Not any more. I found that they took way too many hours out of my work day, and that their main effect was to frustrate me about how incapable I am of doing anything. And even then, it's frustrating. Whatever you do, DON'T read the New York Times. I wonder if there is anything good one can say about the Middle East from here.
Nobody likes nobody.
I often think of what I would do if I ever went back to the old country. It amazes me that these things are common knowledge on the street, but that somehow they don't get talked about in public or by the politicians. I am Lebanese. That means that I drank turkish coffee for breakfast, had Labneh for lunch, and plan I'm now listening to Fairuz while writing this. Of course, this defines more a Lebanese person in exile rather than a person in Lebanon.