If you haven’t visited The Mirage in the last few years or have never visited you may think you have stepped into a brand new resort. Of course, the signature volcano, located along Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the hotel, still erupts nightly. Siegfried & Roy may longer be there, but their white tigers still occupy the Lion Habitat. The 53-foot aquarium still lines the area behind the front desk. The 100-foot domed Tropical Rainforest continues to flourish and welcomes guests upon arrival. And Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat to this day occupies the lush and tropical landscaped area behind the hotel. But that is really all that remains of the ‘old’ Mirage.

Today all 3,044 guest rooms and suites have been refurbished to give them a serene south seas feel. All rooms are now outfitted with the upmost in comfort and convenience. Marble topped vanities, dual phone lines with high speed internet, and you will certainly enjoy the dramatic views of the mountains surrounding the Las Vegas valley and of the Strip itself.

The Mirage now has so many entertainment options that you could literally see a show each night and never have to travel to another resort. Cirque du Soleil opened The Beatles LOVE in 2006 and the show has been sold out since day one. It is without a doubt one of the few must-see shows in Las Vegas. If you wish to attend be sure and purchase your tickets well in advance. The show is so popular that some people have planned their vacation around the dates they were able to secure tickets to LOVE. Danny Gans continues to amaze audiences with his singing, comedy and multitude of impressions in this ever-popular show. And The Mirage has developed a reputation for bringing some of the funniest comedians to the Strip. You will regularly find the likes of Ray Ramano, Jay Leno, Kevin James and Brad Garrett making audiences laugh.

When it comes time to sit down, relax and enjoy a meal, The Mirage has more options than ever before. Some of the newer additions to the resort include STACK, a cutting-edge American bistro. You might even describe it as a restaurant with a nightclub atmosphere. Fin is an absolutely stunning restaurant serving contemporary Chinese cuisine. Onda offer rustic Italian dishes and was voted ‘Best Italian Restaurant’ by the Las Vegas Concierge Association. And Onda also has a wine lounge where you can indulge in wine tasting and sample some antipasti. Kokomo’s is still located under the beautiful tropical rainforest but the restaurant and menu has undergone a major update. The décor is more contemporary and the menu features prime steaks and fresh seafood flown in daily from all over the world.

If you are ready to do a little partying after that meal, The Mirage has two fantastic options. The first is JET, a 15,000 square foot multi-level nightclub. What makes JET different from other nightclubs in Las Vegas is that fact that it is actually three nightclubs in one. JET has three distinct rooms, each with it’s own unique look and sound. Party-goers can move from a room filling the air with rock music, to one room with more of a hip-hop vibe, to yet another featuring popular dance and house music. The other nightspot is The Beatles Revolution Lounge. The lounge is not a tribute to the band in that you won’t necessary hear The Beatles greatest hits, but was instead, designed by Cirque du Soleil to inspire the spirit of The Beatles. The interior is has many interactive and almost psychedelic elements for the guests to enjoy. If your imagination allows, the décor and music evolves over the course of the night.

This is only the beginning of what The Mirage has to offer it’s guests. There are many more restaurants and bars, the waterfall flanked pools, the topless (adults-only) Bare pool and bar, the fitness center, shopping, one of the best buffets on the strip and the newly renovated Spa & Salon.

The Mirage has surely been transformed into one exciting destination in Las Vegas and the center Strip location couldn’t be any better. You’ll find yourself literally next door to Treasure Island and the massive Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. You’ll find yourself across the street from Harrah’s and the Venetian. And a leisurely walk away from Wynn Las Vegas and La Pallazo (the Venetian sister property slated to open late-2007 or early-2008) and the Fashion Show Mall. The room rates will be somewhat lower than the rates offered at some of the newer resorts. But with this dramatic and much needed transformation you’ll feel like you are staying at a new Las Vegas resort, not The Mirage resort that Chevy Chase and family stayed at during his ‘Vegas Vacation.’

To attend any event in the MGM Arena, you’ll be required to buy a sport, theatre or a concert ticket Purchasing tickets for the Staples Center is quite simple, since tickets can be bought directly at Ticketamerica. They accept all ticket payment methods, add them to shopping cart and then checkout. You can also buy an MGM ticket via telephone. This involves placing a ticket order that reserves your seat in the MGM Grand Arena.

Another entertainment sports arena is the Staples Center; it’s located in downtown Los Angeles. It was opened in October 1999, and has gained great popularity ever since. Staples Center receives over 4 million visitors and hosts about 250 events annually. Purchasing tickets for the Staples Center is quite simple, since tickets can be bought directly at the Box Office. It is the center for boxing matches, concerts and other special events, with a capacity of about 20,000; the Staples Center is indeed an ideal entertainment choice. Moreover, this entertainment center has 160 luxury suites and 15 well designed even suites. Approximately 2,500 seats are in the lower bowl. Due to their close proximity to the front, it is an ideal place to seat.

This venue accepts all tickets payments methods, however, when buying with a credit card you will have to show a valid photo for verification purposes. These two venues have excellent seating features and arrangements. They have superb lightning and sound features. Furthermore, these two venues have rules whose purpose is to prevent any form of distraction to other patrons. For example, no smoking and no audio gadgets are allowed in the venues. Patrons are also not allowed to enter these venues with cameras or carry food from outsides. The seating arrangement is so elegant such that the audience is able to get a spectacular view from all corners.

Paying for your MGM Grand Arena and Staples Center ticket is quite simple; almost all online ticket traders accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. Whichever method you choose to buy your ticket, a confirmation email will be sent to you within 24 hours. Finally, events tickets must be picked two hours before the start of the event at the Win Call Window of the Box Office. These two venues also offer car parking purposes.

The first Presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama remarkably failed to raise or even mention their future involvement in President Bush’s proposal to create a new Arab State between Israel and Jordan.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and eliminating America’s reliance on oil from the Middle East were all raised during a wide ranging discussion on American foreign policy. Israel was fleetingly mentioned by the contestants as they jointly pledged their determination to ensure that Iran’s threat to eliminate the Jewish State would never be allowed to happen.

Palestine and President Bush’s Roadmap were left out in the political wilderness.

This apparent lack of enthusiasm by both McCain and Obama indicates the sobering reality that President Bush’s Roadmap has reached a dead end so far as America‘s future involvement in trying to bring it to fruition is concerned. No doubt there will be occasions during the remainder of the Presidential campaign when efforts are made to engage McCain and Obama but their responses will be half hearted at the best.

This position has certainly not come about for want of trying.

President Bush – like Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush Senior and Clinton before him – invested a large amount of his authority, prestige, personal time and active involvement in attempting to bring peace between Jews and Arabs. All of them have ended up being humiliated and getting egg on their face for their efforts.

The stumbling block this time – according to the Arabs – is the Jewish cities towns and villages established in the West Bank since 1967 mainly on State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes – collectively called “the settlements“.

President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority once again repeated his mantra in front of the United Nations Security Council this week when declaring:

“Settlement activity is not only an obstacle but it risks undermining the peace process,”

Abbas stubbornly continues to reject Israel’s offer to resettle 70000 Jews and to cede an area of land from within its own sovereign state boundaries to compensate for the retention of those remaining settlements that house 400000 Jews and businesses in the West Bank. Abbas wants all the Jews tossed out and is apparently prepared to throw away the opportunity to get his State if he does not get his way.

The stumbling block this time – according to Israel – is the Arab insistence that millions of Arab refugees and their descendants be resettled in Israel – rather than in the new West Bank State.

President Bush has come down heavily in support of Israel’s stance on both issues recognising that the removal of all Jews from the West Bank and the resettlement of millions of Arabs in Israel is simply not going to be agreed to – and can never be agreed to – by Israel.

A last ditch stand by America to try and modify both of these Arab demands over the past ten months has met with embarrassing failure. Both of these contentious issues have been pressed by the Arabs for the last 40 years and nothing has occurred in Arab thinking to change or moderate them over that period.

It is therefore completely understandable that neither McCain nor Obama was really interested in flogging a dead horse. The Bush proposal was simply not worth discussing any longer.

In taking this stance, McCain and Obama were probably mindful of the sentiments expressed in two polls conducted among Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza this week.

Only 27.5% of the 1270 adults interviewed by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research believed the chances for the creation of the new state between Israel and Jordan were medium to high whilst 69.2% rated the chances as low to non-existent.

Encouragingly however 28% of the 1380 adults interviewed by the A-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus supported the idea of the establishment of a joint Palestinian – Jordanian state.

Perhaps these surveys herald the starting point of a new approach – involving the active participation of Jordan – in resolving the territorial dispute in the West Bank and Gaza, the humanitarian issues involving the Arab residents living there and the refugees who continue to languish in the refugee camps situated in the surrounding Arab states.

Opposition to Jordan’s involvement was expressed at a conference held by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy last weekend when former Jordanian foreign minister Marwan Muasher declared:

“Good luck finding Jordanians who will accept this idea. This is a non-starter.” (Jerusalem Post 23 September)

Former Head of Israel’s National Security Council Giora Eiland however was reported as saying in the same article that “tacit support for this idea has been expressed in private talks.”

Hopefully the international community – and America especially – will not be phased by this apparent case of stage fright from a player destined to once again share the spotlight with Israel as the two central characters in the continuing effort to end the conflict that has bedevilled the region for 130 years.

Jordan’s return to centre stage would cap a remarkable comeback. Jordan was the last Arab occupier of the West Bank between 1948-1967 and continued as the prime Arab interlocutor until 1974 when replaced by the PLO with Arab League approval. Having ceded all claims to the West Bank in 1988, Jordan once again could now find itself cast in the role of preserving at least some part of the West Bank and its Arab population under Arab sovereignty.

The alternative to Jordanian involvement is the renewal of terrorism and possibly war. Such outcomes will not only involve Israel, the West Bank and Gaza – but will surely spread to Jordan.

The time for Jordan to quit its delicate tightrope act is fast approaching.

There is nothing so dangerous as being left suspended in mid-air with no one to break your fall.

David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International — an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine.