Canada’s response to Israel’s actions in Gaza – biased, ignorant and ineffective
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier issued a news release expressing his concern about the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip. It does nothing to help resolve the situation and only demonstrates that the Canadian government is only putting out more face-saving rhetoric for the international community and to...Neo-cons fine-tune Iran angle
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A new report published by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) think-tank purports to show the reach and scope of Iranian influence across the Middle East, but stops short of drawing conclusions about Tehran's intentions or grand strategy. Co-written by AEI fellows Fred Kagan and Danielle Pletka, and Kagan's...Secret Omar Khadr witness disclosed
A never-before-disclosed American eyewitness to the furious battle in Afghanistan where Omar Khadr allegedly tossed a grenade has cast doubt on whether the teenager was an "unlawful" combatant, his defense team said this week. Britain's Prince Harry sits on his camp bed at FOB Delhi, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan The...Survey challenges Western view of Islam
A huge survey of the world's Muslims released this week challenges Western notions that equate Islam with radicalism and violence. The survey, conducted by the Gallup polling agency over six years and three continents, seeks to dispel the belief held by some in the West that Islam itself is the driving force of radicalism. It shows...New security certificates issued
On February 22, the Canadian government issued new security certificates against the five Muslim men previously cited. However, they did not reissue a certificate against Manickavasangam Suresh, a Tamil supposedly linked to the Tamil Tigers. This time, the government amplified the reasons for the certificates. The...Europe headed for new security deal with Israel
BRUSSELS (IPS) — The European Union is considering new steps to deepen its cooperation on scientific research with Israel, despite admitting that previous funds earmarked for that purpose have gone to firms operating illegally in the Palestinian territories. Between now and 2013, the Israeli government is to contribute 440 million...U.S.-Arabs: Finding mutual respect
DOHA — One of the useful new trends in the Middle East is the proliferation of weapons of mass conversation, exemplified by the non-stop international and regional conferences that are hosted in places like Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other aspiring capitals of talk. Some gatherings are useful and enlightening, including the fifth...Is there truth in torture?
As consumers, we know the tough row to hoe in the struggle for truth in advertising. One thinks back to the case in the early part of the last century when one typewriter manufacturer created a "knocker," a defective product which it claimed to be that of a major competitor. Well, there are also problems with allegations made...Brits may use sharia bonds for public spending
LONDON — Britain is set to become the first Western nation to issue bonds approved by Muslim clerics in line with sharia, which outlaws conventional loans involving interest payments. But the move could see the ownership of public buildings and other assets switched into the hands of wealthy Muslim businesses and individuals, many...British government deletes reference to Israel’s flouting of nuclear guidelines in Iraq dossier
The full extent of government anxiety about the state of British-Israel relations can be exposed for the first time today in a secret document seen by the Guardian. The document reveals how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) successfully fought to keep secret any mention of Israel contained on the first draft of the...UNICEF warns of ‘time bomb’ for Somali children
GENEVA — Thousands of children in war-torn Somalia risk dying from the insecurity, famine and sickness as the country's humanitarian crisis worsens, the United Nations children's agency warned this week. Somalian child suffering from the famine"Unless we are able to address the very basic needs of water and food you will see a time bomb...Benatta sent by Canada to U.S. torture
The Canadian government recently removed references to torture by the United States from a training manual for diplomats posted abroad. How inconvenient, then, that Benamar Benatta and his lawyer Nicole Chrolavicius came to the nation's capital to tell of his experience of being tortured in the United States. In a public forum...Harkat jailed
Mohamed Harkat, one of the five Muslim men subjected to security certificates in Canada because of suspected links to terrorism, was arrested on January 29 and thrown into jail. The five are resisting deportation to countries where they risk mistreatment and death. Police and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) agents took...Ottawa woman makes modern hijabs
The hijab will never be the same, not after what Abeer Al-Azzawi has done to it. She has produced a form-fitting hijab, which Jessica Stewin, writing in the University of Manitoba student paper, says should put an end to sports bodies' concerns about safety. Abeer's hijabs are all made in Ottawa, and so naturally she produces...Trial for terror suspect
Moroccan Saïd Namouh was in a Quebec court on January 31, charged with editing jihadist propaganda videos, including some showing the interrogation and execution of Iraqi police and others how to make suicide belts. He is said to have received $800 from a contact in Vienna to buy a weapon. An RCMP officer claimed that he was......
Israel blamed in death of Canadian
Israel was at fault in the deaths of four observers from the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization, including Canadian Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener. That was the finding made public February 1 by a Canadian Forces Board of Inquiry. The incident occurred during the Israeli-Hizbullah conflict. The observers were killed by...Khan is back
Welcome back, Wajid Khan. MP Wajid Khan was forced out of the Conservative parliamentary caucus when he was faced with charges of overspending during his campaign for office. He was elected as a Liberal but after serving Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper as an envoy to bring back a report on the Middle East and...Afghan torture scandal widens
After the Conservative Harper government admitted that it had stopped transferring prisoners to Afghan authorities last November following evidence of torture, new evidence has surfaced showing that Canadian officials were aware of torture at least as far back as April, 2007. As with the earlier revelations, the new information...Democracy charade undermines rights
Washington — The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said this week in releasing its World Report 2008. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the......
Love yourself this Valentine’s Day
Yardley, PA —Valentine's Day is fast approaching and if you listen closely you'll hear America heave a collective sigh of resignation (from the couples who must run out and buy obligatory gifts) and gloom (from the singles who feel like hiding sulkily under the covers). Yes, many people dread this seemingly benign holiday more than a...House of Commons passes security legislation
Facing a February 23 deadline set by the Supreme Court of Canada, the House of Commons passed a new law on February 4 authorizing security certificates for non-citizens deemed to be a potential danger to the country. The Court unanimously struck down the old one as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it failed......
Security Council loses credibility over Iran, Israel
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) — The 15-member U.N. Security Council (UNSC) is set to lose its credibility once again as it prepares to impose a third set of sanctions on Iran while failing to pass any strictures on Israel for its continued heavy-handed repression of Palestinians in Gaza. "Many ask whether the UNSC still...Iran’s war on drugs; three decades of failure
TEHRAN — In an attempt to check the effects of strong new varieties of illicit drugs that are flooding the market, the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has revived some of the punitive methods seen in the early days of the Islamic Revolution. Yet neither punitive action nor the continued use of preventive strategies introduced......