Libya and the end of the neo-colonial argument
Libyans have asked the international community for help; there’s no colonial aggression in doing it
The truth about travel guidebooks
They are no joy to write and they don’t change as much as you think
What is in Gaddafi’s Green Book, Part One
In his infamous Green Book, Gaddafi offers his unorthodox solutions to the problem of democracy
What is in Gaddafi’s Green Book, Part Two
In his infamous Green Book, Gaddafi offers his unorthodox solutions on socialism and society
1957: Israelis protest UN demand to withdraw from the Sinai
In a newsreel after Israel’s 1956 invasion of Egypt, Israelis rally in Tel Aviv against UN demands to withdraw from the Sinai
1956: Egypt claims Suez, a move called the biggest threat to world peace
A 1956 newsreel announcing that Egypt’s president Nasser has nationalized the Suez Canal, a move it calls the biggest threat to world peace
Reading the New Yorker on Islam and economic growth
The middle class everywhere competes on skills; in Egypt connections matter most. That’s the problem
The scene in liberated Benghazi in eastern Libya
The first detailed images out of Libya show thousands in Benghazi celebrating Gaddafi’s demise
Look in his glasses: Gaddafi speaks to no one
Gaddafi speaks but you can see the reflection in his sunglasses: he has no audience.
The surreal experience of visiting Libya
With a Libyan human rights activist, racing through the Tripoli medina alleys to avoid eavesdroppers
1956: Gaza fighting, space cadet elevators, and Grace Kelly
Making news in 1956: Gaza fighting, space cadet elevator operators, Grace Kelly getting married.
Prospects for social justice and economic reform in Egypt
Why social justice in Egypt demands more economic reform — true reform, this time — not less
From Egypt with love
If you’ve spent time in Egypt, the human warmth of this video will be familiar; if you haven’t, go
The Muslim Brotherhood had a monopoly. Can they compete?
Mubarak gave the Muslim Brotherhood an unnatural monopoly on opposition. Can they compete?
Reading Hani Shukrallah on what Egypt does now
The political revolution in Egypt needs a legal revolution equal to its values and moral force
Triumph at last in Midan at-Tahrir
These 18 days of protests constitute the most beautiful political act I have ever witnessed
Reading ‘How Democracy Became Halal’ op-ed in the Times
What a former CIA Middle East specialist gets wrong in his Times op-ed about the Egypt protests
The Green Man Ferro China bottle: Cairo, Egypt, 1994
A bitter aperitif from 1990s Cairo with an odd name and undrinkable contents
Where the Egypt revolution began
Egypt’s current demonstrations build on years of work by civil society groups
Shepard Smith’s moment of moral clarity about the Egypt protests
Finally, the American media abandons the pretense that the pro-Mubarak gangs might be spontaneous
La Baalbanaise arak bottle: Cairo, Egypt, 1994
Conjuring up neither the decadence of Baalbek nor the panache of the Lebanese