Photoshop, Middle Eastern style!

Disclaimer 1: I am neither a March 14th supporter nor a March 8th supporter.

Disclaimer 2: I think Nefertiti would have looked gorgeous the way she was, no cosmetics needed.

Having said that, who can forget last year's (or so) huge photoshoping incident with Gen. Michel Aoun and his FPM??? Well, in case you're one of these who forgot, here's a reminder.



Basically, this was a rather lame attempt by the general to accuse a Lebanese Forces supporter of opening fire on the opposition's protest.

Well as coincidence has it, it turns out that these "photoshoping" or "doctoring" techniques might have a genetic or hereditary (if that's not redundant, i don't know what is) link. Maybe it's a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean trait.

Check this story out: Egypt: Photoshop, Pharaoh Style

It turns out as well (more redundancy for you) that sculptors may have enhanced Nefertiti's image a bit. You know, some old style botox type of thing.



She definitely looks good in the enhanced form, I wonder what she would have looked like without all the cosmetic "sculptory" (don't even know if that's a word or not, but i'm making it one!)

I am waiting for some archeologist/virtual modelist to come up with one . . . . .

BG

PMS-ing

This is a very interesting article.

Back to basic bio!

It would have been nice if that BBC article had a corresponding curve with women's shopping habits. I know i'd like to see one. There must a parallel study for male behavior too.

BG

Hillarious

hmm, makes you wonder what kinds of things these ministers also charge to their accounts?
Wife must be furious, that guy is definitely in the dog house now!
It would be awesome if we can get a detailed list of the sort of things Lesbonese ministers charge to state accounts.
I also think the titles of the porn movies should be made public.
That should be fun.

BG

There we go again

"The conclusions of this research are a welcome reminder that what lesbian and gay people need is equal treatment by society, not misguided treatment by a minority of health professionals."

AMEN to that!

BG

Lebanese Syrian Relations 2

FINALLY

Syria finally appoints its ambassador to Lebanon.
After years of not recognizing Lebanon as an independent sovereign nation, Syria has finally succumbed to international pressure to recognize its' tiny neighbor as an independent entity not part of its' own greater geographical existence. It remains to be seen if the Syrians will actually follow up this recognition of independence by not interfering in Lebanese internal affairs and not undermining Lebanon's sovereignty.
We can only hope that Lebanese Syrian relationships are finally on the right track.

This is certainly a first step in the right direction.
A plethora of issues remain to be solved:

• final and concrete demarcation of the border that separates the two countries
• review of the various treaties signed under Syrian occupation that are mostly one-sided and favor Syria
• dismantling of the various pro-Syrian Palestinian military posts
• and most importantly, the return/fate of the various Lebanese prisoners in Syria

Youtube Video

BBC Story

BG

Lebanese Syrian Relations

I wonder for how long are the Syrians going to keep on playing the same game?

Since Lebanese independence in 1943 and they still play by the same book: undermine Lebanon's independence as much as possible, and never ever try to even hint that you recognize Lebanon as an independent sovereign nation.

This is classic Syrian behavior towards Lebanon!

They were not-so-much-conspicuously absent from Monday's opening of the Lebanese embassy in Damascus.

The best part is their reason for not attending: Oh, we thought that the opening of the Lebanese embassy was yesterday, so we did not attend today!

Oh really?
So let me get this straight. You thought that it was yesterday (meaning Sunday) and thus you did not show up on Monday?

So, I'm confused.
Did they show up Sunday and there was nothing going on?
How do you manage to screw up an entire diplomatic affair like this one?

And let's assume for once that they are not lying, so let's assume that they did really think it was taking place on Sunday and that they showed up on Sunday. Wouldn't you think that they will find out that it was really Monday and not Sunday and then would have eventually attended the Monday opening?

How do they get away with saying stuff like that in public?
Oh, not to mention that they still have not named their ambassador to Beirut, even though it's been over month since the Lebanese have done so.

Just give it up already. Lebanon is its' own country and you just need to recognize that and move on!

Relevant links: Naharnet story, and Youtube video, and BBC story.

BG

Excuse me I am a girl

Recently I came across a bunch of articles that caught my attention.
The first article was from BBC and it was about the UAE government targeting "masculine women". The government's entire explanation for this is to "help women avoid what is seen as delinquent behavior", otherwise known to the rest of the civilized world as homosexuality.

This is the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7940501.stm

The other "gem" I found online was an interview by the NYTimes Magazine with Jehan Sadat, the widow of the late Anwar Sadat. Upon being asked as to the status of gays in Islam or Egypt, she answered the following: "Homosexuality is against Islam. Here in Egypt, there are not many homosexuals, not like the United States. There are some. We’ve had them since the Pharaohs."

My usual attitude in life is: to each his/her own.

But I find it weird that she really believes that there are more homosexuals in the US than Egypt. Now to be fair, she goes on to say that it is "more or less closet gay" that they have in Egypt, but still. A weird answer to a weird question anyway, I really did not see how this question connected with the rest of the interview anyhow.

Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/magazine/15wwln-q4-t.html


Oh, and as an aside: my friend (who is also gay) and I were talking the other night and we decided to start using the word faggot extensively in our daily conversations and interactions with other people. Just use it for everything and to everything, thus rendering it part of the mainstream and by doing so, make it an overused, banal, non-offensive part of the English vocab.

PS: This idea is not based on any scientific background or on any previously successful similar experiment. Oh, and I was drunk when I came up with it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but chances of success are pretty close to zero.

BG

Palestinian Mockery

So if I get this straight, the Palestinian people are stateless and hundreds of thousands of them are refugees in other countries and even thousands are refugees in their own land and most if not all don't have citizenships and/or passports, but a screaming MP from the UK get a Palestinian passport?

Yes, UK MP George Galloway, who is pretty much famous for being a trouble maker (I suggest you read his wiki page), received a Palestinian passport from non other than Ismail Haniyeh. The passport was given in recognition of Galloway's tireless support for the Palestinian cause.

Now I understand that the guy is really vocal on Arab issues, and he's some sort of an internet sensation with the Arabs, they just absolutely love his rant videos on YouTube. But does he really deserve a passport for that? What about all the other passport-less Palestinians who have more of a right to these passports than a vocal UK MP? Hundreds of thousands of refugees have access only to what is called a travel document and this screaming buffoon from the UK gets a passport. One other thing, what authority does a Hamas leader and FORMER PM have in issuing these passports anyway, or will this passport only be valid in Hamasistan?

I wonder if this guy will ever try to use his new passport. Maybe then, after being humiliated because of the passport he carries, he will really understand the injustice dealt to our peoples. (PS: I am in no way summing up the entire injustice dealt to the Arabs by narrowing it down to airport security, but I mean it in a general racist sense)

Because, up until now, his vocal propaganda is all theatrics to me.

BG

It's a vagina, so what?

It is a sad day anywhere in the world when anything gets censored, but it is even a sadder moment for me when things get censored in Lebanon. You know, given the whole thing with me being Lebanese and all.

Lebanon, marketed as a bastion of freedom in the middle east, has an unfortunate history with censoring various works of art, whether they be movies, books, plays, or pretty much anything that offends some people's feelings.

We have had a few issues with censored stuff in the recent past. Things that come to mind immediately are the banning of the Da Vinci Code book since it offended the catholic church. Or the recent attempt to ban Waltz with Bashir, which as far as my knowledge extends, they recanted on that decision.

The most recent censoring fiasco revolves around the movie HELP by a new-comer to the directing scene, Marc Abi Rached. The movie tackles a bunch of issues surrounding, among other people, the life of a prostitute with a gay roommate. The Lebanese government initially gave the OK for the movie on the conditions that it be restricted to 18 and older individuals and that a scene showing female genitalia be blurred. The director happily obliged. Yet after the initial screening of the movie, the government recanted the permit and banned the movie.
Now I understand that the movie deals with certain taboo issues in the middle east and that it might have some nudity scenes that are not so Kosher for some Lebanese, but seriously??

And speculations are going crazy right now as to why the movie was banned. My favorite is that the government did not want to embarrass MP Andraos, whose daughter appears fully naked in the movie, since he might be running for re-election and that something like this might hinder his chances of winning. Because you know Lebanese will vote for their representatives in parliament according to the candidate's daughter's vagina! For one thing, I would have thought that this would get him more votes, I know I'd vote for him after this!

But on a more serious note, whatever the reasons are for banning the movie, it's a shame for Lebanon and an affront to our freedom of expression. No movie should be banned under any circumstance. If you as a government think that it might be harmful to minors or what have you then rate it and prohibit minors from watching it.


You can find a video from LBC's news hour in Arabic about the ban at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxTZ7-r_4hM

And an English story with a video that has the trailer at the following link:
http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20090303-naked-woman-banned-lebanese-cinemas-help

No matter what the reasons are, SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.

BG

Drama with a twist

Who doesn't enjoy a theatrical performance every once in a while? What about one were the cast of actors is all men (hmm, I know I'd like that!). Now how about a theatrical performance in an old dilapidated prison in one of the highest security facilities in Lebanon were all the actors are convicted men?!
Yep, you read that right.




Zeina Daccache, the director and creator of this prison drama, is actually a popular actress in Lebanon. She plays a "funny" character on basmat watan, a popular political satirical show in Lebanon.
You can find an interview with her at the following link:
http://www.banadoura.com/articles.php?id=53

and by the way, I'm loving that banadoura.com site. If for nothing else, just for the name.

Back to the theater story. So this whole idea was supposed to be some sort of drama therapy for the prisoners. I liked the idea of it. I know drama and acting can be therapeutic, and very enjoyable especially when used as a means for self-expression. I certainly loved acting (way back in high school), and it was very useful for me in terms of self expression especially in terms of escaping into a totally different persona and getting out of "my shell" so to speak.

You can find a BBC story at the following link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7914973.stm

And a YouTube video from LBCI at the following link (in Arabic):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWcBOJLYZPw

Enjoy

BG