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The pattern of dysfunctional politics in Lebanon is well established. When major decisions are to be reached, everyone throws in a caveat to gain from the process. In the end a compromise is reached, so that much remains the same. The elections next year will most probably resemble those of 2009, even if the stakes are higher. Almost everything you're hearing today is the hollow echo of manipulation.

change is beginning to happen in the electoral world of our region. The change is slow and piecemeal, but it is starting to happen, and once it gains some momentum and credibility, it will roll across most of the region.

Moussa remains Washington's preferred choice because it believes that while he may talk tough on Egypt's role, Arab solidarity and Palestine, he will not have the power to carry out any promises he makes.

The socialists did it!!

When people started shooting at each other in Tripoli and Tarik el Jdide, the rest of the Lebanese were visibly angry. Residents were clamoring loudly on radio talk shows, on TV stations and on the internet for the insanity to stop. A cry for assembly was made across social media platforms, one that echoed faintly on the ground and brought no material progress.

Socialist voters face a nervous wait for the results of today's presidential election runoff between Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande after final opinion polls following Wednesday's fiery television debate revealed a late surge in favour of the outgoing president, who has trailed his leftwing rival throughout the race.The polls indicated that Hollande was still on track to win the second round runoff vote, but revealed that the gap between the presidential rivals had narrowed from 10 percentage points a week ago to between four and six.

28 February 2012 Last updated at 15:59 ET The legislative elections were the first since the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak Egypt's upper house of parliament has chosen an Islamist as its speaker, consolidating the Muslim Brotherhood's control of the country's legislature.

Le Pen poured scorn on both main candidates, saying that her supporters had voted for her ideas and not out of protest or distress at the crisis. She made clear her next objective was to win seats in parliament in June and lead "the real opposition".

Rick Santorum plans to endorse Mitt Romney in the general election against President Barack Obama, that much is clear. The question is, how strongly will he support his former rival after months of brutal back-and-forth attacks during the Republican primary season? The answer could become more clear on Friday, when Santorum and Romney plan to [...]

For those of you who don't know much bout Egypt presidential candidates, here's a good wrap-up!

this is an for the group working on partial representation...

Le Pen is going to cast a white ballot! Maybe now you could like her :P "I will not grant my trust, or a mandate, to these two candidates, On Sunday, I will cast a blank ballot"

According to what I've heard, this was always the case with the Front National. Same happened when Jean Marie Le Pen was at the head of the party. They never endorse anyone

"Here's the buzzed-about anti-Obama political ad in which Barack Obama's oppressive coolness is exposed. There's a lot about this strategy I don't understand. Is being cool a problem when you're a president? Does this ad make Obama's fans like him any less? Could Mitt Romney ever pull off Al Green?"

they have a point

check the video

Obama is technically a shoe-in for the Democratic candidacy, the final vote on Tuesday will determine the end of the low-key primaries which were taking place. As the article states, it's almost "party time".

Rural Ohio Voters Grudgingly Accept Romney But voters in this city, which sits in John Boehner's congressional district, seemed divided at the polls, between those who had decided, grudgingly, to accept Mitt Romney, and those who just couldn't do it.

French Election Polls News from CNN

Posted it on twitter earlier today - an interesting read more focused on Marketing though.

Click here to see photos of the evolution of the LRA. Thanks to an incredibly effective social media effort, #StopKony is trending on Twitter today. The campaign coincides with a new awareness-raising documentary by the group Invisible Children.

"Coming back to the "Kony 2012" video and its celebrity endorsements, what are the consequences of unleashing so many exuberant activists armed with so few facts? Defining Uganda in the international conversation by issues that are either geographical misfires (Save northern Uganda!) or an intentional attempt to distract the international community (Death to the gays!), do a disservice to the many critical problems Uganda has."