Saturday digest

- I have a pretty hard time with this whole "no dual citizenship" thing. In the year 2006, people migrate. That's just a fact of life. Sometimes, that results in divided loyalties on a personal level, but so what? As long as they're not referring to "Hezbollah as their protector", which some unfortunately have done, I don't see the big deal of having two citizenships. What I do find distasteful is when political parties exploit those twin loyalties for political gain at the national level, often at the expense of Canadian unity. (I'm loving the fact that playing ethnic politics has caused the two biggest Trudeaupians in Canada to have a falling out.)

I have more respect for those who take risks to make a new life for themselves and their families halfway around the world than I do for those who never leave their little corner of the globe and by extension, don't allow themselves to be exposed to other ways of life.

Also, a word about the small number of evacuees who are bitching and complaining about how hot and uncomfortable the boat ride was. What did they expect, the Concorde? It's not like Canada has a fleet of Princess cruise ships just waiting to be deployed to the world's hot spots to pick up anyone who just happen to be visiting their second cousins when war breaks out.

I guess the mother's milk coming from the government teat will just never be warm enough for some people.

- Until Thursday night, I was on the mailing list for an Ottawa nightclub by the name of Zaphod's. I very much enjoy live music and I try to support up and coming artists when I can, so I like to know who's coming to town. However, I received this unsolicited message from them on Wednesday night:

Sorry for those who already got this from other sources, but considering the state of war in Lebanon this is rather urgent.

Why pressure the Canadian government?

Israel has killed innocent Canadians.

Since last Thursday, Israeli attacks have killed more than 300 innocent civilians in Lebanon, hurt hundreds more and forced the displacement of hundreds of thousands more. Adding up to this are the damages to main transport and communication means for the country, effectively trapping the population inside. During that time, the Canadian government has supported the Israeli military strikes unconditionally (more than all other states, including the United States). This is the image Canada is now sending to the rest of the world.

We believe war is a last resort: that terrorizing and killing innocent civilians is not a valid means of defense, like it is said explicity in the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians (1949): *Article 33. - Aucune personne protégée ne peut être punie pour une infraction qu'elle n'a pas commise personnellement. Les peines collectives, de même que toute mesure d'intimidation ou de terrorisme, sont interdites. *

The same type of "collective punishment" is currently applied to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip by the Israel Defense Forces.

What to do?

1 - Write to the Prime Minister (Stephen Harper - Harper.S@parl.gc.ca), to the Foreign Affairs minister (Peter McKay - Mackay.P@parl.gc.ca), and your MP (http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx).

2 - Send a copy of your message to the media:
Ottawa: Le Droit (French, alarocque@ledroit.com), Ottawa Citizen (English, letters@thecitizen.canwest.com
National: La Presse (French , forum@lapresse.ca), Le Devoir (French,
redaction@ledevoir.com), The Globe and Mail (English, egreenspon@globeandmail.com).

3 - Participate in the public demonstrations (July 22nd): http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/Palestineaction.htm
in Ottawa, the demonstration will be at 11 AM on Parliament Hill.

4 - Encourage people you know to do the same.

CANADIAN PEACE ALLIANCE
Call to Action - Saturday, July 22, 2006
END ISRAEL'S ASSAULT ON GAZA AND LEBANON

The Canadian Peace Alliance is demanding that the government of Canada call for an immediate end to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. This escalating conflict may destabilize the entire region and result in a larger war.

Israel's actions have now killed eight Canadians and hundreds more Lebanese and Palestinians. Stephen Harper's refusal to condemn these attacks is shameful. We are calling on peace loving groups and individuals to protest against these attacks and the Harper government's inaction this Saturday July 22, 2006.

The Israeli assault on Lebanon is targeting civilians and vital infrastructure resulting in a humanitarian disaster. Each day we hear of more attacks on civilian neighborhoods in Beirut with dozens of innocent people killed.

The situation in Gaza is even worse with infrastructure in a shambles and more violence each day. Recent reports from the Director of Public Relations at Gaza City's Al Shifa Hospital, Dr. Juma Al Sakka, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health have confirmed that Israel is using chemical weapons against the Palestinian people in Gaza. According to Dr. Al Sakka, "These Israeli bombings are entering the body and fragmenting, causing internal combustion leading to up to fourth degree internal burns, exposing the bone, and affecting the tissue and skin." The international community must condemn this brutality.

The United States is using this escalating conflict to further demonize Iran and Syria. Just as the invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are part of a broader campaign, led by the United States government and transnational oil corporations, to assert control over the Middle East and Central Asia, the current conflict in Palestine and Lebanon is being used by the US to justify military aggression against other sovereign states in the area. George Bush was unable to sell yet another bill of goods about weapons of mass destruction in Iran to the global population so he is now using Iranian support for Hezbollah as the smoking gun he needs to justify intervention against Iran.

Canada has thus far been shameful in its support for the aggressive Israeli and US position. By voting against key UN humanitarian resolutions and cutting off funding to the Palestinian Authority after the Hamas victory, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper is showing that it is the willing tool of US ambitions from Afghanistan to Palestine. We in Canada must demand in the name of humanitarianism and Canada's historic diplomatic role that our government reverse its shameful support for US and Israeli aggression.

I replied, "Why not just ask the terrorists to hand over the kidnapped Israeli soldiers if you want peace?" and hit send. Now, this:

Goodbye from our Newsletter, sorry to see you go.

You have been unsubscribed from our newsletters.

This is the last email you will receive from us. We have added you to our "blacklist", which means that our newsletter system will refuse to send you any other email, without manual intervention by our administrator.

If there is an error in this information, you can re-subscribe: please go to http://www.zaphodbeeblebrox.com/lists/?p=subscribe and follow the steps.

Thank you.

Given that asking this question got me "blacklisted" from the mailing list, I can only conclude that the owner of the nightclub known as Zaphod's will only take money from people who support Hezbollah.

I wonder what the organizers of the so-called "Canadian Peace Alliance" think, given that they probably preach an unwavering commitment to tolerance, diversity and respect for differing perspectives.

I think I can probably guess.

- This article suggests that embryonic stem-cell research wouldn't need public money if it had any promise, but apparently no private donors want to fund it anymore because it's not producing any results. Interesting. I should have thought of that.