Segacs's World I Know

Archive for the ‘Shameless plugs’ Category

Alan has the follow-up on the UNRWA story, namely that Kofi Annan is backing Peter Hansen, the corrupt agency head who freely admits employing terrorists, among other things. I can’t claim to be too surprised at that one.

Debbye has thoughts on the CBC’s “Greatest Canadian” contest, something I’ve tried to avoid watching because I knew it would make me very very angry. Judging by the top 30, it seems we’re propagating our own stereotypes as a nation, voting in hockey players, any popstar or movie star with crossover American success, and iconofied politicians. The fact that this is a contest where Don Cherry can place in a top 10 alongside Alexander Graham Bell should say it all. *Sigh*.

Imshin is absolutely required reading, lashing out at those who believe that Israel should not exist. She also points to this article, published in the Guardian, about anti-Americanism and antisemitism in Europe.

And this is a little late, but Burnside has packed in his keyboard. Another casualty of the blogosphere. He’ll be missed.

I haven’t done this in a while, and I think some of my fave bloggers are feeling neglected. Not that they care about the 2 hits they’ll get from these links, but hey, I think they’re great reads… so you should too

Lynn is not impressed by Arafat’s mea culpa and neither is Meryl. Neither am I, for that matter. Arafat’s line about how “even the prophets made mistakes” sounds more like an egotistical attempt for Arafat to compare himself to a prophet than anything else. I guess megalomania comes with the territory for dictators. Whatever.

LGF has the Muslim self-congratulations for vote influence in Canada, which is a logical follow-up to some of what I posted before the election.

Damian has some thoughts about the backlash against Springsteen for participating in the concerts for John Kerry. I think he nails the issue – it’s silly to boycott all celebs for their political views unless they’re extreme. But if people want to boycott, or to criticize, that’s part of freedom of speech as well. Personally I wish celebs would butt out of politics and stick to their areas of expertise, but I know that’s about as likely to happen as peace in the middle east.

And finally, a shout-out to the newest link on my blogroll, Autonomous Source. Bruce is a blogger from right here in Quebec, and definately worth a read.

Damian Penny for Prime Minister!

Hey, who else thinks it’s a good idea? Besides, he wants to appoint me to his cabinet as Minister of External Affairs. I’m honoured… and a little frightened. Hey Damian, do I have your permission to dispatch Bill Graham to Denmark?

This rant by Tonecluster ought to be required reading for… well… everyone. Don’t just skim it. Read the whole thing. Carefully. Then go back and read it again. And if necessary, again. Until you get it.

Here’s just a short excerpt:

To quote Adrian Belew, “What in the world Has happened to the world?” Look, I believe that women and men should be treated equally in society and under the law, believe that someone’s sexual preferences are their personal business, that the government doesn’t belong in religion, or bedrooms, or looking over the shoulder of a physician. I reject discrimination in any form. I love freedom, maybe a part of this is because my Dad (the Curmudge) is the first guy in a long line of people not to have been born under tyranny. Ditto for my maternal Grandparents. No one chased the Curmudge into a jail, or worse, just because he’s a Jew. That can’t be said of his father. No one came to my door when I was 18 and marched me into the army at gun- and swordpoint or killed my sister and mother because they were Jews in the wrong place at the wrong time. That can’t be said of two of my great-uncles.

I believe in lots of liberal ideas, and I can give a good goddam whether or not you agree with me. I’m not going to force my beliefs on you, and trust me: don’t try yours on me.

And yet I’m told by some I live under tyranny. I’m told that the worst thing to happen to freedom is George Bush. I’m told that I am not free in America anymore. I’m told that Bush is a Nazi; a fascist; a tyrannical despot; a dictator. My response: Oh really, numbnuts? Why should I believe that nonsense? Because it makes you feel better if I drink that Kool Aid with you??

Not a [expletive deleted] chance, you [really expletive deleted]!

You really, really need to read the rest.

(via Damian).

David seems happy at the decision of the state of New Jersey’s ban on Ladies’ Night, on the grounds that such promotions discriminate against men.

Give me a break! This is political-correctness gone way overboard.

What next? No more student or senior prices at the movies? No more youth tickets on trains?

*Sigh*.

Update: Whoops, that was Daniel who posted that opinion, not David. Apologies. By the way, read them both at Tainted Glass. (Plug, plug).

I haven’t been able to post as much as I’d like to lately, due to being very preoccupied with work and with other stuff in my life. So in the meantime, here are some must-read links:

If you’re not reading Imshin, you should be. She has been blogging in her typically insightful fashion lately about Shavuot and Zionism’s true meaning, and about antisemitism at Berkeley.

LGF has the photo that proves just how little the UN can be trusted in the mideast. And Meryl has some biting commentary on the latest news emerging from Israel.

In Canadian news, the election talk that seems to be dominating the airwaves. But Damian Penny and David Janes have a disgusting story of racism interfering in custody cases that proves just how dangerous these “PC” policies can be for innocent children. As for the election, Paul Jané comments on the Liberals’ transparent scheme to make ridiculous healthcare promises at the eleventh hour that they clearly have no intention of keeping. (Anyone else remember the “no more GST” promise? Remind me again why I keep voting for these guys?)

Lynn B. is taking a break of unknown duration, to try to sort things out:

When I started this blog, it was in the hope that it would help me to make some sense out of the bloodbath being perpetrated against Israel and the inexplicable indifference and even approval with which most of the rest of the world was responding. It’s not working. In fact, my attempts to keep on top of events and to interpret their implications are only turning me into a bigger bundle of nerves than I was before.

[ . . . ]

At any rate, this is a roundabout way of saying that I’m taking a mental health break of uncertain duration. I’m hopefully going to be spending more time in the garden and actually talking face-to-face with people and less time in front of this box. Maybe that will help. We’ll see.

Lynn’s commentary is some of the most sensible on the web. And I for one will miss her.

But as for trying to explain the inexplicable, well, I sympathize. Sometimes the world just seems so nuts and upside-down, it’s challenging to my sanity to even blog about it. So I take breaks. I focus on work. I hang out with friends, see stupid movies, read paperbacks, travel, go out, visit family, and do other normal everyday events of my life.

Somehow, though, I keep coming back. The world isn’t going to make any more sense than it did before, but maybe it’s about the small triumphs, the accomplishments that in some tiny way do help to make sense of even one sliver of the world. Or maybe it’s just an addiction. In any case, I have a sneaking suspicion (and a hope) that Lynn will be back soon.

Something tells me there’s a metaphor here but I’m too lazy to try to explain it right now.

. . . was nice.

I headed down there over the weekend, and I managed to squeeze some city exploring in between the business I had to do. It’s been a number of years since my last visit, and I can’t get over how much the city has changed. Not just the conspicuous absence of a couple of towers. But also how much more patriotic everyone seems. And how clean the city is in general, compared to what I remember from my last time there. Still expensive though. That hasn’t changed.

At any rate, I missed a bunch of news over the weekend, and rather than play catch-up, I’ll post a few links:

Allison, Lynn, and Harry commemorate Yom HaZikaron. Barry has been all over the North Korean train crash story. David weighs in on the abortion debate. And Meryl tries to take back the F-word from the nutbags. (In case you’re wondering, the F-word in question is feminism.)

In other news, seems like the only Habs fan cheering these days is none other than Vinny Lecavalier. *Sigh*.

• What on earth is that William Hung kid doing performing on Jay Leno? Sheesh, he’s so bad it’s embarrassing! I’d feel bad for the poor kid… but he’s more successful than most real musicians in North America. For the next 15 minutes at least. I don’t watch American Idol or anything, but I’d venture to say he’s enjoying more fame and publicity than any of the finalists! From Beatles to Hung in less than fifty years. What is music coming to?

• Letters like this one are encouraging and nice to see. But they’re also easy. Too easy. It’s simple to act upset and shocked when assholes firebomb an elementary school. It’s harder to face down other forms of antisemitism that aren’t so obvious but are just as harmful. I’d like to see a flooding of support for the Jewish community when there’s a suicide attack in Israel. Instead, we get finger-pointing and Israel-bashing.

• Speaking of the UTT fire, Geoff has photos (via Celestial Blue). Disturbing to see the building that way. I can’t bring myself to drive by. Though the attack happened in the elementary school’s library, the high school is attached and so I spent 5 years of my life inside that building on a near-daily basis. I’m too used to remembering it as the place I dreaded seeing as we drove up every morning… and was happy to be let loose from every afternoon … only because it meant long days trapped inside boring classes. It meant a school that was falling apart, with leaky toilets and an ever-present smell of rotten fish. It meant all the things that are a normal part of high school. It never meant fear of being harmed or attacked. What will the building mean to the current students?

• Lynn has the latest about the Mel Gibson movie, and its convenient messages in the Arab world. Here’s a hint: It’s not a hit in Muslim countries because of Monica Belluci’s breasts.

• Michele has done a lot to restore my faith in the education system. It seems that there are actually teachers out there who encourage kids to think for themselves and debate!

• In the meantime, I’ve concluded that Passover must be sponsored by the gyms and fitness centres. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt in such need of exercise.

Finally, let’s just pause for a moment and appreciate the wonderful thing that is a LONG WEEKEND!!!