Hadn't heard about this before today; where the hell have I been?

Sharon has stroke

This is scary, real scary. I'm sure conspiracy theorists are running around screaming bloody sabotage (which I wouldn't be all that surprised if it was, even though complications like this happen all the time all over the world):

The surgery apparently had been complicated by an anticoagulant Sharon took following a mild stroke Dec. 18. The medication may also have contributed to Wednesday's stroke. Sharon originally had been scheduled to undergo a procedure Thursday to seal a hole in his heart that contributed to the initial stroke.

Independent experts said that while the medication, an anticoagulant called enoxaparin, did not cause the blood vessel in Sharon's head to burst, the bleeding would probably not have been so severe if he had not been taking it.

Since Sharon obviously left his Likud Party before his stroke, I'm left wondering who is in power in such a situation:

Sharon aide Raanan Gissin warned that if any of Israel's foes tried to "exploit this situation ... the security forces and IDF (Israeli military) are ready for any kind of challenge."

which makes you wonder if hardliners might take advantage of the situation and try to provoke the Palestinians into doing something stupid.

This sucks.