Currents

I demonstrated against the North Korean regime’s censorship of free online expression today, right in front of Kim Jong Il Square.

Virtually, of course. Had I actually done such a thing in person, I would no doubt be on the wrong end of a cattle prod in some medieval dungeon by now.

Yet Reporters Without Borders’ First Online Free Expression Day gives people the chance to protest the tragedy of censorship, which isn’t just about some faceless bureaucrat taking liberties with his black pen. Sixty-two cyber-dissidents are currently imprisoned worldwide. More than 2,600 websites, blogs or discussions forums were closed or made inaccessible in 2007.

Vancouver’s heavily-active and, let’s face it, privileged — online community, and Canadians who benefit from a relative press freedom (well, Mark Steyn might have something to say about that), have every reason to take part in this protest.

Take action now. Go to the website and pick your least favorite human rights and free speech violator from among Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, North Korea, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. Pick an avatar and in a flash, you’ll be waving your sign and getting up in the faces of the bad guys — all from the comfort of your laptop.

Fight the power.

Vancouver’s own Cuban dictator-loving, Taliban-supporting, Iranian regime-whitewashing cult, Mobilization Against War and Occupation, takes another hit today, this time in Macleans On Campus. How much longer until the rest of them just pack it in out of sheer humility?

The mainstream media has picked up the story of former MAWO insider Ivan Drury’s account of how a contingent of the “peace” movement went over to the dark side (reported here a while back). One wonders how the on-campus crowd will react. Coupled with other disturbing trends going on at Canadian campuses lately, Drury’s account may be just the tip of the iceberg.

A proposal from Chemainus First Nations member George Harris to rename Georgia Strait the Salish Sea in recognition of the land’s original inhabitants is getting some serious consideration from the BC provincial politicians (UPI).

I’m not really against the idea, but what’s the point? Harris contends that the new name would help people recognize the indigenous heritage of the Coast Salish people (as opposed to reminding people that King George III happened to be the boss of Britain when Captain George Vancouver sailed through this neck of the woods). But even the most ignorant backwoods half-wit already knows that First Nations Peoples were the original inhabitants of Canada, and anyone of legal breathing age in BC knows about the Salish people.

Half of our Canadian place names already come from Aboriginal names - Toronto, Ottawa, Saskatchewan, Kelowna, Kitsilano… Heck, our country’s name, Canada, was adopted from a First Nations name.

Is it Harris’ idea that the renaming of Georgia Strait will be a one-off stunt, or is the idea to rename the rest of Canada as well? Shall we do away with Vancouver, Prince Edward Island, Montreal, Surrey, Gimli (quick, where is it?) and all of the other “foreign” place names? What about their heritage?

Honestly, renaming the straight or any other place wouldn’t be that big deal on its own, except to map-makers and local historians. But what exactly are we trying to achieve, here? Wiping out the historic stain of foreign cultural imperialism for all time? Having a little fun confusing the tourists? Inducing the local paper, the Georgia Straight, to change its name to the Salish Spectator?

George, feel free to comment.

Vancouver blogger and PR magus Darren Barefoot has highlighted the controversy surrounding a new at-home prenatal test kit that enable you to determine the gender of a fetus as early as five weeks. The test is used by parents who want a particular gender; fetuses with unwanted sex chromosomes get aborted in the early stages of the pregnancy, before the potential parent even showed a baby bump.

These sorts of tests ought to be outlawed. Gender-based abortion is already leading to horrendous social problems in certain countries. China is just the best-known example, where tens of millions of Chinese men with little prospect of marrying are going to fuel serious social instability and potentially international security conflicts.

Not something we want to promote in this country.

The crisis in the Palestinian territory of Gaza appears to be an insoluble tragedy, made all the more tragic as it appears to be self-inflicted, at least according to some of Canada’s own local observers. Further developments this week highlight the differences in perspectives of the conflict amongst the Israelis and Palestinians.

The unending rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel’s home territory have caused some Israelis in the cities hit by the attacks to demand a response from their government. Israeli forces have indeed responded with strong action this week, killing both rocket-launching militants and civilians living in the area where the militants launch their attacks.

While debate still rages in Israel about how to wage effective security operations against terrorists that use their own neighbors and families as human shields, there are no celebrations in Tel Aviv when the reports inevitably come in of civilians dying in the crossfire in Gaza.

Contrast this with the response on the streets of Gaza to an attack by Palestinian gunmen at a rabbinical seminary that killed eight people. At mosques in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, many residents performed prayers of thanksgiving — only performed in cases of great victory to thank God. About 7,000 Gazans marched in the streets of Jebaliya, firing in the air in celebration, and visited homes of those killed and wounded in the last Israeli incursion. In the southern town of Rafah, residents distributed sweets to moving cars, and militants fired mortars in celebration.The Palestinian leadership in Gaza, Hamas, characteristically blessed the massacre as a great victory for their people.

Which begs the question: What’s with the lovefest in much of the West for the Islamist “resistance”? Since a two-state solution in Israel and the Palestinian territories is seen as pretty much inevitable by anyone hoping for or working towards ending this conflict, why do so many people - outside of the Middle East, in places like Canada - want to ensure the jihadis get a seat at the negotiating table? Can the jihadis really serve any other function than spoiler?

Canada’s mission in Afghanistan has received a recent boost from some unexpected non-partisan cooperation between the Conservative minority government and Liberal opposition (Canada.com). Notwithstanding the even more recent acrimony that has inevitably made its return to Canadian politics, the idea of committing to the Afghanistan mission until 2011 (dependent on the rest of NATO sending more troops to actually fight the enemy) may hold up. That’s a darn sight better than where Canada’s politicians were heading before that. Canadians concerned about Afghanistan are pleased at our government’s renewed commitment to the people of that war-torn country (and if are one of those concerned Canadians, please read this).

Notwithstanding, the Liberal position on the Afghanistan file has been clouded more than slightly by Liberal leader Stephane Dion’s rather uninspiring statements. Earnest Canuck Lyle Neff has kindly contributed a masterpiece of political commentary to Currents to demonstrate the point. Enjoy.

GENERAL DION’S ART OF VICTORY: A STUDY IN QUOTES

“Attack the enemy where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.” – Sun Tzu

“Look, we are very willing to work with you, to design something that makes sense, because I don’t want to risk the life of our soldiers if we are not making progress…” – Stephane Dion

“To those who fall I say: You will not die but step into immortality.” – Lt-Gen Sir Arthur Currie

“What needed to be done was a thorough study of the conditions and consequences of such an extension: the troop deployment conditions; the governance situation on site; the humanitarian and development measures that will be needed…” — Dion

“If [the enemy] presume to appear in arms, they must expect the most fatal consequences; their habitations destroyed, their sacred temples exposed to an exasperated soldiery, their harvest utterly ruined…” – General Wolfe

“We will see if there is a way through clarification and exploration of the two positions to see if after February 2009 we may agree about what to do…” — Dion

“Mullah Omar’s order is effective immediately, and there will be no more beheadings by the Taliban.” — Talib spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid clarifies the Scholars’ position

“[More] forces from a Christian/Crusader heritage will continue to fuel an insurgency that has been framed as a jihad… The continuous availability of external personnel and logistical support in a poor country like Afghanistan risks creating a structural disincentive…” – Dion lieutenant Elizabeth May

“We have jihadists in Kabul right now and soon we will carry out more attacks [i.e., restaurant bomb massacres]” – Mujahid frames a Taliban disincentive

“Take up our quarrel with the foe:/ To you from failing hands we throw/ The torch; be yours to hold it high./ If ye break faith with us who die/ We shall not sleep…” – Brigade Surgeon John McCrae

“The battle group, should we put them to PRTs and to training? I think that we need to recuperate, too, so we’ll have to refocus about, what does it mean, in the status of our troops, regarding the mission…” – Dion military aide Denis Coderre

“I went to Spain to kill as many fascists as possible; that’s all the less to kill when they get here.” – Toronto’s Fred Baxter, volunteer, Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, XV International Brigade

“There remains much to do to ensure that the stability and governance institutions are in place to allow Afghans themselves to resolve their differences… a greater emphasis on stronger and more disciplined diplomatic efforts, and striking a better balance with respect to the reconstruction and development efforts… will be essential to creating a stable Afghanistan…” – Dion

“We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you.” – Taliban soulmate Hussein Massawi

“In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man/
“As modest stillness and humility;/
“But when the blast of war blows in our ears,/
“Then imitate the action of the tiger:/
“Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood…” – Henry V (reportedly)

“Liberals also believe that clarity, honesty and transparency are essential to the success of the mission. To this end, we believe, and our amended motion stipulates [that]… in the coming weeks, we will continue our debate.” — Dion

Here on Canada’s west coast, we’ve earned some real bragging rights when it comes to  taking the lead on green issues. From the development of Vancouver’ City Hall’s groundbreaking Climate Change Action Plans to our citizenry’s grassroots efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle, we’ve made real progress in keeping this planet habitable for a while longer.

But east coasters are no slouches in the sustainability department, either. The environment has become a clear priority in a part of Canada where the forestry industry managers are in need of a serious rethink about how they practice their trade. Read all about this happy development on the David Suzuki Foundation blog.

No, it wasn’t me. Technologist and Vancouver blogger David Drucker’s lovely wife, Pam,  just arrived back from Antarctica — an entire continent without any trees. The highlights are at Loud Murmurs. Best tip for those venturing there: remember to bring your sunglasses. 

As inhospitable a place as the last discovered continent is, it’s kind of inspiring to remember that the ecosystem does actually sustain a vast population of perpetually depressed penguins who probably have conversations like this:

George: “It’s freaking cold here! Again! We’re genetically related to tropical birds from South America, where the mean average temperature is a sweaty 39 degrees Celsius. My ancestors, I curse thee to hell for coming to this desolate land!”Fred: “Always the same thing with you, George. Why don’t you just relax and suck on some regurgitated three-month old fish to sustain yourself a little while longer through the next month or so?”

Venezuelan President/Stopwar.ca icon Hugo Chavez accuses his counterpart in Colombia of being an enemy of peace and mobilizes his army, after Colombia attacks insurgents based in Ecuador — insurgents who were funded by Chavez to the tune of $300 million, presumably so that the rebels wouldn’t have to kidnap and kill Colombians on an empty stomach (AP).

Whether it’s happening in South America, the Middle East, the Korean peninsula, or any other place where whack-jobs have the opportunity to seize political power, it’s amazing what the real enemies of peace think they can get away with.