Tewksbury, Massachusetts, USA – population 29,000 apparently had a “looks like Beirut” moment. No it wasn’t a burned out building or rioting. No destruction or chaos – just police helicopters in the sky (thanks to Olivia Alabaster for the link):
Is it me or have there been enough helicopters flying around recently to make Tewksbury seem like downtown Beirut?
“Me” in the quote above refers to Bill Gilman, editor of the Tewksbury Patch. Now I really don’t get how helicopters flying overhead could be compared to Beirut; thinking of helicopters flying over cities, I can think of cities from Abbottabad, Pakistan to Los Angeles, California. Don’t really figure Beirut into it.
This surely calls for a “Looks Like Beirut” certificate.
great work on the site, I think what you’re doing is helping so much in changing how people perceive beirut, especially with the negative image people continue to have of the war.
Not sure if this counts as a looks like beirut certificate candidate, but last week, while listening to the breakfast show on Mix106.5 (inSydney) they had an on air interview with James Blunt, when asked what were the city where he had his best and worst concert – in terms of his experience, I don’t quite remember his worst, but he claims to have had the most fun performing his concert in Beirut !!
he went on about the event, how vibrant and exciting the city was and so on…
Thanks LebExile! Your suggestion is quite interesting a “Beirut Looks Great” certificate. I just heard the interview on Mix106.5 and it is quite fascinating that Beirut sticks out as one of the greatest places he has been to having already visited over 100 cities and towns part of his world tour.
Maybe we should look at a positive certificate rather than just one focused on negative comments on Beirut. You have given me some real food for thought.