Category: The Middle East

Cedars of Lebanon

Whoa: I found this funky-but-great version of Seamie O’Dowd, Mairtin O’Connor, and Cathal Hayden playing Cedars of Lebanon.  They are three of the greatest living folk/trad musicians in Ireland, and tour Europe a lot in this formation. [tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22xDMXEo0Dw[/tube] Cedars Of Lebanon A long way from Pharoah’s hand, and a quick step from the Promised Land, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/11/04/cedars-of-lebanon/

On the subject of Beirut and its people…

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae2dEWoKsxA[/tube] A song called Alice in Jericho, where Lebanon/Beirut is the actual subject. The singer is Ireland’s Seamie O’Dowd. The venue is some jazz club in Australia, not sure where. Alice In Jericho Now, the natural part of a Nazarene man is the life he’ll give for his own blood-band; but there’s nothing left over …

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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/11/04/on-the-subject-of-beirut-and-its-people/

Like a koan

Monsieur d’Nalgar’s note:  The following reaction was set in motion by the arrival of a poem/article/essay by Ange Mlinko, entitled “Letter from Beirut.”  It was published in the July/August 2010 issue of Poetry.  The photo below (©2006 Derek Henry Flood) is of a woman looking at the destruction of Haret Hreyk after the ceasefire was declared on August …

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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/11/03/like-a-koan/

Dismal

Dear Friends: Below is the full text of an excellent (make that superior) speech delivered last week in Washington by Kathleen Christison to the annual meeting of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR) on the subject of current U.S. policy toward the Israel-Palestine problem. Most of you will recall that Kathy is a retired …

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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/10/30/dismal/

Sowing evil

People who cultivate the land and produce food for their fellow men share a special bond with all other “sons of the soil” who practice the same life’s work.  In all cultures and traditions, the farmer enjoys is a unique place in society, accorded a particular kind of dignity and considered worthy of a special …

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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/10/13/sowing-evil/

Bravo, Brandon Davis

This was sent to me today by Ilene Cohen, Executive Editor of World Politics, journal of Princeton’s Institute for International and Regional Studies.   October 7, 2010   Here I am sitting in an office at Princeton University and I missed this incredible opinion column (following). Thanks to my friend Asli, sitting in her office at UCLA, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/10/07/bravo-brandon-davis/

The Family Camel

… From “Junkets for Jesus” by Jeff Sharlet, Mother Jones, Monday Sep. 27, 2010 3:00 AM PDT … THE OLDEST AND MOST politically influential Christian conservative organization in Washington is known to the public, if at all, for one thing: adultery. In particular, that of three Republican politicians, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Gov. Mark Sanford …

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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/09/28/the-family-camel/