Green Sex

Geeze, is nothing sacred?

Makes you wonder how long condoms will last before it to makes the greenie banned lists of useful products. I am not sure I would want to trust my health or reproductive system to an environmentally friendly condom, and then again; what about spermicides – probably highly toxic to the environment as well as little tadpoles.

No wonder the greens can be so mean.

It doesn’t matter how you dress it up; McAfee so sucks

I have access to most of my financial accounts online - including my major credit card. It just so happens that I pay more attention to my credit card statement online than I ever did when I received the paper statements. And it’s a good thing too.

I decided to check this morning to see if a particular charge had cleared. It hadn’t, but I was struck curious by a charge I never authorized from a company which I had not purchased a good or service from since 2004. Now $84.41 is not a great deal of money in the larger scheme of things in life but I am a big believer in only paying for what one actually purchases. I'm odd that way.

In 2003, I bought a Dell computer which came with a year’s subscription to McAfee Virus/Firewall protection etc. I renewed the subscription in 2004 but I deliberately chose not to renew the subscription in 2005. End of story or so I thought. Knowing what I know today - I wish I had paid more attention to my paper statements in the old paper snail mail days. By late August 2006, the original hard drive of my computer fried and I bought a replacement drive which I promptly uploaded a non-McAfee virus/firewall software protection.

So imagine my surprise this morning when I was reading my credit card bill and discovered McAfee had billed me for a renewal for my “virus/firewall protection” software which I had declined to renew since 2005. I contacted the company and was told it had something to do with the ‘user terms & conditions agreement’ which states the company has the right to automatically charge a former customer’s credit card for automatic subscription renewals of virus protection software without receiving expressed instructions from the customer and without specifically supplying the good or service to the consumer. The Old Negative Option Billing Scheme.

And as far as I can tell, the real jaw clincher for their ‘user terms and conditions’ agreement is that McAfee reserves the right to continuously renew a passive “automatic” subscription for its product/service. Buy a McAfee product in 2004 and there is no suspension of charges until literally your credit card number expires.

I immediately attempted to contact McAfee via their website. Whatever you do – don’t attempt to maneuver around their website - where most customer service requests link to a dead end – or at least it did for me. Of course, it didn’t help that I haven’t a clue as to what software I purchased from McAfee originally….it was quite a long time ago. Eventually, I was able to get a McAfee customer service agent using the 800 number that was supplied on my credit card statement.

I got to listen to a customer service representative sing me a long song and dance about the user “terms & conditions of use agreement” which may wash in Texas or California but this is Canada; and there are very particular laws concerning negative option billing. Nor would it be to McAfee’s advantage to end up litigating in a Canadian courtroom and attempt to defend their practice of negative option billing without proof of goods or services delivered to me since 2004. After much hemming and hawing, the customer service agent agreed to reverse the charges of 2007 within 3-5 business days.

Will they? I have absolutely no idea which is why I also contacted my credit card company and immediately reported the very dodgy charge from McAfee. The credit card company immediately put the amount in dispute and removed it from my credit card statement where it will not accrue any interest or penalty charges. The onus is now on McAfee to prove positive proof that I requested the good and/or service charged and received the good or service charge in order to be reimbursed from the credit card company.

In my opinion, negative option billing is a despicable business practice which no alleged ethical business organization can afford to indulge in and still be thought of as anything better than your common two-bit-cyber conmen. I may be out of pocket for the years 2005 and 2006; and I accept that as the price to be paid for my initial carelessness. But I will be damned if I with let McAfee continue to fleece me under the terms of their user agreement to infinity and beyond.

So here’s my best attempt at a little consumer advocacy:

1. Refuse to use any McAfee product until the company discontinues the practice of using negative option billing.

2. Religiously check your credit card statements item by item.

3. Immediately report any charges to your credit card company which were not explicitly and expressly authorized by you - the card holder.

Good Help is always hard to find

A dear friend of mine is in crisis so blogging just doesn’t seem very important in the overall scheme of my life today. Instead I’ll post the kind of thing she would have gotten a snicker out of:

Brothel owners in Bulgaria are blaming global warming for staff shortages.
They claim their best girls are working in ski resorts because a lack of snow has forced tourists to seek other pleasures. Petra Nestorova, who runs an escort agency in Sofia, said: 'We have hired students, but they are temps and nothing like our elite girls.'

The sure signs of Palestinian Political Unity

How about that Mecca Accord! The International Herald is reporting a gun battle in Gaza City:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: Members of a Hamas militia engaged in a daytime gunbattle with security officers in the worst outbreak of internal violence since rival Palestinian factions agreed to form a unity government last month, security officials said.

The gunbattle broke out in Gaza City when Hamas and Fatah loyalists argued over who had control of a nearby training compound, security officials said. The Fatah-allied security forces demanded the Hamas militiamen leave the area, but they refused, saying it fell under the control of the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, security officials said. There were no injuries.

In two other incidents, unknown assailants fired shots at the house and car of a senior security officer who has had past problems with Hamas, security officials said. Shots were also fired at a police headquarters, and police returned fire, the security officials said.

And surprise, surprise – the Palestinian Prime Minister does not believe the formation of a new unity government can be created by the end of the week. Its been what - three weeks or so, since the Mecca Accord and still no unity government in the Palestinian Parliament. Sounds like the Saudis are being cheap.

Israeli High Court Petition

The Israeli state comptroller's office is set tomorrow to release its interim report on the management of the home front from last summer’s war with Lebanon and the OC Home Front Commander is petitioning the Israeli High Court to delay publication of the report reports the Jerusalem Post:

OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yitzhak Gershon petitioned the High Court of Justice on Monday to postpone the publication of State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss's report on the management of the home front during the Lebanon war, at least until Gershon has had time to respond to the report's conclusions, Israel Radio reported.

However, Lindenstrauss held firm in the face of the controversy raging over the planned release of the report, and intends to publish it on Tuesday as planned. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also demanded that Lindenstrauss postpone the release of the findings.

On Sunday, Knesset legal advisor Nurit Elstein asked Knesset State Comptroller's Committee chairman MK Zevulun Orlev (NU-NRP) to delay the committee meeting on the comptroller's report, arguing that its subjects - the government and the IDF - have not yet received a copy and therefore not had an opportunity to respond as required by law. Orlev said Monday that Elstein's request had been a recommendation only and that "MKs set the agenda, not clerks." Orlev said that he plans to hold the committee meeting as scheduled.

But the OC Home front command is not the only one squirming at the publication of the comptroller’s report. Olmert is doing his own little dance:

Long simmering tension between Olmert and Lindenstrauss boiled over in a sharply worded three-page letter Olmert sent to the Knesset Sunday, accusing Lindenstrauss of having made up his mind before he began his investigation of the government's functioning during last summer's war and of "systematic leaks" to the press.

In the letter, addressed to Orlev and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik Orlev, Olmert hinted that there may be room for criminal action against those who leaked information from the interim findings of the comptroller's report on the state of home front preparedness for the war. "Leaking a report even before it was passed on to those being investigated is a criminal offense," Olmert wrote.

I’m not sure Olmert can garner any sympathy or support for his position since the walls of his own political meanderings seem to be particularly fragile.

So Nice isn’t so nice after all

Ynet News reports that a “no Jews allow clause” in apartment rental contracts in the French city of Nice (which was formulated during the Vichy days) is still on the books:

PARIS – A municipal regulation in the southern French city of Nice requires apartment renters "to have a French citizenship and not to be Jewish." According to the Nice Matin newspaper, the regulations were formulated in the days France collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

The newspaper found out that such a clause appears in the regulations of about 1,000 apartment buildings in the Mediterranean city, and therefore remains valid to this day.

And the French faux-ed outrage when former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suggested French Jews needed “to immigrate to Israel as early as possible” and referred to “France as the home of the wildest anti-Semitism.”

Even at my age - I am still learning new things about me

Late yesterday afternoon a snow storm hit Toronto and before most of the city had a chance to shovel out from under the blizzard; the snow turned overnight into falling rain. This means the streets and sidewalks are under at least 2 inches of water in the shallow ends. A brisk 20 minute walk to work this morning turned into an ordeal of almost biblical proportions.

But I learned a new allegedly important fact about my body. My toes and feet will show relatively little sign of injury or harm - even if my socks and boots are submerged in ice cold water for at least 60 minutes in temperatures of 2°C.

I haven’t a clue as to what to do with my new found knowledge, but I take comfort in knowing - I can still walk and survive just about anything.

How to be a hero to your children

My main computer fried its hard drive late last August, and so, with two children set to enter secondary school I made a decision to purchase a new one – immediately. I did have another back-up computer, an old Windows ’98 pre-2000 model, which was starting to talk back every time I turned it on and grumbles everytime one attempts to execute a command. It’s still running (in a manner of speaking) but it just processes too slowly to do anything but run old Windows 95 and 95 PC games on it.

Eventually, I bought another hard drive to replace the one that fried and got a wireless network running between the two new machines. I thought with two fully functioning computers it would ease up on demand. Boy, was I wrong. We didn’t have this much bickering when we had only one computer with an internet connection. Of course, I hadn’t counted on the youngest finding an online game called Gunz or the Last Amazon being able to watch television and movies from the internet. You would not believe the chaos which has ensued for the last four months which is why I rarely blog on weekends.

For the first time, I had to institute computer user limits. Two hours on weekdays and no more than 4 hours on day on the weekend for everyone under 21 years of age and no one gets extra time for homework. Homework has to come out of one’s total computer time. Much grumbling under breathe has ensued, but better that, than the unceasing outright bickering which was plaguing my home in every waking moment.

I realize I probably need another decent computer to add to the network but it’s just not in the financial cards. A new washing machine takes priority. I had bought the boys (so I tell myself and others) an Xbox 360 a few months ago, but I had refused to hook it up to the internet so - no Xbox live.

Last night I came home with a wireless network adapter for the Xbox 360. When the Last Amazon called me after she had arrived home safely I advised her I had purchased a wireless adaptor on my lunch hour. She, who does not even game, was so appreciative that when I came through the door - a cappuccino with whipped hot cream and cinnamon was waiting. My youngest, Isaiah Sender, insisted on helping me take off my boots, while my man, Montana, very gallantly relieved me of my coat and bags.

I really was dreading hooking up the adaptor. I couldn’t find, for the life of me, the little piece of paper wherein I had dutifully written down my network administrator passwords, nor could I remember what the passwords were. Somehow, I was able to get around that fact. Montana thinks I am a computer technical genius while Isaiah Sender just knelt in awe. The Last Amazon calls me the sainted blessed mother.

I suspect it means I am just the fool who has unsecured my wireless network but the Xbox is now very live with a year’s paid subscription. The children are ecstatic for now. Today is a teacher’s professional development day; therefore, no school today. There are two working internet connected computers, Xbox live and fully functioning. There is an abundant supply of snacks (including the unmanly Goldfish crackers) and drinks. And the allegedly sainted Momma has to spend the day toiling to earn the daily bread which makes all these toys possible. I just wonder how long this state of bliss will last, but for now; life is good and I am a hero.

About those Zionist toxic rays

This should be filed away in your memory for future reference - if you really feel the urge to attempt dialogue in the hate-Israel crowd. Ynet News:

The Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission has ruled that no toxic radioactive materials were found in the areas bombed by Israel during the recent war , following a series of accusations and suspicions regarding the shells and weapons used by the Israel Defense Forces.

The ruling, based on laboratory tests, was presented during a scientific symposium on nuclear energy held in Lebanon on Monday. The symposium was aimed at informing the Lebanese public of lab tests carried out on more than 100 sites bombed during the war.

And just in case you maintain the slightest doubt concering the general competency or just one of those nagging suspicions that the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission is not up to snuff; the UN found no evidence of depleted uranium either.

What I find absolutely fascinating, is how far the interntional community is willing to go in pandering to even the most outrageous charge or delusion - just as long as a single Jew/Israeli is involved.

Even our MoonBats have defense credentials

I have no idea where this notion came from which suggests Canadians are boring. Loons - maybe, but entertaining loons at that. Take the case of a former Canadian Minister of Defense:

A former Canadian defense minister says be believes advanced technology from extraterrestrial civilizations offers the best hope to "save our planet" from the perils of climate change.

Paul Hellyer, 83, is calling for a public disclosure of alien technology obtained during alleged UFO crashes -- such as the mysterious 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico -- because he believes alien species can provide humanity with a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Mr. Hellyer has been a public UFO advocate since September 2005 when he spoke at a symposium in Toronto. But with concern over global warming at an all-time high, and Canadian political parties struggling to out-green one another, Mr. Hellyer said governments and the military have a responsibility to "come clean on what they know" now more than ever.

"Climate change is the No. 1 problem facing the world today," he said. "I'm not discouraging anyone from being green conscious, but I would like to see what (alien) technology there might be that could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels within a generation ... that could be a way to save our planet." Mr. Hellyer will be discussing his views at the upcoming screening of a new UFO documentary called Fastwalkers, in Toronto's De La Salle College Theatre on March 7.

All of which just goes to show - one can never really know what will be premiering next at one of Canada’s top private prep schools.

h/t National News Watch

Once upon a time in XBox land

Generally, there is nothing I hate worse than having to call technical support for anything. Talk about an exercise in both patience and frustration. A few months ago I bought the boys (so I tell myself) an X Box 360. I went all out and bought them a new console with the all the upper end premium add-ons rather than buying a used console and piecing it together over time as has been my habit. I actually delaying buying the X Box 360 hoping that Microsoft has gotten all the kinks out the manufacturing process by the time I was ready to buy the machine.

From the get-go the console disk drive door stuck on and off. Often the console couldn’t read brand new X Box 360 games and we would be forced to repeatedly shut-down and restart the system until the game did work. The problems only compounded with time, until eventually the drive door refused to open at all. I was finally forced to accept the fact there was nothing else for it but to call Microsoft’s technical support.

Why call centres hire people whose pronunciation of English is so heavily accented that the language is hardly recognizable for an English technical support line is beyond my ability to fathom. The horrible thing about having any kind of an accent - in almost any language - is that a telephone line will magnify and distort the accent making comprehension a truly Herculean task. It’s like trying to crack a code to understand what the technical support is saying - and that’s just the opening greeting.

After skillfully maneuvering through all the various options on the voicemail tree systems and having to wait forever and an age for a live technical support person to answer the line; I spent another frustrating 30 minutes going over all the trouble shooting tips I had done a 1,000 times before I called technical support. There seemed to be no other remedy but to return the X Box 360 console to the repair centre.

I had returned a Sony Playstation 2 once for repair but I have to give Microsoft full marks because I didn’t have to pay for the cost to courier the console to them for repair. Microsoft arranged for a special couriered return box, prepaid and with all the appropriate labels to be delivered to me. At no point during this process did I have to pay for anything. Last night I picked up what I thought was the repaired console only to discover a brand new spanking X Box 360 had been shipped to me instead. Total turnaround time from my call to Microsoft and a new machine to be delivered to my door – 8 days.

I really have to admit I really did like my old X box. You could drop that sucker on the floor or bang it off the wall and she always worked - every single time.

Rape as an expression of resisting the “occupation”.

This is one of the most perverse expressions of a culture I have read for some time. But then again, if the brutal murder of an unarmed man in prayer is sanctioned - why not rape?

A universe is lost

Yesterday morning I read the Israeli online papers as is my habit, and I quickly skimmed over the reports of the murder of an Israeli “settler”. A later report carried news that two 18 year old Palestinian Arabs had been arrested and confessed to the brutal stabbing murder of settler.

I didn’t initially pay a great deal of attention to this death. It was just one death among many. Of course, most of the Israeli papers make it easy to forget the individual death of anyone once the dreaded “settler” tag is used. Settlers are great demons of Israeli politics. It’s so easy to characterize and write them off as crazed right-wing religious zealots; and in fact, even my own Minister of Foreign Affairs recently attended an Israeli conference wherein he gave a speech which suggested Israeli settlers are the main obstacle to peace in the Middle East. And no one raised their voice to say ‘bah’ to that.

In fact, I suspect this comment at the Jerusalem Post encapsulates what a great many think and feel about the murder of a settler in Eretz Israel.

23. Natural Reaction to Occupation & Trespassing
Marlyin
02/27/2007 00:58

I feel for this man's family, but lets face the facts. In many countries, one is allowed to kill trespassers such as those who inhabit the illegal settlements in the West Bank. This is a natural reaction to the death and destruction Israel is reaping on the poor innocent Palestinians. The boys were just defending their national right to self determination. This is a pure math equation based on universal laws.

But lets put this settler’s death another way. I want you to imagine in your mind, a simple 42 year old man going outside to pray in forest grove. In an act of personal prayer, unbeknownst to our father of three, he has been stalked by two young men. In the very midst of his personal prayer to his G-d, he is set upon and brutally stabbed to death for “nationalistic reasons” by the two young men.

The young men in question are just 18 years old and have no ties to the victim of their expression of nationalistic rage. He has never issued a cross word to or deed against the two young men in question which they can recount or recall. His only allege sin is he dares to live and breathe in a land where the “other” says no Jews have a right to live or even breathe. Let alone pray.

Later on in the day I read this Jerusalem Post account, wherein I learned the name of the dreaded settler and that he was a Breslov Chassid. And I was moved. I hold a special place in my heart for Breslovers. When I was young, I kept thinking my grandfather had a friend called Robbie Notchman who he would often quote to me. It wasn’t until I grew older that I learned he was quoting the words of Rabbi Nachman.

It’s hard to describe the eternal hope, essential goodness and optimism which in fuses the writings and teachings of Rabbi Nachman and his followers. A few months ago, the Last Amazon talked me into watching a movie from Israel about a Breslov couple. Now the Last Amazon knows very little about Breslov philosophy per say, though there are a few things I have tried to pass on to her as were passed on to me.

Half way through the movie she turned to me and said, "I don’t think I could ever live among these people." When I asked why her answered surprised me. She is a pretty typical secular Canadian teenager so I immediately assumed she meant the clothes or one of the 1001 restrictions which govern their lives but it wasn't that. It was because they strived to be too good, too joyful and too kind. She felt, she would always feel too inadequate and unworthy in their company. I half suspect she is not alone in this regard. It’s easy for many to heap scorn upon the followers of Rabbi Nachman, but oh, how much hard it is to be.

A friend described Erez Levanon in this Jerusalem Post article as a man who “didn't wait for happiness to find him, he was invested in creating it for himself and others around him". Later on I came across these words at Lazer Beams concerning the passing of Erez Levanon:

Erez wasn't a person - he was a universe. He was the epitome of everything beautiful - the Land of Israel, the settlement of Bat Ayin, the Judean Hills, Rebbe Nachman's teachings, Judaism, Jewish outreach, brotherly love, humility, holiness, Chassidism, and the mellow strains of a sublime guitar.

Erez devoted his life to Hashem, to Rebbe Nachman, and to Jewish Outreach. He spent the last seven summers roaming the boondocks of India looking for lost Jewish souls that he could bring back to the fold with the magnetism of his ever-so-gentle personality and sweet guitar.

Words defy description of the evil that could extinguish such an exquisite candle. Erez was murdered while talking to Hashem in personal prayer, at one of his favorite spots for hitbodedut. People ask, "Why?"

Since we don't have the Holy Temple and ritual sacrifices that atone for our sins, Erez of blessed and saintly memory was undoubtedly taken as a flawless sacrifice for all of Israel. We are therefore required - wherever we may be - to mourn his death.

As a martyr who was killed in the sanctification of Hashem's name, Erez shall reach the loftiest portals of Heaven. May he intercede for all of us, amen. Baruch Dayan Emes.

I man cut down in prayer. An entire universe lost forever to us. Make no mistake - we are all the poorer for it.

Crying Uncle

Really, with each passing day I am really starting to seriously question not only what the point of UN Resolution 1701 was; but what’s the point of any international “peacekeeping” mission in the Lebanon. Arutz Sheva carries this report.

(IsraelNN.com) The Lebanese army has made a deal with Hizbullah terrorist guerillas, dividing up patrols in southern Lebanon, according to an officer of the United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL).

Hajj Ali, a Hizbullah terrorist leader who lives in the village of Bint Jbil near the Israeli border, declared, "There will be another war in the summer. It is the beginning of the end for Israel; we are preparing."

Somehow, I really don’t think Canadian taxpapers expected CIDA’s Lebanon Relief Fund to help prop a country determined to go down the path to perdition. And in that spirit, I suggest the next time the Lebanon cries “uncle” to the UN; we just let them whine in the corner by themselves.

EATA PETA

Just a quick reminder that March 15, 2007 is the Fifth Annual Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day. This year I am thinking a veal roast would work nicely.

Is Gaydamak the Israeli Equivalent of Khodorkovsky?

I am starting to believe there is something about Russian businessmen when they involve themselves in the political process which innately rubs governments the wrong way. Think Yukos, and now Gaydamak. Taken from the Jerusalem Post:

Arkadi Gaydamak, the Russian immigrant billionaire who last week announced the establishment of a movement for "social justice," found himself on the hot seat Sunday when police questioned him about a scandal surrounding an allegedly forged letter.

The interrogation concerned a criminal investigation led by Cmdr. Yohanan Danino of the Investigations and Intelligence Division of the Police which was opened two weeks ago as a result of suspicion that someone forged an official document concerning Gaydamak. In State Attorney Eran Shendar's findings, which he submitted to the police, the letter was found to be generated with the intent of damaging the appearance of the Israeli law enforcement community.

Gaydamak, who has been repeatedly investigated by police for a series of offenses, said upon entering the police station late Sunday morning that this was simply the latest attempt to discredit him. "I haven't done anything," said the businessman. "The police are pursuing me because of my criticism of them." "It is especially interesting that I was called for investigation only a number of days after I established a new party," he added. Despite his claims that he was a hapless victim of a police conspiracy, the billionaire was questioned by detectives of the National Fraud Squad at the unit's Bat Yam headquarters for over four hours.

In the possibly forged letter, which was ostensibly sent from the Justice Ministry to Russian law enforcement authorities, a senior ministry official requested that Russian authorities hand over information about Gaydamak and requested Russian cooperation in the event that Israel decided to arrest the billionaire. The letter also accused Gaydamak of laundering money in Israel and of "trying to bring down the Israeli government." Shendar reviewed the matter and discovered that the document did not apparently originate in the Justice Ministry.

But the investigation into Gaydamak does tend to veer off in some strange directions. Ynet News carries this report.:

Business mogul Arcadi Gaydamak will be investigated by the National Fraud Unit Monday following suspicion he gave perks to the prime minister's bureau chief Shula Zaken.

Zaken was suspended for six months at the beginning of February, due to suspicions against her in the alleged bribery affair at the Tax Authority. During a search of Zaken's house police found tickets to the VIP box at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. According to suspicions, Zaken purchased the tickets from Gaydamak at a discounted price.

Gaydamak is the owner of the Beitar Yerushalayim Soccer Club. On Sunday, the Israeli-Russian tycoon was interrogated for four hours by the Fraud Unit, as part of an investigation into the alleged forgery of an official document signed by the Justice Ministry's supervisor of international affairs.

Gaydamak has taken a number of actions as a private citizen which has shown the Kadima coalition to be a singularly inept administration. For instance, during last summer’s war with Lebanon, Gaydamak paid out of his own pocket for a number of tents cities to be established whose sole purpose was to provide a temporary safe haven for citizens in the north to get away from Hezbollah’s rocket fire. Apparently, the idea of moving civilians from the line of fire has never really entered into the Kadima administration consciousness or plans.

Last week Gaydamak announced the establishment of a political party whose sole purpose was to represent social justice issues and would forge ties with Likud fraction. Gaydamak would remain party chairman but would not stand for political office himself. This week we learn he is under investigation for a multitude of alleged offences.

I’ve got to wonder if the beneficiaries were anyone other than Jews would anyone in the Israeli government care, and more importantly; is there now an Israeli equivalent to Siberia?

Geeze, this brings back memories.

One of the headlines at the Drudge Report reads:

Global warming concerns are keeping children awake at night

Half of young children are anxious about the effects of global warming, often losing sleep because of their concern, according to a new report today. A survey of 1,150 youngsters aged between seven and 11 found that one in four blamed politicians for the problems of climate change.

One of my most prominent memories of early elementary school revolves around the fear I felt knowing that the sun was going to burn out and we would all be trying to survive an ice age where millions upon millions of people would simply perish in the cold.

A few years later, I was told in school that I didn't have to worry about dying in the new Ice Age because the population explosion would happen before the sun went nova. Then we were all going to die in the massive wide spread famine which would be the natural consequences of the unchecked population explosion.

By the time I left grade 6, I was taught I didn't have to worry about the population explosion and subsequent famine; because we were all going to die in the initial fallout from a nuclear bomb going off or in the nuclear winter brought on by the denotation of nuclear weapons. And even if no dropped the bomb; there was a significant risk of one of our nuclear power plants going into meltdown and we would all die in the fallout.

According to the progressive policies of my teachers, it should be considered a blessed miracle I will be experiencing my 45th year of life this summer. What I really wonder now is how I ever managed to survive the fears produced from my early elementary education. Though, I really don’t find it particularly comforting to learn that progressive teachers are still the bane of children in elementary school.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

I suspect this will be the first of many stays. Possibly even the first of 18. The Globe and Mail reports:

Terror-related charges against one of 18 suspects arrested in police raids last summer have been stayed, indicating that the accusations levied against at least some of those charged in connection with Canada's most high-profile anti-terror sweep are not nearly as strong as they first appeared.

A youth suspect, whose name cannot be identified, essentially avoided prosecution after the Crown stayed charges against him related to participating in an alleged terrorist training camp. Prosecutors could decide to reactivate the charges within the next year, but lawyers say this rarely happens without the introduction of new evidence. The decision was made public in a Brampton courtroom on Friday morning.

Charges against two other youth suspects have been reduced to one count from two. Because trials have not begun for any of the suspects, the evidence already presented in court during the preliminary hearing remains under a publication ban.

On June 2 of last year, hundreds of police officers converged on 17 suspects in the Toronto area (an 18th was arrested two months later). Members of the group face several charges in connection with an alleged plot to, among other things, storm parliament hill, behead MPs and blow up several Canadian landmarks using truck bombs.

Nobody can say I didn’t try to raise a flag last June when the arrests were originally made and even more recently.

And can I do gloat now?

Perhaps, I would take these arrests far more seriously if anyone had serious connections to the any known terror groups currently operating, but these Al-Qaeda wannabe’s might never have gotten around past the talking the walk if not for the efforts of our own law enforcement officials. Jihad is real, and the consequences are terrifying and tragic for all who have the misfortune to cross the Jihadists’ path. I just am not feeling it here which is no doubt probably a good thing.

If anything, the CSIS and the RCMP appear to have managed to do what no other international law enforcement agency has done before; which is to shut down a Jihad cell of this size. Who would have thought it possible? Certainly not I, and I bet that Maher Arar wouldn’t either. If my memory is not entirely on the fritz, the US’s department of Homeland Security largest single capture was a grand total of 6 in a single swoop in Buffalo.

Another thing that nags at me is the diverse backgrounds with these pre-dominantly young men. Jihad as it is practiced out in the wider world tends to operate in cells based on a similarity of ethnic background. These young men do not share a common ethnic heritage and the bond that ties seems to be strictly their religion. But where Jihad is a way of life in such places as Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq or even Egypt; groups of Jihadists tend to co-operate in cells based on ethnic/tribal lines. It’s a trust issue. Saudis trust other Saudis before they will trust Syrians, Iranians or Palestinians etc. Who knows, maybe it is just another first for Canadian multiculturalism – our Jihadists cross ethnic/tribal lines.

Don’t get me wrong. Jihad is real and religious hatreds run deep and often explode with brutal but casual violence. Nor do I think there is very little that humans are not capable of doing to each other in the name of anything. After all, I’m the woman who has had to live with a Star of David craved in her door inscribed with the immortal phrase “Kill the Jew”.

I try to do really good gloat when I can, because often when I am right, the circumstances are so horrendous, that I cannot possibly live with myself if I were to wallow in the misery and suffering of others.

rush, rush, rush

I am not quite sure why it is but lately my Friday mornings are far too busy to fit in a little blogging. So instead I will leave you with a few short links:

1 metric ton of explosives found on the Egyptian side of the Gaza-Egypt border. Gee, I wonder how that got there.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, having proven himself to be singularly ineffectual against either Hezbollah or Palestinian militant terrorism, has now decided to take a shot at terrorizing a few Jews. No doubt Olmert will be cheering him on to succeed at something.

Khaled Abu Toameh on the Mecca Accord.

Was Lawrence of Arabia a Zionist? What an extraordinary thought, but I am carrying some doubts.

Dial 999T-error

A UK charity thinks this is a great idea and is looking for venture capital for the start-up reports the Jerusalem Post.

A UK-based charity plans to set up call centers for technical support in Gaza and the West Bank, in a joint venture with an Israeli company, to help boost the Palestinian economy.

Transformational Business Network (TBN), based in Wimbledon in south London, says it wants to establish the first centers by the end of this year. TBN is currently raising the $1.1 million for the project from investors and international donors.

The registered UK charity said it wanted to devise an effort that would not be affected by the frequent closures imposed on Palestinian areas by Israel. Call center workers will work in local centers using modern call routing technology.

Initially, computer support to serve the Arabic speaking world will be on offer but TBN hopes to branch out into hotel bookings and other services. It will be run by TBN in close cooperation with Palestinian, Israeli and UK partners. The plans are to locate the centers in Beit Jala and Jenin.

A call centre for technical support in the Palestinian Authorities. Insert your favourite ammo/bomb/terror/al-Qaeda joke here.