Trenton at Night Sounds Like Beirut

Sounds of gun shots ringing through the night in Trenton, New Jersey is, according to South Ward Councilman George Muschal, similar to the sounds of Beirut:

A city shooting that targeted two officers late Monday dominated part of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, with Police Director Ralph River Jr. and South Ward Councilman George Muschal sparring over the department’s handling of the incident.

[...]

Muschal said he’s out on the city’s streets every night, and sometimes it sounds like Beirut out there.

I’ll be dispatching a Looks Like Beirut certificate to George Muschal soon.

Last shot of my trip - Promise by Serge Melki -- via flickr

Edward James Olmos Compares Riot-Ridden LA to Beirut

California, USA

20 years after the Los Angeles riots, actor/activist Edward James Olmos describes the scene to the Hollywood Reporter:

Actor and activist Edward James Olmos says Hollywood on Thursday night “looked like Beirut, like an all-out war going on.” Seeing someone in the street who had been shot in the headby a shop owner “broke my back,” Olmos says. “I almost ran over him with my car.”

I believe a “looks like Beirut” certificate is definitely in need.

Beirut panorami by Luciana.Luciana -- via flickr

Roda Antar Ranks Second Among Highest Paid Arab Sports Stars

Arabian Business has compiled a list of the highest paid Middle East sports stars with Lebanese’s football star Roda Antar ranking second (once you exclude the non-Arabs):

Roda Antar in 2009 -- via Wikipedia

In 2011, Roda was paid a cool US$3 million as part of his contract with the Chinese club Shandong Luneng. Morocco’s Mbark Boussoufa came in first place with $US4.3 million in earnings last year with the Russian football club Anzhi.

Australia’s Newcastle compared to a Friday Night in Beirut

Newcastle, Australia

As my pal Rabih (over at SkyscraperCity) perfectly pointed out: “it’s been a busy 24 hours for bigots in Newcastle, Australia news rooms“.

Speaking at a Hunter Valley Research Foundation function at state Parliament yesterday, Infrastructure NSW chairman and former Liberal premier Nick Greiner issued a blunt assessment of the central business district of NSW’s second city [Newcastle] as “looking a bit like Beirut on a bad Friday night”.

“So you’ve got a choice. You leave the CBD looking a bit like Beirut on a bad Friday night, or you get rid of the rail line. I do think it’s as simple as that.”

The Herald also decides to spice things up with a poll on the topic. Here is the question:

Nick Greiner says Newcastle looks ‘‘a bit like Beirut on a bad Friday night’’. Is he being unfair?

Here are your choices and the results (at the time of my posting):

No, the CBD looks like a war zone. (49.1%)
Yes, I love our CBD and see its potential. (23.2%)
Yes, unfair to Beirut. (27.7%)

Anyone else furious? Oh but of course it gets better.

Newcastle Liberal MP Tim Owen says he would not compare the inner-city to Beirut, but agrees with former Premier Nick Greiner that the rail line removal will be a catalyst for renewal.

MP Tim Owen “has concerns” on what is happening on the streets of Newcastle but wouldn’t go as far as comparing it to Beirut. Furious yet? But wait, there’s still more.

Australia’s ABC has two photos comparing Beirut to Newcastle. Here’s an undated photo of Beirut (I’m assuming taken in 2006) with no context whatsoever: