I can't believe the Nation magazine these days. Forget about the dearth of Leftist content. It is worse. There is an attempt to emulate the tabloidish form and treatment of Newsweek. And then there are those who (ignorantly) write on Middle East events. Take STUART KLAWANS. I don't know who this guy is, but I know for sure that he does not know what he is talking about. Klawans want to attack those who object to the political agenda of Amiralay, and not because he opposes the Ba`th (having supported it earlier in his life by his own admission). Klawans approving cites Amiralay: " The best answer to this objection came from Amiralay: "When intellectuals in despotic societies manage, with great difficulty, to make an act of resistance, they are surprised to hear intellectuals beyond their borders say, 'You are playing into the hands of the imperialists.' I find it absolutely shameful for this pseudo-left, pseudo-Islamist orchestra to be complicit in the crimes committed by these regimes against their own people. Anytime I hear this, I'm mad enough to spit."" Oh, no, Mr. Klawans. You clearly are unaware of the political role of Amiralay. You see, what Amiralay is not showing in his tour is the most pathetically hagiographic documentary he made about...Rafiq Hariri. And since Hariri's death, he has become not only an opponent of the Syrian regime--which is quite fine and justifiable and I count myself as an opponent of the Syrian regime--who is not, except Charles Ayyub these days?--but also an ally of the most reactionary groups in Lebanon. That eluded you Mr. Klawans.