In the news

I had just finished putting together the front page of the paper and begun the jump pages inside when we got word that Yasser Arafat had died. It was about 10:10. Deadline is 11:05. I did my version of swearing, which was to loudly yell, "FRICK!" and we began to rearrange everything. My computer froze shortly thereafter and erased the jump page I was almost done with. But after that, things went as smoothly as these last-minute, deadline-pressured things can go. I was lucky because my partner-in-copy-desk-crime, Capt. Dusty McAwesome, had spent the better part of the evening preparing a full page on Arafat that we were going to use whenever he died ... in the future. But, as they say, the future is now. But if that hadn't already been done, it would have been a much more difficult hour. As it was, we got four pages, including the cover, reworked to handle it all and got it out by deadline. Go team.
I'll be curious to see what happens next in the Middle East. I think Ariel Sharon has largely been using Arafat as a scapegoat to avoid peace talks. If a more moderate person takes Arafat's place, he will no longer have that excuse and we'll see just how committed to peace he is. The major problem, though, will be the Palestinian radicals. Without Arafat's influence to rein them in at least a bit, it could get even uglier, if such a thing were possible. Or maybe the moderates will rise up and make it clear that they will no longer tolerate their actions and have the lives of the majority of Palestinians be dictated by the abhorrent actions of the few. We shall see.