Most Palestinians are Civilians Too

From the Globe and Mail: “A group of reserve air force pilots elicited wall-to-wall condemnation Thursday for their refusal to carry out bombings in Palestinian areas, but their unprecedented protest set off an emotional debate on the ethics of state-ordered assassination of suspected militants.”.

It’s easy for many, myself included, to condense the opinions of a handful of extremists to a much larger, easily identifiable group. Given the saturation of the news, and the shocking nature of suicide bombings, the temptation is there to believe that all Palestinians are terrorists. Israelis, who actually have to live in the terror zone, could even be forgiven if they believed that all Palestinians are potential terrorists.

The action of these Israeli pilots, while controversial, is still a bold statement. That they can hold onto their belief that the majority of all humans are good people while living in such times is testament to the human spirit.


Plotting to Use a Plotter

This Sunday, Erin and I will be at Kitchener’s Word on the Street. As you know, Erin will be reading at 1 pm; I’ll be manning the Alternatives Journal booth. I spent most of the day getting together materials for our two booths (one’s in Toronto, the other is in Kitchener) including running around trying to get banners plotted.

I have to say, the University of Waterloo is a marvellous institution, full of the latest computers and equipment. They have the technology to produce highly professional full colour posters and banners that will turn every head and drop every jaw.

They don’t, however, have laminators, and given that Sunday’s weather forecast calls for a chance of rain, I’m thinking that any banner that I have flapping in the wind had better be laminated. But that’s okay: they send can send posters away to have them laminated, to the fine operators of NC Pestill company…

…On the other side of Columbia Street, just across from the University Campus.

Specifically, the graphics lab with the plotter takes the poster, sends it via interoffice courier to the main graphics office, which then sends it as part of their daily shipment to NC Pestill, which returns it, which sends it to the graphics lab with the plotter, which calls me to pick it up.

It’s Friday. My chances of getting my banners laminated and back to me by Sunday? Zilch.

Any chance I could walk it over myself to be laminated? “I guess that would be quicker.”

Nice to see that the lab workers saw the same humour in the situation.

A lot of walking around, but well worth it. The banners look gorgeous and will turn some heads. I can also report that the fall issue of Alternatives Journal has headed to the printers and looks great. It will be on newsstands in just a couple of weeks.

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