Tag Archives: Middle East

Random Thoughts (13)

Where exactly is the line between the Near East, the Middle East and the Far East?  I am so old-school, when I am in a remote location, I miss newspapers more than the internet. I have never received as many … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Colombia, Food, Georgia, Germany, India, Macedonia, Politics, Syria, Terrorism, Travel, USA | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What happened to the Arab Spring?

Here is the simplified explanation: Well, at least it did work in Tunisia.

Posted in Egypt, Libya, Politics, Syria | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Easily Confused (41) Rubik’s Cube

You can spend years playing with differently colored fields without getting one step closer to a solution. When you are just about to solve the puzzle, somebody will come by and destroy years of work within minutes: the Rubik’s Cube. You can spend … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Did you notice the Irony? (9) Egypt

Egypt continues to be not only a source of bad news and sad news, but also of ironic twists and turns. = = = So the Egyptian military now imposed martial law. This includes a curfew in Cairo and 10 … Continue reading

Posted in Egypt, Human Rights, Islam, Israel, Law, Military, Politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Easily Confused, # 6

The Twitter/Facebook revolution: The YouTube riots:

Posted in Politics, Technology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Myth of the Israeli Passport Stamp Problem

When speaking to fellow travellers, globetrotters and Couchsurfers, I am always amazed how many people are afraid of visiting Israel – not because of Hamas’ rockets from Gaza or because of suicide bombers, but because of a stamp in a … Continue reading

Posted in Egypt, Iran, Israel, Travel | Tagged , , | 267 Comments

Palestinians at the Olympic Games, now and then

Palestinians at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich: Palestinians at the 2012 Olympic Games in London: That’s quite an improvement, I would say.

Posted in History, Israel, London, Sports, Terrorism | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Happy 25th birthday, Gilad Shalit!

Today is the 25th birthday of Gilad Shalit. It is the 6th birthday that he has to experience in captivity. When he was kidnapped, he was a boy of 19. Now he is a man, but one who has been … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Two down, more to go.

What a year 2011 has already been in the Middle East and North Africa: In Tunisia and in Egypt, two long-term dictatorships have been toppled by street protests. If the transformation of this part of the world continues at the … Continue reading

Posted in Egypt, Politics | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Mossad’s Ark

Given the Arab countries’ continuing contest to outdo each other with their suspicions against Israel, it was only a matter of time until someone would try beat Egypt’s claim that the Israeli security service Mossad was behind lethal shark attacks: … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Politics | Tagged , , | 11 Comments