Prove us wrong, Arik.

Recover.

Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke and cerebral hemorrage. He may not survive. People generally do not recover from a “massive stroke.” I think no matter what, the Sharon era is over, and Israel is in need of a new leader.

I am hoping that someone can step up and take the reins of Kadima, because Israel needs a centrist party. Israel also needs an honest politician for Prime Minister, but I don’t know how realistic that is.

Netanyahu is unelectable. Likud is mostly in the Kadima camp. The Labor party is a laughingstock and has no base.

The problem is, who is going to step up and be the next Sharon? Who will lead Israel through these next few perilous years? The war is coming, and Israel’s enemies will be emboldened by the loss of Sharon. Watch for the “hand of Allah” comments from the Muslim world, and the celebratory gunfire from the pals (and their EU and American enablers).

It’s definitely time for a Maccabee.

Which is not to say I’m not praying for a miracle. But a massive stroke? That one’s almost always a deal-breaker.

Update: Omri has much more.

The AP story.

The AP bio, parts one and two.

The Reuters article, replete with gloating by Hamas.

Compare and contrast: Reuters downplays Sharon’s military brilliance in this supposed highlights article.

Predictably, the palestinians are gloating. This, in spite of the fact that Ariel Sharon is the only Israeli Prime Minister who gave them land for a palestinian state.

You know, if women went into season the way certain animal species did, for only a few weeks a year, we wouldn’t have cramps every 21-28 days.

Not to mention all the other stuff that comes with.

I really don’t think they look like radio buttons.

Is anyone else having trouble getting individual posts to display?

I can’t do it at all from work.

If you can’t display the individual post, you can’t write comments. If you’re having problems, please email me at meryl-at-yourish-dot-com. Tell me what browser you’re using (I don’t know if it means anything, just checking).

Shoot. I didn’t back up the database on Sunday, so I’ll have to manually back up all the posts of the last ten days if it’s a database thing.

UPDATE: Hosting Matters to the rescue! Rob solved the problem and restored the file I screwed up. New Year’s resolution: Read the entire WordPress Codex.

The amazing opening/closing Rafah border, brought to you by the creme de la creme of palestinian society, is shut down by gun-totin’ terrorists once again.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Dozens of Palestinian gunmen firing in the air blocked access to the Gaza-Egypt border and took over four government buildings Wednesday, demanding the release of their leader.

The gunmen belong to the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a violent offshoot of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party. Fatah-affiliated vigilantes demanding government jobs or trying to get friends out of prison have been responsible for much of the growing anarchy in Gaza, particularly since Israel’s pullout in September.

The latest incident began late Tuesday, when Palestinian intelligence arrested Alaa al-Hams, an Al Aqsa militant, on suspicion he and his followers kidnapped British human rights activist Kate Burton and her parents for two days last week. The Burtons were among 19 foreigners abducted by Fatah gunmen in Gaza in recent months. All have been freed unharmed.

Following al-Hams’ detention, his followers fired at the Palestinian security headquarters in the southern town of Rafah where he was being held.

I think the palestinians should take pride in these representatives of their society. This, too, is the legacy of Arafat–who played one faction against another, and murdered any possible political rivals who happened to think of the palestinians instead of themselves.

And you simply have to love this AP whitewashing:

The crossing was handed to Palestinian control, under European supervision, as part of a U.S.-brokered deal with Israel last month. Since then, the crossing was forced to shut down several times during attacks by gunmen.

[...] Abbas has complained about the growing lawlessness, saying it is harming Palestinian statehood aspirations and economic development. However, he has been unable to impose order, and his failure to keep the gunmen in check is expected to harm Fatah’s prospects in a Jan. 25 parliament election.

The tightly run Islamic militant Hamas, whose followers have rarely been involved in vigilante violence, is expected to do well in the vote against the corruption-tainted Fatah.

Vigilante violence? Vigilante? You mean, those who work outside the law to impose the law on others? That kind of vigilante violence?

Get a dictionary, AP. I don’t think that word means what you think it means.

Interesting. Even the leftists in Israel don’t want Arabs moving into Jewish neighborhoods. (By the way, a quick question here: If a Jewish family wanted to move back to Gaza, what would happen?)

Arabs unwanted: Kibbutz residents have recently turned to a rightist Likud member in the hopes he can help them convince an Arab family from Nazareth to refrain from moving into a new neighborhood built at the community.

In 2000, Kibbutz Hasolelim opened its gates to families from outside the community. A family from neighboring Nazareth approached the sales office at the site but was told it does not meet the needed criteria, which among other things includes “army service.”

In a recent meeting at the kibbutz, members were asked whether they wanted to live near an Arab family, and some “95 percent of those asked voted against the move,” a kibbutz resident said.

Meanwhile, the upset Arab family turned to the courts. A recent High Court discussion on the issue resulted in a decision to refer the question to an Israel Lands Authority appeal committee.

Yet another decision I would not like to have to make.