Is It Wednesday? Already?

The “Two-State Solution,” Palestinian style… From the Jerusalem Post:

A sign of Fatah's predicament in the Gaza Strip was illustrated late Monday night when its leaders announced a unilateral cease-fire, only to be snubbed by Hamas. Fatah leaders also made urgent appeals to a number of Arab governments to interfere to stop the fighting, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears. The Egyptians, Saudis and Jordanians - who have, until now, been making huge efforts to end the anarchy in the Palestinian areas - are all fed up with the Palestinians.

Unless the fighting stops in the next day or two, the entire Gaza Strip is likely to fall into the hands of Hamas. All Fatah can do now is vent its anger at the remaining handful of Hamas representatives in the West Bank. The majority of the Hamas leaders in the West Bank are in Israeli jails and the Islamic movement does not have a strong military presence there.

[…]

One of the options facing Abbas is to break up the coalition partnership with Hamas and to officially declare war on the Islamic movement.

Whatever decision Abbas and his Fatah lieutenants take, it will be hard to change the new reality that has been created on the ground, especially in the Gaza Strip. As of today, the Palestinians can boast that they have two entities - one in the Gaza Strip run by Muslim fundamentalists and another one in the West Bank under the control of secular Fatah leaders.

"The two-state solution has finally worked," a Palestinian journalist in the Gaza Strip commented sarcastically. "Today, all our enemies have good reason to celebrate."

There are lots of interesting points in the referenced article, not the least of which is the claim the rest of the Arabs are “fed up” with the Palestinians and appear to be content with letting Gaza slide into full-blown civil war. The second interesting point, to me, is Abbas’ failure to grasp that the issue has already been forced by Hamas. It appears Hamas has absolutely NO intention of trying to compromise with Fatah, and one wonders what alternate reality Abbas is living in if he really thinks he can come to an accommodation with Hamas. And the third interesting point (from my POV, once again) is that the West was fully justified in withholding aid and support from the Hamas-dominated government. One can only imagine what sort of Hell would have eventually erupted if Hamas had had access to funds to more completely arm its militias. It’s obviously bad enough in Gaza, but it’s not too far beyond the pale to imagine the same sort of scenario breaking out in the West Bank, as well. Not that Israel would have let that happen…but the “what-if” scenarios involving a fully-funded Hamas government are numerous and universally bad.

Looks pretty damned bad.

The NYT has more, as does Captain Ed and The Belmont Club.

In today’s “More Preaching to the Choir” department, there’s this from the WSJ’s Opinion Journal: “Terrorists Don’t Like Art.” The lede grafs:

BAGHDAD, Iraq--Among the agonies imposed on Baghdad by tormentors in the guise of self-appointed religious enforcers is the proscription of fun. Novelty, convenience, any kind of post-Quranic ease from hardship infuriates them. Ice cream is an abomination, as is mechanized garbage collection, because such delights didn't exist in the time of the prophet. A story is told that last year, on a road overtaken by jihadis, a DVD purveyor was ordered to close because DVDs didn't exist in the time of the prophet. "Neither did the BMW you drove up in," he responded. "When you come back and tell me again on a camel, then I'll listen." They shot him some days later, for his insolence.

Imagine, therefore, the onus of courage on anyone who dares open an art gallery, let alone keeps it running since January 2006 with 26 shows and as many receptions. Such a place exists: Madarat, the last active gallery in Baghdad, just up a side road next to the Turkish Embassy in the Waziriya district near the city center. Imagine the risks involved for patrons attending an opening--how to get there safely, and then how long to stay en bloc as a provocative target, even how much precious gas to use up for art's sake. We decided to go on a quiet day at the gallery, inconspicuously and with minimal protection, hoping to sneak through town unnoticed. I was accompanied by Karima, a sculptor of ceramics who knew the place. Just to be visible in the back seat of a car with a woman offers provocation enough in many neighborhoods--Karima made the throat-cutting gesture as illustration--so we took a circuitous route to improve our chances.

Good stuff. I think you’ll like it, Gentle Reader.

So. I’ve had this project on the back-burner for nearly a week now, and the weather isn’t cooperating one whit. The project? Restore the Green Hornet to her former glistening, gleaming, pristine state of glossy goodness. Last week I bought a tube of Meguiar’s “Scratch-X” (to take out those annoying swirl marks in the clear-coat), a brand-new tin of Meguiar’s Gold-Class paste wax, and enough fresh new terry toweling and polishing bonnets to completely envelop a two-story building. All for naught, so far. First there was all that rain I alluded to last week and even commented on at length in places. There’s no rain in the forecast today, but the wind is up and airborne dust is anathema to waxing a vehicle…for obvious reasons. After I do the Hornet I plan to do the ‘Zuki, too. Assuming my motivation holds in the face of uncooperative weather. And that’s beginning to look rather dicey, at the moment.

I hate it when this happens.

Today’s Pic: Another shot of SN3, me, and My Favorite Blue Motorized Conveyance. Just prior to taking off for the back roads in Colorado’s beautiful Front Range.

May 20, 2007. Fort Collins, CO.