Based on exit polls, Israel's newest party, the centrist Kadima party, is projected to win the largest number of seats in the Israeli Parliament. This will mark the first time since the 1970's that the Likud Party will not be the dominant force in Israeli politics. Kadima was formed by Ariel Sharon before his debilitating stroke left him in a coma. Sharon left the right-wing Likud party, which now falls to controlling the fourth largest block of seats in Parliament. Kadima favors the re...

The full quote goes "We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us" and is attributed to Pogo author, Walt Kelly. It strikes as a very apt description of the state of affairs in the Mid-East. Divisions within the Arab and Israeli may be more of an impediment to peace than most people think. The Arab Street is divided on the issues of terrorism and Lebanon, while Israel is divided about the withdrawal from Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon meet for peace talks and announce a cease-fire. Concessi...

In what could further destabilize the Middle East, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been indicted in a campaign funding scandal. The indictment comes at a time when many Israelis are angered by concessions made by Sharon to the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in order to get the peace process started. The indictment is the result of a three-year investigation of Sharon and stopped short of indicting the Prime Minister himself. Sharon's son Omri, how...

In the wake of the Russian school massacre, President Putin ripped what he sees as an hypocritical US policy toward terrorism. The US has met with Chechnyan separtist leaders in the recent past. President Putin offered this comparison: "Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?" the Russian leader said. "You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealing...

At last, some good news from the Middle East. On BBC Newsnight, King Abdullah of Jordan offered to send troops to Iraq to help with security if asked by the new government. "If the Iraqis ask us for help directly, it will be very difficult for us to say no," he told BBC's Newsnight. "And my message to the president and to the prime minister is: tell us what you want, tell us how we can help and we have a 110 percent support for this. If we don't stand with them, if they fail, then we all p...

I saw a poll on CNN asking readers to choose our greatest President. With 110,000 votes in, the results were: Washington 13% 14384 votes Lincoln 33% 36171 votes F.D. Roosevelt 28% 30697 votes Kennedy 12% 12881 votes Reagan 15% 16438 votes Now this is hardly scientific, the link to the poll was next to an article memorializing Ronald Reagan. You could not add any candidates, but had to choose from...

A pattern of attacks has begun against Islamic countries friendly to US interests. - Today a bomb blast in a Shiite mosque in Karachi, Pakistan took the lives of at least 16 worshippers and sparked rioting in Pakistan's largest city. President Musharraf has been a supporter of US policy in the War Against Terror. - 22 people died in the hostage situation in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. While Osama bin Laden' s family has close ties to the royal family of Saudi Arabia, bin Laden has advocated t...

If anyone doesn't recognize the allusion in the sub-title to Jonathan Swift's wonderful, satirical essay "A Modest Proposal," you should look that up. It is intended as a warning that what follows is satire, not intended to be taken seriously. Nor is it intended to give offense, but meant humorously. I hope that it offers a chuckle or two. America, Canada and Australia share a common history, a more similiar-than-not culture and many physical characteristics. One has to wonder, then, why Amer...

Bull Durham is one of my favorite sports movies. In a wonderful scene, Kevin Costner teaches Tim Robbins how to handle an interview by practicing his "cliches," things that you can say that will never offend anyone. "I'm just glad to be here and to help the team in any way that I can." "We're just taking it one game at a time." Bland, almost meaningless comments, that will never cause a sensation. I wonder why politicians can't just learn their cliches. Vice President Dick Cheney said of D...

Ariel Sharon has put on the table the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and portions of the West Bank. The move is widely seen as an attempt by Sharon to bolster his own sinking political ship (Sharon is under investigation in Israel for financial improprieties and is under fire from both right-wing and left-wing Israelis) and has been condemned by much of the world. President Bush is one of the few world leaders to praise the move. The transcript of President Bu...

Ariel Sharon has put on the table the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and portions of the West Bank. The move is widely seen as an attempt by Sharon to bolster his own sinking political ship (Sharon is under investigation in Israel for financial improprieties and is under fire from both right-wing and left-wing Israelis) and has been condemned by much of the world. President Bush is one of the few world leaders to praise the move. The transcript of President Bu...

Ariel Sharon has put on the table the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and portions of the West Bank. The move is widely seen as an attempt by Sharon to bolster his own sinking political ship (Sharon is under investigation in Israel for financial improprieties and is under fire from both right-wing and left-wing Israelis) and has been condemned by much of the world. President Bush is one of the few world leaders to praise the move. The transcript of President Bu...

Ariel Sharon has put on the table the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and portions of the West Bank. The move is widely seen as an attempt by Sharon to bolster his own sinking political ship (Sharon is under investigation in Israel for financial improprieties and is under fire from both right-wing and left-wing Israelis) and has been condemned by much of the world. President Bush is one of the few world leaders to praise the move. The transcript of President Bu...

Once again, an Israeli airstrike has eliminated the leader of the terrorist group Hamas. A month after the assasination of Yassin, the new leader of the group Hamas, recognized by the US State Dept. as a terrorist organization, has been killed by an Israeli airstrike. Israel took this action after a Palestinian suicide bomber attacked the industrial area in Erez, killing a border patrol officer and wounding three others. Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir said this was not th...

I admit that I do not not know what to think of Sharon's withdrawal plan. Is it a political maneuver, offered knowing that the Palestinians will reject it? Surprisingly (to me) Arafat has offered conditional support. Is it the first step on the road to peace? I have linked to CNN's coverage of the plan, so you can read it for yourself. What do you think of it?