Forwarded by a friend of mine, Iram N.:

Date: Jul 30, 2006

Hi people:

There was a Anti-War/ Pro-Peace demo today that I attended on very short notice. We are trying to get as many people out as possible to come to the next one on August 12 @1PM and the same location (Israeli Consulate at 180 Bloor St.). I was surprised to see today there were more non-asians and non-arabs there than people like us. Even national labour unions, jews against occupation and churches were there.The realization of how important it is for Harper to back away from his anti-peace stance is dawning quickly and we need to voice our stand.

Hopefully, the two week advance notice will allow more people to come and show solidarity. If you wouldnt mind, kindly circulate this among people you know so that we can all show up in great numbers.

Location and Time
MASS RALLY & MARCH
Saturday, Aug 12
1:00pm
Israeli Consulate
180 Bloor Street West
(west of Avenue Road, north side of Bloor - left after exiting St. George subway)

Thanks,
Iram

Overheard following conversation on Bloor St.:

1st Woman: … She’s paying for the condo and for the car so it’s like what’s he bringing to the relationship. So he takes her to a U2 concert in Ireland.
2nd Woman: He probably got the tickets for free.
1st Woman: Yeah but still. Its the EXPERIENCE…

Me: Oh hell. Now I wanna watch a U2 concert in Ireland.

From Carol’s Blog:

Bold the books you have read. Italicize the books you plan to read. Cross out those you plan never to read.

In my case, I didnt strike out anything. I just didnt bold or italicize books I’d never heard off or had seen movie versions of or didnt find the summary interesting:

# The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
# The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
# The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
# The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
# To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
# The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
# His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
# Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) - J.K. Rowling
# Life of Pi - Yann Martel
# Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
# Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
# The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
# The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
# Lord of the Flies - William Golding
# Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
# 1984 - George Orwell
# Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) - J.K. Rowling
# One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
# Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
# The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
# The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
# Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
# Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
# Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
# Neuromancer - William Gibson
# Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson
# The Secret History - Donna Tartt
# A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
# Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
# Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
# American Gods - Neil Gaiman
# Ender’s Game (The Ender Saga) - Orson Scott Card
# Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
# A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
# The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
# Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
# Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
# The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
# Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
# Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
# Atonement - Ian McEwan
# The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
# The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
# The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
# The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
# Dune - Frank Herbert

Feel free to comment on these.

Apt as in the mood. I miss all the wrong people.

The Deportation of Farhat Hashmi

Via deported from Hulleye Comes By

You might also want to read Dr. Farhat Hashmi on the Run!

I admit I found it funny even though I think a lot of my friends and family would be horrified. Never been to one of her “khutba”s (is that what they call them?) so can’t really comment on the content. Although have heard negative comments, such as a tendency to avoid relevant questions and her supposedly stating that the people in the earthquake affected regions in Pakistan were involved in immoral activities thus justifying them being afflicted. Since I’m just going by what I’ve read in the news, if she didnt say it then all’s good and maybe she is doing some exemplary work. However if she did make those remarks… it is quite unfortunate that someone who thinks such is responsible for the religious upbringing of many.

Updated: In lieu of Faraz’s comment, reread my post and realized it seems to be slanted. In actuality I only meant it to be an info. piece not an opinion. Gist being I am neither for or against her. One can’t really form an opinion based on rumours alone.