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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (84528)	11/6/2004 10:37:12 PM
From: gamesmistress	Respond to of 793955

Dang. Maybe he'll make a guest appearance in 2006. The End of the Horserace Blog Dear All, About five weeks ago I was trying desperately to read Montaigne's Essays in preparation for my qualifying exam here at the University of Chicago. It was not going well -- not because Montaigne is a bad author, he is delightful, but because the news junkie in me could not turn the cable news off. I was growing slowly frustrated with their coverage of the election. It was bad that they had nothing intelligent to say; it was worse that they insisted on repeating themselves every hour on the hour. I realized that I could do a better job than the MSM. Presidential politics, like any subject ripe for intellectual inquiry, is really nothing more than a puzzle that can be solved. I decided to solve the puzzle of presidential politics, so to speak. That was when the Horserace Blog was born. Now, the election is over. The only thing left is the governance, which for me is much less interesting. So, the horserace blog ends with the horserace. Many have suggested that I continue to blog, but I do not think that prudent. There are only three things in the world which I know as much as anybody: presidential politics, the plot of The Matrix Trilogy, and classic rock trivia. I prefer to remain silent in areas where my knowledge is insufficient, and I am guessing that nobody wants to hear about the latter two topics. I am very glad that I was able to help so many people in the days and weeks leading up to November, 2nd. Many, many, many of you have written me with thanks, and I would like to thank you in turn. I am surprised, flattered and honored that so many people would take time from their day to read what I have written. So, thank you. Thanks in particular to my Election Day "Hawkeyes." You were incredible, and you made our Election Day project the success that it was. I have to say that the blog was better than I ever expected it to be. I hope that like I, you are enjoying the post-election "analysis" from "pundits" who are surprised, shocked and amazed that values made a difference, that Evangelicals made a difference, that the Gay Marriage Amendments made a difference, that GOP turnout made a difference, that the increase in black voters for Bush in key states made a difference, that it made a difference that the Democrats were outperformed on the ground. We knew all of these things weeks ago! Who knows what will happen in the next four years, but I suggest that all of you look for me in 2008. I would very much like to try this little website again. In particular, I would definitely like to give "Operation Hawkeyes" another go. Also, keep your eyes peeled in the local bookstores. This project was such a success that I think I might table my current dissertation topic for book number two, and dissertate on Election 2004. In the meantime, if you are interested in communicating with me, please feel free: jay_cost@hotmail.com. I would enjoy hearing from you!!! Now that the election is over, I shall have more time to respond (my apologies to those who have written and not received responses -- I hope you understand). You may also, by the way, feel free to email about classic rock and The Matrix, but I will not hold my breath! Best Wishes and Go Dubya! Jay Cost

To: LindyBill who wrote (84528)	11/6/2004 10:54:40 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793955

Haaretz and Debka are pretty much in agreement on Suha. w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m Last update - 03:14 07/11/2004 Qureia asks Hamas to halt attacks in Arafat's absence By Arnon Regular and Roni Singer, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) on Saturday asked Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip to refrain from launching terrorist attacks in Israel in the absence of Yasser Arafat. In a meeting Saturday with Hamas leaders Ismail Hania and Said A-Siam in the Gaza Strip, Qureia said he wanted to prevent Israeli military retaliations. Time is needed to enable him and Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to stabilize the Palestinian Authority leadership, he said. Meanwhile, the PA chairman's condition in a Paris hospital remains unclear and he appears to be hovering between life and death amid rumors of various diseases from which he may be suffering. A spokesman for Arafat on Saturday night denied reports that the Palestinian leader was in a coma, and said he was in stable condition. After a long time in which Qureia refrained from visiting the Gaza Strip, on Saturday he held a four-hour meeting with the heads of the security organizations and representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups, and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Qureia told them that there is no improvement in Arafat's condition and that he would not respond to the demand to set up a united national leadership, although he promised to study the matter. In Arafat's absence, the various groups are advancing the joint leadership idea, which will give them greater power than before. After the meeting Qureia held a series of meetings with the rival Fatah factions, and tried to reconcile between them. A-Tayeb Abdelrahim, the secretary-general of Arafat's office, announced Saturday that Arafat's authorities were divided between Abbas and Qureia. Although most Palestine Liberation Organization and PA leaders accepted the statement about the temporary delegation of authorities, there are sharp differences among them about the length of time Abbas and Qureia will keep those powers and about electing the future Palestinian leadership. A week after Arafat's hospitalization in the Percy Military Hospital in Paris, nobody seems to know his precise medical condition. The Palestinians appear to be doing all they can to thicken the fog around Arafat's ailment, and it is also not clear whether the doctors have managed to make a diagnosis. Arafat's wife Suha is sitting next to him in the intensive care ward and no one else but the medical team is allowed to visit. Suha is said to control the information. The hospital spokesman did not add anything new and refused to answer questions. He said the statement was made in Suha's name, and that she asked him not to add any details about Arafat's condition. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of journalists waiting outside the hospital have failed to obtain any confirmation of the rumor that Arafat is unconscious and hooked up to artificial respiration machines. There are also reports that his situation is reversible, that he woke up from his coma on Friday and even spoke to his doctors and that his coma was induced by his doctors by choice, to spare him the suffering of brain hemorrhage. There are also rumors of various diseases from a stomach tumor to AIDS to poisoning. The hospital is refusing to confirm or deny these rumors, with the exception of denying the possibility of leukemia last week. However, PLO envoy in Paris, Leila Shaid, admitted over the weekend that Arafat is "between life and death." Dozens of supporters arrived over the weekend to Percy Hospital to express their solidarity with Arafat. Many lit candles and hung wreathes on the hospital fence. The chief rabbi of the Orthodox community in Vienna, Moshe Arye Friedman, also arrived to express support. "I did not come to support Arafat politically, but to support the Palestinian nation. Arafat is their elected leader, whether he did right or wrong for his people, he sacrificed his life for them," he said. In addition to Suha and Farouk Kadoumi, the only surviving Fatah founder, four other senior PA leaders are in Paris - Mohammed Dahlan; Dr. Ramzi Khouri, Arafat's bureau chief; spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh; and Arafat's confidant Mohammed Rashid. Nasser Al-Kidwa, Arafat's nephew and PLO UN representative, and Palestinian millionaire Munib al-Masri are also there. The entourage is divided into two camps. Suha and Kadoumi head one camp against Rashid and Abu Rudeina. The tension and rivalry between Suha and the leadership around Arafat have been going on for awhile. One of the reasons Abbas and other senior officials refused to accompany Arafat to Paris was their reluctance to meet Suha, who is taking advantage of the French law giving the wife the authority to decide who will stay beside the husband's bed. The fights between Suha and the Palestinian senior officials focus, among other things, on financial matters. Suha got some of her cronies to get tenders and franchises in PLO and PA deals, against the will of Arafat's people. She accused them of corruption, while they accused her of using her status to advance her cronies' interests. Some of these accusations led to legal suits abroad and were among the reasons for Suha's leaving the territories. Rashid mediated between Suha and PA officials and managed to reach financial compromise arrangements with her. In recent years, Suha claimed that she and her daughter Zauwa were not receiving enough money to live on. Arafat's confidants, however, leaked reports of huge sums of money that were transferred to her hands.