Senior Canadian diplomat speaks to truth ;’Antisemitism’ be damned

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to hear Robert Fowler-former Canadian ambassador to the U.N and former deputy minister of defence- speak some hard truths  at Michael Ignatieff’s “Canada at 150″ Conference in Montreal this weekend.

True to form & Liberal propensities that favour political expediency over principles. It did not take long for Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff   to attempt to put distance between himself and  Robert Fowler.

Like immediately  after the conference…

Sigh,I suppose that’s just what politicians do though. Indeed truth & objectivity(particularly in matters that involves Israel & it’s blatant in your face  oppression of Palestinians) are the first causalities as they scrabble for votes,in this case the Jewish.

It would be nice if  just once a sitting politician, of some stature, would  stand up and say what many people know to be the truth. Rather than playing politics/wearisome word-games, over & over.

Watch Robert Fowler’s speech…”MPs Chasing Jewish Vote destroying Cnd foreign policy”

But that’s not all Fowler had to say …

“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.”ouch

Lest I forget Fowler also reiterated [I am taking a bit of license here but what the hell]…‘the Afghan situation is a cluster-fuck ,the war is not winnable’. Now there’s a “surprise”. In fact I believe many knowledgeable people, including many with intimate & first-hand in-country experience , have been saying  pretty much the same thing since day one…i.e for the past   7 or 8 years.

Follow link (pdf) to read text of Fowler’s speech.

“Frogs,Chugs and Heebs”

Apparently Francophone Quebecers and Indigenous peoples are the least liked peoples in English Canada.

Indigenous peoples being the least liked of the two.

Also..

English Canadians have a more favourable view of immigrants and Jews than they do of Francophone Quebecers.

Yet despite this reality, members of the Conservative government ,assorted academics & the self-righteous , chose to raise fears and express concern over a non- issue,at least in the Canadian context…

Like as if antisemitism is a problem in Canada,yawn.

Canada’s 350,000 Jews are one of the most privileged segments of the Cnd population,economically,culturally and politically. Hardly oppressed,hardly victims,hardly living with intolerance or racism.

Unlike the  racism & intolerance directed at Canada’s 1.2 million Indigenous peoples (4% of pop*) by a troubling & high percentage of whites ,whether Anglo  or Francophone.

Sadly… nothing new ,having many native friends some  like family I have heard many,many stories over the years. In fact have witnessed it myself when hanging with my friends.

That said I am still shocked & saddened by just how blatant and in your face this racism can be.

So while the media and government make political hay using antisemitism as cover. The one issue that needs to be forcible brought  into the light of day is ignored and allowed to fester.

Indeed it is something hardly ever discussed. Then again according to the common narrative it’s just part of that supposed greater problem,i.e “the Indian problem”.

From where I sit,it’s more like… the white problem !

….let us not befuddle the underlying cause of the unique and serious position in which Native people find themselves today. The underlying cause is racism, and as Richard C. Powless states in the opening article, “Canada’s history and systems of government and behaviour have institutionalized this racism into current reality. [ @ ]

The more things change the more they stay the same.

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…[*] 4% and fast growing, Indigenous peoples being the fastest growing segment of the Cnd population. What white people refuse to do now ,even though it is the right thing to do,they will be induced to do in the near future. The days of sidelining native peoples are fast coming to an end. Hopefully this time Canada will get it right.Acceptance of diversity & other ways of  being/living is a beautiful thing.

Jonathan Kay & the infinite monkey theorem…

Has hell frozen over,is Johnathan Kay actually rational ?

Nope and definitly not …

That said,considering the fact that Jonathan Kay writes submits content on a near daily basis I suppose eventually  even he will get something right…

It’s time for the folks at B’nai Brith Canada to close up shop and go home: Their phobic mission to convince us that Canadian society is suffused with Nazi-like hatred has launched into the realm of outright farce.

Every year, B’nai Brith puts out an “audit” of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada. And every year, the document is reported on by the mass media, which uncritically parrots the group’s absurd contention that anti-Semitism is a growing epidemic in this tolerant country. Reporters politely overlook the fact that B’nai Brith’s definition of “incident” is dumbed down: Any web posting, stray comment, or scrap of graffitti fits the bill. This allows B’nai Brith to reel off thousands of examples. @

Thus validating the hypothesis of  the ‘ infinite monkey theorem‘ , i.e …”a million chimps pounding away on a million type-writers eventually producing some meaningful text”.

How to make a non-issue into an issue,in support of ones political agenda

Step 1- come up with a grand sounding name,”The All-Party Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism” it definitly does not hurt  if one can give it the appearance of  being an official/government sponsored entity.

Step 2-Access to a major media outlet in order to help advertise ,in this case the Ottawa Citizen.

Step 3-Use words charged full of emotion and based in fear.

Statements such as “the beast of antisemitism is back” are nothing but exaggerations and fear mongering. This is standard fare for those with a pro-Israeli agenda,and those incapable of seeing the actual reality.

In the Canadian context antisemitism is definitly a non-issue.

Now if they had proposed  an “All-Party Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Racism Directed at Indigenous Peoples” ,they might have been on to something-i.e something that is in fact  real and  IS a major problem.

In fact when one looks at the scope of the problem one has to wonder about the silence around this issue, on part of so many politicians and people of influence.

Not to compare the suffering of others,but the problems faced by Canadian Jews,350 thousand, are hardly ones of duress or even minor discomfort for that matter.

Indeed when one looks at their numbers as a proportion of the overall population and juxtaposes that alongside their political and community influence they are hardly a  sidelined,under represented or suffering  minority at risk ,ongoing or otherwise.

Unlike Canada’s indigenous peoples,whose graves(but one example of many) are not only desecrated but wiped out of all existence …

Few people realize that one of the most historically documented Aboriginal gravesites in Canada is sitting under a golf course. The specifically described Kichesipirini gravesite, with their carved and painted totems and houses for the departed which Champlain described is invisble to the public. What should be an extremely important spiritual and sacred place to the Algonquins and an important cultural and historical site to the rest of Canada is unmarked and almost forgotten. Although my ancestors took the greatest pains to ensure their family members rested in dignity, situated to watch the beautiful sunsets in their final resting place…..golf is played on top of them….another poignant example of the Kichesipirini genocide…@

Liberals Anti-semitism & Hysteria

Allegations or even the perception of anti-semitism is the kiss of death for any one running for public office.

Even when the allegation are unproven and or ridiculous as in the case of Lesley Hughes the Liberal party candidate for Kildonan-St. Paul,it matters in the least.

Earlier, Dion fended off questions about Hughes, saying the Canadian Jewish Congress was investigating to determine whether in fact the blog post should be construed as anti-Semitic.

The perception of antisemitism is enough to see most political party’s fleeing for cover,rather than stand up and denounce the allegations for what they are.

Expediency,being the preferred method of “handling” such matters.

An expediency that usually see the “offender” publicly humiliated,and sacrificed on the pyre of hysteria and phony self-righteous indignation.

Stephane Dion began his day defending Lesley Hughes over accusations of anti-Semitism.But by lunchtime Friday the Liberal leader had unceremoniously dumped the Winnipeg-area candidate in an abrupt move that seemed as much about removing the tarnish of intolerance from the party brand as it did with buffing his leadership image.

Antisemitism like all other expression of intolerance is total unacceptable there is no place for it in civil discourse.

Although it would seem some expression of intolerance are considered to be more egregious than others.

Take the case of Samira Laouni, a Muslim candidate running for the NDP in north-end Bourassa.

In which she,and the Muslim community  in general,was brow beaten and humiliated on the public airwaves by  FM 98.5 host Benoît Dutrizac who…

goading his Moroccan-born guest with jibes about her “sexy” hijab, about being “at the mercy” of her husband, about “imposing” fasting on children during Ramadan and for saying that under Muslim sharia law, “if I were to rape you here today, you’d need witnesses to testify that you weren’t consenting.”

These remarks were sexist,racist and full of hatred.Was there a media outcry no,did any government agency express it’s concern no.

Indeed was there a hint of concern from B’nai Brith or the Jewish Congress,both who are quick to point out,and rightly so, that intolerance must be combated where ever it appears so as not to allow it to take root.

Both are quick to urge the dismissal and public humiliation of anyone accused of anti-Semitism,many times based on but a few lines or sentences that may have been exaggerated or quoted out of context.

But when that same intolerance is aimed at Muslims, [or indigenous peoples for that matter] ,both are silent to the point of hypocrisy.

On another note these public lynchings are more about political correctness than any notion of justice.

Indeed if we were all held accountable for things we might have said at one time or another, over a lifetime,none of us would be safe from those that would judge,as if they them selves are above reproach.

At some point we would all be labeled,dismissed and humiliated.

Enough is enough.

T-minus 18 days until the only poll that counts