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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Comments are open and unmoderated, although obscene or abusive remarks may be deleted. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of segacs's world i know.

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5:52 PM
Josh Freed on multitasking. So true.

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5:48 PM
Once again, us Canadians, relishing our role as peacekeepers of the world, are stepping up - this time by sending a stabilization force to Haiti.

"Stabilization force". Hmmmm. So what does that amount to now, two guys to hold the net steady while the third shoots the puck?

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5:46 PM
Martha's guilty. "And that's a good thing".

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3:03 PM
Happy Purim!

And check out Allison's very fitting - and poignant - reflections on what it means to be a mother in Israel.

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3:07 PM
It often comes as a surprise to people outside Israel how much support Ariel Sharon's government - widely perceived as extremist or far-right - has from Israelis. But then, those of us in the Diaspora don't have to live under the constant threat of terror that Israelis do.

By the same token, it may surprise some casual observers of mideast politics that the Israeli op-eds are filled these days with calls for Sharon to resign... over the Elhanan Tannenbaum scandal, which has been receiving front-page coverage in Israel and barely any mention abroad.

Sharon is looking more and more corrupt by the day. Some Israelis are starting to get fed up. What will transpire will remain to be seen. But it's just a reminder of how different the issues and the political landscape look to Israelis than they do to those of us following the news from abroad.

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2:57 PM
Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks that the reaction of major Jewish organizations to The Passion of Christ has only served to give the film more publicity than it deserves:

Just as we are busy denying that the Jews control the world, it turns out that we do. Look what a wonderful job we have done publicizing Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ. Only we could take a film of unrelenting torture - by all accounts not a pleasant experience - entirely in Aramaic and Latin, and turn it into one of the best-selling movies of all time.

Haven't seen it. Have no plans to see it. And somehow I think the publicity was generated more by the Christian religious groups than the Jewish ones. But why add fuel to the fire?

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2:38 PM
Song Dae Ri got a last-minute reprieve from being deported to North Korea and is being allowed to stay in Canada (via Damian):

Ending months of uncertainty, the office of Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan stayed Mr. Ri's removal order yesterday and ruled he is not a war criminal — contrary to the findings of the Immigration and Refugee Board, which rejected his asylum bid last September.

The ministry ruled that the risk Mr. Ri would be tortured or killed if deported outweighed any danger he may pose to Canada.

This reprive was widely expected... but it raises more questions than it answers. Again, I sense the public hasn't been getting the whole story.

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2:35 PM
Andrew Sullivan on the proposed constitutional amendment in the US banning gay marriage:

What the religious right amendment is doing is splitting the Republican coalition and uniting the Democrats. What the religious right did to destroy the Republican party in a state like California, they are now trying to do across the country as a whole. They are not only on the wrong side of history; and on the wrong side of morality; they are putting the Republican party on the losing side of politics. They must and will be stopped.

There is, of course, lots more. Pages of it.

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11:47 AM
I finally caught that miserable cold that's been going around, so blogging's been light these past couple of days. Yes, I know you don't actually need a voice to type... but I just haven't felt up to updating. Hopefully, regular postings will resume shortly.

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11:44 PM
Purim has a Scrooge, and his name is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef:

The crazy Sephardic rabbi Ovadia Yosef has made some new ridiculous extremist pronouncements for Purim.

He says it's forbidden to dress in a costume of the opposite sex for Purim, it's forbidden to wear a Kaffiyeh (i.e. no Arafat costumes) and .... as a crowning touch, now it's forbidden to give a Purim basket to a member of the opposite sex (the baskets, known as "mishloach manot" are a Purim holiday tradition, a basket filled with cookies and candy that you give out to friends and neighbors)

Yep, who knows what that kinky basket-exchanging can lead to.....

Hmmm, I wonder how he would've reacted to my sixth-grade Hebrew teacher dressing up as a nun?

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11:27 PM
I'm not a procrastinator...

The deadline for RRSP contributions for 2003 is midnight tonight. That's in 35 minutes. But I, of course, am not a last-minute person. I made my contribution with plenty of leftover time... on Friday. Aren't you proud of my planning and organization?

Actually I'm still adjusting to the idea that, for the first time in my life, I actually need the tax credit this year. It was so much more fun being a student and not paying taxes. I miss those days.

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11:35 PM
Les Invasions Barbares picked up the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

I guess I should be proud - a win for not only Canada, but my home province of Quebec. But I haven't actually seen the film. And nobody except people from Canada will really care about who won one of those "filler" categories which, let's face it, is exactly what the Best Foreign Language category is. When Canada starts making movies that can compete on equal footing in the big categories, the way our recording artists do at the Grammys, then maybe I'll pay more attention.

The acceptance speech was at least not as dry as all the others of the night. "We're so thankful that Lord of the Rings: Return of the King did not qualify in this category". With 8 Oscars so far for LOTR, and counting, that statement elicted a good laugh.

Update: If that speech was one of the better acceptances of the Oscars, Sean Penn's acceptance speech for Best Actor in Mystic River was one of the worst. He got up there and immediately said "the one thing any actor knows, other than the fact that there were no WMDs, is that there's no such thing as 'best' actor".

Does the man have so little class that he's utterly incapable of shutting up about politics for one night?

Update #2: That's 11 Oscars for Lord of the Rings.

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