In reply to:
Here's what was happening in the real, crazy, sad world as we were ruminating in the virtual one:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1201000/1201273.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1201000/1201213.stm
Thanks Jo for including the link to the story about the bombing today in Netanya. Just three notes on the story for those that may be interested (and for those that may be not)...
1. 'push the occupiers out of our land' - the Arabs also claim Netanya (and Haifa and Jaffa and Tiberias and Beer Sheva and every other part of Eretz Yisrael, not only the area of Judea/Samaria & Gaza). They call Tel Aviv "an illegal Jewish settlement" and claim that it's really an Arab town (never mind that it was settled in 1909 by a group of 60 Jewish families) in order to sway international opinion in their favour... and it's working!
2. the man that was 'set upon' in the market place following the explosion was an Arab... not to be confused with the FACT that no Arab actually called himself/herself a "palestinian" before it became politically expedient to do so (see just about anything by Prof. Bernard Lewis on this subject). It is, thus, the media which has exacerbated (I always loved that word) this lie! BTW - before 1948, it was only JEWS who used the designation 'palestinian' and then only in a geographic way, as in British Jew or Palestinian Jew...!
3. 'the Israel-Palestinian fighting' - it only began when the Arabs began a new intifada (uprising) and we responded... and they have finally admitted that it was NOT Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount which began it - in fact, it was already planned since JULY!
One more point (and yes, I'm very depressed
and angry
about this bombing and the ongoing situation... [can-you-tell-emoticon] - I send out via e-mail from time to time, articles and such (including some interesting locally-made political cartoons) and have a list I call "Friends & Family" - if any of you would like to be on it, just send me a brief message to wonderworks@iname.com and just say "Add me to your Friends & Family list, please, to receive info from the M.E." (the please helps, of course, since that's how I was raised...), and you'll begin, almost immediately, to receive some good reading material about the situation here.
Thanks to all who pray and are doing so vis-a-vis the situation here (and in London). Oh, and on that bombing in London - I'm really sorry about that happening - BUT, I must say I find it curious that such a thing NEVER stops tourism to London and yet, the US State Dept. is always quick to issue travel warnings to Israel when these things occur! Just another one of my pet peeves... 
.
Shoshannah
