Next step, creating a framework for accountability: the Valet Code of Conduct.

2012 we take back the streets.

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UPDATE 3 - Feb 8 2011: Incident à Beyrouth entre un voiturier et un automobiliste, la blogosphère en ébullition
Par Elie WEHBE | olj.com | 08/02/2012
L’Orient-Le Jour

LIBAN L'affaire portée devant la justice; sur Twitter, les témoignages se multiplient.

Beyrouth, dimanche 5 février, 3h30 du matin. Samer Karam, qui sort d’une soirée entre amis, se rend à la rue Bliss, à Beyrouth, pour contenter une petite faim avant de rentrer chez lui. Il gare sa voiture devant le snack "Charlie's hot dog", un kiosque adjacent à "Zaatar w Zeit", restaurant et chaîne de fast-food libanais. C'est à ce moment que la soirée tourne mal.

"Avant même que je sorte de ma voiture, un employé de la société "VIP Parking Control" (valet parking) s'est approché et m’a demandé de déplacer mon véhicule en m’expliquant que cette place est réservée aux clients de Zaatar w Zeit", explique Samer Karam dans un entretien accordé à L'Orient-Le Jour. "J’ai tenté de lui faire comprendre que cet espace de stationnement se situe sur la voie publique et qu'il n'a pas le droit de m'interdire de me garer", ajoute-t-il.

Selon M. Karam, le voiturier s'est alors énervé et lui a crié dessus. "Il a essayé de monter dans ma voiture en ouvrant violemment la porte. Je l'en ai empêché à plusieurs reprises", précise le Libanais. "Mais il n’a pas renoncé et a tenté à nouveau d'arracher ma ceinture de sécurité pour me sortir de la voiture", poursuit M. Karam qui affirme avoir crié pour attirer l'attention des passants. "Il a fallu que trois hommes interviennent pour l'éloigner de moi", conclut-il.

Choqué, Samer Karam contacte la police à qui il explique l’incident. Selon M. Karam, le valet parking de VIP a, pour sa part, nié en bloc. Le policier en charge de l’affaire conseille alors aux deux hommes de régler l’affaire à l’amiable afin d'éviter de passer la nuit au commissariat.

Read more here: http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/%C0+La+Une/article/744171/Incident+.html

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UPDATE 2 - Feb 8 2011: Apology issued after valet attendant allegedly assaults motorist
By Emma Gatten
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: VIP Parking Control and Zaatar w Zeit apologized Tuesday after an alleged assault on a man by a valet attendant outside a branch of the cafe chain in Hamra over the weekend.

Samer Karam, the founder of startup Seeqnce, wrote on his blog Monday that he had been approached after stopping his car in a public parking space on Hamra’s Bliss Street by a VIP Parking Control valet attendant working for the restaurant Zaatar w Zeit and told the space was reserved.

According to Karam, the attendant succeeded in forcing his way into Karam’s car, and attempted to physically assault him before three passersby pulled him away from the car.

Chadi Habr, the managing director of VIP Parking Control, told The Daily Star Tuesday that the employee in question had been fired, and that the company was issuing an apology to Karam for the inconvenience caused.

“In no way does this incident represent VIP Parking Control,” he said.

Habr added that, contrary to earlier rumors, VIP Parking Control would not be pressing charges against Karam.

Zaatar w Zeit issued an apology to Karam Monday and added that the incident had been a “single accident” and that “accidents do happen whether with our own employees or with outsourced companies” and said it had attempted to contact Karam to resolve the matter.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Feb-08/162566-apology-issued-after-valet-attendant-allegedly-assaults-motorist.ashx

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UPDATE 1 - Feb 7 2011: Between talking to lawyers, emptying my schedule (to take a day off from work and go to court), catching up on lost sleep during time spent at Police Station, and dealing with PTSD, responding to frivolous PR statements by Zaatar w Zeit is not my top priority.

---

Beirut, Lebanon: On Sunday February 5 2012, at roughly 3:30 AM, a customer (let's call him Marwan) legally parked right in front of Charlie's Hot Dogs on Bliss Street, next to the American University of Beirut, in order to jump out for a quick bite (hotdog) before heading home for the night.

Marwan had just finished from a housewarming evening at a friend's place, and had agreed with another friend (Maria [an alias only]) that they would grab a bite on Bliss. She wanted a man2oushe, he wanted a hotdog.
Just as Marwan parked, engine still on, seatbelt still on, door still closed, a VIP valet guy by the name of Ali Mrad (actual name) comes up to his door, opens it to tell him that he can't park there. Ali claimed that he had reserved the spot for another car.

Ali (through VIP Parking Control) was working for Zaatar w Zeit (adjacent to Charlie's Hot Dogs).

Marwan explained to Ali that this is a public road, and that he (Ali) cannot reserve a spot. At which point Ali started shouting, and pulling at Marwan's car door to get into the car. Marwan frantically tried to close the door, pulling with all his strength to keep Ali out of his car. Ali was keeping the door open with one hand on the handle and the other on the frameless glass window.

Panicked, Marwan raised his voice, hoping to get the attention of passers-by, and managed to pull the door shut for a split-second before Ali reopened it with rage in his eyes.
This time, Ali lunged into the car, grabbing at Marwan, catching and pulling at his seatbelt (still on), with Marwan shouting at the top of his lungs with the hope of avoiding physical injury.
Within a few seconds, 3 guys pulled Ali off Marwan, out of the car, and onto the sidewalk.

Shocked and nervewrecked, Marwan called 112 (emergency police number), and waited until the Police arrived. Meanwhile, Ali continued to park cars and enter Zaatar w Zeit unobstructed, while the Zaatar w Zeit manager told Marwan that it was alright, and that shit happens, and that it wasn't necessary to escalate things, not once apologizing to Marwan or reprimanding Ali.
Here Ali is being pulled away from Marwan’s car…

By the time the Police arrived, Maria had joined Marwan, insisting on sticking around as a witness in case things got out of hand.
The Police arrived and asked Marwan & Ali to tell their stories. After Marwan, still shaken, described how the events unfolded, Ali proceeded to lie about how he was courteous, and how Marwan was insolent and that he (Ali) did not force his way into Marwan’s car or physically attack him.

Marwan, in the presence of the Police, was able to show that Ali was fabricating the story, which led to Ali rewording his story several times. Ali refused, however, to admit any fault, even though he was clearly told by the Police (then and there) that he was breaking the law by ‘reserving’ public parking spaces for commercial gain. Zaatar w Zeit’s manager also did not admit fault, and did not offer an apology, he simply repeatedly asked Marwan to let things go.
Marwan further explained to the Police that Ali was lying as he had left clearly visible fingerprints inside Marwan’s car window as he viciously forced open the door. The Police didn’t bother to check the car, and simply said that if the matter was not resolved amicably on the street, both Ali and Marwan would have to go to the Police Station. Had the Police checked the car, they would have noticed the window damage that resulted from Ali’s attack. The frameless window was pulled with so much force that the door no longer closed properly!

Marwan insisted on filing a complaint against Ali and his employers (Zaatar w Zeit and VIP Parking Control). Ali proceeded to state that in response he wanted to file a complaint against Marwan for insulting him. The Police told Marwan and Ali to follow them to Makhfar Hbeish (Hamra’s Police Station). Maria went with Marwan.

Marwan and Maria arrived at Makhfar Hbeish (Police Station). Ali Mrad, the Zaatar w Zeit VIP valet who had physically attacked Marwan was already inside.
The Police ‘Chief' (rank unknown) was woken up. He asked to hear each side of the story. Both Ali and Marwan told the story as they had told it earlier.

When the Chief realized that Maria was in the room, he sternly asked her to leave. She asked why, and he insisted that it is not her place (this is not a woman's place) to be in the Makhfar. She obliged, but stayed close to the door.
After Maria walked out, the Chief asked why matters weren’t resolved amicably, to which Marwan responded, “What is amicable about Ali physically attacking me in my legally parked car?” Marwan insisted on pressing charges.

The Chief responded that if Marwan insisted on pressing charges, he (Marwan!) would have to spend the night in jail, because pressing charges would require that both Ali and Marwan stay in jail until 'Police Operations' opened up the next day. Maria overheard this, and is a witness to this statement.

Though the Chief's statement about spending the night in jail didn't make sense, Marwan didn't want to take the risk of challenging him without a lawyer present, and so decided to try the peaceful route.
The Chief led Marwan into his private office, where he explained to him that he should just let it go, and that (repeating this 3 times) the companies (Zaatar w Zeit and VIP Parking Control) will be fined 3,500,000 Lebanese Pounds (over 2000 USD) for using public parkings for private commercial activity. Marwan felt this was an acceptable outcome, and so told The Chief that a simple genuine apology from Ali would go a long way.
The Chief called Ali in, and asked him if he felt responsible for what happened. Ali continued to insist that he didn't do anything wrong.

The Chief then asked Ali to apologize to Marwan. Ali insisted that Marwan should be the one apologizing. The Chief then insisted that Ali apologize, and assured him that in return Marwan would apologize. Ali eventually apologized, though not genuinely.

It appeared to Marwan that matters had been resolved, until the Chief asked him to enter another room, where an older policeman (let's call him The Writer, as he was responsible for writing things up) was instructed to prepare documents for both Ali and Marwan. Marwan didn't quite know what the documents were until Ali was asked to sign a Mahdar Dabt (a fine) that referred to a heated ‘exchange of words over parking on the street’ (no mention of the attack). Whilst filling in the Mahdar Dabt, Ali lied blatantly about his ID (or lack thereof), first saying that he had left it home, then saying that he had never been granted an ID (mandatory National ID) in the first place. The police caught the lie, and asked him about it, but chose to ignore that Ali was blatantly lying about his identification card. Marwan started feeling uneasy as things didn’t seem right.

Shortly thereafter, Marwan found himself asking the Writer if he expected him to sign a similar document, to which the Writer responded “yes”.
Marwan, shocked, asked the Writer, “How is it possible that the victim of the attack, who was attacked in his car, while still wearing his seatbelt, is being fined?” Marwan refused to sign the document and asked for further explanation.
The Writer responded with a fit, saying that if that's the case, then Marwan will be spending the night in jail until 'Police Operations' open up the next day. He proceeded to say, “Either you sign this tonight, or you spend the night and sign it tomorrow.”

Marwan asked the Writer flabbergasted, "Are you seriously telling me that I'll be spending a night in jail if I don't sign a document that puts me at fault in this physical attack on me in my car?" To which he responded with an even greater fit, closing his book, and telling Marwan sternly, “You'll be spending the night here then!”

At that point, The Chief is called in, and Marwan asked him why he is being fined for an attack that he was the victim of. He responded with "I thought I had made that clear to you earlier. Because you chose to come to the Police Station, the only way you can get out is by signing this document and accepting the fine."

Overwhelmed, exhausted, uncomfortable, and not wanting to spend the night in jail, Marwan told the Writer to go ahead, seeing as it would be negligible in terms of cost, and the Writer assured him that the fine would not appear on his record (sijil). The Writer proceeded to fill in that Marwan is at fault for a “heated exchange of words in a parking incident”, without any mention of being physically attacked in his own car, and with no reference of the perpetrators (Ali, Zaatar w Zeit, VIP Parking Control) or that Marwan was legally parked to begin with. When Marwan asked for the wording to be changed to state the facts, the Writer refused to do so and said, “If you dont want to spend the night in jail, you need to sign this as is.”

Against his will and better judgment, Marwan signed the document.

Marwan has to appear before a judge on Wednesday / Thursday to pay the fine.


Zaatar w Zeit and VIP Parking Control

should be held accountable for:

- the physical attack on Marwan
- the fine that Marwan was forced to sign
- the threats of incarceration that Marwan received
- the psychological trauma that was inflicted on Marwan
- using public spaces for private commercial benefit


Related Media + Links:



http://blogbaladi.com/najib/lebanon/zaatar-wou-zeit-valet-parking/

http://blogbaladi.com/najib/food/zaatar-wou-zeit-valet-parking-update/
(seems nothing was learned from this incident)

http://blogbaladi.com/najib/lebanon/for-your-convenience/

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=210420

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2011/May-20/Lawless-valets-a-woe-of-economic-proportions.ashx

http://www.nba3asna.com/2012/01/05/gemayse/

http://sietske-in-beiroet.blogspot.com/2011/03/only-bitch-in-line.html

http://blogbaladi.com/najib/lebanon/international-valet-parking-for-all-wedding/

http://blogbaladi.com/najib/lebanon/schtroumpf-achrafieh-valet-parking/

http://ritakml.info/2011/12/29/boxed-in-gemmayzeh-lebanon/

http://ritakml.info/2010/12/18/gemmayzeh-one-street-with-a-lot-of-problems/

Beirut, Lebanon



This story is big in Lebanon and is being talked about on Arabic websites throughout the world. Here is the story. Al-Akhbar was the first media to reveal the story. His name has been suppressed in Arab media but New TV yesterday revealed his name: Prince Salman Bin Faysal bin Muhammad bin `Abdul-`Aziz. He was drinking hard last Saturday in downtown Beirut and parked his car in a marked "no parking" spot. A passing traffic cop passed on his motorcycle and proceed to give the Prince a ticket. The Prince emerges with his entourage, very drunk, and proceeded to insult the cop and the Lebanese people and saying that "we bought this downtown area". A group of young Lebanese (25 or so) gathered and were offended at the sight: so they proceeded to beat the shit out of the Saudi prince. The Lebanese Internal Security Forces (Hariri-run) were dispatched to the scene and arrested the cop--kid you not. The prince was hospitalized and the cop was forced by his bosses to go and offer an apology to the Prince. Yesterday, the Lebanese police arrested the 25 Lebanese. This is not it: the Hariri parliamentary bloc met and said: "In the last period, cases and practices that violate the rules and laws have been repeated against Arab and foreign tourists, the last one of which happened in downtown Beirut where an attack was perpetrated against an Arab citizen." I kid you not. This last passage was a verbatim translation of the official weekly statement by the Hariri Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc. (source-- Angry Arab)


tags: saudi, prince, ksa, police, assault, beat, beaten, apology, kingdom of saudi arabia, illegal, insult, lebanon, downtown, beirut, video, youtube, drunk, alcohol, scandal, new tv, parking, policeman, officer, angry arab, mustaqbal, hariri, isf, internal security force, al-akhbar, salman bin faysal bin mohammad bun abdul aziz al saud

Lebanon is finally entering the knowledge age, with its recent Internet price reductions and upcoming massive infrastructure upgrades.
Just in time, as Beirut's only coworking space opens its doors in Hamra, the building just before the Central Bank, with the fastest Internet connection you can walk into.

“Work it harder, make it better.” –Daft Punk

Coworking is a style of work which involves a shared working environment, sometimes an office, yet independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. Typically it is attractive to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation.

Coworking in Beirut is now possible! For just 14 USD a day, you can co-work in Lebanon's state-of-the-art internet startup accelerator, Seeqnce, alongside entrepreneurs, professionals, students, and freelancers. Seeqnce's State-of-the-Art facilities are open 6 days a week for coworking. Featuring the fastest internet connection you can walk into, writable walls and desks, a zen lounge, and a full kitchen.

Seeqnce is ideally located in Hamra, at the heart of Beirut, and just 10 minutes walking distance from the American University of Beirut, downtown Beirut, and the famous Beirut corniche.

Apply now to cowork at Seeqnce: https://www.facebook.com/Seeqnce?sk=app_153791278050386


tags: beirut, lebanon, hamra, central bank, banque du liban, aub, lau, haigazian, student, professional, freelancer, coworking, hackerspace, seeqnce, startup accelerator, lounge, internet, facebook, application, cowork

Cinemoz is one of the Middle East’s very first on-demand online video service. With an obvious comparison to Hulu, the service is set to officially launch by the end of summer.

Founded by 27 year old Lebanese-French Karim Safieddine, Cinemoz started out as a concept jotted down on a post-it-note. The service launched having secured the necessary funding with the help of Seeqnce, a Top 10 Startup Accelerator in the MENA.

With a private beta coming at the end of the summer, Cinemoz will be offering Arab films, TV series and documentaries, with a social networking twist, allowing you to share and rate what you’re watching on your social networks.

Interestingly enough, as Cinemoz is to be offered throughout the Arab world, the site will be tailored to suit each country it is offered in – so a GCC audience won’t necessarily be seeing exactly the same content as their Lebanese and Egyptian counterparts, for example. --TheNextWeb



tags: cinemoz, hulu, middle east, arab world, arabic, content, movie, film, series, premium, freemium, advertising, thenextweb, trailer, video, teaser, youtube, team, karim safieddine, samer karam, maroun najm, fadi bizri, zeina tabbara, remoz control, brightcove, beirut, lebanon

Ogero finally falls in line with the Laws of the Republic of Lebanon.

http://www.lbci.com.lb/NewsDetails.aspx?ID=5097

3G is go!

DSL+ is go!

2nd Floor is reclaimed!


read this for the backstory:

http://www.bloggingbeirut.com/archives/1767-ISF-stages-coup-on-the-Ministry-of-Telecom-on-behalf-of-Ogero.html



tags: telecom minister, nicolas sehnaoui, lebanon, beirut, lebanese, government, ogero, ministry of telecom, adlieh, abdelmenhem youssef, 3g, dsl, infrastructure, internet, mobile, law, legal, beirut

two weeks ago we reported the existence of an 'unknown' third mobile network (Ogero Mobile) operating in Lebanon:

http://www.bloggingbeirut.com/archives/1764-LBN-OGERO-Mobile-41505-Conspiracy-Theory.html



when the Ministry of Telecommunications went to investigate this unlicensed, unreported, and 'illegal' mobile network (Ogero Mobile), this is what happened:







The Daily Star: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/May-26/Police-prevents-Nahhas-from-entering-sealed-off-room.ashx

BEIRUT: Caretaker Telecoms Minister Charbel Nahhas accused Thursday a branch of the Internal Security Forces of unlawfully preventing him access to facilities linked to the Telecoms Ministry.

Describing the act as a “coup,” Nahhas said some 400 heavily-equipped members from the ISF’s Information Branch have also banned employees from entering the second level of the building attached to the ministry in Adliyeh, east of Beirut.

Nahhas said rooms on the second floor, which contained communications equipment donated to Lebanon, were sealed off since Friday.

“This a coup by the Information Branch,” Nahhas told a news conference at the ministry shortly after the incident which was aired live on a local television station.

“Under the law, this act is considered a mutiny,” Nahhas said, laying the blame on ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi.

He said Rifi had taken a unilateral decision to deny access to ministry employees, adding that caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud had no knowledge of the decision.

Nahhas, a member of Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, also said he was waiting for the withdrawal of the police unit after they had been ordered by Baroud to do so.


Naharnet: http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/7030-security-forces-prevent-nahhas-and-technical-team-from-dismantling-ogero-station

Security forces prevented on Thursday caretaker Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas, several directors at the ministry, and a technical team from entering one of the ministry’s buildings at the Adlieh area.

Sources told Naharnet, that the minister and the technical team headed to the building in order to dismantle a mobile phone station belonging to Ogero Telecom.

The station, which was operating under a trial period, was presented as a gift from the Chinese government to Ogero a few months ago.

Ogero Telecom General Director Abdul Monem Youssef had previously informed Nahhas that he has no right to dismantle the station and transfer it to the MTC mobile phone operating company.

Any modification to the donation agreement between Ogero and the Chinese government would require approval by Cabinet, he added.

The telecommunications minister disregarded this fact and insisted on dismantling the station, he said.

Nahhas headed to the building at Adlieh Thursday morning where he was confronted by the security forces who informed him that he may enter the station, but without the technical team, Youssef clarified.

The minister later held a press conference recounting the morning’s developments, describing the practices at the ministry as a “coup”, led by the Internal Security Forces.

He urged the army leadership to suppress the ISF coup, saying that the Intelligence Bureau is refusing to implement caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud’s order to pull security forces out of the ministry building.


Now Lebanon: http://nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=274928

Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas said Thursday that Internal Security Forces (ISF) Information Branch personnel have occupied a building owned by the Telecommunications Ministry in the Adliyeh area of Beirut and are mounting a “coup” against the state’s authority.

In a press conference broadcast on OTV, Nahhas said that ISF personnel had taken over the second floor of the building and prevented his ministry’s technical teams from performing routine maintenance work.

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud was not aware of the situation and, once notified by the telecommunications minister, issued an order requiring the personnel to leave the building, Nahhas said.

He said that he visited the building on Thursday morning and encountered “400 armed personnel, military and civilian, with their weapons ready” when he tried to go up to the second floor.

He stated that these units have not left the building and are therefore rebelling against the state, accusing the ISF Directorate-General of defying the Interior Ministry’s orders.


tags: Lebanon, telecom, Ministry of Telecommunications, Ogero, MoT, Nahas, minister, Youssef, Lebanese, politics, video, youtube, image, instagram, Ogero Mobile, coup, ISF, Internal Security Force, force, Interior Ministry, Baroud, Rifi, Naharnet, Daily Star, Now Lebanon, OTV, illegal, armed, hostile, takeover, #FlipTheSwitch, #Ontornet, Flip The Switch