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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11:38 AM
Now they can drink great, even late!

Brits will be able to get sloshed later, longer as pubs no longer required by law to close at the absurdly early 11pm prepare to extend their opening hours.

I guess I'll have to think of another reason to mock you guys, now...

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10:40 PM
NYCLU sues city over bag searches

Looks like the New York Civil Liberties Union has its priorities real straight: it has sued New York over subway bag searches:

New York's random searches began on July 22 after a second set of bomb attacks on the London transit system.

"The policy of searching thousands of subway riders daily without any suspicion that they have done anything wrong is unprecedented, unproductive and unconstitutional," said NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman, whose organization filed the suit on behalf of five New York city subway riders.

The searches - which seemed to be voluntary, based on what I saw in New York last weekend - were intended as reassuring, not invasive. To be sure, the chances of thwarting a terrorist attack with random bag searches is pretty slim. The point seemed to be more to make people feel better. Nobody objected much.

Can someone please explain to me why it's not an invasion of civil liberties to have a bag searched at an airport, but it is in a subway?

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6:45 PM
Unequivocal condemnation

Damian Penny said it best in reaction to this:

A 19-year-old Israeli soldier opened fire inside a bus Thursday, killing four Israeli Arabs before being killed by an angry mob — the deadliest attack on Arabs in Israel by a Jewish extremist since 1990.

Damian Penny claims there's "no word for it but terrorism":

So, will Ken Livingstone or John Pilger make excuses for this because of the gunman's "desperation"? Don't hold your breath. (And, of course, they shouldn't - and neither should defenders of Israel. This act was vile, unforgivable and unjustifiable terrorism.)

No equivocation, no "buts", no searching for "root causes" or justifications. If I hear any of that I will probably scream.

Edan Natan Zaada's name should become synonymous with that of Baruch Goldstein or Yigal Amir. They should be universally condemned and reviled by Jews and non-Jews alike. These crazies are not part of my religion or my people. Their acts were unconscionable and there are no excuses. None.

Update: To put it more eloquently:

"I am shamed over the disgrace imposed upon us by a degenerate murderer. You are not part of the community of Israel. You are not part of the democratic camp which we all belong to in this house, and many of the people despise you. You are not partners in the Zionist enterprise. You are a foreign implant. You are an errant weed. Sensible Judaism spits you out. You placed yourself outside the wall of Jewish law. You are a shame on Zionism and an embarrassment to Judaism."

- then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in response to Baruch Goldstein's murder of 29 Palestinians in 1994.

All I can say is, same goes for you, Edan Natan Zaada.

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3:04 PM
Habs tracker

The Canadiens have re-signed Alex Kovalev and also signed former Wings' defenseman Mathieu Dandenault.

Update: Brisebois is officially gone... the Avalanche have signed him to a 2-year deal that I predict they will regret in about five minutes.

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5:03 PM
Plane crashes on Toronto runway

An Air France flight apparently missed the runway in Toronto and caught fire. No details yet on injuries or casualties, but the apparant cause is a lightning storm that thwarted landing efforts.

I'll take a 3-1/2 hour flight delay over that, any day.

(But remember, kids, it's still safer than driving...)

Update: Reports are that there were only minor injuries among the passangers; miraculously, nobody was killed or injured more seriously.

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1:54 PM
They like us! (But they like the Aussies better...)

A new global poll ranks Canada second out of 25 countries in terms of people's favourite countries, largely due to a widespread perception of what have become beloved Canadian stereotypes:

Unlike the United States, which ranked in at the 11th position, Canada's government was seen as neutral. The majority of those polled also described the government as trustworthy, Anholt said.

Canada also ranked second in categories including investment, immigration, and people. It placed third in the hospitality category.

"With a stable, liberal and democratic government and a healthcare system envied by its neighbours -- justified or not -- Canada is clearly a strong brand that goes beyond the borders of its hemisphere," Anholt said.

That's all very well and good, and will be taken as further evidence that our policy of hoping that nobody will attack us cause we're so nice to everyone and don't take any stands is working.

However, it's worth pointing out that the #1 ranked country - Australia - is an ally of Bush and Blair in Iraq and has taken a much firmer position in the War on Terror than Canada... and people like the Aussies anyway.

By the way, the survey also found that Canada has no culture... and based this on the fact that people don't recognize us for hockey or Sarah McLachlin. Um, since when is Canadian culture defined by Sarah MacLachlin???

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11:15 AM
More on Harry Potter

Imshin's verdict is that this latest Harry Potter installment is better than the last.

I think the exact opposite. And judging by the comments section on her site, I'm not the only one.

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10:52 AM
A courageous stance

Here's Irshad Manji, once again refusing to be silenced on what she believes despite what I'd imagine is relentless pressure:

Still, as long as Muslims live in pretense, we will be affirming that we have something to hide. It's not enough for us to protest that radicals are exploiting Islam as a sword. Of course they are. Now, moderate Muslims must stop exploiting Islam as a shield - one that protects us from authentic introspection and our neighbours from genuine understanding.

Manji has risked an awful lot to publish her besteselling book and a series of essays, give speeches, and become a visible force for change that has been too easily silenced through extremist intimidation. The least we can do is read what she has to say.

(Via Debbye).

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10:03 AM
That'll scare them

The EU has issued a threat to Iran regarding its nuclear program: stop or we'll send you to the United Nations.

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10:00 AM
Olympics not so smart

Hopefully Tremblay has been brought back to reality on his nonsensical Olympic musings.

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9:49 AM
Anglophobia?

The Gazette published an editorial today by Don MacPherson in which it discussed results of a new CROP- La Presse poll stating that an Anglophone could never get elected Premier here in Quebec.

Excuse me for saying this... but duh!

Us make up less than 10% of Quebec's population, we're mostly concentrated in Montreal, and we're not exactly what most people have in mind when they refer to the "Quebecois" culture.

MacPherson believes this is yet more evidence of the province's oldest, and worst-kept secret prejudice: Anglophobia:

So the question of whether Quebec is ready for an anglophone premier is so hypothetical that it's a wonder La Presse was willing to blow the cover of "civic" Quebec nationalism by having its pollster ask it.

The answers should have come as no surprise, since anglophobia is the one form of prejudice that remains socially acceptable in an otherwise tolerant Quebec, justified on the grounds of historic rivalry and a minority's insecurity. And the opinion leaders in French Quebec who could lead the fight against this prejudice, as their counterparts have done elsewhere, instead, with few exceptions, feed and nurture it.

I would be the first to deny that there is a deep prejudice against English or English-speakers in this province. Anyone who has tried to apply for a job here - even with fluent French - has surely run up against it.

However, I don't think I'd go so far as to claim that anyone who believes an Anglophone shouldn't be premier is prejudiced against English. In a province where language has been the political issue for decades, is it so far-fetched to believe that people think the best person to lead a province is someone who represents most of the people on that particular issue?

I'm not defending Anglophobia. But it's nonsense to claim it's on par with racism or sexism. Those things have nothing to do with a person's political leanings. Language, on the other hand, has everything to do with it here. Have we become so politically-correct that we are refusing to acknowledge this obvious fact?

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3:29 PM
The enemy of my enemy is not my friend

The death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and the naming of (former Prince) Abdullah as his successor has thrown the spotlight back on the Saudi regime, if just for a moment. Especially on the close ties that the United States has maintained with this despotic, corrupt, dictatorial regime where women can't drive or vote and nobody but Muslims can live, pray or exist. Among other things.

Bush and Abdullah may be bosom buddies, and to some people this is fine and dandy because Bin Laden and Al Quaeda are fighting against the Saudi regime.

But this is a deal with the devil - always has been, always will be (as long as it continues). It's time for Bush to recognize that sometimes the guy fighting the bad guys isn't a good guy: he's another kind of bad guy. And the enemy of my enemy, in this case, is not my friend.

Somehow, I doubt that we'll hear any such speeches from Western leaders at King Fahd's funeral, though.

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3:20 PM
"Maverick opinion"

The British ambassador to Israel, Simon McDonald, reaches out to Israel in an article in Maariv and rips into Ken Livingstone for his spoutings since 7/7:

Other opinions widely reported in Israel reflect neither the views of the British Government nor of the British people. Ken Livingstone speaks only for himself on this issue. His views about Israel are wrong. Government Ministers have made that plain. Tony Blair and Jack Straw have repeatedly condemned terrorist attacks against Israelis. A solitary opinion must not be allowed to poison a strong and healthy relationship between two allies. [ . . . ] A combination of mis-reporting and of Livingstone's maverick opinion cannot be allowed to weaken the Israel-UK friendship.

Via Imshin, who shares my opinion that opinions like Livingstone's — while not unique — are thankfully in the British minority.

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2:48 PM
What are they thinking???

Buried in an article lauding the success of the FINA world championships here in Montreal is this seemingly throwaway tidbit:

Then Tremblay raised another possibility yesterday, telling reporters earlier in the day this city might bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games on the 40th anniversary of the costly 1976 Games and hinting he might make a more concrete announcement during his remarks at the closing ceremony.

All Tremblay said, however, was Montreal would not wait another 30 years to meet the world again.

Is he nuts????

Montreal is finally going to finish paying off the Big Owe next year, 30 years after the fiasco of the 1976 games. And now, just as we're finally climbing out of debt, Tremblay wants to send us zooming right back into it? You've got to be kidding me!

Sure, I cheered when Vancouver was awarded the 2010 games. Canadian pride and all. But I'm not delusional. A 2016 Montreal bid would surely be futile, since what makes Tremblay think that Canada would be awarded two Olympic games in the same decade is beyond me. But even a failed bid is costly. Just look at what cities like Paris and New York just spent to lose the 2012 Games.

Memo to Tremblay: you may be soaring high right now because we managed to host a relatively minor sporting event without bleeding massive sums of cash. But you really need to get over your delusion that this means Montreal is invincible.

Someone please, please take Tremblay's ego down a peg before it's too late.

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2:41 PM
Terror escalation

The Jerusalem Post reports the findings of a Shin Bet report on how the Palestinians have been using the so-called "truce" to escalate terror attacks against Israel:

The first seven months of the year have witnessed a marked, gradual increase in attempts by all the terror organizations, especially the Islamic Jihad, to launch attacks, despite the Palestinian declared tahdiya (truce) on January 22, a seven-page report published by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed on Monday.

[ . . . ]

Since the beginning of 2005, 33 Israelis have been killed - 21 of them after the so-called January 22 truce. The deterioration of the continued while terror threats increased, totaling 436 attacks in July alone.

There was also a 50 percent increase in Gaza-based mortar attacks during the same period, with a total of 142 mortar shells fired at settlements, compared to 65 in May, the report stated.

As Meryl Yourish would say: What truce?

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11:02 PM
The "We're sorry, ladies and gentlemen" airline, part... something

Honestly, I should turn this into a regular column, due to the frequency of my rants against Air Canada on this blog. But they just keep on asking for it.

My flight home from New York today was delayed by 3-1/2 hours. That's for a flight that only takes an hour. The vague description of the cause was something to do with "equipment delays". The airline kept us waiting in the terminal all that time without offering us so much as a free soda.

Then I got home and saw this:

Air Canada's efforts to burnish its public image were dealt a blow Sunday when the carrier was forced to cancel some flights because its pilots reached the limit on their flying time for the month.

Oh. So that's what they mean by "equipment delays".

Air Canada's advertisements feature all sorts of promises of fun stuff that's "coming soon", like personal entertainment sets on all seats. A word of advice to the management team at Air Canada: the main thing passengers want to be "coming soon" is their flight. You might want to spend a bit less money and effort focusing on useless nonsense, and a bit more on basics like, oh, say, customer service. Just a thought.

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