N�rnberg, Mittelfranken, 2007-01-30 - 4:44 a.m.

Today I read in Jerusalem post:

"Balloons drifting from Israel into southern Lebanon sparked a panic among villagers over the weekend amid rumors they were filled with poison gas. The balloons were apparently part of an advertising campaign by a newspaper in northern Israel.

Results of tests conducted by UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon showed the balloons did not contain any dangerous gases, a Lebanese security official said Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give statements to the media.

Haaretz reported Sunday that helium balloons from a promotional event by Ha'ir, a chain of local newspapers, had floated north over the border into Lebanon.

Still, their appearance spread alarm among Lebanese - a sign of the tensions and suspicion that remain in the border region after last summer's war between Israel and Hizbullah that devastated much of the south.
...

At least five people were hospitalized in southern Lebanon complaining of nausea, dizziness and low blood pressure following contact with the balloons, Lebanese newspaper reports and hospital officials said.

Khalil Malli, a resident of Nabatiyeh, was the first to discover the balloons, finding a bunch tied together with ribbon in his backyard. He told Lebanese media that a "suspicious smell" emanated from them and when he spotted the Hebrew writing he alerted police and journalists in the area.

Not long after, Malli and other members of his family began feeling lightheaded and nauseous and were taken to a hospital for treatment."

So this was the next big attack of Israel against Lebanon after last summer. This time they did it with balloons, the next attack probably comes with grass hoppers, paper dolls or wild stretching bubble gum (how tricky!).

I remember that when in my youth my older 16 year old brother kissed the 15-year old neighbour girl, she was convinced she�d get a child �

I also remember when I was five years old & played in the garden behind the house of my parents. I saw what I thought was an earthworm coming from one hole in the earth & entering another hole with his front end. � But this move seemed endless � it showed that the worm was extremely long � in my five-year-old�s mind much too long for an earthworm � �it must be a snake, a dangerious, poisonious snake� I thought & terrified ran away, telling my Mam �there�s a snake in the garden�.

It must have been a similar situation � some found the stranded balloons, which seemed of course harmless, but then an apparently wise person in that village with clear vision that everything coming from Israel must be vile detected the Hebrew letters written on the balloons & warned all villagers to not touch them, they may be dangerious or poisoning & with no doubt utmost evil!

Those who already had touched them, incited by common hysteriy & fear of course began to feel already deadly poisoned & somehow deeply sick & had to be transported to hospital � I mean I would feel sick too, if someone told me I just had eaten a poisoned mushroom soup � & I would still feel deadly sick as long as I didn�t get the truth that it was just a joke on me. - Apparently there was no-one in that village to reveal the joke..

On the other hand: Do you know how dangerious the gas 'helium' is? � It can even raise your voice for a while if you inhale it, so making you ridicilous to your surroundings. � Is this what the Israelis had planned with this wild balloon attack? � Maybe hoping that a young man going to an interview for a job finds one of these balloons & of course inhales the gas inside � so gets a ridiculous high pitched Mickey Mouse voice in the interview, & as result doesn't get the job he so urgently needs, which depresses him for the rest of his life, letting him resign, ending up as pauper in misery � You see how evil the plan of the Israelis was!

Did no-one notice the high latex & helium bargains of Israel recently? � All other weapons, guns, bombs, jet fighters etc. are getting scrapped � Helium filled latex balloons is the secret weapon which will make Israel superior in future wars. � Of course the success depends on the direction the wind takes. � But it�s rumoured, that kabbalistic Jewish magic (the Hebrew letters on the balloons), can make the balloons armada fly clearly right at their goals. �

The next war between Lebanon vs. Israel will be won by a horde of Israeli children in front of a new opening super market, releasing balloons with little notes attached �You may get a reward if you write back to sender� - & you know what that means if you're superstitious & prejudiced enough to come to the right conclusion..

Oh well - just my imagination running away with me, but sometimes real life writes the real satire.