the human province

Ramallah was interesting. I met an American-Palestinian woman who works in one of the minstries there. She talked about a lot of things, but mostly about how she hasn't been paid for a while and how the financial squeeze has gotten so bad that employees who live outside Ramallah only come in three times a week, since they haven't been paid and cannot afford to pay for transportation to work and back every day.

Most business with foreign countries is being done through the office of the President, because no one wants to work with the new Hamas government. Interestingly enough though, in the ministries that Hamas controls now, only the ministers have been changed. Everyone, including the deputies, have stayed the same. So just liek most governments and large organizations, there is always a core of career bureaucrats that stays the same, regardless of who is in charge of the ministry.

The wall was again very present, impossible to miss. It cuts the landscape and lengthens commutes. It is often covered with graffiti, both domestic and foreign, in Arabic and English. To get back to Jerusalem, we had to go through two different checkpoints, just as we had to got through two on the way there. Without these checkpoints, the trip would only take about 30 minutes.

I went out last night in West Jerusalem with a couple from Europe who work in NGOs here in the West Bank and Jerusalem. On our way back to the old city, we ran into a couple of young and hip Israelis busily tearing down fliers for a protest against the war in Lebanon.

I'm increasingly worried about a probable escalation. Nasrallah said the night before last on television that if the center of Beirut was hit, then he would hit Tel Aviv. I beleive that this is a warning, not a bluff. Israel probably won't accept this as a deterrant and will probably hit Beirut, if only to assert its manliness and regain the IDF's "honor." Then since he said he would, Nasrallah will order an attack on Tel Aviv.

If only the belligerents in the Middle East were less worried about being "manly" and more interested in being humane, we'd all be a lot better off.

Ramallah was interesting. I met an American-Palestinian woman who works in one of the minstries there. She talked about a lot of things, but mostly about how she hasn't been paid for a while and how the financial squeeze has gotten so bad that employees who live outside Ramallah only come in three times a week, since they haven't been paid and cannot afford to pay for transportation to work and back every day.

Most business with foreign countries is being done through the office of the President, because no one wants to work with the new Hamas government. Interestingly enough though, in the ministries that Hamas controls now, only the ministers have been changed. Everyone, including the deputies, have stayed the same. So just liek most governments and large organizations, there is always a core of career bureaucrats that stays the same, regardless of who is in charge of the ministry.

The wall was again very present, impossible to miss. It cuts the landscape and lengthens commutes. It is often covered with graffiti, both domestic and foreign, in Arabic and English. To get back to Jerusalem, we had to go through two different checkpoints, just as we had to got through two on the way there. Without these checkpoints, the trip would only take about 30 minutes.

I went out last night in West Jerusalem with a couple from Europe who work in NGOs here in the West Bank and Jerusalem. On our way back to the old city, we ran into a couple of young and hip Israelis busily tearing down fliers for a protest against the war in Lebanon.

I'm increasingly worried about a probable escalation. Nasrallah said the night before last on television that if the center of Beirut was hit, then he would hit Tel Aviv. I beleive that this is a warning, not a bluff. Israel probably won't accept this as a deterrant and will probably hit Beirut, if only to assert its manliness and regain the IDF's "honor." Then since he said he would, Nasrallah will order an attack on Tel Aviv.

If only the belligerents in the Middle East were less worried about being "manly" and more interested in being humane, we'd all be a lot better off.

Ramallah was interesting. I met an American-Palestinian woman who works in one of the minstries there. She talked about a lot of things, but mostly about how she hasn't been paid for a while and how the financial squeeze has gotten so bad that employees who live outside Ramallah only come in three times a week, since they haven't been paid and cannot afford to pay for transportation to work and back every day.

Most business with foreign countries is being done through the office of the President, because no one wants to work with the new Hamas government. Interestingly enough though, in the ministries that Hamas controls now, only the ministers have been changed. Everyone, including the deputies, have stayed the same. So just liek most governments and large organizations, there is always a core of career bureaucrats that stays the same, regardless of who is in charge of the ministry.

The wall was again very present, impossible to miss. It cuts the landscape and lengthens commutes. It is often covered with graffiti, both domestic and foreign, in Arabic and English. To get back to Jerusalem, we had to go through two different checkpoints, just as we had to got through two on the way there. Without these checkpoints, the trip would only take about 30 minutes.

I went out last night in West Jerusalem with a couple from Europe who work in NGOs here in the West Bank and Jerusalem. On our way back to the old city, we ran into a couple of young and hip Israelis busily tearing down fliers for a protest against the war in Lebanon.

I'm increasingly worried about a probable escalation. Nasrallah said the night before last on television that if the center of Beirut was hit, then he would hit Tel Aviv. I beleive that this is a warning, not a bluff. Israel probably won't accept this as a deterrant and will probably hit Beirut, if only to assert its manliness and regain the IDF's "honor." Then since he said he would, Nasrallah will order an attack on Tel Aviv.

If only the belligerents in the Middle East were less worried about being "manly" and more interested in being humane, we'd all be a lot better off.

Ramallah was interesting. I met an American-Palestinian woman who works in one of the minstries there. She talked about a lot of things, but mostly about how she hasn't been paid for a while and how the financial squeeze has gotten so bad that employees who live outside Ramallah only come in three times a week, since they haven't been paid and cannot afford to pay for transportation to work and back every day.

Most business with foreign countries is being done through the office of the President, because no one wants to work with the new Hamas government. Interestingly enough though, in the ministries that Hamas controls now, only the ministers have been changed. Everyone, including the deputies, have stayed the same. So just liek most governments and large organizations, there is always a core of career bureaucrats that stays the same, regardless of who is in charge of the ministry.

The wall was again very present, impossible to miss. It cuts the landscape and lengthens commutes. It is often covered with graffiti, both domestic and foreign, in Arabic and English. To get back to Jerusalem, we had to go through two different checkpoints, just as we had to got through two on the way there. Without these checkpoints, the trip would only take about 30 minutes.

I went out last night in West Jerusalem with a couple from Europe who work in NGOs here in the West Bank and Jerusalem. On our way back to the old city, we ran into a couple of young and hip Israelis busily tearing down fliers for a protest against the war in Lebanon.

I'm increasingly worried about a probable escalation. Nasrallah said the night before last on television that if the center of Beirut was hit, then he would hit Tel Aviv. I beleive that this is a warning, not a bluff. Israel probably won't accept this as a deterrant and will probably hit Beirut, if only to assert its manliness and regain the IDF's "honor." Then since he said he would, Nasrallah will order an attack on Tel Aviv.

If only the belligerents in the Middle East were less worried about being "manly" and more interested in being humane, we'd all be a lot better off.

Ramallah was interesting. I met an American-Palestinian woman who works in one of the minstries there. She talked about a lot of things, but mostly about how she hasn't been paid for a while and how the financial squeeze has gotten so bad that employees who live outside Ramallah only come in three times a week, since they haven't been paid and cannot afford to pay for transportation to work and back every day.

Most business with foreign countries is being done through the office of the President, because no one wants to work with the new Hamas government. Interestingly enough though, in the ministries that Hamas controls now, only the ministers have been changed. Everyone, including the deputies, have stayed the same. So just liek most governments and large organizations, there is always a core of career bureaucrats that stays the same, regardless of who is in charge of the ministry.

The wall was again very present, impossible to miss. It cuts the landscape and lengthens commutes. It is often covered with graffiti, both domestic and foreign, in Arabic and English. To get back to Jerusalem, we had to go through two different checkpoints, just as we had to got through two on the way there. Without these checkpoints, the trip would only take about 30 minutes.

I went out last night in West Jerusalem with a couple from Europe who work in NGOs here in the West Bank and Jerusalem. On our way back to the old city, we ran into a couple of young and hip Israelis busily tearing down fliers for a protest against the war in Lebanon.

I'm increasingly worried about a probable escalation. Nasrallah said the night before last on television that if the center of Beirut was hit, then he would hit Tel Aviv. I beleive that this is a warning, not a bluff. Israel probably won't accept this as a deterrant and will probably hit Beirut, if only to assert its manliness and regain the IDF's "honor." Then since he said he would, Nasrallah will order an attack on Tel Aviv.

If only the belligerents in the Middle East were less worried about being "manly" and more interested in being humane, we'd all be a lot better off.

Ramallah was interesting. I met an American-Palestinian woman who works in one of the minstries there. She talked about a lot of things, but mostly about how she hasn't been paid for a while and how the financial squeeze has gotten so bad that employees who live outside Ramallah only come in three times a week, since they haven't been paid and cannot afford to pay for transportation to work and back every day.

Most business with foreign countries is being done through the office of the President, because no one wants to work with the new Hamas government. Interestingly enough though, in the ministries that Hamas controls now, only the ministers have been changed. Everyone, including the deputies, have stayed the same. So just liek most governments and large organizations, there is always a core of career bureaucrats that stays the same, regardless of who is in charge of the ministry.

The wall was again very present, impossible to miss. It cuts the landscape and lengthens commutes. It is often covered with graffiti, both domestic and foreign, in Arabic and English. To get back to Jerusalem, we had to go through two different checkpoints, just as we had to got through two on the way there. Without these checkpoints, the trip would only take about 30 minutes.

I went out last night in West Jerusalem with a couple from Europe who work in NGOs here in the West Bank and Jerusalem. On our way back to the old city, we ran into a couple of young and hip Israelis busily tearing down fliers for a protest against the war in Lebanon.

I'm increasingly worried about a probable escalation. Nasrallah said the night before last on television that if the center of Beirut was hit, then he would hit Tel Aviv. I beleive that this is a warning, not a bluff. Israel probably won't accept this as a deterrant and will probably hit Beirut, if only to assert its manliness and regain the IDF's "honor." Then since he said he would, Nasrallah will order an attack on Tel Aviv.

If only the belligerents in the Middle East were less worried about being "manly" and more interested in being humane, we'd all be a lot better off.