Sorry Ezra. He's Not Just a Man in a Suit

While Ezra Levant and Sun Media "protest too much", the links between the Harper government, the English Defense League and the international patriot movement, which includes the Tea Party Express, continue to mount.

In the following Sun TV segment, Levant once again goes after the "anti-Israel, pro-terrorist" CBC. This time for suggesting that the Jewish Defense League was a terrorist organization.



Levant lists those on the U.S. State Department roll, which does not include the JDL.

That's because the JDL is on the FBI's list of domestic terrorist organizations. And for good reason. According to their files, the JDL has been involved in plotting terrorist attacks within the United States, including:

The two terrorist plots prevented by law enforcement in 2001 were being planned by domestic extremists. Ronald Mike Denton was planning to attack his former place of employment, the Chevron Oil Refinery at El Segundo, California, when he was arrested in March 2001. In December 2001 Irving David Rubin and Earl Leslie Krugel, members of the extremist Jewish Defense League, were arrested as they were in the final stages of planning attacks against the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California, and the local office of U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa.

Both were charged in the incident.

The JDL was also involved in a letter bomb incident that killed an office worker.

LOS ANGELES -- A California court has sentenced to life in prison William Ross, who, together with the American-Israeli couple of Robert and Rochelle Manning, was charged in a 1980 mail-bomb killing.

The sentence closes a case that aroused strong emotions and protests among Orthodox and nationalist groups in Israel and Los Angeles and has dragged through the federal courts since 1988. According to court testimony, Ross, a member of the Jewish Defense League, enlisted the Manning couple, also JDL members, during the 1970s to construct and mail a booby trap.

So Mr. Levant. Meir Weinstein (aka Meir Halevi, aka Marvin Weinstein) is not just a man in a suit, and the Jewish Defense league is indeed a terrorist organization.

I've posted on them and their close relationship with the Harper government before.

Who is the JDL?

The Jewish Defense League was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, and has been listed as a "right-wing terrorist organization" and a "hate group". They have been involved in the bombing of Arab and Soviet properties in the U.S, alleging that they were "enemies of the Jewish people".

Besides creating the JDL, Rabbi Kahane was behind the Kach Party in Israel, which was eventually banned as racist and undemocratic. They were behind the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, a terrorist attack on unarmed Muslim Palestinians, while at prayer, killing 29 and wounding another 125.

Meir Weinstein, the national director of the Canadian branch of the Jewish Defense League, joined the JDL, at the age of 20, after reading the book Never Again written by Meir Kahane.

And though he denies involvement with the Kach Party, despite the fact that both share a clenched fist logo, his inspiration, Rabbi Kahane, was behind both groups.

After the Rabbi's assassination in 1990, the Kach movement split in two, creating the Kach and Kahane Chai. And for Ezra Levant's information, both of these are on the U.S. State Department's anti-terrorist watch list, as well as Canada's.

So he might want to rethink his claim that his buddy Weinstein, is just "a man in a suit" who hates terrorists.

The English Defense League

In January of this year, Weinstein and the Canadian JDL, held what they called their "first" rally in support of the English Defense league. According to the National Post:

A “support rally” for the controversial English Defence League is scheduled to take place at the Toronto Zionist Centre on Tuesday night. Tommy Robinson, the EDL leader, will speak at the rally through an on-line hookup. It is believed to be the first Canadian rally for the EDL.

“I am disappointed that the JDL would support an organization whose record in the U.K. is one of violence and extremism,” said Bernie Farber, CEO, of the Canadian Jewish Congress. “This is more than unwise and I sure hope they reconsider this decision.”

The rally took place as planned.

Meir Weinstein, announced recently that his group would ally with the British organization, which is known for violence and extremism ...The JDL said it is forging ties with the British group to "take a stand against the forces of political Islam."

In an online hook-up with English Defense League founder Stephen Lennon, who goes by the name Tommy Robinson, the Briton said Canadians "need to wake up. The Islamicization of your country is on its way." The Canadian Jewish Congress has opposed the alliance between the two rightist groups, saying that while Islamic fundamentalism is "a real threat," combating it with "generalized hatred against Muslims, as does the EDL, is only a recipe for fuelling more conflict.

Republican candidate, Rabbi Nachum Shifren, travelled to England to speak at a rally, calling the targets of their hatred, "Muslim dogs", and Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, expressed support for the EDL, comparing it to the American Tea Party movement.

True "patriots" one and all.

Tommy Robinson is right.

Canadians do need to "wake up". But not to the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, but to the threat of home-grown terrorist organizations, that have aligned themselves with our current government.

And thank you Ezra Levant.

I've spent days researching the EDL, Geert Wilders and Anders Behring Breivik, pouring over hours of video. But my best links come from you.

Maybe you'd do less damage to Harper's credibility, if you just stopped talking.

Israel Must Adhere to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty

When Jean Chretien was prime minister, during an annual black tie event, he was cornered by media mogul, Izzy Asper (d. 2003).

Asper wanted to know the tax details regarding donations to private foundations. Chretien coolly responded: "Izzy. You have enough money".

This "snub" prompted Asper to seek out the Reform Party. On July 21, 1993, he met with Preston Manning, wrote out a cheque for $ 5,000 and in exchange was allowed to write part of the party's platform. "Izzy pulled out all the stops on that one. He was prepared to invest his personal time and capital for the cause." (1)

This was the beginning of Stephen Harper's relationship with Canwest Global. Not that any of us really noticed their bias.

And it also set the course for Harper's foreign policy when it came to Israel. According to Lawrence Martin:

Though Muslims outnumbered Jews by two to one in Canada, the Jewish community was more politically impactful. Harper was aware, for example, that he stood to gain a major advantage in the Canadian media with his position. The country's largest media empire, Canwest, was controlled by the Aspers, who made no secret of their allegiance to Jewish causes and became enthusiastic backers of Harper on all related questions ... His position on Israel, more uncompromising than Ottawa had ever been accustomed, became the source of a long-running dispute with traditionalists. (2)

Asper's devotion to Israel was spiritual. Harper's political. And because of this, I'm concerned with his next course of action.

Pressure is being brought to bear on Israel and their nuclear capabilities

Israel has long been assumed to possess nuclear weapons. The fact Israel's leaders routinely refused to discuss it did not diminish the certainty with which this conviction was held by the country's Arab neighbours, nor their strong objections to it. But continuing official ambiguity served a useful purpose in that neither side was forced to confront the issue full on. Now the veil has been torn aside.

Proof that Israel is, without any doubt, a nuclear weapons state, means an end to nods, winks and blind eyes. It confirms Israel as the Middle East's premier armed power. And it challenges all the countries of the region, including Iran, to address, separately or jointly, the threat inherent in the resulting, now undeniable military imbalance.

Australia wants Israel to join the non-proliferation treaty.

In Bahrain at the weekend for a regional security summit, Mr Rudd said Australia wanted all countries to adhere to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty - including Israel, which is not a signatory to the 1968 agreement. The nuclear treaty caps the number of nuclear-armed countries at five - Russia, Britain, France, the US and China - but allows other nations to develop civilian nuclear technology.

Canada should be joining in this debate. But we know that Stephen Harper would never agree to anything that would hold Israel to account.

And while conservatives of all stripes, continue to suggest that Iran is the biggest threat to peace in the Middle East, polls in the Arab world reveal that the majority believe Israel to be the biggest threat, followed by the United States. Only 10% fear Iran.

One of the duties of a country's leader is to keep it's citizens safe. This means having a foreign policy that is fair and balanced. Where aggression is only considered when all diplomatic measures have been exhausted. Where the concept of a global community can be a reality.

But Stephen Harper sees no such thing. He grows impatient with those who seek such goals. He follows the neoconservative world view, that sees the world as a "clash of civilizations". Where you shoot first and ask questions later. Bomb first and then sort out the fallen.

Canadians deserve answers, but we know we will never get answers until our media is allowed to ask questions. And our media will never be allowed to ask questions until we have a new leader.

In the meantime, we will continue to seek answers from WikiLeaks, and from men like George Galloway. I guess they didn't think this through.




Sources:

1. Izzy: The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada's Media Mogul, By Peter C. Newman, Harper-Collins, 2008, ISBN: 978-1-55468-089-4, Pg. 83

2. Harperland: The Politics of Control, By Lawrence Martin, Viking Press, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-670-06517-2, Pg. 81

Thank you Mr. Galloway. You are Indeed an Inspiration

For all of their attempts to silence this British member of Parliament, George Galloway has been able to speak in the country formerly known as Canada, and as he says "the sky over Canada hasn't fallen in".

He is a brilliant and caring man and his message is revealing. Or at least it should be.

We are in trouble. The rest of the world knows it. Canadians do not.

The theme of my tour, and the question I still can't answer, is why Canada ended up with a government so determined on isolation from the currents abroad? By Stephen Harper's own admission, you are paying a pretty penny. Although he is ready to "pay any price" for this isolation, I'm not sure you are.

Canada's defeat in the recent election to the UN Security Council was due to the country's "unstinting support" for Israel, as he admits. He's picked a fight with Russia, prompting a former Canadian diplomat to describe his government as the "last Cold Warrior standing." There's the rumpus with the United Arab Emirates over something as inconsequential as landing spaces. Rumbling towards
us is a major crisis in Lebanon with Canada's fingerprints all over the casus belli. The head of the inquiry into the assassination of Rafik Hariri and most of the "investigation" muscle is Canadian.

Canada gained much credit, particularly in the Muslim world, for sitting out the Iraq war. But Harper is no Jean Chretien and the goodwill account is now overdrawn. A couple of broken promises later your young men and women, who have already paid a disproportionately high price among NATO occupation countries, are being sent back into the maw of Hamid Karzai's corrupt, incompetent, failing Kabul congestion charge area caliphate, this time as "trainers."

Please tell me that we are going to wake up soon.

Michael Taube Should Stick to Writing Nonsense for Stephen Harper

Rightest Michael Taube has a very bizarre column in the Toronto Star: Attempt to muzzle Galloway backfired.

As a former speech writer for Stephen Harper, it is filled with the usual "leftist" this and "leftist" that. He is correct in suggesting that had Jason Kenney simply let Galloway in to the country the first time, he would not have been given the publicity.

He is dead wrong on pretty much everything else though.

In fact this piece is pretty close to being libelous. But I'll leave that up to Galloway to decide.

Why is it that the "rightists" will say the most vile things about Muslims, but then cry foul at even the slightest hint of criticism aimed at Israel the country?

I was at a sale on the weekend put on by the Seniors Council, and on the book table found a copy of Glen Beck's: An Inconvenient Book. I walked by it a few times but curiosity got the best of me, so I put down my loonie to see what this loonie had to say.

In an area where he quotes intellects as saying that "Muslim is a stupid religion" (And your mother's got cooties, so there) I found this attempt at humour.


I would never try to debate a Christian Zionist either, or any "extremist". "Extremist" being the operative word.

John Hagee, the guru of Christian Zionism has said: “Ladies and gentlemen, America is at war with radical Islam. Jihad has come to America. If we lose the war to Islamic fascism, it will change the world as we know it.” But if they engage in war based on religious intolerance, it will "change the world as we know it". Hagee is the man who claimed that Hitler was doing God's work as the "hunter" who drove Jews to their homeland.

And like Beck, he is a kazillionaire who makes his living fueling people's fears.

Intolerance of any kind is wrong and George Galloway is trying to help those fellow human beings who are finding little help anywhere else.

When the West was attacking Germany under the Nazis for their deplorable treatment of the Jewish people, propagandist Joseph Goebbels conducted a little experiment. He sent a boat load of not the wealthy Jews but the damned, and sent them adrift to see if anyone would take them in. No one did and they were returned to Germany to face certain death.

The ship was the SS St. Louis.

This new group: Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism, is suggesting that any criticism of Israel can be deemed to be anti-Semitic. It is a very slippery slope. Racism and bigotry is wrong against anyone. They need to expand the parameters to include all victims of hatred, or close the group.

According to Harry Shannon.

There are those who fear that one aim of the CPCCA is to criminalize criticism of Israel's actions and policies. This appears to have happened already in France, where reportedly last year Sakina Arnaud was fined €1000 (about $1,350) for the trivial action of attaching a "Boycott Israel" sticker to a fruit juice carton; and five French activists have been charged with "incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence" after distributing leaflets asking shoppers to boycott Israeli products.

... The Anti-Defamation League has conducted annual surveys of American public opinion on Jews since 1964. The latest survey in 2009 shows "[a]nti-Semitic propensities are at an all-time low" since the surveys began.

And yet Islamophobia is on the rise, creating the same underlying condition that helped to ignite WWII.

And our prime minister claims to have bruises defending Israel, but nary a scratch standing up for this country's Muslim population. Murray Dobbin thinks he may be going insane.

Watching and listening to Stephen Harper’s bizarre and unnerving speech about anti-Semitism and Israel raises the question as to whether or not the man is mentally fit to be prime minister. In effect, Harper has taken the position of being Israel’s defender no matter what – in other words, this commitment comes before his duty as prime minister, before his duty to represent Canada’s interests abroad,before his role of elected representative. Harper is a defender of Israel no matter the consequences for Canada.

So Mr. Taube, Galloway’s financial contribution to Hamas (food, wheelchairs, medical supplies) was not a "terrible lack of judgment" giving "further credence to his skewed position on Israel". But our "rightist" prime minister did show a "terrible lack of judgment" when he chose a foreign country over his own.

That's not leadership and it's definitely not Canadian.

George Galloway Throws Down the Gauntlet. Jason Kenney Weeps.

After threatening to sue Jason Kenney for blocking his entrance to Canada last year, George Galloway is challenging the hapless anti-multiculturalist Jason to a debate.

I'm reminded of a comment I heard several years ago. In a battle of wits Jason Kenney would be unarmed.

Although, I suppose there are enough half-wits in his caucus, that he could glue together.

Nah. Still wouldn't work.

British firebrand politician George Galloway donned a pair of red mittens and clenched his fists Sunday, challenging Canada's immigration minister to a high-noon style boxing showdown. Galloway, who said he fought in his youth, wore the mittens as if they were boxing gloves and urged Jason Kenney to "go five rounds with me." "Jason Kenney, you can run, but you can't hide," Galloway said to cheers from boisterous crowd of 500 spectators who packed a Toronto church to hear him speak.

The cheers from the balcony were often so loud they drowned out Galloway's forceful voice. The audience members stood up to give him several standing ovations. Galloway also challenged Kenney to a public debate and said he would be prepared to stand outside the minister's constituency office in Calgary, and follow Kenney across Canada until he gets one.

There is currently a fundraising drive for poor Jason, to purchase a large supply of Depends. That poor boy will pee in his pants. He's all mouth and when challenged his first impulse is to run. Remember when he removed gay rights from our citizenship guide?

Jason Kenney is Like a Mirage. Get too Close and There's Nothing There.

If Jason Kenney was anymore transparent, he'd disappear (wishful thinking, I know).

In his usual muster and bluster he claimed not to have anything to do with George Galloway being barred from Canada. But if I actually believed anything Jason Kenney said I would have myself committed.

Besides, most of these decisions have very little to do with him. When cornered he sweats, cries and takes a runner, right back to his buddy Alykhan Velshi, another throwback from the Bush administration.

From the first e-mail that Mr. Kenney’s communications director, Alykhan Velshi, sent on March 16, 2009, at 2:09 p.m. to immigration bureaucrats – the subject line was “inadmissible” – only 102 minutes passed before an official in the National Security section of the CBSA had agreed that Mr. Galloway should be barred for being a member of a terrorist organization. ...

It was Mr. Kenney’s communications’ aide, Mr. Velshi, who set the wheels in motion a few days before, on March 16.

He sent an e-mail at 2:09 p.m. to the Immigration Department’s director-general of communications, Edison Stewart, saying he had a media call asking “why we’re letting in the following person even though he’s publicly called for money to go to a banned terrorist entity in Canada [Hamas] and that makes him inadmissible.”

Velshi cut his teeth at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a right-wing war-mongering group that propped up George Bush.

This is what SourceWatch has to say about the founding of FDD.

In early 2001, a tightly knit group of billionaire philanthropists conceived of a plan to win American sympathy for Israel's response to the Palestinian intifada. They believed that the Palestinian cause was finding too much support within crucial segments of the American public, particularly within the media and on college campuses, so they set up an organization, Emet: An Educational Initiative, Inc., to offer Israel the kind of PR that the Israeli government seemed unable to provide itself.

"The Palestinian cause was finding too much support."

Galloway wasn't barred from Canada because he provided humanitarian aide to Palestine, with the consent of the British government, I might add. He was barred because he was going to speak to Canadians about why we should be supporting the Palestinian cause.

When Canada was a democracy we would never have put up with this nonsense. I hope George Galloway sues him for every cent of our money Jason Kenney has.

Why Is the American Ann Coulter Proud to be Canadian?

Being nice to people is, in fact, one of the incidental tenets of Christianity (as opposed to other religions whose tenets are more along the lines of 'kill everyone who doesn't smell bad and doesn't answer to the name Mohammed'). Ann Coulter

There has been a lot of controversy this week over the projected visit of the highly controversial American journalist Ann Coulter. The provost of the University of Ottawa, Francois Houle, did not prevent her from appearing but did warn her to watch her mouth. (Many Americans would prefer she just kept it shut)

"Our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or "free speech") in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here." He continued, "Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges."

Eventually, however the event was cancelled, which got organizer Ezra Levant in a flap:

"It would be physically dangerous for Ann Coulter to proceed with this event," said Conservative political activist Ezra Levant inside the hall. "This is an embarrassing day for the University of Ottawa and their student body . . . who chose to silence her through threats and intimidation."

Of course Levant was in full support of the ban imposed on British MP George Galloway, because he provided humanitarian aid, with the permission of his government, to Palestine. Talk about your double standard, huh?

Levant has been a long time supporter of Jason Kenney and Stockwell Day. Enough said.

However, since the warning, the Canadian right-wing is crying foul, calling it an assault on our freedoms. I guess forbidding us to criticize Israel or even mouthing the word 'Apartheid', without the risk of being charged with a hate crime, is A OK, though.

This sounds a lot like a tactic taught at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute. Blackwell was the Republican strategist who invited Stephen Harper to deliver a speech at the Council for National Policy in 1997. Both Karl Rove and Rob Anders are graduates of this school, and Preston Manning is running a similar program.

They call it 'Controlled Controversy' and Blackwell states that "Academia is the last unbreached citadel of the left, and I believe we are today over the moat." I would rather throw Coulter and Levant in it ... figuratively of course, not literally. Wouldn't want Ezra accusing me of violent intentions, now would I?

Why are so Many American Neoconservatives Proud to be Canadian?

This university speaking tour is not Coulter's first foray into Canadian politics, though. She has been contributing articles for some time now on a site called ProudToBeCanadian.

And while they claim to be proud Canadians, most of the journalists on the site, are from the American Right-Wing. Stephen Harper's former VP when he was running the National Citizens Coalition, Gerry Nicholls is an exception. And so is William Gairdner, whose book The Trouble With Canada became like a bible to the Reform Party under Preston Manning.

But I find the whole thing rather bizarre.

A true conservative site that helps explain the difference between liberals and conservatives.

We're: Pro-life. Pro-freedom. Pro-USA. Pro-Christian. Pro-Israel. Pro-family. Pro-traditional marriage. Pro-free market capitalism. Pro-war-on-terror and war on Islamofascism and terror in Iraq and everywhere else. Pro-military. We're for smaller governments. For less taxes. Against socialism. Against state-owned or state-run media. Against asinine state controls on our legal gun ownership. Against the so-called "progressive", left-wing church of liberalism. Against idiocy generally ...

Few of those things represent Canadians at all, so what exactly are they proud of?

Besides Coulter, their membership includes:

Republican activist Mike S. Adams, author of the book: Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" on Campus

David Warren who also writes for the right-leaning RealClearPolitics

Doug Giles, the Miami pastor who created and hosts Clash Radio. His bio claims that 'Giles’ interests include guns, big game hunting, big game fishing, fine art, cigars and being a big pain in the butt to people who dislike God and the USA'

For Coulter and PTBC, I believe they are just singing to the choir. Anyone attending her lectures, already believe in this nonsense, and the same could probably be said for anyone joining PTBC. I doubt they will lure anyone with their viciousness.

At least I hope not, because I want to still be proud to be Canadian, for all the reasons that actually define us as a tolerant and fair minded country.

PS: For anyone worrying about Ann of the Neocon's interview above; the Reformers have put it to right. In July of last year they erased any mention of our allowing Vietnam draft dodgers into the country.

Text on how both draft dodgers and resisters of the Vietnam War were ultimately allowed to stay in Canada suddenly vanished from the Citizenship and Immigration site earlier this year.

Jason Kenney to the rescue. Did he learn that one of them may have been gay?

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

When Canada Was a Democracy we Were Able to Ask Questions

What happened to us? I mean seriously, what happened to us?

I came of age in the 1960's and we questioned everything. This questioning gave rise to the civil rights movement and a new approach to looking at the world.

But we've now gone back to the 1950's, where we believe everything our government tells us, even when much of it is absolutely ridiculous; and allow them to make decisions for us, simply because we're obviously too lazy to make them for ourselves.

Even the seemingly progressive thinking George Stroumboulopoulos, is framing his questions to George Galloway in the video above, with the usual rhetoric. In my day Stroumboulopoulos would have been considered a stooge, yet he's now one of the more enlightened in the media.

Now don't get me wrong. I like George. He's certainly a breath of fresh air compared to people like Rex Murphy, but he's got to do better than this.

When Jason Kenney banned George Galloway from visiting Canada, he claimed it was because he sent aid to Palestine, and they are in his estimation terrorists. Yet Kenney spoke at a rally of the Mujahedeen Khalq. When it was pointed out to him that they were on Canada's Terrorist list, he shrugged it off, claiming not to know.

I think he banned Galloway because he spoke out against the war and our involvement in it. This is a government that does not allow dissent. You're with them or against them. If you question the war, you're a 'Taliban dupe'. If you question Israeli aggression, you're anti-Semitic.

Journalist and former CBC personality Lesley Hughes learned this the hard way.

In April 2002, after hearing of the deaths of 4 Canadian soldiers, as a result of so-called 'friendly fire', she sat at her computer and wrote a column encouraging Canadians to seek the truth about our involvement in Afghanistan.

At the time, her column reflected the feelings of many Canadians. We were angry and grief stricken and started looking for answers. Yet six years after this piece was written, born again Reformer Peter Kent, pounced on it; trying to paint Hughes as not only anti-Semitic, but a nut for listening to experts, who had many questions about this so-called 'war on terror'.

Because of Kent's actions and his close ties to the entertainment industry, formally known as the Canadian media, (He was an executive at CanWest Global) the press went nuts. Hughes had been running as a Liberal in the 2008 election, but because of Kent's insanity, she not only was removed from the race, but lost her career in the process.

And all because she wanted us to seek the truth. Oh, the horror!

The irony of course is that, Kent's brother, Arthur, is very outspoken on Afghanistan. In fact, he repeatedly warned this government that they were propping up the corrupt Karzai regime, when it had no legitimacy in that country. He also warned our ambassador about the drug trade, and Karzai's involvement in it; and helped with a video 'Freedom From War'. Is he a 'Taliban dupe'? Hardly.

We are pouring billions and billions of dollars into this war. Money that we don't have, but have to borrow. And we are losing too many of our soldiers. When are we going to start asking questions?

We have got to start to RETHINK AFGHANISTAN!

You Know You're Too Right Wing When the Right Wing Tell You You're Too Right Wing

The above video of Doug Christie defending British MP George Galloway, should give us pause. Mr. Christie is the leader of the Western Block Party, who support separation of the Western provinces, and was once kicked out of the Canadian Alliance Party because of what they determined to be his extremist views.

Mind you, they didn't actually expel him because of his views, but because the media shared those views with the public, so they had to do something to selvage their reputation. Douglas Christie and several others actually joined the Alliance to support Stockwell Day's leadership bid, because they believed that they had finally found a voice for their neo-conservative view points.

The other interesting thing about Mr. Christie, is that while it may be easy to dismiss his ideals as extremist, he comes across as very articulate, intelligent and reasonable. He has practiced law for several decades and earned a reputation for defending questionable clients, but in a democracy, everyone has a right to a fair trial, and everyone deserves to be heard.

I'm not from the West, so I can't really weigh in on their concerns, but as a Canadian take it very seriously when any group wants to leave us. So maybe instead of simply dismissing them we should listen, and if it means granting more autonomy to the provinces to handle things like the gun registry, then we should at least consider it.

If they hold a referendum that either overturns or endorses the need to have guns registered, it will be their decision, and they won't always see Ottawa (and Toronto and Quebec) as their enemy. Maybe that's simply the new federalism.

However, back to Jason Kenney and George Galloway. Below is a video of Mr. Galloway, whom I like very much. What is interesting in some of the footnotes, is that Jason Kenney himself has aligned himself with a group who are also on Canada's list as a Terrorist organization.

And he has also joined forces with an extremist group that may be the most dangerous of all, headed by John Hagee and Charles McVety. These people support Israel's use of nuclear weapons against Iran and see the annihilation of all Muslims in the Middle East a necessity before they can achieve their 'rapture'.

That's pretty crazy stuff.