oh, oh, oh...it's raining again (harder this time), and i'm not sure if i can get everything done that needs to get done in the next few weeks. i suppose my blog is going to be pretty sparse. rhodes stuff: i definitely have to go clothes shopping, and i hate clothes shopping. i also realized at some point last night that the degree program i proposed has been disbanded in the last few weeks. luckily, i can do almost exactly the same things under a slightly different name. so i sent off a little addendum to my application yesterday. i just hope the committee doesn't crucify me about it. stupid oxford!

and in the new york times today...

" 'I have ordered the security forces to take all necessary steps in order to hurt those who try to harm us,' Mr. Sharon told reporters during a visit to a lookout near Bethlehem.

"The army blew up the home near Bethlehem of the 23-year-old bomber behind Thursday's attack and destroyed the houses of two Hamas members in the Gaza Strip, saying the demolitions sent a message that "their deeds have a price." Hamas was one of two Islamic groups that claimed responsibility for the bus bombing." more

oh, it's so depressing. you'd think people who ascend to positions of major world prominence, whether they are sharon, george bush or osama bin laden, might be more sensible than to assume that blind retaliation solves problems. to "hurt those who try to harm us" without attempting to understand them is pathetic and irresponsible.

further on in the article, there's a discussion about pre- versus post-"1967 territory" and whether or not it's ok to blow people up in either of those places. the writer also claims that yesterday's suicide bombing is proof that palestinians are entirely culpable for the violence: "The wreckage of the No. 20 bus is a problem for the latter theory of the conflict [that israelis share culpability for it] and a possible blow to the idea that an Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders might end the violence. The bombing took place on land that was Israel's before the 1967 war, and its victims included schoolchildren rather than only settlers and soldiers."

i don't claim to have any sort of extensive knowledge of the conflict, but you'd think that someone making a claim like the one above might want to consider the history of the situation instead of painting one incident as emblematic of the entire conflict. sigh.