Posts Tagged “Lebanon”
Personal Reflections of a Lebanese American on Trump Power and Civil Discord By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz Americans are divided on many basic issues and President Trump has reinforced this tension. Trump is both a contributing factor to America’s pain and a symptom of its dysfunction. The fact that our commander in chief is still popular…
Census and (lack of) Sensibility in the way nation’s manipulate population data Governments around the world manipulate their Census data on populations in order to undermine minority rights and strengthen government abuses against minorities. In the United States, the government has used the Census for decades as a means of suppressing the actual numbers of…
Optional civil marriage would serve Lebanon’s fragile democracy By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz Is Lebanon ready to introduce civil marriage legislation? Not soon. But talk about responding to youth aspirations, political reform and voice of civil society is pure rhetoric as long as civil marriage is not allowed on Lebanese soil. Lebanese couples seeking secular marriage…
Precarious times for Lebanon By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz The situation in Lebanon is worrisome. Since May, political impasse persists as the prime minister-designate fails to form a cabinet. The economy worsens; national debt soars: over 150 % of GDP; badly needed international aid is postponed due to instability. A more important threat to this weak…
What the Swiss can offer Lebanon By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz This week a Swiss delegation led by President Alain Berset is visiting Lebanon to strengthen “bilateral relations”. The team is also discussing the pressing issue of the Syrian refugees. Lebanon hosts the largest refugee population in the world, per capita; and Switzerland is the “global…
Uprising in Lebanon must focus on domestic reform, not on Hezbollah
By rayhanania |
Uprising in Lebanon must focus on domestic reform, not on Hezbollah By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz The uprising is not about Hezbollah’s dominant role in Lebanon, and it should not be; it is largely about corrupt domestic politics. But the attitude of Hezbollah- locally know as The Resistance- toward real reform may either help or derail…
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