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I came across a dispatch on the GlobalPost titled, Snoop Dog, Paris Hilton … Beirut’s Back. The jest of the article revolves around the idea that Lebanon is the place to be because people get wasted on rooftops. That’s all great and fair though the last few paragraphs really caught my attention:

Two million extra people in Lebanon is equivalent to a 50 percent increase in the country’s population; Lebanon already suffers from serious public infrastructure problems.

How true. Though the paragraph that follows lists these problems but it seems to imply the problems are recent (due to the influx of tourists):

The country’s roads are now clogged with cars, leading to traffic jams that can last hours. Prices for taxis have increased, while water shortages and power outages have become more frequent, with some areas losing power for six to 12 hours in the hottest days of summer.

When weren’t the roads clogged? Taxi prices increase every time the price of fuel skyrockets. Power and water shortages? Ah they’ve existed since 1991. But here is my favorite part – can you guess which of these issues is the most concerning to our government?

“What we should consider first is how to make solutions for the traffic,” [director of Lebanon’s Tourism Ministry, Nada Sardouk].

So I guess the rationale behind it is that people at home who don’t have power will now be able to get to Skybar in 20 minutes instead of the usual 45?