A lot has been going on lately, so let me do a quick roundup. In the Middle East, tensions remain high as Israel keeps Arafat under a virtual house-arrest, while Prime Minister Sharon met with President Bush in the Oval Office, where they both affirmed their commitment to the Mitchell Plan (covenant land for peace) and eventual Palestinian statehood; EU foreign ministers have weighed in, endorsing a plan by France to create a Palestinian state first and then go forward with the peace process (interesting approach, I wonder what would be left to negotiate if they did that?); and finally, amid all of the peace moves, Hamas renews threats of continued attacks. In the wars and rumors of wars department, civil war threatens Liberia, Iran does some saber rattling, and Turkey concedes that efforts to get Saddam to allow UN arms inspectors back in to prevent an American attack have failed, this coming days after Colin Powell said that America is quite prepared to go it alone should the international coalition against terrorism decide it has better things to do than back an allied attack on Iraq; and finally, the foreign minister of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban government, Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, surrendered to the country's new government and was quickly handed over to American forces.. In the pestilence department, an Ebola outbreak continues to rage in the Congo, AIDS remains a pandemic, tuberculosis is now a global epidemic, and we still don't know who was sending anthrax via the U.S. mail. In the persecution department, Abu Sayyaf released demands for the release of the Burnhams, an American missionary couple being held hostage by those Muslim terrorists in the Philippines. In the gospel preached to all department, controversy continues to rage over a new gender neutral translation of the Bible (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth). Verily. Sale of Christian books continue to be boosted by the remarkable success of the Left Behind series of end times novel, now being marketed in comic book form. What next, action figures? And finally, in the mark of the beast department, Sun Microsystems wants to put digital IDs on consumer products so they can be more easily assimilated into the Net. Resistance is futile?