Hope Springs Anew in the Middle East

Here In Montreal the giant slush puddles merely hint at what waits in store for us with the spring thaw. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away the death of Farfur, the Mickey Mouse look alike, Palestinian propaganda mouse seemed a promising sign of a thaw in relations between Arabs and Israeli Jews.

For those of you not familiar with this story, Farfur was a popular, patriotic (and by extension anti-semitic) character on a Hamas kid's show until Walt Disney and a host of others got upset and demanded his ouster.

That this request was complied with was a positive sign. Could the producers be admitting that they stepped over the line??? Could this point the way towards some sort of level headed reconcilliation between the two sides???? My hopes were dashed when I came across the video clip up top earlier this morning. They got rid of Farfur alright but maybe the concept was a tad heavy handed for the Sesame Street set. On the other hand suicide bombers don't grow on trees and most psychologists agree that children are most susceptible to martyrhood indoctrination between the ages of 3 and 8.

Anyways, with Farfur gone I was hoping (ever the cockeyed optimist!) that his replacement would be an original and more peace loving, kid friendly creature. My sources on the West Bank tell me no such luck. The region is doomed!!