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General Category => Off the Record => Topic started by: Syt on December 13, 2013, 12:57:16 PM

Title: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Syt on December 13, 2013, 12:57:16 PM
Hell freezing over?

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-snow-israel-egypt-20131213,0,1691393.story#axzz2nNXRjRCq

QuoteSnow closes roads in Israel, is a source of wonder in Egypt

CAIRO -- Snow coated domes and minarets Friday as a record Middle East storm compounded the suffering of Syrian refugees, sent the Israeli army scrambling to dig out stranded motorists and gave Egyptians a rare glimpse of snow in their capital.

Nearly three feet of snow closed roads in and out of Jerusalem, which is set in high hills, and thousands in and around the city were left without power. Israeli soldiers and police rescued  hundreds trapped in their cars by snow and ice. In the West Bank, the branches of olive trees groaned under the weight of snow.

In Cairo, where local news reports said the last recorded snowfall was more than 100 years ago, children in outlying districts capered in white-covered streets, and adults marveled at the sight, tweeting pictures of snow-dusted parks and squares. In other parts of the city, rain and hail rocketed down.

On social media, some joked that the snowfall was the mystical work of Gen. Abdel Fattah Sisi, the military strongman who is the focus of something of a cult of personality among his followers. Sisi led the coup five months ago against the highly unpopular but democratically elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi.

Storm-driven waves lashed Egypt's Mediterranean coast, and fishermen in the ancient port city of Alexandria were warned by authorities against putting out to sea. In the Sinai Peninsula, snow fell on Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine's monastery at its foot. Sleet washed the dusty fronds of desert palm trees.

The inclement weather worsened the situation for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, where many live in makeshift camps, abandoned buildings and other temporary sites lacking heat and protection from the elements.

In Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, many refugees were digging out snow from their provisional shelters amid subfreezing conditions. The situation is likely worse for multitudes of displaced people inside rebel-held and contested areas of Syria, where clashes and blockades by both sides in the country's civil war have severely hampered delivery of aid.

In Israel, where the storm was described as the heaviest December snowfall since 1953, thick clouds temporarily closed Ben-Gurion International Airport, causing the diversion of two international flights to Cyprus. Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barkat, likened the storm to a snow tsunami.

Photo gallery:

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-wn-snow-middle-east-pictures,0,508696.photogallery#axzz2nNXRjRCq
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Syt on December 13, 2013, 12:58:35 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orf.at%2Fstatic%2Fimages%2Fsite%2Fnews%2F20131250%2Fjerusalem_schnee_body02_ap.4532438.jpg&hash=8ecd8d800cfba6f82717889ff783b99b89795b42)

(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orf.at%2Fstatic%2Fimages%2Fsite%2Fnews%2F20131250%2Fjerusalem_schnee_body04_ap.4532436.jpg&hash=360b166544ca9701c9f65f46e36de153649893ac)

(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orf.at%2Fstatic%2Fimages%2Fsite%2Fnews%2F20131250%2Fjerusalem_schnee_body07_ap.4532435.jpg&hash=0527fbd06eca500f6ced2a486b3cfa82a330f98b)
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: The Brain on December 13, 2013, 01:12:41 PM
Global warming is a bitch.
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Grey Fox on December 13, 2013, 01:30:05 PM
I love it when Nature fucks up another part of the world with Snow.

Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: CountDeMoney on December 13, 2013, 01:40:41 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi248.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fgg172%2Fel__chupacabra%2FThe%2520Seventh%2520Sign%25201988%2F7th-sign-cap04.jpg&hash=c9e4c2aeb0e33ad59c739eca565a0cd752ea4288)
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.moviestillsdb.com%2Fmedia%2Fpictures%2Fm%2F8e%2F8ef02728432fbcfc1695261e2d8e354c.jpg&hash=c1787be7eb082864697ec953717d52ff4160a5a5)
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: KRonn on December 13, 2013, 01:50:17 PM
I bet they were surprised! The Dick Cheney/Haliburton weather machine is still working!
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Duque de Bragança on December 13, 2013, 05:43:55 PM
Well, I guess it's official now, the Arab Spring is over.
I'll take my coat now.  :blush:
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Liep on December 13, 2013, 05:45:57 PM
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on December 13, 2013, 05:43:55 PM
Well, I guess it's official now, the Arab Spring is over.
I'll take my coat now.  :blush:

http://www.badumtss.net/

Actually, I'm virtually pointing towards the door. :p
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: DGuller on December 13, 2013, 05:57:19 PM
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on December 13, 2013, 05:43:55 PM
Well, I guess it's official now, the Arab Spring is over.
:pinch:
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Tonitrus on December 13, 2013, 06:21:00 PM
I, for one, welcome our Yassar Arafat-snowman overlords.
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: CountDeMoney on December 13, 2013, 06:49:30 PM
Quote from: Tonitrus on December 13, 2013, 06:21:00 PM
I, for one, welcome our Yassar Arafat-snowman overlords.

The real bitch is, you can't tell if it's a snowball suicide vest or not.
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Savonarola on December 16, 2013, 09:56:33 AM
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on December 13, 2013, 05:43:55 PM
Well, I guess it's official now, the Arab Spring is over.
I'll take my coat now.  :blush:

It's now the Winter of Arab Discontent (to be followed by the spring, then the summer and then the autumn of Arab discontent.)
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Brazen on December 16, 2013, 10:06:41 AM
That's pretty much how all my primary school nativity scenes looked.
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Viking on December 16, 2013, 10:11:51 AM
Meanwhile in j00topia the schools are shut and they are skiing on mount hermon within sight of the syrian civil war.


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4466011,00.html
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Brazen on December 16, 2013, 10:15:26 AM
Apologies for Daily Fail link, but some excellent photos here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2524231/Snowballs-Syria-How-Middle-Eastern-snow-make-life-normal-war-zone.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2524231/Snowballs-Syria-How-Middle-Eastern-snow-make-life-normal-war-zone.html)

What a nightmare for the Syrian refugees, though.
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Syt on December 16, 2013, 10:27:40 AM
"Walking in a Winter Wonder..."*BOOM*
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: lustindarkness on December 16, 2013, 10:30:11 AM
Dashing through the sand
With a bomb strapped to my back
I have a nasty plan
For Christmas in Iraq
I got through checkpoint A
But not through checkpoint B
That's when I got shot in the ass by the U.S. military
Ooo, Jingle bombs, jingle bombs mine blew up you see
Where are all the virgins that Bin Laden promised me
Jingle bombs, jingle bombs your soldiers shot me dead
The only thing that I have left is this towel upon my head
I used to be a man, but every time I cough
Thanks to uncle Sam my nuts keep falling off
My bombing days are done, I need to find some work
Perhaps it would be much safer as a convenient store night clerk,
Ooo, Jingle bombs, jingle bombs I think I got screwed
Don't laugh at me because I'm dead or I keel you

Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: Syt on December 16, 2013, 10:42:11 AM
 :lol:

Did you learn that one in the service?
Title: Re: Snow storm hits Middle East
Post by: lustindarkness on December 16, 2013, 10:44:22 AM
Quote from: Syt on December 16, 2013, 10:42:11 AM
:lol:

Did you learn that one in the service?

Jeff Dunham, Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Google: Jingle Bombs