Segacs’s World I Know

Now why does this seem somehow wrong?

Rosie O’Donnell will join Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway revival of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” on Sept. 20, the show’s producers said Monday. Fierstein plays Tevye the milkman, and O’Donnell will play his wife, Golde, according to a statement.

Oy vey.

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…

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?

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 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.

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.

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.

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???

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.

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).