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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6:03 PM
"Game of the Century"

Well, maybe that's overstating things a little. But they couldn't have scripted it much better than this: Last game of the season, the two biggest NHL rivals in the two biggest hockey cities in the world facing off against one another, winner goes to the playoffs, loser goes to the golf course.

Well, more or less.

If the Habs walk away with 2 points tonight, we head to Buffalo. If the Leafs win, they have to hope that the Islanders lose to New Jersey tomorrow. And the potentially complicating factor is that if the Habs lose in overtime, we still head to the post-season... unless the Isles win tomorrow.

None of that will matter if we win tonight, though. So as grocery stores across the city are full of people lining up to pay for beer and potato chips, and bars get the big screens out and tuned to CBC or RDS, the eyes of the nation will turn to the Air Canada Centre tonight.

Go Habs Go! (And Lose Leafs Lose!)

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12:41 AM
Problems with comments

Just a note to say I'm having some temporary problems with the comments. They may not be working for you right now, and your antivirus software might be giving you a message about a malicious script. Rest assured that this is a glitch, not a real virus attack, and I'm working to get things resolved soon.

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4:30 PM
The Gender Equity issue: a refreshing perspective

While much is being made of Nancy Pelosi's comments on the relative lack of women in Saudi politics (see below), here at home, under very different circumstances, we're hearing some of the same issues - and criticisms.

Stephane Dion is actively seeking female candidates to run for the federal Libs - he's even stated that he's willing to use a quota system to ensure "adequate representation", and to kick out male candidates to make room for female ones.

Here in Quebec, criticism abounded after last week's election reduced the number of female MNAs from 39 to 32.

Arguments like this have always annoyed me. As a woman, I believe that I ought to have every right and opportunity to do anything a man can do. And I also believe that, unlike in Saudi Arabia, here in Canada (and Quebec), that's pretty much true.

Women in Saudi Arabia can't drive, can't vote, can't walk out on the street unaccompanied by a male relative, have to hide behind veils and robes, can't participate in society as free and equal members. Saudi Arabia's problems run far deeper than simply ensuring adequate representation among elected officials. (For starters, the elections themselves are a sham... But that's a whole different rant.)

In contrast, here, women are free, full and equal members of society. If barriers still exist - and I acknowledge that they do - they are no longer legal and we are working hard to deinstitutionalize them.

But politicians who rant about not having enough women candidates are not saying so because they truly believe that women are barred from politics or lack opportunities; they're doing it for reasons that are - no pun intended - purely cosmetic.

And finally, a refreshing perspective on the subject from Brigitte Pellerin in the Ottawa Citizen:

According to something called the Inter-Parliamentary Union (ipu.org), Rwanda ranks first in the world with 48.8 per cent women representation in the national legislature, whereas Canada is 48th with 20.8 per cent. The United States, where we all know women are routinely persecuted by a political class bent on systemic gender inequality, is 68th with 16.3 per cent. So, is the theory that we'd be better off if we were governed more like Rwanda?

[ . . . ]

And if we're legislating quotas for perspective, then we should also make the proportion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, etc. representatives match their share of the general population, assuming we even know it. And once we get there, shouldn't we also worry about religious representation? What about race?

Oooh, dear.

To me equality means not caring whether my elected representative is male or female or black or gay or Methodist or whatever. And democracy means letting people elect whomever they think represents their views. I believe enforcing equal representation of women in politics would be wrong, undemocratic, and possibly even counterproductive. I suspect I am not alone.

Nope, not alone at all. I agree completely. And I encourage you to read the whole thing.

Equality by quota is counter-productive in the long run. It doesn't erradicate barriers, it merely sets up new ones. Equality really ought to mean equality of opportunity, and that will only happen when we stop electing, hiring people based on their gender or skin colour or language or religion, and start judging them based on ideas, accomplishments, and - what's that old-fashioned outdated thing again? - oh yeah, merit.

(But that just wouldn't be, y'know, politically correct).

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4:07 PM
In too deep

That's my impression of Nancy Pelosi and her trip to the Middle East, in open opposition to the White House's policies in the region. More of political stunt than anything, she's waded headfirst into the tumultuous waters of mideast politics, and something tells me she forgot her life raft.

She started in Syria, where she carried made-up messages from Israel. Now she's in Saudi Arabia, where she's apparently upset that there aren't enough women in politics (as opposed to, say, driving cars, walking on the streets, in the classrooms, in the business world...). She also praised King Abdullah for the Saudi "peace initiative" - in other words, the Arab world's way of scoring some world press brownie points while attempting to "negotiate" with Israel at gunpoint. (Tellingly, Olmert's counter-suggestion for a Mideast Peace Summit was met with the typical rejections and excuses - because, of course, nobody in the Arab world really wants to talk peace, they just want to be able to say they do).

Dialogue can be a good thing, but I have to question Pelosi's intentions with this trip, designed seemingly solely to be able to thumb her nose at Bush. Pelosi is coming across as naive, vindictive, and one of those people who does something just to be able to say "So there!. When the biggest cheerleader for her trip is Jimmy Carter, that's not saying very much.

I'm not suggesting I agree with how the Bush government has dealt with mideast politics. But the Democrats have a real chance to take back the White House next year and set the foreign policy agenda. Pelosi's ill-advised foray into an area of politics she obviously knows little about might be very costly for that bid.

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4:03 PM
Isn't it ironic comedic?

Alanis parodies one of the most ridiculously awful songs of all time. Hilarious!

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10:13 AM
Jewish Community Campus bombed

Just in time for Passover:

A homemade bomb exploded in front of a Jewish community centre last night, causing a scare but no injuries or damages.

The bomb went off in front of the door of the Ben Weider Community Centre on Westbury Ave. about 11 p.m., blackening the pavement outside without touching the building. A number of employees were inside at the time of the explosion, Montreal police Constable Marie-Claude Berard said.

The incident was caught on surveillance camera. Investigators are looking over the tapes and interviewing witnesses in hopes of obtaining a description of the suspect, Berard said.

For the moment, no notes or threats have been reported to lead police to label this a hate crime, though investigators are considering all possibilities, Berard said.

Thank G-d nobody was hurt. And I hope they catch the bastards and throw them in jail. But really, what else could it be but a hate crime?

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11:31 PM
Just ask Google Maps

Want to travel from Ottawa to Amsterdam this summer? Bruce asked Google Maps for an itinerary. Here's what it came up with.

Good luck with Step 23, Bruce.

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11:18 PM
Unlikely hero

The New York Rangers' shit-disturber Sean Avery, who not only contributed two goals and an assist to the Rangers' 7-2 pounding of the Leafs, but also punched out Darcy Tucker in the first period, for good measure.

The Rangers and the Leafs are both in the playoff race against us, but a Rangers' win was actually the best thing for the Habs tonight, because it kept us in 8th place. Not to mention, I just like seeing the Leafs lose on general principle, and seeing them embarrassed is just icing on the cake. Especially when it involves Tucker being knocked flat on his ass.

Now, this doesn't mean I'll have any love left for Avery when we face the Rangers on Thursday. But for tonight only, the man's my hero.

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8:05 PM
Passover for hockey fans

The Two-Minute Haggadah
A Passover service for the impatient.
By Michael Rubiner

Opening prayers:
Thanks, God, for creating wine. (Drink wine.)
Thanks for creating produce. (Eat parsley.)

Overview:
Once we were slaves in Egypt. Now we're free. That's why we're doing this.

Four questions:
1. What's up with the matzoh?
2. What's the deal with horseradish?
3. What's with the dipping of the herbs?
4. What's this whole slouching at the table business?

Answers:
1. When we left Egypt, we were in a hurry. There was no time for making decent bread.
2. Life was bitter, like horseradish.
3. It's called symbolism.
4. Free people get to slouch.

A funny story:
Once, these five rabbis talked all night, then it was morning. (Heat soup now.)

The four kinds of children and how to deal with them:
Wise child-explain Passover.
Simple child-explain Passover slowly.
Silent child-explain Passover loudly.
Wicked child-browbeat in front of the relatives.

Speaking of children:
We hid some matzoh. Whoever finds it gets five bucks.

The story of Passover:
It's a long time ago. We're slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh is a nightmare. We cry out for help. God brings plagues upon the Egyptians. We escape, bake some matzoh. God parts the Red Sea. We make it through; the Egyptians aren't so lucky. We wander 40 years in the desert, eat manna, get the Torah, wind up in Israel, get a new temple, enjoy several years without being persecuted again. (Let brisket cool now.)

The 10 Plagues:
Blood, Frogs, Lice-you name it.

The singing of "Dayenu":
If God had gotten us out of Egypt and not punished our enemies, it would've been enough.
If he'd punished our enemies and not parted the Red Sea, if would've been enough.
If he'd parted the Red Sea-(Remove gefilte fish from refrigerator now.)

Eat matzoh. Drink more wine. Slouch.

Thanks again, God, for everything.

SERVE MEAL.

Watch the Habs punish the Bruins on Tuesday night.

(Via e-mail forward from relatives).

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12:56 PM
One from the vault

Royal Caribbean has been advertising a lot lately, and every time I see one of their cruise ship ads, I remember that the campaign once won an "award" for worst use of music:

The big winner, submitted by dozens and dozens of you, is Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, which used Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" in a series of spots. As my reader Andrei put it, "Nothing says maritime comfort like a song about shooting up junk."

This poll is a couple of years old, but most of these ad campaigns are still running, leading me to believe that either the ad execs involved didn't know or didn't care.

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12:56 PM
April Fools

Check out the top 100 April Fool's hoaxes of all time, as judged by the Museum of Hoaxes.

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11:10 AM
Layton's fuzzy logic

Jack Layton things that the rise of the ADQ in Quebec means that more Quebeckers will vote NDP in the next federal election:

Layton told about 100 NDP supporters on Saturday that the rise of the ADQ was spurred by a rejection of the province's two "old" parties.

"They wanted to see something new," he said of Quebec voters.

Well, yes, that's true. But the similarities between the right-of-centre ADQ and the decidedly left-wing NDP end right there. People wanted change, sure, but they flocked to the ADQ, not to Quebec Solidaire. Layton might do well to remember that.

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