... whew... Good thing I didn't start to rant or anything...

Not really. They've hit their two targets, sure. But today, they killed two of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi's bodyguards. Their previous (obviously failed) attempt killed two bystanders. They took two attacks before they killed the spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin. The time they succeeded, they killed 8 other people. The previous attempt, a dropping of a 1/4 tonne bomb, failed to kill him, or any of the other high ranking Hamas leaders in the vicinity. The Israelis definitely aren't very skilled at this (I'm somehow hoping they don't get more practice, though.) Not that I'm a fan of Hamas, but I definitely know that missile launches from Apache helicopters are not the principled response to young men and women blowing themselves up (some might call firing missiles into civilian centres to combat terrorism hypocrisy, but I choose not to bring that up.)

On another note, has anyone tried to use EdmontonJournal.com? If you want to attract people to your news site, maybe you should make it load in a reasonable amount of time. But no, we can afford to make it slow. Is it the beautifully detailed pictures that's slowing me down? Nope, not many of those. Maybe it's the multimedia. Nope, virtually none. How about the handy flash menubar? Nope, just text. No, the reason it's slow is the fucking advertisements. They can't get a decent server to load the bullshit that no one reads anyway. It is literally faster to load the "E-edition" (where they basically scan the paper and put it online) than it is to load the text file version. Why would I want to use this source? Who are the geniuses running the online part of the Edmonton Journal and, by extension Canada.com (who gave them that domain, anyway?)

Finally, for some great "unbiased" online resources, there's 1ClickLobbyist.ca, which apparently only lobbies for you if you are on the right of the spectrum, and FreeDominion.ca. The latter taught me that today was National Liberty Day. Both are great sources of information... if you think that Lorne Gunter is a level-headed advocate for a fair and balanced view of the world.

If that's what he meant... then damn... they're good.

taken from the Guardian, this is an excerp from i believe Wednesday's Dubya address.

"Israel also has a large stake in the success of a democratic Palestine. Permanent occupation threatens Israel's identity and democracy. A stable, peaceful Palestinian state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel longs for. So I challenge Israel to take concrete steps to support the emergence of a viable, credible Palestinian state. "

I wonder if what he meant by challenge was take muthafuckin' helicopters to blow the shit out of Hammas Leaders.

Amazon.com video review: Welcome to the glorious world of crude cinematography, jarring editing, bizarre dialogue, acting that ranges from stilted to overwrought, and a weird mixture of over-the-top sentimentality, lurid lip smacking, and stern warnings about immorality--this is the world of 1930s social-hygiene films, out to rid the U.S. of dope fiends and sex maniacs. Reefer Madness is the most famous--justly so for its ridiculous depictions of hyperactive, sex-crazed pot smokers. Watch as Billy, straight-arrow high school student, is instantly addicted from smoking a marihuana cigarette! With a good dose of voyeurism and violence, Reefer Madness provides lots of unintentional entertainment. Sex Madness tells a similar tale of innocence gone astray, only this time it's syphilis that ultimately destroys a happy family. "Must there always be a social side to this business?" sighs a former beauty queen as an agent tries to pimp her out. This movie's most notable feature is its erratic narrative--whatever became of the lesbian secretaries that were introduced in the first few scenes? And note that the filmmakers' high moral purpose doesn't prevent them from showing a long scene in the dressing room of a burlesque club. But Cocaine Fiends may be the best of the trio; again, a small-town girl and her brother have their lives ruined by wicked drugs, and there's plenty of campy dialogue and acting--but there's a strange power to the movie's later scenes, where the low budget has led to an almost expressionistic use of light and shadow. All in all, a strange and fascinating look at America's love-hate relationship with sex and drugs. --Bret Fetzer

Amazon Review of Reefer Madness. (There's more than just one film)

from Isreal Foreign Affairs Ministry (www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/)

Soccer team erases enemy lines for Israelis, Palestinians

Apr. 13 - A soccer Peace Team, organized by the Peres Center for Peace, combined nine Israeli boys and nine Palestinian boys aged 10-12. Last week they competed in the American soccer tournament, the Dallas Cup, and proved that there's more than one way to win. Despite their 9-0 loss, the trip is hardly about soccer results. It's about 18 boys who assembled just for this weeklong visit.

"I h4xx0r3d ur m0mz ass last nite"

umm... what's this?

Stigmata Barbie?

and...who are you? Eric? who else has this shaw server?

so... for those of you who collect things...

Pop Culture Fair
Sunday 10am-4pm
Aviation Heritage Centre on Kingsway (so north-eastish by the muni)
65 vendors
selling things like: collectibles, books, posters, movies,
memorabilia, figurines, vinyl... you name it.

thought some of y'all might be interested.