New Media

I wrote a novel a little while back dealing with issues of the Middle East. It’s a part of the world I think about a fair bit (check out my commentary at The Propagandist). Usually, it’s because crazy bad stuff is happening there so it’s in the news. A lot of terrible things will continue to happen in 2012, but I think a few nice things will also happen with the bad stuff. Here goes:

1. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad will be deposed. Syria may actually become a neo-Ottoman protectorate.
2. Iran’s nuclear program will be further degraded by software viruses and “industrial accidents”. No need for airstrikes. Phew.
3. Israel will continue to develop groundbreaking technology that benefits the world and is grudgingly used by BDS campaigners who never invented anything in their dumb lives.
4. Sales of the Yemeni equivalent of Gatorade will continue to go up due to water scarcity.
5. Egyptian environmentalists protesting the carbon economy will keep blowing up gas pipelines.

We rule!

That is all.

Canadian politicians look set to repeal Section 13, a law that effectively tramples on human rights — specifically, the right to freedom of expression — perversely, in the name of protecting human rights.

This is a win for freedom. Good riddance to the censorship law.

NDP MP Pat Martin is getting some flack today for tweeting inappropriately. A big part of me thinks, “What’s the big deal?”

“This is a f—— disgrace…closure again. And on the Budget! There’s not a democracy in the world that would tolerate this jackboot sh–,” Martin tweeted.

He followed up with another comment asking “In these uncertain economic times, don’t you think our parliament should be debating our federal budget? Some due diligence?”

But that wasn’t all. Martin went on to tell off followers who criticized his post, telling one person to “F— off” and directing the Bart Simpson-coined expression “Eat my shorts” at another.

I’ve actually got a fair bit of sympathy for Mr. Martin. I’m a bit of a foul-mouthed guy, myself (particularly if I’ve got a couple of beers in me). I don’t recall if I’ve ever sworn on Twitter before, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that I had.

That said, elected politicians are presumably held to a higher standard of civics than non-elected pundits like me. They’re supposed to set an example about respectful communication, even, or perhaps especially, if pissed off.

Also, contrary to what one might infer from Martin’s overheated rhetoric, the Conservatives were not shutting down debate by some improvised fascist measure. Closure is just part of the parliamentary rules. Majority governments use it all the time to prevent filibustering USA-style. Not exactly “jackboot” stuff.

It wasn’t me, that’s for sure. There’s no formal rule disqualifying me, but I am the Editor of The Propagandist Magazine, so I would have felt like a real crumb if the judge had awarded the grand prize to me. I really could have used that thousand bucks, though.

Congratulations to Adam Levick for winning, based on his excellent essay, Better Jews. The Moral Vanity of Israel’s Leftist Jewish Critics. And a congratulatory nod as well to contest runner-up Farzana Hassan for Combat Jihad By Destroying Its Conceptual Roots

Confusion to our enemies!