Vancouver Secrets

Allowing For Fundamentalist Gender Discrimination?

The case of  burkha rights in Quebec…

Two solitudes and the niqab

The case of Naema Ahmed, the niqab-wearing woman who was expelled from a French-language class in Montreal, has turned into a cause célèbre across the country. It is a fascinating story about reasonable accommodation, competing rights and where we ought to draw the line on tolerance in a democratic society.

Naema Ahmed, a 29-year-old pharmacist from Egypt, joined a language class for immigrants last August. She insisted on wearing a face veil and she sat at the back of the class so that the men wouldn’t be able to see her. (There were three men in the class of 20). For private instruction, she would retreat to a corner with the female instructor.

Tensions reportedly mounted in the class, which was also designed to help integrate the students into Quebec society. The next part of the course required the students to sit around a U-shaped table and converse. She didn’t want to do it because of the men. The school couldn’t guarantee her another female instructor. It also decided she couldn’t be taught properly unless the instructor could see her mouth. So it asked her to leave. “We tried certain arrangements, but the demands just became too great,” said the school’s head, Paul-Émile Bourque.

Some time after that, Ms. Ahmed filed a complaint with Quebec’s human-rights commission. She also joined another language class. This week, she was called out of class again and invited to either remove her veil or leave. She left.

“There is no ambiguity about this question,” said Quebec’s immigration minister, Yolande James. “If you want to [attend] our classes, if you want to integrate into Quebec society, here are our values. We want to see your face.”

Meantime, in the other solitude, Quebec authorities were widely being compared to the Taliban.

“[T]hrowing women out of school … sounds like something that happens in the wilder reaches of Kandahar,” opined the Montreal Gazette.

“What part of the word ‘freedom’ does Quebec not understand?” wondered Naomi Lakritz in the Calgary Herald. Quebec, she said, “is fast becoming the most hostile province in Canada for anyone of a minority culture or religion.” The Winnipeg Free Press observed that “the Canadianization of Naema Ahmed has been sadly set back.” (Others might maintain that her decision to lodge a human-rights complaint shows she’s coming along quite nicely). And The Globe and Mail said, “It may be practised in some Arab and west Asian countries, such as the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, but empowering state agents to enforce dress codes and bar the education of women is hitherto unknown in Canada.”

I have always been for more of a melting pot situation for immigrants… than with the Canadian method of encouraging immigrants to hold on to their country’s heritage. Our method encourages ghettos and isolated communities.

The reason you move to Canada (or any country for that matter) is that you appreciate the country’s values and opportunities. If you want everything in your new country to be the same as your home country, you’ve got to ask why did you move? What happens when women wear something offensive (shorts?) in a Muslim country. (Yes a burkha or niqab is offensive.)

You’d think that women moving to Canada would appreciate the hard-fought rights that our women enjoy… like showing your face in public.

photo credit: alphadesigner

Has David Suzuki Lost The Battle?

David Suzuki is getting grumpy in his old age. He tries his best to  make the environmental case – at any cost.

His argument is getting more animated, and his facts are getting fuzzier. Give him his way and we’d all be exterminated.

Pennsylvania Facing A Depression

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha dead at 77.

John was best known for his pork he brought home to PA, including his airport that may now get more traffic from this link, than it does passengers.

The John Murtha Johnston-Cambria County Airport got an estimated $150 million in federal funds that he steered to it.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington labeled him one of the “most corrupt” members of Congress.

Murtha gave no ground. “If I’m corrupt, it’s because I take care of my district,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in March 2009. “My job as a member of Congress is to make sure that we take care of what we see is necessary.”

PA is going to feel the hurt.

Vancouver 2010 – We Have Truthers Too

The group We Are Change Vancouver tries to set off alarm about our terror threats. Call it the Canadian Alex Jones.

Unlike 911 – THIS TIME WE WILL DEMAND A REAL AND PROPER INVESTIGATION NO MATTER WHERE IT LEADS !!!

PLEASE HAVE RECORDING DEVICES and VIDEO CAMERAS ready at all times if your in Vancouver for the next 3-6 weeks.

More nutty stuff:

There are some strange things going on in Canada these days. Especially when out of the blue, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper suspends Parliament until March 3rd, and then a company called Kinder Morgan looses 2 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate in Vancouver where the 2010 Olympics are due to take place in February.

Both these events happened after the plutocracy lost their bid for a global consensus and binding agreement to control a new Carbon derivative market that would have affected every person on the planet through taxation.

It also comes as the US Government expands their aggressive wars into Pakistan, and Yemen, but also as the European Union becomes a reality, a new trading block has emerged, (B.R.I.C.) and the economic recession is deepening.

Will there be a false flag event in Canada? Is the North American Union about to be created?

The truthers are growing… there are a lot of these people on YouTube.

Let the Games  begin.

Pulitzer Material

The only credible mainstream-media in America is going for a Pulitzer.

From the Washington Post:

National Enquirer submitting John Edwards coverage for Pulitzer

The executive editor of the National Enquirer says he plans to enter his paper’s work on the John Edwards scandal for a Pulitzer Prize.

Don’t laugh.

“It’s clear we should be a contender for this,” Barry Levine said by phone Thursday, hours after the former presidential candidate admitted what the newspaper had been reporting all along: that he is the father of Rielle Hunter’s baby. “The National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid, was able to publish this reporting.”

Although the staff never doubted its reports that Edwards had fathered a baby girl with his former campaign videographer, Levine said, “there is vindication, finally. Mr. Edwards kept the story alive much longer than it needed to be kept alive with his denials. He has only himself to blame.”

Although the Enquirer stories may or may not be prize-winning material — the tabloid’s most significant disclosures came in 2007 and 2008, and this year’s Pulitzers will honor material published in 2009 — there is no question that the paper scooped the rest of the media world.

The irony would be if they win.

There’s Hope.

Arnold announced the drastic cuts he needs to make to get California back on track… at least to survive this year.

The article is framed with an image (above) that attempts to turn Arnold into a demon.

The comments from Californians in the Los Angeles Times show otherwise .They actually are cheering the cuts on. The California Tea Party could be all that’s needed to stop the looting of America.

It’s got to send chills through the Liberal politicians. Lets hope our Canadian left is watching.

Read them here.

We’re Sorry… Sort Of.

First the alAmeen Post in Vancouver decided to publish an article from  HTTP://WWW.PRESSTV.IR (which is actually worse than Al Jazeera)

Ukrainian kids, new victims of Israeli ‘organ theft’

An international Israeli conspiracy to kidnap children and harvest their organs is gathering momentum as another shocking story divulges Tel Aviv’s plot to import Ukrainian children and harvest their organs.

The story brings to light the fact that Israel has brought some 25,000 Ukrainian children into the occupied entity over the past two years in order to harvest their organs. It cites a Ukrainian man’s fruitless search for 15 children who had been adopted in Israel. The children had clearly been taken by Israeli medical centers, where they were used for ’spare parts’.

The account was unveiled five days ago by a Ukrainian philosophy professor and author, Vyacheslav Gudin, at a pseudo-academic conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Gudin told an estimated 300 attendees of the Kiev conference that it was essential that all Ukrainians be made aware of the genocide Israel was perpetrating.

….. and it goes on. Here’s the PDF of the original cached article.

Then they take it down (after outrage) and finally the apology:

To Our Fellow Jewish Canadians – Our Apologies

On January 7^th, 2010, at approximately 11:30 AM, we received a news release issued by B’NAI BRITH CANADA, Canada’s Jewish community’s foremost human rights agency raising concerns about an article published in alAmeen’s last issue, titled, “Ukrainian kids, new victims of Israeli ‘organ theft’.

We understand from the communiqué that the leading Canadian Jewish organization, is not pleased with the content of the article, and have asked for an apology, from alAmeen as well as British Columbia Muslim Association.

We understand that BNAI BRITH basis for demanding an apology is, as they view the contents within the article as Anti-Semitic, or Anti-Western, and against our most cherished Canadian values.

We understand that our fellow Canadian Jewish community members find some of the contents inappropriate and hurtful.

Therefore, in the spirit of honouring our most cherished Canadian Values, and to demonstrate our commitment to upholding and defending such values, the Editorial Board of alAmeen Post, without prejudice, extends its honest and sincere apology to our fellow Jewish Canadians for any hurt which may have caused by us publishing or communicating such a news article.

Having said that, it is also important that our fellow Canadians, especially our fellow Jewish Canadians, who are upset with our coverage on organ harvesting, understand the nature of our business: alAmeen Post is a bi-weekly community paper, distributed free, serving the local Muslim Community in British Columbia, Canada; we neither have the resources nor the means to have field reporters or investigative journalist working in the field. A large portion of our news is devoted to cover community events and functions, dealing with our own community issues. We do incorporate news from various regions of the world, for our audience, which we obtain from third parties. However, we remain very cautious about the news, which we do publish, and with our limited resources, we try our best that the news which we do publish is credible.

Defending our news article at this juncture would mean causing further divide in our harmonious multicultural fabric, which goes against our own values, but it is needless to say that the issue of “Organ Harvesting in Israel” was being discussed at the time of our last publication, by major media outlets, and not just alAmeen.

However, we do acknowledge that our fellow Jewish Canadians are upset over this, as clearly EXPRESSED by BNAI BRITH CANADA on their behalf, and it is for this very reason we retract our story, and we have removed it from our website, as soon as we received the fax from BNAI BRITH CANADA.

We hope that this would appease those who may have been offended, our intention was not to offend or hurt anyone, and we remain committed to eliminate all forms of discrimination.

We thank you for your providing us the opportunity to clarify our position.

In other words.. we don’t have the resources, and we are sorry the Jooos are mad. We took down the story.

Wonder if they thought the premise of the offending story may have been just a little outrageous? Is our beloved HRC doing anything?

A New Style Of Political Ad

Sure to terrify the Democrats.. and brutally honest. If I were a Republican candidate, I would consider it as my only ad to run.

I find it hard to believe Democrats will come close to holding power in congress.

Bright days ahead, once the purge is complete.

Worst Communicators Of The Year

The worst and best communicator list is in: from the left and the right.

Some surprises… Barry and Sarah both came in at #10.

Guess how Barry ranked…

• He is aloof and professorial, actually most often speaking formally with his nose a bit aloft
• He speaks in bursts and a repetitious cadence, almost in a sing-song manner
• He leans with an enormous emphasis on scripts and the teleprompter
• He has NEVER learned how to use the teleprompter well
• Often he makes gaffes when he speaks spontaneously
• And he is way over exposed, where speaking on the trivial diminishes the important

The list of the best and the worst..

The New Crown of the Great Communicator Goes To:

Michelle Lang of the Calgary Herald Killed

Four Canadian soldiers and Canadian journalist were killed in Kandahar today. The journalist  was identified as Michelle Lang of the Calgary Herald.

From Michelle’s Blog:

Greetings from Afghanistan, where I will be reporting for Canwest News Service and the Calgary Herald for the next several weeks.

I am currently at Kandahar Airfield, the sprawling military base near Kandahar City perhaps best known for its dusty conditions and a very busy Tim Hortons. At the moment, Afghanistan’s winter rains have turned that famous dust into a giant mud pit.

Life here, though, has been made considerably brighter by Christmas decorations. Many soldiers have decorated their sleep tents with Christmas lights. One bike near the media work tent has a wreath attached to its handlebars.

The Herald is currently publishing Christmas cards from Canadians in Kandahar. You can check out the cards and post your own message to Canadian troops in Afghanistan here:

More on the story here.

My sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families of the Michelle and the four soldiers.

Allah Akbar and Marg bar Diktator

Wouldn’t want to be a Mullah tonight… I am not sure they’ll be able to quell this uprising.

Wall to wall sound in Tehran’s night as nobody sleeps and adds their voice to the shouts of “Allah Akbar and Marg bar Diktator (death to the dictator)”. The custom was started in opposition of the late Shah back in 1979. The repeat performance bodes ill for the Mullah regime.

Real Hope’N'Change is coming to Iran over this next few days.

Fearing for his safety, Senator John Kerry has canceled his Obama-ordered trip to Iran intended to support the Mullah regime.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who last week took on a self-proclaimed title of “Imam” and Leader of the Revolution, which makes him an emissary of Allah whose every wish and desire HAS to be obeyed by devout Shia Moslems, is now in hiding. Still possibly inside Iran – several armed helicopters are circling and hovering above his Tehran residence surrounded by Special Forcesto protect it, though he is no longer there.

Sunday Night Riots – Iran

How long will the Mad Mullahs allow this to go on.. or can they even stop it now.

One would think Obama would jump into this, at least with a blurb about supporting freedom… it might be the only opportunity to solve that inconvenient nuclear threat problem.

His understanding of the power of the power of the youth in Iran is questionable… more than two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30. And they are showing they know how to use to the power of the Internet: (tip: This site is getting help from people around the globe.)

Promising news:

Promising developments.. let’s hope the people can topple the Mullahs… and Obama finds a backbone to help push this along.

The Canadian government and even the Swedes have.

CTV.ca News Staff

Canada issues statement

Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement: “Canada is deeply concerned by the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown today, December 27, against Iranian citizens who were exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly on the occasion of Ashura.”

“Iranian security forces once again used intimidation and violence against citizens of Iran. The Iranian regime’s continued effort to restrict freedom of expression and assembly, thereby depriving its citizens of their rights, is deplorable, especially on the holy day of Ashura, a national holiday that marks an important Shia religious event. The people of Iran deserve to have their voices heard and to enjoy the rights to which they are entitled without fear of violence and intimidation.

“The Government of Canada condemns the use of brutal violence by the Iranian security forces and once again calls upon Iran to meet its human rights obligations.”

Foreign Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, expressed concern about the “increased repression” in Iran.

“A regime secure in its own legitimacy has no reason to fear individuals’ rights to express their opinions freely and peacefully,” he wrote on his blog Sunday.

Be On The Lookout For Green Shoppers

Somehow not so surprising

A reported study by the University of Toronto’s Rotman’s Business School, examined a sample of people who were asked to purchase goods at a grocery store.

Those who gathered more ‘green’ or environmentally friendly items were less likely to later share money with an anonymous recipient or more likely to lie or cheat on a subsequent quiz.

What the authors also found, however, was that simply being exposed to green products led to better ethical behaviour than did the act of purchasing green products, a phenomenon known as “priming.”

photo credit: just.Luc (just.Censored)

Glenn Beck On Jay Leno

Great interview… most Canadians don’t get his show on Fox News, and his message needs to be heard.

Regardless of where you stand, it’s tough to argue his points… he has awoken middle-class America.

A surprisingly good interview. Plus, Jay Leno shows he isn’t a partisan hack.

The Mad Mullah Is Dead

TEHRAN, Iran — Grandson of Iran’s senior dissident cleric says Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri is dead.

The BBC pays Homage: One of Iran’s most prominent dissident clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri, has died aged 87.

“Hoseyn Ali Montazeri passed away in his home last night,” state-owned Irna news agency said.

Hoseyn Ali Montazeri was a moving spirit in the 1979 revolution which created Iran’s Islamic state, and was at one stage set to become its leader.

One of Shia Islam’s most respected figures, he was also a leading critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Grand Ayatollah Montazeri issued a fatwa condemning President Ahmadinejad’s government after June’s disputed election.

Too bad it was one of the dissident ones. He was the only sane one standing between Ahmadinejad and his nukes.

The BBC Asks -Should homosexuals face execution?

Amazing that they would need to ask… when there is only one answer.

Homosexuality is regarded as taboo in much of Africa, where it is often regarded as a threat to cultural, religious and social values.

Has Uganda gone too far? Should there be any level of legislation against homosexuality? Should homosexuals be protected by legislation as they are in South Africa? What would be the consequences of this bill to you? How will homosexual ‘offences’ be monitored? Send us your views.

Of course the dialogue that ensues is as expected from their readers… even though it’s fully moderated.

Then they quickly change the title:

Did someone say “Let’s start a hate fest today”? Makes you wonder what the far-left BBC can come up with next.

Maybe they were expecting support for the idea?

A Timely Message to The Fanatics

A well reasoned message to our Global Warming friends, who are probably freezing right now:

Dear global warming fanatics,

Please. Stop. You’re embarrassing yourselves. Take a deep breath, and try to understand what has happened to you during the past month. You need to accept that your dreams of global domination are over. Increasingly shrill attempts to terrify the masses into ignoring Climagate are only making you look foolish. The con job you’ve been running for the last thirty years is busted forever.

I know this is difficult for you to accept. Things seemed to be going well. You’ve got the cap-and-trade bill lurking over the United States, ready to shatter an already weakened economy plagued with unemployment problems, and effectively end America’s role as a dominant industrial power. Your beliefs have been instituted in public schools as the official state religion, whose rituals and incantations are forced upon millions of school children. The wealthy royalty of popular culture is pleased to produce an endless string of movies, music, and television programming to market your beliefs. Your critics were marginalized to the point where the presidential candidate from the 2000 Democrat ticket felt comfortable referring to them as Nazis.

I can see how losing all of this cultural and political power in a few short weeks would be stunning. I hope the shock has dissipated enough for you to understand where we are now, and where we are going from here.

You aren’t going to frighten the world into reducing the human population. You’re not going to succeed in terrorizing free people into embracing totalitarianism, to fend off a phantasmal catastrophe that no democratic nation has the discipline to combat. We’re not going to politely ignore swarms of private jets and limos ferrying you to carbon-belching “climate summits,” where you draw up plans for the Western proletariat to live as primitive hunter-gatherers. We’re not going to let a pampered elitist, who once flew around the world to attend cricket practice, tell us that we need to make do without air travel and ice water.

The rest here…

Put the latest CBC article in perspective… Can Obama Save The Planet?

photo credit: Chang Huang