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Dan Azzi

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?


The Painting

[This article was first published in An-Nahar on May 29, 2019] It was a blotch that literally looked like someone had dipped a brush in red paint and splashed the empty canvas, then with orange, and finally some black — an explosion of random colors, aka modern art. I’m no expert, but the whole thing would take my five-year-old kid three [...]

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The Curse of Oil and Gas

[This article was first published in An-Nahar on April 21, 2019.] Imagine the Arabian deserts, centuries ago, before the first oil field was struck. People had to hike for hours in the scorching sun, foraging for food and water, with nothing to protect them from the elements, but a handmade piece of cloth covering their sunburnt head and [...]

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Where did the $22 billion go?

[This article was originally published in An-Nahar on March 24, 2019 and created a media frenzy such as this report attacking me] Adventures in Forensic Accounting: Last Monday I received an excel spreadsheet from MJ, a bright young man, a couple of years out of college, whom I met last year at a controversial lecture at AUB (LINK HERE). [...]

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Exorbitant Privilege

[This article was originally published in An-Nahar on February 2, 2019] The United States buys a Japanese Toyota, German BMW, Korean Kia, or Chinese Dongfeng, made of steel, leather, glass, computer chips, engines, and significant workmanship and design. They pay using pieces of paper (water-proof cotton, to be precise); with “In God We [...]

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Nights in Heaven and Hell

[This article was first published in An-Nahar in December 2018] So the other day I died, which got me into a bit of a pickle, as I found myself standing in line at the Gates of Heaven. I never thought much about the afterlife, but, surprisingly, my image had turned out quite accurate. There was a long line, with blond, burly guys at the [...]

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Then and Now

(Originally published in An-Nahar on December 10, 2018) During the Civil War entertainment options were limited. There was no ABC mall, no Bikfaya peach festival, no Marina, no Achrafieh 2020 carless roads, no organic market in Beirut Souks … no Beirut Souks, period. No Sky Bar or Music Hall or Rodge. As teenagers, Espace 2000 was [...]

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Undiplomatic Diplomats

(Originally published in An-Nahar December 3, 2019) I had dinner the other day with a senior British ambassador to the GCC. We got to talking and I affectionately mentioned a young diplomat who became very popular after his farewell letter to the Lebanese people. And here’s where he surprised me. He was quite negative about his colleague [...]

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One Trump Tweet from Armageddon

[This article was originally published in An-Nahar November 25, 2018] BEIRUT: Last week we received a cable from President Donald J. Trump, congratulating Lebanon on its Independence. Local analysts poured over the 38 words, searching for some major policy shift or statement of support. The following is a dramatization of this [...]

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