I'd like to be able to say that very little about George W. surprises me. But of course you know that's a lie. Take yesterday's speech, a speech we've been waiting weeks for. I was so surprised I actually screamed at my television set. [It's okay, kitty, you can come out now...]

"I call upon them to build a practicing democracy" said Bush, ignoring the fact that Arafat *is* the democratically elected leader of the Palestinians. Bush also called on the Palestinians to build new institutions. But let's not forget that these institutions - as well as the basic infrastructure (water, roads) - was only recently destroyed in what the United Nations called acts of "wanton destruction" on the part of the IDF. Here's a quick summary of some of the damage:

• At the education ministry the IDF destroyed all the files on student's results for the last eight years


• At the higher education ministry the Israeli army took computer hard drives and destroyed the rest of the computers


• At the transportation ministry, records on all cars in the West Bank were destroyed


• The land registry building was damaged and its computers taken


• All Palestinian ministries in Ramallah were ransacked or damaged to some extent except for the ministry of sport and planning


• Many schools, often used as staging posts by the IDF, were found trashed and vandalised


• Non-governmental organisations, such as human rights groups, seem to have been specifically targeted


• The broadcast machinery of radio stations was destroyed [Source: BBC]

Eight weeks ago Mohammed Shtayyeh (head of one Palestinian development agency) was quoted as saying "The aim is simply to put us in absolute chaos and then to be able to argue that the Palestinians are in a mess and corrupt and don't deserve a state."

Hmmm.... sound familiar?