Miss World 2010 top model Luna Ramos and Adriana Pena (Miss Venezuela in 2007)

As much as I have been glued to coverage of the protests in Egypt and elsewhere, there are times when a little levity is needed. So why not turn to Lebanon, despite its lack of a functioning government (or maybe because of it)? I suppose the phrase “When in Lebanon…” might be concluded with “do as the Lebanese would want to do, even if it gets harder and harder to do.” While postwar Beirut has lost much of its playful lustre, Lebanon is still (barely as this picture shows) an oasis of Western style in a political arena that has seen a rise in hijab fashion rather than skirt length. The main news may not fully cover stories about uncovering, but at least the Huffington Post (all the news that’s fit to entice, ‘specially if it’s lefty, naughty and oh so nice – at least before it merged with AOL) offers an alternative to Hamas, Hizbullah and Ahmadinijad. I realize it is a slippery slope, but now that the World Cup finals are over, what better way to promote South American beauty queens than wearing bikinis on skis in mountains that used to boast the cedars of Lebanon. If you prefer a video collage with a beat, see the shots on Youtube.