CHOULO19

We eat that rice with all the stews. And chicken in tomato sauce could also be a number of stews. We have like a thousand different types of Lebanese dishes. If you can get me the name of it, I'll get you the recipe from my Mom if you want PS: Thumbs up for the avatar.

Anytime I know for a fact that the actual number is much higher.

Yesss I now pronounce us "internet" socially awkward husband and hot wife. Actually, I think the one he's eating is. We make a bit different than the Turks. I'm obviously biased, but ours is better

Looks like Cesc likes not only Lebanese women, but Lebanese food as well CC: @Barbara

I was just telling Dion in the pub that people in Lebanon are taught Arabic, French and English in schools. We're a very small country, so you can easily visit all of it in one trip. Go to the beach (preferably in the north or the south), the mountain, down town Beirut, Byblos, and the south. The nightlife is also BY FAR the best in the region, be it pubs and nightclubs or concerts and plays.

@Fernando, you really need to visit the middle east yourself. I have no idea what you are so afraid of. Thinking that the whole middle east is like what you see on TV is like thinking that in the US there are daily car chases and heroes and villains with running around with guns like the action movies! KSA and Iran aside, you can do and say whatever the fuck you want in the middle east as long as you are respectful to ALL beliefs as is the case in most eastern cultures because of their conservative nature. Heck, here in Lebanon, you don't even need to be respectful. You can say and do anything. Despite what they tell you, the people here are very similar to yourself.

Here's the vid:

To be honest, not all Lebanese people speak French, because for a lot of people they learn not just at school but at homes from their parents who speak French as well. It's a bit difficult to explain why, but it has A LOT to do with politics and history. Towards the end of the Ottoman rule, the French were looking to infiltrate the empire specifically from Lebanon. Obviously they used religion as an excuse. They sent "missionaries" and built French schools and hospitals for the Christians in the Mount Lebanon region in the name of protecting Christians in the east (even though there were more Christians in Syrian, Iraq, Palestine...etc.). Similarly, Britain were doing practically the same to a lesser extent for the Druze here. Then came the French colonization of the region after WW1 and those who spoke French were given the all the top jobs. So soon speaking French became a sign of being upper class. There actual people, even now, who were born and have lived their entire lives in Lebanon and speak French and not Arabic.

Let me make this clear: If anyone posts a picture of him wearing the wrong shade of blue, he WILL be banned.

Joking? JOKING?! This is a serious forum, sir, for serious people to seriously discuss footballing matters!

He's still around the club. He represented us, along with Gourlay, at the CL draw last season.

Speak? No. Understand? To a certain degree, especially if it is written and not spoken. In Lebanon, everyone studies both English and French in school. One as a first language and the other as a second language. French was a second language for me in school. But you probably didn't want to know that...

Why? We have players in the Koke mold while Andre is our best option for direct football. I certainly would not trade, even if Koke's market value is perceived to be higher.

I really don't know much about Nigeria except what we read in the news abou Boko Haram and such, but like I said, nothing promotes an idea more than success and those Muslim extremists in Nigeria are a result of the "success" of Muslim extremists in the Middle East, just like Al Qaeda was a result of the success of Jigadists in southern Soviet Union, just like ISIS and Jabhat al Nusra are a result of the success of Muslim extremists in Lybia and just like Hezboullah was in the 80s a result of the success of the Islamic revolution in Iran. You asked specifically about Iran and I answered to the best of my knowledge about Iran. I know they are not oppressed from what I read and hear about Iran and from the Iranians that come to Lebanon and the people from here that visit Iran (which are a lot because there is some sort of religious pilgrimage for Shiites in Iran). An article? Do you want an article titled "Christians are Not being persecuted in Iran"? honestly, Iran is probably the best place for Christians in the Middle East right now after Lebanon. PS: The one you posted hardly qualifies as an article. It's just an attack by FOX on Obama while trying to rally the conservative Christians against him. As for what is happening to Christians elsewhere in the Middle East, that is down to Muslim extremists groups. It's all happening btw due to western backed groups like ISIS and Jabhat al Nosra in Syria and the Muslim brotherhood in Egypt. Though, these groups are hardly just terrorising Christians. In fact, it is better to be Christian than Shiite if you happen to cross their path. But the western and international silence towards this, even by the Vatican, is 'suspicious' to say the least.

@Clevemayer, I'll try to reply to you tomorrow because the issue is so complex and difficult. This will take some time to answer.

I remember making a post about this some time ago. There are several reasons that I see and of course other random factors because eventually the "movement" of societies has an unpredictable random factor to it. First, I think the 'Muslim world' feels that it is under attack by the west. The people of this part of the world have been taken advantage of and been the subject of a large part of the new-colonialism since the end of WW1. First by France and Britain, then Israel and the US. Pick any country in the middle east and the west have played a direct destructive role in it. Naturally, this creates a defensive reaction in these countries. This defensive reaction has unfortunately been recently towards radical Islam. A big reason, in my opinion, is also the failure of the secular groups. In the 70s and 80s, left wing secular groups were the most prominent in most Arab countries. But these parties proved very corrupt and drove the people of the region into the arms of the right wing groups. As for the jihadist nature of these radical groups, that has a lot to do with the southern part of the Soviet Union in the 70s and 80s. The US and the UK thought it would be a good idea to create Muslim extremists in that region to fight the soviet union. They paid Sheikhs to work starting from inside mosques to recruit men that are susceptible to these extremists idea. They funded and armed them and even provided five star medical care for the injured in the UK (do a back ground check on all of the Al Qaeda ledaers like Ben Ladin, Al Zarkawi, even all of those in Guantanamo, the vast majority of them have lived in the UK at one point or another in their lives.) Then you have the fact that a lot of people seem 'culturally ready' to endorse such movement. That is mainly due to the fact these countries mainly have a a conservative eastern culture. Add to that the low levels of education and the state of war or edge of war that these countries have been in creates an extremist mind-set for people in which they react instinctively instead of logically to any threat. Finally you have the Islamic revolution in Iran (which wasn't "Islamic" at all until after it was over) because nothing promotes an idea more than success. But to answer your other question, no, the Christians in Iran are not oppressed. Iran is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world with Zoroastrians, Buddhists...etc. They are treated equally like everyone else, but they do have to follow certain Islamic culture standards regarding stuff like wardrobe in public.

Similarly, NYFC will not want to make their new superstar and "poster boy" (for want of a better term) unhappy. Of course he has agreed to the move to City. Let's not act like he's being held hostage there just because it makes us feel better.

Expected, but happy to see it confirmed. He's one of those players you just know has a positive influence around the training ground.

What does Matic has to do with Mikel's wages? Matic is a completely different type of player to Mikel. He is not a pure CDM, in fact he used to play higher up the pitch until his last year or so in Benfica. Makalele played in a different time with a different system. When someone like Mikel was needed in the team, he was appreciated and praised by a lot of fans; specifically till 2011 and even in 2012 under Robbie. But now we need someone who is more rounded and more dynamic to be a starter for us.

Rumors that the Israeli side has agreed to 4 of the conditions of the Palestinian representatives including lifting the siege on Gaza. That's great news if true. It was expected that the Israelis will have to give a few things. Politically, they have lost a lot in this assault. First time I've heard of her to be honest, but her resignation AFTER a ceasefire has been reached hardly changes anything. Would have been more helpful when the bombs were raining down on the civilians. Of course we can't live without war, that's not what I meant. But we have managed to develop certain codes and norms of ethics to govern our actions. That is a huge difference we have over other animals. And that is what I meant by losing my faith in humanity when I saw those norms being destroyed.

No, that was for Iseah. He's asked that exact same question in every single Hot Seat thread so far!

That is because Oscar's wages are too low because he moved here from Brazil and not somewhere from Europe. Mikel's wages are more than reasonable for an established player at a top club. How about more than 300 appearances for the club, being the non-British player with the 3rd most appearances in the history of the club and the current third longest serving player? Does that make him established? Not my words, the words of Pat Nevin in his segment called "Analyze That" on Chelsea TV. But keep hating :tophat:

Favourite book? Favourite band/song/album? Reading or TV? Do you want to get a PhD to go on to teach or do you want to work in research? Are you doing a survey? You went to university in your own bath?! Why didn't I think of that? Genius!

Can I just say how awesome of a guy Petr is for actually constantly interacting with the fans on Twitter. And he just seems so nice and intelligent. One more thing... NSFW

Yup. That guy was fun to watch....unless he was playing for your team!