Posted on 12/24/2004 8:51:48 AM PST by Mo1


I just talked to my sister in south Louisiana. Its snowing there, more so farther south in the coastal parishes. Can you believe it?
Gotta to the store for last minute stuff .. BBF
I'm still amazed that y'all got so much snow
It's back to being cold up here ... but not an ounce of snow
My sil from the 'nnati reports that town is in lock-down: no driving unless it's an emergency, whatever that may mean.
Stay safe, friends.
This must be the cold part of global warming. We've had very nice days here, in the low 60's, but it's cold and foggy again this morning.
Merry Christmas to you also! This is so exciting - my second new thread with you :)
No ping? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil Mo...
A brand new, shiny thread! And Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Oh. Yeah. I remember the track incident. Glad to hear the prognosis.
Merry Christmas, Mo. Hope you and yours have a great one.
Those I missed..
Posted by restornu to Skylus; Sundog
On General/Chat 12/24/2004 1:03:30 PM EST · 6,386 of 6,386
I think Sundog is from Utah?
That wasn't nice.
Merry Christmas, loddie. Cincy must have been in bad shape. Some tenants of mine from that area could not get here due to their weather. Also, I read that Delta ran short of de-icing fluid at the Cincy airport and trucks carrying new supplies could not get to the airport. Global warming strikes again.
I got your mail Resty, and am printing the recipe up now. Thank you very much, smooooooooooooooooooch. It sounds delicious. Maybe it would go good with crab legs?
Pie's done, now I have to do some googling for something else.. ;)
It's means it's pretty bad and they want to clear the streets for the Christmas Day rush without worrying about idiots on the road
Also, unless it's a life or death situation ... the cops will Fine your butt if the catch ya on the streets driving
Gee what do I see here
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1307985/posts?page=2#2
Oh yea ... It's YOUR NAME!!
Smooches
Does that mean I'm not gonna get any presents this year :0)
Aye, but it's a vin ordinaire ping, not a new thread ping.
Coal...
*Giggle*
SIL is a very happy camper to be here in the chilly CenTex as her hometown is looking for a high temp today of 17° .
I'll take the coal and you can have my cake :0)
Nooooooooo!!!!!
Merry Christmas Pup
Carly wants me to lock Jess and Dana in the closet so she can play with the walkie talkies
Oh fun joy joy *L*

How cute! Merry Christmas, Loddy!
Hey out there.
The best to you and all your gang.
Cheers.
We will be cooking in a little while. I am waiting for Dawn to call from the beauty shop to go pick her up. Then I think she and Tyler are going to make a snowman. After that we will cook and have supper, then go to church later tomight.

Bethlehem Shows Israel-Palestinian Warming
1 hour, 57 minutes ago
By HAITHAM HAMAD, Associated Press Writer
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Israel freed up travel into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and handed out candy to Palestinian and foreign program's at roadblocks, the latest signs of warming Israeli-Palestinian relations since the death of Yasser Arafat (news - web sites).
During more than four years of fighting, Christmas in the traditional birthplace of Jesus has been marked by gloom, military curfews and violence. The town is ringed by Israeli checkpoints and a massive separation barrier.
However, on Friday, troops eased restrictions at roadblocks leading into Bethlehem, allowing Palestinians and foreigners to pass more quickly. Military officials said they expected about 5,000 visitors for the two-day holiday, ans that 280 Palestinians from Gaza came to the city.
Israeli troops also handed security responsibility for Bethlehem to the Palestinian security forces for the duration of Christmas, allowing the Palestinian police to carry their weapons in the city, officials said.
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah led a procession of about 1,000 Christians through Bethlehem to begin the celebrations. A Palestinian scout group band accompanied them playing bagpipes and clashing cymbals as the crowd slowly marched through the town.
By early evening, much of Manger Square the stone-paved courtyard outside the Church of the Nativity, which Christians believe is built on the grotto where Jesus was born had cleared out. Several hundred people, most of them Palestinian teenagers, walked through the nearby streets. With a cold rain coming down, vendors sold nuts and other snacks, and people drank coffee to keep warm.
Under heavy security, interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Bethlehem after nightfall to join the celebrations the first time a Palestinian leader has marked Christmas in Bethlehem in four years.
Beginning in 2001, Israel barred Arafat from traveling to Bethlehem, accusing him of supporting violence. Since Arafat died on Nov. 11, Israel has made a number of goodwill gestures toward Abbas, whom it considers a moderate.
In the square, Palestinian flags outnumbered Christmas lights and balls. But this year, only two Arafat posters hung in the square, compared to previous years when the late-Palestinian leader's picture was the most popular decoration.
"We ask God and wish that all the religions in this country will live in peace and security," Abbas said in a Christmas greeting. "I hope next year will be much better than the previous ones."
Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said Israel's West Bank security barrier which has effectively cut Bethlehem in half and dealt a further blow to the town's already listless economy has put a damper on this year's celebrations.
"This is the city of peace where we should have peace ... because the prince of peace was born here in the city, but unfortunately peace is missing still in this city," Nasser said.
But there was some cheer at the heavily fortified main crossing from Jerusalem into Bethlehem. An Israeli Tourism Ministry sign decorated with bells and a red ribbon read, "Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year" it was hung below the army's permanent sign asking visitors in Hebrew, Arabic and English to prepare documents for inspection.
"A call to all people of faith: Visit the Holy Land now," declared other Tourism Ministry signs hanging on the concrete slabs near the checkpoint.
Israel handed out baskets of candies to Palestinians and foreign pilgrim crossing into Bethlehem, said Rafi Ben-Hur, the Israeli Tourism Ministry's deputy director. The pilgrims were asked to give the candies to Palestinians in Bethlehem, he added.
"This is our personal greetings for a happy holiday from Israel," Ben-Hur said. "We see the pilgrims as a bridge for peace."
Soldiers were instructed to treat visitors to Bethlehem with the utmost respect, said Lt. Col. Aviv Feigel, head of the Israeli military liaison office in the area. "We certainly hope that these events are a positive sign for the future," Feigel told Israel Radio.
Four years of violence dealt a severe blow to Bethlehem's economy, which heavily relies on tourism. Dozens of souvenir shops and restaurants have shut down. Hotel rooms have remained mostly barren, and Christians have been moving abroad.
But this year, Israeli and Palestinian officials predicted a merrier Christmas, though still far from the glory days when thousands of people celebrated in Bethlehem's Manger Square well after Midnight mass had ended.
Rony Tabash, a 23-year-old shopkeeper, said the easing on travel restrictions brought some relief to Bethlehem, but that business at his souvenir shop remained dismal.
Tabash, who spent the evening in his empty shop with a relatives and a few visiting friends from Europe, said he sold about $40 worth of ornaments, compared to thousands of dollars of sales during the boom years.
"It's better than any (recent) year, but it's also bad," he said. Still, he said he remained hopeful things will get better. "Without hope, you cannot live," he said.

Bethlehem Shows Israel-Palestinian Warming
1 hour, 57 minutes ago
By HAITHAM HAMAD, Associated Press Writer
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Israel freed up travel into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and handed out candy to Palestinian and foreign program's at roadblocks, the latest signs of warming Israeli-Palestinian relations since the death of Yasser Arafat (news - web sites).
During more than four years of fighting, Christmas in the traditional birthplace of Jesus has been marked by gloom, military curfews and violence. The town is ringed by Israeli checkpoints and a massive separation barrier.
However, on Friday, troops eased restrictions at roadblocks leading into Bethlehem, allowing Palestinians and foreigners to pass more quickly. Military officials said they expected about 5,000 visitors for the two-day holiday, ans that 280 Palestinians from Gaza came to the city.
Israeli troops also handed security responsibility for Bethlehem to the Palestinian security forces for the duration of Christmas, allowing the Palestinian police to carry their weapons in the city, officials said.
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah led a procession of about 1,000 Christians through Bethlehem to begin the celebrations. A Palestinian scout group band accompanied them playing bagpipes and clashing cymbals as the crowd slowly marched through the town.
By early evening, much of Manger Square the stone-paved courtyard outside the Church of the Nativity, which Christians believe is built on the grotto where Jesus was born had cleared out. Several hundred people, most of them Palestinian teenagers, walked through the nearby streets. With a cold rain coming down, vendors sold nuts and other snacks, and people drank coffee to keep warm.
Under heavy security, interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Bethlehem after nightfall to join the celebrations the first time a Palestinian leader has marked Christmas in Bethlehem in four years.
Beginning in 2001, Israel barred Arafat from traveling to Bethlehem, accusing him of supporting violence. Since Arafat died on Nov. 11, Israel has made a number of goodwill gestures toward Abbas, whom it considers a moderate.
In the square, Palestinian flags outnumbered Christmas lights and balls. But this year, only two Arafat posters hung in the square, compared to previous years when the late-Palestinian leader's picture was the most popular decoration.
"We ask God and wish that all the religions in this country will live in peace and security," Abbas said in a Christmas greeting. "I hope next year will be much better than the previous ones."
Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said Israel's West Bank security barrier which has effectively cut Bethlehem in half and dealt a further blow to the town's already listless economy has put a damper on this year's celebrations.
"This is the city of peace where we should have peace ... because the prince of peace was born here in the city, but unfortunately peace is missing still in this city," Nasser said.
But there was some cheer at the heavily fortified main crossing from Jerusalem into Bethlehem. An Israeli Tourism Ministry sign decorated with bells and a red ribbon read, "Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year" it was hung below the army's permanent sign asking visitors in Hebrew, Arabic and English to prepare documents for inspection.
"A call to all people of faith: Visit the Holy Land now," declared other Tourism Ministry signs hanging on the concrete slabs near the checkpoint.
Israel handed out baskets of candies to Palestinians and foreign pilgrim crossing into Bethlehem, said Rafi Ben-Hur, the Israeli Tourism Ministry's deputy director. The pilgrims were asked to give the candies to Palestinians in Bethlehem, he added.
"This is our personal greetings for a happy holiday from Israel," Ben-Hur said. "We see the pilgrims as a bridge for peace."
Soldiers were instructed to treat visitors to Bethlehem with the utmost respect, said Lt. Col. Aviv Feigel, head of the Israeli military liaison office in the area. "We certainly hope that these events are a positive sign for the future," Feigel told Israel Radio.
Four years of violence dealt a severe blow to Bethlehem's economy, which heavily relies on tourism. Dozens of souvenir shops and restaurants have shut down. Hotel rooms have remained mostly barren, and Christians have been moving abroad.
But this year, Israeli and Palestinian officials predicted a merrier Christmas, though still far from the glory days when thousands of people celebrated in Bethlehem's Manger Square well after Midnight mass had ended.
Rony Tabash, a 23-year-old shopkeeper, said the easing on travel restrictions brought some relief to Bethlehem, but that business at his souvenir shop remained dismal.
Tabash, who spent the evening in his empty shop with a relatives and a few visiting friends from Europe, said he sold about $40 worth of ornaments, compared to thousands of dollars of sales during the boom years.
"It's better than any (recent) year, but it's also bad," he said. Still, he said he remained hopeful things will get better. "Without hope, you cannot live," he said.
Let him eat cake...
:-)
Currently 10° here.
I'm going down to the local car dealer and insist they run all their SUV's through the twelve days of Christmas solstice, Kwaanza, whatever.....
Is it true that you are from Utah as well?
My daughter is quite a good cook, for which I can take some credit, but she was self-motivated, a lot like I was, and taught herself a lot as well.
Doubly good news from the birthplace of the Prince of Peace.
Should have sent my boys to UI.........
:-)
That doesn't make me feel better. The kids are flying Delta on Sunday morning and have a layover in Cincinatti.
Merry Christmas, catpuppy.
*Smooch*
Arafat invested in N.Y. bowling lane
By Deborah Kolben And Tracy Connor
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
NEW YORK - Maybe they should have named it Bowling for Palestine.
Bowlmor Lanes, a fixture in Greenwich Village for decades, was secretly bankrolled in part by the late Yasser Arafat, newly released documents reveal.
Using a holding company, Arafat quietly sank $1.3 million of Palestinian Authority funds into the hipster hangout in 2002, two years before his death. The news, first reported in Bloomberg Markets Magazine, hit some Bowlmor patrons like a 15-pound ball taking down the headpin.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have come, but I promised the kids," said financier Steve Saslow, 55, with his 4-year-old and 8-year-old in tow.
It apparently also came as a surprise to Bowlmor's owners, a company called Strike Holdings, which has lanes on Long Island and in Maryland and Florida.
The firm said it was "shocked" to learn that Arafat was behind the investment -- and planned to return the money and sever any ties to the Palestinians.
The $1.3 million, funneled through a company called Onyx Funds, was just a small piece of a $799 million fortune that Arafat invested in companies across the Middle East and the United States.
Nully, you must have been REALLY bad this year.
Again: Merry Christmas to all. Have a great time wherever you are and whoever you're with!
Merry Christmas!
No.
Still no sound on my computer, and I haven't had time to figure it out. After Christmas is over, I'll see what I can do about it. It's not exactly an emergency.
Let's see; Yassar squirrels away 800 large, and just last week Bush sent the PA another 20 mil?
What is wrong with this picture?
Tyler cracks me up. He can really surprise me sometimes too. He was saying the other night that Christmas isn't about getting stuff, then, last night, after we got back from that awful experience and were saying the blessing, we decided that each of us would say what we were thankful for, and Tyler comes up with, "thank you for giving people money so they can give it to us." It was just one of those moments. It made us laugh though.
lol - it was der bingle belting out the tune.
Maybe Santa will come through will that killer sound card?
Merry Christmas out there, Cheri.
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