Summer .... good and bad

On-going news right now .... french church occupied by 2 armed assailants ... both apparently shot dead by french police. Priest hostage killed .... throat slit. Waiting for more updates to get a clearer picture.

Thanks to Pres. George Bush and his lies about weapons of mass destruction ... muslim extremists have destroyed the Middle East and now are causing chaos in Europe every week.

Street performers
at Ben Yehuda Mall

On the local side, we had some tense moments when Syrian missiles were shot into the Golan Heights. Israel responded with air fire. Not the first time. Though the govt or at least the newspapers have been hinting of an eventual war in the north (either Lebanon or Syria), this is most unlikely. They have enough internal problems to deal with and can't afford a war with Israel.

Here in the south, there has been no attacks for quite some time. It feels like a calm summer holiday after all. Summer camps on both east and west are taking place .... excursions to museums and national parks are popular. Parents have to find ways to keep their children busy while the parents are at work. Can't leave the kids at home for 3 months doing nothing ... so summer camps are very popular ... it's actually daycare. Unfortunately it's costly and most parents cannot afford. Parishes and school try to subsidize but looking for sponsors is difficult. And sadly its during this summer vacation that most children learn to get into trouble. With no one to care for them during the day, no summer camp, no supervision ... these kids get into contact with bad people, bad habits, drugs, stealing etc.... It's a vicious cycle of social evils.