by theguardian.com — In Lebanon’s year of loss and deprivation, simple pleasures have steadily drained away along with its fortunes. But amid a crisis renowned for breaking new ground, few Lebanese had thought their ability to stay in touch was at risk – until a pre-Christmas warning sent shudders through the country. The telecommunications minister, Johnny Corm, warned this week that a lack of funds and fuel could soon see Lebanon’s already struggling internet grind to a halt, making festive calls and messages even trickier than usual – and a financial and social disintegration like no other even more acute. As weary Lebanese approached another lacklustre Christmas, the warnings appeared to be bearing out. The internet was barely functioning in Tripoli on Tuesday. By the day after, Beirutis could barely communicate or open websites. Things were forecast to get worse in time for Christmas Day.

Where is Christmas? It should be full of lighting and life. We were praying for the end of 2020, but this year is worse for sure Miriam Sarhan, 31, who left Lebanon for Canada in July after losing faith in her homeland, says calling her family on messaging apps had helped settle her in and reassure her family back home. “I was speaking to them by video in November,” she says. “Now we can’t even manage a voice call. What else will my country take from me?” The crisis affecting the telecom sector mirrors that faced by all arms of government; bills to overseas providers need to be paid in US dollars and the cost of doing so has increased up to twentyfold since the country’s plunging currency lost parity in late 2020. Since then, the value of the lira has been in freefall, while costs of goods and services have skyrocketed. Through it all, staying in touch had been at least one salvation; as had a hope that somehow, someday, things would get better. But as a cruel winter sets in, after an arduous year, there is little sign of a brighter horizon. Resilience, once a buzzword used to describe the Lebanese, is now parodied by citizens themselves. “How much more can we be humiliated?” asks Mustafa Alloush, an expatriate living in London. “It seems something that outsiders wish upon us to make themselves feel better about our situation.”

Your Horoscope signs for the year 2022 and 2023 

BY SOPHIE SAINT THOMAS – Allure.com —

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

You’re the first sign of the zodiac and love to get your way. Unfortunately, you experience financial frustrations early in the year when Venus is retrograde. You want to level up in life but feel stuck. Thankfully, when Venus, the planet of abundance, enters your sign in May, you’re ready to make bank. Plus, the lucky planet Jupiter enters your sign, Aries, bringing blessings to your love life and career. 2022 is a great year to go first. Read your full 2022 horoscope here.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

Sure, darling Taurus, your ruling planet Venus is retrograde when 2022 begins, but don’t let that get you down. Frankly, it would be best to focus on the eclipses that occur on the Taurus/Scorpio axis throughout the year. These will be times of significant change, but it’s all pushing you towards your destiny. When the independent planet Uranus conjuncts the North Node in your sign, Taurus, you receive a major push from the universe to transform into a more evolved version of yourself. Read your full 2022 horoscope here. For 2023 & 2024 horoscope please click here

Opinions are my own – For my predictions for the previous year 2021 please click here

For the year of 2022 – 2023:

1-      Deep Learning models training will be king in 2022 in Machine Learning. The goal is to generate human-like semantic new data (Texts, Images and Code). In 2021 we have trained large ML models with billions of parameters (OpenAI GPT-3, Turing, codex etc). In 2022 we will continue training models with more parameters, but the difference now will be to reduce the bias/stereotypes in the new content that is created.

a.       One key trend is to allow users to fine tune their models, tailor to their specific domain this will lead higher quality outputs

b.       Another trend is the increase of data annotation/labeling tools and vendors to tag data with more inclusive labels.

c.       Finally, there will be much focus on digital signature to certify the new data that is being generated by the publisher to reduce propaganda

NNA —  Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Dr. Ali Hamieh, on Thursday confirmed in a statement that the path to activate Lebanese facilities, including Rafic Hariri International Airport, was on the right track. “The number of arrivals to-date has reached 521,660 and is expected to reach 600,000 and above by the end of 2021,” […]

by reuters — Lebanon’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it “regrets” an incident of reported violence against the Finnish battalion that is part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and is awaiting results of an inquiry into the matter. “The ministry affirms that any form of assault on the UNIFIL forces is unacceptable,” the ministry said in a statement.

Following the incident on Wednesday, UNIFIL said that “depriving UNIFIL of freedom of movement and attacking those who serve the cause of peace is unacceptable” and violated a peacekeeping agreement between Lebanon and the UN. It urged Lebanese authorities to hold those responsible accountable. The peacekeepers, now numbering around 10,000, have been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978, when they arrived following an Israeli invasion during the 1975-1990 civil war. While Palestinian rebel groups were active there at the time, Iran-backed Hezbollah now operates in the area. The group fought a brutal 34-day war with Israel in 2006 that left around 1,200 Lebanese – most of them civilians – and more than 150 Israelis – mostly soldiers – dead.

by thenationalnews.com — The Lebanese judge leading investigations into last year’s Beirut port blast was forced to stop work on Thursday over a lawsuit filed by former ministers he had summoned for interrogation, an official said. The suspension is the fourth since Tarek Bitar was chosen to lead investigations in February. It comes two weeks […]

By Hugh Grant — techbullion.com — Marwan Kheireddine has brought an immeasurable amount of wealth and growth to Lebanon. In 2001, he opened a Virgin Megastore in Lebanon and received some priceless advice from a fellow billionaire, Sir Richard Branson. “I saw how Richard runs his business. He runs a multibillion-dollar corporation, but he knows everything about every company every day because it’s a flat structure,” Marwan Kheireddine said. “So when I met him for the first time in his office, I was very surprised that he was in a large office with no windows, no walls — it was completely open.” Kheireddine found it intriguing that anyone could walk up to him and talk to him. “His assistant would sit next to him, and there were no walls, and no red tape,” Marwan Kheireddine said. “And I did exactly that. If you come to my office today, unfortunately, we have walls because that’s the way it is in banking. However, when I don’t have people in my office, my door is open. Anyone can come in from the lowest level analyst to the highest C-suite executive. They can come in. It’s an open-door policy.”

Marwan Kheireddine had a life-changing meeting with Richard Branson

When Marwan Kheireddine met with Branson at his London offices in 2000, he assured the British business tycoon the launch would have to unfold grandly. “I said, ‘Richard, if you want to launch Virgin in the Middle East, it cannot be done in a shy way,’” Marwan Kheireddine advised. “It needs to be done very professionally and with a huge impact.” The Virgin Megastore opened in Lebanon in 2001, and it quickly became a cultural hub in the heart of Beirut. Branson attended the opening perched on a black couch that had been loaded onto a red bulldozer’s forklift bearing Virgin’s iconic logo. An elaborate fireworks display followed. Lebanon’s late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri described the store as a testimony of Beirut’s revival, according to albawaba.com. And then, a Virgin Megastore opened in Saudi Arabia in 2008. “Again, Richard went there, and we launched Virgin in the Middle East, but we didn’t stop at Virgin Megastores,” Marwan Kheireddine said. “Virgin Megastores then had a radio station, and Virgin Radio opened up in Lebanon.”

من شِدّةِ محبّةِ المسؤولين اللبنانيّين شعبَهم، لم يَقبَلوا على أنفسِهم إلا أن يَرفعوا حياتَه إلى مستوى يسوعَ المسيح: جَعلوا شعبَ لبنان يَلجأُ إلى مغارةٍ، يُولدُ في مِذْودٍ، ينامُ على التِّبنِ، يَتدفّأ بـلُهاثِ الغنمِ والبقر، يَستنيرُ بالنجومِ والبرْقِ، يُحاكِمُه أعداؤه، ويَحكُمون عليه بالجَلدِ والصَلْب. لكنَّ المسؤولين عَكسوا المسارَ فجَلدوا الشعبَ وصَلبوه أوّلًا. وإذا يسوعُ اقتبَل هذا القَدَرَ فداءَ البَشر، فمن نَفتدي نحن بعَذاباتِنا؟ الفاسدين، الفاشلين، العُملاءَ، الخَونة، المنهزِمين، المساوِمين، الضالّين، المنحرِفين؟ أنَفتدي يَهوَذا وهِيرَوْدوس وبيلاطُس وقَيافا؟ أنَفتدي من أفْقرونا وجَوَّعونا وأذَلّونا وهَجَّرونا ودَنَّسوا سُمعتَنا وأنْكروا لبنانَ قبلَ صِياحِ الديكِ وأثناءَه وبعدَه؟

لن نَفتديَ أحدًا من هؤلاءِ، ولن نخافَ هِيرَوْدس مهما كانت أسماؤه الجديدةُ. وشعبُنا لن يأخذَ الصبيَّ ويَرحَلَ به إلى مِصرَ خَشيةَ أن يَقتلَه هِيرَوْدس. لسنا رُحَّلًا ولا شعبَ الرحيل، بل شعبُ الثباتِ والصمود. أطفالُنا شَبُّوا مقاوِمين ويُواجهون في سبيلِ لبنانَ الذي سيَنتصِرُ كما انتصرَ المسيح. لا نريدُ أن نَنتصرَ على أحدٍ في الوطنِ، فلسنا نرى في أحدٍ عدوًّا. لكنّنا نريدُ أن ننتصرَ من أجلِ الكرامةِ والإنسان، ولتَبقَ سائدةً كلمةُ يسوع: “أحِبّوا بعضكَم بعضًا كما أنا أحْببتُكم”.

نَبطُلُ، نحن المسيحيّين، أن نكونَ أتباعَ يسوع، إذا حَقَدْنا وكَرِهْنا واسْتعدَينا. ونَبْطُلُ كذلك أن نَكون أتباعَ من قال “لا تخافوا أنا معكم” إذا جَـبُـنّا ولم نُدافع عن وجودِنا وهويّتِنا وحضارتِنا وكِيانِنا. ومشروعُ “لبنان الكبير” هو أصلًا مشروعُ محبّةٍ في عمقِه وبُعدِه وتَعدُّديّتِه وحدودِه لأنّه احْتضَن الجميعَ رغمَ أنَّ الجميعَ لم يَحتَضِنوه. ولـمّا تراءى لهم أنّهم احتَضَنوه خَنقُوه، وأنّهم أحَبّوه خانوه، وأنّهم حكمُوه احْتكروه، وأنّهم والَوه اسْتَولَوا عليه، وأنّهم حَرّروه اخْتَطفوه. عانى لبنانُ من فائضَين: فائضِ الإيمانِ به وفائضِ التشكيكِ به. وقاسى من نَقصين: نقصٍ في حُسنِ الحوكمةِ ونَقصٍ في المواطنيّة. وتَكبَّدَ تُخمتَين: تُخمةَ فشلِ المنظومةِ السياسيّةِ وتُخمةَ فسادٍ متنوِّعٍ وطنيٍّ وأخلاقيٍّ وماليّ. وذاقَ حَرْقتَين: حَرْقةِ الّذين استُشهدوا في سبيلِه وحَرْقةِ الّذين هاجروا بسببِ أزَماتِه.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Lebanon’s financial collapse was caused by “something similar to a Ponzi scheme”, according to a video of comments he made while visiting Beirut this week. Lebanon is in the third year of an economic meltdown that began in 2019 when the financial system collapsed under the weight of huge state debt – the result of decades of corruption and mismanagement and the unsustainable way it was financed. Report ad Critics of the Lebanese authorities have compared the financial system to a Ponzi scheme, depending on fresh borrowing to pay back existing debt. The central bank has denied this. “As far as I understand what has happened in Lebanon is that Lebanon was using something similar to a Ponzi scheme…, which means that together with of course corruption and other, probably, forms of stealing, the financial system has collapsed,” Guterres said in the video circulated on social media.

The crash has caused the Lebanese pound to lose more than 90% of its value and savers to be frozen out of their deposits in the paralysed banking system. Mike Azar, an expert on the Lebanese financial system, said Guterres had expressed similar views at another closed-door gathering between the U.N. chief and members of Lebanese civil society on Tuesday. Asked by Reuters about the remarks, a U.N. spokesperson said the secretary-general’s views on the financial crisis were “more fully expressed” at a news conference at the end of his visit.

بصرف النظر عن دقة المعلومات المنشورة عن تفاصيل الصفقة وعن مهندسيها وعن الذين وافقوا عليها او رفضوها او صمتوا بانتظار مفاعيلها، فقد ادى الموقف الشجاع لرئيس الحكومة نجيب ميقاتي الى تفادي غرق البلاد في آخر مرحلة من مراحل الانهيار الشامل. نأمل ان يتوقف مسلسل الانهيارات بخطوة جريئة تجمع المنادين بالمصلحة الوطنية قبل اي

مصلحة اخرى حول مطلب واحد وهو بسط سيادة الدولة وتحقيق استقلالية المؤسسات وانتظام عملها وانهاء اي مظهر من مظاهر الدويلة