some guy in lebanon

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Almost 8 months in Beirut now – Eight long months. As I sit back and think – go over my current situation, I can’t help but notice the totality, and the still insignificance, of what I’ve accomplished so far… and all the people who have trusted me, who have had faith in me, and who have stood by me.

I will never be able to repay the debt I owe to those who’ve made this possible – even here, I see that truly it takes a village to raise Will Donovan. Perhaps more here than anywhere.

Who has arrived in Lebanon without family, with limited finances, with no contacts, and with a degree in Religion, and built a business from nothing? To those of you who have done so, you know how hard it is. To those who have not, perhaps you can imagine.

To those who have treated me like a brother, God Bless you. You will always have a place in my heart. I could not have done this without you.

To those in particular who have opened your homes and your hearts to me, thank you. There are no words to express my gratitude.

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 on indefinite [...]

By Your’s Truly with the Very Much Needed Help of Florence Thireau – Original Article Can be Read Here
Many say they skip demonstrations out of opposition to organizers
BEIRUT: Protests continued in Lebanon and around the world this week, calling for an end to Israeli hostilities and global action to stop what the UN Human Rights [...]

From the Daily Star, by Your’s Truly – Published on December 27th, 2008 – Click here for the original
BEIRUT: A strategic partnership between Lebanese technology companies EDM and eSharing is breaking the “go-it-alone” status quo of the Middle East IT sector. eSharing will develop enterprise resource software that interfaces directly with EDM’s new Global Positioning [...]

By Yours Truly, Published in the Daily Star on December 24th, 2008 – Click here to see original
BEIRUT: The Education’s Ministry decision to make intellectual property rights (IPR) the theme of its SchoolNet project in 2009 highlights the growing prioritization of anti-piracy initiatives in Lebanon. Education Minister Bahia Hariri delivered a speech to a workshop [...]

A simple update – Life is getting both more and less complex in Beirut – More complex as my job evolves into more and more of a consulting position, less complex as I get to know the city better and settle into a routine…
Other than that, there’s isn’t too much to report – I’m looking [...]

Link to the Original Article, Published December 5th, 2008, Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanon is well-positioned to offer web development, digital marketing, and information technology services to local, regional and international clients, according to several owners and partners of companies in and around Beirut. These experts agreed that Lebanon’s global position for IT services, outsourcing and off-shoring [...]

Link to Original Article Published in the Daily Star, Published December 3rd, 2008
BEIRUT: The American University of Beirut (AUB) on Monday welcomed esteemed Harvard Business School professor John Quelch for a discussion on the ramifications and theories of his most recent book, “Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes for Better Democracy.”
Quelch, the senior associate dean [...]

From the Daily Star, November 25th, 2008, by Yours Truly:
Click here for the Original Article from the Daily Star, Published November 26th, 2008
BEIRUT: Agreements, not controversy, dominated a discussion at the American University of Beirut (AUB) on Tuesday between Rami Khouri and Michael Young, the former a regular contributor to The Daily Star’s Opinion section [...]

I’m sitting here at work, crafting a document which represents the future of the Daily Star’s website, which will be submitted to several of the decisions makers here a the newspaper. I’ve just finished building a mockup for the new “Latest News” section, and I’m jamming out to Linkin Park in Beirut, Lebanon.

Daily Star’s Nick Kimbrell Reports on the state of the Lebanese economy, given the current global economic volitility:

BEIRUT: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) senior resident representative to Lebanon praised the country’s central bank late Tuesday, saying the banking sector had few direct links to the current financial crisis and that Lebanon would likely prove more [...]

Nick Kimbrell published an excellent article today on the ongoing Salafi-Syrian crisis brewing in Northern Lebanon – an excerpt:
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s leading Salafi cleric, Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal, has warned Syria to stay out of North Lebanon or risk opening “the gates of hell.” In an interview to be published in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Anbaa, Shahhal made [...]

Daily Star journalist Nick Kimbrell reported on Stefan Wild’s lecture at the German Orient Institute in Beirut last Tuesday:
In September 2006, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a speech at Regensburg University which invoked a centuries-old dialogue between the beleaguered Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an unidentified Persian scholar. The pope quoted the emperor as [...]

Thanks to the generocity of Marc Sirois (perhaps because of all the whiskey I bought him last October?), I will offically be leaving the US for Beirut on November 2nd (which is like 5 weeks from now…). I will begin my time there as an intern for the Daily Star, but there is a pretty [...]