The election in Israel

Hamas is trying to influence the outcome of thisweek's election by continuing to fire rockets into southern Israel,Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Monday.

Malki added that Hamas does not want to see apro-peace government elected in Israel during Tuesday's parliamentaryvote, as it would pursue a political deal with the PalestinianAuthority.
Speaking to reporters in Warsaw Monday, Malki said that thePalestinian Authority is "very much worried" that such attacks might"really push Israeli public opinion and the voters to vote for ananti-peace government."

Up until just a few days ago, it seemed assured that Bibi Netanyahu was going to take his party to premiership but the gap has closed and Kadima, headed up by Tzipi Livni, is now neck and neck.  Yesterday, I was sitting in a cafe in Tel Aviv when Livni and an entire parade of pro-Livni cars following behind her, made her way along Ivn Givrol to go give a political stump speech.  As the cars passed, nearly the entire cafe, patrons and wait-staff alike, erupted in whistles and claps and calls of "Yes! Livni!"  Following that was a lively discussion where it became clear that it was not so much that anyone particularly liked Livni so much as hated the alternatives.  There was the young gay waiter who would ordinarily, he said, vote Meretz, but was voting Livni to stop Bibi.  There was a tableful of young women who said that Barak and Bibi had already shown they know how to screw up as Prime Minister, and it is only fair that Livni should be given her chance to screw up too.  An elderly couple said they supported her because she was clean and not corrupt. 

First there was "Obama Girl."  Now there is "Livni Boy"!  Enjoy and many thanks to Dima for giving me the heads up on his website to this video.