Despite public and private appeals to call off the event, the Jewish Defence League (JDL) went ahead with its unfortunate decision to picket a Liberal fundraiser at the Toronto home of pharmaceutical magnate and Jewish philanthropist Barry Sherman. Before the Aug. 26 protest, Sherman was viciously attacked on social media,
Continue readingTag: Middle East
Alberta Politics: That Conservative foreign policy election plank: shaky, incoherent and quite possibly dangerous
PHOTOS: A screen grab from the Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s notorious electioneering video showing the himself and Defence Minister Jason Kenney in Iraqi Kurdistan, with the face of a Canadian special forces soldier blocked out by the CBC – unlike the version that appeared on the PMO’s website. Note the
Continue readingWhy Britain is culpable for the slaughter of its citizens
British Prime Minister David Cameron is enraged at the massacre on a beach at the Sousse resort in Tunisia last week. And well he should be: thirty of his countrymen and women were slaughtered. He has pledged a “full spectrum” response, whatever that means. But while Mr. Cameron is engaging
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: US Rebukes Israel While Showering it with Arms and Favors
Photo by Matanya Only a few weeks into Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, the intense strain of trying to square its members’ zealotry with Israel’s need to improve its international standing is already starkly evident. The conundrum was laid out clearly by Tzipi Hotovely, a young political ally of Netanyahu’s recently
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Harper endangers Canadians at home.
There was some interesting story positioning in the Toronto Star on Monday. The top story on page two was that the federal government will block any attempt to procure bail for prisoner Omar Khadr. The top story on page three was a full width picture of the prime minister being
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Palestinian Enclaves Struggle: An Interview with Ilan Pappé
Ilan Pappé • Photo by Meraj Chhaya Professor Ilan Pappé is the director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the author of fifteen books, among them The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. His newest book, written together with Noam Chomsky, is called
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Canada Advances to Top Tier Warmongering. Congratulations All.
Did you hear the news? Pakistan has inked a deal to buy eight modern Chinese submarines. Pakistan, yeah. And the Pakistan navy is looking at developing nuclear warheads for the torpedoes and cruise missiles those subs carry. What do you think of that? Does it evoke any sort of visceral
Continue readingEchoes of the Monroe Doctrine in the Middle Est
Pondering American mischief in the Middle East the other day I had a strange feeling this pattern of behaviour had appeared before. And then I realized where … in Latin America. In 1823, the fledgling United States unilaterally declared the Monroe Doctrine, after president James Monroe. Its objective was to
Continue readingRob Maguire: Touring Turkey with 18 litres of luxury
I’m sitting in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, waiting for my connecting flight to Istanbul with my carry-on bag resting on my lap. When I arrive at the Ataturk airport later today, I’ll pass through customs, stroll past the baggage area, and jump onto the metro. That carry-on bag — the Boreas
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Nothing is Right in the Middle East
Photo by Rooj Alwazir There is nothing, absolutely nothing right in the Middle East these days. There seems to be no hope left, and no fervor. All that was pure was dragged through filth. All that was great here was stolen or smashed by the outsiders. Enthusiasm had been ridiculed,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Even Diplomats Admit Our Middle East Policy is a Mess.
Of course it’s a mess bordering on schizophrenia. We can’t figure out which side we should be fighting, Sunni or Shia. We’re bombing Sunnis on behalf of the Shia in Iraq and, soon enough, Syria but we’re backing the Sunnis in their air war against Shiite rebels in Yemen. Next
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: ISIS 101
Flag of the Islamic State ISIS certainly is not what a great many people think that it is, if you judge what they think by what our corporate press proclaims incessantly. Judging by what ISIS actually does and whom its acts benefit, its clandestine associates, and the testimony of some
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Trudeau To Support Harper’ Imminent Iraq War Extension
Liberal leader open to supporting Stephen Harper’s imminent extension of Canada’s combat mission against Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq. The post Trudeau To Support Harper’ Imminent Iraq War Extension appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingdrive-by planet: RCMP backtracking on release of video by Ottawa shooter Zehaf-Bibeau reeks of political influence
After we were told the video made by Ottawa shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau would be made available to the public, the RCMP has changed its mind, or had it changed for them. RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson wasn’t exactly clear on the specifics. He said there may be a release of “some aspects of a transcript of the video”… whatever that means.
Given the terrorist narrative favored by the government and also by the police, how can the public be sure that ‘aspects of the transcript’ aren’t cherry picked to reenforce the preferred narrative. Surely the honest and transparent thing to do would be to release the video for the public to make its own judgment or alternatively release the entire transcript, rather than “aspects” of it. If as some claim, there are concerns about the video being exploited in some way for jihadi propaganda, the odds of that happening would be diminished considerably if a transcript was involved – cop out though that would still be – because there is no compelling reason to sit on the video.
There are any number of jihad-inspired videos in circulation that glorify jihad and attack the West… lots of audio-visual incentive out there for anyone influenced by such material. The release of Zehaf-Bibeau’s video – assuming it contains any such content – would not likely make a substantial difference one way or another.
In giving reasons for withholding the video, Paulson also made vague allusions to “some sort of court process.” But given what we know this doesn’t add up. Zehaf-Bibeau is dead and there were no known accomplices.
The decision to withhold the video seems to be more about political calculations. Perhaps Harper is concerned that the video’s contents might in some way influence public opinion about Canada’s involvement in the US-led war in the Middle East… part of the government’s deeply misguided foreign policy agenda.
There has been some debate in parliament about whether or not the term “terrorism” should be used in describing Zehaf-Bibeau’s actions. But from the outset it was clear that the government was dead set on labeling it a “terrorist attack” despite information about Zehaf-Bibeau’s past that indicate mental and emotional problems were a likely trigger.
Zehaf-Bibeau’s mother, Susan Bibeau, who presumably knew her son better than most, denied that he was a terrorist acting “on behalf of some grand ideology or for a political motive.” She said he felt “cornered” and “acted in despair.” She is also skeptical of the radicalization theory and said she believes “mental illness is at the center of this tragedy.”
According to a recent poll Susan Bibeau’s view is shared by a high percentage of Canadians … while 36% describe the shooting as a “terrorist attack” 38% believe mental illness played a part in it.
Although the Harper government has been careful not to appear to be chaffing at the bit to beef up enforcement powers in the wake of the attack… given the reactionary right-wing nature of this government you can be sure it wants to extract as much mileage as possible from the incident. The wheels are apparently in motion. On Monday a Commons committee passed Bill C-44 that hands additional powers to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). According to Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, another bill is in the works that will boost law enforcement powers in the areas of surveillance, detention and arrest.
In the course of conjecturing out loud when and if the Zehaf-Bibeau video might see the light of day, RCMP chief Paulson wasn’t big on specifics… “I don’t know when it’s going to be released. It will certainly be released some day, but I would be a fool to say when it will be released.”
Continue readingdrive-by planet: RCMP backtracking on release of video by Ottawa shooter Zehaf-Bibeau reeks of political influence
After we were told the video made by Ottawa shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau would be made available to the public, the RCMP has changed its mind, or had it changed for them. RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson wasn’t exactly clear on the specifics. He said there may be a release of “some
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Six things we all need to think about when Canadians volunteer to fight for the Kurds
The Kurds: They should have had a country of their own, but since they don’t, and since Canada is allied by treaty to one of their principal enemies, letting Canadians join their fight isn’t a simple matter. We need clarity on just what Canada’s position is from the Canadian government.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: French Parliament Votes to Recognize Palestinian State
France’s Socialist-led parliament has passed a symbolic vote to recognize Palestinian statehood, despite staunch objections from Israel. MPs in Britain and Spain have already passed similar motions. The proposal was passed with 339 votes in favor and 151 against, meaning that it was supported by more than two-thirds of French
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Washington’s Quagmire Mentality
When it comes to Iraq, or the rest of the Middle East for that matter, America is operating on a number of assumptions rooted in fantasy. These false assumptions ensure that America will keep getting itself trapped in quagmire. Andrew Bacevich, former US Army commander turned academic, knows a good
Continue readingThe legitimate anger of the jihadis
As the season of wallowing in warrior worship wanes, we might think upon those warriors we love to hate—the young Muslim men from around the globe migrating (or trying to migrate) to the Middle East to fight for ISIS. Their motivation is much discussed. Some, alienated from their society, seem
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Otherwise Occupied / The genius of Israeli evil: It poses as concern
Photo by W. Hagens Israeli evil is not at all banal. Abundant in inventions and innovations as well as in age-old techniques, it trickles like water and bursts out from hidden places. But unlike floods, it does not reach an end, and it affects some while being invisible, undetectable and
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