Marthad Umucyaba spoke with a Board Director with the Legal Centre for Palestine, who stayed anonymous for fear of retaliation against them, about how the LCP is assisting the efforts of Hameed Law in investigating Canadian officials' complicity in Israel's genocide against Palestine, which includes looking into actions of Canadian special forces in occupied Palestine.
LCP's website: https://www.lcpal.ca/
Professor David Miller was fired by Bristol University following a ferocious campaign by the Israel lobby, which even led to direct government intervention in the case. He has been holding the university to account in an employment tribunal and expects the results very soon. Lowkey catches up with him to hear about the case.
Does this mark a coup de grâce for the ‘rules-based international order’?
On January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an interim ruling in response to South Africa’s charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. This ruling required Israel to stop its military from engaging in actions contrary to international law, and to take immediate steps to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Within 48 hours Canada and other “Western democracies” cut off funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the organization upon which effective provision of aid to Gaza depends.
This is a clarifying moment in modern history—the day the “rules-based international order” that emerged from the ashes of the Second World War was given the coup de grâce, not by its enemies but by its authors. The gloves were off and so were the masks.
Finding that “the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further” (§72), the ICJ imposed six “provisional measures” on Israel with the aim of “preserving … the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts” (§59). It stressed that “there is urgency, in the sense that there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to the rights found by the Court to be plausible, before it gives its final decision” (§74, my emphasis).
These measures required, among other things, that Israel:
Though the court has no means of enforcing its orders, they are binding upon all states who have accepted its jurisdiction, including Israel—and Canada. (more...)
A clarifying moment: Canada and the ICJ ruling on genocide in Gaza
A return to accountability? That is the message sent by the provisional ruling of the ICJ to the nations of the world, in issuing orders calling on Israel to stop the killing in Gaza, and the forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population. Will the TransAtlantic powers accept the end of their Sole Superpower status? They must be held accountable. That is what is making the international oligarchy extremely uncomfortable!
Global Affairs Canada says the exports are ‘non-lethal,’ but human rights activists say that term offers little reassurance.
Following weeks of questions from The Maple and human rights advocates, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) admitted in a statement sent to The Maple this week that it has authorized new permits for unspecified military exports to Israel since October 7.
GAC described the goods as “non-lethal equipment,” but an arms monitoring expert told The Maple that the term does not have a fixed legal definition, meaning that the exports could include items that are being used by Israel in its brutal war on Gaza.
GAC spokesperson Jean-Pierre J. Godbout said in an emailed statement to The Maple that “Canada has not received any requests, and therefore not issued any permits, for full weapon systems for major conventional arms or light weapons to Israel for over 30 years.”
However, the statement continued: “The permits which have been granted since October 7, 2023, are for the export of non-lethal equipment [Emphasis added].”
GAC’s statement is the first time it has publicly admitted to authorizing new exports of military goods to Israel since October 7.
GAC did not respond to a follow-up request asking for it to clarify what it means by “non-lethal equipment.” GAC also did not provide any information on the quantity or value of the equipment that it authorized for export, or which of Canada’s Export Control List (ECL) categories the goods fall under.
In previous public statements regarding transfers of military equipment to Ukraine, GAC has described items such as rifle scopes, laser range finders and tactical gear as “non-lethal.”
GAC’s statement noted that export-controlled items include products designed for both civilian and military purposes, but gave no indication that the exports to Israel authorized since October 7 fall into that category.
Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher with Project Ploughshares, told The Maple that “non-lethal equipment” is a vague term that sits between shifting goalposts.
“Non-lethal military equipment has not been defined by the government of Canada,” said Gallagher. “It could be really anything that doesn’t itself deliver a killing blow, but [could be] a component that’s integrated into something that does.”
“I don’t understand why the government has to be so shadowy about this,” he added. (more...)
Trudeau Government Admits It Authorized New Military Exports To Israel After October 7
Many Western powers are now plausibly complicit in the genocide of Palestinians
On January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. The results were welcomed by South Africa as well as Palestinian leaders, diaspora, and solidarity activists: in its ruling, the court ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of acts of genocide” and to allow humanitarian aid into the deliberately starved territory. The court also ordered Israel to prevent its forces from violating the 1948 Genocide Convention “with immediate effect.”
In all, the ICJ has found that Palestinians are a protected national group at risk of irreparable harm under the Genocide Convention. The court also found plausible risk that Israeli forces are committing or will commit genocide in Gaza.
Israeli representatives had been calling for the ICJ to simply throw out the case, arguing that South Africa has no legitimate quarrel with Israel at the world’s top court. By issuing provisional measures against genocide and moving forward with South Africa’s case, the ICJ has sided with South Africa, dealing a huge blow to Israel’s already tattered credibility on the world stage.
As Andrew Mitrovica writes in Al Jazeera:
Near unanimously [15-1], the court was convinced that South Africa made a plausible case demonstrating that Israel has displayed the intent to execute genocide. As a result, the court is required, by international law, to proceed with a full hearing and, ultimately, to render a verdict on the seminal question: Is Israel guilty of the crime of genocide in Gaza?
While the court stopped short of ordering a ceasefire, the ICJ’s provisional measures would amount to a ceasefire if implemented. Essentially, the court has called for a ceasefire by implication. As South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said after the ruling, “I believe that in exercising the order, there would have to be a ceasefire. Without it, the order doesn’t actually work.”
It is worth noting that during a number of previous genocide cases at the ICJ, including Bosnia in the 1990s and Myanmar in 2019, the ICJ did not directly call for a ceasefire.
The ICJ’s ruling puts the lie to the dominant claims by Western media and government officials that Israel is simply defending itself against terrorism, and its actions in Gaza, however excessive, are nonetheless justified. In short, the global majority has rejected the West’s framing of the Israeli war on Gaza. (more...)
Ottawa shrugs off ICJ genocide verdict while cutting funds to Palestinian refugees
Conflating Palestine solidarity with antisemitism can only produce distorted results
It has become almost routine for people who express solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people to be subjected to ugly intimidation tactics from Israel’s supporters. A depressingly long list exists of those who have endured false accusations of antisemitism, often linked to threats to their employment or attempts to deny them venues or platforms.
Since the current genocidal assault on Gaza got underway, however, we are seeing a redoubling of efforts to take this McCarthyist process further still, with even moderate criticism of Israel now treated as anti-Jewish hatred. Those mounting the charge are extending their efforts into the realms of criminal law and the policing of public protests.
In Toronto, as in many other cities, Palestine solidarity activists have used the tactic of hanging banners at highly visible locations; for obvious reasons, overpasses that span major road arteries have often been selected for this purpose.
According to Global News, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw stated that “many, particularly members of Toronto’s Jewish community, are feeling increasingly unsafe amid the ongoing protests.” He, therefore, took it upon himself to ban pro-Palestinian protest actions at the Avenue Road overpass over the highly trafficked Highway 401.
It is true that a significant number of Jewish people live in the vicinity of this overpass, but the protest has actually involved mobilizing members of the local community. More to the point, no evidence has been presented to suggest that any threats or hostility have been directed towards Jewish people who live in the area. It is simply a prime location from which a banner can be seen by large numbers of the travelling public.
That a police chief should take it upon himself to decide that constitutionally protected rights of assembly and expression can be arbitrarily extinguished at a given location on flimsy and vigorously disputed grounds is alarming in the extreme. That such a dictate should be applied to members of a racialized community who are challenging a grave injustice is nothing short of reprehensible. (more...)
From vilification to criminalization
Palestinian journalists have taken centre stage in Gaza
One of the great scholars of the 20th century, Edward Said, wrote that Palestinians have been denied permission to narrate their own history. He argued that Israeli propaganda had a life of its own, especially in America, and that Western coverage of the war in Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza ultimately reflected Israel’s perspective and interest. The brutality endured by the Palestinians—their existence and historical displacement—therefore stood little chance of being globally understood. “Facts do not at all speak for themselves, but require a socially acceptable narrative to absorb, sustain and circulate them,” Said wrote in 1984.
As Israel continues to deliberately bomb civilian targets in Gaza, Said’s assertions are as relevant today as they were 40 years ago. In fact, Israel seems more determined than ever to prevent Palestinians from narrating their story. Israel has killed an estimated 110 Palestinian journalists since October 7 in a campaign that has no parallel in the history of modern warfare. Gaza is now the deadliest place in the world for reporters. The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate contends that among Palestinian journalists killed over the last 15 weeks, 96 were deliberately and specifically targeted by surgical Israeli strikes against them, at home or in the line of duty. The families of Palestinian journalists have also been targeted in Israel’s war against civilians. In October, Israel killed four members of the family of Al Jazeera’s bureau chief Wael al Dahdouh. Dahdouh’s wife, his 15-year-old son, his seven-year-old daughter and his grandson died in an Israeli strike on a refugee camp where they were seeking shelter after their home was bombed. In early January, an Israeli airstrike killed Dahdouh’s eldest son, 27-year-old Hamza, who was also a journalist, while he was travelling in a vehicle in Khan Younis with colleagues. Journalist Mustafa Thuraya, working for Agence France-Presse was also killed during that attack, while a third reporter, Hazem Rajab, was seriously injured. Dahdouh himself was wounded by an Israeli drone strike in December that killed his colleague Samir Abudaqa, an Al Jazeera cameraman, in southern Gaza. Despite the loss of his family members and colleagues, Dahdouh continued to chronicle the destruction of Gaza and in so doing gave new meaning to acting with grace under fire. His courage has informed the world and has given Palestinians hope. Many of the videos he and another Al Jazeera colleague, Hamdan Dahdouh, have posted on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok have gone viral; the videos are a combination of reportage, personal diary and footage of Palestinians in tremendous agony. (more...)
The dream of a Palestinian narrative
Join Randy Hillier with the Canadian Patriot Podcast, Matt Ehret about the recent Federal Court ruling that the Trudeau-Freeland Emergencies Act which shutdown protestors, froze bank accounts and created the FAKE & unconstitutional Emergency Act in Feb 2022. How did this ruling happen? What are the implications for Canadians? How must we understand the fraud of Covid-19 more broadly? and How can Canadians organize more effectively to defend their freedoms and expose the lies shaping our world?
The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate review the most cringeworthy moments from Elon Musk's appearance this January at Auschwitz alongside neoconservative podcaster Ben Shapiro.
Nazis in America? Rewrite their pasts - bring them in - simple!
How close were the royals to the Nazis?
London in Summer 2015: A secret handover takes place. A reporter from the British tabloid “The Sun” receives sensitive movie footage from an informer about the royals. The pictures are political dynamite for the royal family. They show Elisabeth II as a small girl, her mother and her uncle Edward VIII. All royals are performing a Nazi salute.
Was the Duke of Windsor a traitor?
New reports show, that after the abdication of Edward, the member of the royal family hoped, that Hitler comes to England and returns him to the royal throne. With starting to read the documents, looking inside the mind of Edward the VIII was also possible. Newly discovered letters reveal the driving force behind his possible treason.
Was he just a pacifist, or was the royal Duke of Windsor a Nazi?
Nighttime Podcast is joined by investigative journalist Paul Palango and legal analyst Adam Rodgers to discuss Canadian stories of crime, corruption, and items of public interest.
In this episode we discuss:
HonestReporting Canada is seeking to ‘control the narrative’ on Israel in Canadian media with the help of the wealthy and powerful.
Israel is in the midst of an onslaught in Gaza, killing more than 26,000 Palestinians (including at least 10,000 children) since October 7. This mass slaughter has led people and governments throughout the world to criticize Israel, and the International Court of Justice to order provisional measures against it after finding that “at least some of [its] acts and omissions [...] in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the [Genocide] Convention.” As such, Israel’s killing has been accompanied by efforts, from forces within and abroad, to justify and sanitize its actions in an attempt to win the public image war.
In Canada, one group particularly active on the media front of this campaign is HonestReporting Canada (HRC), which labels itself as “an independent grass-roots organization promoting fairness and accuracy in Canadian media coverage of Israel and the Middle East.” This stock description of HRC found on its website, however, clashes with how it describes its efforts elsewhere.
In a July 2023 interview, HRC executive director Mike Fegelman proclaimed that the group wants “to create a digital army for Israel.” In an Oct. 13, 2023, fundraising email, Fegelman acknowledged mass criticism of Israel, and wrote, “To prevail, it’s imperative that we operate by the maxim that the best defense is a strong offense and work to control the narrative. To that end, we’ve established a war room” in order to, as he mentions later in the email, allow HRC “to act as Israel’s sword and shield.” This framing was pushed again in a Nov. 28, 2023, email, in which Fegelman wrote, “In the war against Hamas, there are two battlefronts: the fighting on the ground and the battle for public opinion. In many respects, the war of persuasion is no less important, helping to shape an entire generation.”
According to HRC, its “war” to “control the narrative” in Canadian media has been going well. While HRC has a vested interest in portraying its efforts as successful in order to attract and retain donors — who are able to get tax write offs due to HRC’s status as a charity — there’s no denying the impact it has had on Canadian media. (more...)
Meet The Billionaire-Funded Pro-Israel Group Influencing Media
Related:
Here Are HonestReporting Canada’s Billionaire And Millionaire Funders
The Canada Files obtained documents from The Legal Centre for Palestine (LCP) and has discovered that they and Hameed Law (HL) are investigating the actions of Canadian special forces in occupied Palestine. This comes as a Notice of Intent to Prosecute has been issued against Canada by HL for aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine, particularly in Gaza.
The Legal Centre for Palestine is supporting HL’s notice of Intent to Prosecute and ongoing investigation, to see if Canada’s actions may amount to aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity up to and including genocide.
The Canada Files contacted a Board Director of The Legal Centre for Palestine (LCP), who did not want to disclose said identity, out of fear of reprisal by multiple law firms, including the Board Director’s own employer, and the government. The Board Director detailed the subjects of the investigation by the law firm, including Canada’s statements of support for Israel’s bombing campaign, Canada’s tacit approval of Canada Armed Forces (CAF) and regular citizens joining the IDF as de-facto mercenaries, Canada’s intervention in Operation Prosperity Guardian, and even JTF-2 special forces involvement in operations in Gaza.
Canada is a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention. This convention is mentioned in providing the definition to genocide in the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act of 2000. According to the 1948 Genocide Convention, there is no distinction between the enabling/supporting of the genocide and actually participating in it (pages 2-3). They’re both treated as the same crime.
That definition is codified in the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act of 2000. According to the LCP Board Director, the joint LCP and HL legal team, acting on behalf of families that have suffered under the Gaza genocide, including a client who lost all 76 members of his extended family, will be investigating whether Canada is complicit in crimes against humanity in supporting Israel. The most serious crime being investigated, of course, will be genocide.
The full extent of the hypocrisy of the “rules based” white supremacist order is being tested by the institutions that NATO has set up. These institutions are now being used against them. What’s significant is that Canada is now on the cusp of being exposed. After causing a genocide in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, and spuriously convicting the victims, Canada’s role in supporting the genocide against the Palestinians could be exposed over the following years, either through its own domestic laws or international law. (more...)
Anton Mussert was 'Leader of the Dutch People' during the German occupation of the Netherlands. A classic Quisling figure, he rose from political outsider to puppet dictator under Hitler's patronage. Find out his full story of treachery and his ultimate fate at war's end.
Gonzalo Lira tragically died in a Ukrainian prison earlier this month after languishing for weeks in what some have called a ‘dungeon.’ The American-Chilean YouTube commenter, filmmaker, and journalist gathered a large audience on YouTube following the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. His consistent criticism of the Kiev government, made from his apartment in Kharkov, soon landed him in hot water with authorities, leading to a dramatic escape attempt across the border into Hungary after his released from prison in 2023. Now, global outrage over his death is focusing attention on the United States’ decided lack of intervention on behalf of an American citizen and the torturous prison conditions he endured in Ukraine. On this episode of the MO, Manila Chan is joined by the Ron Paul Institute’s Executive Director Daniel McAdams to discuss this latest attack on free speech in the so-called ‘free world.’
The International Court of Justice has issued a ground-breaking decision in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, ordering Israel to comply with six provisional measures to safeguard the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from genocidal violence.
The court’s order is binding on Israel and formalizes the international legal obligations of other countries that are parties to the UN Genocide Convention.
Properly understood, the order should dramatically alter both the foreign and domestic policy decisions of Israel’s allies, including Canada and the United States.
Israel and its allies cannot dismiss or minimize the importance of this decision. In granting interim relief, the court concluded that South Africa’s allegations of genocide are, at a minimum, legally and factually plausible.
Crucially, the court expressly concluded, by an overwhelming majority, that Palestinians in Gaza face a “real and imminent risk” of genocide. This puts other countries on notice that they have an international legal duty to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza in accordance with the court’s order. (more...)
Ruling by UN’s top court means Canada and the U.S. could be complicit in Gaza genocide
For hundreds of Canadians, the price of speaking out on Gaza has been high
It’s been more than two months since J went viral, but the video continues to haunt them.
For weeks, people on the internet sent death threats, alluded to rapes and homophobic violence, and hunted for J’s identity and location. They called for J’s expulsion from university, imprisonment, and deportation from the country, even though J was born in Montreal. Among the slew of violent and horrific messages were photos of slaughtered pigs and clowns. Users branded J with labels including “whore,” “savage,” and “Islamist demon.”
“It’s over for you,” one user tweeted.
J’s days have since been relegated to hyperawareness. Fear accompanies them on the metro, on campus, in between classes, and anywhere that isn’t their home. Their spouse is notified whenever J moves from one site to another, and their friends and classmates are aware of every classroom they’re in. Outside of the home, they wear a medical mask.
“I never thought that if I was gonna go viral, it was gonna be for something that I didn’t say,” J said. “But it’s also terrifying, that there are large members of what would be our community sharing something that isn’t even confirmed, and you know, perpetuating a really dangerous narrative.” (more...)
Death Threats, Boycotts and Backlash
A panel of Palestine solidarity activists discussed the evolving political climate of Palestine solidarity work, how we can do activism safely, and why it is important to engage in solidarity work on January 24, 2024 on Zoom.
On the panel were -
David Heap, a linguistic professor at Western University and long-time peace activist. In 2011, David participated in the Canadian Boat to Gaza, the MV Tahrir, and he remains active in the International Freedom Flotilla Coalition against the blockade of Gaza.
Chantelle Paiu, a Palestinian Canadian, chair of the Ontario Palestinian Rights Association, and an organizer with Fredericton Palestine Solidarity.
Asaf Rashid, a k’jipuktuk/Halifax-based lawyer and a board member of the Halifax Workers Action Centre, a member of the Canadian Prison Lawyers Association and supporter of the East Coast Prison Justice Society. He is the co-author of Solidarity Beyond Bars: Unionizing Prison Labour.
The new documentary Israelism examines the growing generational divide among Jewish Americans on the question of Palestine, with many younger Jews increasingly critical of Israel and less supportive of Zionism. Simone Zimmerman, one of the protagonists of the film and a co-founder of the group IfNotNow, says she grew up being told that supporting Israel was central to her Jewish identity, but that collapsed once she visited the Occupied Palestinian Territories and saw the system of apartheid under which millions live. “It’s so deeply contrary to our values as Jewish people to support this disgusting oppression and denial of freedom,” she says. We are also joined by Erin Axelman, co-director and one of the producers of Israelism, who says Zimmerman’s journey mirrors their own and those of many other young Jews who realize they “must fight for the freedom and equality of Palestinians while also fighting antisemitism.” The film is on a 40-city screening tour in Canada and the United States after previous efforts to ban the screenings on several campuses.
Speakers: Harley Schlanger and Mike Robinson
On the 30th anniversary of the release of Lyndon LaRouche from jail, an important blow was struck for universal justice. Yesterday’s ruling by the International Court of Justice (IJC) affirming the validity of the petition brought by the nation of South Africa, which argued that the nation of Israel is in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention in its military campaign in Gaza, is viewed as historic. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that "Africa's petition is an important step, because it puts Israel in the defendants' seat – and this is the first time Israel is being accused of something like this at the ICJ.”
Media commentator Alexander Mercouris offered, “this is a conclusive and overwhelming win for South Africa. This is an interim ruling. The court is not saying that Israel is perpetrating or has perpetrated genocide, but that there is an arguable case, which the court is prepared to hear…15 judges out of 17 believe that there is a case.” The nation of Algeria immediately directed their permanent mission to the UN to request a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to “give an executable form” to the ICJ ruling.
Prior to yesterday’s ruling. The Jan.15-20 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, attended by 120 nations and 3,000 delegates, issued a “Kampala Declaration” which strongly condemned “the illegal Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip, the indiscriminate attacks against Palestinian civilians, civilian objects, the forced displacement of the Palestinian population and further calls for an immediate and durable humanitarian ceasefire.” Also, LaRouche Independent New York United States Senate Diane Sare had issued an “on the record” statement that:
“Whatever the decision of the court, I believe South Africa’s action was correct, and I want it known that as a candidate for United States Senator, that I agree fundamentally with their position. This is the more urgent because over 200 unprincipled and/or cowardly members of the U.S. House of Representatives (see below) have added their names to a reprehensible letter sent on January 23 to Secretary of State Tony Blinken characterizing South Africa’s very well-documented and thorough case as ‘grossly unfounded.’ They are either lying, or have not bothered to read the 84 page report, or both."
South Africa’s actions reflect the new “colonialism is over” world orientation exemplified by the BRICS-Plus alliance. Moreover, worldwide forces for peace through development are recognizing that there is a deeper matter that must be confronted: is there a mental breakdown occurring in the Anglo-American Establishment? With regard to Ukraine, the Veterans Intelligence Professionals for Sanity issued a statement, “VIPS Memo to Biden—Avoid a Third World War.” They offered a clinical analysis: “No experience of the failure of (Anglo-American)policy can shake belief in its excellence, even though foreign adventures drained the treasury and led to imperial decline.” The VIPS view is that “Simply stated, it is not possible to ‘win the war against Russia’ AND avoid WWIII.” Supplying that semblance of sanity, real solutions, and optimism is up to us.
Founder of the international organization, the Foundation to Battle Injustice, Mira Terada, rejoins the program to discuss the need to develop a new international criminal court that is actually a real legit court not controlled by the most powerful and corrupt people in the world. She also shares her perspectives as a Russian citizen on the war in Ukraine and in Gaza. You can learn more about Mira and her organization at https://fondfbr.ru/en/english/
The Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals, headed by Justice Jules Deschênes, completed an important report into its investigation on Holocaust war criminals living in Canada in 1986. It was accompanied by an assessment by scholar Alti Rodal, a document that Justice Deschênes said deserved “wide distribution.”
But it’s been 38 years, and we’re still waiting to read Ms. Rodal’s report as well as the full version of the Deschênes report itself. To this day, many Canadian Holocaust-related records and investigations are inaccessible.
This past April, David Matas, senior counsel to Jewish human-rights organization B’nai Brith Canada, spoke at a Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics hearing about access to Holocaust-era related records. In dialogue with Mr. Matas, MP Lisa Hepfner said, “I think I understood – and correct me if I’m wrong – that the U.S. has a more open system,” and then asked what the U.S. does “differently.”
To call the American system “more open” or “different” is a charitable way to describe the two governments’ approaches, precisely because they are not comparable. The U.S. government provides researchers and the public various avenues of access to Holocaust records through its National Archives and the robust Freedom of Information Act, where scholars and others are empowered to access sensitive documents about Nazi war criminals who took refuge in the U.S. No such system exists in Canada, neither through Library and Archives Canada nor via the federal Access to Information Act. (more...)
By opening up the archives, Canada can finally address its past with Nazi war criminals
Related:
The Republicans are such ‘spineless hypocrites’ that Trump’s running-mate will be someone he’s humiliated in the past. Straight from shoulder Katie Halper.
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice exposed the activities of the Ukrainian website Molfar, which collects and discloses personal data of journalists and public figures from Western countries who advocate peace and criticize NATO. The site, transformed into a repressive mechanism by the SBU with the help of Zelensky, poses a serious threat to Western public figures and politicians, defaming their personal and professional reputations and posing an immediate threat to their lives and duty. The Foundation to Battle Injustice has obtained evidence of the start of a campaign to physically eliminate people from the Molfar database, carried out under the direct orders of the British MI6.
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice published a series of investigations into the activities of the Ukrainian nationalist website “Myrotvorets” between July 2022 and October 2023. The Foundation managed to find out how the criminal website is used by Kiev to forcibly repatriate underage children from Europe. Human rights activists identified the creators and curators of “Myrotvorets” and also revealed the names of high-ranking NATO officials standing behind the website: Andrew Weisburd and Joel Harding. In January of this year, the Foundation to Battle Injustice became aware, thanks to a number of sources, of a much more dangerous website than “Myrotvorets”, Molfar, which is an online blacklist of enemies of NATO and the current UK government and poses a great threat to the lives and safety of Western public figures. They personal details are published on this malicious resource. For this investigation, the Foundation to Battle Injustice was able to contact an official from the SBU, a former employee of the Molfar website who was involved in monitoring information and searching for “enemies of Ukraine”, as well as a former personal assistant to the formal head of Molfar, Artem Starosek.
Molfar.com is the official website of the eponymous organization founded in Kiev in 2014 and engaged in data collection, intelligence and open source information retrieval. Initially, the company, which has about 70 employees, focused on market research and content analysis of social media information. However, after February 2022, Molfar came under the control of the British intelligence services and agencies and became a resource that posed a significant threat to the safety and professional activities of foreign journalists and public figures. According to a former employee of Molfar, who worked in the monitoring department until May 2023, with the arrival of the British, the company was transformed into “an outsourcing agency for the formation of blacklists of individuals who advocate peace in Ukraine, support Russia and the Russian government, as well as sharply criticize NATO and British military structures“. (more...)
Israeli universities are assisting a military slaughtering Palestinians and all Canadians are subsidizing them. We must end this huge financial contribution that should run afoul of charity rules.
In Israel the alliance between the military and academia has grown significantly in recent months. To enable students to participate in its Gaza genocide Israeli universities paused classes for two and half months. At the start of the year the country’s universities and military came to an agreement to restart classes. The schools will grant various benefits to reservists killing Palestinians.
The alliance between the army and academia is longstanding. In an October 4 article headlined “It’ll turn campus into an army base: Tel Aviv University to host soldiers’ program” 972 Magazine described a $4 million three-year deal TAU signed with the occupation force (IOF) to train hundreds of soldiers. Through the Erez program cadets will wear their uniforms on campus (initially they were to carry guns), the military can demand information on students and “the academic staff will refrain from offensive statements toward the IDF soldiers studying at the institution… [including] statements concerning their military service in the IDF.”
The dean of TAU’s Faculty of Humanities praised the program. Rachel Gali Cinamon said, “I don’t think there is another army in the world that does such a thing, that trains soldiers in humanistic values during military service.” (more...)
Why does CRA allow tax deductions for help killing Palestinians?
Patrick Henningsen talks with investigative journalist and radio host Trish Wood, about the problem with Western society as their governments support Israel’s genocide of Palestinian potion Gaza. Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau has also openly supported the genocide, while under fire at home for his fascist antics against Canadian truckers.
In its interim ruling, the ICJ declared that Israel "may have committed acts of genocide", and must prevent future such acts; rejected Israel's motion to dismiss the case; and generally accepted what South Africa presented confirming the intent to commit such acts by Israel's leaders.
But the Court stopped short of demanding a ceasefire. Which raises the question: If Netanyahu's military attacks on Gaza fit the legal definition of genocide, why not order an end to the military assault? At first glance, the ruling is very important, but not sufficient. There must be now a mobilization by people in all nations to create a new strategic architecture, if genocide is to be prevented.
More than 100 days into the siege on Gaza, Israeli officials continue to justify the violence through rampant dehumanization
As a pro-Palestinian Jew in Canada, the past 100-plus days have felt like screaming into a void. After Hamas brutally slaughtered 1,200 innocent Israelis on October 7, I have watched in horror as the Israeli military has carried out months of indiscriminate reprisal attacks against the 2.3 million people of Gaza.
It is taboo in our community to show any empathy for Palestinians, to ever mention their suffering in the same breath as ours. My support for a permanent ceasefire, even if it would save the hostages, has left me feeling alienated.
At the same time, due to unresolved issues of antisemitism, I feel unable to attend Palestinian solidarity demonstrations and marches. I feel cast adrift from family and friends that no longer understand me, yet I cannot set an anchor ashore.
I am tired of watching countless people die in a pointless, decades-long eternity war. I am tired of fellow Jews getting angry that I mourn dead Palestinians. But most of all, I am sick and tired of those who say with faux-sympathy “I understand it’s upsetting, but these deaths are necessary for peace.”
What a sickening perversion of Jewish culture, to try and justify mass death as the road to peace, and not the end of all things. As a Jew, I was raised to value life, not dismiss it with such little emotion. How could I ever tell my Palestinian friends that their suffering is “necessary”? (more...)
As a pro-Palestinian Jew, I feel alienated from my community
‘This is not how a state that claims to have strong protections in place for the export of arms should be behaving.’
Peace activists and humanitarian organizations are accusing the Trudeau government of sowing confusion in its responses to questions about whether or not it has allowed Canadian companies to continue exporting military goods to Israel since October 7.
During a December 6 Standing Committee On Foreign Affairs And International Development, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) Assistant Deputy Minister Alexandre Lévêque said that to his knowledge, there had been no arms export and brokering permits issued for Israel since October 7, and that no Canadian military goods or technology, “including components,” are being used by Israel in its brutal war on Gaza.
However, in a statement sent to The Maple on December 19, GAC spokesperson Jean-Pierre J. Godbout would only say that Canada has not authorized new permits for the sale of “full weapon systems” to Israel since its war on Gaza began.
“Global Affairs Canada has not issued any permit for full weapon systems listed by the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to Israel since October 7, 2023,” the statement read, adding that export permit applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
The vast majority of Canada’s military exports to Israel are not full weapon systems, and typically involve the sale of components. GAC’s statement therefore offers little indication that much has changed in Canadian military exports to Israel.
GAC ignored more than a dozen follow-up requests from The Maple asking if it had authorized any new permits for military components, received any applications for exports of full weapon systems, or revoked any existing permits for the export of any military goods to Israel since October 7.
The Maple also contacted Lévêque directly for clarification on the apparent discrepancy between his comments and GAC’s statement. The request was redirected to Godbout, who provided no response.
For Rachel Small, an organizer with World Beyond War Canada (WBW), GAC’s unclear messaging is likely intentional.
“Global Affairs Canada right now is certainly doing its best to avoid speaking about the Canada-Israel arms trade,” Small told The Maple. “The Canadian government is doing its best to appease people across the country who are demanding accountability, while refusing to reveal any actual information about the export of weapons.” (more...)
Trudeau Government Accused Of Sowing Confusion Over Israel Military Exports
The Corruption of Canada is being exposed and our battle to regain freedom is advancing.
Its been a great start to the new year battling against the corruption with the legal machine and in our parliaments.
The federal courts have struck down as both unlawful and unconstitutional the invoking of the Emergency act in February 2022...
Through the disclosure process we now have evidence that the Crown has been engaged in unprofessional and unlawful actions directing the police to arrest peaceful protestors and many charges are being withdrawn.
My next court case is on February 12 in Ottawa and I will start showing the evidence that our courts, crown and politicians are not only in a conflict interest but also using the legal machine to target political opponents.
The Trudeau government’s response to Ukraine was swift and comprehensive. Its approach to Gaza has been timid and hesitant
Nearly 50,000 Palestinians live in Canada. Most arrived here as refugees. They make up a small part of a global Palestinian diaspora, numbering seven million. Witnessing the war from afar evokes helplessness and anguish for those in the diaspora.
Palestinians are a stateless people, 80 percent of them displaced, 50 percent living outside the borders of their historic homeland. The right of return is feeling more and more remote. Many in the diaspora have extended family members or friends currently trapped in Gaza.
Lima Al-Azzeh, a young Palestinian living in Vancouver, recently wrote a column for CBC’s First Person. She wrote about feeling helpless and suffering in silence while awaiting news from family members in Gaza:
And then there are the other silences to contend with. The ones that feel more personal. Noticing who spoke up and who didn’t. Noticing who reached out with a word of support or comfort and who didn’t. Noticing who, over the years, has cared to ask us genuine questions about what it means to be Palestinian. What it feels like to be homesick for your homeland and every day be confronted by the impossibility of your return.
This is the sixth conflict in the past 15 years where Palestinians in Gaza have suffered mass killings by the Israeli military. This war is certainly the most devastating, with the expressed Israeli intent of stamping out Palestinian life. Palestinians are being called “human animals” by far-right Israeli leaders while as they are merely trying to survive in the face of mass displacement, unrelenting bombing, ethnic cleansing, the destruction of their homes, the lack of medical care, a lack of sanitation, and hunger.
It is hard not to believe that what the world is witnessing in Gaza constitutes the very definition of genocide—a deliberate attempt “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” by “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” (more...)
Gaza and Canada’s refugee double standard
Liberal MP Anthony Rota says "it has been hell" in the months since he resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons over his recognition of a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.
Looking to move on from the embarrassing and upsetting ordeal(opens in a new tab), Rota said while it has been hard, he's still not interested in sharing more about how the highly controversial invitation came about.
"It has been hell. I can't say that it's been easy, but it is the reality. A mistake was made and responsibility had to be taken, and I'm not one to pass on responsibilities to staff or blame anyone. It came out of my office, I took responsibility for it," Rota said in an interview with CTV News Northern Ontario in his riding on Tuesday.
The incident that led to this historic scene unfolding in the House of Commons took place during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's September address to Parliament.
Following Zelenskyy's remarks, Rota drew the room's attention to a constituent of his in the viewing gallery whom he recognized as "a Canadian hero," initiating a standing ovation from those in the chamber.
It came to light in the days following that 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka was a Ukrainian veteran who fought in a volunteer unit under Nazi command. (more...)
'It has been hell': Liberal MP Rota on months since Speaker resignation
While flying close to a small airstrip just over the US border with Canada, the passenger aboard a small Cessna seemed to have a heart attack. After an emergency landing, he miraculously recovered, jumped out of the plane, threw some money at the pilot and ran away. A few days later, he resurfaced in Russia. It may sound like a spy novel plot, but it's just one episode in the true story of real-life American cop-turned-whistleblower, Mark Dougan. After exposing endemic corruption in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, he had to fled the United States and found refuge in Russia.
After leaving the US Marine Corp in, Dougan wanted something more adventurous than an office job and became a police officer. After six years, he left the PBSO, appalled by the blatant criminal activity that he saw within the force. He later started a blog, giving honest cops a forum where they could anonymously discuss and expose illegal conduct by senior law enforcers, who predictably, hated it! After being hounded, harassed, and placed under surveillance for six years, The FBI raided John’s home and seized all his digital equipment; they even gave him his own code name; Bad Wolf.
That was when the whistleblower realised he had to flee and escaped to Russia, leaving behind his wife and young children. RTD's new and exclusive film, Breaking Bad Wolf, tells his incredible story.
Matt and host Peter lay out the historic connection of the ancient mystery cults of Eleusis, Cybele and Mithra with the modern British Empire's Hellfire Club, Phoenix Society, Theosophists, Fabians and Round Table Movement.
The British imperial spread of spiritualism, mysticism and the occult throughout the 19th century is also discusses as well as the importance of researching the figure of Lyndon LaRouche who had raised the alarm bells to this occult parasite over 50 years ago.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the occult in Canada is also discussed a bit.
Vanessa Beeley is an independent journalist and photographer who has worked extensively in the Middle East: on the ground in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Palestine, while also covering the conflict in Yemen since 2015. In 2017 she was a finalist for the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism which was won by the much-acclaimed Robert Parry that year. In 2018 Vanessa was named one of the 238 most respected journalists in the UK by the British National Council for the Training of Journalists.
