A little good news

Several weeks have passed without me writing much. I have been busy with other parts of my life - moving, family visits, etc. - so I have not had much time to read or write. Though not a lot has changed in Lebanon (at least, no drastic changes) the rest of the region has been slowly stewing. I will begin with some good news. The LA Times reported that nations exceeded expectations at a donors' conference in Sweden by offering nearly $1 billion in aid to Lebanon. It is wonderful that all of this money has been promised, but promising and paying are two very different things. Often promised aid does not reach those who need it: billions were promised during the tsunami crisis, but very little of the aid promised by nations came into being. Victims of the Bam, Iran, earthquake noted that virtually none of the promised aid made it to Iran. In other words, leaders can make all kinds of promises, but troubles arise when you have to seek approval back home. At least the aid has been promised though, I'm pretty impressed with that!