“My dad doesn’t express his emotions, and my mom…

“My dad doesn’t express his emotions, and my mom doesn’t know how to use the iPad. So when we Skype, I have to look at my dad’s face while talking to my mom. It’s bizarre.”

Source: “My dad doesn’t express his emotions, and my mom…

Blocking Downtown Beirut From The People Is Unacceptable; This Is The True #AbouRakhousa

fail but that’s not news – just Lebanon as usual for last 5 or so years

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Lebanon wall Downtown Annahar Le Grey #YouStink

The Lebanese Government has no idea what it’s doing. If you thought it had an inkling before, be certain now that it’s essentially an establishment that only functions on reflexes; their latest reflex is blocking Downtown Beirut at its main entrance near Le Grey in order to prevent entry to protests to those streets to which not only should they be allowed access, but to which they have a fundamental right.

A couple of weeks ago, our government build a big concrete wall near Riyad el Solh square to block protests from having a 1% access – even less – to the Grand Serail. The Beirut Wall lasted 24 hours at the time before it was brought down. Every single minister declared that the wall in question was not their doing. Yeah, right. One thing became clear, however, that wall – as irrelevant a barricade as it was – signaled…

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The World’s Tightest Cluster of People | DQ-en

With the help of Ken Teoh, a remarkable SEAC Summer intern (a Wharton School student at the time) I this month showed that Ken Myers’s guess turned out to be remarkably close to the 2015 optimum. Of course, populations in different parts of our planet shift over time but in 2015, using population data with 100 km resolution on Earth’s surface, the smallest circle on our planet containing a majority of the world turns out to be that circle centred near Mong Khet, in Myanmar, with great-circle distance 3,300km.That’s the conclusion. Details and code will be made available presently. But to see the result a little more clearly, here’s a 3-d interactive animation of where, if the world were a democracy, it would make decisions of global significance.

Source: The World’s Tightest Cluster of People | DQ-en

Special Tribunal for Lebanon finds journalist guilty of contempt – Reporters Without Borders

In its 18 September verdict, the STL acquitted Al Jadeed of corporate responsibility. It also acquitted both the journalist and the station on a separate charge of endangering supposedly confidential witnesses by filming them for a series of reports broadcast from 6 to 10 August 2012. The trial began in April.The STL, which is investigating Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination, convicted Khayat on the contempt charge for failing to comply with orders to remove the reports from the station’s website and YouTube page after they had been broadcast.Al-Jadeed’s deputy news editor and vice-president of its board, Khayat is facing a possible seven years jail sentence or fine of 100,000 euros, or both. The tribunal is scheduled to pass sentence on 28 September. Khayat plans to appeal.According to Khayat, the reports just aimed to highlight the leak of confidential information from the STL and did not expose witnesses, who were readily available to the media.

Source: Special Tribunal for Lebanon finds journalist guilty of contempt – Reporters Without Borders