Features
The Last Chance
By ORLY DREMAN (Jerusalem, March 12) Every time I submit an article to this website, I hope that article will be more cheerful than the last one. This one has a little bit of light, but a lot more of the same, I’m sad to write.
There were families where some members were murdered and some taken hostage. Sometimes there were no family members left alive to fight for hostages’ return; that is when neighbors or coworkers began to fight for them. The returning hostages must cope now with the losses from Oct. 7th. The more losses they have, the more complicated the trauma. They find out they lost family members, their house, their security. They come out of a disaster into a new reality. Some of the returnees only found out when they returned that their nuclear family was wiped out. They are coping with a lot of bad news. The families who were busy fighting for their return never got a chance to deal with their own mourning. Other family members got a sign of life from their dear ones still in captivity, but only to hear that they were injured and in bad health. They are deep under the ground in tunnels, with no sun of course and sometimes alone in complete darkness for days on end… in cages tied to chains all the time. They sleep on the floor, shower once in a few months, get hardly any food or water. They eat, sleep and go to the toilet all in one small area, mold all around; the injured and sick get no medications. They were interrogated under torture. These are citizens we are talking about – not soldiers; there are only four soldiers left alive in captivity all living in inhumane conditions. The tunnels are very narrow and low, so if one picks up their head they bang into the ceiling. It has been like this for a year and a half, with weapons turned towards them all the time.
The women say they were beaten every day. (Some are already able to talk about sexual assaults). Some young women say they prayed to die because they experienced horrible things and hoped a war plane would destroy the building and the misery would stop; it was hell. In captivity they suffered psychological terror. They were told Israel does not want to bring them back, they will marry them off and turn them into Muslims. On the day of return sadistic Hamas made a cruel, frightening, humiliating reality show for the whole world to watch. Some of the hostages looked like they were released from Auschwitz. For example, they made one of the hostages say on stage: “I’m happy to return to my wife and children,” while Hamas knew they had already murdered them and his brother. The father himself knew nothing because in the tunnels there was no radio, they kept them disconnected from the outside world. The hostages went through things the brain and the heart cannot absorb.
They look so thin, some have lost 50% of their body weight. Family members who received them said they could not recognize them. The hostages who were kept together showed mercy and compassion towards each other; some were ready to exchange places with those who remained behind and sat in captivity with them. Several of them became more religious. The Saturdays of the returns of three hostages each week were days we all cried… tears of excitement, but also those of concern for the many who will not come back alive.
The Hamas monsters who do not have a drop of mercy and murder babies with their own hands with unimaginable brutality, would not even waste a bullet on them to spare their suffering. The whole world should see this wickedness – the photo of Shiri Bibas holding her two babies in her arms with her terribly frightful expression. Three generations of that family were wiped out; Shiri’s parents were also murdered. The heart of the whole country is shattered. There are two million Nazis in Gaza committing crimes against humanity. All the people in Gaza celebrated and cheered as the coffins passed by and the world did not condemn it. We will not forgive and not forget. Our soldiers found weapons in every home and every school, so there are no “uninvolved.”
At the Lifshitz’s funeral – the eldest hostage murdered in captivity and whose body was recently returned, his wife asked Hamas: “Who did you kill? The humane liberals who helped you every day, brought your sick to our hospitals, took care of you”…. The residents there were all so naïve. When the coffins of the Bibas family passed in the roads of Israel the buildings were lit in orange (the babies were red heads). The whole country was crying, including the news broadcasters. It was a national mourning day, people did not go to work or to school. Each coffin of a dead hostage receives a personal farewell ceremony. We are experiencing a collective trauma. The Israeli heart is very flexible, and our hearts are united during sadness and in moments of relief. The nation has not abandoned the families of the hostages for a year and a half. We demonstrate with them and strengthen them. There is nothing like this in the world – our partnership to destiny.
On the days of the hostages’ release people are in the streets with their cell phones glued to the news, shouting out loud the name of each hostage released into the hands of the Red Cross. We all feel at least some relief and comfort – which we have not felt in a long time. The hostages have turned out to be the families of our whole nation.
We recently took a tour of the Gaza Envelope and went into the small shelters spread out along the “Death Road” (Road 232). They are built to hold at maximum ten standing people, but when almost thirty youngsters ran into them and the terrorists threw hand grenades inside, the few who survived were those whose bodies fell on them and they played dead.
It is nice that a woman in Canada named her baby Alyn. Alyn was a seven year old girl murdered by Hamas together with her fiveyear-old brother and their parents in on Oct. 7th.
In saving lives there are no compromises. We are paying heavy prices to release our hostages, but leaving them there would be the highest price ever. The price now is for the oversight, not for the deal. Among the terrorists released in this recent deal were two who planned the shooting and murder attack of my cousin Rabbi Mark while he was driving his car in 2016. His wife and daughter were seriously injured and now the terrorists are walking around freely.
My American nephew’s house was burned down in the L.A fires. They had to move to another area. It is sad, but everything is relative. In Israel half the country had to evacuate- their houses burned down – some with their families inside. That is very painful.
We are living now in major uncertainty. Will the war renew in the next few days or will negotiations continue? Because this is the hostages’ last chance to return alive. If the fighting starts again, we will have to explain to our young grandchildren that running and hiding in the shelter is just a Hide and Seek game like in the Roberto Benigni movie (“Life is Beautiful”).
How does the world accept a situation where a terrorist group takes civilian hostages into captivity without millions in the world going out to demonstrate?
The country has no leadership, but the citizens do. There is no other country in the world that exhibits social cohesiveness like Israel; that is what holds us together.
Wishing you all a HAPPY PURIM!
Features
Ontario Online Casinos Let Players Set Daily, Weekly and Monthly Deposit Limits
A deposit limit sets a ceiling on how much money someone can add to an online gambling account. In Ontario’s regulated market, players can choose limits covering 24 hours, seven days and one month, with the website’s system enforcing the amounts they select.
The settings are straightforward, but the timing deserves attention. A daily allowance may sit within weekly and monthly caps, while an increase can involve a waiting period. For adults using Chrome on a Chromebook, understanding these account rules starts with knowing where to find them.
Finding the Settings and Choosing a Period
Deposit controls sit within the gambling website’s account menus. The Tooniebet Ontario responsible gaming page is an operator-specific resource readers can consult alongside their account settings. ToonieBet is operated by Canadix Limited and regulated by the AGCO under an agreement with iGaming Ontario.
Ontario’s standards require an easy and obvious way to set financial and time limits during registration and afterward. Players must be offered deposit and loss limits when signing up, and the controls must remain easy to reach and change once an account is open.
Menu names differ between sites. Published examples place deposit limits under account settings or responsible-gaming tools, where players can select an amount and a period.
Each type of limit measures something different. Deposit limits cap money added to the account. Loss limits restrict net losses after winnings are taken into account, while time limits govern playing time. iGaming Ontario’s player guidance explains all three.
For Chromebook users, these settings are managed through the website’s account interface. Chrome’s own permissions handle separate browser functions, such as access to location information.
How Several Limits Apply to One Deposit
Players can have daily, weekly and monthly limits running together. A deposit must fit within every active cap.
Take a hypothetical account with limits of CAD $40 daily, CAD $100 weekly and CAD $250 monthly. These figures illustrate the process.
If someone has already deposited CAD $90 during the weekly period, the remaining weekly allowance is CAD $10. That becomes the most they can add, even when the daily limit has more room. Reaching the monthly cap would likewise block another deposit until some monthly allowance becomes available.
This is why checking all active limits matters. A new day may bring fresh daily capacity while the weekly or monthly total remains close to its ceiling. The longer periods continue to apply as the shorter one refreshes.
When Money Drops Out of a Rolling Window
The next question is when previous deposits stop counting toward a cap. Some sites use rolling periods, which track elapsed time from individual deposits.
Published Ontario policies include daily windows of 24 hours, weekly windows of 168 hours and monthly windows of 720 hours, equivalent to 30 days. Under that approach, each deposit frees up its corresponding allowance once it falls outside the window.
Suppose someone has a CAD $100 rolling weekly limit and deposits CAD $25 on Friday, followed by CAD $75 on Saturday. Seven days after Friday’s deposit, CAD $25 becomes available again. The other CAD $75 returns seven days after Saturday’s deposit.
Leaving the restored Friday allowance unused means it combines with Saturday’s restored amount. At that point, the full CAD $100 is available. Reviewing deposit dates and times helps explain how much room remains within a rolling period.
Changing a Cap Takes a Separate Step
A limit refreshing follows the schedule already attached to the account. Raising that limit requires a request and a wait.
Ontario’s standards require at least 24 hours before a player’s request to relax or remove an established limit can take effect. The existing limit remains enforceable during the cooling-off period.
Operators publish their own timings. Documented examples include a seven-day wait for deposit-limit increases or removals. Another published schedule allows increases after one day for a daily cap, seven days for a weekly cap and 30 days for a monthly cap.
Lower limits take effect immediately under these published policies. Some policies also restart the waiting period when a player requests another increase while an earlier change is pending. The effective date shows which amount currently applies.
Other Controls and Support
Deposit limits work alongside loss limits, time limits, short breaks and self-exclusion. Together, these give players ways to restrict account funding, gambling activity or access.
Ontario-regulated online casino play is restricted to adults aged 19 and older who are physically in Ontario. Gambling involves financial risk.
For concerns about your gambling or someone else’s, ConnexOntario offers free, confidential information and referral support around the clock. Call 1-866-531-2600 or text CONNEX to 247247. Standard message and data rates may apply.
Features
What “Best Odds” Really Means When Comparing Gambling Review Websites
The phrase best odds appears frequently in gambling discussions, but it is surprisingly easy to use imprecisely. MonsterBetList is primarily a casino review and rankings website, not a dedicated live sportsbook odds comparison terminal. That difference is central to evaluating what its reviews can and cannot establish. A casino rating may explain payout conditions, licence information and bonus restrictions, while a claim about the best available price on a sporting outcome requires a different kind of evidence altogether.
Odds and ratings answer different questions
Sports betting odds represent a price offered on a specified outcome. A review rating is an editorial judgement built from multiple criteria. These two numerical systems cannot be substituted for one another. A bookmaker rated highly for service may offer a less competitive price on a particular match, while a service with a more attractive price may impose different limits or verification rules.
Similarly, a casino review can discuss return-to-player statistics, but RTP is not the same as sportsbook odds. RTP describes a theoretical long-run percentage built into a game model. It does not tell a reader what will happen in one session and it is not an individually negotiable market quotation.
What makes sports odds comparable?
A fair odds comparison starts with identical selections: the same event, outcome, market rules and settlement conditions. Comparing a three-way football result with a draw-no-bet price is invalid because the products pay under different circumstances. The observation time also matters; displayed prices can change quickly as market information or trading decisions evolve.
The numerical format should be standardised. Decimal odds provide one convenient representation, but American and fractional formats express the same underlying idea differently. Converting these formats is straightforward. What matters is the net price, the operator’s rules and whether the quoted offer remains available when reviewed.
Overround explains the hidden cost of many markets
In a simplified two-outcome market, dividing one by each decimal price produces an implied probability. If the implied probabilities add to more than 100%, the excess is commonly described as the bookmaker’s overround. It is one way of understanding the margin embedded in prices, although individual market structure and adjustments can complicate the interpretation.
This concept explains why the word best should not be attached to a price without context. A strong headline may look appealing yet represent an ordinary margin after calculation. More importantly, any single quote is time-dependent. Genuine comparison requires a dated observation and equivalent market rules; broad editorial praise is not enough.
What casino rankings can establish instead
MonsterBetList publishes casino reviews and guides addressing licences, bonuses, payout experiences and responsible gambling. Those topics are relevant to evaluating consumer risk and service quality. A report about the length of a withdrawal process, for example, can be useful if its methodology is transparent. A bonus review can help identify restrictive wagering requirements that marketing headlines omit.
However, a casino ranking should not be presented as evidence that its highest-rated operator consistently offers the best sports prices. Unless a site publishes repeated market-by-market comparisons, that conclusion is not supported. Readers benefit when publishers clearly distinguish what was measured from what readers might assume was measured.
Bonuses can complicate comparisons
A sportsbook may offer free-bet tokens, cashback or other promotions. Their effective value depends on conditions rather than the largest number printed in a banner. Some credits are not withdrawable as cash; others require qualifying selections, minimum odds or a deadline. Casino welcome bonuses often introduce wagering requirements, game-contribution rules and limits on withdrawals. Combining these products under one generic promotional score can hide important differences.
For instance, a large matched deposit might require extensive play before bonus-related funds become eligible for withdrawal. The required betting volume is not a promise of profit. The presence of a promotion may therefore make comparisons more complex instead of simpler. Clear disclosures should precede any judgement about value.
Editorial independence and methods
Review sites sometimes state that rankings are editorially independent. Such a statement is relevant but does not replace evidence of consistent testing. Readers should look for the criteria used, the date of each review, whether real transactions were examined and how negative findings are treated. If one platform receives detailed testing while another is scored on marketing copy, the ranking loses comparability.
Commercial incentives should also be visible. Referral relationships or sponsorships do not automatically make every observation inaccurate, but they create reasons to ask how rankings are insulated from revenue. A publication that explains its methodology and corrections process gives readers a stronger basis for trust than one that simply declares its winners.
Licensing and dispute rights before price claims
A marginally attractive price is of limited value when the operator is not legally available to the reader or does not provide meaningful avenues for redress. Regulations vary by jurisdiction, and a licence in one country may not authorise service in another. It is prudent to verify the legal entity behind a brand and the current status of any licence through official records.
Consumers should also review identity verification, account restrictions and dispute resolution procedures. These operational conditions influence the actual experience of using a gambling service. A sensible evaluation includes them before discussing promotions or theoretical market advantages.
Why guaranteed-profit language is a warning sign
No ordinary review or odds list can guarantee that an individual will win money from gambling. Claims of certain returns often omit the fact that results are uncertain, prices move and transactions are subject to restrictions. Casino games generally incorporate a house advantage, and sports outcomes remain uncertain regardless of a persuasive analysis. The safest response to absolute promises is scepticism.
Readers should also avoid treating gambling as a means of addressing financial problems. Chasing previous losses and increasing stakes to recover money can deepen harm. Consumer-oriented coverage is more valuable when it explains risk and offers realistic options for stepping away.
Conclusion: define the claim before ranking the service
“Best odds” is a specific comparative proposition, not a synonym for a high casino rating. MonsterBetList can be examined for its published casino research, review structure and risk disclosures, but those materials should not be stretched into claims they have not tested. Clear definitions, dated evidence and honest limitations are the foundations of trustworthy comparison journalism.
Features
Noah Wyle explains Robby’s controversial behaviour in season two of The Pitt
Noah Wyle believes audiences struggled to accept the changes in Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch during the second season of The Pitt. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Wyle explained why viewers reacted strongly to the emergency physician’s increasingly difficult behaviour, arguing that audiences often expect their heroes to maintain an unrealistic standard of “purity”.
(Spoiler warning: for anyone who hasn’t yet watched The Pitt, this article contains minor spoilers.)
In season one of the HBO medical drama, Robby was a dedicated doctor whose composure and clinical instincts made him a reliable member of staff. Season two revealed a more troubled side of the character, with grief and deteriorating mental health affecting his relationships with colleagues.
“An interesting American hypocrisy”
Wyle, who also works as a writer, director and executive producer on the show, sees Robby’s behaviour as part of a character journey rather than a sudden departure from the person audiences admired.
He said that viewers often forgive villains who occasionally do something admirable but tend to judge traditionally heroic characters much more harshly when they make mistakes. Wyle described this as “an interesting American hypocrisy”.
Wyle credited executive producer John Wells for encouraging the team to tell Robby’s story honestly.
Gaming and the success of House
Wyle has suggested a potential five- or six-season trajectory for Robby, with the character currently moving from denial towards recognizing his problems and seeking a way forward. Season two was uncomfortable for viewers, as Robby struggled to acknowledge his condition.
The success of The Pitt, particularly if it lasts for that five- or six-season run, may interest game developers. House, another of the most popular TV medical dramas, inspired two games back in its heyday. In 2008, Exelweiss designed a cellphone game for the show, releasing Spanish and English versions. Two years later, Legacy Interactive released a video game based on the series; players acted as House’s diagnostic team to solve five unusual medical cases.
For now, iGaming companies like Casino Days Ontario are more focused on the immensely popular slots themes, such as ancient civilizations, as well as variations on table classics like poker and blackjack.
The Pitt has been credited with reviving the medical drama, after a successful era of shows that included House (a “prickly” take on the format, in the words of one critic) alongside ER, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Good Doctor. That same critic praised The Pitt for showing that TV medical dramas can be “satisfyingly elongated”, which could inspire developers who specialize in RPGs or other long form games.
Season three could change Robby’s relationships
Wyle offered a glimpse of how the next season might develop Robby’s complicated connection with Dr. Langdon.
Their relationship changed after Langdon disappointed his mentor in the first season. Robby was reluctant to welcome him back in season two, leaving the two characters more separated despite their history.
Robby will return to the hospital after spending a couple of months away, potentially confronting embarrassment about his previous conduct and uncertainty about his abilities.
