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Showing posts with label Canada related. Show all posts

Apr 14, 2012

Diab extradition order: 'dangerous new low' in Canadian law

Earlier this month Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson signed an extradition order allowing for the surrender of Canadian citizen, Ottawa U professor Hassan Diab, to French authorities. Dr Diab has been accused of involvement with a 1980 bombing outside a synagogue on Rue Copernic, Paris. He has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence.

Following the 2008 arrest of Diab by the RCMP acting on behalf of French authorities, Diab was placed in custody for over 4 months and denied bail. He was later placed under house arrest. He has to wear a GPS electronic ankle monitor and can only leave his home with a surety.

The Nicholson move follows an Ontario Court ruling last year that saw Justice Robert Maranger commit Diab for extradition. However Maranger stated that the case against Diab was “very problematic”, “very confusing”, “very convoluted” and drew “suspect conclusions”. He said “the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely” but noted that his interpretation of Canada's extradition law left him no choice.

Fact is, based on the flimsy evidence a Canadian court would almost certainly throw the case out. Diab's lawyer, Donald Bayne, says the case against his client is “is anchored centrally around unsourced, uncircumstanced, …, anonymous intelligence assertions."

Other evidence against Diab? Problematic police sketches made sometime after the bombing and flawed analysis of handwriting found on a hotel registration card. Two of the handwriting experts were discredited by experts for the defence. A top British expert characterized the evidence presented by the French as “demonstrably false." The French went so far as to disavow the evidence of their own "experts."

Not only is Diab's handwriting not a match for that of the suspect, his finger and palm prints don't match either. Diab is being extradited for mere questioning by French authorities who cite anonymous "intelligence" sources related to the case.

Diab's lawyer, Donald Bayne, has rightly said that the move represents "a dangerous new low" in Canadian law:

“We simply cannot be sending Canadians abroad, around the world, so that foreign regimes can investigate them... They either have a case against them or they don’t.”

Canada's Supreme Court has held that trials based on unchallengeable intelligence are contrary to the principles of fundamental justice. France has been condemned in the past for running trials based on intelligence. It has been accused of violating Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to fair trial. Link to Human Rights Watch for more.

BC lawyer Gary Botting who has extensive experience representing clients in extradition cases, said that in the absence of necessary evidence on the part of the French to take it to trial, Diab should not be extradited. Botting is quoted in the Globe and Mail as saying that such a move would be “... a complete misuse of the extradition process...”

The problem with this high handed application of Canada's extradition law is that the decision has the appearance of being more about politics than just procedure. Given all that is known, the extradition order amounts to a violation of Dr Diab's legal and human rights.

There is good reason to believe that this case has been additionally politicized as a result of the recent Merah shootings in France and the anti-immigrant climate in that country.

From another perspective Nicholson's move comes as no surprise, given that the Harper government has demonstrated bias in related matters time and again.

The court ruling is being appealed. An appeal will also be launched against Nicholson's decision.

You can sign a petition here to protest the extradition of Hassan Diab.

Hassan Diab supporters get out the message:

Video that covers some key areas in the Diab case:

For in-depth coverage link to the site Justice for Hassan Diab - here.

Mar 26, 2012

Rob Ford: Toronto's 'notorious big' loses subway vote

Toronto mayor Rob Ford is keen on catchphrases. Some of his faves are... "Stop the gravy train" - "It's all about subways" - "End the war on the car" and "Respect for taxpayers." Ford is a black-n-white slogan-friendly kinda guy. He stands as a living witness that a caricature can be elected mayor of a major N. American city.

The Toronto mayor looks a bit like an off-duty Santa in a bad suit. He reddens up easily. This frequently happens when he's ranting in the chamber about subways - a topic near and dear to his heart. Ford is fixated on subways. He probably has wet dreams about subways.

A recent pro-subway rant displayed Ford's high-end rhetorical skills:

"People hate the St. Clair. They hate these streetcars. You can call them what they want. People want subways folks. They want subways, subways. They don’t want these damned streetcars blocking up our city..."

The session also included trademark Ford-style heckling and sign language - such as yelling "bring it on" accompanied with "wanna fight" hand signals directed at councillor Adam Vaughan. The bully-in-chief in city hall is an inspirational role model for playground badasses everywhere.

Ford failed to produce anything close to a viable financing plan for his Shepherd subway plan. His scheme was dashed by a council vote that approved light rail rather than a subway extension for Sheppard Avenue East.

The mayor's brother on council, Doug, weighed in with a conspiracy theory:

"As far as I'm concerned, this is social engineering, this is a nanny-state, when politicians dictated to the people, against their will, this is what you're getting."

The problem is more basic. There is a crisis in leadership because the Toronto mayor's office is host to an overgrown ten year-old. Rather than acknowledge his critics with a degree of maturity, Ford dismisses them as "lefties"... snubs them, cuts out, sulks and resorts to put downs.

The Toronto Star has been at the receiving end of the Ford silent treatment. Ford has never forgiven The Star for an article that appeared in 2010. The article said he had been asked to stop coaching football at a school in North York following a confrontation with a high school football player. Witnesses said Ford made aggressive physical contact with the player.

The mayor claims the story is false and wants the Star to apologize - on the front page no less. In 2011 he called for Torontonians to back him in a boycott of the paper.

Ford: “I have no respect for the Toronto Star whatsoever. If people want to read a paper, pick up the Globe, Post or Sun. That’s what I encourage people to do...”

Talking about respect. A Toronto woman named Ottilie Mason was driving with her 6 year old kid when she spotted a van with "ROB FORD" on the customized plate. The mayor was nattering away on his cell phone. When Ms Mason rolled down her window to ask him to get off the phone, Ford flipped her the bird. Not a casual finger... a very deliberate finger. Check out this video to hear it in Ottilie Mason's own words.

Boorish behavior is nothing new. In 2006 security removed a drunk and belligerent Ford from a Maple Leafs game after he yelled insults at an out-of-town couple. When the man asked Ford to be quiet, Ford responded with “Who the fuck do you think you are? Are you a fucking teacher?” He next targeted the man's wife with “Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?” Ford later apologized.

Some Ford related graffiti from the streets of Toronto:

Toronto mayor Ford shows leadership

Mar 2, 2012

Did dirty tricks help Stephen Harper to a majority?

Stephen Harper denies the Conservative Party of Canada had anything to do with robo-calls and other misleading phone calls made during the 2011 federal election. The calls sent some Canadian voters on a wild goose chase, hunting for "relocated" polling stations that didn't exist.

A disposable cellphone registered to a mysterious Pierre Poutine of Separatist Street, Joliette, Quebec, featured in the phone scams. Curiously enough the phoney voting location where voters were being steered in Guelph - the Old Quebec Street mall - has a restaurant nearby named Pierre's Poutine.

If you believe Harper, the Conservative Party had nothing to do with any of it.

The scamsters and phone artists who misrepresented themselves, lied about poll locations and harassed the hell out of voters were just a bunch of rogue operators. Maybe even just one guy on speed - a sort of trans-Canada phone magician.

What we do know is that the efforts of these shadow operators to mislead were geared to the benefit of one party, and one party alone - that being the Conservative Party of Canada. Even so, nobody in the party was involved - especially not Harper who has a strategic knack of not knowing about things he prefers not-to-know-about.

Inconvenient revelations have surfaced that call Harper's claims into question.

Huffington Post:

A Mission, B.C., woman says she was given misleading information by the Conservative Party a few days before the May 2011 federal election.

Astrid Dimond said she had been called six times for Conservative donations during the last election. After a seventh call, she said she did an internet search on the caller’s phone number, which had shown up on her call display.

"It came up as the Conservative Party in Victoria," Dimond said.

The next time she received a call from the same number, she told the caller she was supporting the NDP in the election in the hopes the calls would stop.

Two days before the election, Dimond said she got another call from the same number.

“[The caller] just said, ‘Did you know the polling station had changed,’ and basically, I said, ‘No it hasn't,’ and that was the end of the conversation. I wouldn't let her continue because I knew it was a falsehood."

That's a loose end that might take some explaining. In the meantime speaking of loose ends - according to a CBC report the Tories are busily reviewing every call made by the Responsive Marketing Group in advance of Election Canada investigators.

If some Tories were indeed in on it in a backdoor "unofficial" capacity, why would they take the risk? Well there was a lot at stake. Harper has been after a parliamentary majority for years. On successive occasions he was denied by Canadians who amazingly enough didn't seem to really trust Harper with a majority that would allow him to take it to the next level in his take-over-of-Canada-plan. Yet another minority in the 2011 federal election would have meant a loss of political face for Harper.

The calls that went out in Guelph and elsewhere were targeted. The Tories have an impressive database on voters - a data Goliath known as the Constituency Information Management System. It serves up info about Tory backers running all the way from an individual's policy priorities to whether or not someone in say Brampton might be willing to plant a Conservative lawn sign.

It stands to reason that a database used to track supporters could also be used to come up with lists of non-supporters. Certainly Pierre Poutine and associates seemed to to have access to lists and knew exactly who they were calling. One woman in Guelph, a Liberal supporter, noted that a suspect caller asked specifically to speak to her rather than to her husband. Some fine tuning must have gone into that type of profiling.

Did the dirty tricks affect the outcome in the ridings? Very possibly. In Nipissing-Timiskaming, Lib incumbent Anthony Rota lost to Tory Jay Aspin by just 18 votes. NDP MP Jim Malloway has candidly stated that dirty tricks played a part in his loss by 300 votes to Conservative Lawrence Toet.

The Green Party's Elizabeth May, has said that she regards the Saanich-Gulf islands as a "pilot project" for the more recent efforts at voter suppression in Canadian ridings. The Saanich-Gulf incident is worth repeating because it mirrors the more recent shenanigans.

During the 2008 election the NDP candidate in Saanich-Gulf, Julian West, dropped out of the race as a result of revelations about a scandal. West pulled out of the race too late for his name to be removed from the ballot.

Oddly enough NDP voters were then bombarded with calls urging them to vote for West who ended up with a surprising tally of 3,667 votes. This represents 6% of the total, way higher than the 1% a pre-vote poll projected for West. Wasted votes that may otherwise have gone to the Liberal candidate helped ensure Conservative Gary Lunn's victory.

Whether or not these phone tactics and related dirty tricks are found to be criminal remains to be seen. But one thing is clear - they speak to a contempt for democracy... contempt for the rights of Canadians... contempt for Canadian institutions. They signal that what really matters is control of the agenda and the capacity to retain power at all costs.

Of course none of that is remotely characteristic of Stephen Harper who true-to-form knows nothing about any of it and prefers to cast it all as a Lib/NDP smear job.

Feb 17, 2012

Electronic surveillance bill: Big Bro Toews wants your data

Canadian Public Safety Minister, Vic Toews, is pushing a draconian surveillance bill that would give police extraordinary powers to snoop on Canadians. On a different but related matter Toews wants an investigation into a Twitter account - @vikileaks30 - that has been exposing details of his marital breakdown. How does it feel Vic - having people nosing into your affairs? Not much fun eh?

The Conservatives are outraged. The Twitter account allegedly links back to an IP address in the House of Commons. The Tories are fingering the NDP as prime suspects. The NDP denies involvement.

Toews clearly doesn't like the invasion of his privacy. Who would? Yet this is the same Minister who is behind Bill C-30, a surveillance nightmare that opens the door to violations of Canadians' privacy. The CBC reports that Internet providers would be required to hand over subscriber data, name, address, mobile phone number, IP address and online ID's - without a warrant. The Bill would also compel internet providers to provide a "back door" to make communications accessible to police. Essentially a spy portal. More on C-30 provisions from CBC - here.

Toews is the same guy who tarred a Liberal MP who questioned the Bill's provisions with "he can either stand with us or with the child pornographers." To call the smear disgusting is an understatement. The sacrifice of Canadians who fought in two world wars in defence of liberty is besmirched by Toews' gutter politics on a matter so integral to Canadians rights and freedoms. The police already have the resources to wage a fight against predators. C-30 is a road too far and would grant way too much power to the authorities.

The Berlin Wall may have come down but the snoop-and-control tactics of the Stasi are alive and well in Stephen Harper's Conservative Party. It's just a question of how much we will allow them to get away with. The Tories are a punitive, vengeful bunch who punish and ridicule people who disagree with them. The former leader of the NDP, Jack Layton, was smeared as "Taliban Jack" for proposing talks with the Taliban - eminently reasonable as compared to Harper's gung-ho no-cut-and-run rhetoric in the face of a no-win mission. Another Tory target - British MP George Galloway - was denied entry into Canada to speak. He was smeared by a Tory spokesperson as "an infandous street-corner Cromwell."

By choosing his moves carefully when he was in a minority position Harper managed to seduce the soft vote that helped to put him over the top. His attempt to sell himself as good old Stevie included tickling the ivories, crooning for the cameras and taking part in a TV comedy show.

Now we're seeing the real agenda emerging. More prisons even though crime stats have shown a downward trend, a cynical effort to pass a draconian surveillance bill using child victims as cover, an attempt to reshape Canadian institutions along conservative lines - just some of the items on the agenda. Harper wants to give Canada an American-style makeover and in the course of doing that change the very essence of what it means to be Canadian.

Beneath the NDP's Charlie Angus defending freedom in Canada:

Big Bro Canada: Stasi redux

Related story - here

May 21, 2010

Marc Emery: facing US jail time

Canadian marijuana activist/advocate Marc Emery has been extradited to the US after a five year battle to avoid US drug charges.

Back in 2005, following an undercover investigation, Emery was arrested for allegedly selling marijuana seeds to US residents over the internet. The arrest was carried out by Canadian police acting on a request from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Last year Emery made an agreement with US prosecutors that he would plead guilty to one charge of drug distribution in exchange for a five-year sentence.

For about 10 years Marc Emery's company Marc Emery Direct Marijuana Seeds was up and running despite the occasional raid by police. Seeds sold to US customers were allegedly linked to illegal grow ops. The DEA makes the claim that Emery seeds were traced to operations in Indiana, Florida, Tennessee, Montana, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey and North Dakota.

US authorities wanted to go after Emery for distributing marijuana seeds, money laundering and conspiring to manufacture marijuana.

In 2008 the Canadian government decided to reject a plea deal the US and Marc Emery's lawyer had arranged that would have required Canadian charges be lodged followed by incarceration in Canada.

In September 2009, Emery signed the above-mentioned deal for a 5-year sentence in order to avoid the possibility of a mandatory minimum of 30-years and up to life in prison.

Emery explains on his blog why he decided to cut a deal - here.

Emery supporters point out that he's facing jail time for a crime punishable in Canada by a $200 fine. They believe the Harper Tories are instigating a "culture war" by refusing to intervene in the extradition.

Recently supporters showed up at the Abbotsford office of MP Ed Fast and staged a sit-in to protest the extradition.

Marc's wife, Jodie, said: "I promise you, Stephen Harper, we will hound you until you are nothing but an unpleasant memory."

The Green party of Canada has condemned the extradition of Emery. Green leader Elizabeth May said: “It is wrong that Marc is being sent to a US prison for an offense for which there is almost no penalty in Canada... We ask the Justice Minister to reconsider. At the very least, Marc should serve his term in a Canadian prison.”

Petitions were presented to the House of Commons on March 15, 2010, bearing thousands of signatures in an effort to stop Marc Emery's extradition to the US.

For more on the story link to Cannabis Culture - CBC - BBC - YouTube

Apr 27, 2010

Peter Watts: author fined over border guard incident

Canadian science fiction writer Peter Watts who allegedly 'refused to comply' during a US customs inspection has avoided a 60-day jail sentence by paying $1,500 in fines and fees.

Watts could have faced up to two years in prison after he was found guilty of obstructing and resisting a police officer - a verdict that is highly questionable.

On his way back to Canada after helping a University of Toronto professor with a move Watts crossed at Blue Water Bridge near Sarnia. When US customs officers began to go through his car, Watts got out to ask what was going on. When he was ordered back into the car, he repeated the request.

Port Huron police claim Watts was angry when he got out of the vehicle and when he failed to get back in the car on demand there was an attempt to handcuff him. In the course of the struggle they claim he choked an officer.

Watts denies any wrongdoing: "I can state categorically that I did not choke anybody. I did not use profanity and did not raise my voice. I did not initiate any physical contact... All I basically did was use words to ask what was going on."

Chief customs and border protection officer at the Blue Water Bridge, Ronald Smith, told the Toronto Star that Watts became 'non-compliant ... and a physical altercation ensued.'

What does 'non-compliant' mean? It seems the mere act of getting out of the vehicle and not jumping back in immediately when ordered, was enough to draw a beating and then some. There is every indication that Watts wanted to comply but wasn't given the chance.

He says he was punched in the face, pepper-sprayed and thrown in jail for the night. Border guards carry authority but they don't have the license to act like thugs.

A Boing Boing post on the incident includes a comment by Watts. In an ironic reference to a parallel universe he writes: "Along some other timeline, I did not get out of the car to ask what was going on. I did not repeat that question when refused an answer and told to get back into the vehicle. In that other timeline I was not punched in the face, pepper-sprayed, shit-kicked, handcuffed, thrown wet and half-naked into a holding cell..."

The comment thread on Boing Boing is also worth a read. Naloh writes:

Peter's a friend. I've known him for years. He's non-violent. He will ask questions; so would I in that situation. He's also close to seven feet tall. I suspect his "crime" was being taller than the border guards, and more articulate.

Link also to Huffington Post - Toronto Star - Boing Boing

Mar 29, 2010

Robert Fowler blasts Harper's foreign policy

Robert Fowler is Canada's longest standing ambassador to the UN and a former foreign policy adviser to Trudeau, Turner and Mulroney.

Speaking at a Montreal conference organized by the Liberal Party of Canada, Fowler said that Harper's foreign policy has made the international community suspicious and distrustful of a Canada that is increasingly turning away from the world.

A report in the Ottawa Citizen had this comment:

Former Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler has slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s foreign policy, accusing the Conservatives of pandering to Canadian Jewish voters with a “reckless” Middle East policy that blindly favors Israel.

He said the Conservatives must “accept the reality and importance of the ironclad link between . . . continuing turmoil and volatility in the Middle East and the rise (and) growing strength of international terrorism.”

But, he said, doing that means confronting Israel, as it “builds ever more settlements in illegally occupied territories in contravention of a myriad of international judgments.”

Fowler is keenly aware of the erosion in Canada's standing on the global stage as a result of Harperite policies.

Ottawa Citizen:

He [Fowler] said politicians are merely engaged in “the scramble to lock up the Jewish vote in Canada (and) selling out our widely admired and long-established reputation for fairness and justice... I do deplore the abandonment of our hard-won reputation for objective analysis and decency as a result of our reckless Middle Eastern posturing”.

Fowler was also critical of the Liberal Party and said that today "they don't stand for much in the way of principles".

CBC:

"I have the impression that they will endorse anything and everything which might return them to power and nothing which won't, whatever the merits of either. It's all about getting to power, and it shows.

"I believe Liberals seem prepared to embrace an infinite array of special interests in order to shill for votes rather than forging a broad-based principled alliance founded in deep Liberal traditions, one with a distinct social contract and an independent Canadian character, which would protect, project and defend core Liberal values at home and abroad..."

The former ambassador took aim at the Canadian presence in Afghanistan and called for a withdrawal.

Even Harper seems to believe that "we will not prevail in Afghanistan". On a visit to the US the PM said that the Taleban cannot be defeated. So why are Canadian troops paying the price for a policy that could turn out to be self-defeating? Why are young Canadian service people being sacrificed... to what end? Fowler is right when he says there is no way Canada can ever afford the price "in blood and treasure" to essentially help colonize Afghanistan.

Fowler said Canadian troops should withdraw immediately. "It is time to leave. Not a moment, not a life, and not a dollar later".

Link also to Globe and Mail and CBC

Feb 27, 2010

Simon Barnes: 'Well done, Canada, you own the Odium'

Simon Barnes has an article on Timesonline that has harsh criticism for Canada's Own The Podium program. Unlike other criticism of the games, the recent Pravda rant for example, Barnes' article at least avoids the kneejerk finger-in-the-face approach, but is nonetheless unsparing in its criticism of Canada's OTP hype. Some might add "rightly so" - except that in the writer's case it's hard not to suspect at least a few sour grapes.

Barnes, who claims he hasn't "a single anti-Canadian molecule in my body" confesses that he ended up rooting for the US in some events because he was so turned off by the Canadians who he describes as "a bunch of mean-spirited, chippy, unsporting losers."

He considers the Own the Podium strategy to be a disaster, not just in terms of results, but also in terms of sportsmanship:

... Own The Podium, a campaign put together with C$117 million (about £72 million) from federal, provincial, territorial and corporate money, has been a failure in terms of medals. In short, it got what it deserved. It deserved to fail because it was conceived in bad sportsmanship and simple envy.

The title has always been the biggest problem, for the athletes it funded and for the message it gave to the world. It told us: we are holding the world’s biggest party. Please come. But we intend to eat all the jelly.

The campaign has been strident, derisive and insulting. Normally, the world takes joy in the success of the home athletes. Freeman’s run in Sydney was as lovely a bit of sport as I’ve seen, and Guo Jingjing, the diver diva, was wonderful in Beijing. But the world has found it hard to enjoy Canada’s successes.

That phrase. Own it. It’s not a Canadianism. It’s an Americanism. It’s a reasonably modern bit of jargon and expresses a highly American mixture of positive thinking and borderline arrogance. By using this phrase, Canada was unambiguously taking on the big neighbour.

Barnes suggests sarcastically that a more apt slogan for the Canadian team effort might have been "Up Yours America". His criticism also extends to the way guest athletes were handled:

Own The Podium didn’t stop at helping Canadians. It also tried to hinder everyone else. Access to practice sites was strictly limited. These Games are for Canadians, not the world.

While I also have reservations about the Own the Podium program - in particular the nationalistic fervor it appeals to, it's hard nonetheless not to suspect an underlying thread of resentment in the Barnes' article. After all the former colonial outpost has topped GB convincingly when it comes to medal count... a total of 26 to Britain's one. Moreover fourteen of the Canadian medals are gold. The Brit ego is bound to be stinging. But wait, according to Barnes the English are above such low-minded partisan attitudes. He says: "The idea of being brought up in resentment is foreign to English nature. No doubt we have faults in the opposite direction, but we have a very low tolerance of chippiness."

Ahem... that's a little rich to say the least. The English can be as petty as the best of them, it's just that they're often better at hiding it... a bit like Simon actually.

Own the Podium, corporate patrons, the politics-of-the-games and other nationalistic adrenalin-boosting hype aside, the Canadian success comes down to the men and women who made enormous personal sacrifices to reach this level of athletic excellence. Irrespective of what you think about the Olympics and all it represents - you have to respect that.

Canada is a young country in the process of forging its identity and doubtless the verve and elan that comes with that must be very irksome to an older 'mother' nation that is pretty much in the doldrums these days. A recent survey claims that almost half the population of the UK would like to emigrate given half the chance.

Barnes risks coming off like a scolding aunt. Here for example:

But really, what a way to run a global event. A host shouldn’t treat his guests as gate-crashers. This grudging and inhospitable spirit has been an ugly aspect of Vancouver. The ultimate aim of these Games, any Games, is global excellence and global joy, not provincial victory and local bragging rights.

The Canadians have taken an aggressive line towards any criticism. This kneejerk reaction is both small-minded and small-nation. It is not hostile to point out an error, particularly when the error is rudely thrust in your face.

The writer's high minded call for sporting decency etc comes off as a tad anachronistic these competitive down-and-dirty days. Let's face it, sore losers often resort to rhetoric of a sort they may be less inclined to indulge if their team was walking away with a medal haul. He does make some criticisms worth considering but it's where its coming from that gives pause.

Barnes wraps up on a rather chippy note himself:

"Own The Podium? Own bloody goal, more like".

Okay then. Doubtless on Sunday Simon will be donning his stars and stripes t'shirt as he checks out the hockey final.

Jan 14, 2010

Harper prorogues Parliament... again

No government in recent Canadian history comes close to being as cynical and partisan as the Tory administration in Ottawa under Stephen Harper. Harper was true to form recently when he prorogued Parliament for the second time in a year. Canada will effectively be without a working Parliament until March 3. This time around Harper didn't even bother to meet with the governor-general... he just placed a call.

The country's business isn't just on-hold, legislation that was in-the-works has simply been turfed. This should surprise nobody. The Harper government is about power at all costs and they will do whatever it takes, including obstructing the business on the Hill if need be to duck any possible liabilities. The suspension of Parliament was carefully timed, no doubt in hopes that the razamatazz over the Winter Olympics in Vancouver will help to distract from the brewing torture scandal that implicates the Canadian military.

Harper is adept at the cover-up, the whitewash, the obstruct-and-stymie routine. He treats Canadians with the type of condescension best typified as a top-down daddy-knows-best attitude, and to our shame a minority seem to have little problem with his despotic tendencies.

Having said that, there are a few pundits with conservative sympathies who have raised objections over the recent decision to prorogue Parliament. Andrew Coyne wrote on his blog - "In what other democracy is it permissible for the government of the day to hide from the legislature for months at a time?" Macleans magazine, that features a regular column by Coyne, has been running a poll on the decision to prorogue Parliament. On last check 69% of respondents agreed that yes - "it's an insult to Parliament"... 31% said no - "the government is entirely within its rights".

Canadians on the whole are decent with a strong sense of fair play. Many give Harper the benefit of the doubt based in part on the perception that there is no viable alternative on the horizon. But still after repeated tries Harper has been unable to obtain a majority. No wonder... he behaves at times as though he is running a fiefdom rather than a modern democracy. Despite his government's minority status, he has succeeded in pressing his partisan agenda because frankly there is a lack of political will in this country when it comes to effective grassroots organization. The opposition seems rudderless and divided. That also extends to the party level. The Tory character assassination machine used against Ignatieff did its job. Make no mistake, Harper will exploit any type of perceived weakness to strengthen his hold on power.

Harper's ideological and highly partisan approach to politics doesn't represent the views of the majority in this great and diverse nation. Many Canadians watched in dismay as Canada abandoned its role as fair broker on the international scene and became an unabashed cheerleader for Israel with Harper as chief baton twirler. They were equally dismayed when Canadians were left to languish in perilous situations abroad... Canadians with names such as Suaad Mohamud, Maher Arar, Abousfian Abdelrazik, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin, Ahmad El Maati and Omar Khadr. Now if they had happened to be white and called Brenda Martin... well whole different story. Martin was convicted and imprisoned in Mexico on drug trafficking charges. There was no stone the Ottawa cavalry left unturned to ensure her safe return to Canada. This type of deeply offensive discrimination in the treatment of Canadian citizens abroad is not what Canada is about.

The contempt for democracy demonstrated by the Harperites knows no bounds. Jason Kenney, whose portfolio as Minister, ironically enough includes multiculturalism, hit a new low point recently. He made the news with comments about KAIROS, an eucumenical Christian organization that has now been stripped of its funding by the Tories. He lumped it among groups allegedly guilty of anti-Semitism.

In Kenney's eyes and those of his boss if you are critical of Israel, chances are high you'll be fingered as anti-Semitic. I guess from the Harperite perspective Canadian Jews who are critical of Israel have 'self-loathing' issues. Twisted thinking for sure, but the anti-Semitic smear is one which the Tories and their partisans in the media routinely use in an attempt to discredit critics. Kenney made his comment about KAIROS when he was visiting Jerusalem. It makes you wonder if Kenney is more interested in looking out for Israeli interests than in upholding democratic principles in Canada.

Kenney was also behind the banning of British MP George Galloway from Canadian soil. Apparently Canadian democracy can't handle Galloway making a few speeches - yes, we're that fragile. By contrast south of the border... no problem at all. Galloway did his thing in the US and managed to beam an NY speech live to an audience in Toronto. The episode demonstrates the way in which this government infantilizes Canadians in the name of looking out for them. If the Americans can handle Galloway making a few speeches, we sure as hell can.

The move to prorogue Parliament is yet more of the control tactics we have come to expect from the Tories. No doubt they figure that with some dead time and with the Afghanistan committee on-hold until the spring, any push for a public inquiry will lose some steam. It will also give them the opportunity to jam more Conservatives into the senate as they prep for the majority Harper has long been lusting after.

If you think Canada has become smaller and meaner with the Tories in power, rest assured that the downhill slide will continue apace if Harper is ever handed a majority.

Stephen Harper (with apologies to Napoleon)

Related story - here

Sep 2, 2009

Brandon Huntley: South Africa calls Canadian refugee ruling 'racist'

South Africa's ruling party has condemned Canada's 'racist' decision in granting refugee status to Brandon Huntley, a man who claims he was the target of repeated assaults in South Africa because he is white.

Huntley is an unemployed 31-year old who formerly worked as a water sprinkler salesman in SA. He obtained a temporary permit to work as a carnival attendant in Canada. When the permit expired in 2006, he remained in Canada illegally.

Huntley

According to Huntley he was mugged and stabbed on numerous occasions in South Africa by attackers who called him "white dog" and "settler" during the alleged assaults. The attacks are purely Huntley's say-so, because there is no record of them in SA - he never laid any charges with the police. Several residents in the Cape Town suburb of Mowbray where Huntley lived say they have never heard of anyone being called a "white dog" or a "settler."

South Africans who claim they know Mr Huntley on a personal basis have described him as 'a conman.' They claim he had a plan to stay on in Canada after his temporary work visa expired and had decided to play on popular prejudices about South African crime in order to press his case for refugee status.

A South African radio talk-show host told The Times that “The truth will soon come out. He came out with this cock-and-bull story and probably never expected to receive this publicity. There are no records of any attacks and he admits he never reported any of them.”

Ronnie Mamoepa, a spokesman for the Home Affairs department said the SA government was "disgusted" by the Canadian ruling and "preposterous claims" by Mr Huntley.

Brian Sokutu of the ANC said: “We find the claim by Huntley to have been attacked seven times by Africans due to his skin colour without any police intervention sensational and alarming. Canada’s reasoning for granting Huntley a refugee status can only serve to perpetuate racism.”

Given the political implications of this case and the rather sketchy circumstances surrounding Huntley's application, it is all the more surprising that Refugee Board member, William Davis, appeared to have no problem believing that Huntley had been persecuted because of his race, as opposed to simply being a victim of crime.

Davis went further and enlarged the canvas by suggesting that South Africa had failed to protect its white citizens from robberies and muggings - a situation he depicted in alarmist terms as the "persecution" of whites by "African South Africans."

There are a number of misconceptions behind the scenario painted by Davis. Crime in South Africa is a serious problem, but whites aren't the primary victims. The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) pointed out that "... the vast majority of the victims of violent crime are black." SAIRR further noted that there was no "general pattern of racial attacks on white South Africans by black South Africans."

Davis said that Mr Huntley would "stand out like a sore thumb" in any part of S.Africa because of his skin color - a rather odd statement considering that there are more than 4 million whites in South Africa.

He also said that Huntley would be unable to find employment in SA because affirmative action favors blacks. Statistics paint a different picture. The unemployment rate for blacks in South Africa is 27.9%, compared to whites at 4.6%. Moreover 61% of South Africa's top corporate executives are white men.

The South African government has announced that it will seek a review of the Canadian Refugee Board's decision.

Guardian article - here.

Apr 19, 2009

Order of Canada: Conrad Black still in exclusive club

Conrad Black, who was convicted on $6 million fraud and obstruction of justice charges remains an officer of the Order of Canada. He is presently serving time in the Coleman Correctional Complex in Florida. Not exactly the profile of an appointee to a top Canadian honour.

There are other reasons to question why Black retains the honour. In 2001 he gave up his Canadian citizenship. He claimed he was forced to it because of a court decision that blocked his passage to a British peerage.

Nobody 'forces' you to give up your citizenship. Black gave it up because he was angry with Jean Chrétien and mesmerized by the prospect of becoming a peer of the realm... but not before insulting Canada by describing it as "an oppressive little world."

Two recipients of the Order, Dr Margaret-Ann Armour, a University of Alberta prof and ecologist David Schindler, told the CBC that they felt Conrad Black was no longer a part of the group.

Professor Armour said "This is something where one is upholding the honour of our country, and you don't do a very good job of it if you are not an honest business person."

When you consider the fate of two other appointees to the Order, David Akenakew and T. Sher Singh, who have been stripped of the honour, the appearance of a double-standard, even racism is hard to avoid.

David Ahenakew, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, was appointed to the Order in 1978. Akenakew didn't defraud anyone or renounce his citizenship. He made a number of highly controversial and offensive remarks about Jews during an interview with the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. He was stripped of the Order on July 8, 2005 - an outcome that in his opinion was due to the lobbying efforts of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

It has been suggested that the council responsible for the Order of Canada are withholding a decision on Conrad Black pending the outcome of his appeal. However Akenakew was stripped of the honour before he completed his appeal - an appeal moreover that resulted in his conviction being overturned.

On February 23, 2009 Akenakew was acquitted in Provincial Court. Judge Wilfred Tucker said that while Akenakew's remarks were "revolting, disgusting and untrue" they did not show an intent to incite hatred.

More recently an Indo-Canadian lawyer named T. Sher Singh had his appointment to the Order terminated. According to the Governor-General's office the termination was `"pursuant to the Law Society of Upper Canada finding Mr. Singh guilty of professional misconduct and revoking his license to practice law."

For all their sins, neither Ahenakew nor T. Sher Singh have been sentenced for obstruction and fraud to the tune of millions. Neither did they cast aside their Canadian citizenship so they could accept a British peerage.

There is a glaring double-standard in the exception accorded to Conrad Black and it needs to be addressed.

Apr 8, 2009

Harper leaves Canadian stranded in Sudan

Canadian embassy Khartoum Abousfian Abdelrazik

Abousfian Abdelrazik /Canadian embassy in Khartoum

Abousfian Abdelrazik is a Canadian citizen from Montreal. In 2003 he took a trip to Sudan to visit his mother. While he was there, the authorities arrested him and he was jailed as a suspected terrorist.

While in detention Abdelrazik was beaten, tortured and interrogated. He says his interrogators included CSIS and US counter-terrorism agents.

Eleven months on, Sudanese authorities announced that he was innocent and he was released from jail. His lawyers say he was also cleared by US and CSIS agents.

The George Bush administration placed Abdelrazik on a UN Security Council terrorist blacklist and also on an international no-fly list - which, while not preventing him from being repatriated, presented obvious difficulties.

After being stuck in limbo, living in the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum where he slept in a cot in the lobby - Abdelrazik received word that the Canadian government would allow his return to Canada if he had a purchased ticket. Supporters of Abdelrazik pooled their money to send him around $1000 for the ticket.

Two hours before he was due to board the flight home, he received news that Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon had denied him a passport on the basis of national security concerns.

This is not only unconstitutional, it is a violation of Abdelrazik's civil liberties.

It should be pointed out that there are no charges against Abdelrazik. CSIS and the RCMP aren't after him for anything. Moreover this alleged 'terror risk' not fit to enter Canada, was allowed to hang out in the Canadian embassy in Khartoum and even sleep in the lobby. It doesn't add up.

The use of 'security concerns' to block Abousfian Abdelrazik's re-entry comes on the heels of the Galloway ban. Harper hiding-behind-Kenney, and Kenney hiding-behind-Border-Control branded the five times elected British MP George Galloway a security threat and banned him from entering Canada. Their decision made Canada the laughing stock of the international community. And of course the reason for the ban had nothing to do with the 'security threat' Galloway is alleged to pose - the real reason was because Harper couldn't handle the idea of Galloway bringing his anti-war message into town.

NDP foreign affairs critic, Paul Dewar, made a comparison between the treatment of Abdelrazik and that received by Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman jailed in Mexico. He pointed out that a private jet was dispatched to bring Martin home and added that if Abdelrazik had been someone with a different skin color and a different last name, the outcome might well have been different.

The term 'Kafkaesque' has been used to describe Abdelrazik's predicament. Anyone who is familiar with the works of the great Czech writer knows that the use of the term isn't altogether far-fetched. Abdelrazik, like Joseph K in The Trial, stands accused without having been charged with any specific crime.

Mar 30, 2009

Canadian researchers uncover electronic spying operation

Researchers at the University of Toronto are part of a team that uncovered an electronic spying operation that infiltrated computers and stole documents. Targets included government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama.

The Information Warfare Monitor group investigated suspected Chinese espionage against the Tibetan community in exile. It turned up multiple infections that allowed attackers access to sensitive information.

The methods used by the attackers demonstrate the way in which malware can http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifbe adapted to create a low-cost intelligence capability. The data uncovered by the researchers led to the discovery of insecure, web-based interfaces to four control servers that gave the attackers access to compromised computers.

There have been allegations that China is behind the espionage. There isn't any evidence that the spies were working directly for the Chinese government, although there have been accusations that stolen information may have benefited Chinese policy and interests.

Detailed report - here.

Mar 23, 2009

Calgary: Neo-Nazi Aryan Guard and Anti-Racism protesters clash

Photo: Todd Karol

On the weekend 400 people supporting the Calgary chapter of Anti-Racist Action gathered at Calgary City Hall to show their support for the UN-sponsored International Day to Eliminate Racial Discrimination.

At the intersection of 7th Avenue and 6th Street SW they encountered about 50 members of the neo-Nazi Aryan Guard who were marking something called "White Pride World Day" - an event most Canadians have never heard of - not even the white ones.

The white-and-proud crew were looking for a confrontation. Most of them were camouflaged - wearing scarves and sunglasses to conceal their faces.

Several fights broke out but the police presence prevented the confrontations from escalating. The larger point is why were the cops escorting a few dozen neo-Nazis through the center of Calgary? The police might call it keeping the peace, but to a number of observers it looked like protection for racists.

The protest wound up around 4:30 P.M. when Aryan Guard members boarded a bus and departed the city center.

Photo: Jeff McIntosh

Photo: Lorraine Hjalte

Mar 20, 2009

George Galloway banned from speaking in Canada

Canadian Immigration minister Jason Kenney has denied entry to British MP George Galloway who was due to embark on a speaking tour of Canada.

Canadian Border officials said that Galloway was "inadmissible" because of his views on the war in Afghanistan and the presence of Canadian troops there. They said the decision had been taken in accordance with section 34(1) of Canada's immigration act.

A Canadian government spokesperson described Galloway as an "infandous street-corner Cromwell"... an attempt to be clever that comes off looking silly. What's Cromwell got to do with it? Trite populist comparisons aside, the two men couldn't be more different.

No doubt Galloway's opposition to sanctions against Hamas and support for the peace process is interpreted as support for terrorism in the cockeyed universe of infandous Tory paranoics. Say what you want about Hamas - it was democratically elected and doesn't begin to match Israel when it comes to slaughter of the innocent - that even Israeli troops are now testifying to.

The greater truth is that Harper has had to eat his boasts about Afghanistan. His absurd posturing and misplaced confidence makes him look compromised now that he has gone public with the admission that the Taleban can't be defeated. So why are our troops still there? Why are Canadian lives being lost - to what end? No wonder the Harper government has shut the door on Galloway. Inconvenient truths are hard to swallow.

Immigration minister Kenney has the power to exempt people from the act if he believes their presence would not be "detrimental to the national interest" but in Galloway's case Kenney has "declined to exercise that discretion."

Galloway who learned of the decision Friday, says he intends to take legal action against the Harper government by challenging the department's decision in Federal Court.

Commenting on the decision Galloway said:

We’ll be in court soon to try and overturn this. Canada remains a free country with an independent judiciary. They will have to review whether he has acted reasonably in these circumstances.

This may be a rather desperate election ploy by a conservative government reaching the end of line, or by a minister who has not cottoned on to the fact that the George Bush era is over.

All right-thinking Canadians, whether they agree with me over the wisdom of sending troops to Afghanistan or not, will oppose this outrageous decision.

On a personal note – for a Scotsman to be barred from Canada is like being told to stay away from the family home.

This is not something I'm prepared to accept.

This move demonstrates the controlling approach of a government that can't even see its way to allow a democratically elected politician into the country. The ban on Galloway is beyond pathetic. He isn't a supporter of terrorism. He opposes the Canadian government's approach to terrorism and is entitled to his views.

Galloway said Canada is the only country that has banned him from entry. He added that even Israel would allow him in.

MP Olivia Chow (NDP) has called Kenney the "Minister of Censorship" - never a truer word.

Link here to George Galloway's site where he has posted comments on the Canadian ban.

Link here to sign a petition to allow Galloway to speak.

Related cartoon - "Ottawa Gag Order" - here.

Mar 17, 2009

Suppression of Israel criticism in Canada

A group of 150 Jewish Canadians have co-signed a statement expressing their concern about attempts by Jewish organizations to silence criticism of Israel through the use of fear-tactics. They point to the recent crackdown on university campuses that saw students being suspended and fined, posters confiscated and concerted efforts on the part of some universities to silence the exercise of free speech when it comes to criticism of Israel.

Help this important statement to get into broad circulation - pass it on to your networks (faculty, community, MPs, university presidents, unions etc.). You may also wish to write to the Star and Globe editorials and express your dismay that they have chosen not to publish it.

Here is the statement in full with a preamble:

Jewish Canadians Concerned About Suppression of Criticism of Israel

James Deutsch, M.D., Ph.D., Judith Deutsch, M.S.W., R.S.W., Miriam Garfinkle, M.D.

Over 150 Jewish Canadians signed a statement expressing their concerns about the campaign to suppress criticism of Israel that is being carried on within Canada. The signatories include many prominent Canadians, including Ursula Franklin O.C., Anton Kuerti O.C., Naomi Klein, Dr. Gabor Mate, and professors Meyer Brownstone (recipient of Pearson Peace Medal), Natalie Zemon Davis, Michael Neumann, and Judy Rebick. *

The signatories are particularly concerned that unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism deflect attention from Israel’s accountability for what many have called war crimes in Gaza. They state that B’nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress have led campaigns to silence criticism of Israel on university campuses, in labor unions and in other groups. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff unquestioningly echo the views of these particular Jewish organizations.

They strongly state that they are against all expressions of racism. While firmly committed to resisting any form of prejudice against Jewish people, their statement explicitly states that these spurious allegations of anti-Semitism bring the anti-Communist terror of the 1950s vividly to mind.

The statement underlines the immeasurable suffering and injustice to the Palestinian people due to the severe poverty, daily humiliations, and military invasions inflicted by the State of Israel.

Statement: Jewish Canadians Concerned about Suppression of Criticism of Israel

We are Jewish Canadians concerned about all expressions of racism, anti-Semitism, and social injustice. We believe that the Holocaust legacy "Never again" means never again for all peoples. It is a tragic turn of history that the State of Israel, with its ideals of democracy and its dream of being a safe haven for Jewish people, causes immeasurable suffering and injustice to the Palestinian people.

We are appalled by recent attempts of prominent Jewish organizations and leading Canadian politicians to silence protest against the State of Israel. We are alarmed by the escalation of fear tactics. Charges that those organizing Israel Apartheid Week or supporting an academic boycott of Israel are anti-Semites promoting hatred bring the anti-Communist terror of the 1950s vividly to mind. We believe this serves to deflect attention from Israel’s flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.

B’nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress have pressured university presidents and administrations to silence debate and discussion specifically regarding Palestine/Israel. In a full-page ad in a national newspaper, B’nai Brith urged donors to withhold funds from universities because "anti-Semitic hate fests" were being allowed on campuses. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff have echoed these arguments. While university administrators have resisted demands to shut down Israel Apartheid week, some Ontario university presidents have bowed to this disinformation campaign by suspending and fining students, confiscating posters, and infringing on free speech.

We do not believe that Israel acts in self-defense. Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid, receiving $3 million/day. It has the fourth strongest army in the world. Before the invasion of Gaza on 27 December 2008, Israel’s siege had already created a humanitarian catastrophe there, with severe impoverishment, malnutrition, and destroyed infrastructure. It is crucial that forums for discussion of Israel’s accountability to the international community for what many have called war crimes be allowed to proceed unrestricted by specious claims of anti-Semitism.

We recognize that anti-Semitism is a reality in Canada as elsewhere, and we are fully committed to resisting any act of hatred against Jews. At the same time, we condemn false charges of anti-Semitism against student organizations, unions, and other groups and people exercising their democratic right to freedom of speech and association regarding legitimate criticism of the State of Israel.

Signatories:

Abigail Bakan, Adam Balsam, Sharon Baltman, Julia Barnett, Lainie Basman, Jody Berland, Sam Blatt, Geri Blinik, Anita Block, Elizabeth Block, Sheila Block, Hannah Briemberg, Mark Brill, Stephen Brot, Meyer Brownstone, Eliza Burroughs, Smadar Carmon, Gyda Chud, Charles P. Cohen, Nathalie Cohen, David Copeland, Natalie Zemon Davis, Eliza Deutsch, James Deutsch, Judith Deutsch, Abbe Edelson, Jack Etkin, Elle Flanders, Danielle Frank, Ursula Franklin, Dan Freeman-Maloy, Miriam Garfinkle, Alisa Gayle, Jack Gegenberg, Mark Golden, Brenda Goldstein, Sue Goldstein, Cy Gonick, Marnina Gonick, Rachel Gotthilf, Amy Gottleib, Kevin A. Gould, Daina Green, Lisa Frances Greenspoon, Ricardo Grinspun, Cathy Gulkin, Rachel Gurofsky, Deboran Guterman, Yesse Gutman, Freda Guttman, Judy Haiven, Michael Hanna-Fein, Jean Hanson, Jan Heynen, Maria Heynen, Adam Hofmann, Jake Javanshir, Jeannie Kamins, Marylin Kanee, Howard S. Kaplan, Gilda Katz. Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta, Mira Khazzam, Bonnie Sher Klein, Mark Klein, Martin Klein, Naomi Klein, Joshua Katz-Rosene, Ryan Katz-Rosene, Judy Koch, Anton Kuerti, Jason Kunin, Aaron Lakoff, Michael Lambek, Natalie LaRoche, Richard Borshay Lee, Andy Lehrer, Gabriel Levin, Gabriel Levine, Joel Lexchin, Kim Linekin, Abby Lippman, Lee Lorch, Martin Lukacs, Audrey Macklin, Elise Maltin, Richard Marcuse, Wayne Mark, Gabor Mate, Arthur Milner, Anna Miransky, Dorit Naaman, Joanne Naiman, Neil Naiman, Michael Neumann, David-Marc Newman, David Noble, Clare O’Connor, Robin Ostow, Andre W. Payant, Jenny Peto, Simone Powell, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Fabienne Presentey, Yacov Rabkin, Diana Ralph, Naomi Rankin, Judy Rebick, Ester Reiter, Jillian Rogin, Richard Roman, Joseph Rosen, Herman Rosenfeld, Martha Roth, Marty Roth, Ruben Roth, E.Natalie Rothman, B. Sack, Ben Saifer, Miriam Sampaio, Jacob Scheir, Fred Schloessinger, Alan Sears, Shlomit Segal, Edward H. Shaffer, Noa Shaindlinger, Ray Shankman, Eva Sharell, Elliot Shek, Sid Shniad, Max Silverman, Samuel Singer, Elizabeth Solloway, Susan Starkman, Greg Starr, Jonathan Sterne, Jeremy Stolow, Rhonda Sussman, Vera Szoke, Joe Tannenbaum, Howard Tessler, Marion Traub-Werner, Ceyda Turan, Sandra Tychsen, Cheryl Wagner, Jon McPhedran Waitzer, David Wall, Naomi Binder Wall, Kathy Wazana, Karen Weisberg, Barry Weisleder, Paul Weinberg, Judith Weisman, Suzanne Weiss, Abraham Weizfeld, Ernie Yacub, B.H. Yael, Yedida Zalik, Melvin Zimmerman

Mar 4, 2009

Rosie Dimanno: accuses students of 'hyperbolic anti-Semitism'

The Toronto Star's Rosie Dimanno has joined the ranks of finger pointers who believe that criticizing Israel is anti-Semitic. The anti-Semitic smear is the shaming tactic of preference for those trying to push back against the outrage generated by Gaza, and it's been used aplenty lately. Dimanno labeled students involved in Israeli Apartheid-Week anti-Semitic. The National Post also got in the act, with an article smearing CUPE union leader Sid Ryan as anti-Semitic.

Dimanno describes Israeli Apartheid Week as a "detestable, despicable annual campus hate-fest" and slams student posters as "venomous". She says: "But the malice afoot segues into a far more disturbing platform for Israel-bashing, which is often Jew-bashing cloaked in righteousness."

Problem for Dimanno is that many Jewish activists both within and without Israel support a boycott and divestment campaign. This would include 80 British Jews, a number of them prominent academics who signed a letter comparing the IDF to Nazis. This appeared in the Guardian newspaper during the attack on Gaza - link here.

In fact many of the students she castigates as being "racist" or close to, would be arm-in-arm with the above mentioned Jews at any demo you care to name. It's just that Dimanno is looking at the students from the standpoint of her badly compromised position. So naturally they are presented as haters... of her kind of Jew. It's a bit of an insult to place "Jews" in a category of her convenience. There are Jews who wouldn't give her opinions the time of day.

As Robert Fisk might well surmise - why don't journalists ask why, rather than simply go for the obvious. Hundreds of dead and injured Palestinian kids might have something to do with the student's anger. Seizure of Arab land, destruction of olive orchards, demolition of homes, systemic discrimination and the wholesale destruction in Gaza might have something to do with it. But the legitimate anger student's feel in the face of Israeli actions is suspect in Dimanno's eyes. If you have strong feelings on the subject of Israel a red light goes off in her head flashing "anti-Semitic"!! In criticizing Israel they're nothing but a bunch of racists - a convenient way of railroading their concerns.

In her article she decries past criticisms of Israel at the Durban Conference Against Racism and wonders why the 'flesh commerce' in Islamic societies isn't placed under equal scrutiny. This is more than a little ironic. Israel is host to thousands of young women from Eastern Europe, some barely teens when they were kidnapped and/or conned, beaten and abused en route to the slave brothels in Tel Aviv and elsewhere - link here for more. Course not a squeak about any of that. Keep the focus on the evil Arabs and those dreadful students.

Dimanno appears to think we should go easier on Israel ... a country that has just elevated the racist Avigdor Lieberman to national prominence. The Israeli Gush Shalom writer and activist Uri Avnery describes what Lieberman is really about in his article Dirty Socks:

Liberman has created a party that is simply and thoroughly racist. Its election campaign is centered on the demand to annul the Israeli citizenship of “non-loyal” people. Meaning: the Arabs, who constitute 20% of Israel’s citizens.

In every other country, Liberman’s program would be called fascist, without quotation marks. Nowhere in the Western world is there a large party that would dare to advance such a demand. The neo-fascists in Switzerland and Holland want to expel foreigners, not to annul the citizenship of the native-born.

When Joerg Haider was taken into the Austrian cabinet, Israel recalled its ambassador from Vienna in protest. But compared to Liberman, Haider was a raving liberal, and so is Jean-Marie le Pen.

Not a word from Dimanno about the swing to the right in Israel and the increasing tolerance for a racist brand of ultra-nationalism. No it's students exercising their democratic rights on campuses in Canada we need to be deeply concerned about.