A TRUE FAN

THREE WEEKS LEFT

I haven't been that active lately on the blog. It seems the more time I spend in the newroom, the less I have to say. It's tiresome to just cover news and watch the newswires everey 5 minutes and do that for 8 hours a day, not getting up from the chair. I've got three weeks left until I move to Beirut. It's the thought that keeps me going, although it's scary enough. Alone, with a small camera in a foreign country for two years, trying to make new frieds, new sources, contacts and write a Disertation thesis.
Good thing I have a house there at least. It turned out the American friend of Lili, one of my frieds, who also wants to move to Beirut, left Lebanon for the US and left me the apartment he had rented in Ashrafieh. It's a two bedroom apartment, fully furnished, on the top floor of a building on top of a hill, no elevator, but who cares - I have to lose weight anyway :P - It's got three beds so my friends can stay over . The owners are a nice couple who insisted on not having "funny business" in the house. Well they might hear lots of noise sometimes, but that's because I'm used to dancing around the house. And, yeah, I can't promise I won't have a party or two on the huuuuuge balcony :).
Other than that I can't wait. I'll be busy the next three weeks, cause I have a few Frnch friends coming to do a reports on the Romanian doctors leaving this sinking country and I have to help them meet people and shoot inside a hospital in a town close to Bucharest. And I have to visit my parents and then I have to pack and I'm off on the 16th. Oh, yeah, and I have to find someone to spend 7 hours with in Budapest cause I have to wait for the Beirut flight. Lots of things to do, huh?

PARIS HILTON IN REPO! The Genetic Opera

The movie is pretty violent, you can see it even in the trailer. But Sarah Brightman really sings. Why exactly they chose Paris Hilton to star in this movie, I have no idea. cause my impression is that she's shouting not singing.

TOTALLY LOOKALIKES

I found these on a website and I liked them very very much. Especially the Bush lookalike, of course. But Posh Spice is something else. Maybe becasue I like Never Ending Story a lot.

But the Pope? Will he join the Dark Side?

THE WAR CORRESPONDENTS TRAINING - video

It took three long week to look at the footage again and put together a few things. It's not as great as it could have been if I was a bit more patient. But I hope it's fun. :)

You can find the whole story here.

IS THE EARTH ROUND OR IS THERE A WAR OUT THERE?

I really thought humanity had solved the problem of Earth being ROUND. But hey, all things are relative.

They must have solved all the issues there, and the whole war thing is just disinformation, right? Cause otherwise I can't explain why the Iraqi TV is airing a talk show on how flat the Earth is.

I found the video on Memri tv, and organization which monitors Middle East tv stations. They post really interesting stuff on their website.

ARE THE PALESTINIANS TRYING TO MAKE A STATEMENT?

This happened on July 2. A palestinian ran his bulldozer in a bus full of people. 3 women died. Huge scandal.

Today, July 22, 20 day afterwards. Copycat. New, guy, new bulldozer, same action. At least 5 people wounded.



Do they have the right to do this, I was asked. I have no idea. I think nobody has the right to do this. But I remember that on July 2 I watched this video.

BE A GOOD DAD!

Oh boy, I hate my dad for not doing this to me when I was little.

A Romanian cash point fraudster took a picture of his young son rolling in £20 notes.
Adu Bunu, 34, was jailed for five years on Monday. He was part of a gang of international fraudsters on target to make £1 million in weeks.
Bunu posed his smiling baby son on a bed covered in more than £4,000 worth of £20, £10 and Euro notes and sent it to relatives back in Romania to boast. LINK

The dad.

Of course, everybody in this world knows the Romanians are the top of the top when it comes to cash point frauds and credit card cloning. They did it in the UK, they did it in Spaina, Italy, Germany. They even got to Florida or Tunis. Most of them got away. But to steal a great deal of money and then take a picture of your own baby and send it to your relatives? It definetly proves Romanians have lots of imagination when it cme to enjoying being rich. And they do it all for their children, don't they?

IRAN FROM INSIDE: "Iran can attack Dubai or any target. It is dangerous"

It seems my friend from Iran is better now and he forced himself out of that depression. We have very interesting conversations lately, after a while when we didn't even talk at all. He seems to have got a few forbidden books and studied the history of Islam. Right now he hates it and feels sorry for the Persians who became the "victims" of it. It's a bit shocking coming from a guy who used to be a convinced practican muslim when he was about 20.
This morning he asked me if I knew how the negotiations in Geneva went yesterday. I told him there was no change. Iran had said something like "no, no, no and no".
He knew about number 3 in the US State Department taking part in the negotiations. Then he said something quite interesting. "I thik that they wont attack right now. Coz Iran can attack Dubai or any target. It is dangerous". Weird, I thought. A few months ago he made fun of Iran's army and nuclear facilities.

"They have the missiles bought fom North Korea. I was in Tehran and I met some people from a company". The guys he had talked to worked for a company in charge of the weapons trade for the Iranian government, he said. "Iran has suspended his nuclear activities from last month. They have developed third generation of centrifuges too."

Are you sure, isn't it just propaganda?

"I am sure. They have lot of companies registered in China. And when they want to buy some equipments they start from China and if it does not work, they try it from Japan, Korea and even European countries. It is complicated. There are a lot of smugglers helping them". Then I got busy and couldn't continue the conversation and he logged off. I can't wait to ask him more.

A REAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

Reuters.

His name is David Remes, and he's a lawyer. He represents 16 Yemeni prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. He took his trousers off during a news conference in Sanaa, Yemen, July 14, 2008. He resigned today because of this show off in Yemen. Well, I remember a trainer I had some time ago, who told me that if you do not get attention to your cause, you do not use the right means of protesting. Werll, if the world hadn't given a shit on the 16 Yemeni prisoners in Gunatanamo, now the whole world knows about them. So I'd pay this guy a great deal of money if he were my lawyar.

And, nice underpants I might say. And since we're speaking about underwear, here are some Romanian underpants our Antena3 correspondent used for a stand up during the floods in his hometown. Nobody knew him before this shoot. Now we all know him. I hope you all get my advice.



Reporterul amfibie :)
Vezi mai multe video din Stiri »

TO DIE IN JERUSALEM, NOMINATED FOR EMMY AWARDS FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY AND BEST JOURNALISTIC INVESTIGATION

The Israeli documentary film "To Die in Jerusalem," which tells the story of a relationship between the mother of a suicide bomber and the mother of a young girl who was killed in that same attack, has been nominated for three Emmy Awards.

The movie, directed by Hila Medalia, follows two mothers: one of whom is the mother of Ayat al-Akhras, an 18-year-old suicide bomber; the other is the mother of one of Ahras' victims from the 2002 terrorist attack, 17-year-old Rachel Levy. The movie's climax is the face-to-face meeting between the two women. (Haaretz)

JOURNALISM SEMINAR IN GREECE

Dear all:

We invite you to help us recruit outstanding journalists and journalism students for the
Euro-Mediterranean Journalism Institute organized by The Fund for American Studies and the Greek Association for Atlantic and European Cooperation, under the auspices of the Secretariat General of Information, Ministry of State, of the Greek Government. Alumni have always been our best source for new participants, and we hope that you continue to help us grow and thrive. Please feel free to forward this email to students and professors who might be interested in learning more about our programs.

The Euro-Mediterranean Journalism Institute (EMJI) brings working journalists
and journalism students from around the world together in Greece for an 8 day
seminar. EMJI was developed in order to empower journalists with the knowledge
and skills needed to objectively report on a variety of international
political, economic, and cultural issues. Additionally, while attending the
Institute, participants hear from working professionals and area experts, meet
with professional contacts, and form important networks.

Instructors and guest
lecturers at the Institute will be drawn from the United
States and the Euro-Med region. They will include economic and public policy
experts, journalists, government officials and corporate leaders. This
combination of instructors will ensure that students learn from both theorists
and practitioners. This year, the Institute will be held from October 18 - 26,
2008.

The Final Admissions Deadline for EMJI is August 1, 2008. Please encourage
qualified journalists and journalism students to apply for the Institute by
this deadline. Generous donations from supporters of The Fund for American
Studies have allowed us to offer substantial scholarships to those who are
admitted to the Institute.

For more information about EMJI and an online application form, students can
visit us on the internet at www.tfasinternation al.org
. If you have any
additional
questions, please feel free to contact Brigit Moore by email at
international@ tfas.org , by phone at 001
(202) 986-0384, or by fax at 001 (202) 986-0390.

"THOU SHALT NOT STEAL"

Hamas TV Bunny Assud Is Tempted by Satan to Steal and Is Sentenced by Children Viewers to Have His Hand Chopped Off.
These are excerpts from a Hamas children's show, titled "The Pioneers of Tomorrow," which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on July 11, 2008.

ISRAEL LAUNCHES AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST HEZBOLLAH. ON YOUTUBE

Israel launched an international press campaign today meant too underline that Hezbollah is in fact a terrorist organization. The Prime Minister's Information Service together with the Foreign Ministry announced they are willing to sent to any media outlet interested footage and documents that show the Ethical values of the Jewish State and the true face of Samir Kantar, the guy they say killed a 4 year old girl by smashing her head on a rock.
The Foreign Minitry has uploaded a video on Youtube where Ofir Geldman explains in Arabic language who Samir Kantar "really" is. Here it is.




Do they really think that after 60 years of war in the region the Arabs are gonna watch the video and think "look, an Israeli who speaks Arabic! Gee, we were wrong to think they were evil when they bombed us. They uploaded this video on Youtube, so they must be nice people. We should believe this guy from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs when he tells us Kantar is a killer! ".

And YES, I know I'm doing exactly what they want me to do and post this on my blog.

THE FORGOTTEN LEBANESE PRISONERS

AFP photo credit, via NOW LEBANON. Mothers of prisoners taken by Syria protesting.

While Lebanon celebrates becoming “the first Arab country in the Israeli-Arab struggle to close its detainee file,” as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah put it in a July 3 speech, many Lebanese still languish in Syrian prisons.
The exact number of prisoners and detainees is not known, and Syrian authorities have a history of keeping silent on the issue. During the civil war, approximately 17,000 people disappeared. Following the war, the arrest and disappearance of those expressing opposition to Syria’s continued presence was common.

Here is the Whole story on NOW LEBANON, written by Matt Wire.

AFP Photo credit

In the meantime it s striking. Very much striking. Nasrallah suddenly gets out and salutes the crowds and brags abut the prisoners swap and he does it in person, and he does it in a moment when everybody expected him to get out and give a speech and brag about the prisoners swap with Israel. Pretty stupid, huh? Cause after the 34 day 2006 was with Israel the guy spoe at press conferences through a screen. He was broadcast to the press room and he never got out in public for a speech. And besides, after Imad Mougnyah's assassination is Syra if you said "boom" behind his back he'd have definetly have a heart attack. What the hell was this guy thinking?

Oh ya. And then this. Breaking news.

The Voice of Lebanon radio station reported that it has received phone calls from residents of Beirut and South Lebanon complaining of an Israeli infiltration into the telephone network, delivering short messages threatening individuals and Hezbollah.

Haha. It seems the Israeli government started an sms campaign text messaging the Lebanese. I imagine the SMS: "Silence! We kill you!"

PRISONER SWAP BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HEZBOLLAH

Photo credit. AFP Photo
The five Lebanese prisoners released by Israel.

Need I say I wish I were there? Some of my friends are and they are pretty happy. Most Lebanese are very much in love with Hezbollah right now. Well, of course, all besides some people, art directors, who were so buried in their work that didn't even know something was happening today in their country and that they actually shouldn't have been working. (I'm not delusional, I haven't eaten any mushrooms like Paris Hilton, so if you can't figure out what I'm talking about, I'm telling you I'm teasing someone. :D That's a grin.)

So, as I said, Hezbollah won again. That's what happened at first sight. They promised they would bring the prisoners back, so they did. Now everybody loves Nasrallah. I'm surprised why the whole gang including the president is on the Beirut airport waiting on the red carpet for Samir Kantar to arrive. The guy is pretty controversial. The Israelis convicted him to life in prison for smashing a 4 year old girl's head on a stone and killing her father in front of her. He denied doing it. So the Israelis treated him as a common murderer, the Lebanese think he's a hero.
They did the deal. It's the eighth since 1991. So what? Will it ever end between Israel and Hezbollah? I don't think so. On the other hand, the new president Michel Suleiman slipped a weird statement in Paris: that the Lebanese would take Shebaa farms back by force if the Israelis don't wanna talk. So, my illusion of peace is a just that, an illusion.
On the other hand there are a few warrior voices in the Knesset too.
Israeli Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad to Haaretz: Israel should bomb Lebanese celebrations of the prisoner release. Might I say that it was no nice of Hezbollah to keep it as a secret that the two soldiers were dead until the last minute? Not very fair at all.

AFP Photo
The coffins of the two Israeli soldiers. One was killed in 2006 in the attack and the other was wounded. Nobody knows what really happened to them.

I'm curious what the celebrations in Lebanon will be like. I hear they've got the guns out, the Hezbollah people.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LIVE IN LUKASHENKO'S COUNTRY

Anything to survive and forget you're in Belarus. The guy is the best referee in the country, they say. And he had a little glass of "pain relief". :)

A LITTLE SOMETHING I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I get on my e-mail lots of announcement about fields trips and journalism trainings organized by famous NGO's for journalists in the developping countries in Eurasia end North Africa and Eastern Europe. The thesme are quite interesting, I 'd really wanna go to some of them. Some of them I actually attended, cause i got scholarships. But lately the scholarships are gone.
I was reading today about this thing on IFJ.
The Media21 Global Journalism Network is seeking applications for its next Global Issues media workshop (Nov. 24-Dec. 7, 2008), this time on the challenges of migration in the 21st century. The first part will take place in Geneva, Switzerland (three days) with expert panels involving key organizations such as IOM, UNHCR, ICRC, MSF, World Economic Forum etc. on diverse aspects of migration, refugees and trafficking affecting host regions such as Europe or North America but also source countries ranging from Mali and Salvador to Afghanistan. This will be followed by three days in Andorra as part of the 3rd Future of Europe Summit providing access to lead European and other international business, academic, NGO and policy representatives. Participating journalists have the option to take part in a week-long field trip either to northern/western Africa or eastern/central Europe.

Deadline for the Migration I Workshop: October 15, 2008. Costs: 5,400 Euros covering all travel, food & lodging, field trip and tuition. Limited grants are available.

The purpose of this unique programme is to provide experienced local and international editors, reporters and producers with a broader perspective of global issues: peacekeeping & peacebuilding; health; climate change, human rights; world trade…It seeks to promote more informed debate by putting journalists from around the world in touch with key players. Media21 works closely with diverse partners and facilitates interactive sessions with the international aid community, private sector, civil society, governments, military, academia, media... It also organizes practically-oriented trips enabling journalists to report first-hand from the field.

Applicants must demonstrate a serious interest and a firm record of journalistic achievement. The workshops are open to journalists with a minimum of three years’ experience, though priority will be given to mid-career and senior journalists. Participants are expected to produce two reports (articles, broadcasts blogs etc.) for their own media and to make these available to the Media21 website. (http://www.media21geneva.org) As Media21 alumni, they are also invited to participate actively in the Global Journalism Network by sharing experiences, contacts and reporting.

For more information, please contact: Daniel Wermus at dwermus@infosud.org or go to http://www.media21geneva.org

My quation is, which journalist do they think has 5 400 euro to pay for this training. I mean who journalist who needs it. Cause I can thing of a few Independent, Gurdian, NY Times people who could pay for it. But do they need it? I mean their newsrooms would always pay for their trips to all those places and report there independently, without the UN people telling them not to photograph that and not to talk to that person and not to step on the grass.

I mean if I had 5 400 euro I'd definetly go on my own with a cameraman and the whole thing would cost us less than that.

ANY YOUNG JOURNALISTS OUT THERE?

Jovens Jornalistas, the European Youth Press observer member organization, will host a Summer Media School in Lisbon, between 21st– 30th of September.

During 8 days 40 young media makers will work in one of the fourworkshops: television, radio, photography or printed media. You'llindulge in a rich learning environment and a fun experience, all runby young people for young people. Enjoy the exchange of knowledge andcultures, while relaying on team work. On your four last days, youwill be working online on your final project, which will call for yourcreativity. Don't worry, there is still time for party!

If you're between 18 and 25 years, active in the field of media(student in Communication or Journalism, young professional orfreelancer), you feel comfortable working in English and you havealready participated in an international event, come and join us!Send your application until the 2nd of August at sms_portugal2008@ sapo.ptThe participation fee is 250 euro. Travel costs, accommodation, mealsand working materials will be covered by the organizers.

Participants should come from one of the following countries: Portugal, Spain,Italy, Romania, Germany, France, UK, Belgium, Sweden, Austria,Hungary, Malta and Bulgaria (*). Applicants willing to participate,but coming from another country, should send an e-mail atsms_portugal2008@ sapo.pt!The application form can be found at http://s4.transfer./ ro/storage/05bf00ef65. zip

For any more information you may need, please contact asjc_bucuresti@yahoo.com

WHAT THE RUSSIANS KEEP IN THEIR BACK YARDS

The valuable cars most collectoir would pay a fortune to have. Found again on Eglishrussia.com

One of these sold for $107,250 at an auction in the US at the begining of the year. (Couldnţt help it, i did some research.)

I don't know about the others but Porche 911 is a $100000 car!

Now this is the best British Ssports Car ever made, they say. A collector would pay $10 000 for it at least .

It all reminds me of an old Moskvich my dad used to drive when i was a little kid on the crappy roads going to the villages my grandmother used to live in. I used to feel so special at the time, during the communist 10 years of my life, that my dad, unlike most Romanians who drove crappy Dacias, used to drive a foreign car. Haha. Moskvich 2140, Russian, very solid, so solid it was even difficult to turn the wheel! It looked like this.

I used to get really sick while sitting in the back seat on the road to grandma and asked father to stop every 15 minutes. Then i used to get lost picking spring flowers in the woods.
By the time I turned 15 it was all rusty and deserted in our back yard, and the cats were very fond of it. It stayed there a long time, until it almost began to grow roots. That was when my mom got angry and made my dad get rid of it.

WHO'S EATING THE SWANS IN KENSINGTON GARDENS?

Hyey Mister, you interviewed the wrong person! There. Polish people do not eat swans. They are the plumbers who take care of your bath pipes or whatever.

Here's who eats the swans. I remember the Daily Mail article on a migrants camp where they found a few swan carcasses. And here's the description of the place.

"A Romanian bible and cooking equipment could be seen outside another tent, while putrid food and thousands of feathers were nearby the third."

How about that, huh? I mean we, Romanian journalists, are very used to this particular story. It happened ten years ago in Vienna, too. That's why these birds are almost extinct there. And the story turned into a national joke already.

ASTONISHING STORY

The kind of story that really matters. Beyond missiles, beyond the Axis of Evil.

His name is Ahmad Batebi. He was arrested in 1999 after he appeared on the cover of the Economist with a blood stained t shirt belonging to a friend who had been wounded during a protest.

I read the story here, on New York Times.

That picture has cost him 8 years in the Iranian prisons. Not pretty at all, as some of my friends say. I remember being shocked at an 18 year old Kurdish kid story, back in March. My friend, Hasan had told me the story and he wanted me to publish it here.

Ahmad Batemi went through hell. Most people wouldn't make it.

"His jailers thrashed him with a metal cable, beat his testicles and kicked in his teeth, he said. They held his face down in a pool of excrement. They tied his arms behind his back and hung him from the ceiling. At other times, strapping him to a chair, they kept him awake night after night, cutting him and rubbing salt into the wounds."

"Twice he was led blindfolded to the gallows. Once the noose was left around his neck for 45 minutes, and he passed out from fear, he recalled. The second time, he sat, waiting, as a prisoner on each side of him was hanged. "

He left Iran a few months ago, he was smuggled by the Kurds to Erbil, in Iraq, and finally made it to the US. His intervew for the New York Times is here. There is also a video.

I COULDN'T HELP POSTING THIS :)

Bassem linked me to BoingBoing.com, Iran You Suck at Photoshop
They had a little contest on Photoshopping the picture with the Iranian missile test. Very funny. Check it out. The Iranzilla is my favorite. Obviously, because I like cats.

Wel, it seems like there is a world wide Photoshop frenzy on the Iran Missiles picture. There are some more on NYTimes Lede blog .


And if you follow the links you get here, in the Danger Room .

SO WE HAVE A GOVERNMENT. A HUGE ONE

Lebanon has a government starting today. :) YAY!
I'm as happy as the Lebanese. A while ago my Yahoo messenger went wild with windows form my friends letting me know of the huge miracle.

michael: finaly we have a goverment halilouya
luca anamaria: :)
michael: i m gonna shoot some people coz i m happy lol
luca anamaria: :))
luca anamaria: yeah, that's the way to do it
michael: hehe a la libanais
michael: e
michael: if we r sad we shoot, if we r happy we shoot
luca anamaria: i know
michael: if we want to have fun we shoot

Well,I hope there will be no shooting.And I'm sorry I'ill miss the wonderful party Downtown Beirut tonight.

So I went to check the news on Naharnet.
Yeah, a government. A HUGE government. 30 ministers for a tiny tiny country. A government twice as big as the Romanian one.

30 ministers from the seven major sects in a nation made up of 18 religious communities.

5 Maronites, 4 Greek Orthodox, 3 Catholics, 3 Druze, 6 Sunnis, 6 Shia, 2 Armenians.

Quite a bunch of people, quite difficult to manage, I'm sure.

Well, now, that there is a government, my rent will get more expensive.

SO THEY WERE TALKING SHIT TO AMERICA

It seems like the Revolutionary Guards are very fond of Photoshop, cause the missile test pictures contain one missile too many. Hehe. The picture sold by AFP to most of the mainstream media contained 4 missiles, while the same picture obtained by AP had only 3 missiles. Both news wires got the pictures from the same source, Sepah News, the media arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The story is on New York Times.

France Presse picture.

AP picture.

It reminds me of the story Hassan, my friend in Iran told me a while ago about the Iranian president visiting his hometown. Hilarious. The national TV footage showed thousands of people applauding, while local tv which does not have the same digital technique, only showed a few local students forced by the teachers to leave the classes in order to cheer for Ahmadinejad. My question is, what happened to the guys who gave the real picture to AP?

TALKING SHIT TO AMERICA

Iranian Revolutionary Guards practicing war-game maneuvers test-fired nine missiles today in the Gulf. At least one, the government in Tehran says, has the range to reach Israel. The US already says is backing Israel if it decides to attack Iran.

The tests, shown on Iranian television, come as the Iranian president accuses the West of trying to assassinate him using high radiation in his room while he was in Rome for the Food Summit. Imagine that, how else would you kill Ahmadinejad other than use nuclear stuff? Isn't that ironic? Hehe.

Seriously now, Iran's military display came just a day after the United States and the Czech Republic signed a deal in Prague to allow the Pentagon to deploy part of its contentious antiballistic missile shield in Central Europe. Damn, that makes us a target. I doubt the Iranian missile would reach us better than a suicide bomber in the Prague railway station.

It does sound serious though, cause the United States and British warships have been conducting naval maneuvers in the Gulf — apparently within range of the launch site of the missiles tested by the Iranians.

This whole thing reminds me of Maz Jobrani, Iranian American comedian. Here he is. And tell me he's not right.

WHOA! I KNEW IT!

NYAHA! As a good friend of mine would say. I knew there was something wrong with this guy. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it. Hehe. Now I know. Baldy!

Belfort, French Rock Festival. Marylin Manson is attacked by a man who swipes his hat, and in doing so pulls his wig off ... pretty funny actually. Security then whisks Marilyn away with a coat over his gleaming dome.

UPDATE: Ha! It seems the video is not real. French magazine Entrevue says they called the organizers and Manson wasn't even at the festival.

TRYING TO MOVE TO BEIRUT

Not an easy thing, it seems. Even tried Couchsurfing.com, typed Beirut and... no results found. Well, yeah, it is a bit difficult to try and rent a place when you're not even there. It seems like all the places that used to rent for 300$ are gone. I used to look at the adds in the Beirut newspapers a few weeks ago and I was amazed at the rent fees. I'm used to 400 Euros at least for a studio in Bucharest. They were renting one bedroom apartments for much less. But now, when I'm actually looking for one, they seem to be all gone. The houses advertised in the papers are huge 3 bedroom apartments. Frustrating.

Bassem, who's very concerned about the whole issue - thank you very much, by the way - has been through some pretty weird experiences trying to visit places and send me pictures. The first two places looked like abandoned dorms.

Interesting furniture, huh?

The furniture was terrible and looking at them I expected a huge bug to just show up from somewhere under the sink.

Now this is just creepy.

Photo credit MR. BassemB.

That is when I began sending e-mail to all my friends, announcing I'm looking for a place to rent in Beirut on my Yahoo messenger status and so on. And I found the MOVING IN story on Michael Totten blog, which is not very encouraging. it seems like the best way to find and apartment in Beirut is to go to a caffe, tell the bartender you;re looking for a place and the guy would find you somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody.... who has a place to rent. The owners don't really advertise in the papers. News travel word to mouth. So this is pretty discouraging.
Then I got together with Lili, a friend who's gonna move to Beirut next year, when she's starting her MA at American University of Beirut. She has this American friend who apparently got angry at the Lebanese way of solving problems - after he wrote an article about Saad Hariri and got a phone call not to publish a few things - and he decided to move back to the US. I pounced the opportunity. Can I "inherit" his place? She asked the guy, but he apparently is not so determined anymore 'cause of this Swedish lady coming to visit him... Buahaha. I hate Swedish ladies! Well, from this line of investigation I am currently waiting for an e-mail from a girl who's leaving at the beginning of August and would like to leave me her apartment. I haven't got the e-mail yet, although she said she'd write to me a week ago. :( She must have learned the notioan of Lebanese tomorrow very well. Hihi.

Then Bassem - thank God - told me on Saturday a friend called and told him about a studio up for rental for 200$ a month. Payment for a year, not furnished. But still 200! Well I said yes, called my father to see if he'd lend me the money and told Bassem to go see it. Haha. He found the building and asked the janitor if there was a place to rent. The guy pretended there wasn't! So my friend pretended to leave. And after the janitor closed the door, he wentback in the building, knocked on a door and found out that there was and apartment for rent. An old lady even gave him the number of the owner, which proved to be out of service. In the end he has to go during the days sometime and find the shop the owner has on the same street and visit the apartment.

The third chance I 've got is my friend Elena, who's a real estate agent in Dubai and has a few Lebanese real estate friends. She told them what I m looking for yesterday and we're waiting for results.

So nothing yet. Ouf.

BELARUS SPECIAL FORCES TRAINING

I was browsing today through English Russia and found some quite interesting stuff. But these pictures really struck me, after seeing the Romanian soldiers train. The Belarus soldiers go through hell and they look like they know what pain is.

THE WITCHES - PART TWO

AND GUESS WHO'S ON AL JAZEERA