uh-oh

In the last twelve hours, we have seen Yasser Arafat's reported condition go from "very critical" with him at one point being said to be "unconscious" which was later revised to suffering "periods of unconsciousness," to this morning's report of him being prepared to be taken to Paris for urgently-needed medical treatment, to the most recent report which has him in "very stable condition" and "refusing" to leave his compound for treatment. Call me a skeptic, but if he was experiencing such major difficulties last night, can he be that feisty and stable less than a day later? I suspect that Mr. Arafat has passed away in the night, and that careful consideration is being given as to how and when to release the information with the knowledge that his death could be the match that ignites a huge powder keg of violence from both sides.

Right or wrong, and as stated before, it will be very interesting to see how this unscripted October Surprise plays out in these last few pre-election days.