I'm in Deir Jareer now. The cities are PACKED with people doing holiday shopping because Sunday is the first day of Eid Al-Adha. It's a holiday for slaughtering sheeps and feeding the poor. It was fun walking around Nablus and Ramallah on the way to Deir Jareer today, a very festive (albeit ridiculously crowded) atmosphere.

Ahmad applied to get a permit to go to Israel during the break, but was informed that Israel is rejecting permits as part of its reaction to the UNESCO vote. Damn dude.

He's looking at his Hebrew-Arabic dictionary right now. Words of the day:
Hebrew: haj esmech amvorach (Happy Eid!)
Arabic: ana mushawash (I'm confused.)

Other news:
Also, the new Gaza flotilla is a day and a half from Gaza. They're waiting to sail into Gaza during daylight hours, and they're trained in non-violent resistance, kinda like the Greensboro Four...Godspeed!

And State Department Representative Victoria Nuland had another press briefing on the Administration's response to Israel's settlement acceleration and freezing of PA tax money. She got raked over the coals by more than Matt Lee this time, it's getting really entertaining.

QUESTION: Does the Administration find it unpalatable that it has to go to another government, to other government officials, to lobby members of its own legislature?

MS. NULAND: I reject the premise of your statement.

bahaha!

Briefing transcript

Not sure where I'll be tomorrow night...and that's the way I like it...

Ben Lee moments are the best!

So pleeeeeeeeease, baby please
Open your heeeeeeeaaart
And catch my diseeeease....

*double clap*