So Pacific-ally Lebanese

For those Lebanese grimly preparing for a prolonged political stalemate, you may be reassured to learn that Lebanon is far from alone in experiencing a parliamentary paralysis. A similar — although less violent — situation has arisen on the tiny island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. With a land area of only 21 square kilometers and a population of 13,770, Nauru is credited with being the smallest republic in the world, the smallest island state, the least populous member of the United Nations and the only republic without a capital. The island generated considerable wealth — achieving at one time the highest per capita income in the world — through exporting its enormous phosphate reserves. But the phosphates began to run out in the 1990s and Nauru sought other, less orthodox, means of generating income, such as money laundering. Today it receives cash handouts from Australia in exchange for