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Midnight Bells vs Dawn Bells (Fire Alarms)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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RMONK, N.Y., June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 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
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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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New Lebanese Government! PM Mikati
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khazen.org, Malek Fady el Khazen.

Thanks to our President Michel Suleiman, who is leading Lebanon to defend its interest and constitution the new Government was created under his leadership . We hope for the new ministers to serve Lebanese daily problems, from insurance, health care, internet connection, retirement, electricity, transportation and many more issues and concentrate less on foreign relation. khazen.org understands that it is not possible to ignore our foreign policy because of our geopolitical situation but stresses it is as important to concentrate and focus in Lebanese domestic policies. We hope that the government   concentrate on local government efficiency and problems, having an effective financial plan, city development, investment, growth and privatization.  Most importantly khazen.org stand by the presidency under the leadership of President Michel Suleiman who has been leading us for a prosperous Lebanon. We also praise the close relationship and alliance btw the President and the Maronite Patriarch who is our father. A golden alliance between an improvement of  local policies to better serve the Lebanese interest  under the morality umbrella lead by our Patriarch.

 

We also thank our Maronite Patriarch Mar. Bechara Raai leadership in bringing all of the communities together and reminding the politicians about the day to day misery and difficulties of Lebanese citizen.

 

President of Lebanon H.E General Michel Suleiman (center), Prime Minister H.E. Najib Najib Mikati (right), Speaker of the House H. E. Nabih Berri

 

Lebanon’s new government convened at the Presidential Palace for its first meeting, in which a committee of ministers tasked with drafting the new Cabinet’s policy statement was formed. The Lebanese president also expressed hope that the ministerial statement be based on national fundamental principles, the national Constitution and the Taif Accord, which ended Lebanon’s bloody 1975-1990 Civil War. ""The Lebanon government was 100 percent Lebanese without any foreign intervention (in the Cabinet formation process)," Suleiman said after the first meeting of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government." Suleiman also urged cabinet ministers to "promptly start work."

For his part, Mikati called on ministers to join forces in order to meet the internal and external political challenges lying ahead. The new Lebanese Cabinet’s policy statement will outline the government’s position on issues such as Hezbollah’s arsenal and the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Sunni Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

 
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Maronite Patriarch hosts talks on Lebanon’s future
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Invited by Patriarch Rahi, Christian political leaders from both government and opposition met to talk. The issues on the table were the separation of religion and politics, the defence of Christian-owned land, a greater Christian presence in public institutions, the promotion of the common good, and the collective responsibility Christians have in promoting the values of the Gospel in society. A committee is set up to promote further meetings.Beirut (AsiaNews) – The separation of religion and politics, the defence of Christian-owned land, a greater Christian presence in public institutions and the promotion of the common good “for the betterment of the country, society and government” were the goals laid out by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi at a meeting with 34 Maronite political leaders, from both the ruling coalition and opposition parties, held at the Patriarchal See in Bkerke.

For Mgr Rahi, Lebanese Christians, independently of their political beliefs, have a “collective responsibility” to promote the values of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church in society. “We are here to examine our reality and decide how to improve it, despite [our] different political beliefs, which still follow our values and culture, in light of the teachings of the Church and Lebanon’s special character.”

Maronite Catholic Patriarch Beshara Rai has scolded Lebanese political leaders for their failure to resolve a 4-month deadlock in the formation of a national-unity government. “All of us, Muslim and Christian Lebanese, are looking forward to building a country that we inherited from our grandfathers,” Patriarch Rai said.

Before the meeting, an agreement was expected on two topics, namely the sale of Christian-owned land and the ways to enhance the Christian presence in public institutions. “Christians represent 30 per cent of the public work force. This is inacceptable,” Bishop Salim Mazloum said.

“Only by participating in public institutions can Christians maintain an active presence,” the patriarch said.

Some observers expected members of the ruling ‘8 March’ coalition to cause some difficulties with respect to Hizbollah’s weapons and the international tribunal investigating the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Apparently, the issues were discussed but nothing is known as to what was said.

Still, the first comments following the meeting were positive. Participants also decided to set up a committee to prepare further meetings so that “Lebanon can remain an example of democracy and freedom.”

 

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Support to the Lebanese President and constitution
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By Khazen.org Press Release:

The Lebanese President General Michel Suleiman has saved Lebanon during this unfortunate event at the Telecommunication Ministry and unified the country by preventing clashes btw the new and old majority through his unique judgment, leadership, and power of the constitution.

khazen.org offers its complete support to the  President as the Commander in Chief of all of Lebanon and more specifically in this particular case of the Armed Forces. Regardless of the unfortunate event of what has happened in the Telecommunication Ministry, and the intention of the Minister Charbel Nahas, we can ask many questions:

·         Why did Minister Nahas decide to find more information at this time?

·         Why not when the government was created and when he took in charge the ministry of Telecommunication?

All of these questions we may never find the answers, but one important factor this is NOT THE ISSUE. The Problem is that you have the head of the internal security forces General Rifi abusing his power by not respecting the oders of the Interior Minister.

The President of the Republic because of his unique leadership as preserving the constitution has saved Lebanon an additional time by preventing any fights btw different camps, and sending the army under his authority to take in charge of the building.

Khazen.org salutes our President as the Commander in Chief of all of the Armed forces and stand by him. Most importantly khazen.org request for General Rifi to be tried in Justice.

The 14 March Camp is pointing fingers at Nahas while the 8 March Group is pointing fingers at the Future Movement and each group is speaking about legality of the issue. The first group is questioning the timing of Nahas, while the other group is questioning the allegiance of Rifi and attacking the victim  (here the Lebanese Constitution). In reality the REAL ISSUE: is Rifi has abused his power.

·          Rifi has shown poor judgement, regardless of why Nahas was there when the Interior Minister Baroud requests his forces to leave the building, his duty is make them leave! The actions of Rifi are action of a person that do not respect Lebanese Laws and constitution.

Because of the action of Rifi and disrespecting the orders of the Interior Minister Baroud until our President stepped in, we request his case to be persecuted within the Lebanese Justice and we demand his direct resignation from Head of the internal security forces. He is not fit anymore to be able to control ISF when he takes political stands; This is not a political position!

We thank our president of bringing the country together at these hard moments.

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