Clashes in Lebanon

Street clashes between the supporters of the pro-Western government and those of the pro-Syrian opposition, Hezbollah, take the country to the brink of an all out war. Follow up talks >: a deal brokered by the Arab League to end the strikes which have brought Lebanon to the brink of second civil war is being finalized. But all signs point to a deal made on terms highly favorable to Hezbollah, which, according one blogger, means a return to peace is an “illusion.”

“This whole farce called 'National Unity Dialogue' taking place in Qatar just reminds me of the 1,001 Arabian Nights. Tradition has it that the evil king Shahrayar would take a virgin to be his wife every night. The next day, he would send her to be beheaded. That's until he met Shahrazad.

To keep herself from getting beheaded, Shahrazad tricks the king into listening to her story. Every night she would recite part of the story, make up characters, and invent intricate plots, twists and turns, until the king fell asleep. The next day, he wouldn't send her to her death because he wants to hear the rest of the story.
In that way, Shahrazad saved her life by…talking. Dialogue!

In the case of the National Unity Blabber, your beloved Lebanon is Shahrazad, who is trying to save her hide by talking and talking and talking nonstop; making up stories, picking fights, having civil wars and whatnot.The Arabs and the rest of the world are Shahrayar, the one who just wants the story to be over in order to kill Sharazad and get on with it."

The Metro we missed

The first Egyptian graphic novel, The Metro, was confiscated by the authorities last week a few months after its publication, writes Rania Khallaf Magdy El-Shafie, author and cartoonist of The Metro, widely regarded as the first Egyptian graphic novel, last week received a summons to appear before the state prosecution service following the confiscation of his novel from the publisher, Malameh. Mohammed El-Sharqawy, head of Malameh, also received a summons, this time following 15 days spent in prison as a result of his participation in the 6 April strikes.

According to the state prosecution service, El-Shafie's graphic novel, his first, contains obscenity and libelous references alleging corruption on the part of prominent Egyptian political figures. The confiscation of the novel has caused some in Egypt's cultural community to recall previous such incidents, including when the novel A Banquet for Seaweed by Syrian novelist Haydar Haydar was confiscated on similar charges in 2000.