Khazen

Maronite Patriarchate and Lassa events

khazen.org completely rejects the actions of some outlaws at Lassa Lebanese village. These criminals and thugs used violence against civilians and Religious prelates to scare them away of the Maronite Church Properties. These thugs attacked  Deacon Tony Halim who later received treatment at Saint George Ajaltoun hospital in Ajaltoun. Our prayers are with all of the victims.

 

khazen.org is outraged by the actions of these thugs who has attacked church Officials and invaded their lands. We would like Justice to be pursued by Lebanese Security officials  as soon as possible.

 

khazen.org was pleased today that under the leadership of our Patriarch our loving Father Mar Bechara al Rai he once again was the uniter following his motto" Love and Partnership  was able calm the situation. Once again our Maronite Patriarch opened his arms to all communities and reached an agreement with all parties involve in these events.  Eventhough the violence was only against our Maronite Church, Prelates and farmers. 

 

Khazen.org offers its complete support to our Maronite Patriarch, our father, the Hope of Lebanon. His opinions are sacred. He is the voice of the Lebanese Because of his strong love and forgiving nature Church bells will always rand and welcome all groups to unite! 

 

BEIRUT: An agreement on land disputes between the Maronite Patriarchate and residents of a predominantly Shiite village in north Lebanon was reached during a meeting held under Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, according to a statement by the patriarchate’s media office Thursday.

The statement said that following an incident in the village of Lassa, Jbeil, last week, the concerned parties met in Bkirki Wednesday night. Attending the meeting were Rai, Bishop Antoine Nabil Andari, who was heading a delegation from Jounieh’s Maronite Archdiocese, Jbeil lawmakers Walid Khoury, Abbas Hashem and Simon Abi Ramia along with Baalbek-Hermel MP Emile Rahmeh and all members of the Free Patriotic Movement bloc.

Other top security officials and a Hezbollah delegation headed by Ghaleb Abu Zeinab were on hand as well.

“The participants discussed the issue of disputed real estate in the area. They unanimously stressed that the political tinge be removed from it [the dispute] and [discussions] be restricted to the negotiation and a legal course, without any tension,” the statement said.

Last week, locals from Lassa accosted a delegation from the Maronite Patriarchate, accompanied by topographical professionals, who were surveying lands belonging to Jounieh’s Maronite archdiocese, in line with a judicial order. The delegation’s visit came following news that illegal structures were being built on archdiocese property, and the residents prevented the delegation from carrying out its work.

Members of a news crew from MTV, who were reporting from Lassa, were assaulted Tuesday by locals who smashed a camera belonging to the crew, forcing them to end their work.

“The dispute is not between parties or political movements, but revolves around real estate affairs. What the spiritual and parliamentary authorities, along with political parties, did in their meeting was make a positive and responsible contribution toward creating a climate to accompany this purely legal proceeding,” the statement said.

It added that the participants have drawn up “a mechanism to carry out the decisions taken within a timetable to end this issue, which has been going on for years, in a [definitive] manner by a committee that has been assigned for this job [resolving the dispute].”

 

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Lebanon’s chocolate makers: A bittersweet industry

By Dana Halawi The Daily Star

 

BEIRUT: In its heyday, Lebanon was known as “the Switzerland of the Middle East,” but the similarities between the two countries today go beyond picturesque mountains and a tradition of discreet banking policies: Both countries are carving out a reputation for themselves in the art of chocolate making.

Since 1819, Swiss chocolate has been recognized as a world standard which other countries can only dream of attaining. Meanwhile, Lebanon ranks as the top country in the Middle East in the field of chocolate manufacturing.

In fact, Lebanon’s chocolate makers have earned regional recognition to the extent that countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates are importing products from Lebanon despite the higher cost of production in this country.

“The Arab market relies heavily on the chocolate produced in Lebanon because of its good quality and taste,” said Ahmad Ismail, partner at Net Group Distribution which specializes in the production of chocolate and its distribution in the local and Arab markets.

Ismail said the cost of production in the Arab market such as Saudi Arabia might be lower but the “Made in Lebanon” label is much more attractive to the Arab market than any other labels.

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Miss Lebanon 2011 – 2012 Yara Khoury-Mikhael

Congratulations to the New Miss Lebanon 2011 from khazen.org Yara Khoury-Mikhael

BEIRUT: Yara Khoury-Mikhael was crowned Sunday night as Miss Lebanon following a lavish beauty pageant held at Beirut Souks.

The former Lebanese American University student pipped runners up Pamela Jabour and Sonia-Lynn Gabriel to the 2011 crown.

She replaces incumbent Rahaf Abdullah as Lebanon’s beauty queen.

the 5 Misses at the final stage were: 5 girls moving on to the final stage, they are: – Carolina Nassar. Yara Khoury-Mikhael. Pamela Jabbour. Paloma Mady.
– Sonia-Lynn Gabriel

the 10 Misses during Phase were: e 10 girls moving on to the next stage … they are: Ranine Matar. Alice Tawil. Carolina Nassar. Pamela Jabbour. Sonia-Lynn Gabriel. Geva Eid. Paloma Mady. Pamela Gemayel. Yara Khoury-Mikhael. Lama Sassine.

Read more for details and videos

 

Miss Lebanon 2012- 2013 click on  Rina Chibani for more pictures of Yara click Read More

 

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Midnight Bells vs Dawn Bells (Fire Alarms)

 

I love midnight bells, they are full of surprises, at least from the Cinderalla movies or lately "Midnight in Paris"  this is what we have learned. But the bells that I have been subjected too are "slightly" different. They occur at 4:13AM or so constantly for the past month. I wake up completely lost: in my mind "what is happening!!!", I would be happily dreaming in my bed then suddenly the famous bells or should I say the awful fire alarm!! that would create the opposit effect of a midnight bell!! The famous 4:13AM bells or so are fire alarms, and the fun part of it is that I live in the 16 floor, how fun not to be able to use elevators!!! But I gave it up, I just stay in my bed  and I do not bother anymore leaving my apartment! The fire alarm would ring for 5 min non-stop with an awful acute noise, at the end of the 5 min, the concierge will speak out with the microphone that is broadcasted to all of the condo, to let us know that now we are "safe".

 

Here are the explanaiton from the management of my condominium @Milwaukee you really have to read it:

 

 

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Baalbek: A day trip to the Roman ruins

 

By Willow Osgood The Daily Star

BAALBEK, Lebanon: Vendors selling broad-brimmed hats greet visitors as they pile out of their minibus, which has traveled the width of Lebanon from Beirut’s Cola roundabout to Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley (LL6,000, 2 hours).

It is wise to indulge in one, or bring along a lot of sunscreen. The name Baalbek is Phoenician and means “Valley of God,” but Heliopolis or “City of the Sun” is its Roman name and a fitting description.

The Baalbek temple complex (entry LL12,000), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sits right in the town of Baalbek, providing patrons of a local coffee shop with views of Roman temples and columns.

The imposing stone structures invite newly arrived visitors into the best Roman ruins in the country. But the Roman Empire is just one of many world powers that have left their mark on Baalbek.

Luckily, there is Ali Outa, a guide with 47 years of experience, to help tourists navigate the expansive site. Ali, who sports a deep tan and white trainers, takes his guests through 3,000 years, pointing out the remnants and clues of bygone epochs, all in about an hour ($20). He also knows where to find a bit of shade.

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Press digest and opinions Hariri STL Tribunal

Please note that these articles are not written by khazen.org  or represent the website, it is just the opinion of the authors who wrote them. We have decided to post articles from both sides, and list a number of articles from different authors , to give an equal representation from both camps. If you would like your article to be added please contact us  or add a comment.

"Pffft" Went the UN Tribunal in Lebanon by: Sharmine Narwani
Senior Associate, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University

No surprises from the camp of those who support the STL either. The usual suspects applauded the indictments and insisted that Lebanon adhere to its international obligations in assisting this Tribunal.

Hezbollah has claimed that the Tribunal is an "Israeli/American plot" to undermine the group, and charges that the investigation is "politicized." These allegations have resonated with a large number of Lebanese, particularly after the revelation that the UN commission had based its early findings on highly compromised testimony from "false witnesses."

The commission appeared to opportunistically switch its investigation from Syrian suspects to Hezbollah in 2009, when western nations were trying to rebuild ties with Syria’s President Bashar al Assad. Recent media reports suggest that the Tribunal has re-focused some attention on Syria in the past months, just as these same nations have washed their hands off Assad. Israeli media reports on Saturday suggest that subsequent indictments may include senior Syrian officials, including the president’s brother.

A series of leaks and disclosures have undermined the UN investigation further. One WikiLeaks Cable from September 2008 (three years after the investigation began, and only months before its focus switched to Hezbollah) even shows the current Tribunal Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare imploring Lebanon’s former US Ambassador Michele Sison to help him decide which Syrians to pursue for investigation:

"On this issue, Bellemare repeated what he said in the IWG meeting (reftel): that he did not want to go to Syria until the USG (United States Government) or other sources had provided names of leads he should ask to interview and other information. If Syria denied his request to interview these people, then he would have evidence of Syrian non-cooperation. Just asking would give some indication to others in Syria where his investigation might be headed, which could provoke more cooperation "if I hit the right person."

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Patriarch Rai: Don’t call Christians minorities

BEIRUT: The Maronite patriarch said Friday that he rejected references to Christians in Lebanon as “minorities.” “Minorities do not exist. We are cells in the Lebanese body from which this [Lebanese social] fabric is formed,” Patriarch Beshara Rai said. He noted that a synod convened at the Vatican last year to study the situation of […]

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Muslim Mobs in Egypt Attack Christian Homes, Threaten to Kill a Priest

Enraged Muslims burned down several Christian-owned homes, surrounded a church and threatened to kill a priest last week in two unrelated incidents in Upper Egypt. Salafis have made a series of attacks and threats against Coptic Christians since the fall of the Hosni Mubarak regime on Feb. 11.

Enraged Muslims burned down several Christian-owned homes, surrounded a church and threatened to kill a priest last week in two unrelated incidents in Upper Egypt.

On Saturday (June 25) in Awlad Khalaf village, just outside Sohag, 240 miles (386 kilometers) south of Cairo, local Muslims attacked Coptic Christian Wahib Halim Atteyah, robbed him of 32,000 Saudi Riyals (US$8,530), and bulldozed his home along with the other structures on his property, according to local media. The group then raided six other Coptic-owned homes and burned them to the ground. Most of the stolen items were returned because of efforts of other Muslims in the area, according to Egyptian newspaper Watani.

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IBM cloud computing solution

RMONK, N.Y., June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee selected IBM software and hardware to automate and consolidate its data center operations to enable a cloud-based service for delivering SAP®-based courses to students. The school switched its system from Oracle and Dell products to IBM cloud-ready infrastructure and software to deliver faster services with lower administration costs and greater energy efficiency. Specifically, this announcement demonstrates the school’s move to a smarter computing environment that will extract greater economics and performance from its technology infrastructure.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO)

As an SAP University Competence Center (UCC), the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee‘s Center for Technology Innovation (CTI) acts as an education service provider, hosting a wide range of SAP systems for educational purposes on its campus and virtually to more than 105 universities across North America. SAP software is used to reinforce and supplement classroom content for more than 40,000 students with 1,450 courses per year, preparing them for post-graduation employment. Students from a variety of academic disciplines participate in the program with classes ranging from accounting and information systems to retail merchandising and supply chain management.

 

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IBM smarter solution

rmonk, NY, USA – 06 Jun 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the IBM Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities, a new solution designed to help cities of all sizes gain a holistic view of information across city departments and agencies. By infusing analytical insights into municipal operations through one central point of command, cities will be able to better anticipate problems, respond to crises, and manage resources.

The Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities will allow cities to use information and analytics to make smarter and more timely decisions, helping local leaders manage a spectrum of events, both planned and unplanned, such as deploying water maintenance crews to repair pumps before they break, alerting fire crews to broken fire hydrants at an emergency scene, or anticipating traffic congestion and preparing redirection scenarios.

IDC Government Insights estimates the new Smarter Cities information technology market opportunity at $34 billion in 2011, increasing more than 18 percent per year to $57 billion by 2014.

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