You take the good, you take the bad

On the heals of my last post, two important things have happened. First and foremost, Marwan Barghouti has withdrawn from the race for the presidency of the Palestinians and has endorsed the front runner, former Prime Minister Abu Mazan. Granted, he advised leaving open the option of armed resistance, but it is a positive sign nonetheless. On the downside, rumors continue to fly about the death of Yassar Arafat. Many in the territories believe he was murdered despite French insistence that they simply bored him to death. Just kidding. On the down side, the relative calm of the past month was shattered today by a complex and coordinated attack by Hamas on an Israeli checkpoint. A statement by Hamas said that it was a response to Arafat's alleged murder, but this doesn't jive with the facts. A tunnel was dug beneath the checkpoint and then filled with explosives. When the explosives were detonated, gunmen opened fire. Officials believe the operation took about four months to plan and execute -- well before Arafat's death.

*************************************************************

Canada has seen a huge jump in its air traffic as the U.S. continues to become more insulated and draconian in it's security measures. I had to show my passport eight times, go through four metal detectors and be subjected to three baggage searches upon returning from France last month. Do we really want to live in a fish bowl?