Page Lebanon

One of our main self-criticisms at Blawgconomics is that we lack the requisite local knowledge needed to fully and carefully explore many of the topics we post about. Though that apparently doesn't stop us from recklessly forming and sharing opinions and conclusions about situations, we are nonetheless self-aware that it typically takes boots on the ground to understand the nuances of regional social, political and economic issues.

Someone with less of a problem in that area (at least when it comes to the Middle East), is friend of the site Anthony Elghossain. Though Anthony resides in the US most of the time, he has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East and is therefore able to bring a unique perspective on the region to his blog. From Page Lebanon:

Page Lebanon, as the name implies, is a blog on all things Lebanon. The blog generally deals with politics, but also touches on cultural, economic, and social developments in that small country on the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean. Of course, events elsewhere – particularly in the broader Levant - have a funny way of affecting things in Lebanon so Page Lebanon focuses on those issues too.

Anthony has been writing a bit more actively recently after posting sporadically for a while, and his new material is excellent. For anyone interested in a witty insider's perspective on the goings on in the Middle East, the following three posts are worth a read. All descriptions have been provided by the author:

• An Oasis of Steel and Glass: a first impression of Abu Dhabi and the UAE from a Levantine perspective
• The Big Cat's Out of Bag: a (slightly) polemical look at the Assad regime's duplicitous essence
• The Botox Revolution: a tongue-in-cheek piece about socialites in Lebanon's reform movements

Anthony also provides maps and documents as well as an extensive reading list at the site, making it a truly outstanding resource for those with an interest in the region.