This is not the first time this happens with me. I called Alfa about it before and they blamed my phone. So now it happened with my iPhone 4S (it previously happened with my iPhone 4) the moment I reached home in the North. A telecom engineer told me it couldn’t be my phone and this is illegal.
I have no idea how something like this is possible. I’m well off the Syrian-Lebanese border so how can I get Syriatel reception all the way on the coast?
It also sticks around for a good 30 minutes unless you force your phone to switch carriers. That also doesn’t always work.
The interesting thing is that if I switch simcards to the Syrian MTN one I got when I visited, it doesn’t work. It’s only with Alfa. Anyone with MTC having this as well? And can anyone explain how such a thing is possible?
I was driving yesterday when I heard an ad on the radio announcing a new type of prepaid plan from Alfa called U-chat. When I got home, I researched about it further and found the offer to be very interesting and unLebanese-like.
U-chat is a new recharge system, next to regular prepaid and Waffer, that’s closer to a plan than a simple credit recharge. Two varieties exist: $9 and $17.5.
You can switch your prepaid line to U-chat and convert U-chat back to prepaid free of charge. The recharges for regular prepaid, not Waffer, apply to U-chat. You can also have someone send you credit if you are low on it.
The following are the plans:
For $9:
For $17.5:
And out-of-plan rates:
The 10 or 20 minutes for weekdays are for the whole month. If you finish those 10 or 20 minutes before the month is up, you’re charged 60 cents per minute even if the 20 or 40 minutes for the weekend are not done.
I think the “Out of Plan” charges are overpriced, which makes this the main drawback of the plan, when it comes to minutes and extra MB consumption.
The plans in themselves are interesting considering we’ve never had a texting, calling and data bundle in Lebanon before. This a good step. But seeing as such plans are apparently not impossible, shouldn’t there be a bigger variety especially for users who might need more than 250MB per month and more than 60 minutes?
This is disgusting. This is disturbing. This is mortifying. This is despicable. This is nauseating. This is degrading. This is atrocious. This is an abomination. This is an intellectual insult.
The girl in question was abused by her father and escaped from her house. A priest named Walid Gharious took her in and helped her get back on her feet. She decided to convert to Christianity and fulfilled that decision a few days ago.
Father Walid Gharious was kidnapped as a result, only to be released a few hours later.
Did security forces care? I doubt. And even if they did, I’m sure they have no power over those who could fathom kidnapping a priest because he baptized someone of their denomination. You know, because what matters here is “the dignity of the Shiite sect” – I am quoting Ahmad Kataya, a Shiite sheikh who believes this dignity rests on breaking the Christian spell the girl was put under.
Bye bye sanity. Hello Harry Potter…. Lebanon style.
I feel offended. I feel ashamed that such a person is allowed to preach anything in my country. I feel ashamed that this person finds a person choosing a religion is offending him personally. I find it offensive that this creature finds someone exercising their right for the freedom of religion is something close to sorcery.
Who knew it? Hogwarts exists! It exists in Lebanese monasteries. It exists in Lebanese convents. What’s the main function of those convents? Put spells on Muslims to convert them. The kidnapped father is the master sorcerer. Let’s call him Dumbledore instead of Gharious. It’s only fitting after all. His main vessel for spells? Tele Lumiere. I always knew there was something fishy about that station.
Kataya also attacked the president personally. Can we apply the law that says this is not allowed? I’d be one happy person if it happened. Just this once. But wait, that law is only applied on helpless citizens who don’t have the backing of militias and medievalish tribes.
These are some pictures I took, while on my way to Beirut, of the Safra carpet factory as the fire that ravaged it all day was slowly contained. For pictures of the beginning of the fire, check out this set by Blog Baladi.
I have passed the place countless times while on my way to and from home in the North but never thought much about it. I actually didn’t know it was the carpet factory until today.
It was always shabby looking but after today, I don’t think there’s anything there anymore.
It’s a good thing no one got hurt. Here’s a video of the top floors collapsing:
Is it just me or are fires in Lebanon increasing dramatically these days? Wasn’t it a couple of weeks ago that a huge fire took place at the outskirts of Beirut?
Why would anyone do this to a billboard that they plastered all over the highway?
Do they think it will shift male drivers’ attention from the road? I can think of other ads that do that much better. Shouldn’t they be worried about that alfa-BLOM bank billboard that messes up your vision before you can shift back your focus on driving?
Since when are we a country that’s afraid of showing cleavage in posters? Who allowed such a thing to happen in the first place?
Newsflash: Lebanon is not an uptight and ultra-conservative country.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 