Tag Archives: Stephen Harper

Good Cop, Bad Cop in Israel

Stephen Harper has earned Netanyahu’s gratitude for supporting him emphatically in his dispute with President Obama in his negotiations with Iran.

The President of Israel, Shimon Peres, is less emphatic. Harper should remember this when he visits Israel next week. In mid-November, President Peres issued this statement, with reference to the Americans: “We must not underestimate the importance of this friendship. There can be disagreements, but they must be conducted with a view to the true depth of the situation.”

He added in an interview: “If we have disagreements, we should voice them, but we should remember that the Americans also know a thing or two. We are not the only ones.”

Source: Ha’aretz, November 15

The Etymology of the Word “Scandal”

The dictionary says:

1580s, “discredit caused by irreligious conduct,” from Middle French scandale (12c.), from Late Latin scandalum “cause for offense, stumbling block, temptation,” from Greek skandalon “a trap or snare laid for an enemy,” in New Testament, metaphorically as “a stumbling block, offense”; originally “trap with a springing device,” from PIE *skand- “to leap, climb” (see scan (v.); cf. also slander (n.), which is another form of the same word).

This blog says:

Without a vigorous opposition and a free press, recent events in the Canadian Senate and the PMO would not have appeared to anybody – not even to the RCMP – scandalous.