The Lull, part 4

Oh, this is great: Still think we're up against guys armed with pointy sticks? Check out Nasrallah's latest high-tech toys.

Let's all sing Kumbaya: Despite Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams (an' sheer if that no be a wee bit o' irony, me lad), Saniora vows that Lebanon will never make peace with Israel.

We suck at PR: I've said it before and I'll say it again—as a country, we do a horrifically bad job of PR. In fact, Dr. Uri Lebel of the Ben Gurion Institute whipped up a quickie study that seems to indicate that even we were starting to believe the Hezbullah PR machine over ours!

When is a war not a war? When oh-so-PC sources water it down to hostilities. According to one of the myriad of push-mail e-newsletters I get (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty), I spent over a month in my meimad because of hostilities. I think not. Tossing your lawn clippings into your neighbor's yard is hostility; climbing over his fence to kill his kids, and then firing over 5,000 rockets and missiles at him, is war, at least when those neighbors are countries.

A piece of peace: Peace and quiet for parents, that is, as 1.7 million school kids returned to school Sunday. Some will have to face schools damaged by ketusha hits, such as this school in Kiryat Yam.

Oh, no! They're off the plane!!! Snakes! And scorpions! Do we sense a movie deal in this?

Only two weeks to go: Mark your calendars; 19 September is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. If you've missed it the past few years, you can make up for it with an eye patch and a rented parrot. I'm looking forward to saying "Aaargggghhh!!" to all my clients that day.