“Bethlehem is like the soul of the universe, and it’s like an explosion of love here,” said Stefano Croce, 46, a fashion photographer from Rome, Italy.
Bethlehem has suffered from the Israeli-Palestinian fighting of recent years, and is now surrounded on three sides by concrete slabs and fences — part of a barrier Israel has built against Palestinian suicide attackers, some of whom came from Bethlehem. The Palestinians see the barrier as a land grab and say it has strangled the town’s economy.
Emigration has cut the town’s Christian population to an estimated 35 to 50 percent of its 40,000 people, compared with 90 percent in the 1950s.
The traditional Christian procession walk past the Church of Nativity, believed by many to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Tourists from all over the world were expected to flock to Jesus’ traditional birthplace on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas Eve. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) |
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Christians celebrated Bethlehem’s merriest Christmas in eight years Wednesday, with hotels booked solid, Manger Square bustling with families and Israeli and Palestinian forces cooperating to make things run smoothly. |
Pope Benedict XVI also spoke of peace between Israelis and Palestinians during Midnight Mass at the Vatican. |
“Jesus was the prince of peace, and he can bring that peace to you. We pray for you,” Bogenrief told a gaggle of children who gathered to listen. |
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The Islamic World’s Dirty Little Secret: They’re The World Champions When It Comes To Surfing Porn
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Despite all their protestations of piety and clean living as well as their condemnation of anything they deem to be “Unislamic” it seems that our friends from the Religion of Peace have a keen desire to dive right in to internet porn |
Arabic is the 2nd most common language that is used to search for “gay sex.” It’s the number one language for search involving “sexy.” As you can see in that same graph, Iran is at 3 and Egypt is at 4, listed under regions where search on “sexy” was most conducted.
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Arabic is the 2nd most common language that is used to search for “gay man.” The countries that most search for this is currently Malaysia (#1) and Indonesia (#2). For “gay girl,” Arabic is also the 2nd most common language
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These stunning microscope images – many of which resemble festive decorations – are all winners of the Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition, now in its sixth year.
A spectacular bauble: this image of a centric fossil diatom frustule (Actinoptychus heliopelta) was made by Dr. Stephen Nagy using a technique called Jamin-Lebedeff Interference Contrast. |
This might make good wrapping paper: this image of a snail’s radula – its rasping tongue – was taken by David Walker using polarised light |
This image of a “star-like” colonial diatom was taken by Dr. Petr Znachor at the Insitute of Hydrobiology in the Czech Republic, using fluorescence |
This image of white wine was taken by Dr Sondra Barrett using polarised light |
A more retro-style wrapping paper: This image of soap bubbles was taken by Karl Deckart using polarised light |
| , an illumination technique that enhances the contrast in unstained, transparent samples |
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Moreover, his diverse Cabinet would have a far reaching effect on racial based country like Malaysia.
I hope Obama’s moves would motivate Malaysians to vote for a non-Malay Prime Minister come 2012 general election!
 Barack Obama announces his final Cabinet secretary nominees Friday in Chicago. (AP Photo)
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Barack Obama’s Cabinet lineup, completed Friday with a month to spare, sends a signal that the fresh-faced
president-elect will lean on experienced hands and moderate voices to steer the nation through turbulent times. |
The list of nominees suggests Obama, facing a
deep recession and wars on two fronts, will rely on the kind of Washington veterans he campaigned against during the Democratic
primaries. |
Obama’s picks would reflect a “moderate and mainline” policy platform,
he said. |
“He’s been compared to the Messiah by the media, and his
team suggests that he’s Clinton Two,” said Christopher C. Hull, adjunct professor of government at Georgetown University.
“There’s a very marked contrast between what he said during the campaign and what he’s done in terms of putting his team in
place … As an American, I’m relieved.” |
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Shocking Science 2008 (15 pictures)
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| first human to fly across the Channel strapped to a jet-powered wing |
| They found it to be around three times as powerful as a lion’s |
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