I just wanted to say hello to everyone, and to say Thanks to Solomon for asking me to post on his site.

I've been reading Solomonia for years, but only met Sol about a year ago, at the Herzliya:Media as a Theater of War Conference in Israel.

Last year's visit was my first trip to the Middle East. The people I met at the conference, and in Lebanon, were an excellent introduction to the area. The western media likes to portray the smallest, most vulnerable states in the Middle East as lunatic and obstinate, the cause of most of the world's problems. Seeing these places firsthand, I could see that this portrayal was false.

Here are two posts, written shortly after that visit, on Israel and Lebanon, places that defy expectation:

Israel: Defying Gravity

Beirut Rules

I'd love to go back to the Middle East, when I can afford to (but not in December - dealing with both Hezbollah and online Christmas shopping, combined, was kind of stressful). Till then I'll be writing about the same things I do on my blog, Exit Zero. Politics, occasional tech, life in New York and beyond. I hope I can keep up with the high standards Solomonia readers have come to expect.