the political right in Israel has imploded

* clemons:

"Some observers are suggesting that the new parties and new personalities in Israeli politics have clobbered the old.

I think that the bigger story is that the political right in Israel has imploded. Ariel Sharon as former head of the Likud Party, the party now headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, broke apart the vertebrae of the right and shattered the paralysis that had frozen Israel into a long-term self-destructive position regarding its all-important border dispute with Palestinians."

* froomkin was liveonline one question:

"Chicago, Ill.: can you bring us up to date on the progress or lack thereof in the Valerie Plame leak investigation? it seemed as if the latest grand jury was meeting weekly for awhile, and now ... nothing. What's that about?

Dan Froomkin: No, I can't. I don't know. There are some rumors flying around the blogosphere, but I have no reason to think they are anything but fantasy.

I do wish that investigative reporters within the traditional media were digging around this story more aggressively, rather than simply waiting for something to be announced, but I see no sign of it."