A Breakdown in Government Wafts Uphill

-          Local village downwind from Lebanon’s largest landfill is commonly filled with coughs, infections, and concerns of cancer

-          Mr. Ayyash and other residents blocked the road to the Naimeh landfill shutting down garbage collection in much of Lebanon causing trash to pile up in the fancies neighborhoods in the capital

-          The government resigned ten months ago, and Parliament has scarcely convened, no major laws have been passed the caretaker cabinet has lacked the political clout to set any important policies

-          Party leaders act as political bosses for their communities dispensing jobs and patronage while striking deals with other leaders to serve their common interests.

-          The formation of government in Lebanon is less significant than it is in other societies

-          The lack of an oppressive police state exempted Lebanon from an Arab Spring uprising and makes it a fertile environment for entrepreneurs, thinkers, and artists

-          Fails to provide services considered standard in other countries, leaving citizens to fend for themselves

-          People must buy filtered water and generators to sustain themselves

-          The landfill was created in 1997 as a temporary measure

-          The most powerful politician in the area promised the dump will close next year

-          Nearby residents have threatened to protest again if the landfill is not closed

Syrian Opposition's Calm at Talks Suprises as Officials Falter

-          The Syrian government officials were expected to present themselves as the grown-ups at the peace conference, but instead they took offense easily

-          The Syrians sent mixed messages, ignored meeting agenda and time limits for speeches, and in some  ways embarrassing their Russian allies

-          Russian officials have long said they are not committed to Mr. Assad personally but see no alternative that could stabilize Syria

-          A more immediate goal for the coalition is to increase support within the broader opposition

-          The regime delegation seems unorganized and fractured when that was what people expected from the coalition

-          Foreign Ministry delegates pledged to discuss a transitional government only to be contradicted by Mr. Assad’s advisers

-          Officials were under scrutiny from hard-liners in Damascus and feared retribution should a too-conciliatory phrase slip. It is also possibly they assumed the conference would never happen

-          “For the first time the regime had to sit down and hear the demands of the people,” said a coalition spokeswoman

-          The government also gained some support for its argument that its opponents are Western puppets; opposition delegates met daily with Western diplomats and submitted documents in English not Arabic

Rebels in Syria Claim Control of Resources

-          Islamist rebels and extremist groups have seized control of most of Syria’s oil and gas resources

-          The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is selling fuel to the Assad government

-          Although there is no clear evidence of direct tactical coordination between the group and Mr. Assad, American officials say that his government has facilitated the group’s rise.

-          The scramble for Syria’s oil is describes as a war within the broader civil war turning in the source of income into a conflict tearing the country apart

-          Syria was once an important supplier of oil to Europe and attracted international oil companies

-          The oil industry production is down from 400,000 (2011) barrels to 80,000 (2013)barrels a day

-          Violence has damaged pipelines and other infrastructure

-          Mr. Assad’s government not only purchased crude from the ISIS but in return has refrained from bombing the group’s headquarters in Raqqa and elsewhere although their locations are well known and clearly marked

-          While rebel oil revenues are small by world market standards they can help groups exercise local power as well as finance their operations

-          Recently most of the area’s rebel brigades have left the administration of the well to an Islamic legal commission set up to run local affairs

Palestinian Leader Says He Can Accept Israeli Military in West Bank for 3 Years

-          President Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority) said he is willing to accept an Israeli military presence in the West Bank for a three-year transition period as part of a peace deal

-          Israel has said it can only depend on its own soldiers not international force

-          Palestinian officials have said they could not tolerate a single Israeli soldier but do acknowledge the requirement for a transition period

-          Palestine says that a transition period would not exceed three years during which  Israel will withdraw gradually, but willing to allow a third party to take Israel’s place (NATO was suggested) to soothe our concerns and Israel’s

-          Many Israeli leaders and outside analysts have questioned whether the Palestinian President is strong enough to deliver a peace deal

-          Mr. Abbas said creating a Palestinian state roughly along the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital would be an acceptable lasting and legitimate solution, he also said Hamas had signed an agreement with him supporting the negotiations process and is not a problem.

-          Under the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, Israel could earn recognition and diplomatic relations with 57 Arab and Muslim countries if it resolved the Palestinian conflict

Egypt Locks Morsi in Soundproof Cage During Trial

-          Muhamed Morsi the deposed Eqyptian president appeared at his trial in a glass soundproof cage

-          It was the largest courtroom debate saying it deprived the defendant of hearing and participating in the own trial

-          The former president consistently declares he is the President of Egypt and also declared he did not recognize the court’s authority to try him, in part since it was outside the constitutional procedures for impeaching a president

-          The judge replied saying I am the president of Egypt’s criminal court

-          Mr. Morsi and the other defendants are now accused of conspiring with foreign militant movements to break themselves out.

-          In the afternoon when Mr. Morsi was allowed to speak he said I have the utmost appreciation for judges and I say to them: Stay away from politics

-          Security forces have killed more than a thousand people at protests against the take over and jailed thousands more.

-          The Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most of the major attacks which have recently occurred

New's of Congress's Approval of Aid to Rebels Disrupts Syria Talks

- Syria’s information minister Mr. Zoubi said the American aid to the revels now with explicit congressional approval contradicted the United States role as a sponsor of the peace talks
- The U.S. representative in Geneva said the Assad regime is a magnet for terrorists. The regime’s brutality is the source of violent extremism in Syria today.
- The U.N. mediator said the negotiations were not easy before and will not be easy in the coming days but no one is willing to leave
- The U.N. has trucks loaded with food for up to 2,500 people waiting for authorization to proceed
- They are also prepared to supply specialized nutrition for children presumed to be suffering from acute malnutrition and stunted growth
- Western diplomats have said that if progress is not made soon they may take the impasse to the Security Council where Russia will be less likely to use its veto due to the upcoming Olympic Games

Despite Decades of Enmity, Israel Quietly Aids Syrian Civilians

-          Medics arrived to a scene in Syria to find an 8-year old was critically wounded after seeing (and remembering) his 10-year brother being decapitated by a rocket explosion

-          The mother was told if she wanted her son to live she should take him to Israel

-          The mother believes the older sibling was shielding the younger brother when the  explosion occurred

-          The internal conflict between Israel and Syria have killed nearly 130,000 people

-          Syrians fear the President Assad’s forces more than the Israeli soldiers who helped the wounded patients and their relatives

-          Nearly 200 Syrians have been treated at the Israeli hospital since March 2013

-          More than230 have been taken to a Hospital in Galilee

-          The costs are dived three ways between Israel’s Military Defense, Ministry of Health, and the hospitals

-          Israel’s defense minister said Israel can no longer remain indifferent and has been providing food and winter clothing to Syrian villages across the border fence

-           One Syrian whose 5-year old grand-daughter received aid in Israel said, “When there is peace, I will raise an Israeli flag on the roof of my house.”