various and sundry.

the rain has made its point. i would appreciate it if we could get a few more days of enjoyable spring weather before pollen-storm 2007 begins in earnest.

happiness really is a warm puppy. and on that note, feed your dogs raw food. or, if you don't want to feed raw food for whatever reason [ kashrut, mess, money ], find a suitable primarily natural dog food that uses meat as its first or second ingredient. the dog food recall has really underscored the bond between man and beast - and doesn't your beast deserve the best?

the german chancellor merkel has demanded that the palestinians recognize israel as a state. that's all well and good, and i'm sure the israeli public appreciates the gesture. however, support coming from germany, while strong and again much-appreciated, is undercut by this sense in the arab community that germany is only acting out of deeply-felt guilt. the whole situation has been exacerbated by the iranian hostage crisis.

we need someone like france to take a strong stand for israel. because surely the french can appreciate having the enemy in your midst. and if that fails, the french can always pretend they had no idea of their government's official "stance." they're good at that.