"Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rushed into surgery at Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem late Wednesday night, after intra-cranial bleeding was detected, following what doctors described as a "significant stroke."Sharon is among the last of the old guard. Not unlike so many others I am quite concerned with this news and wonder what else will be learned about his condition in the coming hours.
There was no immediate assessment of the damage he may have suffered, but doctors assessed that Sharon?s chances of recovery may not be high.
Doctors said earlier that the prime minister was receiving breathing assistance as his condition was assessed. As a result of his condition, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has taken over prime ministerial authority, Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon told reporters.
Sharon was taken to hospital after complaining of pain Wednesday night, less than three weeks after suffering a mild stroke and just hours before he was to undergo a heart procedure.
He arrived at hospital and was taken to the trauma unit on a stretcher. He was anesthetized for treatment.
Initial reports quoted Sharon's spokesman as saying that the symptoms were not severe, and reported that he was feeling pressure or pain in his chest.
Channel 10 television reported that Sharon was taken to hospital at his request, and that he was fully conscious and talking on the phone as he was taken in an ambulance to hospital."
Sharon Suffers Significant Stroke
It Happened One Yom Kippur
My son may be five now but he is still young enough that it is not unusual for me to have to carry the sleeping boy from the car to his bed. Actually if I am not driving it is not all that unusual for me to sleep in the car, but then again I can sleep anytime, in any position and anywhere.
This evening reminded me of an experience that he and I shared a number of years ago. He might have been just short of two or maybe he was slightly older, I am not really sure. It was one of those powerful moments that imprint themselves on your brain in such a way that you remember them as if they happened in a different lifetime that took place yesterday.
Yes, that is an awkward way of phrasing it but I am not really sure of what words to use to describe it and surreal isn't quite descriptive enough.
If I close my eyes I can see myself. I am wearing a doublebreasted black suit and a big black and white tallis. My tallis is quite large, actually it is a little bit too big for me but that is a separate story. My father is seated next to me and he is holding my son on his lap. The proud grandfather is beaming. His smile is as large as I have ever seen. He is playing peek-a-boo with his grandson, who is only too happy to use my tallis as the place in which he hides his face.
The time comes to say the Shmoneh Esreh and so we stand. Davening is often difficult for me so I often pull my tallis over my head and close my eyes so that I can really focus. As we rise my son reaches out for me and without thinking I take him into my arms and wrap my tallis around the two of us.
Now both of our heads are covered and we make eye contact. He smiles at me and I smile back. He is so very little and I see so much potential in him. For a moment I am choked up. I remember looking at that little face and blessing him. How could I not, it is one of the ways I have of trying to really express my love and appreciation for him and his sister.
When I finished he pulled me close and kissed my cheek. I remember that little body hugging me and within a moment or two he was asleep on my shoulder. I can remember shockeling to the tiny snores in my ear and really feeling my tefillah. It was one of those moments in time in which my own kavanah was exceptional and I really felt the connection to something greater than myself.
These are the moments that I treasure because I really do feel like I am getting a glimpse of a special place. It is a sneal preview of a world that I want to live in but I wonder if it really exists. I suppose that in time I may find out, until then I'll continue my journey down the paths I discover and explore them to see what lies beyond the bend.
This evening reminded me of an experience that he and I shared a number of years ago. He might have been just short of two or maybe he was slightly older, I am not really sure. It was one of those powerful moments that imprint themselves on your brain in such a way that you remember them as if they happened in a different lifetime that took place yesterday.
Yes, that is an awkward way of phrasing it but I am not really sure of what words to use to describe it and surreal isn't quite descriptive enough.
If I close my eyes I can see myself. I am wearing a doublebreasted black suit and a big black and white tallis. My tallis is quite large, actually it is a little bit too big for me but that is a separate story. My father is seated next to me and he is holding my son on his lap. The proud grandfather is beaming. His smile is as large as I have ever seen. He is playing peek-a-boo with his grandson, who is only too happy to use my tallis as the place in which he hides his face.
The time comes to say the Shmoneh Esreh and so we stand. Davening is often difficult for me so I often pull my tallis over my head and close my eyes so that I can really focus. As we rise my son reaches out for me and without thinking I take him into my arms and wrap my tallis around the two of us.
Now both of our heads are covered and we make eye contact. He smiles at me and I smile back. He is so very little and I see so much potential in him. For a moment I am choked up. I remember looking at that little face and blessing him. How could I not, it is one of the ways I have of trying to really express my love and appreciation for him and his sister.
When I finished he pulled me close and kissed my cheek. I remember that little body hugging me and within a moment or two he was asleep on my shoulder. I can remember shockeling to the tiny snores in my ear and really feeling my tefillah. It was one of those moments in time in which my own kavanah was exceptional and I really felt the connection to something greater than myself.
These are the moments that I treasure because I really do feel like I am getting a glimpse of a special place. It is a sneal preview of a world that I want to live in but I wonder if it really exists. I suppose that in time I may find out, until then I'll continue my journey down the paths I discover and explore them to see what lies beyond the bend.
Old is a State Of Mind
As a gym rat I really enjoyed a story I read in the LA Times. Take a look at this:
"Frank Larkin prepares his legs for the rigors of basketball by bouncing on a trampoline for 40 minutes a day. When you're 71, it takes a little longer to get your legs ready to play.
"When you go for a rebound, you feel like you're floating," he said. "The trampoline has really made a difference in my flexibility and mobility, and it exercises all my internal organs."
Larkin plays guard for a San Juan Capistrano-based team of players around 70, one of 125 senior basketball teams in the United States.
They call themselves USA 70, and the team has won 18 consecutive tournaments over the last two years in places such as Australia, Finland and Costa Rica. Their success led to a profile last month on local television before a Laker game, recognition by the San Juan Capistrano City Council, a letter of congratulations from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and an invitation to play in Cuba.
San Juan Capistrano Councilman Wyatt T. Hart, 69, a golfer, said he is living vicariously through the basketball players. "A lot of people use age as a reason not to do something," he said. "These guys are ignoring that reasoning."
Bill Bergman, a Leisure World-Laguna Woods resident, is the team's tallest player at 6 feet 5 inches.
"I don't want to tell folks how good I've got it," he said. "They're all suffering from the aches and pains that come with old age, but I don't feel all that."
In Bergman's first crack at basketball, he played varsity at Brea Olinda High School in Brea. Later, he played junior varsity at what was known as Chapman College.
"It's better this time than it was last time," he said.
There wasn't a last time for Bob Messersmith, the team's player / coach who was a baseball player in high school, a track star in college and a U.S. record holder in ultra-marathons in his 60s.
He didn't start playing basketball until he turned 62. Now, he is dribbling past former Olympians from other countries as the team plays senior tournaments around the world.
"I don't have the best fundamentals," Messersmith said. "But because of my track background, I don't get tired playing basketball. I'm great in the fourth quarter when everybody else is tired."
Messersmith co-founded the team with Bergman and Ernie Miller five years ago, which was before a 70-and-over division existed in the U.S. Senior Olympics. Basketball has grown enough among seniors that there is a 75-and-over division, and Messersmith is preparing a team for competition in 2008, when most of his players will be eligible.
"The message to older people is that there is something beyond the couch," said Messersmith, who owns a searchlight company that shines its lights at Hollywood premieres and award shows. "There's always a bigger hill to climb."
The road trips come at a substantial cost to the nine players, a mix of lawyers, actors, retired engineers and retired military officers. Each player pays his own expenses, and this summer's Europe trip will run at least $3,000 each."
Mexico: Walls won't stop migrants
"MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- The death of a Mexican man shot by U.S. authorities while trying to sneak into California proves that extending border walls will not curb illegal immigration, President Vicente Fox's office said Monday.
Guillermo Martinez died Saturday in a Tijuana hospital, a day after he was shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent near a metal wall separating that city from San Diego, according to prosecutors in Baja California state.
Authorities said Martinez was on the Mexican side of the border at the time, but may have picked up rocks and made motions as if to throw them at the U.S. agent.
Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy said in a statement that U.S. officials were investigating the shooting. But U.S. authorities on Monday could not confirm that.
At his briefing with reporters in Mexico City, Fox spokesman Ruben Aguilar said the government "laments and condemns" Martinez's death, and is demanding an investigation.
"This occurrence does no more than provide evidence that only a law that guarantees legal entry and is respectful of human rights can resolve the migratory problem both countries face," Aguilar said."
Call me crazy, but Mexico doesn't act like it has a migratory problem. How many Americans are busy trying to move to Mexico.
I am not real happy with the way things are going and in truth I prefer open borders but given the current circumstances it is important for the US to know who is coming in and out of our borders.
Gaza spirals into lawlessness
I unhappily supported the disengagement last summer. I cannot say that I am surprised by any of the activities in Gaza now. This is from CNN:
Here is an excerpt from an editorial in Haaretz
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Random kidnappings. Daily exchanges of gunfire between police and armed militants. Different neighborhoods patrolled and controlled by competing militias.So like so many others I sit here and wonder about what the future holds and how Israel should respond to the consistent attacks and threats of violence coming from the Palestinians.
It appears as if Gaza has degenerated into anarchy.
In just the past 10 days in the 146-square-mile territory (about twice the size of Washington, D.C.):
# Three Palestinian government offices were occupied by gunmen.
# Armed militants detonated explosives in a United Nations club.
# Three British nationals were kidnapped at gunpoint.
# An Italian man was abducted.
# Two rival families unloaded weapons at each other in a personal dispute.
# A Palestinian police officer was killed in a shootout between police and militants.
# The Palestinian-controlled border crossing was shut down by police angry at the death of their colleague, prompting European Union monitors to leave.
# Palestinian police took over government offices in their continuing protest.
# Israel launched air strikes on suspected terrorist targets.
Gaza was not supposed to turn out this way.
Last summer, Israel ended its 38-year military occupation of the area. For the first time in history, Gaza came under Palestinian rule.
No Ottoman Turks, no British mandate, no Egyptian control, no Israeli occupation. And in November, the Palestinian Authority took control over an international border crossing for the first time in history.
But there is this seeming absence of law and order in the territory -- caused by a number of factors and the subject of various theories.
First, a look at those theories:
Some Palestinian politicians say the trouble is a result of "labor pains." Palestinians are just beginning to taste political freedom, and freedom can sometimes be messy.
Others point to the Israeli occupation of 38 years, arguing it engendered a culture of violence in Gaza.
There is also the claim from some Palestinian officials that Israel decimated the Palestinian security forces during the past few years of fighting, rendering Gaza's police impotent.
Finally, many ordinary Palestinians point to the weakness of Fatah, the main Palestinian political movement which controls the Palestinian government. Fatah's leadership is widely seen as ineffective and, in some cases, corrupt.
Tainted legacies
Let's deconstruct those theories.
There is no doubt that the turmoil in Gaza is directly related to the fact that Israel's occupation has ended. Palestinians are now in control of their destiny in Gaza, and it's a new experience for a people who have lived most of their lives under some type of foreign control.The Israeli military occupation and the Jewish settlements certainly didn't help make Gaza a "peaceful" place -- especially in the last five years of the occupation. But my experience, reporting from both inside Gaza and in the former settlements, showed the violence was not a one-sided affair.
The argument that Israel decimated the Palestinian security forces and helped render them impotent is an increasingly thin one. More than a quarter of the Palestinian budget is allocated towards the security services. Compare that to less than 10 percent for both health care and education.
Under the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the security services were divided up into more than a dozen different command structures. Arafat liked it that way. He preferred to "divide and rule," leaving a legacy of chaos and disloyalty to his successor, Mahmoud Abbas.
Today, there are tens of thousands of Palestinian men who are, formally, members of the security forces. Some have doubled as militants. Others have refused to carry out the orders of Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.
In terms of Fatah's imminent implosion, that has a lot to do with the disarray. The movement founded by Arafat in 1959 has dominated Palestinian political life since then. But between 1982 and 1994, most of Fatah's top leadership was based abroad, in Tunis, Tunisia.
When they returned to the West Bank and Gaza in 1994 after the Oslo Accords, many younger members of Fatah who never left the Palestinian territories resented these old men who rapidly assumed control.
Some of these older leaders were accused of skimming money from the Palestinian budget and favoring their political allies over the interests of the general Palestinian population.
It's now coming to a climax, and its causing a major headache for Abbas. He heads Fatah and later this month, he's hoping his movement will win the majority of seats in elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) or parliament.
Most political observers believe Fatah will win, but emerge badly bruised. Many ordinary Palestinian voters are tired of Fatah and tired of the movement's poor performance in government."
Here is an excerpt from an editorial in Haaretz
"It is hard to expect a sovereign state to put up with Qassam rocket fire without striking back. The feeling in the Israel Defense Forces' top command and in the cabinet is that circumstances are dragging Israel into increasingly drastic reactions. Clearly there is no desire to reoccupy territories in the Gaza Strip, which Israel evacuated after many years of occupation. Israel has also refrained from operating massive ground forces in the Strip. But there is no telling what would happen if the rocket fire continues and even intensifies.I agree with the sentiments here but I wonder about the ability to follow them. There is a lot of nice talk that has taken place. There are a lot of sweet sentiments being voiced but until there is a real change of language and approach I am not confident that we will see any real advances in peace.
Israel has a right to defend itself, but it must make sure its reactions are measured and proportional. It must also ensure that they are in keeping with the requirements of international law, which stipulates, for example, that only if a structure is used by people firing arms, will it lose its civilian status and its residents would no longer be protected.
Both the government and senior IDF staff realize that any unnecessary strike at the Palestinian population will strengthen the radical groups such as Islamic Jihad.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is a weak leader, but if Israel wants to help him rather than weaken him further, it must make every effort to avoid punishing the entire Palestinian public for the actions of its radical members. Israel is often forced to respond by taking extreme measures that harm the civilian population as well, like destroying roads and bridges that are used by those launching the rockets.
Clearly, without public Palestinian pressure on these radical elements, the deterioration will not stop. However, every effort must be made to make sure that the reactions are measured and reasonable, and to avoid striking at crowds of innocent people."
Some Stories that Caught my Eye
Man is bitten by cobra he keeps as pet
"A man from south St. Louis County was bitten by a cobra on Saturday as he was trying to feed the creature, which he kept as a pet.
He was rushed to St. Anthony's Medical Center. St. Louis County police used its helicopter to airlift cobra anti-venom from the St. Louis Zoo to the hospital.
Police and the hospital declined to make public the name of the bite victim or his condition. Police did not provide additional information about the incident."
Dubious insurance claims 'rising'
"A man who tried to sue a local authority after he soiled his trousers has made it on to a list of the most spurious compensation claims.
He blamed the accident on the closure of a bus station toilet and demanded the price of a new pair of trousers.
The case was among thousands of public liability claims - costing councils and insurance firms £250m a year - recorded by public insurer Zurich Municipal.
The firm said exaggerated and spurious claims were on the increase.
'Time-wasting'
Other spurious claims to make the list included a bin man who took legal action against his council claiming he was "startled" by a dead badger which fell out of a bag.
Also included were a shoplifter who tried to sue after she fell down stairs while running from the scene of a crime, and a motorist who filed a claim after failing to see a roundabout in broad daylight - despite there being a tree in the middle."
"British academics to tackle fashion's bottom line
LONDON (AFP) - It is one of the most fundamental -- and, for men, potentially hazardous -- questions of modern life, for which academics now hope to provide the definitive answer: "Does my bum look big in this?"The School of Textiles and Design at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh have begun what is believed to be the world's first-ever study on how women's clothing affects the bottom.
Models with variously sized posteriors will wear different types of clothing as part of the research, which will examine how designs, colours, patterns and fabric types affect perception.
Others will be asked to assess how big or small each model's backside appears to look in the outfits.
"This study will provide for the first time detailed and usable information that would enable designers to make the clothes that help women make the most of their natural assets," said Dr Lisa Macintyre, who is leading the study."
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