Bad News

The news is bad. Six Israelis gunned down voting, 15 more killed vacationing in Kenya. That'll hurt Kenya as much as it hurts Israel... tourism is vital for that developing African nation. More oil slicks approach the Spanish coast. Sharon beats Netanyahu, and the polls show that he's going to have huge support, with Likud jumping from 19 to 41 seats! Interestingly (and I predicted the opposite this spring) Shas is projected to drop from 17 to 8 seats, losing out to less social, more nationalistic religious parties. Hmm, here's some good news: best two month surge since 1975 for the Dow. I wouldn't bet my life on stocks now, though.

I've Been Published!!!

Well, online anyway. There's a link to a piece of my professional work on one of the Webby Awards' top 5 websites worldwide. Here's the link.

A Certified Football Power

Northeastern is in the NCAA-IAA football playoffs! We open at home on snowy Parsons field this Saturday... hopefully I'll be there for the game. C'mon out, Bostonians, and give it up for the only Boston football team that's going anywhere in the NCAA this year!

As the Boston Globe reports, That's right, Northeastern. The cozy field nestled inside that Brookline neighborhood is the home of a certified football power. This bunch already can lay claim to being Northeastern's best team in history, and if the Huskies can bring home a national championship there won't be any need to schedule a debate on the subject.

Julius Bushus?

Whatever you make of the article, the illustration is, shall we say, classic.

Actually, the comparison of the U.S.A. with Rome is a tad disturbing if you consider what was said about Rome in John's Revelation.

Macabre Equality

On the front page of all the major papers was a story reporting that woman now equal men in numbers of HIV cases. This statistic reflects a broadening of the HIV epidemic, which is currently decimating much of Africa and making inroads in Asia and Latin America. Whereas homosexual males, drug users and prostitutes and their clients were the ones being infected with HIV in the past, the disease has now made inroads into much of the "average" population.

Having gone through megs of data for work, I've noticed that among sub-Saharan African countries, those with greater affluence tend to have the worst epidemic. I don't know why, but my guess would be that the greater mobility and interaction that comes with wealth have moved people from village-based subsistance lifestyles to "freer", more urban and - more pointedly - more promiscuous lifestyles. The best way to avoid HIV is to abstain from sex and drugs (funny how that works), and to have a spouse who does likewise. The tragedy of HIV is magnified by the bitter irony that it is spread mostly by recreational, discretionary behavior. People are so enslaved to sin that they cannot avoid it - even at the cost of their lives.

Strip-Searched

Iraq wouldn't be searched this efficiently if we sent the whole country through Logan Airport... oh wait, bad analogy. Anyway, I get to see how bad Logan is on Thanksgiving Day when I fly home tomorrow, and Hans Blix and all the other reindeer get to see how much Iraq is or isn't hiding when they cut loose to start spot-checking Iraq tomorrow.

The Washington Post reports:
The inspectors, reinforced by a new Security Council resolution, say they finally will be able to visit any place in Iraq, including secret military research laboratories and Hussein's presidential palaces, without giving advance warning to Iraqi officials, a power that eluded their predecessors during more than seven years of inspections in the 1990s.

I really hope Bush doesn't embaress the U.S. and incite the world by attacking even if Blix doesn't find anything.

Let the Theocracy Begin!

Theo Epstein, a Brookline native, was chosen as Sox GM, apparently. I think it's the right decision: they've been calling him "the GM of the future" all year, and there's no sense in bringing someone else in who knows all he's doing is warming a chair till Poor Theodore grows up.

It's Spreading

This is what I was afraid of. Tensions which the Middle Eastern governments have striven to contain in Israel have spilled over into its neighbors. Big happening at the office today is that we've suspended operations in Jordan, and the US embassy allowed much of its staff to leave the country amidst rioting. New York Times reports a missionary was shot and killed in Sidon, Lebanon.

Too much time on my hands

A few anagrams from my life...

United States = I eat students.
Peace Corps = Scrape, cope.
Press Office = I scoff peers.
Communications Director = I con a communist creditor.

Violence

A Palestinian terrorist from Hamas detonated himself on an Israeli bus full of soldiers and high school students. Eleven dead, forty-nine wounded. How will it end?

Sick and Tired

I didn't go to work yesterday. And I'm still a little confuddled today. An hour and a half more... then I get to go home...I hope it's not raining.

In other news, I ran my Risk record to 2-0 versus my cousins.

Sick and Tired

I didn't go to work yesterday. And I'm still a little confuddled today. An hour and a half more... then I get to go home...I hope it's not raining.

In other news, I ran my risk record to 2-0 versus my cousins.

Huskies Rising

Northeastern actually has a good football team! It's Div-1 AA, but it's 10th ranked, and tied for the lead in the Atlantic 10 conference. Hopefully we'll be able to build on this success a bit and maybe get into 1A, or at least generate some lasting interest for the team.

Jesus is merging left

This is one of the most admirable and tackily named movements that I've seen in a long time: "The purpose of the What Would Jesus Drive? educational campaign is to help Christians and others understand that transportation choices are moral choices, and to reflect upon the problems associated with transportation from a biblically orthodox, Christ-centered perspective." Yeah, it's corny, but they have strong theology, and a very good approach to an important social issue. While some Christians will get uptight because environmentalism has long been a liberal cause, I'd say that immediate rejection of it is a sinful subjugation of Christianity to political views and selfishness - putting your views above God's (hear that, Ali?). They're not going to the extreme of saying that you can't drive, but they are saying that it's lousy stewardship and unneighborly to drive a Ford Expedition around DC.

Red Letters

Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Abusive treatment is to be taken joyfully, as it yields a great reward in heaven. The prophets, Christ and the apostles are all examples of martyrs whose deaths precipitated great conquests for the kingdom. The human instinct is to believe that sacrifice helps win struggles - and it is true in spiritual warfare. Winston Churchill, speaking of temporal war, said that “no damn bastard ever saved his country by dying for it. He saves his country by killing the other damn bastard.” Spiritual, not temporal, struggle is closer to the human instinct.
The blood of the martyrs has always been the seed of the church, and the spiritual principles involved suggest that non-fatal persecution yields the same sort of results. Thus a ridiculed, reviled, abused Christian can be influential in the spiritual realms by Christlike nonresistance.
***

Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden… Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The salt and light metaphors speak clearly of the Christian’s role in the public square. We are to be set on a hill, not hidden under a bushel. Nor are we to lose our “saltiness”, in which case we would be worthless to God and men.
“Saltiness” is our distinction from the rest of the world; if we conform and blend in we become part of the world, rather than actively in the world - but not of it - as we ought to be. The light metaphor warns against the opposite pitfall - withdrawing from the world and being neither in nor of it. Light should not be hidden, and if we give off light only to those inside our bushel basket then we have failed in our duty to light the world.
The object of our being in the world is to be a display of godliness so that men glorify God.

Friday Five

The Friday Five are on vacation! And her replacement is drunk! Help!

Red Letters

Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Seeing God is one of the greatest privileges a man can have, and the Jews were well aware of this. Even Moses saw only the glory in the wake of the Lord, for no man can look on the face of God and live. Figuratively, to see God may be to understand or communicate with Him. Alternatively, the passage could be understood to refer to the resurrection, when those whose hearts are pure shall enter heaven and behold the father face to face.
The pure in heart do not have a barrier of sin between them and God, allowing them to see Him. Though righteousness is mentioned frequently as an attribute of carnal men in the scriptures, the full effect of this blessing can only be realized through the cleansing of the heart by Christ’s sanctification.
***

Matthew 5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.”

This blessing is easiest to understand and least reserved of the beatitudes. Those who make peace - between nations, parties, individuals, and within hearts - are blessed here for actions and attitudes.
To be called a “son of God” is to be a successor, protégé, beloved, offspring, follower, imitator of God, and meant more in Roman Judea than in modern America. The sons of God are those closest to Him, and those to whom the kingdom of heaven will belong. In Matthew’s context of kingship and kingdom, this is perhaps the most important meaning.
The use of the word “called” is interesting; the word could be entirely omitted. Does it mean that they will be called “sons of God” by men or by God? If by men, it could be applied to unbelievers who are nonetheless in tune with their Creator’s ways and not necessarily heaven-bound. If by God, then the blessing is one of salvation, since the theme of sons of God is closely attached with salvation.

Pelosi-palooza

San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi was elected leader of the Democratic delegation in the House today. Apparently they didn't read yesterday's Washington Post...Three excellent opinion columns highlighted the question marks surrounding the future of the D.O.P. (Dead Old Party?). One by Rep. Harold Ford, who ran against Pelosi; one on the wishful thinking of the DOP; and one looking forward from this election to next year's jockeying for position before the primaries.

But the best was yet to come: today's George F. Will column is a great critique of the Pelosi ascendancy:

"When a supporter gushed to Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956, that all thinking people supported him, Stevenson replied, "Yes, but I need to win a majority." Michael Barone, the most astute student of modern politics, considers it inconceivable that FDR would have thought, let alone said, such a thing. In the 1950s, when liberals were "madly for Adlai," the country liked Ike, which deepened liberals' disdain for the majority -- Eisenhower's smile was just the sort of thing that would unhinge the masses. It was "the bland leading the bland." Then came liberal contempt for Ronald Reagan, a contempt now reprised regarding George W. Bush. For the first time since 1952 -- Eisenhower's first election -- Republicans hold a majority of state legislative seats. It is back to the 1950s for both parties... After Britain's Labor Party was demolished by Margaret Thatcher in the 1983 general election, an undaunted Laborite vowed, "No compromise with the electorate." That can be the rallying cry of Pelosi Democrats.

Thanks to the Washington Post for their excellent coverage.

All In A Day's Work

Chad is a large nation in the African Sahel, bordering Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. Lac Chad, for which the country is named, was once much larger. Millenia of desertification, however, have left the northern third of the country part of the Sahara desert, and the middle third is constantly in danger of draught.

A number of kingdoms, notably the empire of Kanem-Bornu dominated medieval Chad. Arab traders, slavers and conquerors took an interest in the region, and plied their trades along its borders. Much of modern Chad was dominated by Arabs during recent centuries, until France defeated an Egyptian sultan in 1900.

Chad remained French until 1960, when a republic was established under Francois Tombalbaye. Northern opposition to Tombalbaye - a Southerner, and inferior in their minds - threatened the country's unity from its birth. Dictatorship ensued, and continued until Tombalbaye's assassination in 1975.

After decades of revolts, reprisals, and foreign intervention a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. In 1998 however, a new rebellion broke out in Northern Chad, and the central government does not maintain effective control. Chad remains to be one of the most underdeveloped countries of Africa. The infant mortality rate is 9.5%, HIV/AIDS infects about 6% of adults, and 60% of adult Chadians are illiterate.


The island of Cyprus lies in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey and west of Syria. Since 1974 the island has been split into two effectively independent sections; the Turkish north and the Greek south.

Cyprus has a rich and ancient history going back thousands of years. Independence, however, has been slow in coming to the strategically located island. Empires and outsiders controlled Cyprus for thousands of years - Mycenaeans, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans, and Britons.

In 1960 the last foreign rulers, the British, granted the island independence based on a consociational constitution, guaranteeing rights and places in the government to Turkish Cypriots as well as majority Greeks.

Peaceful self-government, however, was short-lived. Communal strife broke out as early as 1963, and the island polarized and descended into violence. The violence tailed off later in the decade, but an attempted coup in 1974 supported by the mainland Greek government incurred the wrath of Turkey, whose troops took over the northern third of the island and have stayed there ever since, despite the hasty Greek withdrawal.

Uncle Saddam Wants YOU

To inspect Iraq! Weapons inspectors leave for the troubled republic on Monday. I hope Hans Blix isn't as inept as the guy who led the previous inspection teams... oh wait, that was Hans Blix!

In other news, Boston landed the 2004 Democratic convention. I look forward to protesting.

Peace Need Not Apply

The hardline elements of Palestinian resistance are hardline. And violent. Kinda like their Israeli counterparts.

Nevertheless, "Everybody Loves Arik":
"During Sharon's 20 months in office, the country has skidded downhill in every possible sphere: The economy is six-feet under. More Israelis have been killed in Mr. Security's day than under any other prime minister. The man has never come up with a peace initiative. We've been turned into untouchables in the eyes of just about the whole world. And despite it all, everybody still loves Arik." Yoel Marcus, Ha'aretz.

Friday Five

I've never done the Friday Five before, but it's one of blogging's most succesful memes, along with the Mirror Project. It's a set of five facts about yourself that you may post every Friday; the questions are set by Smattering.org.

1. Yes I voted in the elections, by absentee ballot. I wouldn't miss it for the world!
2. My elected officials are Barney Frank (House), Kerry & Kennedy (Senate), Mitt Romney & something Healey (Gov & Lieut. Gov). I don't know any local pols in Brookline.
3. Have I ever contacted an elected official? Hmm... it was a long time ago, but I wrote a very critical letter to President Clinton in '93 or '94. I got a form letter back saying "thanks for your concern"
4. I've participated in lots of demonstrations. Most of them anti-abortion, when I was a kid. I was a semi-participant in a pro-Palestinian rally outside the Israeli embassy here this spring, for like 20 minutes. Mostly I just watched.
5. I have never volunteered in an election. Unless you count working for the County of Norfolk, where the whole Commissioners' office building pulled for their reelection when they came up to vote. We had an awesome automatic postage machine to expedite mass mailings, of which we did a lot. The machine was originally bought - with county funds - for some Commish's reelection campaign.

This Just In!

The UN Security Council passed the U.S. resolution on Iraq unanimously. We'll see what Iraq does... and what Bush does. What Bush has already said is posted at WhiteHouse.gov.

Lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong Weekend!!!!

I'll be meeting my uncle Danny at New Carrolton metro stop, and driving out to Sunderland, Maryland, to spend the long weekend with his family (Nicole, my age, won't be home; she's the one who's getting married in May). It'll be a good break from D.C., where I've spent a lot of time with my little cousins this week. Their dad has been working like a madman to finish the stubborn 3rd floor, so I've been the homework-helper. I can't imagine how kids without involved parents survive in school. No wonder public schools can't help kids from non-nourishing families; my cousins could never do their homework without at least a little help and wouldn't do it without prodding.

Pregnant Welfare Abusing Barbie

Just to illustrate my point about politically gauche Republicans from the old days. Via RedCricket.

After the Fall

Terry McAullife is in a bad mood. Bill Clinton's hair just turned a shade whiter. "Bush basked quietly yesterday in his achievements as Campaigner in Chief". Tom Daschle is maneuvering to be the underdog. Jeb Bush woke up still governing. Dick Gephardt resigned as House Minority Leader.

In another article, the Post highlights the problem: "without a dominant national leader and without a clear agenda to take into the 2004 presidential election". My opinion is that they do have a leader - or at least a tone-setter - and his name is Al. Until someone else emerges to take the reins of the party, they're still reminiscent of Uncle Albert. How so? They have a laundry list of complaints, and they have a smarter-than-thou attitude towards the Republican administration, but they lack a vision that can easily be communicated to voters. It's a bit of a role reversal: in the past, Republicans have struggled with being too smart. I was watching George H. W. Bush's inaugural speech for work yesterday (part of my daily brainwashing) and winced at his bluntness and political ineptitude. Not that he wasn't telling the truth or didn't have a good handle on the facts: he just portrayed them with no grace at all. The Democrats, though politically correct, have gotten mired in the wonkish work of trying to split hairs over Republican-spearheaded policy. Yes, they might be right, but trying to roll back a tax cut partway looks a lot paler than fighting for a tax cut, getting it, and standing by it. Halfway measures go nowhere in politics.

Factoids

Illinois had some name confusion this time around... the Republican candidate for governor, Jim Ryan, was hurt by the fact that outgoing Gov. George Ryan was tainted by scandal. No relation, but it hurt nonetheless. In the same state, the not-even-close Senate race was contested by Durbin and Durkin. I guess the Republicans were counting on getting lots of crossover voters in the far-sighted sector.

The fewest number of seats received by a candidate for Senate was 350 votes for Mattson, Natural Law party, Delaware. BWAHAHAHA.

Louisiana has a unique (and perhaps superior) electoral system: if no candidate gets a majority, there's a runoff between the top two. I think this is a worthwhile system to watch. If it works well, keep an on other states that might emulate it. As of now the Democratic incumbent Landrieu has 46%, while 3 Republicans share 51%. So it's definitely up in the air.

Post-Election

That was a fun election. With no exit poll info coming in to the news agencies, due to a computer problem, they did it the old fashioned way: waiting. That's so much more fun anyway. However beware: with no exit poll info (such as which regions or groups voted which way, or who turned out), everybody and his uncle Mort will be coming out with their theories as to why their candidate won/lost. Be prepared to hear radically different stories from Daschle, Bush, etc. And we're still waiting for final word in some places... South Dakota's Thune only leads by 180 votes. This is the time in the elections when Republicans are always glad they hold the edge in absentee votes, due to the military.

My Results
See below for my predictions in a few key races.

Mass Goober - Romney, fortunately, knocked Shannon O'Brien out; poor call on my part. It wasn't even that close; the 75,000 votes the Green Party got wouldn't even have been enough to put Obie over the top.

Florida Goober - Bush outpaced McBride. It wasn't particularly close, probably due to the President's efforts in the last week or two. This was a must-win for the GOP.

Maryland Goober - Ehrlich over Townsend. I'm wondering if sympathy for losing Connie Morella, who was redistricted out of her core support, brought out lots of Republicans yesterday...Anyway, I was wrong.

Minnesota Senate - Coleman has it! It was a tight race, but it appears that Norm has pulled off stealing a seat in a state that voted Gore in '00.

New Hampshire Senate - Sununu over Shaheen indeed - my boyz pulled through for me, and 18,500 more of them voted for Sununu.

North Carolina Senate - Dole bowls Bowles over. Even my super-democrat grandma was glad about that! Libby's a class act.

I was wrong on the 2-of-3 call for the democrats in Georgia (the dem incumbant lost), Colorado (dem attacker lost), and Arkansas (dem attacker won).

Site of the Day

The Republican National Committee site is a riot.

Check out Dubya's online store. You can wear your heart on your sleeve... or your breast pocket, belt buckle, or beer coaster. These flash videos will make you wonder if the RNC is overstaffed, whether you ate too many of those shiny candies last night, and whether having November elections is such a good idea after all.

The Dems have a lot to learn.

VOTE!

Get out there and vote, you pathetic communist loser (unless you've voted already, in which voting again would make you a pathetic communist loser).

They're calling this election too close to call. Why? Instant Replay, the resplendant pundit, tells why:
1. They're scared to call it any other way. Remember the 2000 election? The media knows it won't be forgiven a second consecutive self-oralization of the proverbial foot.
2. Polling info and accuracy is down. In an age of communications, people are hard to reach. I don't know what we'll do...how will we ever find out the will of the people again? Maybe we'll have to have voluntary polling places set up all over the country to replace those outdated phone banks...
3. The elections really are close. Without an obvious national trend, the important thing - control of the Senate is way up in the air. The media is right to do what we're all doing - waiting.

Instant Replay's election-morning picks
The first polls are opening as I write, so this is genuinely uninformed.

Mass. Goober - O'Brien over Romney. Sorry kids, the Foley death will bring out a few more Irish Catholics, and the Gore-got-more folks will come out in large enough numbers to swing the ticket Democratic.
Florida Goober - Bush over McBride. The Bush name is strong enough to ace the competition. Besides, the Democrats won't know how to use the new voting machines OR the old ones.
Maryland Goober - Townsend over Ehrlich. The mudslinging in this campaign will ultimately hurt Ehrlich by keeping the independents he needs at home; instead of being frustrated with government, voters are frustrated with politics -- bad news for the challenger. Of course, the endorsement of the can't-do-wrong Montgomery Police, among others, could help Ehrlich, but don't hold your breath.
Minnesota Senate - Coleman over Mondale. This one's close to call. But I think the Minnesota Republican party, after being upset by Jesse in the gubernatorial a few years back is hungry for a victory and will do what it takes to get to the polls.
New Hampshire Senate - Sununu over Shaheen. I know too many Granite Staters who hate Shaheen to believe she can win. People want to get rid of her face, and if that means voting, then so be it - they will.
North Carolina Senate - Libby Dole over Erskine Bowles. Dole will be remembered by older voters, who will have disproportionate power in a low-turnout election. In this and other states, Republicans will benefit from high Bush ratings; centrists are not going to come out and disapprove of the government.
Dems will take 2 of 3 in Georgia (defending), Colorado (attacking), and Arkansas (attacking), where voters will vindicate First Son Slick Willy by voting the Democratic ticket. By the way, my grandmother got a taped message from Willy last night, in support of D.C. Mayor Tony Williams.

Lock of the Week: Republicans will gain seats in the House.
Best Domain Name: http://www.jeb.org

Pats Win

It's the first time I've been able to say that since September 22. My only concern is that Bill Belichek is sounding disturbingly reminiscent of Jimy Williams. What happened to football candidness? He sounds like a baseball coach.. "we went out there and played hard... next week is a different game". C'mon, where's the analysis that we look for to show that our coach really, truly does know more about the game than the reporters? I suppose Belichek proved himself on the field today, so I shouldn't complain, but I just hope this win isn't too little, too late.

By the way... GO GREEN BAY!

Shakespearean Comedy

Which of Shakespeare's comedies do you best love? Seriously; drop a comment. I'm partial to Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer's Night Dream would be better if it weren't performed so ubiquitously. Anyway, try this bit of, ahem, Shakespeare on for size:

Scene the first. Enter Elizabeth, Evangelina, and Barnabe
Barnabe: Soothly say I, again shall I be
A soccer player for Hallows' Eve
Elsewards what shall I then off
With this my new Ronaldo coiffe?

Evangelina: I care not what thou dost
Keep but thine hands out of my candy trove!

Elizabeth: Hush children, thou-all knoweth well
Thy candy shall egally divided be
Must every year I that ye tell?
And dearest little Barnabe
We go again to trick and treat
To East Milton, upon our feet
Thou wast once a soccer play'
And fore that go we to Fenway
A soccer stadium it is not
To be Garciaparra thou ought

Barnabe: Go we to Fenway!?
Than Nomar shall I play
But I must in Brookline
My soccer hairdo ply
And in Milton may I wend
As soccer player once again?

Elizabeth: That may not, and I have said
But thou may if thou must
Show off to all Brookline thy head
And have thy fun, I trust
In Fenway shalt thou ape Nomar
In Milton must thou costume find
Not an athlete-type by far
Couldst thou be a Frenchman

Barnabe: Nay, I love not wine

Evangelina: A robber baron's henchman

Barnabe: OK, alright, fine

Elizabeth: But have we such a getup?

Evangelina: Of that I thought not once...

Elizabeth: His costume must be setup
To cover his Ronaldo bonce
So have you then a suit?
With which there comes a hat

Evangelina: We have a few old boots
And pantaloons, at that
My brother thus could act
A boy of Shakespeare's time!

Elizabeth: A timely idea, in fact
For of time we have nought - off we!

Exeunt

Scene the second. Enter Barnabe and Elizabeth

Barnabe: Ronaldo was a gas
And Nomar went by fast
Now must I don these boots
And hideous pantaloons?
This shirt is far too small
The hat's feather is too tall...

Elizabeth: If thou wouldst trick or treat
Hush thy mouth and move thy feet

Barnabe: Well, if as a character I must go
Of Shakespeare's time, I'd like to know
What character do I play?
Narry a one know I, soothsay

Elizabeth: Narry a one??

Barnabe: Save Juliet
And Romeo, the rest I forget
So thus I shall be Romeo or Juliet
Whichever of them was a boy.

The above rendition of the discourses of Halloween at the Furth family was rendered by Instant Replay's own Willy Shakespeare XIVth, a direct descendent of "the" William Shakespeare. The events desribed above are true.

Sharon's Still Kicking

I'm too Fridayed to write anything original...so here it is straight from the horse's mouth:

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met today with the chief rival within his own Likud Party, the former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and offered him the job of foreign minister, Israel radio reports said. There was no immediate word on whether Mr. Netanyahu would accept the offer, which some Israeli politicians said on Thursday would be a smart move by Mr. Sharon. If the prime minister finds himself forced to hold a general election following the resignation from his government on Wednesday of the left-leaning Labor Party, Mr. Netanyahu would have a chance to unseat Mr. Sharon in a Likud primary. Accepting the foreign ministry post, however, could box Mr. Netanyahu in politically, although turning it down could make him look petty and self-interested. For similar reasons, when he was prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu picked a prominent rightist rival to serve as his foreign minister — Ariel Sharon.

And an excellent editorial in the nytimes advocates U.S. troops leaving Saudi Arabia. I never thought of that in these terms, embaressingly enough, and the journalist makes some great points, the paramount of which is that we and the Saudis would both be better off without bases there.