The people of Beirut, Lebanon, are dealing with their chronic political nervousness with bright lights and Christmas cheer. Sunni Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri lighted the huge Christmas tree downtown Beirut, and 120 other Christmas trees were spread through the capital. Lebanon consists of Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiites, and Druze, and has a history of ecumenical […]
Archives for December 2010
Abu Dhabi Hotel Does not Regret $11 Mn. Christmas Tree
Christmas means never having to say you are sorry. The Seven Emirates Hotel in Abu Dhabi says it does not either regret its display of an $11 million Christmas tree loaded down with gold and jewelry from a shop in the hotel lobby. An earlier statement had seemed to admit that the hotel had ‘overloaded […]
Israeli Mayor Forbids Christmas Trees in part of Nazareth; Christian Tourism Boom Fuels Hopes for Palestinian State
The some 50,000 Christians in the West Bank continue to labor under Israeli military occupation this Christmas, though somewhat improved tourism and prosperity have lessened the penury in which they labored in 2005, at the end of the Palestinian uprising or Intifada. Christian Arabs in Israel proper continue to be second-class citizens. In Nazareth (the […]
Map of Lebanon by Religious Sect
GOP and 9/11 First Responders Bill: Jamiol
Courtesy Paul Jamiol
Al-Khoei: Why We Shouldn’t Be Celebrating Iraq’s New Government: Power-Sharing Means Nothing without Reconciliation
Hayder al-Khoei writes in a guest column for Informed Comment : 22/12/2010 Bickering is still very much the order of the day in Iraq. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who has just won a second term, may have a functioning government that enjoys the confidence of parliament, but that is no reason to celebrate. Not yet […]
Map of Egypt: Regions
Map of regions of Egypt
Iraq has a Government: Can we Please Come Home Now?
Iraq has marked three milestones this fall. The formal military mission of US troops was ended by President Obama on August 31, and while about 50,000 troops remain, some of them occasionally engaged in combat at the invitation of the Iraqi government, there are no large US military campaigns. The remaining 50,000 troops are scheduled […]
Saudi Arabia, Distribution of Annual Rainfall
Found a better rainfall distribution map: Courtesy the National Center for Atmospheric Research, 2007
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