Segacs’s World I Know

The Jerusalem Post reports that Iran is developing a nuclear weapons program.

Iran insists it is following international regulations and that all its facilities are open to inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog agency. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday it has been aware for several years of Iran’s plans to mine and process uranium.

[ . . . ]

Washington says those two facilities are part of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program.

A disconcerting thought.

Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney spoke out against antisemitism at an international conference being held in Toronto:

Canadians talk proudly of our tolerance and fair-mindedness. Often a tone of moral superiority insinuates itself into our national discourse. But these virtues are of fairly recent vintage – we have little to be smug about.

Mulroney summarized the dark history of antisemitism, and Canada’s shameful participation – including PM Mackenzie-King’s praises of Hitler, and the shameful “None is Too Many” immigration policy that slammed our doors shut to refugees in desperate need. He then brought his speech back to the present, blasting the current leadership for refusing to take a moral stand:

Anti-Semitism is born in ignorance and nurtured in envy. It is the stepchild of delusion and evil. The ongoing success of Canada’s Jewish community is consequently often misunderstood, misrepresented and misreported. The rise in the number of attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Canada and the pathetic but startling ravings of Saskatchewan Indian leader David Ahenakew testify to the intractability of the problem, and the constant need for vigilance, consistency and strength in dealing with the entire sweep of anti-Semitism.

In Dante’s Inferno it is noted that ”the hottest place in hell is reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis, strive to maintain their neutrality.” Prime ministers are not exempt from this.

After his speech, Mulroney also blasted Chretien for its fence-sitting on Iraq:

“I don’t think anybody can be impressed by what has taken place so far in Canada,” he said.

“Our traditional allies -the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and so on – are going one way and we appear to be going another with the Russians and the Chinese.”

“We have to be moving now to convey to the (United Nations Security Council) our view that this evasion by the Iraqis is no longer acceptable and we want action and that we will support action taken by the United States, preferably, of course, through the Security Council.”

Widely blamed for an international recession, hated for the introduction of the infamous GST, and criticized for a laundry list of sins, Mulroney did not leave office as Canada’s most popular politician. The Conservative Party has been in freefall since his departure. But in this case, he happens to be right. Neutrality is another way of siding with the status quo. As long as the Liberals bury their heads in the sand and refuse to take a stand, Canada is tacitly voicing approval for the current state of affairs. And, as Mulroney pointed out, this current state is unacceptable.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs has published a report by David Raab about the systematic discrimination against Christians in Palestinian-controlled areas.

However, the reality of Christianity under Islam has often been difficult. “Over the centuries, political Islam has not been too kind to the native Christian communities living under its rule. Anecdotes of tolerance aside, the systematic treatment of Christians…is abusive and discriminatory by any standard….Under Islam, the targeted dhimmi community and each individual in it are made to live in a state of perpetual humiliation in the eyes of the ruling community.” As described by a Christian Lebanese president, Bashir Gemayil: “a Christian…is not a full citizen and cannot exercise political rights in any of the countries which were once conquered by Islam.”

[ . . . ]

Islam is the official religion of the Palestinian Authority. In addition, fundamentalist Hamas and Islamic Jihad have promoted Islamic influence on Palestinian society.

[ . . . ]

In addition, no PA law protects religious freedom. While asserting that all Palestinians’ “liberty and freedom to worship and to practice their religious beliefs are protected,” a PA Information Ministry statement also stresses that: “The Palestinian people are also governed by [Islamic] Shari’a law…with regard to issues pertaining to religious matters. According to Shari’a Law, applicable throughout the Muslim world, any Muslim who [converts] or declares becoming an unbeliever is committing a major sin punishable by capital punishment…the [Palestinian Authority] cannot take a different position on this matter.”

For all the people who complain about Israel’s Jewish character, this report should be an eye-opener.

Habs finally win one. Mathieu Garon posts his first shutout of the season in a 2-0 win against Washington.

After last night’s disgraceful loss to the Leafs, it’s about time!

Samer Elatrash has been suspended from Concordia for 3 years for his role in instigating the September 9th riots.

Samer Elatrash, 23, was found guilty of all five charges against him under the school’s code of rights and responsibilities.

The charges, which include rioting, assault and harassment, stem from a violent protest in the Henry F. Hall building last year that prevented former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu from speaking on campus.

In an article in the Link, Elatrash levels his usual myriad of accusations against the university administration, the hearings panel, the police, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hillel, and of course the Zzzzzionists.

Verdicts against the other accused students are to be announced this week.

A car bombing in Columbia killed 32 people today.

President Bush (news – web sites) on Saturday condemned what he described as “a barbaric act of terrorism” and offered help to find the bombers.

Thousands of people are killed every year in Colombia’s four-decade-old war, which pits the FARC and other leftist guerrillas against the U.S.-backed army and far-right outlaws.

But almost all the killing is in the poor, lawless countryside. The FARC, which says it fights for land reform and socialism but draws funds from kidnapping and “taxing” drug producers, has struggled to build up strength in the cities.

How much you wanna bet that someone is going to turn around and blame the Americans for this? Or, better yet, the Zionists?

So I finally saw the movie Chicago tonight. Lots of fun. Great singing and dancing. Highly recommended.

This article in the Jerusalem Post shows how democracy is a beautiful thing . . . except sometimes at the dinner table.

The U.S. government has raised the threat level of a terrorist attack from “moderate” to “high”.

I really wonder what the point is of this. It’s not as though there’s anything people can do about it. Nobody knows if there will be an attack, what sort of attack it would be, or where it would strike. All the people who complained that there was no warning about September 11th would be best to remember that a warning does nothing but cause panic.

Hopefully it’s a false alarm. But in the meantime, life still has to go on.