My twitter timeline is full of pictures taken of a huge fire taking place at the edge of Beirut today, next to the Karantina landfill. Apparently the cause of the fire is unknown at this point, but based on the pictures that it could be the landfill. The location is also very close to the fuel reserves in Dawra.
Hopefully this won’t get much bigger and the Lebanese fire department can get on top it quickly.
In a twitter-chat with supporters, Arsenal’s twitter account answered a question about Bacary Sagna’s favorite food. And you know what it is? Well, yes you guessed it: Lebanese food.
I support this. Lebanese food is just awesome. It’s probably the thing I missed the most about home (apart from family) when I went to France and Spain last summer.
What happened? Comedian Edmon Haddad, who appears in the New TV show Chi.N.N, and Rawiya al-Shab were detained for a comedy show they did in Gemmayzé.
Why? Haddad apparently showed his underwear in the comedy show, as the above picture shows, and they auctioned off some of the men in the audience as a joke.
As a result of all of the above, a media outlet present at the event decided that this was a breach for public morality and reported the event in an article that was picked up by a judge who ordered the comedians to be detained based on the information in that article alone.
So dear judge, whose name is apparently forbidden from being circulated, let me ask you a few things:
1) How reliable and law-conformant is a judgement in which your only proof is something you read? How about we start using Al-Jaras as a reliable witness in Lebanon from now on?
2) What exactly is breaching public moral that we’re talking about? My public moral was not breached by a comedian showing a part of his underwear. I’m pretty sure the only one whose moral was violated at that event was the reporter. So if one person feeling violated is enough, this brings me back to…
3) How about you issue warrants against a dozen parliament members who breached my public moral by calling each other lewd words on national TV during three consecutive days?
4) How about you issue warrants for the MP and the head of a certain political party who threw chairs at each other on national TV and basically used every Lebanese curse word known to us?
At this rate, everyone whose underwear shows above their jeans’ line walking down the streets should be very careful. Some media outlet might write an article about how they feel offended by you and you might be detained. This makes the naked Ain el Mrayse guy’s act much more courageous than insane, don’t you think?
The comedian in question, Edmond Haddad, had the following to say on his YouTube channel:
While going to my university this morning and as I reached the exit that takes me to it, I was surprised to see a bunch of buses blocking the way. They didn’t allow us to go through. Yes, they were on strike – and the best location to express themselves was apparently by blocking the road for thousands of students to get to class.
Their impeccable strike logic was to accept commuters on board and then leave them stranded on the highway. Perhaps bus drivers have the right to complain but what they did was a disgrace. You simply do not cut the road for people to go to their work, class, etc, just so you prove a point. You don’t let people on your bus and then tell them that you’ve decided to join the strike so go do your thing on a highway. What’s worse is I’m sure they knew they were going to do this to the commuters but they did it anyway. I saw women carrying their children and walking on the highway. Men turned to hitchhikers. This is not acceptable.
Update: My medical school colleagues were threatened if they attempted to go to class. “University is useless. You try to go, we kill you,” they were told.
My class is half empty and even army men were dumped on the road. Yes, they sure got me very sympathized with their cause.
A source has divulged to me that famous Lebanese singer Majida el Roumi is in the late stages of talks for a concert at Batroun’s international festival this summer.
The date of the concert is still unknown but judging by previous years, the month of August is when the Batroun festival takes place. Majida el Roumi’s latest concert was at the Jounieh festival last summer.
The Batroun International Festival brought in Najwa Karam in 2011 and Wael Kfouri in 2010. Tickets will soon be available in select places in Batroun city as well as Virgin Box Office.
Perhaps this concert will overshadow the infamous Batroun open air party which brings in tens of thousands of party lovers from all over Lebanon to dance the night away in Batroun’s main street.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 