January 2011
20 posts
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“You cannot tell me take the bus and go with you without knowing where I am meant...”
– The Syrian President, in an incredible interview with the Wall Street Journal. Very much worth a read for Little Bear’s logical, unembellished, sometimes humorous take on recent events in Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab countries; the war in Iraq and relations with the United States; Hezbollah,...
“Washington is rapidly losing friends in the region. Turkey has turned away from...”
– Joshua Landis
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America will want to be on the right side of... →
Good, thoughtful post from a fellow Tumblrer:
tallestmanonmars:
The emotional chords will always be tugging for the U.S. to forcefully and vocally throw their support behind pro-democracy movements across the globe, even if it’s impractical, counterproductive, or largely useless (as was the case with Iran in the summer of 2009). And it’s important to respect state sovereignty and recognize...
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Internet and mobile phone services are completely...
All stories to the contrary which have been circulating the internet over the past 24 hours are false and baseless.
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Someone on the internet thought I was wrong
My use of the phrase “developing world” in a chart I made led to a reaction from someone on the internet who took offense to my use of this terminology. I admit that the term “developing world” should not be used to describe one large, monolithic area, and that I should have specified that my personal experience (that is, my inspiration for making the chart) is limited to...
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ahmadnassri asked: I just discovered your blog, have a lot of reading to do to catch up on your syrian adventure so far ... being a Syrian native myself (now living in Toronto, Canada), I'm intrigued to what made you want to move to Syria for 9 months?
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So I yelled at an Arab for the first time...
From Hama we took a 2 hour bus ride to Aleppo, costing a mere 150 SYP ($3) each. We arrived the day before Christmas Eve, and our first Aleppo experience was of a taxi driver trying to rip us off. But we showed him. I’ll explain.
He hurried us into his taxi just as we’d disembarked the bus. The ride had been, I repeat, 2 hours long, maybe a 100-mile journey. When I asked in Arabic...
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From Hama to Apamea and beyond (Christmas trip...
In Hama, on the morning of the second say of our Christmas break tour of Syria, J got very sick and stayed sick for the next two days. This was a major sadface. We got to know the Noria Hotel staff very well, watched a lot of E.R. and Oprah, and had simple meals of chicken, potatoes, rice and salty pasta delivered to our room. I wasn’t at 100% health either, as my lingering digestive...
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Getting from Damascus to Mar Musa (Christmas trip...
I’m starting to understand why Syrian guidebooks etc. never really tell you exactly the right way to go or how much things actually cost or where things are located. It’s because once you’ve waded through the uncertainty and figured things out for yourself, you want to protect the knowledge — you earned it, so enjoy, and let the others try their best. Or perhaps more...
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Reaction to Arizona shooting
Yesterday in Arizona a 22-yr-old kid shot and killed six people including a federal judge and a 9-yr-old girl; critically injured at least five others including Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords; in total 18 were injured besides the deceased. The gun used in the attack was bought legally.
Conservative media figures have a history of violent rhetoric, the past two years being no exception....
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Watch JENGA JENGA
JENGA JENGA
JENGA JENGA
JENGA
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WatchI wasn’t able to be home for the holidays this year, but was traveling through Syria for Christmas and then to Kuwait for New Years. Here are some highlights.
(Music is Believe by The Bravery)
Noam Chomsky: WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound...
While the US Justice Department continues to struggle to find legislation with which to prosecute WikiLeaks head Julian Assange, New York republican congress member Peter King says WikiLeaks should be declared a foreign terrorist organization.
Sarah Palin, former Alaskan governor and vice presidential nominee, and potential republican presidential nominee for 2012, writes on her Facebook page...