Segacs’s World I Know

Londoners barely had time to celebrate being awarded the 2012 Olympics before terror struck this morning:

Two people have been killed and scores have been injured after three blasts on the Underground network and another on a double-decker bus in London. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was “reasonably clear” there had been a series of terrorist attacks.

He said it was “particularly barbaric” that it was timed to coincide with the G8 summit. He is returning to London.

An Islamist website has posted a statement – purportedly from al-Qaeda – claiming it was behind the attacks.

There’s chaos right now and details are sketchy. There seems to be at least six separate attacks within minutes of each other, all in Central London on major buses or tube stations. It’s looking like the numbers of those dead or injured from the attacks is going to rise quickly as details emerge.

This is truly horrifying. Sadly it’s not nearly as shocking anymore as 9/11 was four years ago. The first priority will have to be treating the victims and assessing the damage. But Tony Blair is not likely to back down in the face of terror.

It’s too easy and hyperbolic to call this England’s 9/11, though I’m sure we’ll be hearing some of that shortly as well.

Update: CNN is now reporting at least 40 people dead and hundreds injured. These numbers are sadly sure to climb in the course of the day.

This will be the story everywhere today, without a doubt.

I wonder if the Norwegian MP who nominated Geldof realizes that the Nobel Prize is supposed to be awarded to someone who actually accomplishes something. And, despite what Geldof may think, getting a bunch of rock stars to play music on the same day and getting his name in the paper an awful lot don’t count.

Mayor Gerald Tremblay is promising $10 billion to fix the infrastructure and drainage systems in Montreal, after yesterday’s flooding:

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay called the sudden downpour of rain an “act of God.” But he spoke Wednesday about the need for the city to take steps to ensure such acts don’t end up causing headaches for residents every time they occur.

“We can’t correct a system that has been in place 50-60 years ago and that has to be revised for the 21st century,” said Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay.

“That’s why we have to invest billions of dollars.”

Tremblay has promised to devote $10 billion over the next 20 years to replace the system, and he has the full support of Quebec Premier Jean Charest.

Let’s put aside the issue of whether newer is better, in light of the fact that one of the worst spots is the brand-new L’Acadie interchange, just completed this year after millions of dollars of taxpayer money were spent. Our system isn’t bad because it’s old; it’s bad because it’s bad. Montreal has lousy roads, legendary potholes, poorly-maintained pipes and water mains that have a habit of bursting in the wintertime. This isn’t new and it’s not going away anytime soon.

These are empty promises for Tremblay to make. Today, he’s placating angry people who have water damage in their basements or who got stuck on flooding highways yesterday. And by the time he actually has to spend a dime, someone else will be in office – both his office and Charest’s. They’ll have other spending priorities, like referendums or language police. And we’ll all forget about it… until the next flood.

Bono called Paul Martin “infuriating” for his refusal to make large commitments of increased foreign aid in the wake of Live 8:

“He’s very difficult to deal with because he won’t agree to things that he doesn’t believe he can deliver, although that is very frustrating and annoying and infuriating,” Bono told reporters while standing next to Martin.

Canada currently spends the equivalent of 0.26 percent of GDP on foreign aid. Martin says he would rather commit to small increases he knows he can afford than make long-term promises.

Bono, I love your music and the video for Where The Streets Have No Name kicks ass. So I mean this with all due respect: shut up!

Martin may be a weak political leader who waffles more than an Eggo, but at least he’s a political leader. Who elected Bono leader of anything?

This is just part of a larger rant that I have about celebrities and politics. We used to have economists talking about the economy, international relations experts discussing international relations, political analysts talking politics… Agree or disagree, the people leading the discourse usually actually knew something about their topic and had solid credentials in their field.

Since when did “#1 on the Billboard rock charts” become a credential for discussing world trade or poverty?

This is not a new phenomenon. It’s been going on for years, and has been encouraged by the fact that stars get publicity for their political action, and are under a large amount of pressure to pretend to care about causes bigger than themselves. Some actually do care. I have no problem with that.

What I do have a problem with is this notion that we’re supposed to listen to them because they’re celebrities. In a debate about world trade, if you put a Ph.D. in global economics at a table with Jeanine Garofalo, why should we assume that they’re on equal footing to discuss the issues? I won’t give much weight to Paul Martin’s opinion on rock music, so why should I care so much what Bono thinks about politics?

In last year’s American election, in which we had Springsteen singing for Kerry and Britney Spears cheering for Bush, I couldn’t help but wonder whether anyone was actually basing their vote on what celebrities were saying. And if so, what does that say about the electorate?

That’s my issue with Live 8 in general. International aid and third-world poverty are serious issues, and nobody elected Roger Waters or Dave Matthews to decide how best to spend our tax dollars to deal with them.

Celebrities are human beings – often with good hearts and fat bank accounts. If they want to do charity work or get involved in worthy causes, more power to them. But when they use their charity work as a publicity stunt, it cheapens them and their cause.

It also creates issues among fans who respect celebrities for their art but dislike their politics. Should I refuse to watch Sean Penn’s movies because I don’t like his soapbox political views? No, that’s mixing issues, isn’t it? But by suggesting that his celebrity status lends credence to his politics, the celebrities themselves have mixed those issues, leaving someone like me to either have to avoid art because of politics, or wonder if I’m implicitly supporting politics because of art. When I go to an Our Lady Peace concert and, in the midst of screaming and cheering, Raine Maida shouts that we should “send a message to Bush to stay out of Iraq”, it puts a sour taste in my mouth. Regardless of his message (I’d feel the same way if Raine said the opposite), suddenly I’m no longer at a rock concert, but at a political rally. It didn’t say that on my ticket. I didn’t pay for that. All it did was to make me feel manipulated and used.

The most reasonable point I’ve ever heard from a celebrity on the issue of celebs in politics comes from Alice Cooper:

“To me, that’s treason. I call it treason against rock-and-roll, because rock is the antithesis of politics. Rock should never be in bed with politics. If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we’re morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal.”

Cooper’s comments were made in the context of last year’s US election campaign, but they’re equally valid for issues like foreign aid and world trade.

So let Bono think that Paul Martin is “infuriating”. That’s fine. I don’t really care. I may disagree with Martin an awful lot, but here he is being eminently reasonable, refusing to make lavish promises he can’t keep and instead sticking to more immediate, gradual commitments. Foreign aid in itself won’t solve African poverty overnight. And, despite what he may think, Bob Geldof is not uniquely qualified to tell us how to think.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that maybe – just maybe – if Bono were Canadian and had actually voted for Martin, then his criticism might be a bit more valid. In the meantime, please stick to rock music and let the politicians stick to politics.

I haven’t done one of these in a while. And some bloggers have been writing very, very good posts. So it’s high time, I guess.

Here’s Lynn on so-called “messianic Judaism”:

We Jews have been fighting this battle for nigh on two thousand years. Christians have been trying to explain to us where and how we went wrong since the dawn of Christianity. Whether it’s the threat of eternal damnation or death by the sword, the noose, the bullet or the gas chamber, whether it’s physical violence or gentle persuasion, we’ve been there and done that. We have all the tee shirts. Those of us with any historical education at all are way too familiar with these ploys to fall for them. Unfortunately, we live in an age when too many of us lack that education. Jews today are generally smarter about everything else and (except, perhaps, in Israel) stupider about Judaism than they’ve ever been. So we’re ripe for the picking. And, with a little help from their friends, the missionaries are eagerly anticipating the harvest.

Lisa eloquently sums up – as only she knows how – the overwhelming sentiment in Israel these days about disengagement:

The situation is heating up here; it’s not pleasant; it’s very complex; as usual, the people with the least power are paying the highest price; and I really wish this painful enterprise had been planned and executed in a more organized, sensitive fashion.

And closer to home, Debbye has some of the most reasonable commentary on the gay marriage issue I’ve seen so far from the right:

To reiterate: the one prospect I find insupportable is that of allowing gays to marry yet a future Conservative Party government suddenly declaring those marriages null and void. Try to put yourselves in the position of marrying, making plans for a future together and even making joint financial investments and then imagine being told your marriage is no longer legitimate.

Forget the circusy atmosphere we see on television and some of the wilder “activists” showcased by a sensationalist media and focus on the human face of this issue. Gay couples love one another – in probably the same variables of intensity and committment as straight couples – and I believe their love is entitled to respect.

The damage to the institution of marriage was done long before gays emerged from the closet. We can blame easier divorces, the pill, Roe vs. Wade, or the sexual revolution and even the “disposable society” but we simply cannot with any honesty blame gays much less instituting gay marriage.

Hmmmm, all women today. Well, I guess that’s fair, seeing as how the guys usually get all the linky love. Once I’m highlighting women bloggers, I should direct everyone to Meryl, Imshin and Allison while I’m at it, not for any particular post but more for all of them in general.

The sun’s come out and dried up all the rain. It’s gonna be a nice day.

London has won the bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, beating out co-finalist Paris and an all-star competition that included New York, Moscow and Madrid.

Regardless of how they feel about the Olympics, there’s sure to be a lot of smug satisfaction in England today about having one more thing to stick in the collective ear of the French.

It’s been almost 15 years since the big flood of ’87, and it seems today we’re getting an anniversary reminder.

The massive amount of rain that is pouring at the moment has turned streets into rivers, underpasses into giant lakes, and forced closures of major arteries causing traffic nightmares all over the city. The Decarie Expressway is closed in both directions, as is the 40 at L’Acadie and the 13 at the Dorval tunnel. Dozens of smaller roads and underpasses are blocked off or impassable. Sirens can be heard everywhere as frantic motorists try to avoid getting stuck underwater.

I skipped my evening plans when I realized I’d never get there, and instead simply drove home – which proved not to be so simple. But now I’m watching the rain from my window.

Visuals to come as soon as they’re available. In the meantime, if you need to be out in this, be careful.

Update: Here are some images from Cyberpresse:

Decarie Expressway

Another of Decarie Expressway

More cars stuck on the Expressway

People had to abandon their cars as the Decarie flooded

Update #2: La Presse has some eyewitness accounts from people who were stuck on the Decarie River – er – Expressway this afternoon. About 15 people had to crawl out of their cars from the windows or the sunroofs. One woman lost her shoes and had to walk barefoot in several feet of water. Another man, with water up to his arms, had to push his car out of the water. People who had to escape their cars were given blankets and coffee in a nearby church. Canoe also reported numerous basement floods in about 150 homes.

Dear Karla Homolka: Please die. Signed: everyone.

(Source: you know who you are).

Elections Canada published campaign financing statistics showing the Liberals took in less than half the money of the Tories last year:

Figures released by Elections Canada show the Liberals took in $5.2-million in the election year of 2004, while the newly merged Conservatives raked in $10.9-million.

So the big question is, what was the source of most of this funding? Because, judging by the tune that the Conservative Party has been singing all year, I’m willing to bet that a good part of that $10.9 million was chanelled from groups lobbying against same-sex marriage.