Blog about politics (mideast and pro-Israel, Canadian and local Montreal), world events, and random thoughts.

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The World I Know is updated on a semi-regular basis by segacs.

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3:41 PM
More reflections on why I think it's so important to support Magen David Adom:

Magen David Adom has been a cause rather close to my heart, ever since my dad got food poisoning on a flight to Israel about 6 years ago and was rushed to a Jerusalem hospital . . . in an ambulance donated by the Canadian MDA.

That day in 1997, while we were in the air, a terrorist bomb exploded in Mahaneh Yehuda in Jerusalem. And when we arrived in the hospital, the injured victims of this bombing were being brought in.

In between ducking the news cameras so as not to scare our friends and relatives back home by showing up on the 6 o' clock news, my mom and I had time to reflect on this crazy, wonderful country we were in. My dad was, thankfully, not seriously ill, but the doctors and nurses took excellent care of him. At the same time, they were treating the victims of senseless terorrism with expert skill and compassion.

The ambulances that are first on the scene when disaster strikes are not political. MDA ambulances are staffed almost entirely by trained volunteers. They treat all victims, be they Jewish or Arab, living on either side of the so-called "green line", and no matter their background or political affiliation. Ambulance drivers have to brave enormous difficulties to make their way to these horrific scenes, often putting themselves at risk of delayed second attacks designed to target rescue efforts. They also fulfill the role of any other ambulance service, rushing to the scenes of car accidents, to the aid of heart attack patients, and the like.

Magen David Adom is the victim of a senseless campaign itself, to keep it out of International Red Cross/Red Crescent for purely arbitrary reasons - namely that the Jewish magen david is not an "acceptable" symbol, unlike the Christian cross or the Muslim crescent. Recently, the American Red Cross has come out in support of MDA and hopefully this isolation will end soon. On the Canadian side, a spat between CMDA and the CCRA has been resolved, allowing the organisation to keep its much-deserved charitable status in Canda.

So please mosey on over to Meryl Yourish and donate to Blogathon 2003. Israel desperately needs ambulances. Let's help get them one.

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2:46 PM
Blogathon 2003: The incomparable Meryl Yourish is raising money for Magen David Adom. Her goal - along with bloggers Lair and Michele - is to raise $60,000 to donate a brand-new ambulance to Israel. Check it out and give generously!

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10:56 PM
Pettigrew to communists: you're wrong, I'm right:

The stubborn opponents of globalization are living in the past while governments fight to remove barriers that punish the poor, International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Friday.

Protesters are planning to conduct several marches in an attempt to disrupt a three-day World Trade Organization meeting that begins in Montreal on Monday.

But Pettigrew warned them they won't succeed against tight security.

"If they want to stop us, fine, good luck," Pettigrew told a news conference.

"I trust the police of Montreal but they (protesters) should bear the responsibility that what they're trying to do is really to screw the African cotton farmers and the African HIV victims as well."

Somehow I doubt the WTO protestors will be scared off by that.

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4:55 PM
Mike Silverman recalled a post he wrote about a year ago about the difference between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism. I agree with him that it's "pretty damn good".

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10:48 AM
Margaret Wente on the current situation in Iraq:

As for the situation in Iraq, I have a hunch it's going better than the daily dose of woe dished up by the media might lead us to believe. According to the media, Iraq is Vietnam, with an all-out guerrilla war, a hostile local population, anarchy in the streets, and American troops who are ready to frag the brass.

But hey, the media's job is to report what went wrong yesterday. Bad news is good, and good news isn't news. Anything that shows imperialist America screwing up is good. Anything that vindicates imperialist America isn't newsworthy.

[ . . . ]

Don't get me wrong. Iraq will be a three-Excedrin headache for a long time to come. Maybe it will all blow up. But please allow me a tiny scrap of optimism. It could be going a whole lot worse. And it's probably going a whole lot better than you'd think if you watched the news.

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3:17 PM
After our long collective denial about the menace of the totalitarian Islamist states, could our current spat with Iran finally be a reality check for Canada?

The death of photo journalist Zahra Kazemi from a blow to the head while in police custody in Iran is suspicious, to say the least. I'd go further and say that it's totally unacceptable. And the Canadian government, although slow to react, came around to that position by recalling our ambassador and demanding a full investigation.

But in classic mideast fashion, Iran pointed its finger back at Canada for the death of Iranian Kayvan Tabesh, who was killed in Vancouver:

A foreign ministry spokesman said that the death of an Iranian near Vancouver could not be compared to the beating death of an Iranian-Canadian journalist in Iran.

Ministry spokesman said the young man was killed while apparently "attacking people with a machete," and that his death should not be compared to that of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in hospital from a blow to the head she received in police custody.

Earlier Thursday, Iran accused Canadian police of killing the Iranian, throwing new fuel on the diplomatic row between the two countries.

This is an old tactic - misdirection - that is usually accomplished in the Middle East by redirecting attention on Israel. I'm still waiting for that to happen in this case. But in the meantime, Canada seems to be catching on that you simply can't win by playing nice with these people. A woman was killed by a brutal regime while in custody. She was beaten and tortured and god knows what else. And instead of answering for this, the Iranian government is playing games.

But no, we can't possibly react in any way that might anger the Iranians. Cause we're Canadian and we certainly wouldn't want to take a stand or a controversial position. That would be un-Canadian of us. We might not even be able to sew our flags on our backpacks when visiting Iran! Perish the thought!

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11:05 AM
California recall: Davis out . . . Schwarzenegger in???

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9:44 PM
A man's place is . . . in the kitchen (hat tip: Mark):

The mayor of a southern Spanish town has declared Thursdays "ladies' night" and says he will fine any man found strolling about town in the evening, in an attempt to encourage them to stay at home and do the chores.

Ladies, I think we've found ourselves a new Utopia.

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12:43 PM
Well, Saddam's sons are dead, but the world seems to be getting back to normal in other areas: the Expos suck again.

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3:03 PM
I need to rant for a few moments about Air Canada.

It is utterly ridiculous to me how far downhill Air Canada has gone lately. I had the "joy" of dealing with them on my recent flight to Greece. On Friday, I flew three different airlines to get home from Santorini to Montreal. Lufthansa, with its comfortable seats, on-time departures, and courteous staff, made the experience hassle-free. Even Olympic Airways, flying aged planes still powererd by propeller, was efficient and easy to deal with.

Air Canada, on the other hand, has seats that are the most cramped of any airline I can think of. Cutbacks in staff mean that everyone is overworked and either unwilling or unable to help. Planes are almost never on time, and the endless series of "we're sorry again for the delay, ladies and gentlemen" is almost comical. The flights I took were half-empty, while my Lufthansa and Olympic flights were all full. Another testiment to the airline's inefficiency. And while it took me all of seven minutes to check in at the Athens airport to come home, the lineups on the way out at the Air Canada counters at Dorval were so long that it was nearly impossible to wedge my way inside the airport.

When the airline unilaterally changed my ticket a week before departure and instructed me to be at the airport a half-hour early, I ended up standing in line for over an hour and a half to have my ticket reissued and nearly missed my flight. Why? Because with hundreds of people in line, there was only one friggin' person at the counter. (Everyone else was, I imagine, on a coffee break.)

Aeroplan points are great in theory, but whenever you try to redeem them to get a free ticket, there aren't any available. So everyone has zillions of points that are essentially worth nothing.

Noe the embattled carrier, on the verge of bankruptcy, just announced that it will be charging for meals on shorter or medium-length flights, eliminating complimentary food service in economy class.

Next thing we know, passangers will be expected to bring their own seats to sit on, and to power the plane ourselves by flapping our arms.

Why do many tiny countries have several national carriers, but Canada can't even seem to support one? And the government keeps bailing it out, when maybe it's time to just put it out of its misery. No wonder Air Canada's bankrupt, with its lousy service and gross inefficiencies. It's a second- or even third-rate airline, and frankly I can't see any reason to voluntarily fly with it in the future.

Update: Tom pointed out that at least it's not as bad as British Airways this week.

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2:10 PM
The Eiffel Tower is on fire. No word yet on the cause.

Update: It appears that the cause was electrical. The blaze was put out and it seems nobody was hurt.

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2:07 PM
Moratorium on "racist":

I was bored a little while ago, so I tried to count the number of times I've been called a racist. At first I was going to count all the instances on the web in general, then I decided it was too much and I'd limit it to the comments section of this blog.

I gave up after a few minutes though, for two reasons: firstly, there were too many to count, and secondly, the accusations were coming from the same three or four people repeatedly, all of whom I personally consider to be pots calling the kettle black.

Now I'd like to see how long it takes for someone to call me a racist for the above "pots calling the kettle black" remark.

The point I'm trying to make, I guess, is that the word "racist" has been flung around with impunity lately, usually by people trying to discredit their debate opponents or just end an argument quickly. Especially in mideast debates, where everyone is either a "racist" for being a Zionist, or a "racist" for being pro-Palestinian. The usual response on the part of the accusee is to turn around and make the same accusation against their accuser. So every argument quickly degenerates into "you're a racist" . . . "no, YOU'RE a racist" juvenile claptrap.

And it's annoying me to no end.

Why? Because usually it isn't true. And when it is, nothing stops the actual racists from claiming that it's really the OTHER guy who's racist, and launching into a tirade on why. (The most absurd argument I ever heard is that it's racist to oppose suicide bombers. Did they suddenly become a race?)

So I propose a moratorium. (Yes, Concordians, I am using that word. Mostly cause I'm less sick of hearing "moratorium" than "racist".) I'd like to see if the discussions - at least on this site - can avoid the use of the word "racist" as a name-calling resort for, say, a week? It would be nice and refreshing.

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12:27 PM
Today's Jerusalem Post has an interesting interview with Tashbih Sayyed, a Muslim American who speaks out against militant Islam in his publication, Pakistan Today:

"As a little boy, I thought all Jews should be killed," he says. As a young man, his virulent tirades against his purported enemy at a local radio school attracted the attention of a Pakistani Jew who quietly funneled him books on Jewish history and Israel, including Exodus by Leon Uris. When Sayyed took a closer look at the Koran, a different Islam was revealed to him: a religion of peace, free of the hatred that he argues has held his people back for centuries.

"I became vengeful, as if somebody had cheated me of my childhood, as if somebody had tried to make me a serpent when I was not a serpent. I blamed the mullahs and the clerics," he says.

Sayyed argues - in a somewhat contradictory fashion - that either there is no Muslim moderate "silent majority", or else they are not represented by the official Islamic organizations:

Why is it that every time I look at the White House or a senator's or congressman's office, every time I find an intern or employee who is Muslim, he is always connected to some Islamic center or mosque? [ . . . ] There are gatekeepers in the White House who are promoting Islamic radicals. So long as you call Islamic centers [for advice] on whom to invite to do American jobs, you will only get Osama bin Laden.

Sayyed is, of course, dismissed by most Islamic centers as being "controlled by Zionists" and somehow, this allows them to ignore the fact that people like him exist.

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11:42 AM
John Manley has quit the Liberal leadership race. I guess he saw the writing on the wall, and wanted extra time to buy a new suit for Paul Martin's coronation - er - election.

Why Sheila Copps is still bothering to keep her hat in is a mystery beyond me. I guess Martin needs at least one rival to pull off the facade of a leadership race.

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8:20 PM
And some nice news for a change . . .

I've always pretty much held the opinion that lotteries are voluntary taxes on people who aren't any good at math. I never buy tickets and I figure that people who do regularly are just throwing their money away.

But it's nice to see someone like this win the jackpot:

Rachel Levy Brown's short fundraising career just went through the roof. Last Friday morning her husband left their Côte St. Luc home for a croissant and came back with a $10-million lottery ticket.

The couple plans to donate part of the jackpot to the Jewish General hospital, where Brown, who suffers from Crohn's disease, has recieved treatment for over a dozen years.

Christopher Brown, an antiques dealer, said he picked Friday's Super 7 draw on a whim and "wouldn't usually bother."

His wife, who is unable to work, has been a long-time volunteer with the hospital's Hope and Cope Foundation, helping raise funds through telephone campaigns and special events.

"This money is my way of returning all their help and support. I know it will help someone like me," said Brown.

Doesn't that just give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside?

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11:33 AM
While surfing, I stumbled upon this great index of Jean Chretien quotes that expose just how bumbling and brain-dead he actually is. The index includes such gems as:

Mr. Chrétien discusses the sensitive issue of control of Jerusalem. "I don't know if I am in West, South, North or East Jerusalem right now."

It is missing some very choice ones, however, including this one:

" A proof is a proof. What kind of proof ? It's a proof. A proof is proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it is proven." Quoted Page A-15, The Winnipeg Free Press, Sept. 21, reference to the possibility of Saddam Hussein's production of weapons of mass destruction

Or, of course, the famous "moron" debacle, in which Chretien's communications director called George W. Bush a "moron" and Chretien responded by saying that Bush is a friend of his and "not a moron after all". Aw gee, thanks, that was heartfelt.

It may be childish to make fun of Chretien's brand of incomprehensible non-French non-English. But when you contrast him with the sheer eloquence of other national leaders, it seems a bit incredulous that people kept on voting for this guy. His retirement simply cannot come soon enough.

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5:45 PM
This would be funny if it wasn't so stupid. Palestinian protestors are urging the Canadian government not to deport Palestinian refugee claimants on the grounds that they face persecution back in Israel:

"Those who are victims of repression in refugee camps have the right to humane treatment when they come to Canada," said Amir Khadir, a prominent social activist and an unsuccessful candidate for the left-wing Union des forces progressistes in last April's provincial election.

Refugee claimants who come to Canada from Palestinian camps ought to be given asylum here, the coalition said.

Opponents of the deportations say the refugees would be sent back to what they contend is Israel's "illegal and deadly" military occupation.

It of course fits the propaganda of these groups to claim that Israeli rule is so oppressive that Canada should grant refugee status to people facing deportion there. And of course it's a ridiculously backward argument. Israel is a modern democracy with a justice system guaranteeing rights and protections to all, defending itself against terrorism trying to suck out its lifeblood.

The irony is that the people facing deportion are more likely to be dangerous to Israeli society than the other way around. And Canada, officially one of Israel's allies, has been so morally blind lately, I wouldn't be surprised if the government bought the argument. But then, Ernst Zundel claimed refugee status here too.

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