Riders in the Chariot

Behold, I show you a Mystery... In life there are those who accept its limitations and work within them, and there are idealists. You may find the idealists often disguised as cynics or pessimists. Nevertheless, they ride in the chariot, Elijah's Chariot of Fire.

President Hugo Chavez says he is building a more perfect union in Venezuala, but according to Der Spiegel, his subjects are getting restless. Activists in the poorest slums now say no real revolution has actually taken place. From the middle class come bourgeois voices saying that Chavez has had his chance to build his new Jerusalem.

Let's move on: I am fascinated by those in the Bible who for various reasons were given a very special prize by God; they were allowed to go up into Heaven without first having to die. I'll get to the others later, but of them all perhaps Elijah had the most dramatic exit. He went to heaven in a fiery chariot, which God sent to pick him up.

Not only, but also from Der Spiegel: 

Art Stolen by Nazis Found on German 'Antiques Roadshow'

And while I'm at it:

"Man Found Lurking in Toilet Again"--headline, New Hampshire Union-Leader

"Experts Condemn Georgia Man Who Slapped Crying Child in Wal-Mart"

--headline, ABCNews.com

"Goat Wanders Into Nursing Home in the Bronx"--headline, Associated Press

"Libyan Leader Moammar Khadafy to United Nations: Abolish Switzerland!"

--headline, New York Daily News