some guy in lebanon

From Forbes Magazine:

BEIRUT–You could argue that, in a contest to choose the most civilized citizens of the world, it would be a travesty not to choose Beirutis. Multi-domiciled (New York, London, Paris, Beirut), automatically fluent in three languages (English, Arabic, French) and the literature thereof, exquisitely turned out, hospitable and generous by instinct, they conduct their lives in a physical setting so glamorous it rivals Istanbul. They should be U.N.-protected as international cultural treasures.

Conversing with them is a little like appearing in front of an Olympic committee that adjudicates finesse in everything from fine dining to dirty jokes. The financial and entertainment geniuses of the region, they’re the last of the great historic Levantine communities, the kind Lawrence Durrell so loved. They speak a natural Esperanto, “Shu? Alors, what’s it called, habibi, the tres gentil guy who owns Chanel here, my cousin’s husband … ”

This has been my first visit to Beirut as a grown-up, indeed since the civil wars began in the mid-1970s. One week’s past and already I’ve found myself trying to rejig my life so I can return incessantly again and again as the waves do below the Corniche, and as Beirutis never fail to do after each war.

To all who supported me or gave me words of encouragement during the controversy of the past two weeks, you have my gratitude and respect.

You will by now have seen the statement by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair reporting that I have withdrawn my previous acceptance of his invitation to chair the National Intelligence Council.

I have concluded that the barrage of libelous distortions of my record would not cease upon my entry into office. The effort to smear me and to destroy my credibility would instead continue. I do not believe the National Intelligence Council could function effectively while its chair was under constant attack by unscrupulous people with a passionate attachment to the views of a political faction in a foreign country. I agreed to chair the NIC to strengthen it and protect it against politicization, not to introduce it to efforts by a special interest group to assert control over it through a protracted political campaign.

Jill Bolte Taylor: “A Stroke of Insight” – The most incredible speech I’ve ever heard. If you can’t see the video above, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

Hello all – Just wanted to provide an update. It’s been a little while -

Life continues to proceed a normal pace in Beirut… I can’t say theres much excitement but these days no news is good news. Work at Dia Diwan and the Daily Star are both good – It’s nice to settle into a steady cycle of work and relaxing.

Other than that, not too much to report. There seems to be plenty of things to do – I visited Tripoli late last week, which the first time in three months I’d gotten out of Beirut (not counting my short trip to Amman)

Things are well in Beirut – Though I have not yet entirely settled in to my new place, I can say that the transition is going smoothly. To share: The other night I sat in my living room, watching my TV as it played South Park, looking over my balcony, down the hall from my [...]

We all know the story now; we’ve read the papers. We’ve watched the television. We now know of the act, the face that Karma Hamady chose to allow us to see; and we know of its cunning and intent.

While the ramifications of her actions shocked the world, few could have grasped the scope of her death. For we all now know of Karma Hamady’s other life, her true life. The life of an artist, a free spirit, a talented musician with a genius ear, and yes, as we now know, one of the most notorious revolutionaries in history.

Karma and I decided to eulogize each other for fun. I am still writing her’s but here’s what she wrote about me: “Did You Know Him?” By Karma Hamady Nobody really knows exactly how old Will Donovan was when he died. Well, no one really knows exactly if he died at all. Some say he [...]

So, it’s almost been three month in Beirut. How time goes by in a flash! I won’t forget it… so, to recap, here are some things I’ve learned about myself in the past 87 days.

Another UPDATE – jeez…. Anyways, exciting news – not much to report just yet but I will deliver soon, God Willing. So that everyone can see that I still have a head (it has not been dislocated from my body by shrapnal, swords, or a taxi), and to see the awesome hat I have currently [...]

My father Michael very nicely linked my article “A Short Discussion on Israel and Palestine” on his blog. Thanks dad!

For those of you who are unaware as to why I haven’t published anything recently, it’s because I am waiting to hear about a number of things, namely, and most importantly, the legal status of The Daily Star, the paper I work for. There has been an injunction filed against it due to a credit [...]

I reported today that President Bush had commanded Secretary of State Rice to abstain on her vote on the resolution that she put forth to the United Nations Security Council calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and an Israeli withdrawal, after Israeli Prime Minister Olmert demanded that he do so. The AFP reported that Olmert had said this during a speech in southern Israel.

A friend of mine replied with a lengthy note on Facebook. Though I disagreed with him, it would be ridiculous to just delete his comments.

I had my first “Ah-Ha” moment as a journalist today. It helped me in many ways define what it is that a “Journalist” is supposed to be. First the moment itself – I was writing an article this afternoon on a seminar regarding the current Gaza conflict and the 2 year old Gaza seige. I [...]

Still waiting to hear from people, places, and things here in Beirut – No news yet. But I would like to take this time to suggest to Israel that if you insist on attacking United Nations sponsored schools full of civilians and children, I suppose you’ll never be too worried about that nagging feeling in [...]

Note (8/19/09) – This post has been getting a lot of attention recently due to a link from a blog called ‘Dances with Klingons‘ – So I wanted to add a remark. Something that I didn’t understand when I posted this article, is the degree to which it is possible, if you have no dependents, [...]

Dear Israel, Congratulations. Since you’re so good at starving a caged population of almost a million and a half people to death and then, to add insult to injury, kill more people in one day than they’ve killed with their toy rockets in a year, only to be asked politely by the Bush Administration to [...]

Although I find their analysis a little hackneyed and sadly standard, this is a nice article about the current calm and the future challenges facing Lebanon. As Nick said, “Using an unknown business man as the central pillar of a tired argument does seem like a stretch.” From the article: Construction cranes dot Beirut’s Mediterranean [...]

Merry Christmas friends and family! Missing you all as I sit here with Nick, Catherine, Andrew, Fidelius and Meg. All my love, Will

The wanderer is at the feast of Saint John, with its tents, archery contests and country food. Suddenly, a clown begins to mimic his gestures. People laugh, and the wanderer laughs, as well, and invites the clown to have coffee with him. “Commit to life!” says the clown. “If you are alive, you have to [...]

I spent this afternoon at Microsoft Lebanon’s beautiful offices in Downtown Beirut, discussing Open Source Technology, software piracy, and several Microsoft initiatives. Their publicist also sort of offered me a job…! Prior to my meeting I had lunch with Nick in Martyr’s Square – We didn’t have much to say to each other, but it [...]