January / February 2008

Contents Of This Issue:

The Quote

"Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice"-   Shakespeare

Featured Book: "Gut Check" by Tarek Saab

Only a few years into a career marked by dazzling early success, Tarek Saab’s life took a dramatic turn with his selection for Donald Trump’s reality show, The Apprentice. Viewers soon noticed something unusual about Tarek. Throughout the chaos and pressure—including several boardroom showdowns with Trump—Tarek displayed a forgotten kind of manhood. In a new book, he shares his hard-won insights into love, work, and manhood and their source in a faith that is ever old, ever new.

The biggest problem by far facing men in their twenties is the crisis of manhood. Offering a completely new take on the so-called “quarter-life crisis,” Tarek describes his reluctant confrontation with career, relationships, and spiritual disillusionment and reveals the surprising truths he learned about what it means to be a man.

A distinctly modern-day Confessions, "Gut Check" is the wry and candid self-examination of a man whose life, despite its extraordinary twists, is full of lessons for ordinary young men. Tarek’s captivating tale reveals a young man with many talents and temptations whose saving grace is a relentless pursuit of truth and the daring to be counter-cultural. Gritty, comic, utterly believable—Gut Check is not the usual Christian fairy tale.

"Gut Check" is a manual for manhood lived the hard way. It is a book for men who never read and for men who think they have read it all. If you think you know what you really want, are you ready for a gut check?

Tarek was featured in our Jun 07 newsletter.  You can order his book at www.BuyGutCheck.com and his personal website is www.tsaab.com.  Please share this at your club events or buy it as a gift for a friend.  Click here for books featured in past newsletters.
 

Featured Organization:  Lebanese Collegiate Network (LCN)
An organization committed to serving University Lebanese Clubs

The Lebanese Collegiate Network (LCN) was established in response to an overwhelming need to foster positive relationships between existing University Lebanese Clubs (ULC) and their student members. The LCN board invites all ULCs to join and benefit from this organization by visiting the official website at www.lebanesecollegiatenetwork.org.

Our foremost purpose and mission is to foster, connect and develop Lebanese collegiate clubs, students and alumni within the United States. The LCN is a non-political organization created for the benefit of University Lebanese Clubs and their students by encouraging and promoting their academic and professional growth.

Benefits include scholarships and student exchange programs and much more.  Your donations will support these programs. Since its launch, the LCN has hosted two successful dinners in Los Angeles, California and Washington DC. The attendees for both events consisted of students, young professionals and established members of the Lebanese Community from all over the Southern California and DC areas. Seven University Lebanese Clubs were present and were given the opportunity to introduce the community to the successes of their Clubs.

The LCN further invites the Lebanese Community to attend the 2008 LCN Annual Conference on March 28-30 2008 at the University of Maryland. Hotel reservations can be made at the local Comfort Inn. The intent of the 2008 Conference is to develop University Lebanese Club students professionally and academically. More information regarding this event can be found on the website. All conference related questions will be fielded by the Vice President of Events Julien Chemali at jchemali@lebanesecollegiatenetwork.org.

For all questions or for more information, please contact the LCN President Patrick Sislian at psislian@lebanesecollegiatenetwork.org.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to working with you throughout the year.

Diana Ayoub, Vice President of Public Relations
dayoub@lebanesecollegiatenetwork.org 
 

The Los Angeles-Beirut Sister City Project:  A year in review 2007

The Los Angeles-Beirut Sister City Committee is happy to announce that on December 13, 2007 a 40’ container valued at over $500,000.00 of donated life and safety equipment from the Los Angeles Fire Department to the Beirut Fire Department and medical supplies and equipment for the free clinics in Beirut arrived at the port in Beirut.

Other accomplishments include participating in the Hollywood Santa Parade.  Hosting the Notre Dame University Choir.  Forming the Los Angeles Cedars Rotary Club and much more.  For more information and photos please visit www.labeirut.org .

I would like to thank our board members, supporters and donors for your support. Your contributions made-it possible for us to accomplish much, but there is more to do, and together we will get the job done.    For more information call 323-465-6591 or email us at ferris@labeirut.org
Ferris Wehbe
 

House of Lebanon News
www.houseoflebanon.com

Los Angeles Cedars Rotary Club

On Sunday January 20, 2008 the club held an event to raise funds to purchase mechanical wheel chairs to the injured Lebanese soldiers.
At that dinner, Councilman  Dennis Zine was honored.  Mr. Zine is of Lebanese origin from Zahle. He was the reason we were able to get the Los Angeles Beirut Sister cities approved. He visited Lebanon the first time in 2006 to sign the agreement between the two cities.

SEAL-USA: 2007 Year In Review

Social and Economic Action for Lebanon or SEAL's mission is to assist low-income individuals in Lebanon to increase their incomes and develop successful businesses, thereby creating jobs and lifting the standard of living for themselves, their families, and their
communities.  Below is the link to their year in review.  SEAL completed another successful year raising over $240,000 in funds for
projects.  Below is the link for the report.  For information about the organization please visit www.seal-usa.org.

2007 Annual Newsletter:  http://www.seal-usa.org/pdfs/SEAL_Newsletter_2007.pdf  
 

Senator Boustan Fundraiser

Fund raising event for U.S. Rep Charles Boustany Jr. M.D.
Friday Feb 1st in Houston, Texas.
For more information contact Dr. Kantara at drkantara@comcast.net

Phoenician Alphabet

The links below provide great information about the Phoenician alphabet with great new findings and images. 
www.phoenicia.org/alphabet.html   and www.phoenician.org/alphabet.htm

www.phoenicia.org is the world's largest web compilation of Phoenician resources & studies -- 1,200 pages with more than
one million visitors per year and referenced by 80,000 in-coming links.

www.phoenician.org  The Phoenician experience, much of the information shown here is taken with permission from the new book Phoenicians: Lebanon's Epic Heritage. It's author, Sanford Holst, is a highly regarded expert on the Phoenician people. Since this book contains the most complete history of the Phoenicians ever assembled, you will find some intriguing information here, accompanied by photographs taken on-site in Lebanon. Only a fraction of the content of the book is found here.

 

Events: Click here for more Info
 

Movie: CARAMEL

We would like to tell you about CARAMEL, a new award-winning Lebanese film that will open in select cities next month.
This film is special for many reasons.

First, it is critically acclaimed. A hit at the Cannes Film Festival this past year, CARAMEL went on to win the Audience Award at
The San Sebastian Film Festival. And it is Lebanon 's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards next month.

Second, It is directed by a woman, it also features an all-women cast.

Third, it is utterly charming. CARAMEL centers around five women whose lives intersect in a beauty salon, a colorful and sensual microcosm of Beirut . The salon is a place where several generations come into contact, talk and confide in each other. Between haircuts and sugar waxing with caramel, they engage in intimate and liberated conversations that reveal their joys and fears surrounding men, sex and motherhood.

For additional information, please visit: www.caramelmovie.com  or contact us at: caramel@newamericanvision.com
US trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpnC8cUIij0
Long trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdVShbXTSIA 
Release schedule:  http://www.newamericanvision.com/Caramel.html
 

Information Request

Notes and Disclaimer
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