tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post111498347385966712..comments2024-02-28T06:02:47.031-05:00Comments on The Lebanese Bloggers: Yahya Sadowski quoted in the FTRajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625042447499335907noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-82459515091600379782009-03-04T02:19:00.000-05:002009-03-04T02:19:00.000-05:00"Sadowski" is currently in China. How do I know? H..."Sadowski" is currently in China. How do I know? He is my father!Tarikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10368555939277969393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-55034590897267289832008-12-30T21:12:00.000-05:002008-12-30T21:12:00.000-05:00Does anyone know where is Sadowski now?(man this i...Does anyone know where is Sadowski now?<BR/><BR/>(man this is way too late of a comment)Afifovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10842616891496749350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1115396983956905112005-05-06T11:29:00.000-05:002005-05-06T11:29:00.000-05:00I used to go through those identity crises, too. ...I used to go through those identity crises, too. I've lived in a bunch of different places.<BR/>I'll tell you, it means a lot more to be Lebanese in France, Africa, or the US than it does in Lebanon.<BR/>I found myself becoming more sectarian in Lebanon and France, but much less in Africa and the US.<BR/>i struggled for a long time between a Lebanese, French, and American identity. Getting citizenship in Africa meant little to my parents, and i would never completely fit into the culture there.<BR/>I still identify with the three main cultures in my life. But I gave up worrying about what they did to me a long time ago. I think that fretting was something I picked up in the US.<BR/>In France, Lebanon, and Africa identity really didn't matter that much. In France I was tainted French (tainted by America, but with an overly Bois de Bologne accent). In Lebanon, I am like millions of other foreign influenced Lebanese. In Africa, I was just Lebanese regardless of where I came from.Charles Malikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009178114562065398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1115238988447059862005-05-04T15:36:00.000-05:002005-05-04T15:36:00.000-05:00hummmbummm,its sad... but everything you wrote rin...hummmbummm,<BR/><BR/>its sad... but everything you wrote rings a bell in me too! I'm a bit younger than you though, and I still have the energy to want to make a difference. Hopefully, by the time I'm done, the trafic will be better! ;)Rajahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02625042447499335907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1115209696508835182005-05-04T07:28:00.000-05:002005-05-04T07:28:00.000-05:00Lebanon is a great country if you are rich and can...Lebanon is a great country if you are rich and can afford all of the amenities.<BR/>I don't know whether I'm going to leave or not, but my father is pressing me to go to Dubai or the US.<BR/>I would love to live here if I could afford one of those apartments in Verdun, Ramleit al Bayda, Sassine, or a big mansion in Rabieh. From there the world looks great.<BR/>But living here in the condition I do throughout the year is really taxing and not worth the money paid in return. I think the best relationship someone can have with Lebanon right now is to be really rich, have a big house in their village, a big apartment in a swanky location in Beirut, not care about politics, and only come here during the summer and religious holidays.<BR/>But right now we're working to make things better.<BR/>In my own buildings the owners are starting to repair things. There is probably going to be a new apartment rental law soon, which is desperately needed.<BR/>Hariri started fixing the streets and planting trees on them. Now more and more people are planting gardens and more quaint shops are opening.<BR/>But it was really scary to see everything stop until just last month. Everything was on hold until Bahia and Nora held their massive spectacle.Charles Malikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009178114562065398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1115151282707412522005-05-03T15:14:00.000-05:002005-05-03T15:14:00.000-05:00hummbumm,Do you think the older generation will re...hummbumm,<BR/>Do you think the older generation will return? That is what a lot of people on the ground are saying.<BR/>I even have relatives talking about returning. But everyone is hesitant. They want to know if the elections will actually mean anything. We want to know if the elections will mean something.<BR/>Oddly, it is both of us working together that will guarantee Lebanon's future.<BR/>But do you think we'll be seeing a lot of people coming back?Charles Malikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009178114562065398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1115073676412441272005-05-02T17:41:00.000-05:002005-05-02T17:41:00.000-05:00Doha, Reem, and Raja,You're right. Your points ar...Doha, Reem, and Raja,<BR/>You're right. Your points are very well taken. The atmosphere is a bit different here now, so people who took his class recently (ie, last semester) got kind of ticked.<BR/>But I'm totally with you when it comes to critical thinking. He may not have provided the most clear analysis, but he is one of the only professors who inspired us to think in class and care about ideas. Most other professors merely asked us to shut up and write. <BR/>My favorite professor is Samir Seikaly. That guy is amazing and incredibly critical. I was initially intimidated in his class, but he really warms to you if you can actually respond to his questions intelligently. However, Seikaly is never quoted in the popular media.<BR/>hummbumm,<BR/>Yeah, we are kind of a niche group. I didn't realize it until this post either. In fact, from the dates given, I think I am the youngest. I've found my youth to be helpful and a hindrance sometimes.<BR/>When discussing the recent (I can't believe I'm modifying this phrase, it's so amazing!) Syrian presence with my elderly Palestinian relatives, I could not understand why they stood by Syria so closely. It was not until one relative poured his heart out about the Syrians saving them from everyone (ie, Amal, Jumblatt, Geagea) that I understood his undying devotion to the Syrians.<BR/>The only Syrians I knew harmed me and those closest to me.Charles Malikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009178114562065398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1115042707803887862005-05-02T09:05:00.000-05:002005-05-02T09:05:00.000-05:00LP,I was also a Sadowski student. I'd just like t...LP,<BR/><BR/>I was also a Sadowski student. I'd just like to say that he showed me "the light". Before I took his Political Economy class in the Srping of 2000 or 2001, politics for me was the mine field that most Lebanese percieve it to be. When I took that class though, I got an alternative view of politics: a sense that it could be a noble calling, and that there was much more to it than sectarian bickering.<BR/><BR/>As for his predictions, I cannot but agree with you. He taught that entire class based on a doomsday scenario for the Lebanese economy. Today, even after Hariri's murder, the pound is stable, our debt has miraculously shrank (and I mean miraculously! no one knows how), and we somehow manage to stay afloat. I don't think even God can explain that one my friend! However, let me just lay out the premise of his argument for you, which at least in my opinion, was sound:<BR/><BR/>1. Lebanon was bleeding foreign currency as a result of debt servicing and imports<BR/><BR/>2. The only reason we didn't hit a foreign-reserve crisis was because Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were continually infusing hundreds of millions of dollars into our Central Bank at least twice a year(it appears that Iran financed Hizballah in their way, and the Gulf countries financed Hariri in their own way).<BR/><BR/>3. At the time, let's not forget that oil prices ranged from a low of $15 to a high of $25 per barrel. Saudi Arabia was struggling to tackle its own debt problems, and Kuwait wasn't doing too well either....<BR/><BR/>4. How the hell was Sadowski supposed to know that oil prices were going to sky-rocket to $40 per barrel.<BR/><BR/>So, lets not be too harsh on him! ;)Rajahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02625042447499335907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968421.post-1115036437697641882005-05-02T07:20:00.000-05:002005-05-02T07:20:00.000-05:00Thank you, Sadowski, for another platitude.Sadowsk...Thank you, Sadowski, for another platitude.<BR/>Sadowski's an entertaining character, but not up to par when it comes to analysis.<BR/>Most of his predictions about the future of Lebanon that he made now two years ago have proven completely false (and I have it in writing and dated in my notes).<BR/>I realize he is one of AUB's most popular professors, but popularlity does not equate with brilliance.<BR/>But at a university where few professors reach out to students (especially in ps), he is somewhat of a breathe of smoke filled air (the guy smokes constantly).Charles Malikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009178114562065398noreply@blogger.com