an excellent novel:

Then We Came to the End,  by Joshua Ferris

My heartfelt best wishes to these two adults:

Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth share a moment as they discuss Elizabeth’s recurrence of cancer during a news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C., Thursday, March 22, 2007. Edwards will continue his campaign for the presidency. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Just as Democratic operatives and partisans crank up their anti-Fox guilt-by-association campaign, Fox and NBC (which is a “leftist” channel according to Fox’s very own Bill O’Reilly), announce a huge joint venture.

The creative-destruction gods are smiling.

This edition of “following the abduction story” is dedicated to those Palestinian journalists and their followers/fellow travelers in Gaza who are taking public notice of missing BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped ten days ago. (Sad to say: They are pretty much the only ones.)

Palestinian journalists organized on Thursday a march in the West Bank city of Ramallah to protest against the kidnapping of the British Broadcast Corporation’s reporter, Allan Johnston, in Gaza Strip.

I also note, via the BBC, that Bassam Nasser, director of the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, wrote an anguished open letter to his friend Alan Johnston and his captors:

I hesitated many times before writing these sentences. I scribbled word after word before ripping them up. …

[A]ll the demonstrations from your journalistic colleagues - Palestinian and foreign - has not moved your kidnappers to release you.

You have not been affected by the spirit of unity and hopeful atmosphere that has permeated Palestinian society (following the announcement of a national unity government). …

You know that there are those that deserve respect in Gaza, in spite of your harsh experience here.

The people of Palestine were raised to appreciate and respect all their guests - but you still deserve a very big apology.

As we stand today, you, my friend, are not around. We ask ourselves: Are we responsible for what happened to you?

Educated Palestinians have talked about kidnappings since the first incident. We were sure it would not go on like this. But we say today that we were wrong.

And he addresses Johnston’s kidnappers:

To your kidnappers, my discussion will not be long. I will not say to you that Alan does not deserve to be kidnapped because he is a journalist who reports the news of Palestine. He does not deserve to be kidnapped because first and foremost he is a human being.

Your actions are no way to treat human beings, no matter who they are, no matter what race, occupation, age, gender, affiliation, or religion they are.

I ask you treat Alan with the same respect that he has shown to every Palestinian throughout his time in Palestine. Look upon him with fondness, the same way he did with every Palestinian he ever met.

I hope that you know - and no matter how big you believe your grievance to be - that what you have done is harsh on all your people and to your cause.

Whatever you have achieved by this kidnapping you are the losers in the end - and forever.