Segacs’s World I Know

Some news breaks:

An Iraqi bomb attack killed 98 people. We barely even blink anymore with the news of terrorist attacks in Iraq – maybe because they’re so commonplace, maybe because people assume it’s a country at war so for some reason these things are expected, maybe because some people even tacitly support them in their intense hatred for Bush and the Americans. I don’t know about any of that, but I do know that the 98 lives that were lost are just as tragic as 98 lives lost anyplace else, and that we need to stop taking terror for granted in Iraq.

In “what truce?”, part one zillion, five Israelis were wounded – 2 seriously – in mortar attacks on Neveh Dekalim, and the weekend saw over 10 Qassam rockets fired on Sderot. It is unclear which of the Palestinian factions is behind the attacks, though Hamas appears to be involved in the former. You know, the same Hamas that the Guardian thinks ain’t so bad despite its mandate to seek Israel’s destruction.

And the new Harry Potter book was released yesterday, to the delight of fans everywhere. I’ll wait to borrow someone’s copy, and hopefully nobody will spoil it for me before then.

Just a week after London was hit with one of the worst terrorist attacks in memory, the Guardian fawns over Hamas.

Sickening.

Or, at least it looks like it’s going to be back in the fall. The NHL and the NHLPA have announced an agreement in principle that, if ratified, will finally end the lockout that cancelled this season:

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but TSN of Canada is reporting it is a six-year deal with a hard team-by-team salary cap with a first-year payroll range of $21 million to $39 million, including all player costs. The salary cap and payroll range will move up or down as revenues increase or decrease each year of the deal.

The players caved, basically. And they have to be feeling pretty low about the fact that this deal is worse than the one they rejected in February.

It looks like there will be a draft on July 21st using a lottery format, and that things will be back to normal for the start of next season – but not quite. The league lacks a US television deal, major sponsors have cancelled, and attendance is sure to be down. It’s anyone’s guess how long it will take the league to recover, if ever.

One question: how long will it take for Bob Goodenow to be fired?

How could the U.N. possibly get any more irrelevant than it already is? Well, one way would be to adopt this proposal to enlarge the Security Council from 15 to 25:

Brazil, Germany, Japan and India have introduced a resolution to add six permanent seats to the council, four for themselves and two for Africa, and four nonpermanent seats.

The U.N. is already incapable of getting anything done. The General Assembly is a joke and nobody takes its resolutions seriously. The Security Council still has a teensy little bit of clout… and expanding it would strip that completely away.

Here’s an alternate proposal for true U.N. reform: give the democracies 5 times the number of votes as the dictatorships. That would be a good start, anyway.

I almost missed this in all the other news, but convicted hate criminal David Ahenakew was stripped of his Order of Canada membership yesterday.

Good. It’s about time.

(Via Damian Penny).

A suicide bomber struck a Netanya shopping mall. At least two people are dead and another two dozen wounded, and those are just the initial numbers.

This despite the fact that there’s supposed to be a “truce” (as Meryl has been saying pretty much daily, what truce?).

This despite the fact that Israel is withdrawing unilaterally from Gaza this summer, over the protests of many of its citizens.

This despite the fact that the G8 just committed more money to the Palestinian Authority only a day after London’s terrorist bombings.

Bastards.

Islamic Jihad, in one sentence, stated that it “remained committed to the truce” and that it was responsible for today’s attack. That ridiculous contradiction will probably make perfect sense to the rest of the world, who will find a way to blame Israel.

The script by now is familiar. Israel will press Mahmoud Abbas for a condemnation of terror. Abbas will “condemn” the attack to the Western press, but not too loudly in case the Arab world might hear. The Americans will call for “all sides” to remain calm. The EU will find a way to blame Israel. Until the whole thing starts all over again.

When will this end?

Update: The grisly toll is now 3 dead and over 90 injured.

There were apparently quite a few athletes from the Maccabiah games in the area seeing as how numerous events were taking place in Netanya. Maybe it’s just the cynic in me speaking, but something tells me that the media coverage and pressure on Abbas would be stepped up if any Europeans or North Americans are determined to be among those dead or injured.

Taking a break from the stories of terrorism and death for an interlude of some positive news: the 17th annual Maccabiah games kicked off today in Israel.

The games will feature athletes from around the world competing in such sports as acquatics, rugby, soccer, baseball, volleyball, and tennis – in which my aunt and uncle are competing in several events. Good luck to them and to all the athletes.

Here’s Matthew Fisher from the National Post on why Canada is a target for terrorism despite the national delusion that we could never be one:

As the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden, has helpfully pointed out, Canada is a prime terrorist target despite the widespread Canadian misconception that theirs is a nation of peace-loving Boy Scouts only marginally involved in President George W. Bush’s global war on terror.

Ottawa, however, sent six warships to police the Arabian Sea after 9/11.

Ottawa dispatched a battle group to the mountains of Afghanistan in 2004 that included snipers who hunted down and killed al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives.

A Canadian frigate was part of a U.S. carrier battle group for several months in the war in Iraq.

Canada seconded a general for one year to the U.S. army office in Iraq responsible for planning military operations there.

And beginning next January, Canada is deploying an infantry battalion to southeastern Afghanistan where they will be specifically tasked with fighting al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Canadians must understand that as part of the West they are already into this up to their eyeballs. They must prepare at home for the almost unfathomable menace that confronts them. And because the war in Iraq has become an incubator for would-be terrorists it is growing every day.

Us Canadians tend to think that if we just sew flags on our backpacks and smile nicely, everyone will love us. Basically, Fisher is saying we should snap out of it, and soon. Basically, he’s right. G-d forbid there’s a successful attack on our soil, but we need to start thinking of ourselves as every bit as much of a target as our friends who have been hit… and we need to start giving those friends more loyalty, understanding and support.

Independent MP Chuck Cadman, who I once called “the most powerful man in Canada” for having the deciding vote on the Throne Speech to keep the minority Liberals in government, has passed away at 57, far too young.