Peace process: solved!

In a Washington Post op-ed piece this morning, Mahmoud al-Zahar, the founder of Hamas, explains what the Israelis need to do for peace:

A “peace process” with Palestinians cannot take even its first tiny step until Israel first withdraws to the borders of 1967; dismantles all settlements; removes all soldiers from Gaza and the West Bank; repudiates its illegal annexation of Jerusalem; releases all prisoners; and ends its blockade of our international borders, our coastline and our airspace permanently. This would provide the starting point for just negotiations and would lay the groundwork for the return of millions of refugees. Given what we have lost, it is the only basis by which we can start to be whole again.

Note that this would constitute the starting point for negotiations. At least al-Zahar makes a concession that the Holocaust actually happened, remarking, “Sixty-five years ago, the courageous Jews of the Warsaw ghetto rose in defense of their people.”

His big threat seems to be “demographics”; that is, that the Palestinians will out-breed the Israelis. But that notion seems to be undercut when he points out how many of his own kids and sons-in-law have been blown up.

Magaziner

I’ll be pretty busy this week, getting the May issue together. We launched the magazine in 1999, and I’m a little embarrassed that I’ve yet to do any sort of redesign since then. But dammit, Jim, I’m an editor, not a designer!

Except that we all do our own designs at my company, which is why the mags tend to look like they were laid out by editors. Anyway, to make myself feel even more inadequate as a designer, I read this long, engaging interview with “British editorial design icon” David Hillman.

To compound my sense of half-assing things, I read this insanely in-depth article about the design of Monocle’s magazine and website.

I’m glad I was able to get some laughs from this gallery of The Onion’s Sunday magazine covers. (link via macCulture)

(If you’re interested in what magazines I subscribe to, here’s the list.)

What it is: 4/14/08

What I’m reading: Locas, by Jaime Hernandez. Just feeling sentimental for Maggie & Hopey, I guess.

What I’m listening to: She and Him, Vol. 1, but not getting into it.

What I’m watching: A marathon of The Deadliest Catch, in preparation for the premier of the new season.

What I’m drinking: Guinness Extra Stout (bottled)

What I’m happy about: That Starbucks’ new Pike Place roast isn’t anywhere near as offensive as its old coffee. I mean, I still wouldn’t choose to stand on line behind a bunch of people ordering orange mocha frappuccinos, but at least I know that if I DO have to go to a Starbucks, at least I’ll be able to get a decent black coffee. Oh, and here’s an article on their retro mermaid logo. This is not a mermaid.

What I’m sad about: That DirecTV’s installer messed up the installation of my new dish, so a bunch of my HD channels are badly digitizing/artifacting. Now I gotta work at home today so they can get someone out here to realign it. But it’ll be pretty sweet to have all those extra HD channels.

What I’m pondering: Why LeBron James is getting so much MVP consideration, given that his team is barely over .500 in a terrible conference.

I’ll milk this joke for all it’s worth

In the month that he’s lived with us, we’ve come up with several nicknames for Rufus. His ruthlessness with his plush friends has made him “The Toya Destroya,” while his ability to pee for 10 minutes at a time earned him the sobriquet of “Austin Powers.”

I just discovered his second tick in three days — it’s currently taking a dip in Lake Isopropyl — so I’ve decided that Rufus, following in Prince Harry’s footsteps, will now be known as the “Ginger Tick Magnet.

Tick #1 was enough of a signal for me to buy a 3-pack of Frontline Plus for Dogs. Reading over the labeling, I discovered that the product “can also be used for the treatment and control of flea, tick and chewing lice infestations on breeding, pregnant and lactating bitches.”

And in a happy coincidence, Shoot ‘Em Up is our next Netflix DVD!

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Bonus dog cuteness!

I didn't do it

“I didn’t do it!”