Blog about politics (mideast and pro-Israel, Canadian and local Montreal), world events, and random thoughts.

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The World I Know is updated on a semi-regular basis by segacs.

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11:56 PM
Great Big Sea-cert

Tonight's Great Big Sea concert at Metropolis was amazing! They sure know how to put on a good show!

Like after most concerts, I won't be able to hear properly for a couple of days... but it's all good - maybe I won't be able to hear noisy neighbour.

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10:55 AM
Free speech is dead on university campuses

After Concordia allowed the Netanyahu riot to set a precedent by initially not allowing Ehud Barak to speak, it seems free speech is now only a privilege of the side of rioters. A planned speech by US Ambassador Paul Cellucci at UQÀM was cancelled for "security concerns":

Following on Concordia University's decision last month to call off a speech by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, the Universite du Quebec a Montreal yesterday cancelled an address by the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci.

Cellucci was to have spoken at 2 p.m. yesterday at a conference organized by the Raoul Dandurand chair in strategic and diplomatic studies.

[ . . . ]

Nobody was able to say what the nature of the security risk was, but this week a group calling itself Bloquez l'empire (Block the Empire) sent out a statement by e-mail urging Montrealers to rally to "stop Cellucci from speaking."

The University claimed that RCMP and US Security Officials recommended cancellation. But spokespeople from both deny that claim, and say the decision was made by the University.

The violence-rules contingent is crowing over their success:

Cellucci represents a regime whose ambitions to political and economic domination are expressed ruthlessly, but have the merit, at least, of being openly acknowledged. His legitimacy, especially after the concerns raised about election fraud in the US, should not be recognised. The only place Cellucci should be allowed to speak is before a tribunal, trying him for complicity with crimes against humanity.

The cancellation is a minor victory, and a little indication of what can be done - especially around the coming visit of Bush to Ottawa (30 November-1 December).

If this keeps up, it will kill free speech everywhere. Mob rule is being permitted far too much success. Eventually, only one viewpoint will be represented: that of the groups willing to resort to violence to suppress all speech besides theirs.

Concordia has set a very dangerous precedent. What people need to realize is that yesterday, it was an Israeli former PM who wasn't allowed to speak. Today, it was a US ambassador. Tomorrow, it may be your speech that's suppressed.

This is an issue that affects us all.

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10:51 AM
Appeasement on a small scale

Carolyn Parrish seems to be emboldened by Paul Martin's inability/refusal to do anything to her besides go "tsk tsk". Her latest outburst almost seems like a nose-thumbing at Martin because she knows he won't fire her or otherwise penalize her in any way:

Renegade Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish has once again enraged members of the opposition and her own caucus after tossing a George W. Bush doll on the floor and grinding it under her heel on a satirical television show.

Something tells me there's an apt comparison in here, to the world's inability/refusal to do anything to rogue states who thumb their nose at international policy... like Iran with their nuclear weapons program... nah, too obvious!

To Carolyn Parrish: I mean this in the nicest possible - oh, who am I kidding? Just shut the fuck up!

Update: Looks like Paul Martin finally got the message. He fired Carolyn Parrish... at long last.

Parrish's antics reminded me of a child who pulls increasingly annoying attention-getting stunts, in effort to find out where that invisible line is. Well, Carolyn, now you know.

The real question: with Parrish sitting as an independant, will she support the party that threw her out on votes... or the opposition Conservatives?

Update #2: Cliff speculates that she'll join the NDP. She'll likely be welcomed with open arms there by many MPs who share her "values".

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8:18 PM
UN Security Council sets peace deadline for Sudan

Peace by New Year's... or else.

Or else what, though? That's the question nobody seems to be able to answer. Because military action is pretty much a non-option, and half the Security Council members won't support sanctions, either.

Why does this seem suspiciously like an attempt by the USA to demonstrate the utter uselessness and powerlessness of the United Nations?

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8:18 PM
So that's how they could afford Celine Dion

Air Canada is moving their lost luggage line to India. So now, not only will we get to deal with the frustration of lost luggage, but we'll also get the added bonus frustration of trying to get it back.

I wonder if the call centre employees at the lost luggage line will know how to fix a computer... cause the ones at the Dell tech support certainly don't.

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11:24 PM
John Morgan, one of the stars of Royal Canadian Air Farce, has passed away at age 75.

I haven't watched the show in years, but it used to be almost a family tradition to tune in and watch the weekly political gags. Morgan's biggest hit gag was probably "Mike... from Canmore". I used to laugh so hard that I almost cried.

Farewell, Mr. Morgan.

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7:41 PM
Red-letter music day

Collective Soul's first studio release in 4 years, Youth, was released today. The band ain't the same without Ross. But Joel does a decent fill-in job and this is a solid musical achievement for the guys after their hiatus and split with their record label.

Also, Live released their greatest hits CD/DVD, Awake.

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7:38 PM
Bush is finally coming to Canada. Took him long enough.

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10:01 AM
Amidst all the calls for his head on a platter, Colin Powell has resigned.

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3:14 PM
Why Bush's re-election scares me

Because of things like this:

Republican senator who has questioned whether an abortion opponent could win approval to the U.S. Supreme Court must agree to back President Bush's nominees if he is to head the committee acting on those nominations, the Senate's Republican leader said.

Bush has four years to fill Supreme Court seats with basically no opposition. He doesn't have to think about future re-election anymore. He has a majority in both houses and a huge debt to the far-right conservative Christian groups. Stacking the court to overturn Roe v. Wade may be only the beginning.

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3:08 PM
Abbas narrowly "escapes death"

The Palestinian spokespeople claim it wasn't an assassination attempt:

Yasser Arafat's interim successor escaped injury in a Gaza gunfight triggered by hostile militants on Sunday as Palestinian officials set Jan. 9 for elections to replace the late president and avert a feared power vacuum.

[ . . . ]

The incident began after gunmen from Arafat's splintered Fatah movement shouting "No to Abu Mazen" -- Abbas's nickname -- marched by him as he stood outside the tent, paused and began firing shots into the air.

The gunmen's rifles were pointed upwards, not at Abbas and Palestinian officials said it was not an assassination attempt.

Members of Arafat's presidential guard hustled Abbas, 69, into the tent and threw him to the ground for his safety as the militants burst in. Chaos ensued as gunmen and bodyguards began shooting at each other. In the end, two bodyguards lay dead and four other Palestinians were wounded, medics said.

As gunfire blazed about him, Abbas was hustled to safety in his local office. The gunmen withdrew and no one was arrested.

"We were paying condolences. Emotions were high. There was random gunfire and pushing in the crowd," a calm-looking Abbas told reporters at his office afterward.

I wonder if the anyone actually believes that. I'm betting Abbas doesn't.

Arafat's barely cold in his grave and it's starting already. It appears that nobody will even wait out the "40 days of mourning" before starting a civil war. And in this kind of civil war, the winners will be the most violent, the least moderate, and the worst enemies of Israel.

What was that about an "opportunity for peace", Mr. Bush?

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