I hope the Chairmen of Dunkin' Donuts and Virgin Megastores send plenty of toilet paper. Gratis.

David Brooks in the New York Times: "Why not here?"

The question is being asked now in Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt made his much circulated observation to David Ignatius of The Washington Post: "It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, eight million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world."

So now we have mass demonstrations on the streets of Beirut. A tent city is rising up near the crater where Rafik Hariri was killed, and the inhabitants are refusing to leave until Syria withdraws. The crowds grow in the evenings; bathroom facilities are provided by a nearby Dunkin' Donuts and a Virgin Megastore....

Meanwhile in Palestine, after days of intense pressure, many of the old Arafat cronies are out of the interim Palestinian cabinet. Fresh, more competent administrators have been put in. "What you witnessed is the real democracy of the Palestinian people," Saeb Erakat said to Alan Cowell of The Times.

And now Hosni Mubarak claims he will allow multi-candidate elections for President of Egypt. Coincidence? Click here: The New York Times > AP > International > Africa > Egypt's Mubarak Calls for Democratic Election Reforms

Dunkin' Donuts: "Toilets for an independent Lebanon." Maybe not very catchy, but then George Washington was a real estate developer and Sam Adams a brewer. You do what you can. Maybe "Donuts for Democracy." Click here: The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Why Not Here?