» Guess Who's Back
05/08/09 15:30 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
(click on the pic to find out)

» Understand Jumblatt
16/07/09 14:51 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
If you ever want to understand why Walid Jumblatt, the effective political leader of Druze community in Lebanon, does what he does, keep the following in mind: The Druze leader has been willing to alter his position on virtually everything..

» Our Saudi Friends...
14/02/08 12:14 from The Rabid Smurf
Need I say more?

» Breaking News: Rocket Exchange in South
27/10/09 17:40 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
Update: Israeli police reported no casualties from a single rocket which landed in the north of that country. Meanwhile Lebanese security officials reported Israeli jet incursions into Lebanese airspace over the south of that country. Repo..

» Composition of new cabinet according to Nahar
07/07/08 06:12 from Lebanon Update
If we are to believe Nahar , the new cabinet is pretty much a done deal now that the Opposition has formally stated the seats it requests. Unless I (and Nahar) am missing something, it would be a no-brainer for Siniora to accept their sugge..

» Beirut Art Center
07/07/09 15:22 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
Here's the NYTimes with the write-up.

» The Big EIGHT
16/11/07 10:37 from The Rabid Smurf
Here's a short profile on the eight 'viable' candidates for the presidency, according to the New York Times. Edit : Make sure to visit this page as well.. Ah, the good old days. And how can we forget This ! I'm smelling Butane, hmm...

» The 9th Attempt
17/12/07 08:30 from The Rabid Smurf
So let me get this right, after 3 years of hardship, open-ended circus shows and political blasphemy, the end-result would be that everything the entire country's been through was in VAIN!? According to Annahar's article today, it seems tha..

» Miri Family Grieves ...
03/07/09 20:25 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
... and calls for the arrest of the AMAL gunman who murdered 30 year old mother of five Zeina Miri. The photo shows Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri, consoling Zeina Miri's two daughters as he visits the family to offer his condolence..

» Walid Phares at Center for Security Policy
03/07/09 04:04 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
I think we have an even split in readers who would agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Phares' assessments of the Lebanese scene and those that might disagree. What do you think?

» Badran on Hizballah and Wilayat al-Faqih
24/06/09 15:40 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
Tony brings it again. I've re-posted in its entirety his latest commentary as posted in NOWLebanon . Read it all: There is a glaring contradiction between Hezbollah’s recent statements about the concept of Wilayat al-Faqih (the rule of the..

» More Lebanon Election Analysis
10/06/09 19:47 from Across the Bay
Here's my latest piece on the election and post-election situation. See also Michael Young's column yesterday, as well as Emile Hokayem's editorial . Arabic readers might want to check out the following op-ed by Elie Fawaz. Ziad Majed also ..

» Deal's Off: Mon General!
22/11/07 07:18 from The Rabid Smurf
The latest maneuver from General Aoun , thus the opposition, is a circus-inspired "six point plan of salvation" which he proudly declared yesterday, in ' desperate ' attempt to 'save' Lebanon. Before going onto conclusions, let's just re-r..

» The Hezbollah Model Revisited
23/10/09 18:45 from Across the Bay
Following up on my previous post , here's a piece I co-authored with Mara Karlin that appeared in the Washington Times today. I guess it was a fitting coincidence that it was published on the anniversary of Hezbollah's 1983 attack on the US..

» Syria's Premature Triumphalism on Sanctions
06/08/09 13:52 from Across the Bay
Here's my commentary on the US sanctions on Syria, which were recently in the news. I'll be back shortly with a post on Imad Moustapha and his hilarious statements on this issue.

» So who's blocking who?
08/07/08 07:05 from Lebanon Update
Finally and after much delay, the Opposition has given its names and posts it wants in the new government and still there is no cabinet. Why? Because now it's March 14's turn to bicker about the distribution of their seats. What on earth ha..

» Amnesty International on Gaza War Crimes
02/07/09 15:02 from Blacksmiths of Lebanon
GAZA CIVILIAN DEATHS Children: 300 Women: 115 Men over 50: 85 Civilian men under 50: 200 Non-combatant police: 240 Total: 940 Source: Amnesty International BBCNews reports: Israel committed war crimes and carried out reckless attacks and a..

» Sowar: Snapshots of the Civil War
11/07/08 08:47 from Lebanon Update
As part of the "Let Us Not Forget" campaign to keep the memory alive of the Lebanese Civil War, the Sowar magazine (lit: "photo's") has dedicated its latest edition to war photography. What is it with photo's from war zones that always make..

» Is the Obama Administration Fed Up with Syria?
15/09/09 14:32 from Across the Bay
Hussain Abdul-Hussain has a very interesting report in the Kuwaiti Al-Rai today (Arabic): As a result of its frustration with Assad's negative behavior, Abdul-Hussain writes, the Obama administration has decided against sending its ambassad..

» The Syrians Have Nothing, and Demand Everything
09/07/09 13:07 from Across the Bay
Michael Young absolutely nails it in his piece in The National, explaining how despite having nothing, the Syrians, as always, demand everything. A must read.