Qifa Nabki
Lebanon
A Nineteenth Sect, or None at All?
The editorial in today’s Daily Star discusses Interior Minister Ziad Baroud’s order authorizing “personnel at his ministry to grant any request to have confessional identity removed from one’s official file at civil registries across the country…” This is a very significant move, yet another feather in the activist minister’s cap. As the editorial goes on … Continue reading
Martyrs & Broken Bones
View from a ’72 Benz C250 series, issue no. 3 Last night, I took a taxi from Gemmayze to Hamra. The driver seemed to be in his 40’s, and he wore a smart felt cap and a wool sweater vest. A little wooden cross dangled from the rearview mirror. As we drove past the tens … Continue reading
“What if Hizbullah Wins?”
This is a question that one hears frequently these days in Beirut. If you haven’t heard it yet, be assured that in a couple of months, it will be all anybody is talking about. Why? Because there is a legitimate possibility, some would say probability, that the Lebanese opposition will become the majority in the … Continue reading
Bellemare Says Nothing… Again
A wise man once asked: “What do you get when you cross a Kouchner with a Bellemare?” Answer: a cauchemar, of course! Although, whether the Tribunal is shaping up to be a nightmare for Syria or March 14th is still a complete mystery, thanks to the investigation’s tight-lipped commissioner who gave an all-business, just-the-facts interview … Continue reading
The Perfect March 8 Electoral Strategy? Just Relax…
If I were a political consultant to the March 8 forces, here’s what I would suggest by way of electoral strategy advice: Just relax. March 14 is doing all of its work for you. Each passing week brings another miscalculation by the ruling coalition, another blunder, another poorly-coordinated move. The wire-tapping scandal fizzled when Defense … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…