A Weekend Deluge

It’s raining, it’s pouring: A big storm rolls through. The heavy rains cause flooding and problems all around the country—power outages, downed trees, and some really nasty traffic accidents. In Karmiel, however, our area is so hilly that the biggest problems are leaky roofs (not ours!) and the creation of instant ponds at large intersections. Gill and I go for a walk Friday afternoon; I am exhausted and sleep-deprived, but the cool air and cloudy skies look tempting. We figure that the rain has stopped, and are enjoying the refeshingly brisk walk when the thunder starts again, the skies open up, and we are caught in a serious deluge. By the time we get home, we are soaked through like two drowned rats.

Welcome to the 13th century: The weekend produced more examples of what we can expect from religious fanatics. Australian Mufti Sheikh Taj Din Al Hilaly basically says that any unveiled woman is asking to be raped, and Arshad Misbahi, the leading imam in Manchester, England, says that it is just fine and dandy to kill sexually active gay men. Meanwhile, those "youths" in Paris celebrate the anniversary of the 2005 riots by setting a few busses on fire. Youths. I love it. Not thugs, not terrorists, not Moslem fanatics, not nut jobs. Youths. The international press manages to reduce urban rioting to a few high-spirited, playful pranks. Every single one of those newspaper editors should personally appologize to the terrified bus drivers and passengers forced off at gunpoint.

A little cheesecake for a gloomy day: Miss Nadine poses on her sheepskin...