Gazans are materially cut off from the world economy, just as in Cuba: everything patched up and odd flashes of modernity amid an economy trapped in the 1970s – the occasional new car alongside battered Volvos and even more battered donkeys.
Most fall into the first category, a minor illness or injury that is patched up, and then the patient is sent home that day or the next.
The singer, 30, fell out with Cowell following the decision, but the pair are believed to have patched things up.
A coup in Honduras in 2009 caused a regional rift that was only patched up last month.
The framework used to support web pages has been tweaked, patched and enhanced continuously since Tim Berners-Lee invented the web (and HTML to display it) in 1991 (see "Happy anniversary?", August 12th 2011).
Mr Anderson thinks that, as part of this process, firms should also be required to self-certify that the software in them is designed to be secure and can be patched swiftly if a flaw is found.
Mr Goodman points out that much software code is being shipped with flaws or "bugs" in it that are "patched" over time.
Worse, many cannot be patched even if the owner wants to, says Rich Mogull, boss of Securiosis, an independent security-research firm.Unlike Microsoft, say, which rakes in a licence fee for each device that uses its Windows Phone 8, Google does not charge manufacturers for installing Android on their handsets.
Sure, his copy of Windows XP Professional shorn of all annoying craplets and services, and with no silly eye-candy to slow things down—has been updated and patched religiously, purged of all detritus on a regular basis, and reinstalled afresh on a number of occasions.
The Syrian leader has also patched up his differences with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt after a period of estrangement.However, Mr Assad will not be secure unless he can prevail in his efforts to head off an international tribunal on the February 2005 assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.
He patched up Canada's relations with the United States, which had deteriorated.
