Qifa Nabki
Michel Aoun
Egypt Selling Lebanon Down the Nile?
An astute reader of this blog sent me the following commentary, which speculates about the significance of several curious little signals coming out of Egypt. ** In a sudden cloud burst of optimism, the Cabinet Alert Level was raised to orange Monday evening, only to come crashing down on the rocks of further demands by … Continue reading
Forbidden Desire
Various pro-March 14 outlets are reporting that Michel Aoun is again derailing efforts to form a cabinet by changing his demands. Some are even suggesting that Aoun’s own allies are getting fed up, notably Marada chief Suleiman Frangieh who was “seemingly annoyed and surprised by… Aoun’s altering position.” The Qnion has gotten its grubby little … Continue reading
Impending Anticlimax Looming?
Like farm animals before an earthquake, the Lebanese daily newspapers are beginning to shift anxiously ahead of what they now believe to be, yes… I think we can confirm… yes, uh huh, there’s absolutely no question this time… it’s gonna… it’s, it’s… oh my God… it’s happening! THE GOVERNMENT IS COMING, THE GOVERNMENT IS COMING! … Continue reading
Put On a Happy Face
The past twenty-four hours have been bewildering, even by Lebanese standards, for all of the mixed signals coming out of Beirut about the cabinet formation. Yesterday, there were widespread reports of “optimism” and a “positive atmosphere” regarding the talks. Today, however, all this exuberance has evaporated in the wake of what The Daily Star is … Continue reading
Citizen Zero
As things have been too slow in Lebanon to warrant serious commentary and too depressing to warrant satire, I’d like to direct your attention to one of the best publications on Lebanese affairs, The Monthly. It’s published in English and Arabic by Information International, a research and consultancy firm based in Beirut and headed by … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…