Segacs’s World I Know

John Morgan, one of the stars of Royal Canadian Air Farce, has passed away at age 75.

I haven’t watched the show in years, but it used to be almost a family tradition to tune in and watch the weekly political gags. Morgan’s biggest hit gag was probably “Mike… from Canmore”. I used to laugh so hard that I almost cried.

Farewell, Mr. Morgan.

Collective Soul’s first studio release in 4 years, Youth, was released today. The band ain’t the same without Ross. But Joel does a decent fill-in job and this is a solid musical achievement for the guys after their hiatus and split with their record label.

Also, Live released their greatest hits CD/DVD, Awake.

Bush is finally coming to Canada. Took him long enough.

Amidst all the calls for his head on a platter, Colin Powell has resigned.

Because of things like this:

Republican senator who has questioned whether an abortion opponent could win approval to the U.S. Supreme Court must agree to back President Bush’s nominees if he is to head the committee acting on those nominations, the Senate’s Republican leader said.

Bush has four years to fill Supreme Court seats with basically no opposition. He doesn’t have to think about future re-election anymore. He has a majority in both houses and a huge debt to the far-right conservative Christian groups. Stacking the court to overturn Roe v. Wade may be only the beginning.

The Palestinian spokespeople claim it wasn’t an assassination attempt:

Yasser Arafat’s interim successor escaped injury in a Gaza gunfight triggered by hostile militants on Sunday as Palestinian officials set Jan. 9 for elections to replace the late president and avert a feared power vacuum.

[ . . . ]

The incident began after gunmen from Arafat’s splintered Fatah movement shouting “No to Abu Mazen” — Abbas’s nickname — marched by him as he stood outside the tent, paused and began firing shots into the air.

The gunmen’s rifles were pointed upwards, not at Abbas and Palestinian officials said it was not an assassination attempt.

Members of Arafat’s presidential guard hustled Abbas, 69, into the tent and threw him to the ground for his safety as the militants burst in. Chaos ensued as gunmen and bodyguards began shooting at each other. In the end, two bodyguards lay dead and four other Palestinians were wounded, medics said.

As gunfire blazed about him, Abbas was hustled to safety in his local office. The gunmen withdrew and no one was arrested.

“We were paying condolences. Emotions were high. There was random gunfire and pushing in the crowd,” a calm-looking Abbas told reporters at his office afterward.

I wonder if the anyone actually believes that. I’m betting Abbas doesn’t.

Arafat’s barely cold in his grave and it’s starting already. It appears that nobody will even wait out the “40 days of mourning” before starting a civil war. And in this kind of civil war, the winners will be the most violent, the least moderate, and the worst enemies of Israel.

What was that about an “opportunity for peace”, Mr. Bush?

Arafat was buried in Ramallah after a funeral in Cairo. The press is describing both as “chaotic”:

An Egyptian helicopter flew Arafat’s coffin from Egypt, where a funeral service was held, to his Muqata headquarters. The aircraft was quickly surrounding by a surging crowd of thousands chanting Arafat’s name.

Firing into the air, Palestinian security men struggled earlier to remove the coffin from the aircraft and then held on to it tight as they placed it on a vehicle that plied its way through a dense throng of weeping mourners.

“With our blood and soul we redeem you, Abu Ammar,” the crowd chanted, using the nom de guerre of their leader, who fought for decades for a state he never achieved.

At least nine Palestinians were wounded by shots fired by the security forces or gunmen. Medics said hundreds were treated after fainting or for minor injuries during the crush.

In the meantime, Ma’ariv has printed the details of Suha’s meeting with PA leaders before the announcement of Arafat’s death:

As soon as the delegation arrived in the French Capital, an extremely tense meeting was held between Suha and Arafat’s chief financial advisor and confidante, Mohmmanad Rashid, and the Palestinian leaders.

“The Palestinian people will never forgive you for what you are doing”, they told Suha. The Rais’s wife began crying and told them, after regaining her composure, that she cannot return to live in Gaza with their daughter: “She has no future there”.

Suha told the PA leaders that she was in need of financial security that would allow her to continue living in the same level she has been used to. “We will allow you to live in the same level”, one of the senior leaders told her, “But you must sign an agreement and reveal all of your husband’s bank accounts and investments, and enable the transfer of the funds that belong to the PA. Do not rob this money from the Palestinian people”.

At some point, the leaders even warned her that if she would refuse to sign the papers, “The Palestinian people all over the world will never give you peace and quiet”. She then conferred with her lawyers and family members, after which she returned to the room and signed the papers. As first revealed by NRG Maariv, she received a considerable portion of Arafat’s fortune.

So they paid her off to disappear, essentially. She must be so proud.

Canadian PM Paul Martin is sending Pierre Pettigrew to Arafat’s funeral to represent Canada.

I wish Canada would have the guts to boycott altogeher. But I suppose that’s unreasonable seeing as how the USA, the UK, the EU states, and just about everyone else is sending representation. Canada has never been willing to take a moral stand on anything else, so why would they now?

Martin is also calling for renewed peace efforts in the wake of Arafat’s death, perpetuating the myth that now that Arafat’s gone, the Palestinian people are suddenly ready to renounce terrorism and make peace:

“Chairman Arafat’s influence on regional and global events has been undeniable. While comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians was never attained in his lifetime, chairman Arafat’s efforts, along with those of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, were recognized in 1994 with the Nobel Peace Prize.”

This day is turning into one long gagging opportunity. Even as Israel makes conciliatory statements, the Palestinians are already blaming Arafat’s death on Israel and calling for a renewed wave of attacks, in what is sure to be an emerging power struggle for the Palestinian leadership where the repulsive mark of victory is the number of dead Jews each group can claim credit for:

Hamas’ top political leader, Khaled Mashaal, told Al-Jazeera television by telephone Thursday, “I hold Israel responsible for the crime of killing Abu Ammar [Arafat].” He offered no evidence.

[ . . . ]

“Yes, death is an act of God and a man the age of brother Abu Ammar may die a natural death, but all the circumstances which we have seen in the past two weeks and medical reports indicate that brother Abu Ammar had been poisoned,” Mashaal said.

[ . . . ]

“The loss of the great leader will increase our determination and steadfastness to continue Jihad and resistance against the Zionist enemy until victory and liberation is achieved,” Hamas said in statement.

The world just doesn’t get it. Arafat led his people towards hatred. He was a terrorist. He invented much of modern terrorism and he offered it as the only path to his people. None of that will be undone overnight by his death. In fact, with Hamas or the Islamic Jihad standing to gain power from this “tranisition”, things may get a whole lot worse before they get better.

Israeli traitor Mordechai Vanunu is back under arrest, jsut seven months after he finished serving an 18-year prison sentence for selling state secrets. Ostensibly this new arrest comes because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, as per the terms of his release agreeement.