| 
              
                | Monday, November 22, 2004 LEBANESE INDEPENDENCE DAY
 - live handshaking
 Had breakfast whilst watching live handshaking coverage on Lebanese television  – the President, Speaker and Prime Minister receiving congratulations on the occasion of Lebanese Independence Day at the Presidential Palace (it’s still going on as I write this hours later – on every channel!).
 Who said the Lebanese aren’t a sporting people?
 
 We were even treated to a magic show of sorts during the broadcast a couple of years ago - faced with a veiled chador-clad well-wisher, the then President, Elias Hrawi, produced a big white handkerchief, as if from nowhere, covered his hand with it and, voila presto, shook hers!
 
 So, it’s a veritable who’s who in Lebanon at the handshaking tournament at the Presidential Palace today.
 Speaking of which, I was leafing through a past edition of “Who’s Who in Lebanon” at someone’s house not too long ago and noticed that some of the entrants (apparently the not so accomplished ones) had a special category in their entries “credit cards” (and then a list of the credit cards they held).
 I don’t know about you but I’m certainly impressed!
 Strange customs!
 
 
 1:35 pm
 
 
 |  |