Michael Kleeberg, a German writer who visited Lebanon and wrote about his visit, and what he’s experienced in Lebanon. I’ve only read a part of his written diaries, and I think it’s worth reading.
Reading what foreigners write about Arabic countries doesn’t only spread awareness of these countries and their beautiful landscape, traditions and rich culture, but also shows the impressions Arab countries leaves in their visitors. These impressions and ideas might be positive, just like they might so possibly be negative. And as I always say, we can learn a bit from what others tell us, we can no know the main things such as what kinds of illness should we take care of when we visit, or what are the dangerous acts one can face (robbery, getting lost…etc), what are the most beautiful sites, where to go eat, and stuff like that. But to build a correct idea of the culture you shouldn’t rely entirely on what others have experienced, but try yourself.
Anyway, there is this small part of Kleeberg’s writings available online if you’d like to check it out, then it’s available here in Arabic , and German . It’s really interesting and nice. To be honest I didn’t look a lot, so there might be more of his writings available online, and in English as well.

Winter collection was on sales then all shopping centers have changed their façades with the new summer collection, mainly consisting of swimsuits. The funny thing is, I really don’t get the idea of swimsuit designers. I have seen terrible designs that cover basically NOTHING. The material is so thin and delicate, low cuts, backless with transparent front, bikinis that are too thin, with lose ropes on the sides to “keep them on”, in short, they’re swimsuits that only add color to the body of the lady (if it wasn’t one of those new skin color models). Those swimsuits range from $ 75-350, just to convince people that the lady is actually wearing something. This is really stupid. This is so humiliating for women, who actually think they’re being so cool and sexy. Swimming is NOT about getting as much naked as you can, it’s about “SWIMMING” , moving in the water and feeling God’s greatness in creating the sea, the waves, the creatures living in the sea and the beautiful stones of it. But I guess seas, rivers, and oceans have become only a place of turning on each other, showing off our bodies, kissing and touching in the water, rather than appreciating such a bless. Who cares about the greatness of the sea when there is this sexy guy or that sexy lady with their wet bodies available to enjoy!!
We have turned everything sex-oriented, paying no attention but to sex-appeals, caring about nothing but sexual pleasure… shame on us, what have we become…

If you have vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or cramps then you might be suffering from food poisoning, specially if you’ve consumed pre-mixed salad dressing products containing basil and mesclun, and you must consider consulting a physician. Because these products may contain a parasite that can cause food poisoning. According to the US Food And Drug Administration (FDA), symptoms usually develop about a week after consuming the contaminated food and “Cyclospora infection can be successfully treated with appropriate antibiotic therapy.”
Therefore take care of your health, choose reliable clean restaurants, and avoid salad dressing at home. Everything is best when natural. Reuters

Actually a lot of us wish to be the ones who end a certain relationship rather than the ones being dumped. Fact is, having to be the one to start this break up thingy is not as easy as it seems. Even if you have the right, and even if you were so determined, you’ll still find it very difficult to tell someone that you no longer want him/her, unless of course you’re one mean “feelingless” bastard.
The way you end a relationship has a very important effect on both parties. The whole thing could end up peacefully, and pass as an experience, or it could make you feel so bad, so full of hatred and so full revenge-seeking desires. And although I’m a lady, but to be honest, I’ve noticed that men are more gentle in breaking up than women. This is generally speaking of course, and a total personal opinion. I think girls have a very big problem when they’re the ones being dumped, they don’t accept the fact and they always believe they’re too perfect to be dumped. And, I’m so sorry to say this, but unfortunately, even when they’re the ones to dump, they do it in a very aggressive and mean way most of the time. They give themselves the right to say bye whenever they feel like it, and expect the partner to take it easily regardless of the reasons. Not that men are angels all the time, but once again, just generally speaking, and specifically talking of situations concerning long term relationships that I have personally heard of. Dumping someone can be for so many reasons: lack of understanding, lack of respect, boredom, problems based on disagreement in principles, falling in love with someone else, violence and suffering, disloyalty, or in some cases which are based on financial interest: when the partner runs out of money 😛 .
Anyway, when you dump someone, or let’s say end a certain relationship, it doesn’t mean we’re talking about boy/girlfriends only, but also your fiancé(e) or even husband/wife. So if you are about to end a relationship, first think of it really well, and be fair to your partner as well as yourself. If there is no way on earth you’re gonna save this relationship, and if you have no other choice but end it, then at least do it the right way.
1. Get straight to the point. (no need for boring introductions, they only make the other part more nervous and more confused), and no need to stop answering phone calls or replying to messages. Just be brave enough to end it at once.
2. A face to face conversation is the best way, if that was not possible because of long distance or fear of breaking the heart, or fear of changing your mind, then do it by a written letter and not an email. Emails are not as expressive as handwriting. Phone calls should be last choice, because if one of the two is mean then the call will end up with a fight that will lead to more heartbreaking and more insult.
3. Never end a relationship after your partner has spent a fortune on an invitation or a gift for you.
4. The place to end the relationship depends on your partner’s expected reaction. If (s)he is the nervous mad type, then avoid public places …
5. You don’t need to mention the sweet memories and the good sides you loved about them as an introduction or as a comment after you’ve blew it. It makes no sense.
To end a relationship all you have to so is always put yourself in your partner’s place and treat them the way you’d love to be treated.
For a beautiful related article click here .

Christine Sieber and her partner Dieter Graf have started a camel farm in the southern Bavarian Alps. “There is something almost meditative about riding a camel, because they are always so amazingly calm and unperturbed. They pass that feeling on to everyone around them,” says Sieber. And I totally agree with her. Camels are so calm and patient, and they’re so fascinating.
But what about the differences in weather? From deserts to the Alps! that must be hell of a change. And although camels can manage with snow and ice, water is a problem for the desert-trained animals. It gets sucked up into their thick fur, and with their soft feet, they slip and slide in the mud like someone learning to ice skate.
Before starting her business in Germany, Christine used to live in the United Arab Emirates, where she got fond of camels, specially camel racing. She participated in racing, and won the first position 🙂 According to her, women in Emirates are not allowed to even watch such races, I have no idea about that, but I can say that not all Arab countries share this.
I love camels too, although I was scared to death the first time I tried to ride a camel, God I must have embarrassed my family, I was a kid and shouted like crazy when the camel stood up, lol, that was in Egypt. My younger sister and brother were calm, a bit scared, and I was screaming. I feel so ashamed of myself every time I remember this, lol. But after that I enjoyed riding camels in Jordan and Tunisia too, it’s like you go to somewhere so peaceful where you hear nothing but the wind, see nothing but the pure sand and the blue sky… of course I’m talking of desert only since I never happened to see camels elsewhere 😛 Anyway, for all of you who fear camels, or those who still didn’t try them, I advice you all waste no more time and enjoy this one of kind experience 🙂
More about the camels in Germany is available here .

It always amazes me to know that there are some people out there who are actually willing to do whatever it takes to hurt someone who has given them trust, love, good treatment and loyalty.
I have been through some experiences in which I was put in weird situation, finding people causing me trouble, telling lies about me, destroying my hard work, in return of a great relationship from my side. The first time I went through this I was really shocked. Couldn’t believe people could become so cruel and stab me in the back for nothing bad I’ve done to them.
And lately, I’ve been living the same experience, but this time it’s not me in person, it’s somehow a situation in which I’m indirectly involved.
A bunch of people who were trusted, loved, and taken as family members, are sparing no effort and no trick to hurt a very dear person. They are lying, faking stuff, and even jeopardizing their reputation to convince others that this person is bad. And I can’t believe how cheap these people can get just to win sympathy. I can’t believe how cruel they can be to warn anyone of being on the side of this person. And I can’t believe how greedy they are to do anything to win some few Dollars.
Was it wrong that this person trusted them? No, it wasn’t, how would you predict that people, for which you open the doors of your house, welcome in your life and offer love, trust and respect, would turn to be some selfish destructive bastards! Oh, how many people have become professional actors, how hard it is to trust anyone these days. How shitty people can become for the sake of money, and how disgusting it is to know they believe they could buy manners and principles with the money they steal out of innocent loving people.
One fact is: they might succeed in annoying others, they might succeed in being a pain in the ass, they might succeed in buying the manners and principals of some weak losers, but they can never succeed in winning the respect and true love that they have once had. They will never succeed in leading happy lives, because happiness can never last when based on the destruction of others. And most important of all is the fact that even if they succeed in stealing people’s money, they will never succeed in stealing their happiness, why! Because as these people prove how shitty and terrible they are, the one getting hurt will never cry one tear on having them out of his/her life for good. In fact that person will be praying to God day and night for saving him/her from the company of these cheap garbage. This person will keep going, walking their way, living their life, with one little difference: strength. Yes, they wont be heartbroken as others might expect, they wont be victims of depression nor failure, they’re be stronger than before and will open a new white page, in a new bright day, to go for the many chances awaiting them, the many challenges waiting for them, and this bad experience will be nothing but a memory of a situation that has made them stronger and full of hope of a better future. And well, hard luck to all those people out there, who are wasting their time annoying others, and paying desperate effort in trapping them. As for you, who has been lied to, show those losers, what it’s like to be human, and how it feels to lose you…

If you’re already working in the IT services field, then Subzero Blue has spoken up for you, you will love it. And if you’re still studying to join the club of IT services employees, then you better read this to be prepared for how your future will be, lol, it’s beautiful, so true and so so funny.
Good luck to all of you in the IT sector, and may God be with you 😉
Enjoy!

I swear to God I can’t stop laughing every time I think of “swingers”. LOL!! To be honest, I never heard of it until recently, seems like I’m living out of the planet.
The first time I heard of it was in the series “Yes, Dear”, which I love so so much. Now when I knew what it meant, I couldn’t possibly imagine it. I mean it was the stupidest, most humiliating concept I’ve ever heard of, after homosexuality that is.
Married couples exchanging sexual partners?!! WHERE ARE WE LIVING!!!! They can’t be human beings, they must be some disgusting pegs!! YUCK!
I mean if they’re not capable of loyalty, sexual satisfaction with their partners, faithfulness and commitment, why the hell do they get married in the first place?? Just to give their filthy relationships a more “respectful” impression?
God, I can’t even find one good sentence I can put together to give a good reason.
That’s terrible, and it’s so damn funny, because I still don’t see the point in that. LOL! Married, but feel like exchanging husbands or wives for a change, isn’t that pathetic.
Well aside of it being pathetic and disgusting, it’s a shame. When a man can’t satisfy his woman, and when a woman can’t satisfy her husband; when marriage is turned into a very weak relationship full of boredom, routine, to a level where both parties start looking for an alternative to revive their feelings; when both parties are OK with “sleeping around”; and when all what controls two brains is sexual desire, then it is a shame, a disaster and a big problem that have no solution but to change this time we’re living in. This time in which Life is one big zoo with creature cheaper than animals living in it, screwing it, and destroying all its beauty in the name of civilization and improvement.
Now that people have become so empty, lost, contradicting and mad, they can do nothing but create new concepts to suit their disastrous lives, do stupid things to please their ego, and practice crazy habits to win others’ attraction.
Every two days we hear of a new religion, people start converting to it, just because it’s cool, just because it completely suits their lost selves, and give them the right to do whatever they please without feeling guilty. Every now and then new vocabulary are added to dictionaries of all languages, words that refer to corrupted societies, and an upside-down world. Every once in a while, we see a new sick phenomena, that becomes the trend of the year, and the way out for losers.
So looking at it, swingers are nothing new, they’re just another sick phenomena that labels our one of a kind, lost and crazy time.
And then social scientists and health responsible wonder: Where from are we getting all these problems?

I have come across this great German test at Germanizer . I scored 25, and got the following result: “Let me guess, your uncle’s name is Einstein? You are punctual, bright, and talk German like a native. In a word, you are now Germanized and ready for the club”. Actually, since I’m not having the chance to practice my German for around two years now, I feel that I’ve become bad in writing compared to how I used to be once 🙁 Anyway, my speaking is a bit better I guess, so passing this test and getting such a result gave me back hope in my German skills. Actually the test is pretty fun, quick, asks in English, involves German slang, but it’s not considered a “real” skill-tester, but still, it’s always great to hear such encouraging words, isn’t it! Anyway, one thing I should disagree with in the result -and I guess all who know me are with me it this- is the “punctual” part, lol, I’m anything but punctual. Unless I have a life or death thing waiting for me, or it’s concerning a very urgent matter in the professional side of my life. Other than that, unfortunately I’m never punctual, in Germany I gave a very bad example of Arabs (although my two Arabic friends were so damn punctual). I guess it’s me, I’m always in a hurry, always rushing things, but never on time, unless it’s the first time we meet, then I’ll be there minimum 10 minutes earlier 😛 and it would be the first and last time you’ll get there after me 😉

Aventis and Sanofi announced on Monday they have agreed to merge, ending months of hostilities and government pressure against a potential third party bidder. The board of Aventis accepted a raised takeover offer from its smaller rival, who had upped its bid by 14 percent.
This move is expected to create the world’s third-largest drugs company behind U.S. giant Pfizer and Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline.
More Details about the merge are available Here .