liam getreu

I am hereby announcing my victory over the Westpac Banking Corporation and its Earth credit card. When I signed up to get an Earth credit card about six months ago, I simultaneously cancelled my old, National, credit card, so that I could say I don’t have a card on the application. My intention was that they would, logically, give me the same credit limit. (I thought that if I had an existing credit card and a new credit card, it would split my limit across them, which isn’t what I wanted.)

But to my shock, when I was accepted by Earth (read: Westpac) I was given only a $1,000 limit! But I had a $2,500 limit with NAB, and it was increasing periodically as I paid my bills. Even though this wasn’t quite right I was told that I had to wait a whole six months until Westpac would even consider my situation. Bastards.

So, I waited and waited and eventually (after I swapped all my banking over the Westpac just so I could easily top-up my card whenever I needed) applied for an increased credit limit. Bzzt. Failed. I received a call telling me that “unfortunately, my application had been denied.” This was when I became furious. I went off a little bit at the lady on the other end of the line, but at least she understood what I was saying. After receiving my constructive criticism about the application process she advised me that my application would be accelerated up to a higher power.

And then not a word, for almost two weeks. I assumed they were too chicken to tell me what I knew — I wasn’t good enough for a credit limit increase, for some unknown reason. But then it happened — on my internet banking, an increase in my available credit to, you guessed it, $2,500! But not even a letter from Westpac.

Still — all hail he who triumphs over the evil bank. That would be me.

The Anti-Defemation League has gone on the front foot regarding the boycotting of Israeli products and academics by British unions the National Union of Journalists and University and College Teachers Union by placing ads in the New York Times condemning them.

It’s a good move by the ADL to take this issue, that hasn’t received much attention in the wider press yet, and attack it full-frontal. Shame it doesn’t do much to ADL detractors who say it’s just another arm of the AIPAC-powered Israel Lobby.

You can see all the ads at www.adl.org/boycott.

Further to what I wrote yesterday about fornicating Israeli presidents and corrupt politicians and occupied territories, it seems that a new poll published in the Jerusalem Post today proves that Israelis agree with me.

According to the Israel Democracy Institute’s Democracy Index, 53 per cent of Israelis are “dissatisfied with how democracy functions” in Israel.

If that’s not a good enough reason to make aliyah and fix the problems then I don’t know what is.

As Israel approaches the fortieth anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War, the New York Times has written an interesting piece highlighting the divide in Israeli society about what the war meant.

The Times quotes Amos Oz as saying: “It is the nature of a dream … that once carried out, it has its flaws.” It has integrated authors, commentators and ideas from both sides of the aisle:

The left says that Israel must reach out to the majority of Palestinians who want a two-state solution and that the right is too despairing about the possibility of reaching peace.

The right, which remains somewhat more popular, believes that the left was seduced by the dream of normality in the 1990s, after the Oslo accord with the Palestinians, and that the siren song of peace and coexistence is softening the Israeli character.

It addresses issues like occupation — what is Israel’s moral responsibility with regard to the Palestinian Territories? — and corruption — the President is an alleged pervert, for Christ’s sake! — within Israel. They’re just some of the heavy issues that burden Israelis, Jews and Zionists around the world, including myself.

Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 is too slow. It’s agonising. Please, Microsoft, bring out 2008 — a Universal build — as soon as possible. It will make writing assignments and dealing with Excel slightly more bearable.

That is all.