Qifa Nabki
Michel Aoun
A Review of Michael Young’s New Book
I’ve written a review of Michael Young’s new book for The Nation. An excerpt is pasted below with a link to the rest of the review. A Forest of Fathers One weekend during the spring of 2008, I found myself in a discussion with a friend about Lebanon’s latest political crisis. In Beirut the office … Continue reading
Missed Call Nation
Well, it seems the rumors are true. The Lebanese Parliament will be calling a special session tomorrow to discuss banning Skype. Apparently, several other VoIP (voice-over-IP) services have already been blocked, such as Magic Jack, and if all goes according to plan, Skype and Gchat could be next. Imad Atalla breaks it down in the … Continue reading
FPM Engages in Post-Election Soul-Searching
The preliminary results of the first round of Lebanon’s municipal elections are in. Predictably, all sides are claiming victory, with Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement tabulating their wins at around 51% of all council seats, while Samir Geagea has confidently announced that a majority of Christians in the Mount Lebanon region support the March 14th … Continue reading
Confessionalism or Cronyism?
How much of the current fight about administrative appointments is about sectarian politics, and how much of it is just about politics? When one hears reports about how so-and-so is demanding that such-and-such position is given to this or that sect, it’s tempting to get up on the soapbox and proclaim that confessionalism is rearing … Continue reading
News & Notes (Dec. 30, 2009)
I haven’t read it yet, but judging from the reviews, it sounds like Lee Smith’s book is a bit of a dud. Max Rodenbeck skewers it for The National: “Smith believes he has much to teach us about this corner of the world, a patch he covered, from Cairo and Beirut, for the Weekly Standard, … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…