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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11:33 AM
Terror strikes Sharm

Coordinated terrorist attacks in Sharm-el-Shiekh, Egypt yesterday killed at least 83 people and injured hundreds more:

At least 83 people were killed and 200 injured when car bombs ripped through shopping and hotel areas in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday in the worst attack in Egypt since 1981.

Shaken European tourists spoke of mass panic and hysteria as people fled the carnage in the early hours, with bodies strewn across the roads, people screaming and sirens wailing.

The regional governor said two car bombs and possibly a suitcase bomb had rocked the resort, popular with divers and European holidaymakers, as well as diplomats who have convened world summits. Egypt has called it "the city of peace."

One blast tore the front off the Ghazala Gardens Hotel in Naama Bay, the site of most of the resort's luxury hotels. People were feared trapped in the rubble of the lobby.

A car broke into the hotel compound and exploded in front of the building, South Sinai Governor Mustafa Afifi said.

There are reports of "claims of responsibility" from an Al-Quaeda linked group. The stated motive/excuse was "retaliation for crimes against Muslims".

This is truly sickening. But what I really can't help but wonder is how long it will take for someone to blame even this on the U.S. and Israel, somehow.

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9:36 PM
Fairly amusing in that so-wrong-but-somehow-so-deserved kind of way. (Via Imshin).

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4:23 PM
Crosby going to Pittsburgh

The results of the NHL draft lottery were just announced, with the top pick going to the Penguins, who will surely draft rising star Sidney Crosby. The Habs got the fifth overall pick, which is not bad considering. We're the top Canadian team in the lottery, and Toronto is way down there at number 21. (Note to Leafs' fans: hahaha).

Oh well. It was exciting for a while, as they announced the results backwards from 30 and Montreal still wasn't on the board for a while. But alas, it's Pittsburgh fans who are celebrating right now, and hoping Crosby won't crumble under all the hype and pressure. As one of the worst teams in the NHL in the last number of years, they can really use him.

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9:46 AM
Oh my god

4 more bombings on London transit have been reported:

Minor explosions using detonators only have sparked the evacuation of three Tube stations and the closure of three lines, a BBC correspondent has said.
Police cordoned off large areas around Warren Street, Oval and one of the Shepherd's Bush Tube stations.

A route 26 bus in Hackney Road in Bethnal Green had its windows blown out by a blast. There were no injuries.

Police in London say they are not treating the situation as "a major incident yet".

My first thought is this is too small-scale to be Al Quaeda again, and it sounds like lamebrain copycats. (Though anyone who would launch a copycat attack of one of the worst terrorist acts in history is, well, I can't think of a rude enough word to describe them).

Details seem extremely sketchy at this stage. More to come, surely. I just hope everyone is okay.

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11:06 PM
Stuff that makes me mad

Some stuff makes me too mad to even blog about it, because it just gets my heart rate up. But you can read about it on other blogs. Like Ken Livingstone's latest spewings. (More here). And the continuing Palestinian terrorism against Israel. And CBC's gutlessness and the fact that my tax dollars fund it.

Then there's the stuff in my own life that makes me mad too. Like certain people who I am forced to deal with at work. And certain issues of long distances. And certain issues of lack of air conditioning.

When I'm really mad, sometimes it's great to listen to some appropriate music.

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10:57 PM
Gay marriage officially legalized

The Senate overwhelmingly approved the gay marriage bill, officially legalizing it across Canada.

In honour of this news, here, found in an e-mail forward, are the top twelve reasons homosexual marriage should not be legal:

1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control.
   
   
2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people can't legally get married because the world needs more children.
   
   
3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
   
   
4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
   
   
5. Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are property, blacks can't marry whites, and divorce is illegal.
   
   
6. Gay marriage should be decided by people not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities.
   
   
7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
   
   
8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
   
   
9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
   
   
10. Children can never suceed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.
    
    
11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer lifespans.
    
    
12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a "seperate but equal" institution is always constitutional. Seperate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as seperate marriages for gays and lesbians will.

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12:34 PM
Too busy to eat... sleep... blog... think.

Back when stuff quiets down.

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1:03 PM
Stuff that happened

Some news breaks:

An Iraqi bomb attack killed 98 people. We barely even blink anymore with the news of terrorist attacks in Iraq - maybe because they're so commonplace, maybe because people assume it's a country at war so for some reason these things are expected, maybe because some people even tacitly support them in their intense hatred for Bush and the Americans. I don't know about any of that, but I do know that the 98 lives that were lost are just as tragic as 98 lives lost anyplace else, and that we need to stop taking terror for granted in Iraq.

In "what truce?", part one zillion, five Israelis were wounded - 2 seriously - in mortar attacks on Neveh Dekalim, and the weekend saw over 10 Qassam rockets fired on Sderot. It is unclear which of the Palestinian factions is behind the attacks, though Hamas appears to be involved in the former. You know, the same Hamas that the Guardian thinks ain't so bad despite its mandate to seek Israel's destruction.

And the new Harry Potter book was released yesterday, to the delight of fans everywhere. I'll wait to borrow someone's copy, and hopefully nobody will spoil it for me before then.

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