Saturday, March 28, 2009
Evil words, by Mario Roy
Montreal proclaiming "zone free of racism," the mayor Gérald Tremblay invites citizens to fight against this scourge by signing a register, hoping to collect 100 000 signatures. How to be against? However, this laudable initiative can be used to identify three trends - and a little disturbing - that occur in our society.
First, make things more difficult, so it remains only to say. This is the first trend: the word is increasingly replacing the gesture.
The classic example is the "act to fight against poverty and social exclusion", adopted by the National Assembly in 2002. It has created an observatory of poverty, an advisory committee on poverty, a requirement to write reports, opinions, recommendations and strategies on poverty ... Why? Because, in fact, fighting poverty is difficult to eliminate completely is impossible. Hence the extraordinary number of words that poverty generates, without effects on reality.
As for the exclusion, it is a word whose meaning has been crushed for the purpose of "stop" the company "excludes", ie who is guilty and should be "condemned." Question, exclude, denounce: we understand the jargon, even if none of these words is used here in its original meaning. This is the second trend: the misuse of words, sometimes to misinterpretation.
In this regard, the media specialists. Advertise in a newspaper said about "taboo" indicates that we fill pages and pages on a phenomenon that everyone is talking about, everywhere, all the time. Denounce (!) A "snapshot" pourfendre is a commonplace that no one uses, or perhaps even knows. The word "media" sensitize "means burial in propaganda to make insensitive. Refer to the "true objectivity" warns the reader that it will be ignored facts.
However, of all evil words, the swelling is most painful is the third trend.
In the light of single words, in fact, it seems clear that our society is the most racist and most misery that mankind has ever known (the most violent and most misogynist too.) However, a Mayor mood officie activist in a country where rampant racism really does not say so: he made the fight, sometimes at risk of losing its skin. And it does not legislate on poverty where the national problem is to be alive the next day.
Beyond a certain critical mass, the words create a virtual universe that has more than a loose connection with the real world.
Thus, in the register of Mayor Tremblay (who, we hope anyway, burdened with the signatures), it would be fair to note a fact without being free from sin, the Montreal-probably among the least racist in the world .
This is already a zone almost free.
mroy@lapresse.ca
Link
Labels: Hostile races, Mario Roy, Montréal
Echoes
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A Bulgarian MP denounces forced conversion to Islam of entire villages, by Francis Chartrand
According to a Bulgarian member, many villages in the south are converted to Islam by force. Although Bulgaria is part of the European Union, some parts of the country would need a second liberation from Ottoman rule, "said Yane Yanev, member of Bulgarian Parliament, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency, BGNES.
Yanev, the leader of the Opposition and the leader of the "Order, Law, and Justice" (RZS) spoke Monday in Blagoevgrad as reported by the local correspondent of the agency BGNES.
The party leaders RZS Monday visited several villages in the south of Bulgaria to meet with teachers and concerned parents, who have presented concrete evidence of forced conversions to Islam in the region.
The example of Ribnovo village, municipality of Gurmen was presented as the most striking. In this village, the school director, Issa FEIM, imposed a dictatorship on teachers, forcing them to wear traditional Muslim clothing and encourage female students to do the same.
Mr. Issa was illegally appointed director with the help of leaders of the local mosque and is actively supported by the religion teacher at the school, Murat Boshnak. Mr. Boshnak is apparently an individual with a suspect past training is unclear. It does not even have a high school diploma Bulgarian, but he has a degree from a religious school in Skopje, Macedonia. The inhabitants of Ribnovo say that Boshnak specializes in Saudi Arabia and force parents to sign applications for their children to study Islam. It also requires that children turn to him, and calling it "Aga" instead of "Gospodin" (Mr), and for girls to attend the final ceremony of graduation in civilian clothes. He issued a ban on celebrations. Boshnak then organized a trip to Turkey with the funds of a foundation Arabic. Only one girl participated in the ceremony of graduation. Parents who refuse to follow the basic rules have been insulted during the sermons in the local mosque.
Yanev cited similar examples in the village of Satovcha, where the principal has regularly attended courses of radical Islam in a fundamentalist school illegal. She is currently on maternity leave and, in order to keep the school under control, has appointed her own husband to replace her.
The inhabitants of the villages visited by Yanev are not Turkish, they are all Bulgarian Muslims, speaking only the Bulgarian language.
The leader of the RZS said he was appalled by the serious violations of the rights and freedoms of Bulgarian citizens, which are enshrined in the Constitution. The RZS was distributed to the media of video, showing how radical Islam is taking root quickly in the country, under the gaze of the tri-partite coalition in power.
Mr. Yanev and his colleague Dimitar Abadzhiev have promised to notify the State Agency for National Security (DANS) violations of the rights of citizens of the region, which, they say, sabottent European values and pave the way to Islam in Europe.
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Labels: Bulgaria, Francis Chartrand, Islam, Religion and fanaticism
Pakistan - How the police took them to disperse ... lawyers!
Pakistani police used their batons to disperse lawyers during altercations in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday March 15 2009. The leader of the opposition in Pakistan has defied the order of house arrest to join a demonstration against the government which quickly degenerated into violence and chaos, with scuffles between police and demonstrators who were throwing stones (AP Photo / Khalid Tanveer)
The revolutionary small burps that each year in Montreal participated in events sterile against police brutality should go see what is happening elsewhere, history to open their horizons and put things in perspective.
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Labels: Pakistan
Friday, March 06, 2009
Darfur: MSF strongly protests further expulsion, medical programs forced to halt, by Iba Bouramine
People of Darfur held hostage to political and judicial agendas
MSF calls upon Government of Sudan to repeal decision and allow vital assistance to people of Darfur to resume
This morning, the Sudanese authorities in Khartoum demanded the immediate expulsion of a second section of the international medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The decision, brutal and sudden, follows the expulsion Wednesday of another section of the organization. MSF is appalled by this order, which clearly holds the needs of the population of Darfur hostage to political and judicial agendas. The organization protests the order in the strongest of terms and appeals to the government to repeal these decisions and allow MSF to resume independent and impartial humanitarian assistance immediately.
“The order to expel MSF from Darfur is a dramatic turn of events that will have unprecedented consequences for the people of the region. Much of the population of Darfur is totally dependent on international humanitarian aid,” says Dr. Christophe Fournier, International President of MSF. “The sudden halt of our medical programs, including vital surgical, nutrition, and basic healthcare programs, in large areas of Darfur will have an immediate and devastating impact on the population.”
The vast needs of the population left unaddressed by the expulsion of so many aid organizations leaves a huge void in assistance, impossible for any remaining agency to adequately fulfill. The basic needs of hundreds of thousands of people will now go unmet, be they medical, food, water and sanitation. Outbreaks of meningitis in Kalma camp and Niertiti – where an estimated 130,000 people are in urgent need of vaccination – risk going completely unanswered.
The remaining sections of MSF working in Darfur are committed to continuing to provide medical care in the areas where they are working. However, this is a far cry from addressing the extent of the needs throughout Darfur.
“The ability to provide independent humanitarian assistance in Darfur has been drastically diminished over the past year, but the actions of the Government of Sudan this week risk to cut off humanitarian assistance for displaced and local populations in large areas of Darfur,” adds Christophe Fournier. “The needs of the population are falling prey to political and judicial ends, which is wholly unacceptable. We appeal to the government to immediately repeal its decision and allow for independent and impartial humanitarian assistance for the people in Darfur.”
MSF firmly reiterates that the organization is completely independent of the International Criminal Court and does not cooperate with or provide any information to it.
MSF has been working in Sudan since 1979 and in Darfur since 2003. While MSF has now been expelled from delivering critical healthcare in five areas of West and South Darfur, including Feina in Jebel Mara, Kalma, Muhajariya, Niertiti and Zalingei, MSF teams continue to provide care in West Darfur in Golo and Killin, and in North Darfur in Kebkabiya, Kaguro, Serif Umra, Shangil Tobaya and Tawila. Prior to the expulsion, more than 100 MSF international staff and approximately 1,625 MSF Sudanese staff worked tirelessly to deliver essential medical aid to hundreds of thousands of people throughout Darfur.
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Labels: Darfur, Doctors Without Borders, Iba Bouramine, Sudan
CIA destroyed 92 interrogation videos : "An investigation into the serious abuses of the ’War on Terror’ is imperative", by Francis Chartrand
Federal authorities confirmed on March 2nd that 92 videotapes detailing the interrogation of detainees at secret prisons were destroyed in 2005 by the CIA. Reporters Without Borders asks that the new Obama administration lead an investigation into this infringement upon the American people’s constitutional rights and punish those who are respsonsible.
"The sheer number of videotapes destroyed by the CIA confirms that the agency systematically tried to hide from the public the illegal interrogation techniques used by the previous administration. The public has the right to know what the government is doing and be confident that those in power are upholding the democratic values upon which this country is based," stated the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders.
"We hope that the secrecy and lack of transparency that prevailed during the beginning of this decade will be replaced with freer access to information and a clear understanding of current governmental practices. The government must thoroughly investigate this blow to access to information and hold accountable those responsible. The American society cannot hold back as they investigate these grave violations committed under the prsidency of George W. Bush in the name of the ’war on terror.’ This investgation into the former adminstration’s actions will be debatted amongst the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 4. Hanging in the balance of their decision is the credibility of the United State’s stance on human rights," added the organization.
A letter from Acting US Attorney Lev Dassin confirmed on Monday that 92 controversial interrogation videotapes were destroyed by the agency. The letter, addressed to New York Judge Alvin Hellerstein who is hearing the case brought against the CIA by the American Civil Liberties Union, asked the court to give the CIA until Friday to prepare records on the tapes that were destroyed as well as a list of possible witnesses.
So far the CIA has not said what was on the tapes and has admitted to destroying only a few of the videos. According to the New York Times, the videos show harsh interrogations techniques used by the previous administration on Abu Zubaydah, a suspected al-Qaeda member, and Abdel Rahim al-Nashiri, believed to have been involved in the bombing of USS Cole off the coast of Yemen in 2000.
The existence of the tapes was disclosed in 2007, just before the December 31st announcement of the reform of the Freedom of Information Act, when then-CIA chief Michael Hayden said they had been destroyed to protect the identity of agency operatives. The criminal investigation into the destruction of the tapes was launched under the Bush administration by acting US Attorney John Durham and finished on Friday, February 28. The new Obama administration has since vowed that this administration will not resort to torture. From June 2002 to May 2008, Sudanese journalist Sami al-Haj, with the Qatar-based TV station Al Jazeera, was held in Guantanamo. Reporters Without Borders had advocated for his release. Detained without any charges being held against him, he had been submitted to more than 200 interrogations, some of them using "waterboarding" methods.
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Labels: Francis Chartrand, Reporters without borders, United States
ICC: Bashir Warrant Is Warning to Abusive Leaders, by Marie-Êve Marineau
(New York) - The International Criminal Court's (ICC) issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan signals that even those at the top may be held to account for mass murder, rape and torture, Human Rights Watch said today. ICC judges granted the warrant for Bashir, its first for a sitting head of state, on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his role in orchestrating Sudan's abusive counterinsurgency campaign in Darfur.
"With this arrest warrant, the International Criminal Court has made Omar al-Bashir a wanted man," said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. "Not even presidents are guaranteed a free pass for horrific crimes. By ruling there is a case for President al-Bashir to answer for the horrors of Darfur, the warrant breaks through Khartoum's repeated denials of his responsibility."
The court did not confirm the three counts of genocide that were requested by the ICC prosecutor. Genocide requires evidence that the crimes were committed specifically "with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part," a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group solely on the basis of its identity.
"Proving genocide charges is always extremely difficult," said Dicker. "President Bashir is hardly off the hook, as he is sought for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including widespread rape, murder, and torture committed as part of a government plan."
Under the ICC Statute, the prosecutor is able to request an amendment of the warrant to include genocide if he obtains additional evidence to support the charge.
The ICC prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Bashir on July 14, 2008. Following the prosecutor's announcement, Sudanese government officials made implicit and explicit threats of retaliation against international peacekeepers and humanitarian workers. On July 25, a Sudanese presidential advisor, Bona Malwal, stated in regard to peacekeeping forces that, "We are telling the world that with the indictment of our President al-Bashir we can't be responsible for the well-being of foreign forces in Darfur." President Bashir has also threatened to expel international peacekeeping forces if a warrant is issued.
The Security Council, its individual members, the UN Secretariat, the European Union, and the African Union have a critical role in promptly responding to any government-supported retaliation in Darfur following news of the warrant.
"The Sudanese government is obliged to maintain security in the country and the Security Council should act decisively to hold them to it," said Dicker. "Khartoum should not be allowed to use the arrest warrant as a pretext for stepping up its obstructionist policies that have hobbled peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts in Darfur."
The government of Sudan is required by a Security Council resolution to facilitate the deployment of the African Union/UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and to cooperate with the ICC. Under international law, Sudan remains obligated to protect its own civilians and to provide full, safe, and unhindered access by relief personnel to those in need in Darfur. The arrest warrant does not change these obligations, nor does it have any impact on Khartoum's obligations to carry out the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the government of Southern Sudan.
"The Security Council and concerned governments should impose targeted sanctions against Sudanese officials responsible for any retaliatory violence, and consider other measures such as further banking restrictions or a widening of the arms embargo," said Dicker.
The ICC is an independent judicial institution. Sudan, though not a party to the Rome Statute creating the court, is subject to ICC jurisdiction through Security Council resolution. Having an official position as head of state does not provide immunity from criminal responsibility before the ICC.
Apart from the warrant against President Bashir, the ICC has issued two other warrants in relation to Darfur. On April 27, 2007, the court issued arrest warrants for State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun and a "Janjaweed" militia leader, Ali Kosheib. The prosecutor has also requested arrest warrants for three rebel leaders in connection with attacks on international peacekeepers at Haskanita in October 2007. That request is currently under consideration by the court.
Sudan has so far refused to cooperate with the ICC. All the arrest warrants remain outstanding. Haroun continues in his official position as state minister of humanitarian affairs. On November 24, the Sudanese government arrested and tortured three human rights defenders in Khartoum for allegedly giving information to the ICC.
"Khartoum is required to cooperate with the court," said Dicker. "Because the ICC has no police force of its own, it needs strong support from governments to ensure that all those charged with crimes are arrested."
Background
In a March 31, 2005 resolution, the Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC prosecutor for investigation and prosecution. The decision was based on the recommendation of an international commission of inquiry, which found that violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law were continuing in Darfur and that the Sudanese justice system was unwilling and unable to address the crimes. Darfur is the first situation referred by the Security Council to the ICC.
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Labels: Darfur, Human Rights Watch, ICC, Marie-Êve Marineau, Sudan
Thursday, March 05, 2009
How to come out as an atheist, by Iba Bouramine
I look at my search engine results quite a bit and have noticed that several people find my blog by typing in the phrase, “How to come out as an atheist” so I’ve decided to write a bit from my own experience for those who are seeking inspiration.
Step One: Realize you’re an atheist. This may seem to be a given but for the longest time people will have the knowledge that they don’t believe in a god and still label themselves otherwise. You’re an atheist. If you can’t share this with anyone yet, refer to yourself as one privately.
Step Two: Tell a trusted friend, mentor or family member (preferably someone who isn’t too religious himself). This is a test - not for the person you’re telling (well, maybe a little) but to see how well you handle his reaction. Having your friend accept you is the best possible outcome but isn’t guaranteed. If you meet rejection or criticism, don’t be discouraged. You’ll meet much more in the coming years. If you don’t get the reaction you hoped for try coming out to someone else. People will always surprise you.
Step Three: Join an atheist/humanist/skeptical/freethinker meet-up group in your area. If there isn’t one in your area, consider joining atheist-friendly forums like the Richard Dawkins Foundation or the James Randi Educational Foundation. You should definitely join Atheist Nexus where you’ll find tons of like-minded individuals and causes to suit your tastes. You can start your own group, post in the forums or write your own blog entries.
Step Four: Get used to the controversy. A good way of doing this is starting your own blog and receiving negative feedback online which is much less intimidating than someone belching out fiery hallelujahs in your face. Eventually it won’t affect you and you’ll learn that the sort of people who write the most vitriolic responses are not people you’d have in your life in any fashion anyhow.
Step Five: You should have the cojones now. You don’t have to introduce yourself to people by saying, “Hello. My name is Kate Holden and I’m an atheist. What now, punk?” but if the subject is being discussed you should have no shame in sharing your world views. I’ll admit that at my last job I used the term ‘not religious’ as I worked with highly religious people in a small conservative bible-belt town and felt my job would be in jeopardy if I came out to them. That’s pretty much the exception, though.
Step Six: Remember that you’re not alone. Participating in meet-up groups and forums will help you feel like you’re a part of something, especially if you live in an area of the world where being an atheist is particularly bad for your social status. And if all else fails, come out to me. I’ll accept you.
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Labels: Creationism, Iba Bouramine
The Top Ten Atheist Myths, by Noémie Cournoyer
We all know that many theists are so closed-minded about us that they won’t even talk to us, let alone try to understand us. This is usually not their fault, as they are told terrible things about us by people they trust, their preachers, whose whole livelihood depends on their parishioners staying in the flock.
It is this prejudice and conflict which is one of the main factors keeping atheists in the closet and theists in ignorance. With dialogue, not prejudice, both sides will benefit and the country will become a freer place. In this article I will therefore mention many of the myths about atheists that are popular among theists, as well as my usual responses. With any luck, this will prepare atheists for future confrontations and therefore make them more confident to announce themselves, as well as allow theist readers to better understand the atheist mentality.
Myth 1 ~ “Atheists are all the same” — You can understand why theists believe this, after being told this over and over by their preachers. This belief is reinforced by the fact that believers must be bound by much more than a simple belief in God. For example, Catholics must also have the same stances on abortion, contraception, and homosexuality in order to be called a “good Catholic.” It only goes to follow that atheism must be similar.
However, atheism is not a religion, rather the absence of religion. As such, we are bound only by our atheism. We are republicans and democrats, men and women, gays and straights, blacks and whites. We accept every person as they are as equals, and delight in our diversity (not many religions can say that). We disagree with each other on many issues, and discussion is encouraged and common. Above all, atheists demand the right to disagree, even if it means with each other.
Myth 2 ~ “Atheists have no morals, since they don’t believe in God” - What a sad world it is when people can seriously say that humans need to fear eternal damnation in order to do good. It is the one statement which at the same time stirs both anger and pity in most atheists; anger because it is a bigoted, prejudicial statement which serves no purpose except to promote intolerance, and pity because it highlights the speaker’s ignorance and willingness to accept such crap without question.
At the risk of validating the question, a reply needs to be made in order to expose the speaker to the idea that what they’ve heard is wrong on so many dimensions. It must not be answered with anger, but with compassion.
Humans have the idea of right and wrong imbedded in them by their own brains, as well as their upbringing and society. Atheists do good, not out of fear of reprisal, but because it’s the right thing to do. We value family, society, culture, and, of course, freedom. Many of us will - and have - defended these values with our lives. Examples:
1) Many Catholics make judgement calls on moral decisions against their church. For example, some use birth control or have abortions, despite what their church preaches. If these people can make moral decisions despite what their church preaches, then atheists can make similar choices without a church altogether.
2) Slavery was not only acceptable 200 years ago, it was considered a good deed by many, and defended using the bible. The bible was also used to justify the Holocaust, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition.
Why is this relevant? Because it shows that the bible can be used to defend even the most immoral and unethical ideals, and is therefore not an adequate yardstick to measure moral or ethical behavior.
3) Finally, mention bad religious people. Remember that Hitler was a religious Catholic, and that Jeffrey Dahmer said grace before he ate his victims. Mention also that one need only open a newspaper to find yet another story about allegations against priests for sexual misconduct, often with children. Don’t forget our good friends Jim Bakker (who swindled millions from his flock) and Jimmy Swaggart (asked for forgiveness only after being caught using prostitutes).
4) Always couple these statements with the fact that, while atheists make up 8-10% of the population at large, we only make up 1% of the population in prison. I mean, think of it, what if 8-10% of the population (on top of all the religious criminals) decided it was OK to steal, rape, and murder? We’d have chaos! These will serve to prove that religion and ethical behavior are not even slightly related.
Expect these statements to piss off the theists, and this is where you must mention that what you said is verifiable and that their statement is openly prejudicial against 50 million Americans. This is the opportunity to open their eyes to the fact that just because we’re different from them doesn’t make us inherently bad.
Myth 3 ~ “Atheists believe in evolution, but that doesn’t answer as many questions as creationism”- Atheism is not a scientific theory, rather a lack of religion. We do believe in science, and that all questions will eventually be answered with science if they are not answered today. It’s gone well so far, giving theories regarding evolution, geological movement, and the Big Bang, all supported by evidence, but not necessarily endorsed by all atheists.
Creationism does not give all the answers, either. Furthermore, it goes so far as to choose which questions to answer, and discourages the asking of the rest. Believers are loath to discuss where God came from, or what he was doing before the creation. They refuse to give good answers for the many biblical inconsistencies or for the terrible injustices in the world, because they know that no such answers exist. They merely answer with “there are things which we mere humans cannot fully understand” or “the Lord works in mysterious ways”. In the end, religion doesn’t answer as many questions as it raises.
Myth 4 ~ “Atheists cannot know there is no God, since you cannot prove he doesn’t exist” - Again, this is a two sided coin, but the theists are loathe to admit the other side. Atheists don’t need to prove the non-existence of God, any more than we need to prove the nonexistence of Zeus or Jupiter. Can theists prove God over any alternatives? Of course not. Nobody can prove God exists, yet they will stand on their heads saying they’re sure. Well, if they can be sure despite evidence to the contrary, we can be sure in light of evidence in support of atheism.
Myth 5 ~ “Atheists seek to remove religion from society, and to force all people to be atheists” - Absolutely wrong. We seek only the freedom for people to make their choice on their own, free of intervention from the government or public school system. We seek the freedom not to support religion through taxes, forced participation, or special privileges of any kind.
That being said, your thoughts are your rights, and none of our business. Wear your jewelry, celebrate your holidays, and pray in your house, church, or in public if you like. Just don’t force your religion on other people. That’s what we’re all about.
This is in direct contrast to many of the world’s religions, including Christianity, which include worldwide expansion as one of their central objectives. Isn’t it amazing that they falsely accuse us of doing what they do openly, only with atheism it’s evil?
To try to force atheism would by hypocritical, since we would be placing pressure from the state on people to believe a certain way. But let me give a good analogy to our objectives and at the same time answer this charge using the money we use every day.
“In God We Trust,” is the government actively promoting religion.
“In God We Do Not Trust,” would be the government promoting atheism.
We advocate the complete omission of the statement thereby rendering the money neutral.
We feel the same way about the rest of the government. It should be the “Switzerland of the religious debate,” while at the same time being the protectorate of the individual.
Myth 6 ~ “Atheists are so closed-minded, they can’t see that miracles happen every day!” - Some people look for miracles where none exist (they never do). Allow me to put things in perspective: Someone’s cancer going into remission is no miracle, but we can talk when disease suddenly disappears from the face of the earth overnight without help from medical science. Food getting through to a hungry village: human perseverance. Starvation vanishing from earth without a reason overnight: Miracle. One more time: A child is born - science; The spontaneous end of birth defects - Miracle. Got it?
Note: only good things are miracles, so volcanoes, tornadoes, and hurricanes don’t count.
Myth 7 ~ “Atheists are pushing a negative sentiment, and have a dreary life” - Wrong We are “pushing” a very positive statement: that living without dependence on a false deity is easy, fulfilling, and positive. We strive to be a positive influence in the world, and think each person can - and must - find their own meaning of life. We are thinkers, philosophers, and we thrive on discussion and diversity. We are proud, happy, and most of all, free. Compare that to original sin and Hell.
Myth 8 ~ ” If atheists are right, then religious people are wasting their time, but at least they’re happy. No harm in that! If religious people are right, then atheists are going to hell. It seems logical that atheists should become religious just to be safe.” I like getting this question. I sense another list coming:
1) Drug addicts go through life happy, so would theists suggest we all use drugs and stay home? We would be happy, and not hurting anybody, so where’s the harm? The harm is the same for believers. They go through life happy, but it’s a false, wasteful happiness. Atheists get happiness from family, contribution to society, charity, and truth.
2) Religious people should not be lumped into one category for this question. Remember, religions are also biased against each other (Jews Vs. Catholics Vs. Protestants, etc), so no matter what religion the speaker follows, most of the world think they’re going to hell (or other punishment), just like atheists. Ask them which religion has the worst punishment, and whether they would convert to that religion on that one factor, just in case they’re right. When they tell you how absurd that question is, remind them that they asked it first.
3) To convert and practice a specific religion just to ingratiate yourself with God and avoid going to hell is pure, self-serving greed, which is one of the seven deadly sins. Therefore, by their own thinking, even if they are right and I do convert, I’d go to hell anyway, along with everyone else in the flock whose actions are so motivated (possibly including the speaker).
Myth 9 ~ “There are no such things as atheists” a.k.a. “There are no atheists in foxholes” - More fantasy from the believers, that there could never exist a single human whose reason and logical abilities surpass the pressure from society to believe in a deity. This is especially true in a situation of imminent death, where they believe all atheists would drop to our knees and beg God for forgiveness.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could somehow be sure that those who currently disagree with us would come around in the end and know we were right? Just like most other parts of religion, this is blatant fantasy.
There are 25 Million atheists in the country, more that Jews and Blacks combined. Many atheists became atheists not because they were born into it (like most theists), rather because we contemplated god in its many forms and decided it just doesn’t make an ounce of sense. This isn’t a choice, it’s fact - a logical proof. We are simply too logical to believe God is anything more than fantasy.
As far as foxholes go, when I face death, as we all do sooner or later, I will use the last few remaining seconds of my life to remember my favorite moments, and evaluate my contribution to my family and society. I would definitely not waste precious time praying to a deity “just in case I’m wrong” I’m not.
Myth 10 ~ “This country was founded by Christians, on Christian values, and should therefore be a Christian country”.
True, some of the founding fathers were Christian, but some were Deists (generally believed in God), and some were outright atheists. But a more important point needs to be made: the founding fathers went out of their way to specify that church and state be separate. They believed that their religion was just that: theirs and theirs alone. They also remembered that they were there trying to be free of the state church of England, and recognized from their first-hand experience that true religious freedom can only come when belief is left to the individual. It is this ideal, among others, for which our forefathers fought and died.
Individual religious choice - including the right not to practice - is still under assault in this country. Those who would prefer to make the choice for you have labeled us criminal, evil ne’er-do-wells and launched a massive campaign to keep freethinkers subdued. They have been successful, mainly because atheism is fragmented and closeted.
They continue to be successful, but we can reverse the trend. Atheists must make themselves known. If you are reading this, and you are a closet atheist, you owe it to your country, your fellow atheists, and yourself to let people know how you feel. Start by coming to our convention in June, and meeting other people like yourself. You’ll be amazed at how good it feels to speak, listen, and party with people who openly agree with you. Bring a friend.
Link
Labels: Creationism, Noémie Cournoyer, Science and theory, Secularism
The government campaign on violence against women that wanted Ms. David, by Anne Humphreys
In the famous book of ethics and religious culture that was a complaisant Ms. David, the only politician enjoying this privilege, we returned several times on violence against women.
It could read: "Thousands of women each year are victims of physical abuse, sexual or emotional abuse from a spouse or former spouse, a co-worker or anyone else."(P. 197, Dialogue II, Editions de la Pensée)
At the bottom of page 198 of the same book, Ms. David said that students "will need a feminist analysis in their lives. To understand why women are more likely to be abused by a man, why it is women who have less good salaries." We have already responded to some false ideas or simplistic peddled by feminists on the wage gap here.
With regard to domestic violence, the new manual presents an incomplete reality. It said nothing about the men could be victims of such violence, nor does it speak of the magnitude of this phenomenon. These omissions will not allow students to understand the facts, this book does that part of the truth because it is true, of course, that violence against women exists.
However, as we learn from numerous studies including a report of the Institut de la statistique du Québec in 2007, domestic violence is bidirectional and shared:
"Bidirectionality of violence
Furthermore, the similarity of prevalence rates of violence reported by men and women may reflect largely the fact that violence between spouses or partners is a widespread phenomenon bidirectional or mutual, as evidenced by several studies ( Capaldi, Kim, and Shortt, 2007: 107; Straus, 2006a: 8; Archer and Graham-Kevan, 2005: 274; Fergusson, Horwood and Ridder, 2005a: 1110; Field and Caetano, 2005: 504; Williams and Frieze, 2005: 775; Linder and Collins, 2005: 257; Arriaga and Foshee, 2004: 179; Ehrensaft, Cohen, Brown, Smailes, Chen and Johnson, 2003: 745, 749-750; Saudino and Hines, 2003: 204-206; Kwong, Bartholomew, Henderson and Trink, 2003: 294-295; Anderson, 2002: 851, 856; Harned, 2002: 1189; Straus and Ramirez, 2002: 6; Capaldi & Owen, 2001: 431; Kessler, Molnar, Feurer and Appelbaum, 2001: 492-493; Archer, 2000: 660; Bradbury and Lawrence, 1999: 188; Kwong, Bartholomew, and Dutton, 1999: 155; Magdol, Moffitt, Caspi, Newman, Fagan, and Silva, 1997: 73; Sorenson, Upchurch and Shen, 1996: 37; Morse, 1995: 263; O'Leary, Malone, and Tyree, 1994: 594; Straus, 1993: 74, Brush, 1990: 61). "
http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/publications/conditions/violence_h-f04_pdf.htm
How to explain that violence against men has been long underestimated and even ignored? This issue remains unresolved. But it can be assumed that one of the explanations is that men do not rush to the shelter (for women), they remain silent to avoid shame, he said no woman who drinks too much, which the threat, he prefers to divorce and put an end to the suffering.
Analysis of the government campaign
As to Ms. David, she cites (p. 199, op. Cit.) Among the most urgent things to solve "a campaign on violence against women is necessary, so that means that on the drinking and driving."
It seems that his wish has been heard by the Quebec government (all with sub).
Watch the following videos for a discussion of this campaign.
Supplement:
Price to pay: unoccupied shelters to almost $ 500 000 room
As Barbara Kay, National Post recalled recently about one hundred six (106) shelters for abused women or difficulty:
"This year, the report of the Auditor General of Quebec has thrown light on the alleged waste and lack of financial controls that are prevalent in the industry of violence against women. The grants for projects related to violence against women rose from 30 million in 2002-2003 to $ 60 million in 2007-08. Subsidies for a six-bed shelter during this period jumped from 58 832 $ 406 $ 817, although the shelter has housed nine women during 2006-07, its occupancy rate with been 12% from 29% in 2005-2006 (see § 3.69 of the report). Almost half a million dollars to house nine women? Yet the public being led by boat believed that thousands and thousands of battered women seeking refuge.
The reality does not simply with the image of Épinal. In 2004, the Yellow Brick House, a shelter in Aurora, Ontario has been closed following a strike. We then realized that the eight women and three children who lived only a woman fleeing violence. The others were homeless.
Exceptions, will say the believers. Everyone knows that violence against women is an epidemic.
Really? The Edmonton Police Service from 1999 to 2000 indicate that the police intervened to 3 times in 000 domestic incidents. It has advised that a shelter just 24 women - less than 1%. "
Statistiques erronées sur la violence conjugale (1re partie)
par ecolelibre
Statistiques erronées sur la violence conjugale (2de partie)
par ecolelibre
Labels: Abuse, Anne Humphreys, Québec
Religious are shocked by the Al Azhar-Vatican on the revision of textbooks, by Marie-Eve Marineau
The final declaration of the Committee for Dialogue between Catholics and Muslims who met in Rome on 24 and 25 February on the theme "Promoting a pedagogy and a culture of peace ', provides that" textbooks should be reviewed so that they do not contain documents that could affect the religious sentiments of other believers, sometimes through a false dogmas, ethical or historical reconstructions of other religions. "
IslamOnline reported a worrying but not surprising.
An agreement between the Vatican and Al Azhar raised eyebrows
An agreement on the rewriting of textbooks between Al-Azhar, the seat of the highest authority in matters of religious education in the Sunni world, and the Vatican, gave the university Egyptian anger.
"Muslims respect all other religions, told IslamOnline.net Sheikh Youssef al-Badri, a preacher and former official of Al-Azhar.
"I challenge anyone to find such materials offensive in our textbooks. "
Religious leaders of Al-Azhar met with the Vatican cardinals in Rome on February 24 and 25 to discuss measures to develop friendly relations and peace in the world.
They suggested that textbooks should be rewritten to expunge any content that might offend the religion of another.
"The textbooks should be reviewed so that they do not contain documents that could affect the religious sentiments of other believers, sometimes through a false dogmas, ethical or historical reconstructions of other religions," have they wrote in a statement.
The document does not specify how the two major religions proceed.
The statement has raised the anger of religious leaders of Egypt, including some of Al-Azhar.
They argue strongly that the textbooks in Muslim countries do not contain offensive material, and it is rather the West needs to review its own textbooks.
"Muslims have no need to rewrite their books," says Taha Riyan, a professor of religion at Al-Azhar. "Islam calls for respect for other religions. "
The authorities of Al-Azhar said that the Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi has ordered a review of textbooks long ago, and that these books contain no trace of insult against the other religions.
Like many people, El-Badri said that the problem is rather the part of Westerners who defame Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).
Link
Labels: Egypt, Marie-Êve Marineau, Religion and fanaticism
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Doudou Diène blame cartoons, but not hate Muslims textbooks, by Noémie Cournoyer
The rapporteur of the UN on issues of racism promptly condemned the Danish cartoons two years ago. But he did not deign to respond to complaints of UN Watch, an NGO accredited to the UN, against hate textbooks of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
UN Watch is a Geneva-based NGO and special consultative status by the Economic and Social Council. Its International Board of Directors includes Mr. Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
UN Watch has submitted to Doudou Diene, UN Special Rapporteur on the issues of racism and intolerance, two detailed reports based on an examination of the contents of textbooks 119 Egyptian and 93 Saudi textbooks. UN Watch condemns the incitement of children to racial hatred in a systematic and sustained by the state, and asks Doudou Diène to take action. We have translated the letter from UN Watch in Diène. Read below, we propose an action to take.
The UN Watch reports were submitted in 2005. Doudou Diène has not responded to those governments whose official textbooks are promoting hatred. He had promptly criticized the Danish government for its lack of "commitment and vigilance in the fight against religious intolerance and incitement to religious hatred" because it was not fast enough to condemn a newspaper edited by a private company that published caricatures of Muhammad.
Reports submitted to Doudou Diène show that Saudi Arabia and Egypt focus the education of their youth on xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and hatred of the West. For example, these books refer several times to Jews and Christians as "cursed", the "infidels" and "unbelievers" and "enemies of Islam". The West is "a society in decomposition endangered", and Jews were "a wicked nation, characterized by corruption, malice, deceit, betrayal, aggressiveness, and pride."
In his letters from 2005 to Doudou Diène, UN Watch complains that "the language of textbooks is shocking indoctrination of young students" and that therefore "there is a strong likelihood that children educated in this culture will develop racist stereotypes and intolerance. "
Given the inaction of Doudou Diène, UN Watch suggests citizens to send a letter to Diène asking him to take action against the teaching of hatred and intolerance. The website offers a UN Watch letter online (in English. We offer a translation below). You can join this campaign. Just a few mouse clicks.
Take Action - Fight the teaching of prejudice
We show here a translation of the letter from UN Watch in Doudou Diène (which Diène has not deigned to answer), followed by a translation of the letter posted on the website of UN Watch that you can sign online.
UN Watch letter to Doudou Diène
Mr. Doudou Diene, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance, OHCHR - Palais des Nations 8 - 14 avenue de la Paix 1211 Geneva 10
On 7 January 2005
Dear Mr. Diène
This letter is an allegation that the textbooks distributed by the governments of Egypt and of Saudi Arabia are promoting hatred of Jews and Christians, as detailed in the attached report.
The teachings of these manuals are acts by those two governments, of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination and intolerance associated with it. As an NGO based in Geneva and in special consultative status by the Economic and Social Council, we submit this information under the A/C.3/59/L.7lY Resolution of the General Assembly dated 24 November 2004, which provides for cooperation with NGOs.
You ask, in accordance with this resolution, to respond effectively to this serious information about the teaching of racism in the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian schools, and keep track of visits to these countries to encourage national authorities to undertake the necessary investigations and corrective actions, including the replacement of the message of hatred of those books with a message of tolerance.
The two attached reports are published by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace in collaboration with the American Jewish Committee. In War and Peace, Israel and the West in Egyptian school textbooks, the contents of 119 Egyptian textbooks was examined for references to issues of peace and "Other", namely Christians, Jews and the West. In the Egyptian school textbooks, the report shows that "malice, greed, treachery, exploitation of others, fomenting strife, deceit, racism, arrogance, hypocrisy, deception, and hostility - all are presented as characteristics of Jews ". Therefore, there is a strong likelihood that children educated in this culture will develop stereotypes racist and intolerant.
The second attached report, entitled The West, Christians and Jews in the textbooks of Saudi Arabia, examining 93 Saudi textbooks. In these texts, Christians and Jews are denounced as "infidels," the West is "a society in decomposition endangered", and Jews were "a wicked nation, characterized by corruption, malice, the lies, betrayal, aggressiveness, and pride. " This language is shocking indoctrination of young students with a blatant anti-Semitism.
Our youth of the world, including that of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, deserves an education for peace which preaches tolerance, reconciliation and respect for others. Unfortunately, the attached reports show that Saudi Arabia and Egypt rather focus the education of their youth on xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and hatred of the West.
In addition to the remedies requested above, we ask that you discuss this allegation and equipment attached, and any replies from the Egyptian or Saudi, in your reports to the General Assembly and the Commission Human Rights.
Hillel C. Neuer Executive Director United Nations Watch
Doudou Diène letter you can send online to the website of UN Watch
Mr. Doudou Diene Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance OHCHR - Palais des Nations 8 - 14 avenue de la Paix 1211 Geneva 10
Subject: Textbooks Semitic and anti-Christians in Egypt and Saudi Arabia
Your UN mandate requires you to speak out against racial and religious intolerance, and you have so often been commendable. To give a recent example, in November 2005, after UN Watch and 30 other organizations have sent you a complaint regarding the call by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad so that Israel be "wiped off the map", you are admirably delivered demanding that Iran is due. In January 2006, in your report (E/CN.4/2006/16), you have condemned the declaration of Iran as "a manifestation of anti-Semitism." I congratulate you and thank you for your views on this issue.
I am writing today to ask you to take action against another case of racism and intolerance: the anti-Semitism and an anti-state sponsored, in schoolbooks in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. For example, these books refer several times to Jews and Christians as "cursed", the "infidels" and "unbelievers", and "enemies of Islam". They teach students that "the Jews are a people of treachery and treason." And that "a malicious Crusader alliance of Jews and trying to eliminate Islam from all continents." Despite assurances of reform of school textbooks by the Saudis, the report by Freedom House in May 2006 entitled The curriculum of intolerance of Saudi Arabia reveals that the teaching of hatred continues.
The non-governmental organization UN Watch has sent letters of allegations regarding these textbooks, in January and May 2005. I urge you to respond to these letters without delay. Please raise these allegations with the Egyptian and Saudi governments, and request that they stop this curriculum to teach offensive and hateful.
In your last report (E/CN.4/2006/17), you criticized the Danish government for failing "engagement and vigilance in the fight against religious intolerance and incitement to religious hatred," because your opinion, it was not fast enough to condemn a newspaper published by a private company for the publication of caricatures of Muhammad. Surely governments whose official textbooks are, and for a long time, the blatant promotion of anti-Semitism and Christianophobia should merit your immediate attention and should earn a strong denunciation. Such a denunciation against the incitement of children to racial hatred in a systematic and sustained by the State should include a statement as you did for the Danish newspaper, for you and the UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion.
Sincerely,
Noémie Cournoyer
Labels: Egypt, Noémie Cournoyer, Religion and fanaticism, Saudi Arabia, UN
How the West was duped, by Iba bouramine
When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini announced on Valentine's Day 1989 the death sentence on Salman Rushdie for writing The Satanic Verses, and others associated with its publication and translation, it was his last major pronouncement as the radical religious leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Khomeini died in June 1989. His notorious edict as the opening salvo of the Islamist war against the West, however, still remains lethal in censoring free speech and driving fear into the hearts of anyone daring to submit Islam and Muslim history to critical scrutiny.
It would be fair to say the West did not know what to make of Khomeini's incitement to murder 20 years ago. Or of Rushdie who was forced to hide under British protection from those who might kill him for the $5.2-million bounty on offer.
The edict against Rushdie was lifted officially by Khomeini's successors in 1998. But to the ever-lasting shame of many around the world, the edict sparked a debate over the propriety of any expression, such as Rushdie's book, that could be viewed as insulting Islam.
This debate is far from over and it continues to cast a chilling spell over freedom of expression that could well be characterized as the essential value of the secular West. Khomeini's success in confounding the West came from a simple, yet ingenious tactic of dressing his politics in the garment of religion.
Instead of repudiating Khomeini's politics, and that of the Islamists, the West contorted itself, with its policy of official multiculturalism, to accommodate the vulgar and neo-barbaric politics aggressively promoted as religion.
Complicit
Twenty years on and it would be fair to say the West has become somewhat complicit in the politics unleashed by Khomeini, and pushed relentlessly by Islamists ever since, to silence and punish critics of Islam and Muslim history.
The profound irony here is that Muslims can only be politically liberated by subjecting Islam to unfettered critical inquiry as was done with Christianity. Only then they may recover their faith as a matter of personal conscience, instead of being suffocated by an Islam perverted into a tool of totalitarian politics ever since the early years of Arab-Muslim history.
Within the Muslim world any effort to engage in such a task, that eventually demolishes the totalitarian control of the power holders over Islam, carries with it mortal risks. Khomeini's edict against Rushdie was to set a forbidding example.
Only in a relatively free and secure environment could anyone, especially Muslims, engage in the task of salvaging Islam's pristine message of monotheism and God's mercy in a world of unending struggle between good and evil. It is also through such efforts, and by not appeasing Islamists, that a mutually respectful and genuine coexistence of non-Muslims and Muslims might be constructed.
But when the West concedes to Islamists in the mistaken belief that subjecting Islam and Muslim history to intensive criticism amounts to "hate speech" and must not be allowed, then freedom is undermined and totalitarianism in the Arab-Muslim world gets further entrenched.
Muslims need to become free of totalitarian Islam and the least the West can do in support is not concede an inch of its own hard-won freedom in quest of false peace with Islamists.
Link
Labels: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iba Bouramine, Salman Rushdie
Tomorrow, an intensive Day of lobbying at Parliament by the Canadian Arab Federation, by Jessica Leblanc
Tomorrow, the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF), whose president Khaled Muammar recently came under the spotlight for calling several federal ministers “professional whores”, will coordinate a day of lobbying in Ottawa, trying to influence members of parliament.
Yesterday, we sent all MPs the message reproduced below to remind them of their duty to exercise due diligence in allocating public funds. CAF is largely dependent on taxpayers’ money and has been awarded more than two million dollars over the past two years.
We believe that CAF does not deserve our money and is not a credible group for the government to engage, for the following reasons :
CAF offers training sessions to new immigrants that are aimed at easing their integration into their adopted homeland. According to a Muslim woman who attended a course, as quoted by Margaret Wente, newcomers are told that Canada is “deeply flawed by racism and injustice”. This is defamation, not to say hate speech targeting the host society. Such an approach is not conducive to fostering social cohesion in our country ; it is rather the opposite.
In 2007, CAF celebrated its 40th anniversary. To mark the event, CAF hosted a gala dinner where it paid tribute to Zafar Bangash, then editor of a radical supremacist Islamist newsletter. Bangash once described his adopted homeland as "mafia" ; he refers to the vast majority of Canadians - that being non-Muslims - as "kuffar or kufr", which means non-believers and infidels whom Muslims must fight or become like the loathed kuffar ; and he advocates the establishing of Iranian-style theocracies around the world. Is this the vision of a society free from pervasive "racism and injustice" that CAF is striving to build ?
In terms of political agenda, CAF is nearly entirely focussed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as shown by its Web site developed with a grant of $60,000 from the federal Department of Heritage. In a recent column in the National Post, Jonathan Kay wrote : « Last year, the National Post editorial board hosted Mouammar and a CAF colleague for an editorial board meeting. To our collective shock, they laid blame for virtually every problem the world faces on Israel — including the alienation of Arab-Canadian children in Canada’s public school system. (One explained that he had sent his daughter for education overseas — because the inclusion of Israel in Canadian textbooks was too traumatic for her to endure.) »
We invite you to write to MPs to share your concerns regarding the diligence they exercise in selecting groups with whom they interact and which they fund. The list of emails of MPs is here : Address for Members of Parliament. And please distribute the present article to the largest possible number of citizens.
***
LETTER OF POINT DE BASCULE TO FEDERAL MPs
Islamists’ Day at Parliament on Wednesday
This Wednesday, March 4, representatives of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) will spend a day in Ottawa, trying to lobby Canada’s parliamentarians. For many years, operating in the guise of an Arab rights’ group, and more recently, one with immigrant-settlement funding, CAF has actively promoted a radical Islamist agenda. Funded by unwary governments, CAF has often been criticized by the very people it falsely claims to represent.
Consider CAF’s record. In 2007, the group paid tribute to Zafar Bangash, founding editor of a publication advocating the establishing of Iranian-style theocracies around the world and celebrating 9/11. In 2006, Ali Mallah, CAF Ontario vice-president, lamented the overthrow of the Taliban regime. In January 2009, CAF issued a bulletin featuring links to videos glorifying terrorist organizations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad as well as acts of “martyrdom” against civilians. Recently, raging about international affairs, CAF President Khaled Mouammar startled official Ottawa by damning several federal Liberal and Conservative politicians as “professional whores”. The list goes on...
CAF is a hypocritical organization. It strives day and night to radicalize Arab and Muslim Canadians and alienate them from other citizens and mainstream values. Yet CAF lives off the public purse, scooping up two million dollars in federal grants in just the last two years. The Ontario and Quebec governments also fund this disturbing group, and Canadians of conscience are dedicated to changing this.
Our politicians must diligently investigate the true nature of groups with whom they engage. CAF, an organization openly supporting the banned Hamas terrorist organization, actively agitates among Canada’s Muslim population, encouraging an alienated and dangerous victim mentality – and CAF does all this on the taxpayers’ dime. No wonder the moderate Muslim Canadian Congress asked that any future CAF funding be made dependent on that organization’s not behaving as a Hamas or Hezbollah mouthpiece, and on its embracing Canadian values, not Iranian ones.
In 2007, in the context of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on reasonable accommodation, Quebecers from Arab countries filed briefs dissociating themselves from intolerant Islamist front organizations that claim to represent Canada’s Arab and Muslim communities. For example, the Association de la communauté copte orthodoxe du Grand Montréal wrote about the Islamist movement in Quebec (translation) : “They are a cancer spreading in the community. They do not present themselves as Islamist groups, which in reality they are, but as Canadian observers of human rights ! One can only be shocked by the degree of sophistication these groups have achieved.”
Last October, Point de Bascule hosted a national conference in Montreal that heard three brave Canadian Muslims denounce the growing Islamist campaign to influence and manipulate Canada’s politicians and political institutions. In the name of enlightened pluralist democracy, Point de Bascule calls upon citizens and politicians to do their due diligence, expose the Canadian Arab Federation for what it is, and recognize that the engaging or funding of any such radical group is a betrayal of the national interest and the public trust.
Labels: CAF, Canada, Jessica Leblanc
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