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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7:57 PM
Phone call recap

Me: Hello?
Him: (in fairly good, though heavily-accented English) May I please speak to [segacs]?
Me: Yes, speaking?
Him: I'm a volunteer calling from the Harel campaign team and I was calling to ask you about the municipal election. Are you aware that there's an election on November 1st?
Me: Yes, I am.
Him: (a little embarrassed) And, may I ask if Mme Harel can count on your vote?
Me: (laughing) Well, I would definitely have to say... not.
Him: (laughing a little) Okay, thank you.

Even the volunteers know that when they get an anglophone on the phone, it's a lost cause.

On the other hand, in an election where our choices are Gerard corruption-is-my-middle-name Tremblay, Louise I-hate-anglos Harel, and Richard cars-and-corporations-are-evil Bergeron, I can't help but feel that my best bet on November 1st will be to stay home.

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11:29 AM
Anti-Israel crowd targets TIFF

The usual list of celebrity idiots are protesting the Toronto film festival for highlighting Israeli films and culture:

The group is circulating a letter of protest and has drawn more than 50 signatures from artists around the world including American writer Alice Walker, Canadian writer and activist Naomi Klein, U.K. filmmaker Ken Loach and American actor Danny Glover.

“Looking at modern, sophisticated Tel Aviv without also considering the city’s past and the realities of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza strip would be like rhapsodizing about the beauty and elegant lifestyles in white-only Cape Town or Johannesburg during apartheid without acknowledging the corresponding black townships of Khayelitsha and Soweto,” the letter states.

Same bullshit, different day. But what's almost more shocking is the response of the festival organizers:

Festival co-director Cameron Bailey responded with a statement defending the program, although he acknowledged “Tel Aviv is not a simple choice and that the city remains contested ground.”

Excuse me? Tel Aviv is "contested ground"???

There are no words.

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12:38 PM
The Little (Israeli) Mermaid?

Mermaid sightings in Kiryat Yam have been reported for the last several months:

An alleged mermaid, said to resemble a cross between a fish and a young girl, only appears at sunset. It performs a few tricks for onlookers before disappearing for the night.

One of the first people to see the mermaid, Shlomo Cohen, said, "I was with friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way. At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail."

There's a million-dollar reward announced by Kiryat Yam's tourism board for the first person who manages to photograph the mermaid. No word on whether that reward gets doubled if you present it alongside a photo of the Loch Ness Monster.

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12:27 PM
How to become a dictator, step seventy-three

Why, indoctrinate the children, of course.

And Venezuela continues its steady slide into repression.

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8:45 PM
Bank sez: Recession's over

Haven't you heard? The recession's over! This according to the Bank of Canada, which has waved its magic wand and proclaimed an end to all things R-word.

Something tells me that the record number of unemployed people might disagree with that assessment.

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4:27 PM
Hillary's priorities

So apparently, Hillary Clinton is not okay with a nuclear North Korea... but she doesn't seem to have a problem with a nuclear Iran.

Better hope that umbrella is big enough to protect you from the ensuing shitstorm, Hillary.

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7:08 PM
Montreal-isms

• Bixi is apparently having a problem with too many bikes ending up downtown and not making it back to the Plateau. You'd think someone might have anticipated this issue when they introduced a public bicycle service in a city built on a hill, no?
  
  
• Montreal has claimed the #1 spot on AskMen.com's Top 10 list of Canadian riots... as well as the #2, #3, #5, #8 and #9 spots. Clearly, something to be proud of.
  
  
• Apparently, Montreal's festival season might be one festival short this year, thanks to idiots in the federal government.
  
  
• T-shirt slogan of the week: "My drinking team has a hockey problem".
  
  
• I just got offered a hot pepper by a random guy in an elevator.

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10:17 PM
The hockey team we deserve

Well, the Habs are down 3-0 against the Bruins, and the season is a hair's breath from over. But, watching from the reds this evening, I couldn't even work my way up to being upset about it.

From the minute the sellout crowd booed loudly and rudely through the U.S. National Anthem, I knew it was going to be a long night. There is no excuse for that kind of disgusting display. If you don't want to sing, fine, but stand quietly and show some respect.

The boos continued all night for the likes of Zdeno Chara and company. The cheers, on the other hand, were loud and boisterous for hits, checks and fights, but were mostly absent otherwise. Last season, the Bell Centre was so loud during the playoff games that you couldn't even hear yourself think. Not so this season. When the team needed the crowd to rally behind them as they limped their way through a scoreless third, it was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

This fanbase eggs on the likes of Laraque and Stewart and encourages the team to play like thugs. Meanwhile, the so-called "big bad Bruins" beat us on skill, not might.

Yes, it's true that a good number of our key players were injured. Yes, it's true that Gainey has made some incredibly questionable decisions, including giving Carey Price a stranglehold on the starter's job for no apparent reason.

Ultimately, the better team won all three games. Boston has outplayed us, outmatched us, outdueled us in every critical category, and has walked away with the victories fair and square.

And until we fans start demanding better and acting with class, we can expect more of the same. This season, Montreal fans truly got the hockey team that we deserved.

Shame on us.

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8:34 PM
Carbo out, Gainey in

Turns out Bob Gainey wasn't completely accurate when he said he wasn't going to make any more moves this season. He didn't trade any players on deadline day, but he did just fire Guy Carbonneau as coach.

It's hard to argue that the Habs' recent woes can be blamed solely or even largely on Carbo. On the other hand, sometimes fault doesn't come into it. Sometimes it's just about shaking things up.

Can't help but feel bad for the guy, though. I liked Carbonneau as a player and I liked him as a coach. He led the Habs to their best record in over a decade last season, and this season started off promising as well. Then again, I guess the higher you rise, the further you fall.

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7:00 PM
Montreal-isms

Seen today in Square Victoria metro station: A busker playing the didgeridoo. Yes, that's right. The didgeridoo.

Did I mention how much I love my city?

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11:48 AM
Lieberman endorses Netanyahu

Looks like it will be an Yisrael Beiteinu-backed Likud government.

One potential monkey wrench: Lieberman made his support of Netanyahu conditional on forming a broad-based coalition. And so far, Livni looks prepared to keep Kadima in opposition.

So, as they say, it ain't over till Shimon Peres sings.

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9:17 AM
It's about time

The GSMA have announced measures to standardize mobile phone chargers by 2012.

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9:25 PM
100 Years

On February 15, 1909, exactly 100 years ago today, ice gorges dammed Niagara Falls, a New Zealand ship wrecked when encountering penguins, and the Lusitania had a rocky voyage, six years before it was sunk by a German torpedo in WWI.

And in no less important news, at least from a personal perspective, a baby boy was born in Montreal.

My grandfather died four years ago, at the age of 96. He would have been 100 years old today.

We miss you lots, Zaida!

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11:36 PM
Losing streak snapped

Shots: 48-22 in favour of Colorado. Final score: 4-2 Habs.

Halak stole that one for us. At least one of our goalies seems to have rediscovered his confidence, even if it's the wrong one. But that was a really dismal performance by the rest of the team.

Let's hope that this victory - however undeserved - helps energize the rest of the team to turn things around for real.

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7:02 PM
Bad to worse

Trying to find an adequate word to describe the Habs' dismal performance as of late. "Disastrous" just doesn't seem strong enough.

Gainey's got a busy couple of weeks ahead. He'll need to do something to turn things around before the trade deadline.

Update: The carnage continues.

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6:35 PM
Meanwhile in Venezuela

Hugo Chavez is trying again to become dictator-for-life, after being narrowly defeated last time around. Venezuelans vote in a referendum this Sunday to get rid of term limits. Observers are pessimistic that the opposition will be able to pull off a miracle a second time, but polls are close enough to think that the "no" side at least has a fighting chance.

Meanwhile, without George W. Bush in office anymore, Chavez has redirected his efforts towards the world's favourite scapegoat: Venezuela's Jewish community. In the past few years, antisemitism in Venezuela has reached staggering levels, and there's every indication that things are only going to get worse.

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5:20 PM
Another truce for Hamas to blatantly violate

Reports out of Egypt that Hamas is going to agree to a long-term truce with Israel for Gaza.

Read between the lines. We have:

• The truce being contingent on the re-opening of border crossings. Translation: Hamas is low on weapons supplies, and wants a time-out with easy access to re-arm.


• An expiry date on the truce of 18 months, after which all bets are off and the whole song-and-dance will start all over from scratch.


• Hamas doesn't refer to this as a "truce", but as the Arabic word "hudna", which has a completely different meaning. It's got nothing to do with a desire for reconciliation; instead, it's viewed as a tactical move.


• And of course, no deal for the release of Gilad Shalit.

But we all know what will happen. Hamas will announce the truce with great fanfare. It will then blatantly proceed to ignore and violate the truce daily. Israel will close its eyes as long as possible before finally having no choice but to respond. And then the world will universally condemn Israel for "violating the terms" of the truce.

I wonder if Meryl Yourish will launch another Shudna Watch in her blog?

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7:30 PM
Choose your own coalition

Speak Hebrew? Think you can fix Israel's political mess? Try your hand at coalition building with this fun tool.

(Hat tip: Yonah.)

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