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Iran: A response to a different paradigm of "rationality" Iran: A response to a different paradigm of "rationality"
By Aurel Braun on March 12, 2012
I do not propose in this article to address the intricacies of private rivalries among various members of the ruling Iranian regime (I do however, strongly differentiate between the long suffering people of Iran and the repressive regime that rules over them). Rather, my expertise is in international relations, strategic studies and international law. My focus will be on international behaviour and threats. Among the works that relate to this area is one of my books entitled The Middle East in Global Strategy.
DU VIN AIGRE DANS DE NOUVELLES OUTRES : DE L’ANTISÉMITISME CLASSIQUE AU NOUVEL ANTISÉMITISME
By Jean Ouellette on March 12, 2012
Dans sa plus récente formulation, l’antisémitisme contemporain peut se définir soit comme la passion suicidaire de ceux qui organisent le pouvoir politique contre les Juifs soit comme l’obsession mortelle de ceux qui envisagent une autre solution finale, génocidaire, destinée à réduire à néant État sioniste sur lequel ils concentrent leur haine des Juifs et de tout projet auquel ces derniers sont associés. La première formulation est celle de Ruth Wisse, auteur de nombreux essais sur l’antisémitisme classique dit conventionnel. La seconde est celle de l’historien anglo-israélien Robert S. Wistrich, auteur d’une monumentale histoire de l’antisémitisme.
1500 "model" UN participants hear message of challenge and responsibility from the Met publisher McGill conference third largest next to Harvard
By A. Hustak & P. Sévigny on March 12, 2012
Métropolitain publisher and editor Beryl Wajsman, who is also the founder of The Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal, gave the keynote speech last Thursday to some 1500 participants in McGill's annual Model UN Conference and lost little time sending them a message for a new model for the international system, the bankruptcy of the current one and the moral challenges the future leaders who made up the the audience had a responsibility not to betray. Attendees at the four-day conference at the Sheraton Centre came from over fifty North American universities. The McGill model UN Conference is held every year, and this year was the biggest such gathering behind only Harvard and Penn State. Harvard and McGill have consistently been the largest over the past decade.
Canada should stand against Chinese slave labour
By David Matas & David Kilgour on March 12, 2012
On his trade mission to China last month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper should have asked his hosts to stop exporting the products of slave labour to Canada, and to shut down their extensive network of slave-labour camps. Toward that end, he should have begun negotiating an arrangement with China that would ensure Canadians do not unwittingly buy products made with slave labour.
China engages systematically in forced labour in all forms of detention facilities — prisons that house sentenced criminals, administrative detention centers for those not yet charged, and “re-education through labour” camps.
Deutschland Uber Alles?
By Robert Presser on March 12, 2012
Decades ago, Konrad Adenauer spoke of Germany’s postwar place in Europe when he said, “A European Germany, not a German Europe.” Since Adenauer uttered those words, Germany, together with France have been at the core of all the great initiatives to create greater European integration and cooperation – the formation of the EU, the opening up to former Eastern Bloc nations, and the adoption of the Euro. Now that the EU is in crisis over debt, deficits and currency devaluation, Germany has chosen to assert greater leadership in its own interests, effectively vetoing repeated calls to have theEuropean Central Bank act as a bank of last resort and buy up Greek, Italian and Spanish debt (as a start).
Heard the one about the priest, the Rabbi and the Imam?
By Alan Hustak on March 12, 2012
It’s no joke, but there is a punch line: faithblender.com. The new inter-faith blog which went on line three weeks ago (Feb 14) features postings by Montreal broadcaster and Roman Catholic priest John Walsh, Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, and Imam Ziyad Delic of Ottawa, who is considered to be among the world’s 500 most influential Muslims.
There is no such thing as an “honour killing”
By Dan Delmar on March 12, 2012
It has become part of the Canadian lexicon thanks to the furor surrounding the Shafia quadruple murder trial. This concept of an “honour killing” has been widely condemned and strikes most people as shocking and revolting. But the condemnations are in vain and may even be counter-productive. In reality, these types of murders are no more or no less heinous than any other; let us dismantle the Muslim straw man and stop pretending that honour killings really exist.
Time to decriminalize
By Charles Ghorayeb on March 12, 2012
The ever vigilant forces of law and order (mostly the Surete du Quebec) seized 1.7 billion dollars in illegal drugs in 2011. Some of these drugs were seized from shipping containers “randomly” selected by Customs for inspection at the Port of Montreal or at one of the rail yards, others in police raids against organized crime operations and a few on the street. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a bad year’s work. Upon further scrutiny however, the numbers are far from convincing. Coming in a proud and perennial First Place Winner by a comfortable 10 to one margin, weighing in at a staggering $1.3 BILLION (76%), was marijuana; hashish was a comfortable second at $122 million. All other drugs combined added up therefore to less than $400 million.
KNUT HAMMARSKJOLD, DIPLOMAT 1922-2012
By Alan Hustak on March 12, 2012
Knut Hammarskjöld was the Swedish diplomat who served in Montreal for 18 years as the second executive director of the International Air Transport Association, which regulates the interests of most of the world’s commercial airlines. Hammarskjöld was the nephew of the United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, who was killed in a mysterious plane crash in Africa in 1961. Knut Hammerskjold, who died at his home in Lidingo on Jan. 3, two weeks shy of his 90th birthday, considered his distinguished uncle as a second father.
Un film à l’écart des modes: Monsieur Lazhar
By Louise V. Labrecque on March 12, 2012
En littérature, l’œuvre se crée lentement : on bâtit mot à mot. Le lecteur va de même, qui appréhende le monument, dans le détail, à tout moment. Le cinéma se poursuit dans ce continuum, avec, en prime, un autre niveau de lecture; l’histoire trouve une autre incarnation, et se fixe visuellement au monde, comme pour ajouter à notre compréhension, et bien sûr à notre plaisir. Ainsi, j’étais joyeusement impatiente d’aller voir ce film : « Monsieur Lazhar », et je me souviens de la toute première fois que je l’ai vu, lui, ce professeur débarqué tout droit d’Algérie; je me suis dit : « quelle belle chose que le talent d’enseigner.»
Irving Layton
By Alan Hustak on March 12, 2012
Irving Layton wrote more than 50 books of poetry during his lifetime. When he died seven years ago Leonard Cohen eulogised him as “our greatest poet and our greatest champion of poetry.” Had Layton lived, he would be 100 on March 12. To mark the centennial of his birth in Tirgu Neamt, Romania there will be poetry readings from his work in 20 cities across Canada, including Montreal. “This is the first time that Canada will be connected through poetry,” said Elias Letelier, co-founder of the online magazine, Poetry Quebec, which is sponsoring the event.
Local Wine Prisoners?
By Robert K. Stephen on March 12, 2012
Local wine is the rule in almost all wine producing Euro countries unlike Ontario and Quebec where the LCBO and SAQ favours “international wines” which only hampers the development of a local wine movement in Ontario and Quebec. Seen any British Columbia wines at an SAQ or more than a sad bottle or two of Ontario wine? If there are few Canadian wines available in the distribution market it’s logical that there will be little Canadian wines in Canadian restaurants. And of course there are those restaurants who think too much Canadian wine shows a lack of “sophistication”. Let’s take a look at Lake Erie North Shore which is a small appellation in Ontario just south of Windsor which has just over 13 wineries.
Discovery of father’s World War II poems spark search for lost sisters
By Robert Frank on March 12, 2012
Judie Benjamin hopes that her late father Milton Cohen’s newfound fame as a Canadian war bard will help her to find sisters whom she has never met.
The St. Laurent resident said that she was so unnerved when the Globe and Mailunexpectedly published some of her father’s poems in November, that she “cried off-and-on for days.”
High and lowbrow antics at the Centaur
By Alidor Aucoin on March 12, 2012
The Game of Love and Chance at the Centaur Theatre until April 1st is a deliciously theatrical, interpretation of Pierre Carlet de Chamberlain de Marivaux’s 18th century piece Le jeu de l’amour et du hasard.
Adapted and translated from the French into English by Nicolas Billon and directed with overheated passion by Matthew Jocelyn, the artistic director of Toronto’s Canadian Stage Theatre, the co-production is a contemporary reworking of the classic.
Quebec’s Health tax needs to be cancelled in this month’s budget
By The Project Genesis anti-poverty committee on March 12, 2012
Medicare is one of Canadians most cherished programs. Whether rich or poor, Canadians are deservedly proud of the principle that all are treated equally when accessing medical services, irrespective of their income levels. Because everyone pays for Medicare through a progressive tax system, we fund Medicare not based on how much we use the system, but based on our ability to pay. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, we all support it based on our ability to do so.
Déclaration du chef libéral Bob Rae / Statement by Liberal Leader Bob Rae
By Bob Rae on March 11, 2012
Statement by Liberal Leader Bob Rae Criticizing Israeli Apartheid Week
OTTAWA- Liberal Leader Bob Rae made the following statement criticizing Israeli Apartheid Week
Déclaration du chef libéral Bob Rae critiquant la semaine contre l'apartheid israélien
OTTAWA - Le chef libéral Bob Rae a fait la déclaration suivante critiquant la semaine contre l'apartheid israélien
St. Denis Street's 'battle of the flags' costs two people their jobs
By P.A. Sévigny on March 7, 2012
More than a year after they first raised their flags and banners outside Yves Archambault's Le Marcheur-a shoe store located on one of Montreal's hottest retail shopping strips, more than a few business people with stores located along St. Denis Street wish the Tremblay administration would do something about lawyer 'Bill' Sloan and his group's Saturday afternoon demonstrations. Every Saturday afternoon, Sloan and his tiny little group of so-called political activists known as PAJU (Palestinians and Jews United) stretch their banners and flags along the sidewalk opposite Naot-one of the many shoe stores located along the sunny side of Rue St. Denis.
Big Brother Canadian Style - Too much law, too little justice
By Beryl Wajsman on February 14, 2012
Today, we in Canada, are threatened with a new legal assault masquerading as a necessary protection against internet predators. The new Conservative legislation allowing security authorities access to information on personal computer use and cellphone conversations without reasonable cause nor necessity of warrant is nothing more than the imposition of constructs, and constraints, of social engineering driven by the proponents of of the politics of fear.
Dead men stalking
By Alidor Aucoin on February 8, 2012
As befits a play called In Absentia, a dull sadness pervades the piece at the Centaur until March 4. The world premiere of a minor work by major award-winning Canadian playwright Morris Panych - it is an introspective, overwrought mediation on love, grief and mortality.
After Shafia: the conversation we need to have
By Beryl Wajsman on February 5, 2012
The Shafia verdict should have implications far beyond the deserved condemnations of the very concept of "honour" killings. Beyond even the condemnation of the terrible subjugation of women that is at the heart of that retrograde and oxymoronic phrase and the corpus of thought that gave it birth. And beyond any satisfaction people may have about the verdict. It should lead us straight to the heart of the matter: the absolute rejection of accomodation to any status for any religious law in Canada's legal jurisdictions and the urgent need to reaffirm this nation's dedication to the sovereignty of the individual over any collective
Days that sear our souls
By Beryl Wajsman on January 24, 2012
It is a period that reminds us of those historical encounters between governors and governed, when every act of the authorities exasperates the people and every refusal to act excites their contempt. A period of 12 days that should rend our souls asunder with searing intensity and pierce our hearts with rapier-like violation. A period that begins with a date held sacred to all those of conscience who engage in the struggle for mankind’s transcendent yearning for redemptive change. A period that ends with a date that challenges us to fulfill that struggle as we bear witness to mankind’s debased desertion of any of its noble aspirations.
Pour la restoration de l'exceptionnalisme libérale
By Beryl Wajsman on January 10, 2012
Ça fait trop longtemps que le Parti libéral essaie de définir le libéralisme comme un ensemble de pratiques comptables ou de positionnements politiques centristes. Le libéralisme ne peut pas réussir une fois réduit à une stratégie qui plaît à tout le monde. Le libéralisme n'est pas facile, il est difficile. Il est difficile parce qu'il représente surtout l'idéal dont son nom origine : la liberté. Le libéralisme et les libéraux réussissent quand les gens à trouver le courage de surmonter leurs craintes.
The Liberals and the primary option: Open nominations, open society
By James Morton on January 8, 2012
I first heard the idea of using a primary type system to choose the next Liberal leader in April, 2011. By then it was pretty clear we were not going to form the next government; indeed it was apparent we were in danger of losing our spot as official Opposition.
The Fight Against The Payette Plan: A community protected, a battle won, a campaign continued
By Beryl Wajsman on December 16, 2011
We have to give credit where credit is due. When The Suburban’s publisher Michael Sochaczevski and I testified in front of Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre, and her commissioners, hearing testimony on the Payette Report that seeks to institute journalistic accreditation creating two classes of writers, we came with a long list of concerns. Not only those of The Suburban and The Métropolitain but also those of the 31 member Quebec Community Newspaper Association whom we represented.
Minister assures protection for non-francophone media
By P.A. Sévigny on December 16, 2011
During an official government consultation which took place in the Théatre Rouge located in Montreal's Conservatoire D'Art Dramatique, Quebec's Minister of Culture and Communications stated that there would be "no mandatory French language tests," for Quebec's ethnic and Anglophone media.
Ministre Christine St-Pierre is presently leading a province-wide consultation which is examining assorted issues related to Quebec's media following the release of what has come to be known as the Payette Report.
Les troubles continuent sur la rue Saint-Denis. Qui y mettra fin?
By Pierre K. Malouf on December 16, 2011
Il y a eu un an le 2 octobre qu’un marchand de chaussures de la rue Saint-Denis, Yves Archambault, a reçu une mise en demeure d’un organisme appelé Palestiniens et Juifs Unis (PAJU) lui enjoignant de retirer de ses tablettes les souliers BeautiFeel, fabriqués en Israël. Bien que cette marque ne représente que deux pour cent de son chiffre d’affaire, le propriétaire du Marcheur considéra avec raison qu’il était libre de mener ses affaires à sa guise et refusa d’obtempérer. Le jour même, une douzaine de manifestants se massèrent devant sa boutique avec pancartes et banderoles et distribuèrent aux passants de tracts qui dénonçaient la prétendue complicité du Marcheur avec le soi-disant apartheid israélien.
The unilingual Anglophone witch-hunt
By Dan Delmar on December 16, 2011
Out of the clear blue sky, the manufactured chasm between the two solitudes reopened this week with a string of Quebec commentators fanning the flames of intolerance by, essentially, conducting a witch-hunt to find the ubiquitous unilingual Anglophone.
A BAD DAY: WHAT NOW?
By Alex Himelfarb on December 16, 2011
C10, the omnibus crime bill, passed third reading and is now over to the Senate for what is supposed to be sober second thought. The vote could only have been a depressing anticlimax for the many Canadians who were fighting to stop or amend this legislation. And the implacable inevitability of its passage must surely lead many to ask, ‘why bother, what’s the point?’
BIXI is dead. Long live BIXI!
By Dan Delmar on December 16, 2011
Another nail was hammered into the coffin of Montreal’s bike-sharing service when BIXI president Roger Plamondon quietly resigned; the news released just like any dignified public figure with a clear conscience would have it – on a Friday evening.
The Key to Understanding Keystone
By David T. Jones on December 16, 2011
The U.S. decision to defer decision on the Keystone XL pipeline has tossed an eagle into the dovecot. A “no brainer” decision regarding the merits of providing secure energy (as well as j-o-b-s) has apparently been adroitly manipulated by the brainless.
Consequently, the State Department disclaimer that the delay decision was not “political” is disingenuous at best; it passes neither the sniff nor the giggle test. After years of review, acres of trees slaughtered in written testimony, and scads of let-it-all-hang-out public hearings, the State Department announced that there were no environmental objections to the pipeline. Subsequently, President Obama said that he would make the decision—retrospectively a fatal blow to any near term decision.
Le printemps arabe: Qu’a-t-on appris de la Leçon?
By Alain de Perlycroix on December 16, 2011
Il y a un proverbe/adage anglais qui dit: “What goes around comes around”. Mais lorsqu’il s’agit de mettre en pratique ce dernier dans un pays, tel la Syrie, on est mieux de retourner dans le temps quelques années en arrière pour revoir le passé afin de tenter de prédire l’avenir, car hélas, nul ne connait maintenant la suite de ce que le Proche-Orient va vivre à la suite de la déstabilisation de la presque dernière dictature « républicaine » dans la région.
Angie and Sarko save the Euro!
By Robert Presser on December 16, 2011
The following conversation was overheard at the weekly emergency meeting of the European First Ministers prior to the G20 meeting in Cannes. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were reviewing the final communiqué before meeting the press. Sarkozy (NS) and Merkel (AM) are grappling with the challenge of coming up with a solution to the Euro debt crisis once and for all, since previous proposals failed to calm international markets...
It's all Greek to Me: Linking the delusions of the Occupy Movement and the EU protestors
By Robert Presser on December 16, 2011
As the Occupy movement clashes with municipal governments across North America and protests continue against austerity in Europe, governments, the broader public and the media continue to debate as to what these protesters really want. The Occupiers and European protestors decry the “inequality” and “injustice” of the current western economic model that has bred “excesses” thatfavoured the top one percent of taxpayers. However, most of the other 99% have not embraced the movement-why not? Perhaps an investigation of these terms will help us figure out why.
Killing Kyoto… finally and painlessly
By Mischa Popoff on December 16, 2011
Prime Minister Harper had the guts to remove Canada from the Kyoto Accord almost the same way we got into it: with an order from his phone in the comfort of his office.
Never mind those big rooms down the hall full of elected representatives. Prime Minister Chrétien ratified the Kyoto Protocol at a brief ceremony in his office in 2002. He did not consult scientists, economists or anyone in his Cabinet, nor was David Anderson - Canada’s longest serving Environment Minister - consulted. Only Preston Manning and the Reform Party spoke out and were attacked as stooges for Big Oil.
Anguish Over Aboriginals—How Canadian
By David T. Jones on December 16, 2011
One of the enduring elements of Canadian psychic angst is the status of its First Nations.
Over the years, indeed over the decades, an observer can recall the viewing-with-alarm and/or dismay that affect Canadians when one or another instance of ghetto in the woods associated with a First Nation reserve comes to light.
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