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Every Email I Sent To My MP About Israel's Genocide

  As the title suggests, below are all of the emails I have sent to my member of Parliament, Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, regarding Israel’s intensification of the military occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people. I have never received a response to any of them. This post merely serves as a separate, public record of this correspondence. Friday October 13 - Subject: Gaza Honourable Member, I write to you today truly horrified at the ongoing violence against Palestinians and Israelis. Attacks on civilians can never be justified and Canada must use its voice to call for a ceasefire in this conflict so that mediated talks can begin between the affected parties. Encouraging the cycle of violence to continue through uncritical support for retributive collective punishment does not uphold Canada's commitment to human rights. The level of political extremism on display from some representatives in our governing structures regarding this conflict is appalling and quite frankly, repul...

Cracking The Whip

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  Observe that all wide sight and self-command Desert these throngs now driven to demonry By the Immanent Unrecking. Nought remains But vindictiveness here amid the strong, And there amid the weak an impotent rage. The Dynasts, by Thomas Hardy The United States’ veto of the most recent United Nations Security Council resolution on Palestine , which again called for a ceasefire in the Israeli genocide dressed up as a war, has presented the world with some clarity around recent events. The reasoning behind the United States’ voting pattern must be carefully considered. The rationale which animates US actions is derived from an understanding of power and international relations which has been dominant in Western circles for the past ~500 years, the period following what historians call the Columbian Exchange. This Columbian period, which included the destruction of the Aztecs, Incas, and numerous other Indigenous nations and societies through war, disease, slavery, and the like was v...

From Ottawa to Moscow, The World Turns

  Yesterday, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly gave a speech at the Economic Club of Canada in which she said the following: The world is at an inflection point. We’re in the midst of a geopolitical re-balancing. Global powers are shifting their weight to disrupt the peace that Canadians fought and gave their lives for. As increasingly frequent and complex crises shake the foundation of the system that has kept us safe. We must now chart a path towards building a steady footing for our children , reinforce the international system that has brought about global stability and reshape it to become more inclusive. Joly’s phrasing contains an echo of the Fourteen Words , a slogan written by white supremacist David Eden Lane. I highly doubt this was intentional but it is an intriguing choice of language when taken in the context of the main thrust of Joly’s speech. The phrase she utilised is, coincidentally, also fourteen words long. Essentially, the speech positions Can...

Canada Fails The Moment

  Canada has chosen to abstain from voting on a United Nations resolution which calls for “an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” in the ongoing conflict between Israeli Occupation Forces and the Palestinian people who are currently represented by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah in the West Bank. The resolution passed with 120 votes in favour, resulting in nations which account for a majority of the population of planet Earth voicing their support for peace, and for the end of Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza which bears the definitional characteristics of genocide and collective punishment . Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, attempted to introduce an amendment to the draft resolution which would have inserted a single paragraph: “Unequivocally rejects and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting on 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages, demands the safety, well-being...

Canada Concedes Defeat In India Row

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  Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly continues to demonstrate that she is completely out of her depth. Yesterday, Joly announced that Canada has capitulated to India’s demand that the Canadian side remove 41 of its diplomats from their posts . The Minister was dispatched to perform a 30-minute press conference seeking to somehow apply some positive spin to this development. These attempts were half-baked and have already been dismantled by Indian officials; more on that below. The key moment in the press conference came in the Q&A, when a journalist asked Joly about the evidence that Canada allegedly possesses regarding the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar: Q: Minister, India says that you haven’t provided them specific information to back your claim. Uh, so can you clarify, have you shown them the evidence you’re basing your claim on, and have you walked them through that case and shown them how Canada’s reached this conclusion? A: We’ve had numerous conversations...

History Repeating

  The Financial Times has published an article which hearkens back to a period in history that the majority of the world is loathe to experience again. The headline should be enough of a clue: Israel plans buffer zone in Gaza after Hamas war Israel will enforce a buffer zone within the Gaza Strip once the war with Hamas is over, Israel’s agriculture minister Avi Dichter said on Thursday. In comments that appeared to refer to establishing a buffer zone in the coastal strip, Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday that “at the end of this war, not only will Hamas no longer be in Gaza, but the territory of Gaza will also decrease”. “On the Gaza Strip all along, we will have a margin. And they will not be able to get in. It will be a fire zone. And no matter who you are, you will never be able to come close to the Israeli border.” The following headline and lede is from the New York Times published Dec. 18, 1939: POLES HEAR HITLER PLANS BUFFER ZONE; 20,000,000 Poles...

Canadian Hypocrisy Hits New Heights

  Global Affairs Canada is putting on a masterclass in hypocrisy and cowardice. In a press release regarding Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly meeting with the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, we find the following paragraph: Minister Joly underscored Canada’s unequivocal condemnation of the brutal terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel. She also expressed deep concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and emphasized the necessity of immediate and unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance. Canada stands firmly with the Israeli and Palestinian peoples in their right to live in peace and security, with dignity and without fear. Does it? And who is the most influential direct contributor to the humanitarian situation in Gaza? Perhaps the country which is currently bombing Gaza into a pile of bloody rubble? Joly could not find the moral courage to even name it. The fact that GAC even had the gall to write this statement...