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LA Times: Valentine's Day in Karbala. To start your Valentine's day* off on a proper note (*offer not valid in Iran or Saudi Arabia or other places where Valentine's Day is or may soon be prohibited by law or the religious police), ...
To start your Valentine's day* off on a proper note (*offer not valid in Iran or Saudi Arabia or other places where Valentine's Day is or may soon be prohibited by law or the religious police), here's an LA Times piece with a photo of Valentine's Day in the Iraqi Holy City of Karbala, with women in full abaya shopping amidst the Valentine decorations.. Since I suspect the LA Times employs lots of copyright lawyers I won't reproduce the photo here, but will urge you to see the photo at the link. A hat tip to old Iraq hand Ambassador David Mack for this one. And a Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.
Makes one wonder about the effect on visiting ayatollahs from Qom. The West's soft power is still evident in Iraq, even as our military power has left.
"The wonderful Middle East Institute blogger Michael Collins Dunn noted the other day the passing of Amin Huwaydi, the former Egyptian Defense Minister and Intelligence chief . . ."
"Michael Collins Dunn is the editor of The Middle East Journal. He also blogs. His latest posting summarizes a lot of material on the Iranian election and offers some sensible interpretation. If you are really interested in the Middle East, you should check him out regularly."
"Since we?re not covering the Tunisian elections particularly well, and neither does Tunisian media, I?ll just point you over here. It?s a great post by MEI editor Michael Collins Dunn, who . . . clearly knows the country pretty well."
"I?ve followed Michael Collins Dunn over at the Middle East Institute?s blog since its beginning in January this year. Overall, it is one of the best blogs on Middle Eastern affairs. It is a selection of educated and manifestly knowledgeable ruminations of various aspects of Middle Eastern politics and international relations in the broadest sense."
"Michael Collins Dunn over at the indefatigable and ever-informative Middle East Institute Blog puts forward an intriguing case focusing on what he sees to be some level of distortion of coverage of the Yemani conflict."
"What's amazing about this blog is not just the range of subjects covered but the clear expertise of the blogger in discussing them."
"Michael Collins Dunn, editor of the prestigious Middle East Journal, wrote an interesting 'Backgrounder' on the Berriane violence at his Middle East Institute Editor?s Blog. It is a strong piece, but imperfect (as all things are) . . ."