...Mea Maxima Culpa

I apologize for the lack of original reporting on this site recently. I realize that opinions are a dime a dozen. I do have an excuse, however: original reporting is hard. Seriously though, the beginning of the school year and of Arabic lessons left me little time in the past few weeks to talk to real people (sources or friends), but that should be changing now. Hey, this is a relatively new endeavor, and I'm learning as I go. I'll get better. As Middle Eastern cab drivers are fond of saying, "No problem!"

All of that said, I have conducted two interviews in the past two days. The first was with the fine folks at 11 March, and the second was with a representative from Loubnani W Bass. I'm interested in these groups because they are made up of exactly the type of people that need to be heard in Lebanon's political debate -- eloquent, liberal, and tolerant. That said, the beliefs of their movement are notoriously hard to pin down. I have a lot more questions to ask before I write my article.

There's a protest being organized on March 3rd as a joint effort between some of these groups. On March 11, the group by the same name will hold an "event." Their rep made it clear to me that this was not a demonstration, like the mass gatherings of March 8th or March 14th. It would be indoors, he said, and consist mainly of businessmen, university professors, and other professionals. There is a growing distrust among these movements of the gigantic mass protests that occur frequently in Lebanon. They are increasingly seen as divisive -- a way for each side to flaunt the size of their following rather than bridge the gaps between the different segments of Lebanese society.

Anyway, I have more to say about this later. Stay tuned. Photo: Reuters