links for 2006-12-19

• lgf: Christmas Disappears from Bethlehem
  There are reports of religious persecution, in the form of murders, beatings and land grabs
  (tags: christmas waronterror israel)
• Hockey player fired for not signing flag for troops
  A junior hockey player has been ousted from the Saint John Sea Dogs after he did not sign a Canadian flag that the team was sending to troops in Afghanistan
  (tags: afghanistan canada hockey politics)
• ESPN.com - NBA - Melo gets 15-game suspension for throwing punch
  NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games Monday (GZE2...does he get any extra time for running away like a girl after throwing that punch?)
  (tags: nba sports)
• ESPN.com - TRACKANDFIELD - Asian Games runner fails gender test, loses medal
  The test reports sent to the Indian Olympic Association on Sunday said Soudarajan "does not possess the sexual characteristics of a woman,"
  (tags: sports olympics asia)
• Prosperity and desperation in Shenzhen - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune
  Today, however, the costs of Shenzhen's phenomenal success, from environmental peril to social degradation, stare out from every corner. For some people, the city has begun to look less like a model than an ominous warning of the limitations of a growth-a
  (tags: china chinaeconomy chinaculture guangzhou shenzhen)
• As the yuan rises, Hong Kong keeps an eye on inflation - Business - International Herald Tribune
  A sales clerk at a Starbucks coffee shop in Shenzhen sneered and waved her hand in indignation at the sight of a 20 Hong Kong dollar note, worth about $2.50. Starbucks stopped accepting Hong Kong dollars a few weeks ago, she said.
  (tags: china chinaeconomy shenzhen guangzhou)
• New at Wal-Marts in China: A Communist Party branch - Business - International Herald Tribune
  The Chinese Communist Party and an affiliate, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, are trying to expand at foreign companies to keep pace with a fast-changing society.
  (tags: chinaculture politics china chinaeconomy)
• Iraq's Economy is Booming - Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com
  Real estate is booming. Construction, retail and wholesale trade sectors are healthy, too, according to a report by Global Insight in London. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports 34,000 registered companies in Iraq, up from 8,000 three years ago
  (tags: politics waronterror iraq economy)
• The Chicken Littles Were Wrong
  Not coincidentally, an avian flu bureaucracy has become entrenched. Like all bureaucracies, it will fight to survive and thrive, egging on governments to provide ever more money.
  (tags: birdflu healthcare asia)
• English Russia » Santas Take Over The Moscow
  Big group of multi-national Santas took over the Moscow last weekend. You can see on those pictures the real crowd of them.
  (tags: christmas santa russia)