I often like the articles by Anthony Shadid; back from his days at the Boston Globe. This is a very lousy piece by him; a hagiographic tribute, to Ghassan Tuwayni, the Lebanonese publisher. This is where my constant criticisms of the lack of language skills come in. Shadid knows some Arabic, but can't read it. He has no idea what Ghassan Tuwayni writes. And the piece suffers from serious ethical/professional lapses: he interviews Nawwaf Salam on Tuwayni as if the former is an objective observer of Tuwayni when he is employed by An-Nahar, and runs its publishing house. That should have been pointed out to the reader. Shadid clearly does not read An-Nahar: he talks about an-Nahar based on its reputation from the 1960s and 1970s, and not An-Nahar of today. Since the 1990s, An-Nahar has become a clear sectarian Christian, right-wing voice. An editor-in-chief, the poet Unsi Al-Hajj, left his job to protest Jubran Tuwayni's right-wing interventions and pressures. Shadid did not interview ONE--one, not two or three--critic of An-Nahar. Would his editor allowed him to publish a piece, say, on Al-Manar TV, without citing one critical voice? Why are the standards of US journalism vary by the object of coverage? And why is Tuwayni considered a "scholar" in this piece? What are his scholarly contributions? Or is it because he may mention Plato once a year in a speech? Shadid can't read the large volume of interviews with Tuwayni (published as a book by Dar An-Nahar titled Sirr Al-Mihnah), in which he talks about his influences in life: Kamil Sham`un, Charles Malik, and Antun Sa`adah. Shadid (and Lynn Maalouf) cite George Khudr (his childhood friend) without mentioning that he is a columnist for An-Nahar, and that the Greek Orthodox Chruch is a part owner of the newspaper. He mentions in passing his role in 1983, but does not mention that he was an advocate of the the notorious May 17 Agreement. An-Nahar, contrary to claims of the article, never pushes for secularism: its columnists are notorious for sectarian agitation and fulminations. Anthony: this is a piece that you can't, and should not, brag about.