A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Weekend Thoughts

1. During the 1980's and the first few years of the 90's - even after Oslo - confederation between Jordan and the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria was the international community's favored approach.

This potential solution - which is not to be confused with the "Jordan Is Palestine" argument espoused by Ariel Sharon prior to Israel's peace agreement with Jordan - was eventually replaced by the notion that the nonsensical "two-state solution" is the only way out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For years I have arguing that a Jordan-Palestinian confederation - with Jordan taking a primary security role in Judea and Samaria in exchange for billions in annual U.S. aid, is a far more realistic and attainable model for achieving resolution (or at least alleviation) of the conflict.

While thanks to President Bush and Secretary of State Rice the two-state solution unfortunately remains the only official game in town, talk of confederation is beginning to be heard. Indeed, confederation is briefly considered in today's Haaretz, and has also been discussed in Arab newspapers and on blogs authored by Jordanians.

We can only hope that common sense prevails over Condi Rice's myopia sooner rather than later.

2. The Mets' losing streak is frustrating, but teams do sometimes go through deep slumps.

What is infuriating about this team is its complacency and apathy.

It starts from the top. Willie Randolph has nothing to say except nonsense like "we'll be fine" and "we know we're a first place team." This message is conveyed to his players, who respond by going through the motions and losing series after series.

Contrast this to the Yankees, where losing is never acceptable. I happen to think that after 12 straight playoff appearances, the Yankees won't be able to recover this season. But Brian Cashman, Joe Torre, and Yankees players know that they must win and that if they don't, major changes will be made.

The Mets' laid back approach has been a problem since the latter part of the Davey Johnson era, and is the main reason why in sharp contrast to the winning organization in The Bronx, the Mets have not won a World Series since 1986.
posted on 6/22/2007