Any good beaches in Beirut...?

[doc]

Dear doc,

SIDECOM is proud to inform you about its “Martial Arts Festival” event, which will be held for the first time in Lebanon around June 2004, at BIEL, one of the largest venues in Beirut downtown adequate for such event.

This festival will feature mainly martial arts shows and demonstrations, gathering outstanding troupes and champions from all over the world and from various martial art styles, to present their ideals, techniques, skills, disciplines, cultures and others.

The event will be covered by a large media campaign in Lebanon and all the Arab countries.

The main purpose of this festival is to encourage and promote martial arts in Lebanon and the Arab world.

Today many martial arts have become very popular worldwide but are unfortunately unknown and unpracticed in our country, such as Capoeira, Shaolin Gung fu, Kali, Jiu Jitsu, Viet Vo Dao, Sambo, Pencak Silat, Kalaripayattu and many others. This event is an excellent opportunity to promote your martial arts and to introduce new styles to the Lebanese Arab public.

For further details, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please note that we will be covering air fares and accomodation expenses.

Looking forward for your participation in this highly profiled event and hoping to hear from you soon, we remain,

Yours truly,

SIDECOM
xxxx xxxx
Project manager


Next, an invitation to Iraq?

[Steve]

Lebanon???

Why Lebanon?.. Why can't there be an all expense trip to the Bahamas? You could stay at your villas there.

[doc]

Thank you very much for your kind offer. However, at this time, I have no plans to travel during the next year because of health reasons. Maybe sometime in the future we can do this.

Hope you have a great festival. Sorry I can't be part of it this year.

doc


Dear Doc,

Thank you for your quick response, and we hope that you will get well soon.

Regards,
xxxxx


Hi

Well, you're for real. What a surprise!
You have no idea how many emails I get from all over the world, inviting me to the wildest places. I just can't believe them all.

I wish you the best with your festival. As I've said, my health has not been the best this year, but I am on the mend, finally. I sincerely doubt that I'd be able to make a trip to that part of the world in June, but, if things change, I'll let you know.

If you need help advertising your June festival, feel free to email me advertising stuff. I will put it on the site to help you get the word out.

If I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.

Take care, regards to all,
doc

{ED: The FBI has already been crawling all over my ass this year. Imagine, the big white guy, traveling to the Middle East, to train Arabs in the martial arts during these times of terrorism.... lol}


Dear Doc,

Well thank you for your kind support, actually to be frank with you, we really need your assistance since you're more involved in the martial arts field and we will higly appreciate it. We need your assistance in the folowing:
- If you can put us in contact with the shaolin monks because we look forward to invite them to participate in our festival.
- If you can put us in contact with some other good teams who might be interested to participate in our festival. Shaolin Gong fu, Kali, Viet Vo Dao, Sambo, Pencak Silat, are the styles that we are searching for.

Thank you again, we higly appreciate your assistance.

Best regards,
xxxx


OK, two things.

First, I'd forget about getting Shaolin monks from Shaolin, unless, you're willing to spend big bucks on some sort of donation to the abbot. They cost money. You have to fly them, feed them, house them, pay donations, and then, take care of the big boy, on top of it.You're talking about some serious cash.

As for putting yo in touch with other good teams, well, put together some pictures, and some wording, as to exactly what you're doing. I'll put it together and put it in the Seminars section of the site. It should get you a lot of traffic. Not sure how many people will go, the Middle East is not a favorite travel destination for Americans now, unfortunately. I've wanted to see it for so long. Well, maybe one day.

Send me pictures and stuff. I'll put it together, and try to help you.

Stay well
doc



Doc,

Thank you again, we higly appreciate your assistance.

Best regards,
xxxx



Dear Doc,

We are looking forward to have the Shaolin monks in our event, can you give me an idea about the value of the donation you are talking about? As for airfares and accommodation expenses, we will cover this part. The Shaolin team is constitued from how many martial artist?
I will send some documents as soon as I have something ready. You are the most welcome whenever you feel like coming to Beirut, you have my contacts, just let me know before.

Thank for your assistance.

Best regards,
xxxx



Well, to give you an idea.....

Yongxin went to xxxxxxx to "visit" a martial arts group, that allegedly donates money to him. Yongxin has some sort of arrangement with them, whereby he grants them some sort of recognition, in return, from what I've been told in China, for "resources". Apparently, for the one hour show, also from what I've been told, they charged the Americans who went to see this, $250 per person. There were thousands of people there. Then, whomever stayed for the few hour training session, allegedly paid $40 per person.

We're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. And, Yongxin and this school were allegedly fighting over money, from what I heard in China, before they left. The trip had almost been cancelled because of "financial reasons". (I was in Shaolin talking to some of the head guys, before the group left on their ten day tour of the US. Supposedly, as they told me in China, Yongxin and group were spending one afternoon with this school in xxxxxx).

Does this give you an idea as to what kind of dollars are involved here?

doc