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

""

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

Think I'm the greatest thing since chocolate-covered strawberries? Think I'm certifiably insane? E-mail me at segacs2.at.yahoo.ca.

Buy me a present! Visit my Amazon Wish List.

Frequently asked questions about me and this blog.

Atom site feed

Comments are open and unmoderated, although obscene or abusive remarks may be deleted. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of segacs's world i know.

---

<< List
Jewish Bloggers
Join >>

 
12:11 PM
Another voice of moderation intimidated into silence

I think this is just terribly sad:

Citing threats against his life and the safety of his family, Tarek Fatah the controversial communications director of the Muslim Canadian Congress resigned Thursday.

[ . . . ]

''I am doing this because I fear for my life and the safety of my family,'' he said. ''I've had enough, I've spent too much time dodging the bullet.''

Fatah's outspoken opinions for the MCC's liberal views have continually upset the Muslim community, and in the past month he has been the subject of an e-mail campaign aimed at the Canadian news media.

[ . . . ]

Along with his resignation, Fatah has filed a report with the RCMP detailing what he says are a number of threats he has received since 2003. A police investigation is under way.

Fatah has been attacked both physically and verbally, he said at an Islamic conference in Toronto in 2003, dozens of young Muslim men mobbed him while a cleric shouted out that he had insulted the Prophet Muhammad's name. In 2006, he said, he was accosted on Yonge Street by a man who accused him of being an apostate. His car windows were smashed.

I'm as angry as anyone when the media paints entire communities with one brush, as though there was only one "Jewish viewpoint" or "Chinese viewpoint" or something. Nonsense. We're in Canada, in a free society, and there are incredibly diverse viewpoints within cultural and ethnic communities.

But increasingly, when people in Canada's Muslim community try to speak up with views that the most extreme hard-liners don't like, they fear for their lives. Not just in Canada. Around the world.

Tarek Fatah has been one of the most high-profile politically Liberal Muslims in Canada. And the price he pays for having views that don't toe the extremist line? Death threats. Intimidation. Enough that he feared for his life.

How can we expect the voices of moderation to drown out the voices of hate, when the voices of hate intimidate those of moderation into silence?

|

 
2:38 AM
Why Naomi Ragen is wrong

This piece by Jerusalem-based writer Naomi Ragen has been making the rounds online. I expect it will show up in my e-mail inbox about a dozen times over the next few days:

Please remember this when you hear about the "atrocity" of the Israeli bomb that killed many civilians in Kafr Qana, a place from which Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel. Unlike previous administrations, Mr. Olmert has my respect when he says: "They were warned to leave. It is the responsibility of Hezbollah for firing rockets amid civilians."

Terrorists and their supporters have lost the right to complain about civilian casualties, since all they have is one goal: this entire war is to target civilians. Every single one of the more than 2,500 rockets launched into Israel, is launched into populated towns filled with women and children. Just today, another explosive belt meant to kill civilians in Israel was detonated harmlessly by our forces in Nablus.

So don't cry to me about civilian casualties. Cry to those using babies and wives and mothers; cry to those who store weapons in mosques, ambulances, hospitals and private homes. Cry to those launching deadly rockets from the backyards of kindergartens and schools. Cry to the heartless men who love death, and however many of their troops or civilians die, consider themselves victorious as long as they can keep on firing rockets at our women and children.

Everything Ms. Ragen says is right. But I think she's wrong.

There are too many people in the world who can't tell the difference between a legitimate democracy fighting for survival, and a terrorist organization trying to wipe a nation off the map. They draw false moral equivalences. They put on blinders. They say ridiculous things.

I refuse to be one of them.

Yes, it's true that Israel is better than Hezbollah. Anyone with half a brain can see that. And it should be obvious. It should be a given. There are too many people in the world who don't get that, but by arguing the point again and again, we're giving them credence. It shouldn't even be up for debate.

But here's the thing: that's not good enough.

Israel shouldn't be content to simply be held to a higher standard than Hezbollah. Frankly, that's not saying much, is it?

When Israel fights a war, I don't need anyone to convince me that civilian casualties are anything other than a tragic an accident. I take that for granted, because I know Israel and I know the truth about this and any war that she fights. These are wars of survival, fought by people with faults but with the best of intentions: to protect the security of Israel.

I've decided there aren't nearly enough West Wing references on this blog. So here's a quote from Amy Gardner:

"Jed Bartlet: Not quite as mean-spirited as the other guy." Doesn't really send me running to my polling place.

Israel isn't quite as mean-spirited as Hezbollah. Hezbollah wants to kill Israeli civilians. Israel doesn't want to kill Lebanese civilians. I get it. But I'm not content to simply make that point. It doesn't send me running to the polling place either, so to speak.

The point is, all of the above isn't enough. Being "not quite as mean-spirited as Hezbollah" isn't enough for Israel. Nobody who loves Israel should say otherwise. We can't simply be satisfied with the knowledge that we're on the side of the angels here. When a tragedy happens, like dead children in Qana, the only way to truly show love for Israel is to ask the tough questions and demand the tough answers and the soul-searching that comes along with it. That's how a country grows: with openness and freedom and a lively exchange of debate. And with a constant striving to do better, to do what's right, to face up to blunders and wrongdoings and claim not only the relative moral high ground, but the absolute moral high ground too.

And so, I maintain that Naomi Ragen is right about the facts but wrong in her sentiment. I demand more from Israel, because I love and respect it so much and I know we need to judge it by the standard that it deserves.

|

 
2:16 AM
What happened to the whole "one phonecall" thing?

Watch for the newest craze to hit the blogosphere: Prisonblogging:

The prison blog of a New Zealand political activist jailed for the rare crime of sedition has outraged opposition politicians but corrections officials say it's within the law.

After being jailed this month, Timothy Selwyn begun publishing the internet diary via an outside supporter and his latest entry gives an account of a jail-yard assault by prisoners on a fellow inmate.

He has also criticised the judge who sentenced him.

Something tells me this will wear thin pretty quickly. After all, once the novelty wears off, who will want to read about the daily life of a guy who spends most of his time locked in a cell?

Probably the same people who watch Big Brother.

|

 
1:56 AM
Now why doesn't this surprise me?

Montreal's hosting the first-ever OutGames. And Pauline has the scoop on the only people who seem to be offended, and on why:

Quebec agency offended by “Outgames”

Not by the existence of the event, a sort of gay and lesbian Olympics, but by the fact that organizers didn’t bother to give the name "Outgames" a French translation.

People unfamiliar with Quebec society might think I am making this up.

I am not.

Nope, not surprised at all. Pauline continues with a rant about the OLF that is pretty much what I would say about them. (Oh wait, I think I did. Yep.)

But what really gets me is this tidbit, linked to by Pauline at the end of her post:

But what IS news, and what brought this to my attention today, was this report:

Iranian Leader Bans Usage of Foreign Words

Way to go, Ahmadinejad, your repressive tactics have finally caught up with those of the Province of Quebec.

It's refreshing to see that this language nonsense is the only controversy that the OutGames seem to be generating. Just another reason why I love Montreal so much. When I consider the very real problems of the rest of the world, I love how petty ours are in comparison.

By the way, I haven't actually attended any of the OutGames events just yet, but it will be going on for a couple of weeks so I hope to make it to something-or-other. Downtown has been a lot of fun, though, in the leadup to the event. This is big from a tourism point of view, and it's nice to see so many businesses getting into the spirit of things and flying rainbow flags or otherwise rolling out the welcome mat.

It's also nice to see the influx of extremely fit, good-looking men, in town for the event... in particular, the three guys in Finland shirts walking down St-Denis this afternoon. (No, the point of the OutGames isn't lost on me. But hey, a girl can look, right? No harm in a little eye candy.)

|

 
11:01 PM
Around the Israeli blogosphere

The Israeli blogosphere is already reacting to the Qana strike. Here is some of what is being said:

Allison smells a rat, sensing that not all is as it may seem:

I am waiting patiently for a logical explanation of how a building gets bombed between 12 midnight and 1 AM, remains full of people and then 7-8 hours later, collapses the next morning.

Dave asks the same question:

An IDF investigation has so far found that the building in Qana fell approximately eight hours after being hit by the IAF. Some possibilities being examined are:

Hizbullah explosives in the building were behind the explosion that caused the collapse

The rickety building remained standing for a few hours, but eventually collapsed.

And for something a little different, Sarah talks about what it's like to mingle at a singles event during a war:

Just before the meal started, someone dropped a box with something heavy, such as silverware, and it came down with a crash. Everyone from the north jumped about six feet. Talk about being on edge. I felt so bad for them.

Then, as the meal began . . . well, normally the conversation between singles goes like this:
What's your name?
Where do you live?
What do you do?

But this time, it was:
What's your name?
Where do you live?
How many rockets have you been getting?
How many minutes of warning do you get?

Talk about surreal.

Well, Sarah, you know what they say about relationships that begin under tense circumstances...

|

 
10:47 PM
Time out

Israel has agreed to temporarily suspend aerial bombardment of Lebanon for 48 hours, to permit "investigation" of today's strike that killed dozens of civilians, including an estimated 37 children:

"Israel deeply regrets, is greatly saddened, by this attack on innocent civilians in Lebanon. Israel takes full responsibility and is going to start an open investigation to find out how this happened," government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.

Of course, this is a unilateral move. And Hezbollah will merely use the respite to re-arm and re-group.

But never mind all that. Never mind that Hezbollah deliberately targets civilians, while Israelis do their best to avoid doing so. Never mind that Hezbollah's tactics of using civilians as human shields are designed to lead to exactly this kind of disaster.

The point is, it happened. And Israel must hold itself to a higher standard than a terrorist group. The fact that most of the criticism of Israel is unfounded or exaggerated can't allow us to hide from the fact that no nation is infallible.

The general sentiment in reaction to what happened in Qana is understandably defensive. After all, the Israeli army had dropped leaflets warning civilians to leave. Hezbollah was using the spot as a missile launch site. There is no doubt that there ought to be ample justification. And yet... none of that matters. And the sooner the spin doctors realize that images of dead children will negate all their efforts, the sooner everyone can get past denial and onto reality. Israel is going to take more of a punishment on this one than it deserves... but to claim that it did nothing wrong is to walk around with blinders.

I wish to G-d that this had never happened. But it did. And it frightens me, because when Israel is right, it already pays too heavy a price. But when Israel is wrong, her enemies have long memories. And while my support for Israel is unwavering as ever, I - along with most Israelis - will not try to justify this one. And I am scared that the price Israel will have to pay for this blunder will be wholly "disproportionate" in the true sense of the word.

|

 
10:34 PM
Guess who's deliberately attacking the U.N. now?

Israel's attack on the UN Observer Post in Lebanon wasn't - despite what Kofi Annan thinks - deliberate. But these attacks sure were:

Palestinian protesters stormed the main U.N. compound in Gaza City on Sunday during a demonstration against Israel's bombing of southern Lebanon that killed around 60 civilians, witnesses and U.N. staff said.

Hundreds of members of the Islamic Jihad militant group, some throwing stones and others firing assault rifles, attacked the compound at the end of a rally, witnesses said.

At least five people were wounded, police said.

[ . . . ]

Witnesses in Gaza said extensive damage had been caused to the U.N. compound, from where the world body directs its relief and aid operations for the Gaza Strip's 1.4 million people.

The attack came hours after thousands of Lebanese demonstrators attacked the U.N. headquarters in Beirut, smashing windows and ransacking offices.

Several thousand people massed outside the building in the center of the capital chanting "Death to Israel, death to America. We sacrifice our blood and souls for Lebanon."

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

Don't count on a condemnation from Kofi Annan, though.

|

 
9:17 PM
What's in a title?

For those of you reading me through an aggregator, I finally got around to fixing my template tags. Post titles should show up properly from here on out.

|

 
1:48 AM
Worst. Analogy. Ever.

I've read a lot of nonsensical analogies and analyses about the Israel-Lebanon war in the past couple of weeks. But I just had to highlight this editorial, written by a certain Marie Choi of Toronto, because it's so ridiculous that it actually succeeded in making me laugh aloud:

I think the actions of Stephen Harper's government leave Canadian children confused and bewildered when they compare political actions against the educational principles taught in this country.

The Canadian education system encourages our children to become citizens who respect justice, equity and multiculturalism. School boards place much importance on non-violence and co-operation.

My son tells me that school kids aren't allowed to respond with physical violence even if other kids hit them - instead they are told to get a teacher or adult to intervene in these incidents. In the end, the troubled kids pay the consequences, but in a non-violent way.

In a similar vein, Harper's views on the current crisis in the Middle East are completely contrary to school polices which emphasize avoiding violence and encouraging dialogue and discussion.

Because everyone knows that if Israel just complains to the teacher instead of hitting back, the teacher will send Hezbollah to the corner and then force it to apologize. </Sarcasm>

Something tells me that the problem lies not so much with Harper's position on Israel, but with the policy of the schoolboards that - apparently - not only fail to teach any context whatsoever in their history classes, but also seemingly fail to teach kids anything about how the world really works.

|

 
1:38 AM
Elections in the DRC

This is the first tiny sliver of potentially good news to come out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in longer than I can remember:

From the crumbling riverside capital Kinshasa through to the thick jungles of the Congo river basin and the mist-shrouded peaks of the east, Democratic Republic of Congo was holding its first democratic polls in more than 40 years.

Over 4 million people have been killed in the DRC in the last decade alone in the deadliest war since World War II, amidst chaos and horrors unimaginable to most of us. It's the world's most criminally underreported mess, and is symptomatic of the Western press's tendency to "write off" some regions of the world while focusing excessively on others.

Nobody who has been paying even cursory attention to the DRC lately will be naive enough to think that today's elections will magically solve everything and usher in stability, peace and prosperity. But it's a first step.

|