Category Archives: Lebanon

Myriam Achkar’s Murderer Gets The Death Sentence

Myriam Achkar

Syrian Fathi Jabr al-Salatine who brutally murdered Myriam Achkar last year just got the death sentence for his crime. For those who don’t remember, Achkar – a devout Christian girl – was on her way to a monastery in Sahel Alma to pray when she was ambushed by the Syrian who worked at the convent. He tried to force himself on her. She resisted. He couldn’t rape her so he ended up killing her.

I was personally skeptical he’d even receive a trial and at one point, it looked like the Syrian authorities had asked he be deported to Syria where he would get a trial. A Syrian trial obviously meant nothing would happen to Al-Salatine. I’m glad that didn’t happen – and the death penalty is what this man deserves.

A lot of you may be against the death penalty and consider it a breach of human rights. I disagree. You can’t understand a family’s need to get a death penalty conviction against the person who murdered one of them in such a brutal way unless you’re one of those families. And mine is.

Ziad el Rahbani Concert in Lebanon Next Week

For Ziad el Rahbani lovers, he’ll be holding a concert next week on December 20th and 21st. The event was just announced.

Ziad el Rahbani Concert Lebanon

Nothing was announced regarding where “les artistes” fit into the whole equation. Ticket prices are $40, $60 and $90. They include an open buffet and 2 drinks. (Thanks to @_Evention for the tip).  Tickets will be sold at Al-Akhbar, Boueiry Press in Kaslik and Maarouf Saad Cultural Center in Saida starting Monday.

Cue people freaking out in 3..2…

My favorite Ziad el Rahbani song is probably “Bala Wala Shi.” He has also written my favorite Fairuz song “Kifak Enta.” Yes, I may not be a fan but I am not completely ignorant.

 

Lebanese iTunes Store Launches Movies Section

Who doesn't love Wall-E?

Who doesn’t love Wall-E?

Apple seems to be adopting a very aggressive strategy rolling out new iTunes services to international markets. Only days after Lebanon got the music iTunes store added to its already existing AppStore, the country’s iTunes Store now has its own bonafide movies section, albeit the selection isn’t that extensive.

Here are the current top-selling movies at the Lebanese store:

Lebanese iTunes Store top movies

The prices range from $9.99 for the Disney bunch to $18.99 for new releases such as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Each movie is more than 1.5GB of downloads in SD format and about 4GB in HD, which makes you wonder: how are the people buying these movies actually downloading them?

Lebanese iTunes Store movies

There’s also a separate section for Arabic movies which currently contains a pitiful selection of obviously horrid Egyptian movies.

All in all, this is a nice improvement for the store. The music section seems to have decent enough sales to have a top 200 ranking, although most of those are not Lebanese music which discredits the idea that Lebanese expats would be the store’s main clientele.

Hopefully a books section gets launched soon and the Lebanese iTunes store would become complete. Now let’s instill the mentality in people’s heads that buying online using a debit or credit card is okay, secure and that trusted companies are not out there to get you.

What Would Miss Lebanon Rina Chibany Do If The World Ended Tomorrow?

Miss Lebanon Rina Chibani Miss Universe 2012

Well, she’s not that ambitious. It seems our Miss Lebanon Rina Chibany enjoys the simple things in life. And they’re way too simple if you ask me. But hey, at least this is not as disastrous as the previous ones we got. Who could forget Rahaf Abdallah?

However, it seems her chances at Miss Universe are decent. She may not win but she is definitely turning heads. She’s been getting a lot of votes (you can vote here) and critics seem to love her. I really hope she accomplishes something at that pageant – the country needs something like this to keep it busy.

Myriam Klink’s “Klink Revolution” Has A Music Video

Do you remember that Myriam Klink who goes by queen Myriam Klink of Klinkistan these days has a new song which was released last week?

Well, that song now has a music video to go with it. Lara Kay is definitely jealous and rolling in her kitchen sink right now. Literally. For those who couldn’t go through the song, maybe this would be enough for you to pull through?

You can always mute and watch. It won’t make any difference.