"None of This Will Happen"

"We will not withdraw the Israel Defense Forces from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists. None of this will happen."

"I hear talk about all kinds of deals. I would like to make it clear: We will not conclude this war without achieving all of its goals. This means eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Bnei David military academy in the West Bank settlement of Eli, January 30, 2023. (Screenshot/Prime Minister's Office)

This was part of an address the Israeli prime minister made to students and staff on a visit to the West Bank-located Bnei David pre-military academy. The Bnei David was established in 1988, the oldest and largest religious Zionist pre-army institution in Israel, out of which 40 percent of its students reached officer status in the Israel Defence Forces. Fourteen of its graduates have been killed since October7, while fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza. 

That same day Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's leader stated his organization was studying the latest terms for an agreement. Their priority was stated as the "full withdrawal" of Israeli forces from Gaza. Any agreement they would sign,they insist, must lead to a long-term ceasefire. Typically taqiyya/hudna, to give the terrorists an opportunity of time to regroup, rearm, refinalize offensive strategies and stage further devastating attacks on Israel in accord with their pledge to destroy the Jewish state. 

The Hamas leadership -- in ongoing discussions with Qatar and Egypt acting as intermediaries trying to find a 'solution' to the current situation in Gaza interacting with Israel and the United States -- left the impression that negotiators had made progress toward an agreement reflecting a phased release of the remaining 136 Israeli hostages over a period of several months and the entry of greater amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The lopsided exchange deals agreed to between the Hamas leaders and Israel of the past give more than a hint of the Hamas position for an agreement -- basically revolving around the release of the hostages. Their demand would be for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile terrorists in exchange for the remaining hostages. None of this is geared to solve the greater dilemma that Israel would face by agreeing to withdraw from Gaza.

 

Gunmen march with mourners carrying the bodies of Palestinian terror operatives who were killed when undercover Israeli agents raided a hospital in Jenin, during their funeral in the northern West Bank city on January 30, 2024. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)

 

Ongoing attacks by Palestinian terror groups are guaranteed. The UNRWA schools that have overlooked school curricula that imbue Palestinian children with hatred for Israel and Jews, along with the West Bank's Palestinian Authority with its pay-for-slay and relentless indoctrination of Palestinian children and youth in the death cult of martyrdom has ensured that the population will always support attacks against Israel.

On Monday night an undercover operation took place at the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin in the West Bank. Where a terror cell was planning yet another imminent terror attack inspired by the October 7 massacre. In a time-frame of ten minutes, IDF forces entered the hospital disguised as doctors, nurses and Palestinian women. Their goal was a safe room on the third floor of the hospital.

A dozen undercover forces were caught by security camera video footage from the hospital, most armed, wearing Muslim head scarves, hospital scrubs of white physician coats. They confronted three men; Muhammad Jalamneh, 27 who procured weapons for a shooting attack; brothers Muhammad and Basel Ghazawi with previous records of shooting attacks on Israeli troops and membership with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 

 

They were neutralized.  Mission accomplished. the Israeli special forces group left. In the process uncovering and resolving "another example of the cynical use by terror groups of civilian spaces and hospitals as cover and as human shields".

A staff member at Ibn Sina hospital shows a news broadcast of CCTV footage showing Israel's deadly raid.  Majdi Mohammed/AP

York University and CUPE Distinguishing Themselves Again

"Let us collectively divert this week's tutorials to teaching on Palestinian liberation."

"[Tutorials should be diverted to condemnation of the] Zionist Israeli state [regardless of the course that the TA is supposed to be discussing]."

"It is a medical issue. An arts issue. A feminist issue. A society issue. A political issue. A cultural issue. A geography issue. An engineering issue. An architecture issue."

15-page document issued by CUPE 3903 union representing contract and part-time faculty at York University, Toronto

Detail from an official "toolkit" distributed to York University contract and part-time faculty which claims that their employer is complicit in "genocide" by the mere tolerance of Jewish groups on campus. Photo by A Toolkit on Teaching Palestine

The document considered to be a new tool kit circulated to York University teaching assistants gives them instructions on denouncing Israel, and to make their own opportunities to do so, ignoring such condemnations' lack of relevance to any academic study's subject matter. The document points out a salient fact, that the very presence of Jewish groups on campus presents as evidence of "complicity" in genocide at York University.

The very existence of sanctioned "Zionist cultural institutions" in explicit reference to a Hillel chapter, one of a multitude of such chapters around the world on university campuses representing the interests of Jewish students, is indication enough of the university's culpability, points out the document. But then, it also calls out York as an accessory to genocide related to its research links with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

 

Part of a speech that TAs are given to read out before informing students that regular discussions of course work have been cancelled. Photo by A Toolkit on Teaching Palestine

A script is provided for teaching assistants to read out while informing students the tutorial is to be cancelled in favour of a substitute "teach-in ... for liberation". "Today, I open up our classroom to bring our attention to Gaza, to speak up and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement, and contribute in ending Canada's and York's complicity with genocide and the settler-colonial occupation of Palestinian land and life", the introductory line reads.

The document comes complete with the CUPE 3903 logo, redrawn to include the Palestinian flag. Should students object to their "political work" and "community organizing", the TAs are  told the union will come to their aid to protect them from reprisal: "If you are facing reprisals, harassment, or discrimination -- or believe that you might be -- get in touch with CUPE 3903 as soon as  you can", it urges.

CUPE 3903 has a long history, predating the current Israel-Hamas conflict, of organizing events and publishing literature slandering Israel and harassing Jewish students. Its literature accuses Israel of genocide, "apartheid", and alternately as an illegitimate colony whose fate should be annihilation. Following hard on the heels of the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, the union asserted Israel had brought the massacres on as a result of "apartheid, genocide, and state-sanctioned violence".

Canada, by association, was a purveyor of "settler-colonial violence". A local representing McMaster University -- CUPE 3906 -- issued an overtly pro-terror statement even as the October 7 killings were ongoing: "Palestine is rising, long live the resistance", a social media post issued by the ocal in concert with the first news reports arriving in Canada about mass shootings in Israel close to the Gaza border.

Both union locals claimed to have been subject to "intimidation and silencing of pro-Palestinian voices in Canada". The very day following the sadistic savagery of October 7, CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn posted a Thanksgiving Day message that he was thankful for "the power of resistance around the globe. Resistance brings progress, and for that I'm thankful", he stated. 

 

York University stands out as a hotbed of pro-Hamas activities.The York Federation of Students characterized the October 7 attacks as a "strong act of resistance", adding "resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary", hinting at the same time that Canada itself is deserving of such actions. "This is 'decolonization' and 'land-back' actualized", said the statement.

York University's Osgoode Hall Law School saw faculty hugely represented in a November petition signed by over 700 Canadian lawyers and law students, the petition message being that the attacks required to be 'contextualized'.

On Oct. 23, an “All Out for Gaza” protest began outside of Vari Hall, led by the Palestinian Solidarity Collective (PSC). Other unions, like the York Federation of Students (YFS) and CUPE 3903, attended the protest.   Photo Jeanette Williams

When Life Becomes Too Much to Bear

 

"Before I do my mission, I want you all to know that I am not a psychopath. I do not believe in bloodshed. I am not one of those monsters that hurt children, that hurt innocents."

"I'm just tired of seeing the tyranny and corruption taking over our society and our lives."

"Good, honest, God-fearing men and women [must become doctors, police, politicians and teachers, so that they can] rise up against this wokeism disease that is leading our generation into deception."

"We need good men and women in all workforces to promote a pro-human life."

"Inshallah, I will succeed with my mission. If I don't succeed, I know somebody else will succeed for me."

Bezhani Sarvar, 28, Edmonton, Alberta resident

Some of the damage sustained at Edmonton city hall on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. (Submitted by City of Edmonton)

This is a man who set out with a deliberate purpose; to startle local municipal officials by a violent act of intrusion into Edmonton's City Hall premises and to bring the public's attention to, and promote his version of how the social order should be altered for the good of the individual and collective humanity. He had posted a video to YouTube with the title "Rise up", now no longer on the social media site. The righteous man who rejected violence in all its forms, used violence to draw attention to his manifesto.

 

In his dissatisfaction with the world as it is, and approaching the ills of the world from a number of perspectives, he forced his way into the Edmonton City Hall premises where the security detail hired to prevent and manage just such events apprehended the man who was, in very fact, an employee of the very same security firm and positioned at the City Hall with his colleagues before he decided to stage the event that had him arrested.

 

From a security employee to a gunman. He now faces six charges for the attack where he had entered the civic edifice through the parkade. He fired a rifle, and threw a homemade Molotov cocktail which started a small fire. And then when confronted, he surrendered without further ado to an unarmed security guard. No injuries occurred, not to anyone within the City Hall, the security detail, or the non-violent, violent protester. A man who is married and has children.

Edmonton police officers were seen entering the home of a man accused in a Tuesday shooting incident at city hall. (Peter Evans/CBC)

 People, said Sarvar, need to "rise up" against inflation and housing. In the video he is seen as saying people need to "rise up" to put a stop to "this genocide that's going on in Gaza and throughout the world". "Anybody that is destabilizing other countries, hurting their community, should feel ashamed of themselves, and inshallah we will rise against you guys and we'll put you on trial", he warns. As for the immigration crisis ..."instead of hate and anger in our hearts, we must spread love". 

"We need to start filtering our water. We need to watch what we're eating. We got to start eating healthy. Our officials need to start promoting healthy choices, healthy diet, exercises. They need to unite us all as one and we all got to start doing something positive for our society." Life, in all its various aspects, obviously has been much too much for this man to bear. Himself a beacon of stability and concern for the welfare of the world. Decrying violence.

 

A screen grab from a YouTube video linked to the Jan. 23, 2024, attack on Edmonton city hall. Bezhani Sarvar, 28, was charged with six offences after a gunman fired shots and threw a Molotov cocktail in the building. Photo by Screenshot/YouTube

The physical damage he caused to the City Hall, to walls, floors, windows, doors, carpets, fire-scorch-marks on the marble floor will all require remediation. The shock caused to people who were witnesses and whose presence possibly stirred the man to greater excesses in a desperate effort to influence their reasoning to understand his own, will last awhile.

The attack was denounced by the National Council of Canadian Muslims claiming in a statement posted to X, that it was motivated by "an alt-right agenda", without making mention of the man's Gaza comments. Truth is, it's difficult these days to distinguish the difference between Lib-left and alt-right. Can a violent act of this nature inspired by a personal roster of critical social issues be considered terrorism? Is he to be considered mentally unhinged?

In any event, repairs are underway, though there is no word when the venue can be reopened to the general public. City Hill will be considering upgrading its current security system in view of the many social issues circulating in today's world that perturb people and spur them to questionable action in support of their ideological, religious, cult or political views.

Some of the damage sustained at Edmonton city hall on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. (Submitted by City of Edmonton)

Fake, Really Fake News

"I think we'd hear from Beijing if we had sunk 300 or so Chinese ships."

"These videos are beyond ridiculous."

Martin Shadwick, professor of defence studies, York University, Toronto

 

"In collaboration with our CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] colleagues, the RCN has been tracking disinformation content online this week about our ships operating in specific areas of the world."

"The RCN [Royal Canadian Navy] and CAF have mechanisms in place to ensure we are aware of disinformation about our operations."

Royal Canadian Navy statement

 

"YouTube has removed the videos in question for violating our misinformation policy."

"We enforce our policies consistently using a combination of content reviewers and machine learning to remove content that violates our policies as quickly as possible."

YouTube statement

A Houthi fighter, in this handout video from the Houthi Media Center, seen during the hijacking of the Japanese-operated cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. (Houthi Media Center/The Associated Press)

Western nations have been consumed with concerns relating to Russian and Chinese disinformation in recent years. Various militaries and spy agencies have spoken alarmingly over such activities while Western militaries and their governments have, on the other hand, manipulated claims of Russian disinformation for their own purposes in efforts of undercutting media reports that seem unfavourable to their missions.

 

A flurry of new videos have been aired on YouTube lately, gaining traction and attention, despite their quite obviously false narratives. These videos have presented as clumsily produced, lacking credibility to those familiar with the subjects in question, to the extent that they convince intelligence agencies that their very lack of professionalism rule out any relationship to the government misinformation activities of either Russia or China.

 

These are fake videos purporting to demonstrate the Canadian navy in the act of destroying hundreds of Chinese vessels. As though that weren't enough, others show Canadian warships attacking Houthi Yemenite rebels in the Red Sea, and they're appearing everywhere on social media. Over 15 videos were recently posted on YouTube portrayed as Royal Canadian Navy military activities in the South China Sea and in the Middle East.

 

Royal Canadian Navy and the American Navy according to one video, recently sank 312 Chinese vessels in a controversial dispute allegedly over illegal fishing. Yet another video in the Red Sea purportedly shows the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver "sink[ing] dozens of rebel ships" as its crew is engaged in battle with Houthi terrorists. 

According to those with knowledge of current world events or the Canadian military, the videos are a risible sham, according to a professor of defence studies at York University in Toronto. Old imagery from past Canadian and U.S. military exercises have been used in the videos. No Canadian ships are currently stationed in the South China Sea or the Red Sea, however. HMCS Vancouver is currently in port at Esquimalt, British Columbia.

One video relating to the purported Canadian attack on Houthi pirates has had 527,000 views. Three months ago similar videos of Canada sinking hundreds of Chinese vessels began appear, more having been added recently to YouTube. Those purporting to represent Canadian naval attacks on Houthi rebels are of far more recent vintage. 

 

What agency might be responsible for producing and posting the videos and what the reason might conceivably be, are  unknown. Professor Shadwick, however, fairly well rules out the videos being of Russian or Chinese origin as disinformation, since they are so unsophisticated and readily debunked.

 

A 2022 file photo of HMCS Vancouver. A fake video on social media claims to show the Canadian frigate sinking “dozens of rebel ships” in the Red Sea. In fact, HMCS Vancouver is in port at Esquimalt, B.C. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1s /AP

Early-Onset Cancers in Younger Generations

"Why is this happening, and why are we seeing this?"

"They [patients] say, 'Why? I'm in great shape, I'm exercising'. I have no explanation for them. We really just don't know."

"You hear stories of young women who get radiation but were unaware they would become infertile. Or someone undergoes rectal cancer surgery, and no one has talked to them about the possibility of erectile dysfunction. Or no one has a clue how to talk to their 12-year-old about their new diagnosis of cancer."

"All of these things are really important. We've been trying hard to add that layer of treatment into how we manage colorectal cancer."

"Time is absolutely a factor. [Once people start experiencing symptoms], it usually has advanced, and may have a very different prognosis." 

Shady Ashamalia, surgical oncologist, Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto

Changes in the gut microbiome may be influencing the increasing rates of colorectal cancer in adults under 50. Credit: Journal of Translational Medicine

A recent editorial in the journal BMJ Oncology warned, "The epidemiological landscape of cancer incidence is changing", following a global study that found "early-onset" cancers -- diagnosed in individuals under fifty years of age had increased by 79 percent and correspondingly the number of deaths ensuing from those cancers increased over three decades by 28 percent. 

The startling and little understood reality is that colorectal, breast, esophageal, gastric and pancreatic cancers are on the increase in people as young as 20 to 25 years in age. Colorectal cancer has moved from the fourth leading cancer killer in men and women under 50 in decades earlier in the United States to now become the leading cause of cancer death in younger men, and the second leading [after breast cancer] in under-50 women in 2021, relates an American Cancer Society report.

Between 1983 and 2012, rates of cancer among the under-50s increased significantly, at 13 cancer sites according to a Canadian analysis: colon, rectum, bone, breast, connective and soft tissue, uterus, gallbladder, kidney, esophagus, pancreas, testes and thyroid. In the 20-to-39-age group, the most dramatic increase of cancer is seen in colon and rectal cancers. The rates increased annually among 20- to 24-year olds by four to six percent.

 

Among 30-to-39-year olds significant increases were noted as well for pancreatic cancer, and in those 25 to 29 gallbladder cancer; patterns seen in 'stark contrast' to trends in older age groups where increased incidents were more minimal. Doctors were reporting far more young adults with colorectal cancer and fewer among those over age 50, even before the study results were known. And no one in the medical/research community understands why this is.

 

Theories, however abound and they linger on diets high in processed, fatty and sugary foods which tend to be low in fruit, vegetable, fish and fibre intake. Processed meats are suspect, as well as the use of antibiotics capable of altering the gut microbiome to cause chronic inflammation in the bowel. Other suspected agents are moderate to heavy alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyles and women avoiding motherhood leading to more cycles of circulating estrogen levels capable of increasing risk of breast cancer; and lastly, excess body weight.

 

In those under age 50, obesity too is linked to at least eight of the cancers. Close family members with cancer increases risk, along with some hereditary disorders. And when all those possibilities have been dealt with, doctors are still seeing younger cancer patients whose profiles don't mesh with any of the risk categories. While cancer remains a disease of ageing -- nearly nine out of ten new diagnoses are in people over 50 -- the trends remain alarming since those under age 50 are in the prime of their lives. 

 

A steady drop in the overall cancer death rate has been realized with the reality of fewer people smoking and earlier detection procedures for some types of cancer, alongside improved treatments leading to a  steady drop. The reality is that those being diagnosed at an early age tend to be seen and diagnosed at late stages in their cancer, at junctures when they become more difficult to treat. Younger adults are typically excluded from cancer screening programs unless they fall into high-risk categories.

 

Colorectal cancer signs include an abrupt change in bowel habits (thinning stools), bloody stools, abdominal pain, or detectable masses. Symptoms in  younger people can be dismissed by examining physicians as hemorrhoids, heartburn or irritable bowel syndrome. As for breast cancer screening, average-risk women at age 50 are eligible; unless felt to be at high risk younger adults are not included in cancer screening programs. Invasive and late-stage breast cancers are being seen in women in their 50s who haven't been screened at age 40.

 

Total time from the first sign of bleeding to treatment was 217 days for younger people, in one US. study, versus 58 days for over-50s. Younger people have a tendency to think "I'm too young for cancer", leading them to procrastinate about seeking medical attention. Doctors' mindsets are set to resist thinking 'colorectal cancer' in a 30-year-old with blood in his stool. Caught early enough the polyps can be successfully treated, leading to a cure.

 

Abbreviation: CRC, colorectal cancer.
Reprinted from Siegel et al

 

Islamist Caliphate Group Retreating to the Dark Recesses of Jihad

"Until they can provide the right guidelines for the organization's English-language speaking areas they will avoid, as much as possible, their membership and activists making statements in the public arena."

"Unless they can control what their membership is saying in English, then they can't be sure that they aren't going to say something they will regret." 

"Australia and Canada tend to, in counterterrorism matters, follow where Britain goes. It will be quite likely that if the ban and proscription in Britain is upheld by the British courts, they will apply the same thing in Australia and Canada."

"The Hizb ut-Tahrir rejects democracy, it rejects participating in governance with other parties, it rejects the electoral process as a method of gaining power -- the only way is by the overthrow of government by revolution."

"The Hizb ut-Tahrir don't engage in material action, does not undertake violent acts. They can, however, be accused of 'sanitizing terror ideology and calling for revolutionary change."

"They express quite extreme forms of antisemitism."

"They don't do it as a group, so their members don't engage in it [violent action]. Neither do they call for their members to do so. However, they do believe that military action to liberate these countries is acceptable There is an ambiguity there."

Rashad Ali, resident senior fellow, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, counter-extremist think tank, London, England

"As a listed terrorist entity in the United Kingdom, the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization should not be given an opportunity to promote and indoctrinate Canadians with their extreme and radical viewpoints through their Khalifah Conference."

"If it had not been pre-emptively cancelled, we would have expected the authorities to step in to identify it as a potential security risk and prevent the conference from moving forward."

Shimon Koffler Fogel, president, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

A recent screen shot of the Hezb ut Tahrir Canada website before the group removed it from the internet. Photo by Screenshot / Hizb ut Tahrir

 

Following the U .K. declaring an Islamic organization a terrorist group, the Canadian branch of the group cancelled a scheduled conference meant to be hosted the past weekend, calling for the resurrection of the Muslim caliphate and the imposition of Shariah law. The plan was to convene the Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada conference in Mississauga. The Khalifah Conference 2024; Khalifah the Arabic word for caliphate, a Muslim community governed under Islamic (Sharia) law.

 

Posters, a website and a promotional video, reflect the group urging rejection of a Jewish state and the involvement of the United Nations, international law, or other 'compromises' in the Middle East, in favour of encouraging military forces in the Muslim world to defeat 'occupiers'. All meant for use during the conference. Those materials as well as its online presence in its entirety -- active since 2012 including a YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and X accounts were deactivated or deleted internally. 

 

Prior to its cancellation the annual conference was a cause of concern, given its statements: antisemitic, dedicated to eradicating Israel, and though not committed to violence on its own, supporting militant jihadi violence from well known sources. U.K. Home Secretary James Cleverly speaking of Britain's proscription order stated: 

"Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organization that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks."

"Proscribing this terrorist group will ensure that anyone who belongs to and invites support for them will face consequences. It will curb Hizb ut-Tahrir's ability to operate as it currently does." The designation of a terrorist entity was effective from January 19.

 

A poster advertising Khilafah Conference 2024

A notification to registered attendees to the Khalifah Conference in Canada that the event was cancelled was accompanied with a note: "It is with a heavy heart that Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada has decided to cancel the Khalifah Conference 2024 because of unforeseen circumstances", apologizing for inconvenience, absent an explanation. Thematically the conference was dedicated to "Khalifah : Eliminating the obstacles that are delaying its return", with materials referring to Israel as "the Zionist Entity", emulating the Islamic Republic of Iran.

One of the keynote speakers, Muhammad Malkawi was quoted saying in a speech last month that if Muslims came together "You don't even need to fight for Palestine because there will not be a Jewish state there." He is based in Jordan, the location of Hizb ut-Tahrir's central headquarters. "He is very well known, very public, a popular speaker within the party and has been active for decades", explained Rashad Ali, a former leader with the group who now is involved in extremist deradicalization.

Another scheduled speaker, Mazin Abdul-Adhim is resident in London, Ontario, active on social media, describing himself as a Hizb ut-Tahrir member, his avatar on X, the logo for the cancelled conference. He reacted to Britain's ban stating: "By banning HT, they make us a much stronger force, impenetrable and absolutely bulletproof from their false allegations and lies". A similar conference is scheduled for March in Chicago, organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir America.

The organization has been banned in a number of countries, including Russia, China, Germany, Indonesia, and in most Arab countries. The group's message is one of overthrowing Muslim governments, posing as an enemy of many Muslim states. Ironically, it is not banned in Israel. The English translation of the organization' name is "Party of Liberation", founded in 1953 as a revolutionary party to serve as a springboard to power in countries with large Muslim populations in the spirit of unification to restore the Muslim empire of medieval times.

 

A Hizb ut-Tahrir demonstration outside the Egyptian embassy in London in November 2023 (X)

"[The British government says that Hizb ut-Tahrir] has a footprint in at least 32 countries [with its headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon]."

"The U.K. government assess that Hizb ut-Tahrir, including its national branches, is currently concerned in terrorism, and meets the 'promotes and encourages' limb of the statutory test."

"A number of articles were posted online on Hizb ut-Tahrir's central media website [and third-party websites], attributed to several of Hizb ut-Tahrir's branches, which celebrated and praised the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas and associated events."

"The content of these articles, many of which refer to Hamas as 'heroes', and encourage further terrorist activity constitute the promotion and encouragement of terrorism."

British government statement

Re-Engineering the Social Narrative in Literature

"Through 2033, the number of opportunities at the site to engage visitors in learning about and connecting to a diversity of cultures will increase."

"The themes of friendship and belonging are central to the popularity of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables."

"Parks Canada is committed to engaging with Indigenous and marginalized communities to tell their stories."

Parks Canada -- Anne of Green Gables strategic outline

Author Lucy Maud Montgomery is shown in an undated photo.  BarrieToday files

 

The iconic story of a young girl growing up on Canada's Prince Edward Island is a endearing story, widely read, honoured and translated into many languages as a heartfelt, gracious and compelling coming-of-age that readers' hearts snuggled into for warmth and compassion. During Japan's postwar occupation a Japanese translation of the story represented one of the first novels outside the Japanese experience published and made available to readers in Japan. Anne of Green Gables has a fond place as a cherished story in Japan; a Canadian suddenly coming upon a replica of the Green Gables site in Tokyo would be astonished. I was.

There one would encounter the freckle-faced little girl with green eyes and red hair larger than life. Parks Canada has recently announced its commitment to make Anne more 'accessible' and relevant , including narratives from "marginalized communities". So Anne of Green Gables will no longer be the touching novel familiar to readers the world over, but one that has been 'enhanced' by the woke folk at Parks Canada, an arm of the federal government, given to inclusion, diversity and equality. Tampering with an authentic creation to have it reflect what its author at the turn of the 20th century obviously overlooked.

The agency outlined its goal to present "new narratives, perspectives and voices" in a 23-page outline of their intentions at Anne of Green Gables sites on Prince Edward Islands, to reflect voices of "cultures not currently presented." All part of a new management plan for the Cavendish National Historic Site with two locations on the north end of Prince Edward Island with ties to the author of the series. First, the farmhouse where Lucy Maud Montgomery grew up; the second, the Green Gables farmstead referred to in her novels.

 

 

Lucy Maud Montgomery lived in a quite homogeneous environment, almost exclusively comprised of people of English, Scottish or Irish descent. However, according to the Confederation Centres of the Arts, in 19th century P.E.I. Indigenous people, Mi'kmaq families, had a presence; they were "not quite invisible". They seem a natural subject for Anne's romantic imagination, but they are curiously absent from her world. And perhaps that is because the esteemed author wrote what she was familiar with, as any writer would. It is her experience and her voice that readers responded to.

 

Now, in this woke, DEI, Critical Race Theory world, Lucy Maud Montgomery, a century after she wrote her beloved series, is accused of being a purveyor of colonialist white supremacy. Even her namesake L.M. Montgomery Institute hosted a conference of scholars who "have experience discussing Montgomery's work in connection to conversations on queer theory and gender, colonialism and diversity in literature". If she were alive today she would be open-mouthed with astonishment. She would not have known any of these issues in her day.

 

A young girl enters Green Gables House in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. The site is considered the inspiration for the setting in Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic tale of fiction, Anne of Green Gables. Photo by The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan

Fortifying Ukraine's Armaments in Jeopardy

[

The most recent package for Ukraine was announced on Dec. 27, and it included $250 million in artillery, air defenses and other weapons. | Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

"[The lack of funding forced the Pentagon to] pause [sending additional weapons from its inventories] given the implications for our own military readiness."

"This of course prevents us from meeting the most urgent battlefield needs, to include things like artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons, air defense interceptors."

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder

 

"Without funding, we would not be able to match the pace that we have provided Ukraine with since the start of this conflict."

"[That’s why the Pentagon is focused on] the need to answer Congress’s questions so that they are able to move forward on a decision to pass a supplemental."

"The conflict hasn’t died down. And in fact, the intensity remains high based on Russian activity."

Celeste Wallander, Pentagon top official overseeing international security affairs

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's most influential, most materially-generous supporter in his nation's valorous bid to prevail against Vlaldimir Putin's deadly invasion of Ukraine has been forced to stand down from its generosity, likely temporarily due to political infighting between Democrats and Republicans that has the Biden government awaiting the U.S. budget to pass through Congress, leaving Ukraine in a bind that its staunch allies elsewhere have tried to unravel with their own ongoing commitments to shore up its need for additional military hardware.

The United States, while hosting the monthly gathering of some fifty countries in an international coalition established to support Ukraine by U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2022, is itself unable on this occasion to send to Ukraine promised and sorely needed ammunition and missiles used to fend off Russia's war with Ukraine. Awaiting the critical budget which would enable the administration to fulfill its stated obligations to Ukraine and approve additional allocations, it is to its allies in the struggle to keep Ukraine supplied with war materiel that the defence secretary now turns.

"I urge this group to dig deep to provide Ukraine with more lifesaving ground-based air defence systems and interceptors", opening remarks by Austin -- video broadcasted from his home, recuperating from prostate cancer surgery -- stated. In Brussels NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke of a new $1.2 billion joint contract for over 222,000 rounds of 155 mm ammunition, some of the most heavily used munitions in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The contract he announced to be used to back-fill allies whose reserves had gone to Ukraine.

"Even though we aren't able to provide our security assistance right now, our partners are continuing to do that", stated deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh. Russia's attacks against Ukraine have been ongoing, not as well reported any longer, with the conflict between Israel and Hamas dominating the news for the past three months. A barrage of over 40 ballistic, cruise, anti-aircraft and guided missiles were launched by Moscow into Ukraine's largest cities days earlier.

 

On the morning of Jan. 23, 2024, Russian troops fired missiles at a residential area of Kharkiv. One of the missiles destroyed an entrance to a five-story building, damaged nearby houses, and destroyed half of the market. Dozens of people were hospitalized. Several people have died. The search for people under the ruins continues. (Oleksandr Stavytskyy/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Moscow had, a day before its latest attacks refused to consider any agreement that Kyiv and its Western allies backed in a bid to bring the almost two-year war to a conclusion. Of the missiles, Ukraine's air defence intercepted some 21, while the attacks hit four districts of Kyiv, injuring several dozen people. The last U.S. security assistance for Ukraine was announced on December 27 representing a $250 million package including 155 mm rounds, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and other  high-demand items from existing U.S. stockpiles

No further additional munitions can be supplied until funding to replenish the stockpiles can be appropriated, awaiting Congress's approval of more funds. Leaving over $110 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel stalled over the disagreement over policy priorities between Congress and the White House, including additional security for the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

Airmen from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron use a forklift to move 155 mm shells ultimately bound for Ukraine, April 29, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. On Jan. 23, 2024, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will host a monthly gathering of about 50 allies as the U.S. is out of money for Ukraine, unable to send Ukraine the ammunition and missiles it needs to fend off Russia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Middle East in Flux...

"Clearly, the Houthi actions, probably in terms of their attacks on merchant shipping, are the most significant that we've seen in two generations."

"The facts simply are that they're attacking the international community; thus the international response I think you've seen."

"[Iran is] very directly involved in the Yemen Houthi terrorist ship attacks in response to Israel's conflict with Hamas]."

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, head, US. Navy 5th Fleet 

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads the Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, speaks at an event at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 21, 2023. Iran is "very directly involved" in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on shipping over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Cooper told The Associated Press on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

 

While stopping just short of stating that the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been directed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, Vice Admiral Cooper did commit to acknowledging that the attacks with their Iran associations have been expanding. Previously they threatened just the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz across the wider Middle East. In years previous, it was the IRGC speedboats that were conducting lightning strikes against marine traffic; now less is seen of Iranian direct attacks; it seems their proxy Houthis have been delegated to continue the high seas piracy.

 

At least 34 attacks on shipping have been perpetrated through waterways leading to Egypt's Suez Canal -- a vital shipping route for energy and cargo from Asia and the Middle East -- on to Europe have been launched by Iran-backed Houthis. The Houthis are a Shiite group that since 2014 ousted the elected, Western- and Saudi-backed government from the capital Sanaa. The Houthis now use Sanaa as their capital, while the official government has been in exile. 

Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of other Sunni states in support of the exiled Yemenite government, but the Houthis have been able to repel their offensives, to this date. In response, there have been Houthi assaults against Saudi Arabia, targeting its oil fields. Egypt, suffering an acute downturn in its economy, heavily relies on its income from shipping through the Suez Canal, and the recent Houthi strikes against international mercantile shipping has hit the Egyptian economy at a particularly sensitive juncture

 

Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen publish a video showing how the group hijacked an Israeli-linked shipping vessel in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

The US coalition launched seven rounds of airstrikes on Houthi military sites in recent days. Airbases under rebel control and suspected missile launch sites were the targets. Houthi attacks on shipping since the counterattacks, appear to have decelerated with increased naval patrols by the U.S. and its allies in the region. Risks for the global economy remain high while marine traffic chooses to bypass their  usual routes for longer journeys around the southern tip of Africa.

 

The threat to shipping focused primarily around the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, its narrow mouth, through which a fifth of all oil in trade passes, when Vice Admiral Cooper took command in 2021 of the U.S. 5th Fleet. That was when a series of attacks were carried out by Iran with ship seizures followed the collapse of Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers. For the time being, Iran has not directly involved itself in conflict either with Israel or the U.S. since October 7's Hamas atrocities in Israel. 

Iran seems to have taken out its frustration, oddly enough, on its neighbour Pakistan, which retaliated in a counter-strike, and Iraq and Syria, which have also been targeted by Iran in surprise strikes on its relatively collegial neighbours and political Islamist acolytes.

Yemenis in Houthi-controlled territory brandishing their guns chant slogans during a march in solidarity with the people of Gaza, in the capital Sanaa on December 15, 2023. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)

The Power of Skewed Propaganda

"The  youngest cohort of Canadians were far more likely to see Muslims as the victims than Jews, with all other age groups seeing things quite differently."

"Social media consumption likely explains the gap."

Leger survey, conducted for Metropolis Institute and Association for Canadian Studies

 

"There is a significant variation in the sources of information between  [the 18 - 24] cohort of the rest of  the sample."

"Images and messaging they're getting, that is very different than what much of the rest of those surveyed are receiving."

Jack Jedwab, president, Association for Canadian Studies

A majority of young voters say their sympathies lie more with Palestinians than Israelis, according to a new poll. | Marco Bello/AFP via Getty Images

Respondents in a new Leger survey were asked whether Jews or Muslims, in their opinion, were being hit hardest by "expressions of hate" following the Hamas pogrom targeting Israeli citizens on October 7. In virtually every category, a plurality of respondents answered "Jews". They represented a mix of people; Retirees, Canadians with a bachelor's degree, full-time workers. 

 

Among them there was a conspicuous exception; Canadians between ages 18 to 24, in whose opinion it was that Canada was caught in a tide of anti-Muslim hate, the extent of which readily eclipsed whatever was occurring to Canadian Jews in a backlash against the Israel Defense Forces' retaliatory invasion of Gaza. To be clear, however, the protests that first appeared on Canadian streets pre-dated Israel's incursion into Gaza/

 

Two surveys were compared by the Association of Canadian Studies; one in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack of October 7, another the first week of January. Of the 1,600 respondents of the January poll, 46.2 percent reported an increase in "hateful comments" against Jews; 37.8 percent reported witnessing a similar increase targeting Muslims.

 

In the 24-and-under set of respondents 62.8 percent reported they noted an "increase in hateful comments" against Muslims in the media; 20.8 percent commented similarly regarding Jews. In the event, the average young Canadian turned out three times likelier to characterize the last three months defined by expressions of anti-Muslim hate, instead of expressions of anti-Jewish hate.

The 25 - 35 cohort saw results fairly even; 42.9 percent noted increased hate targeting Jews, and 41.3 percent saw an increase in hate against Muslims. According to Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, the results are indicative of younger Canadians consuming and becoming influenced by different media than their older counterparts.

 

People wave Palestinian flags as smoke bombs are set off during a demonstration in support of Palestine in Vancouver. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

 

Available data suggests the ratio of hate incidents targeting Jews rose well out of proportion to any targeting Muslims. Between October 7 and mid-December the Toronto Police Services recorded 98 hate crime occurrences of which 56 targeted Jews, and 20 targeted Muslims and Arabs. Even as Muslims and Arabs represent a much larger portion of the population of Toronto. A similar disparity in hate crimes have been reported to police in Montreal; with 17 attacks investigated as hate crimes against the Arab-Muslim community, while 48 targeted Jews.

In addition to which the 18-24 demographic consistently reported trusting Palestinians over Israelis in reports emanating over the Israel-Hamas conflict. Survey data from the first week of January saw 57 percent of under-24 Canadians claiming they trusted Palestinian sources relating to the conflict in comparison to 44 percent who trusted Israeli sources. Those sentiments were flipped in responses coming from the older age demographics.

The poll also indicated that a majority of Canadians believe "lasting peace" is not possible under current conditions. To the question "do you believe that lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians can be reached in the future?" sixty percent responded "no".

Police investigators examine the exterior of a synagogue in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., where an incendiary device was ignited. (Francois Joly/Radio-Canada)

 

"Investing" in Canada's Future

"We are very close to the breaking point due to the excessive number of asylum seekers arriving in Quebec month after month. The situation has become unsustainable."

"Asylum seekers have trouble find a place to live, which contributes to accentuating the housing crisis. Many end up in homeless shelters, which are overflowing."

"The possibility of entering Canada from Mexico without a visa certainly explains part of the influx of asylum seekers."

"The airports, particularly in Toronto and Montreal, are becoming sieves and it is time to act."

Quebec Premier Francois Legault 

RCMP officers unveil a new sign at Roxham Road. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)

 

The Liberal government of Justin Trudeau has much to account for; its laissez-faire attitude toward illegal entry into Canada has come home to roost. The acute housing shortage that Canada and Canadians have encountered, with the younger demographic marrying and preparing to raise a family experiencing the rude awakening of recognition that the normal trajectory of young adults moving into an era of their own where they expect to buy a home to get on with their lives with the same kind of comfortable predictability as their parents is no longer possible.

People get off a bus at a gas station to take a taxi to cross into Canada at Roxham Road on March 25. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)

 

There is general agreement among financial houses, economists and the broader public that recognizes the influx of people as a result of immigration, refugee intake, student study visas, work visas and illegal migrant arrivals have stretched Canada's resources -- not just housing, but medical and hospitalization, and other levels of social services, including emergency housing of the unhoused and homeless -- beyond its capacity to absorb any more.

The federal government, it has been revealed, introduced a million newcomers to Canada through refugee intake, immigration, student visas, work permits and migrants in the last year alone. And it has stated it has no intention to cut down on absorbing new waves of people into Canada's population. Canada has always welcomed newcomers, but never on this scale; among G7 countries Canada absorbs far more people than its nearest contemporaries. Canada sees it as a competitive story; as populations are failing to reproduce themselves and becoming older, the economy suffers with not enough people to  fill employment needs.

 

Quebec's premier has now formally requested that the Trudeau government cut back on its embrace of asylum seekers. In 2022, he pointed out, Quebec absorbed more asylum seekers than the rest of the country combined through the unofficial Roxham Road crossing point south of Montreal. COVID slowed the influx. "However, t he arrivals have continued to increase at airports. The number of people arriving on a visitor visa and applying for asylum is also increasing significantly", he wrote.

 

 In the first 11 months of 2023 close to 60,000 new asylum seekers registered in Quebec, which has placed the province in a position of "very significant pressure" on services. Asylum seekers awaiting work permits, stressed the premier, receive financial assistance from Quebec. Some 43,200 asylum seekers received $33 million in aid last October. Mexican nationals represent a growing proportion of asylum seekers arriving, among those from the Middle East, Africa and Central America.

Legault's recommendation is that the federal government take serious action to tighten its policies of granting visas. As well the "equitable" distribution of asylum seekers across Canada should be an issue to be studied, possibly by busing them to other provinces. As well, he expects the federal government to reimburse Quebec for the $470  million it has cost the province on taking in asylum seekers in 2021 and 2022, and formalize reimbursement for subsequent years.

People wait at a gas station to take a taxi to cross into Canada at Roxham Road, an illegal crossing point from New York State to Quebec, in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)