fix online, not on a weekly radio show the old-school way. VRL will have the same type of music all the time: commercial hits, even on weekends, which I think a lot of people will enjoy, given that the lowest listernship for the other 3 stations is on weekend nights.

7- Listener-controlled playlists and frequencies

A hit station usually bombards us with the same song 20 times a day for weeks, and if we hated it at first, we’ll be singing it by heart after a couple of days stuck in Beirut traffic. VRL won’t do that, in fact, new songs will have a very low frequency starting off, and the favorites will get played more often. There will be a “music jury” page online that anyone can log on to and upvote or downvote a song they like, and based on that, it’ll be played more often the more upvotes it gets. Why I think this is particularly cool? Well, imagine a rising Lebanese talent manages to produce a radio-worthy song. Getting it submitted, you could get your fans to upvote it, making it go up the charts, without needing to spend big money and getting favors!

8- Mandatory Replies

If you interact with anyone in VRL online, they have to answer you back, even if you’re being a dick. Usually, radios here act all high and mighty and getting in touch is a hassle most of the time, or your comments go unnoticed. At VRL, every email, comment, message will be answered, and they’re very serious about that, which is a leap in terms of customer service in Lebanon’s FM world.

9- No Expensive SMSes and They Call Back

Usually, when you text the 4-digits radio stations ask you to, you’re charged 1.5-2USD which the station gets 60% of, and you rarely ever get a reply back. VRL has no SMS line and you can enter competitions, submit requests, etc. via any social media platform, including popular chat client Whatsapp. Also, they’ll call you, you don’t have to call them. No money spent, it’s all free from your end.

10- Roadshows 2.0

Radio roadshows in Lebanon are usually standing in a mall, asking people a couple of questions and maybe giving away a few prizes with radio music playing in the background. VRL has a whole team just to organize those roadshows into something fun and interactive, with LED screens integrating all the social media feeds into one space, from which the winners would be chosen. I think this is cool because it gives everyone a chance, your name doesn’t need to be drawn and you don’t need to dial a busy number 2321 times and then hold for 13123 minutes for a mere chance to give an answer and participate… Plus, for advertisers, they’ll get a nice package of online, offline and “below the line” coverage, not just 3o-second spots. So, it’s sort of a new revenue flow for the station that ultimately means less air time for annoying spots.

A Few Notes

Of course, all these awesome things wouldn’t be possible without the massive infrastructure and support of Virgin all around the world. You must understand that the other stations did not have that kind of support, even NRJ, which is also an international brand, but open as a franchise in Lebanon and managed fully by Lebanese. VRL is jointly-managed by Lebanese entrepreneurs and businessmen and women as well as the Branson Group.

The radio won’t play songs older than 4-5 years. It’s all about the latest hits, so don’t expect Jimmi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. It’s about the pop and hiphop that’s new and fresh, but based on what listeners like, not what’s the freshest and wants to be pushed onto you by force.

I love the minimal ads too, and the lack of self-promotion as well as how accessible the station and its employees will be. At first, honestly, I thought it was just another radio station that will be mediocre and bring nothing new but a frequency. But, after being given the presentation today and allowed to ask anything I wanted, I am now a believer and am excited to see how it all plays out starting this week!

Oh, and Anthony Salameh, a Lebanese-born Australian stand-up comic, is gonna be hosting the morning show, and I think it’s genius getting a comedian as a morning radio show host. Chris Fade will be on in the afternoon, and a special show will air from 7-11PM which Mr Cherabieh has told me will be quite “different”.

Photos

Filed Under: Leaks, Leb Tagged With: richard branson lebanon, virgin radio lebanon

Nahr El Bared Shortlisted for Agha Khan Architecture Award

May 13, 2013 By Gino Leave a Comment

Before

After

When we think of Nahr El Bared, we think vicious Islamists beheading army personnel, killing Red Cross volunteers and booby-trapping corpses. In other words, it’s usually bad and horrible things. But, we mustn’t fall into the trap most Westerners fall in and condemn the refugee camp as a whole. Most of the folks there were innocent civilians just as terrorized as the Lebanese residents of the area.

The camp was virtually completely demolished and the rebuilding process was handled mostly by the UNRWA. However, in the rebuilding process, the goal wasn’t to rebuild the hellish, overcrowded structures again, but create a better environment for the refugees that have been living there since 1948 in less-than-ideal circumstances to say the least.

The unbuilt land share went from 11% previously, to over 35%, creating more open and shared spaces and making it less cramped and instead of small 1-room buildings, creating four-storey ones with some green roofs even.

In other words, it got rebuilt in record time some 5 years, and is being considered for an Agha Khan Award for Architecture and its excelling in this field. 19 other nominees from other developing countries were also shortlisted.

I think this is a good chance to shed light on the deplorable living standards Palestinian refugees put up with, and a great example of how it can be fixed if international funds and expertise are used wisely. Perhaps some day, the refugee camps will cease to exist and the refugees will go back to their homes. But, until then, let’s make their stay one up to par with basic human rights, so that the poverty and pain won’t escalate into a new Fateh El Islam…

Filed Under: Leb Tagged With: agha khan, green roofs, nahr el bared, palestinian refugees

Details of What Happened With MTV and Enta Horr (Arabic)

May 8, 2013 By Gino 6 Comments

I got my hands on this information and I completely trust the sources. They’ll remain anonymous, so will the writer of this article that was supposed to be published in a newspaper I believe, but didn’t because of the headache it would cause with the Murr family.

لقد ترددت الاشاعات حول مسألة وقف بث برنامج “أنت حر” على شاشة الMTV الأسبوع الفائت، وتداول اللبنانيين على وسائل التواصل الإجتماعي العديد من الروايات من تباين في الأراء، إلى خلافات سياسية، وحتى مشاكل مالية. ولكن في خاص (…)، وعبر مقربين من جو معلوف وال-MTV وعائلة المر، علم أنا صلب الموضوع هو مزيجٌ من العمل الانتخابي وخلافاً بين غبريال المر ونجله ميشال غبريال المر.

وفي التفاصيل، يحكى عن توتر بين غبريال المر وميشال غبريال المر سبق بث حلقة أنت حر الأسبوع الفائت، وصلب موضوع التباين هو الإنتخابات النيابية القادمة. فغبريال يريد الترويج له ولأخيه ميشال المر، أو على الأقل عدم نقل صورة سلبية لفريقهم السياسي، بينما ميشال غبريال المر المتولي إدارة المحطة لا يريد تعريض مصداقية المحطة بنظره لحسابات سياسية وإنتخابية. من المعروف أنا رئيس بلدية الدكوانه، أنطوان شختورة، مدعوماً من ميشال المر، فعند بث الحلقة الحامية التي تناول فيها جو معلوف انتهاكات شختورة للقوانين اللبنانية وأبسط حقوق الانسان، طفح الكيل مع غبريال المر، وأمر بطرد موظفي إنت حر من مبنى ال-MTV وبذلك إيقاف إنتاج وبث إنت حر حتى إشعارٍ أخار.

مواضيع برنامج إنت حر تعرض لمدير عام ال-MTV، ميشال المر، كل يوم إثنين، الذي و يصدق عليها عادةً كما حصل الاسبوع الماضي مع الحلقة التي تناولت مسألة الدكوانه. عند علم غبريال المر بالموضوع، طلب من مختار الدكوانه التدخل و الاتصال بالبرنامج، ولكن المداخلة كانت كارثية، وأزمت وضع شختورة بدلاً من مساعدته، مما زاد غضب غبريال المر الذي كلف مسؤول الأمن في ال-MTV ايلي عون يوم الخميس بتبليغ منتج برنامج إنت حر، رامي زيندن، بمغادرة مبنى ال-MTV وعدم العودة وتبليغ جو معلوف بعدم التوجه إلى مكتبه هناك.

وعلم أنا ميشال غبريال المر يحاول معالجة المشكلة، ولكن جو معلوف غير راغب بالعودة قبل إعتذار من الاذاعة، واستبعدت مصادر (…) عودة البرنامج إلى البث قبل حلول شهر رمضان المبارك وإمكانية نقل البرنامج إلى محطة لبنانية أخرى إن لم يتم فض الخلاف بين غبريال المر وميشال غبريال المر أولاً، وال-MTV وفريق عمل إنت حر ثانياً.

ونسأل، هل من المقبول وقف بث برنامج مثير للجدل وله نسبة متابعة كبيرة لأسبابٍ إنتخابية ومصالح سياسية ضيقة؟ هل وقف بث البرنماج سيساعد حملة المر الانتخابية، أو يجعله مجرد موضوع أخار يتناوله البرنامج وربما على محطةٍ أخرى؟ رغم الجدل الذي أثير بعد سحب البرنامج، الكثير من اللبنانيون الذين لا يتفقون مع ممارسات جو معلوف في حلقات سابقة، كحلقة السينما الإيباحية التي على اثرها ثار غضب الشعب اللبناني والغيت “فحوص العذرية”، أو الحملة على محبي موسيقى الروك متهمينهم بعبادة الشياطين، ولكن، رغم ذلك، لا يجب طمس حريات التعبير بهذا الشكل، ولو لم نكن نوافق على ما يحكى، فلنتذكر ما قاله فولتير منذ أكثر من 300 سنة ”نا لا أتفق مع ما تقول، لكني سأقف حتى الموت مدافعاً عن حقك في أن تقول ما تريد

English

Rumors have spread last week regarding MTV’s Enta Horr show and the reasons behind its halt and Joe Maalouf’s dismissal. Claims from personal dispute, to political differences and even financial issues have spread throughout the various social media channels., however the true cause behind this scandal is different from all these stories. In fact, and based on exclusive information that I got from close people to MTV and Joe Maalouf, It is a dispute between Gabriel el Murr and his son Michel Gabriel el Murr that led to cancelling Maalouf’s show, mainly over electoral considerations.

In details, Maalouf’s last episode on the Ghost night club caused some tensions between Gabriel el Murr and his son Michel, mainly due to the fact that Dekwaneh’s head of municipality Antoine Chakhtoura is close to Michel el Murr and Gabriel wanted to promote him and his brother Michel. On the other hand, Gabriel was reluctant on doing so and didn’t want to jeopardize the TV’s credibility. Nevertheless, Gabriel el Murr took things into his own hands and ordered the security personnel in MTV to kick out Joe Maalouf and stop the show until further notice.

It should be noted here that the topics Enta Horr handles are shown to Michel el Murr everyMonday, and are either approved or not. After having approved the Dekwaneh episode, Gabriel el Murr asked Dekwaneh’s mayor to intervene but his intervention was a disaster and made things worse for Chakhtoura and frustrated Gabriel el Murr even further. He then ordered Elie Aoun on Thursday to inform Rami Zaidan to leave the MTV premises and never to come back and share the same message with Joe Maalouf.

It was also known that Michel Gabriel el Murr is trying to contain the situation, but Joe Maalouf doesn’t wish to return to MTV without a public apology from the station, and it is highly probable that we will not see Enta Horr on TV before the end of Ramadan and that there’s a high probability that the show be moved to another Lebanese TV if the fight is not resolved between Gabriel and Michel el Murr first, and MTV and Enta Hurr second.

This leaves us wondering whether it is acceptable to stop a controversial yet popular show due to electoral calculations and tight political interests? And did the stopping of the show help Murr’s electoral campaign or worsened it? Even if many Lebanese don’t agree with Maalouf’s show and his way of doing things, as well as his TV flops from reporting gay activity in theaters, equaling hard rock and satanism and others, we shouldn’t allow freedoms to be tarnished that way. In that context, we remember Voltaire who said “I may not agree with what you say, but i will defend your right to say it to death”

Filed Under: Leb

Silicon Valley Trip Round-Up

May 6, 2013 By Gino 2 Comments

As many of you may already know if you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, I toured several major tech and web companies with Lebanese telecom minister Nicolas Sehanoui and two of his advisors, Karim Kobeissy and Ralph Aoun. The reason I went there was because I won a competition after writing a blog post about “reinventing the world” from Lebanon which was selected by a panel of 4 judges of Lebanese origin in top exec positions at silicon valley.

Here’s what happened at each stop

Cisco and the Internet of Everything

Cisco is the biggest company the average consumer has never heard about (myself included). However, they’re behind a lot if not most of the networks that connect the world. From VoIP solutions, to integrated systems between usually incompatible components, Cisco wants everything to be connected.

Several Cisco execs including George Akiki, who’s originally Lebanese and very involved in Cisco’s 15-million dollar investments in Beirut gave us a run-down of what they’re up to and where they’re headed. It would take a lot of words and sentences to try and explain what connecting every single device and appliance to the internet would be like. From cars to fridges and even lightbulbs, imagine if everything is connected and smartly coordinates to make life easier. Like red lights turning green if there’s no cross-traffic, or them changing to let an ambulance of fire truck through faster, and while en-route, patient files and history would be pulled up by the paramedics, who in turn update the doctor waiting for them at the ER. Pure heaven, yet unbelievably complex.

Here’s a cool video that illustrates how that would work.

The guys at Cisco also showcased their disaster-response vehicle, which in 15 minutes, can have a disconnected region connected to the world via satellite, 3G, and radio. Doctor trips will also become more and more connected, since most visits to the doctor do not necessitate the patient’s presence, but can happen remotely, with connected devices to measure biometric data like blood pressure and heart rate. This would be awesome for remote areas without access to enough healthcare professionals for example. It would also save you the trips to the waiting room for a 15-minute check-up.

Cisco also explained how since 2006, it planned to invest 15 million dollars in Lebanon, and has already trained and sent back over 100 interns from Lebanon. Oh, and by the way, 2 million dollars of those 15 are still uncommitted, so, if you have the brilliant ideas, especially something within the Beirut Digital District, Cisco might be the investor you’re looking for.

The Googleplex

This was a dream come true for me. Visiting the legendary Google Campus was surreal, to say the least. Najeeb and Eessam, Googlers of Arab origin, took us on a tour of many of the fabled buildings and then we sat down for a meeting with 3 other originally Lebanese Googlers.

The topics discussed were across-the-board, but the main focus and something I think we can innovate in (and Google agrees) is content on YouTube. With better Internet connection, streaming on YouTube has been steadily growing in Lebanon. The problem though, is intellectual property and rights respect, which is still lax in Lebanon. One really interesting project suggested by the guys at Google was digitizing and uploading Tele Liban’s vast archives of copyrighted material.

I loved this idea because, let’s face it, TL is struggling today. It wasn’t always that bad though, and in its golden days, animated and drama series aired on it were the hottest thing out there. Converting them to a digital format and immortalizing them online would be an amazing project that would help preserve Lebanon’s cultural and artistic heritage, but also give an example of how to successfully shift to YouTube and make shows like Mamnoo3 (which the Googlers are big fans of btw!) hits that’ll captivate the entire nation, Arab World and maybe even the rest of the world.

We also urged Google to come set up shop in Beirut and discussed how we could make the Google News Lebanon edition even more comprehensive and relevant.

LebNet Dinner At the French Club

At the end of a long and fruitful first day, we headed to The French Club in San Francisco. There, some 45 successful Lebanese businessmen and women held a dinner for the occasion of the delegation’s visit and attendees which included success stories such George Harik, one of the founders of Gmail and Elie Khoury, founder and CEO of Woopra, got to ask the minister questions and give their feedback on what they think should happen in Lebanon and how they would like to be part of its future.

This dinner was a fantastic experience to network with everyone there. You’d be surprised how well-connected and extremely successful so many originally Lebanese folks are, and how they appear at times more concerned about Lebanon than us locals! It was a pleasure meeting so many amazing people, and I am especially grateful to have met and become friends with folks like Jessica Semaan, Elie Khoury, Nathalie Issa, George Harik, George Akiki and many, many more folks I hope to stay in touch with and keep you up to date with what they’re up to.

Facebook is just starting

The next morning, we made our way to 1-Hacker Way in Menlo Park to visit Facebook’s campus. I was honestly blown away by how awesome a work space it was. Everything felt real and authentic, as if designed, named and created by the employees themselves, with names of Star Wars-alcohol-inspired areas like “Brewbacca” and “Vader Bombs” and conference rooms named after viral video clips like “Charlie bit me”.

The shared working spaces were nice and gives you the feel of a shared view on where the company is headed, instead of corporate-looking cubicles and offices that split instead of unite employees. One major thing I did notice in our trans-continental conference meeting though, is that Facebook thinks its just starting to do what it intends. You’d find that quite surprising from a social network that has changed the entire world and boasts over 1 billion active users around the globe.

They’re looking to expand slowly and surely, and the MENA region is one of their most exciting sites. They plan on opening up new field offices, and we made the case of why Lebanon could be a perfect spot for them to open in, to which they were really receptive and decided to follow-up on with whoever is in charge in Lebanon.

Another major impression I got from Facebook’s reps, is how important mobile is. A London-based public policy expert explained that in the past, Facebook was a website with a mobile app as an addition, but that today, the focus is on the mobile world and that he feels that shift is already happening, with mobile traffic skyrocketing while web traffic is staying steady. So, if you’re a developer, I’d definitely get into the mobile world and away from the desktop one.

Skype Lunch

After Facebook, we went further into Palo Alto for a business lunch with the President of Skype, Tony Bates, who gave us some very cool numbers and explained where he sees Skype going after its acquisition by Microsoft.

One interesting topic the Mr Bates and I engaged in was how social media was shifting how we interact in our societies, and the fact that Skype adds video and voice to our online interactions, adds the much-needed and craved for facial expressions and body language that we have evolved which are reduced to emoticons and 140 characters these days. He also explained how every day, one billion minutes are spent on Skype and how Skype is already the world’s largest telephony operator.

We also explained how important Skype was to so many Lebanese folks that have friends and family across the world and how we could optimize that by for example, giving free Skype credit to users of Lebanese operators, who in turn will generate revenue from the data being used. So, for example, you might get X amount of free minutes from Skype (to call a phone, not another Skype account that is) every month or with each refill.

Airbnb

I adore Airbnb. I travel a lot and I do so on a tight budget. Hotels are usually out of the question for me and crashing at friend’s places isn’t always an option. Airbnb is arguably the largest player on the emerging “shared economy”, where folks rent out their personal property or belongings to others for much cheaper, while generating some revenue on the side for them. So, for example, I have an extra room in Beirut. I rent it out for 20$ a night, a far-cry from the 400-something-dollar rooms in some Beirut hotels. I make some money on the side, a tourist gets to stay for a bargain and most importantly for me, the tourist gets to befriend a local, which I have done in several cities across the world.

How awesome would it be to save so much money, stay with amazing hosts that can give you an experience of the area you’re visiting no guidebook or app ever could. In Lebanon, there are 109 properties listed, which I was thrilled about! The shared economy concept is fairly new, but already exponentially growing to a multi-billion dollar industry. The awesome gals at Airbnb, Molly and Jessica (who’s Lebanese) walked us through the extremely elaborate process that has so many people around the world finding all sorts of accommodation in tens of thousands of cities with a few taps on an app or clicks on a website.

Ways of promoting more Lebanese folks to list their properties on Airbnb were discussed and the rest of the delegation who wasn’t as familiar as I was with the awesome platform, were quite intrigued. Airbnb was arguably the most enlightening visit since so much of its inner workings and models were obscure and new. I will be reviewing Airbnb in-depth soon after interviewing Jessica so that those of you who still haven’t, make sure you use it next time you’re abroad!

Filed Under: Leb, Tech, Travel, USA

A Few Notes on the Smuggled Phones Ban That Will Take Effect June 1

May 6, 2013 By Gino 16 Comments

You might have read that the Lebanese government is planning on cracking down on illegally smuggled mobile devices, which apparently, are the majority of the devices in Lebanon (70% according to the government), and for good reason. Here are some points you need to know:

Why is the % so high?

In Lebanon, we have a weird telecom sector. In most countries, the operators (like Alfa and Touch) don’t just sell you SIM cards, they sell you devices with contracts. That means that you could get an iPhone 5 for 99$ at T-Mobile with the 2-year contract for 19.99/month here in the US. I know many of you who shelled out over 700-800USD for your iPhones are hyperventilating now, but it’s true. The contract-based 20USD monthly installments make smartphones available for almost anyone and that’s awesome.

In Lebanon, one of the main government coffer fillers is the mobile telecom industry. So, there’s only so much you could reduce in terms of prices. So, with relatively expensive mobile plans, we’d be more than willing to save some money off the device purchase and hence resort to the often 100+ USD cheaper smuggled devices.

Your smuggled phones?

Many, or rather most of you, own smuggled phones. Maybe not in the donkey-via-the-mountains-smuggling sense, but just not through official channels (maybe your aunt got you a phone from abroad as a gift). If you got those phones before June 1st, 2013, all you need to do is send any sms or make any call just so the device gets registered on the networks before June 1, 2013. So, if you’re like me, and keep spare phones, make sure you turn them on this month at least once to guarantee they will be allowed to operate on Lebanese networks.

Price hikes and exclusive dealerships?

This means that every device will be 5% more expensive. I hate taxes, and this doesn’t make me happy at all. Especially since in Lebanon, we have “exclusive dealers” which means we can’t find competitive prices and have to be at the mercy of the big retailers that hold the rights. So, we’ll end up with quite a hefty sum we’d usually save with smuggled devices…

The tax + exclusive dealerships were too much for me, and I expressed how upset that would make me and a lot of fellow techies in Lebanon to Minister Sehnaoui. Sehnaoui told me though that the exclusive rights holders for device manufacturers in Lebanon have forfeited their exclusivity in a memorandum with the Lebanese government, meaning anyone can import devices and as long as they register them at the customs and pay the 5%, the devices will be able to function normally. Apparently, the retailers were taking such a hit, that they’d give up their exclusivity in hopes of reducing the widespread smuggling. So, maybe that does off-balance the price-hike by having many retailers competing for the better price.

iPhones?

Since Apple doesn’t have an official presence in Lebanon yet, many folks were afraid their uber-expensive pieces of glass-covered phone would become just glass minus the phone after June 1st, 2013. But, the tossing out of the exclusivity rights means anyone can import any device and as long as our glorious government is taking a cut, the phones will work. So, don’t worry about your iPhones.

Ideally?

I think it’s time to make our operators more than just SIM-card sellers. Of course, that would mean letting the government-owned Touch and Alfa compete with the private sector phone retailers, which will be sort of weird, to say the least. I just wish we could privatize Alfa and Touch, give the government its cut, and make contract-based plans + devices the norm (or at least an option). This would make phones a lot more accessible for everyone (since you don’t have to pay a large lump-sum, but installments over a period of time). But, then again, the livelihoods of so many depend on selling unlocked devices, so this is an economic dilemma I’m not qualified to comment on further than my personal preference and wishful thinking.

Filed Under: Leb, Thoughts

Al Jadeed’s Top 10 Debut Boldly Recaps Moments in Lebanon’s Recent History

May 2, 2013 By Gino Leave a Comment

In Lebanon, we have short memory spans. It’s not a neurological problem, it’s more of a defense mechanism. So many awful things happen every day, that keeping track of them all will definitely bring down the most optimistic of spirits.

From the events of May 7, 2008 and the attempted assassination of May Chidiac, to Myriam Klink’s meteoric rise to fame and Haifa’s trip on stage; Sanioura’s infamous tears, Saad Hariri’s striptease, the bi mawdoo3iyeh brawl, Gebran Tueni’s iconic pledge on the original March 14 and finally in the questionable top spot, Hezbollah’s destruction of an Israeli warship off the Lebanese coast. The program boldly does what our government has failed to do for decades: recount our recent history in retrospect, minus the emotions (somewhat) and bias that arise in the moment of the controversial events.

The commentary of the Al Jadeed journalists is sort of shallow and is more like coffee-table-conversation material. The mix of Lebanese pop culture like Klink, and more meaningful events in our recent history like Gebran’s pledge and the July 2006 War is sort of weird, but then again, they both got a similar amount of media attention (for better, or for worse).

I recommend watching the clip, it’s a good reminder of things we often forget, or choose to forget, but should not. Whether it be Hezbollah’s force-closure of Future TV in 2008, or the misplaced attention an on-stage trip by Haifa got, the program touches on a nerve and goes into the details often not included on TV, like the dirty jokes Haifa Wehbe was the butt of for years.

Filed Under: Leb

VICE Piece on Sunni Child Soldiers in Tripoli

May 1, 2013 By Gino 5 Comments

I adore Vice. I keep sending them resumes in hopes they’ll let me intern or work for them, maybe send me on one of their crazy assignments, seeing how I don’t really care for my personal safety or the craziness of reporting from remote parts of the world or war zones on topics the usual media outlets don’t even dream of covering.

I was sad to see that the reason Lebanon came up was such a somber one, and I cannot help but feel extremely sorry for the kids brainwashed by religious militias into throwing away their lives and futures for what one of the fighters mistakenly calls “the right way of Islam.”

Poverty and religion are a horrible, toxic, explosive mix anywhere in the world. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and even Buddhists sometimes get brainwashed into being pawns of their clergymen, armed with the fact these people have no jobs, no real calling in life and of course, are reared in a religious environment that destroys them as individuals and makes them slaves to their manipulative masters.

Here’s an excerpt of the article

[...]

The leader of a local Sunni militia, Jamal’s dad is a large, bearlike man with a thick black beard. He’s surrounded by fellow militiamen, a couple of whom look as young as 16 or 17. At nine years old, Jamal is by far the youngest person in the room. He’s a sweet-faced boy with a shy smile, and at first, he’s too bashful to say a word. But with a little prodding from his father, he starts to talk.

[...]

There are some parts of the article though, that unfortunately, are not Vice-like, but more Fox News-like in their belittling generalizations about Lebanon and the Lebanese. Here are some examples of that:

He says that every sect in Lebanon is encouraging the arming of children to some extent.

No, they’re not. Who the hell gives a gun to a pre-pubescent kid except radical militias which are a teeny tiny minority in Lebanon. Most of us don’t want guns, and stay away from Tripoli because people carry guns and use them regularly. That’s just silly.

“They want to be grown-ups, smoke cigarettes, drive cars. They want to carry a gun. Here in Lebanon, carrying a gun is considered heroic… also, some of the families here rely on their children to provide extra money.

Carrying a gun is considered cowardly. When you see an armed thug on the street, you think “that’s a hired gun” or “a brainwashed religious zealot”, you don’t think “wow, he’s a hero” unless if you’re just like him: a religiously brainwashed zealot who has lost touch with reality and what’s in his best interest.

Otherwise, I don’t really have much to comment on. I think it’s good Vice is shedding light on this worrying matter that we often forget due to the hundreds of other horrifying things we are seeing in the country these past few years. My heart goes out to these children, for their fates are often grim ones: either future Al-Assirs, or as the psychologist quoted in the article says:

“After the fighting, for many of them, the guilt sets in and they start to think about what they did and blame themselves,” she says. “There are cases of suicide, drug addiction, and mental illness.”

Read the full article here

Filed Under: Leb, Thoughts Tagged With: lebanon, politics, tripoli

Beirut’s First Annual Cricket Tournament This Sunday!

April 25, 2013 By Gino 4 Comments

Yes, you read that right. We now have a cricket club in Beirut! The St George Cricket Club is even organizing its first annual tournament this weekend in a parking lot near USJ in Monot.

The Daily Star has a wonderful piece on the cricket scene in Lebanon, which is very thorough and coming from someone who actually knows something about cricket, cause I sure don’t!

…

Sugath has lived in Lebanon for the past 15 years, but once a week, for just a few hours he feels like he’s back home in Sri Lanka.

Deterred only by very heavy rain, Sugath and his “guys” meet every Sunday in Monnot to a game of the centuries-old sport he says most Lebanese recognize but don’t have the faintest notion how to play.

However, among Lebanon’s sub-continental community, cricket clubs – made up of Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Indians and Pakistanis – have long since thrived, Sugath explains, adding that while the occasional Australian has joined their game over the years, there has never before been a European or Western team on the Beirut scene.

Most players are migrant workers whose contracts do not allow for any holidays, Sugath says. It is therefore at the grace of their employers that he and his teammates are permitted to spend each Sunday from 10 or 11 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. playing a game first popularized in Sri Lanka by British colonists.

“This is how we enjoy our lives,” Sugath says. “As Sri Lankans we are crazy for cricket.”

…

Read more

As you can see, it’s both very surprising and also very heartwarming. Many of the players are migrant workers in Lebanon who are constantly abused and mistreated, and when not, live under very tough working conditions, and seeing something bring them some escape from their often grueling daily routines and doing what they love is a much welcome thing in Lebanon.

Here are some photos I took off their Facebook Group (which btw has a hilarious description)

: Some beer of course

: Sri Lankan food

Filed Under: Leb Tagged With: lebanon cricket

Anonymous Open Letter To Joe Maalouf

April 24, 2013 By Gino 4 Comments

It’s no secret I support Anonymous’ cause most of the time. I’m an avid Redditor, value free speech over anything else and believe information needs to be liberated and accessible to anyone. Enta Horr, in their usual tabloid-style presentation, completely missed the point behind Anonymous. It seems Enta Horr thought they were Arabs focused on downing Lebanese government websites.

They don’t know that Anonymous is arguably history’s most powerful grass-roots movement. Anon is able to bring big governments and corporations to their knees in today’s highly wired world. Visa, MasterCard, the US government are just a small sample of what Anon can put pressure on. Other examples are the radical Westboro Baptist Church campaign when the ultra-conservative group was planning to picket the funerals of the children killed in Newtown, Connecticut.

Anon is not an actual organization with a headquarters and a cadre. Its members are, of course, anonymous, and can be anyone from the world’s top hackers, to your grandma on her new Dell running a DDoS attack on a misbehaving organization’s website. Anon doesn’t usually do naughty things, but at the end of the day, no one has control over Anon and mistakes can happen.

I’m happy Enta Horr got Anon’s attention, hopefully, now they’ll try to do some actual reporting and not just shovel false misinformation and hatred, or else face the wrath of Anon (please don’t take this as a threat from me, I have no affiliation whatsoever with Anon and never participated in any of the organization’s campaigns)

Filed Under: Leb Tagged With: anonymous, lebanin, lebanon, middle-east

LGBT Community in Beirut Targeted Again This Time By Homophobic Municipal Chief

April 23, 2013 By Gino 42 Comments

If you watched the video above, you’re probably think “wow, how did this guy get elected into office?”

There’s so much wrong with this video and interview, that I don’t know where to start. So, to help, I’m gonna put them as bullet points

Who the hell are you to take a decision on behalf of all of Dekwaneh? People elected you to take care of their infrastructure, not run a police state based on your personal homophobic tendencies
On what grounds did you close that club? Do you have proof of any illegal activity there? Cause if there is, we’d like to know about it and we’ll fully endorse your brash decision
You made them strip to take photos?! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that’s sexual harassment and you enjoyed it
On what grounds did you detain these 4 people? And under what jurisdiction did you allow yourself to force them to strip naked so you can “determine their sex”. Shu khassak?
The derogatory terms used like “liwat” and “noss rejel” (the equivalent of “faggot” and “half-a-man”) are unbecoming of a high-ranking, elected official. They’re more suited between teenagers teasing each other after a few beers.
You denied that soliciting sex was happening there, then why did you act in that manner? Because a guy wore a “tannoura”? Well, you’re wearing a pink shirt and have flowers next to you, is that illegal too?
“Dekwene 2al3et el soomood” which translates to “Dekwaneh has always been a fortress of fortitude.” Fortress of fortitude against what exactly? What is that in reference to? Is the LGBT community in Lebanon forming a militia and attacking Dekweneh?
“7arabna, defa3na 3an ardna w sharafna, mish ta yejo ashkas, ma3 i7tirame la 2ilon,yemken halla2 bi2oolooleh 7oo2oo2 insen w gahyro, ymerso heik ishya 3ande bil dekwene” This statement is riddled with cringe-worthy stuff.
- First, it translates roughly a “we fought, we defended our land and honor, not so certain people, with my respect to them since people might mention human rights and stuff, practice those things in my Dekweneh”. First, really? How the hell did you link the Lebanese Civil War with a gay club?
- Also, yeah, people are gonna talk about “human rights and stuff”, you know, since we’re humans and like rights. How would you like it if a group of gay people took you to a police station and made you strip butt-naked and take photos of you? And that’s without any legal premise, similar to the “virginity tests” administered in Hbeich after Maalouf’s infamous report.
- The last one, and the one I think most people in Dekweneh will find offensive, regardless if they’re homophobic or not, is that he said “3ande bil Dekwene” as if he inherited that city from his father. It’s not your Dekweneh, and lots of people in Dekweneh, in fact, most are open-minded and tolerant people: not homophobic, autocratic, misinformed and bigoted people drunk with power making people strip and taking photos.

My Two Cents

Get off homosexual people’s back (sexual innuendo not intended). Why do you care so deeply what they do with each other if it’s something you find gross and disgusting? What makes you think you have the right to dictate to people what they can and cannot do as consenting adults? Who are you to prosecute people for who they are, who they love and who loves them? What gives you the right to humiliate human beings in that way, with no reason but your bigoted and homophobic outlook on life?

As for the Lebanese penal code that states “unnatural sexual activities” are punishable offenses. If I was a lawyer, I’d argue that in the rest of the animal kingdom, plenty of species are well-known for having homosexual individuals and tendencies, so, it is not unnatural and thus, homosexuality does not apply when it comes to that article in the Lebanese penal code. Raping your daughter or sister or an underaged girl is considered unnatural, yet sanctioned by several religions in our beloved cesspool of religious control, so please, spare us the religious lecture on how that is wrong, but honor crimes are ok.

Also, I am not gay. I have never, and don’t expect to ever have romantic or sexual feelings for someone of the same sex (sorry gay people all around the world =P). However, I recognize and support gay people’s right to do that. Consenting adults who are not really harming anyone (what you perceive as morally unacceptable or religiously taboo, doesn’t qualify as hurting. Inserting sticks up people’s asses and making them strip nude and take photos though, is definitely harmful) should not be persecuted and humiliated, even tortured in this manner, in a country who participated in writing up the UN Charter for Human Rights…