A friend sent an email under the heading, "Read that with a straight face." It was a paragraph taken from a Jerusalem Post article titled, Straw softens Hamas benchmarks. You know, I couldn't do it. By the time I had finished reading the paragraph, I was really cracking up. Here it is. See if you can read it with a straight face.

EU Mideast envoy Marc Otte, for example, indicated last week that Hamas might be able to satisfy the requirements by saying it was ready to negotiate with Israel, which he said would imply recognition; continue to abide by a cease-fire, which would indicate it has given up terrorism; and not infringe agreements made with Israel, which would imply acceptance of those agreements Read it here.

I think it's in the air. And, I'm not talking about spring. There is a madness going around and it seems to be effecting our leaders the most. But, that doesn't mean we citizens are completely immune. Take a look at who they may have voted for in Italy Read about it here.

Romano Prodi, you may recall, was the former president of the EU Commission. Now, he may become Italy's new Prime Minister. Prodi, naturally, wants to create an EU superstate. Silvio Berlusconi, the man Prodi may have defeated, is against an EU superstate. And, Berlusconi is considered a strong supporter of both the United States and Israel. Prodi isn't. In fact, it's expected that a Prodi administration will quickly pull Italian troops from Iraq Read about it here.

So, this Italian election could have an effect on the policies of George W. Bush. But, there's another important figure who may be effected by this Italian election as well -- that's the EU's High Representative Javier Solana. As the above article indicated, Prodi will attempt to revive the EU's failed Constitution. And, that could mean a new, super Foreign Minister post for Solana.

What's interesting about this election is the fact that these three EU political personalities -- Prodi, Berlusconi and Solana -- have a long and bloody history together. In fact, it might be a good to take a little look back. In November of 2003, I wrote a commentary titled, Solana In Control. This is part of what I wrote:

I couldn't believe what I was reading. You see, what Solana was actually saying was he was the man in charge of things, not the EU's president Silvio Berlusconi. As I thought about the implication of Solana's words, my mind returned to a recent encounter Solana had with Berlusconi. Berlusconi was in one of his goofy moods. When it came time for Berlusconi to introduce the EU's High Representative, Berlusconi looked at Solana and quipped something like, "You're not so high. In fact, you're as small as I am." I wondered what Berlusconi meant -- if his remarks were really something more than just an attempt at humor. You see, there is a power struggle going on between the EU's institutions, and between the member states. And Berlusconi, head of a member state, had also just joked the same way about his arch rival EU Commission president Romano Prodi. Now he was doing the same thing to Solana who headed the EU Council Read full commentary here.

This is what I think: With Berlusconi out of the political picture and Prodi back in, the superstate idea will attempt one last comeback. But, when the smoke settles in the EU from this final battle, the Bible tells us what to expect. It will be a divided kingdom, but it will have in it the strength of iron (Daniel 2:41). And, it will be as Solana predicted -- a superpower, not a superstate.

It's in the air.