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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5:08 PM
That took all of two minutes

Israel has cut ties with Abbas in light of a Palestinian terrorist attack that killed six Israelis:

"Israel is severing all planned contacts with the Palestinians on all levels, from security to government leadership," spokesman Assaf Shariv said, a day after the assault that defied Abbas's calls for non-violence.

"Everything is canceled until they take steps against terror, so we can see there is not only talk but also action. Abbas knows who carried out the attack, so he will be the one to stop them. It's very easy," he said.

Sharon has known all along that Abbas is no "moderate". He had to give it the old college try for the record, but it certainly didn't last long for Abbas to muck it up.

As far as mideast politics is concerned, looks like we're back to regularly-scheduled programming.

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11:56 PM
And for the rest of you...

Most of the donations that have been pouring in so far for Tsunami disaster relief have been motivated by genuine shock, empathy and desire to help.

But in case those reasons don't seem quite cynical enough for you, if you're American, Dubya has a selfish reason to give:

President Bush (news - web sites) said U.S. aid efforts following Asia's killer tsunami would improve America's image in the Muslim world.

[ . . . ]

"In ... responding to the tsunami, many in the Muslim world have seen a great compassion in the American people," Bush said in an interview with ABC News to be aired on Friday.

The president, initially criticized for a slow and limited U.S. response to the tsunami, said he was "very impressed ... by how quickly we have responded" to deploy military equipment and personnel for the international relief effort.

"I've got to tell you, our military is making a significant difference," he said.

Bush has been accused of many things, but genius has never been one of them. Nevertheless, you'd think at least someone on his senior staff might realize that it doesn't look so good to use a natural disaster that has killed over a hundred and fifty thousand people as a PR opportunity.

Sheesh.

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11:45 PM
To-do lists

In the cool link of the day department, 43 things offers the opportunity to make a gigantic to-do list for your life.

Hat tip: Elana, who wants more people to read her blog... so this post is kinda helping her accomplish one of her goals.

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10:18 PM
How exactly is this funny?

Prince Harry was forced to issue an apology, after he wore a Nazi costume to a party:

Early editions of Thursday's issue of "The Sun," showed Prince Harry, the second son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, clutching a cigarette and a drink and wearing a swastika armband.

The newspaper said the 20-year-old prince had attended a fancy dress party in the uniform of a fascist soldier.

In a statement, the prince said he was "very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone." He added, "It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize."

That's all very well and good but what on earth would possess him to think this is a good idea in the first place?

Maybe he should have tried wearing his costume in France instead, where - according to Jean Marie Le Pen, the Nazi occupation of France was "not particularly inhumane". (Hat tip: Damian.) I bet the French would have laughed.

It's starting to become clearer that the rise in anti-Americanism in Europe is not entirely unrelated to the increased whitewashing of the Holocaust. When the US replies to anti-American sentiment with a "well, you weren't complaining when we saved your collective asses from the Nazis", the Europeans can just respond with a "hell, those Nazis weren't so bad".

History has a way of lessening the emotional impact of the very terrible or very tragic. And right now is a historical turning point. The survivor generation that bears witness is dying. "Nazi" is being used as an epitheth to describe just about anyone, from the "Zionists are Nazis" crowd to the "soup Nazi" on Seinfeld. The Holocaust is starting to be viewed not as anything particularly horrible or unique, but just as yet another chapter in the endless saga of the human race's capacity for cruelty and evil and destruction. Maybe it's even inevitable. When, only sixty-five years after Churchill's "blood, sweat and tears" speech, a British prince is sporting a swastika, that has to mean something.

And of course, it's easier to rationalize hating Jews if you believe that the Holocaust was just a minor blip, and that the concentration camps were just summer camps with bad food.

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9:59 PM
Will Canada's smoking section be forced to butt out?

According to the Health Minister, a provincial smoking ban in all public places may be implemented sooner than we might think:

"The writing's on the wall," Couillard said. "We're going toward smoke-free restaurants, bars and other types of institutions.

[ . . . ]

Couillard plans to table legislation in the National Assembly this spring after hearing from the various interested parties. He said the plan is to have the new law ready for implementation by fall 2005 or January 2006 at the latest.

As a non-smoker, I look forward to the days when I can breathe freely. And my usual arguments against nanny-state interference don't really apply here, because smokers aren't only hurting themselves, they're hurting those around them.

But I'm not sure how well this is going to go over here in Quebec, traditionally known as Canada's ashtray. The bar owners are sure to mount a protest, rather than risk losing their beer-and-cigarette crowd. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

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10:16 PM
Elusive peace and quiet

Noisy neighbour at 2:30am + loud snow-clearing machinery at 4:30am + asshole revving his motorcycle continuously at 6:00am = really lousy night's sleep. I'm starting to wonder why I ever took peace and quiet for granted.

Blogging will resume when I finally get a good night's sleep.

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8:05 PM
Five million dollar donation

The founders of the Canadian retail chain Music World have donated five million dollars to the Canadian Red Cross for Tsunami disaster relief:

The gift, by Kroum and Eva Pindoff, who made their fortune by founding the record retailer Music World, is the largest-ever gift to the Canadian Red Cross during a disaster appeal, the organisation said.

The couple pledged 100,000 Canadian dollars (82,000 dollars US) for tsunami relief on Friday, but after reflecting on the disaster, decided to do much more.

"After seeing more stark images of this tremendous tragedy and misery, my wife and I were up most of the night, grief-stricken," Kroum Pindoff said.

"We wanted to help alleviate the suffering, and decided we had to make a more substantial gift."

That's the kind of staggering generosity that somehow helps to restore a bit of faith in humanity.

Of course, people will start saying that they did it through the business for the tax deduction, or as a publicity stunt, or a number of cynical reasons that I'd probably usually be the first to list. But for the moment, I'm choosing to believe that they made the donation simply because they felt it was the right thing to do, and wanted to help. Sometimes it's good to set cynicism aside for a moment and give people credit for their generosity.

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6:45 PM
Very funny commercial

Allison links to this great Israeli McDonald's commercial that spoofs Pulp Fiction. View it and laugh.

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5:30 PM
Abbas is the new Arafat

According to exit polls, Abbas won the Palestinian election with something like 66-70% of the vote. Now, backed with the legitimacy of a vote, Abbas can get serious about the buisness of funding and protecting terrorists and seeking to destroy Israel.

Of course, the day was marked by gunfire... shots into the air in celebration by Fatah gunmen. I admit I've never quite understood that one. Is it like firecrackers? Or is it done in order to be able to blame Israel for anyone killed accidentally by the stray bullets? Or both?

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