What P.M. Seniora Will Say This Evening

According to an Alhayat leak, P.M Seniora will, in his major evening address to the Arab summit, state the two big reasons why Lebanon is not attending in addition to a list of “unresolved issues” with the Syrians. The leak also contains a test balloon for the Arabs.

On why Lebanon will not attend (my translation):

The [...]

Watch Persepolis For Free (Update: Movie Unbanned)

There’s something paradoxical about the way bans work. For example, if it weren’t for the shenanigans of the Iranian cultural chief enforcer in Lebanon, many Lebanese would have never heard of the award-winning cartoon that scares the mullahs more than American warships.
**Update: I’m getting reports that the minister of interior, a March 14 loyalist, [...]

Promoting “Dignity”

American Democracy promotion is so last decade. But fear not, there’s a new American promotion-du-jour for the Middle East in store, Obama style.
Naive or insightful? You decide:

..Democracy does not fill stomachs, alleviate malaria, or protect neighborhoods from marauding bands of militiamen. Democracy, in other words, is valuable to people insofar as it allows them [...]

Reader: Hell Yes You Should Be Working Hard For Lebanon

A reader is amazed at our lethargy and decides to verbally slap us “whiners” in the face.
Keeping the dream alive…
In response to my previous post, “Cedars4ever” writes:

You are right. Why bother? Why not just switch off completely, allow those ‘non-Lebanese’ to dictate what happens in your country and then once you come out of your [...]

Does Lebanon Still Tickle Your Fancy?

Sorry for the long, unexplained lull in posting. To be completely honest with you, I’m having a sudden lack of interest in Lebanese affairs these days. And no, my blog’s namesake event “Beirut Spring 2008” did not rekindle my passion.
It could be a serious case of disillusionment about Lebanon and its politics, or it [...]

Lebanon on hold

The Iranians have decided to maintain Lebanon’s status quo until the next US administration.
If you’re hanging around Lebanese blogs waiting for that next breakthrough in Lebanese affairs, I’m afraid I have bad news for you. You see, our puppet masters in Iran have decided that they have too many things on their minds to care [...]

A Tussle Over The Electoral Law

The conversation has moved back to elections. But it has taken the silly form of arguing over a 50-year-old electoral law.

Speaker Nabih Berri is upset. His aids told Alhayat that he had wanted to please Patriarch Sfeir by suggesting the use of the Qaza-based 1960s electoral law, but that he was somehow backstabbed when the [...]

Words For Amr Moussa

The Arab League’s Secretary (and the Lebanese) could do worse than reading this article on Koffie Annan’s efforts to solve the Kenyan Crisis.
Here’s Mr. Annan’s take on why he had to be swift:

We have to make sure there’s just one mediation process. Otherwise you have the protagonists trying to bottom shop, looking elsewhere if they [...]