Sorry Dimitri Soudas but This is Not About Embarrassing Your Boss

After wondering this morning what would happen to the Afghan Detainee issue, Dimitri Soudas has given us a hint.

NDP Jack Harris, a man I greatly admire, is calling for the immediate release of all documents.

However Soudas hints at what could happen:

“Given the changes to the composition of the House, discussions surrounding the process are best held after the House resumes sitting,” Soudas said in an email. He noted that the Conservatives still support the release of the information even though its new majority status in the House of Commons means it could effectively block opposition measures designed to embarrass, shame or implicate Harper’s government in any wrongdoing.

Knowing that Soudas has zero credibility, we can be sure that any documents that would "embarrass, shame or implicate Harper’s government in any wrongdoing" will be buried.

The NDP should indeed sit on the committee and I hope Harris pushes them hard. Canadians have a right to know what was done in their name.

David Frum, one of the engineers of the neoconservative movement, was on Bill Maher last week, and he suggested that seeing as how Bin Laden is dead, the government should drop all investigations into the use of torture. The rationale is that it works.

I expect Harper will do the same. Suggesting that it's time to put it behind us.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Dimitri Soudas Corruption Charges Just Got More Believable

Deniability is becoming more difficult as someone else has come forward with information about Soudas and the Montreal Port Authority scandal.

The former head of the Montreal Port Authority, Dominic Taddeo, says he resigned from the committee charged with choosing his successor in 2007 right after attending a meeting at a Montreal restaurant with Dimitri Soudas, spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office.

Opposition leaders are calling on Conservative leader Stephen Harper to fire Soudas, charging the PMO spokesman was pushing the Port Authority board to select a certain candidate for the job, former Montreal city manager Robert Abdallah.

Political interference in the selection process would contravene the Canada Marine Act, which says the port authority is autonomous and the selection of its president is up to its board of directors.

Yet Harper is still refusing to do anything about it, hoping for a majority so he can just make the whole thing go away.

Tape Reveals That Soudas Was Lying. Will Harper Still Back Him?

This story is in French but: Authority influence peddling scandal surface. In a nutshell two of the players talk about going through Con Senator Housakos to get Soudas to put the pressure on for the MPA council to pick their candidate.

And there is once again a question of kick backs.

And apparently Harper was aware of Carson after all.

A survey asked which topic would most influence your vote, and overwhelmingly it was Conservatives lack of ethics. I can't imagine why.

Stephen Harper Stands by His Man

In January of 2008, Dimitri Soudas and his friend, Leo Housakos, a Conservative party fundraiser, became the subjects of an investigation into influence peddling.

A joint investigation by the Globe and Mail and Radio-Canada is alleging that a member of the Prime Minister's Office and a Conservative fundraiser directly interfered in a pair of political dossiers.

The report, which aired on the CBC's French-language service on Tuesday night, alleges PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas intervened in favour of a Montreal real estate developer currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the federal government, and sat in on a meeting with representatives of an international military contractor looking to sell its wares.

No charges were laid and Housakos was given a plum senate seat.

In 2010 a House of Commons bailiff tried to serve Dimiti Soudas and another staffer with a summons to appear before the Ethics Committee, but were twice refused entry to the government offices where Soudas worked. Stephen Harper had him in hiding, and no one was getting through the impenetrable barrier.

Now Soudas is again making headlines and Stephen Harper is again standing by his man. Soudas did nothing wrong, he tells us.

And yet at the time of Soudas' interference into an appointment with the Montreal Port Authority, cabinet Ministers were forced to intervene. Why were they forced to intervene if Soudas was not doing anything wrong?

There is also a question of whether or not Soudas lied under oath.

But Harper is not backing down. His boy did nothing wrong. I mean after all, didn't Bev Oda lie and is still running for office?

Obviously, Harper is hoping for another mandate, so he can make it all go away.

On May 2 vote, and vote wisely. Because crime shouldn't pay so handsomely.

Naomi Lakritz Should Stick to Writing For Supermarket Tabloids

This week, Justin Trudeau was raked over the coals for a comment he made that was taken out of context.

In critiquing Jason Kenney's new citizenship guide, which is horrendous by the way, painting Canada as a warring nation run by manly men; he suggested that he wasn't thrilled with the word 'barbaric'.

"In Canada, men and women are equal under the law," the guide says. "Canada's openness and generosity do not extend to barbaric cultural practices that tolerate spousal abuse, 'honour killings,' female genital mutilation, forced marriage or other genderbased violence."

Before getting to anything "barbaric", I take offense to suggesting that "In Canada, men and women are equal under the law". Under Stephen Harper Canada has gone from 7th to 25th place in terms of gender equality.

But Trudeau made the mistake of telling a reporter that although he actually agrees that honour killings are barbaric he is "uncomfortable with the tone." It's "pejorative".

Then, as Dan Gardner says:

...the Conservative noise machine issued talking points while Kenney expressed righteous indignation to any reporter who would listen. By Tuesday morning, Trudeau was in the ridiculous position of insisting that he really does think murder is wrong, wrong, wrong.

And that was when Stephen Harper's government revealed its fundamental character. Dimitri Soudas, the prime minister's spokesman, broadcast a statement addressed to Justin Trudeau on Twitter: "@justinpjtrudeau the right thing to do is an apology to victims of honour killings and their families. Honour killings are barbaric."

What the...? Does anyone really believe that Trudeau condones honour killings or gender mutilation? Hardly. Just more of the 'Harper' government's twisted games.

The following attack ad sums it up, suggesting that Michael Ignatieff supports "human smuggling", when in fact what he opposed was that under this bill, women and children could be incarcerated for up to a year, until their situations were dealt with. But instead they painted the Liberal leader as being dangerously soft on crime.

I think the incarceration of women and children for a year is criminal and frankly, "barbaric". It reeks of concentration camps, something that would have been suggested by the Cons, if the shoe was on the other foot, and the Liberals wanted to throw the "victims" in prison for a year.




This type of thing is becoming so commonplace that few even notice now. But it goes beyond petty, to being a dangerous character assassination.

Yet this week out in Calgary, former supermarket tabloid writer, Naomi Lakritz, actually made Jason Kenney and Dimitri Soudas appear moderate. She attacked Justin Trudeau, even going so far as to invoke his father, a suggestion that he might be ashamed of his son.

If Pierre Trudeau was alive today, I can guarantee that he would not have found anything Justin said offensive, but would have had a few things to say about Kenney, Soudas and Lakritz.

But if you want to make a Calgarian mad, invoke the memory of Trudeau and the National Energy Program. They go into lynch mode, and obviously she knew that.

And she didn't stop there. She actually looked up "barbaric" in the dictionary. Was that necessary? I mean honestly. We all know what the word means. Despicable journalism.

Yes, I think Naomi should stick to the tabloids, where readers might appreciate a bit of word definition.

"a" - "one, non-specific"

"stupid" - "lacking quickness or keenness of mind"

"column" - "a regular feature or series of articles in a newspaper" (in this case lacking of quickness or keenness of mind)

New Survey: Who is Your Favourite Cartoon Character, John Baird or Dimitri Soudas?

Just when you thought Dimitri Soudas couldn't say anything more stupid, he outdoes himself. With John Baird shoving a pair of socks in Bev Oda's mouth to avoid accountability and transparency, Dimitri Soudas referred to Bob Rae's comments about Harper's backroom boys being Jihadists, as an insult to victims of terrorism.

Go right for the jugular.

This from a man who called environmental activists "terrorists", and created a "crisis" in Vancouver over peaceful protests against closing down the safe injection site. He only got involved because the wonderful Libby Davies stood with her constituents.

But Bob Rae has a very valid point and one we should be paying attention to. Those young boys in the backroom do control everything, while the people elected to represent us have lost their voice. Their only function is to read lines and take part in ridiculous little skits.

And Rae was not the first to sound the alarm.

In May of 2006, Bruce Champion-Smith wrote a piece for the Toronto Star: How Harper controls the spin

"What we're seeing here is a degree of control within the government, within the caucus ... that we haven't seen for a very long time .... That control extends to every corner of government.

Even the military

At a recent news conference, senior military officers were under government orders to answer reporters' questions only on the condition that they were not identified."I have to live within that limitation," Lt.-Gen. Walter Natynczyk, vice-chief of defence staff, told reporters.

And from our former ambassador to Afghanistan

Arif Lalani, Canada's ambassador in Afghanistan, is not allowed to speak with reporters without having each individual request approved by Ottawa, sources say. The Canadian International Development Agency has no one in Kandahar authorized to speak with reporters, even though development is ostensibly the focus of the extended mission.

And this tight messaging control caused a delay in the reporting of detainees. According to Brian Stewart of CBC:

All three of the independent military commands at that point (in 2007) — the Canadian, Dutch and British — knew that under international law they were responsible for the well being of all Afghans they picked up, even after they were handed over to Afghan prisons and interrogation centres. The Dutch were concerned enough to report immediately any handover to the local Red Cross
officials. Britain acted within 24 hours.

But Canada? hen Canadian soldiers brought in the usually hooded and tightly bound detainee, our military police on the spot would first inform the colonels and generals in the Kandahar mission control centre. But instead of alerting the Red Cross right away, like the Dutch and British, these commanders, following orders, sent the information to CEFCOM, the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command in Ottawa. his information would then be passed over to Defence Headquarters and to Foreign Affairs.

By the time the information was vetted, no one knew where the detainees had gone.

And in 2007 evidence revealed that Stephen Harper's office was already engaged in a cover up.

WASHINGTON–Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office used a "6,000-mile screwdriver" to oversee the denial of reports of Afghan detainee abuse when the scandal first erupted in 2007, according to a former senior NATO public affairs official who was then based in Kabul. The former official, speaking on condition his name not be used, told the Toronto Star that Harper's office in Ottawa "scripted and fed" the precise wording NATO officials in Kabul used to repudiate allegations of abuse "at a time when it was privately and generally acknowledged in our office that the chances of good treatment at the hands of Afghan security forces were almost zero."

"It was highly unusual. I was told this was the titanic issue for Prime Minister Harper and that every single statement that went out needed to be cleared by him personally," said the former official, who is not Canadian.

"The lines were, 'We have no evidence' of coercive treatment being used against detainees handed over to the Afghans. There were very clear instructions for a blanket denial. The pressure to hold to that line was channelled via Canadian military and diplomatic personnel in Kabul. But it was made clear to us that this was coming from the Prime Minister's Office, which was running the public affairs aspect of Canadian engagement in Afghanistan with a 6,000-mile screwdriver."

And even more alarming, according to Rick Hillier, Stephen Harper's backroom boys want to now run our wars from behind the safety of their junk food laden desks. (Hillier slams 'field marshal wannabes' in revised edition of his memoir, By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press, October 11, 2010)

Canada's former top soldier is warning that "field marshal wannabes" are angling to take a bigger role in directing the day-to-day operations of military forces in the field. Retired general Rick Hillier says a policy paper is circulating around senior levels of the Harper government that suggests the Clerk of the Privy Council and the deputy minister of defence take a greater role to "guide" the military.The former chief of defence staff writes, in a new postscript for the softcover edition of his memoirs, that there is a growing movement within the federal government to establish a system of micro-management that could extend from the highest reaches of Ottawa all the way down to individual combat units.

...The notion that the military needs greater guidance on how to conduct operations irked Hillier. "What crap!" Hillier writes in the new edition of A Soldier First, an advance copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press.

So when Bob Rae uses strong language to sound the alarm on Harper's Jihadists, we need to pay attention. This is a very serious issue. These young men are not elected and therefore don't have to be accountable to anyone except our dictator.

Is a friend of Dimitri Soudas's Really the Best Choice for the CRTC?

Dimitri Soudas has been involved in some of the most underhanded backroom deals, since Marjorie LeBreton played kingmaker for Brian Mulroney.

So Canadians should be very concerned when we learn that one his chums has been appointed to the CRTC.

Tom Pentefountas, who was appointed on Friday, "failed on every count" of the vetting process, Angus said during question period in the House of Commons on Monday. "This appointment stinks." Angus and NDP House leader Libby Davies charged that Pentefountas, a former president of Quebec's conservative ADQ party, does not meet several of the job's requirements, including an in-depth knowledge of the broadcasting industry and media convergence.

These guys no longer even try to hide their corruption. Instead they flaunt it like a badge of (dis)honour.

So I wonder why they needed a neocon insider. Was it for Fox News North, or the Egyptian dictator?

Is Dimitri Soudas Our New Defence Minister?

After hearing from Rick Hillier that Stephen Harper wants to handle military maneuvers from the safety of his office, it would appear that the Minister of Defence is now obsolete.

The unelected Dimitri Soudas is instead handling all matters relating to the military, including the possibility of a three year extension to the Afghan mission. He even outranks the DND.

A motion before Parliament, prompted by a petition presented by 30 million Canadians, will provide all citizens with free Ambien. Otherwise, we may never sleep again.

So Michael Ignatieff Destroyed Our UN Bid. Why Not Paul Heinbecker? Or Are They Afraid We'll Read His Book?

There was a letter to the editor in the Kingston Whig Standard, by Roy Kenny of Napanee, in response to Canada losing it's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council.

It wasn't unlike others I've read from Harper's supporters. Things like "freedom", "human rights", "democracy" and "the rule of law", thrown around.

Michael Ignatieff suggesting that "we didn't deserve a seat on the Security Council", tilting the vote, though it was erroneously stipulated that he had been saying that for months, when in fact it's been more like days.

But there is something very important that is being missed here. Partisan jabbering aside, this is a significant snub. And while I'm sure Ignatieff is flattered that anyone thinks he has that much power, it's other voices we should be listening to, because those are the voices that made the difference.

Like that of the Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Kamalesh Sharma, who in November of 2009, joined others in a movement to have Canada kicked out of the Commonwealth, because of our inaction on climate change. Or the voices at Copenhagen who awarded us the 'Colossal Fossil', not just for our "do nothing" stance, but for the fact that the Harper government actually sabotaged the negotiations.

Or Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, who lambasted Stephen Harper for snubbing organizers of a major international conference because he was “afraid” to show his face after his lack of leadership on health at the recent G8 summit.

Or maybe the voice of Robert Fowler, Canada's former top diplomat who was kidnapped and held for ransom last year, while on a special mission for the UN. He recently commented: “I’m not sure that Canada deserves to win this election, for we no longer represent the qualities which we Canadians have long insisted that candidates for the council should bring to such responsibilities."

Or perhaps the voices of Mr. Fowler's colleagues, the 100 former senior diplomats and ambassadors who signed a letter, along with Fowler, in support of Richard Colvin, the man who was being vilified by the Harper government because he spoke out against Afghan detainee abuse.

Or how about Paul Heinbecker, our UN Ambassador the last time we had a seat on the council. Heinbecker has written a book which offers a scathing assessment of the Harper government's international performance. He criticizes our UN peacekeeping missions, where we are now ranked 53rd, and reveals that Canadian diplomats are discouraged from taking part in UN human rights negotiations. They are also forbid from using terms such as "gender equality" and "international humanitarian law", even though these terms come from treaties Canada has ratified; simply "because the words offended the sensibilities of the party's social conservative base."

And we can also add the voices of Canadian foreign aid workers who understand the significance of the "secret" changes to our foreign policy. Like Adrian Bradbury in Northern Uganda, who got his "list" of things he's no longer allowed to say. "When speaking of the war, where upwards of 3 million people have been killed, and rape is widely used as a tool of war, the terms "impunity" and "justice" can no longer be used when calling for an end to, and punishment for, sexual violence."

And Bradbury reminds us that Canada had fought hard to have those things included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, making them part of the human rights language. Now we have abandoned them with no input or debate.

So Mr. Kenney while you might not respect the United Nations, the fact is that the United Nations used to respect us. And it was not only African or Arab nations voting against us, but many former allies, including India.

And while most Canadians do stand with Israel, we prefer that it not be at the expense of our relationship with the rest of the Arab world, or mean that we have to marginalize one million Muslim Canadians. It was that kind of narrow minded attitude and xenophobia that caused the Holocaust.

But maybe Robert Fowler says it best, when he aptly remarked recently: "The world does not need more of the kind of Canada they’ve been getting.”

I'm so proud.

Why we Must Listen to Ron McKinnon and Ignore Dimitri Soudas

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

The story of the S.S. St. Louis is well known in history, and immortalized in the movie The Voyage of the Damned. For those who need a refresher, the S.S. St. Louis was a Jewish refugee ship that set sail May 27, 1939, with 938 Jews from Germany headed for Cuba. (1) The short version is that it was turned away, not only by Cuba but also by the United States and Canada. As a result the ship was forced to take the refugees back to Germany, where many died in concentration camps. It has always been a black mark in our history.

And yet we now poised to repeat history with our government's handling of the Tamil Refugees. Through clever PR and hyperbole, these refugees are being painted as 'terrorists', and Stephen Harper has taken it one step further, by putting "pressure" on oppressive regimes, to make sure that victims of these regimes, never escape again. AKA: we support your oppressive regime and please do what you have to do. Just don't send them here.

Michael Ignatieff has said that "We [Canada] must always be a haven in a heartless world." Jack Layton called their plight "... a symptom of the continued humanitarian suffering in Sri Lanka."

While Stephen Harper "described the vessel as "abnormal", claimed that it created security concerns and warned that he could seek a change in the law to deal with similar arrivals. Canada's public safety minister, Vic Toews, said that it could contain members of the Tamil Tigers and that it was a "test ship ... part of a broader organised criminal enterprise". (1)

And a member of Jason Kenney's Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Maureen Bader, asked "... Do human rights advocates, clerics, and "progressives" really think that our lifeboat [Canada] can be infinitely accommodating? Do they even know that we are living in a lifeboat? ... Since several voices have spoken on behalf of the Canadian taxpayer and the need for public security, let me presume to speak on behalf of Mother Nature. She doesn't distinguish between refugees and migrants. She doesn't notice if they are legitimate or illegitimate, or whether they are skilled or unskilled. She doesn't really care if they will assimilate into our culture or remain apart. Nor does their fiscal burden impress her, or their crime rate, for that matter..."

She is citing potential ecological damage, but speaking for Mother Nature? What a load of crap. Jason Kenney must be so proud.

Canada is a big country. No one is saying that we need to simply allow all refugees to land without proper screening, but to suggest that all claims must be made and processed overseas, means certain death for many. And to paint them all as "terrorists" or threats to national security, sounds more like xenophobia , and has no place in a democratic and multicultural country.

The Voyage of the Damned

On the surface, it appeared that the Nazis were trying to be fair, and allow the Jewish population, at least those who could afford it, to leave. But there were other things at play here.

For one thing, it provided an opportunity for profiteers.

The cost of this trip was exorbitant; most Jews could not afford it. Almost all of them had lost their jobs. The Nazis had forced them to pay steep rents for their homes or apartments. Relatives from outside Germany, in some cases, had sent them money. Several families had to pool their resources so that just one member of the family could leave, thus rupturing family units. Each person was permitted to take the maximum equivalent of $4.00 in cash upon leaving. (3)

And to top it off, visas had to be purchased from a corrupt Cuban government, who told the refugees that they would be processed in Cuba first, and then would be welcome into the United States.

But it was a set-up.

Even before they set sail, it was apparent that they would not be welcomed. "The U.S. State Department in Washington, the U.S. consulate in Havana, some Jewish organizations, and refugee agencies were all aware of the situation. The passengers themselves were not informed ..." (1)

And the reason for this, was that Nazi propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, saw it as a perfect opportunity to embarrass other nations who had been vocal about Germany's persecution of the Jews.

The voyage of the St. Louis attracted a great deal of media attention. Even before the ship sailed from Hamburg, right-wing Cuban newspapers deplored its impending arrival and demanded that the Cuban government cease admitting Jewish refugees. Indeed, the passengers became victims of bitter infighting within the Cuban government. The Director-General of the Cuban immigration office, Manuel Benitez Gonzalez, had come under a great deal of public scrutiny for the illegal sale of landing certificates. (1)

But there was also a populist movement in Cuba against accepting these refugees. "Both agents of Nazi Germany and indigenous right-wing movements hyped the immigrant issue in their publications and demonstrations." and "Hostility toward immigrants fueled both antisemitism and xenophobia." (1)

And with the help of right-wing media:

Reports about the impending voyage fueled a large antisemitic demonstration in Havana on May 8, five days before the St. Louis sailed from Hamburg. The rally, the largest antisemitic demonstration in Cuban history, had been sponsored by Grau San Martin, a former Cuban president. Grau spokesman Primitivo Rodriguez urged Cubans to "fight the Jews until the last one is driven out." The demonstration drew 40,000 spectators. Thousands more listened on the radio. (1)

So to recap: Profiteers profited. Governments used it for propaganda. Right-wing groups engaged in xenophobia. Right-wing media inspired demonstrations. And despite all of this, those refugees were still refugees and their claims of persecution valid, as later proven when the horrible news of the Holocaust was echoed around the world.

And yet this week, when a brave soul, Rob McKinnon, President or the Port Moody–Westwood–Port Coquitlam Federal Liberal Association, suggested that the actions of the Harper government were "akin to collaborating with the Nazis to stop the flight of Jews", the media went nuts. Dimitri Soudas went on one of his usual insane rants, and they followed him around with glazed eyes and open mouths.

But as Mr. McKinnon pointed out:

...while Canada supports the UN Declaration on Human Rights that provides that everyone has a right to seek in another country asylum from persecution, as well as conventions that clarify our obligations in such matters, it turns out that if refugees don’t reach our territory we don’t have to do anything. So they propose to stop on the high seas vessels carrying such persecuted souls, and turn them back well before they get to Canadian waters; if we build the wall high enough, and make it impossible for refugees to actually get here, we can bask in our warm pious glow and never have to actually face them. (4)

We, as a nation, should be both alarmed and ashamed.

Taking the Moral High Ground

If you want to draw a modern parallel, look at Glen Beck and his Tea Parties. It's not too difficult to see him as a Grau San Martin urging Cubans to "fight the Jews until the last one is driven out." His demonstrations attract thousands, but the issue is now Muslims, women, blacks and Liberals. And in the same way that our media went after Mr. McKinnon, Beck's Fox News* attacks anyone with dissenting views. Facts are optional.

But we also have to take a look at ourselves. As Mr. Mckinnon says, "we can bask in our warm pious glow and never have to actually face them."

In 2008 the Harper government acknowledged our complicity in the St. Louis incident, which was a good thing.

This past week, the government of Canada made a series of important announcements, acknowledging errors of past governments and providing resources to commemorate these blights on Canadian history. Along with an announcement of funds for an educational program related to the St. Louis, recognition was also given to the Komagata Maru ship incident, where more than 350 potential immigrants from India were denied entry into Canada in 1914. (5)

However, you can't apologize for past mistakes, and then continue to make them. This feel good, "pious" act is only candy coating for our new draconian immigration policies. We have to prevent further holocausts, not be seen as promoting or accepting them.

At about the same time as the S.S. St. Louis incident, there was a letter to the editor of Time magazine, chastising the the way that the Nazis treated their refugees. It was from a passenger who had travelled on the Caribia, another Hamburg-American liner. And he says:

It is one of the most exasperating and humiliating things that can happen to a human being in the world today—to travel on a German ship loaded with Jewish refugees. ... At first, you find yourself enraged at the Germans for being so inhuman but gradually you take a deeper and more abstract view of the situation and, while you develop a sense of shame for the Germans, you come to suspect that their treatment of the refugees is just another indication of a reappearance in Germany of that peculiar quality which in the end will always bring defeat on the German nation. . . .

... The lines between the Germans and the Jews and between the Germans and all other foreigners on board were drawn long before I got on in Curaçao. By the time I got on, the ship had divided into two groups with the Germans by themselves and all others on board—English, a few Americans, a few Irish, Venezuelans, Colombians, etc., all siding with the Jews. . . .

The Hitlerites would not swim in the pool with the Jews. . . . The Germans ate their meals in solitary Nordic splendor—all by themselves. . . . The Germans were angered beyond measure when we went ashore with the Jews at Cartagena and Puerto Colombia. . . . I never was so glad as I was this morning to put foot on American soil. (6)

That same American soil that segregated it's blacks, and afforded few rights to African Americans. "No blacks allowed" ... "Blacks to the back of the bus". Those were familiar signs in Mr. Caldwell's America, but he could take the moral high ground because he defended the Jewish refugees. Prejudice is prejudice, and while he himself may not have harboured bigotry, what's that they say about people who live in glass houses? Or a segregated America?

A similar situation, that was even more grave, also proves this point. In his book, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, tells the story of Captain Wolfgang Hoffman. Hoffman was not a member of the SS, but an ordinary citizen; the commander of a Police Battalion, given the task of executing Jews in Poland.

But when the commander was presented with forms that he must have his men sign, promising that they would not steal from the state, Hoffman fired back with righteous indignation:

" it appeared to me a piece of impertinence to demand of a decent German soldier to sign a declaration in which he obligates himself not to steal, not to plunder, and not to buy without paying. . . ." He continued by describing how unnecessary such a demand was, since his men, of proper ideological conviction, were fully aware that such activities were punishable offenses. He also pronounced to his superiors his judgment of his men's character and actions, including, presumably, their slaughtering of Jews. He wrote that his men's adherence to German norms of morality and conduct "derives from their own free will and is not caused by a craving for advantages or fear of punishment." (7)

He took a stand in protecting the honour of his men. The same men whose duty was the senseless slaughter of human beings. Not in self defense. Not as justice for crimes. But for the simple sin of being Jewish.

In the Bible study of the St. Louis incident (3), that I quoted, there is an interesting assumption made by the author.

The S.S. St. Louis incident also underscores the constant need for a strong and secure Israel. Had there been an Israel during the years of the Holocaust, not only would the passengers of the S.S. St. Louis, but thousands, if not millions, of the victims of Treblinka, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and other death camps could have found a place to begin their lives anew. Regardless of our views of some of Israel’s policies, we must acknowledge that it is the only country in the world that will admit an unlimited number of Jews living under duress at all times. (3)

But they are wrong. Prejudice against Jews was not confined to non-Jews. According to the James Shasha Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem:

Some 90,000 German Jewish immigrants came to Palestine in the 1930s, particularly in 1933 after Hitler’s rise to power. Their impact was felt in almost every sphere of life in the country – academic, social, cultural, industrial, judicial, medical, agricultural and architectural. This was not another immigration of young pioneers, but of people in their 30s or older, who already had established professions, such as, physicians lawyers, merchants, economists, theatre professionals, musicians and artists.Much has been written of the painful absorption process of the German Jews into the local society.

There was a huge clash between these migrants, whose nature was seen as foreign, and the absorbing element, the Eastern European Jews – established, patronizing and holding key positions in the community. For example, Eliezer Yafe, a leading figure in the Labor Movement, wrote: "There is a great danger to the community from the Hitler Zionists, after their Vaterland vomited them out. Is it not possible that they will wish to have their own German schools, a German hospital?"

"Vomited them out"? Again, prejudice is prejudice. Xenophobia is xenophobia. No one can take the moral high ground unless they earn it.

When Canada turned away the St. Louis, we had an arch anti-Semite as Minister of Immigration, by the name of Frederick Charles Blair. And his opposition to the Jews was based on ignorance.

“I suggested recently to three Jewish gentlemen with whom I am well acquainted, but it might be a very good thing if they would call a conference and have a day of humiliation and prayer, which might profitably be extended for a week or more, where they would honestly try to answer the question of why they are so unpopular almost everywhere...I often think that instead of persecution it would be far better if we more often told them frankly why many of them are unpopular. If they would divest themselves of certain of their habits I am sure they could be just as popular in Canada as our Scandinavian friends are.” (9)

This was not unlike what William Aberhart said on the matter:

Personally, I have little doubt that in working through Jews, the Jewish financial group has sacrificed its own people on the altar of its greed for power and this group is preeminently responsible for the poisonous anti-Semitism which is rampant in the world today. (10)

Or in a report prepared by Ernest Manning tying Communism with Judaism:

If international finance and socialism are travelling in the same direction is it possible that socialism is promoted by the money power to hasten the completion of their plot for world domination? Not only is it possible, but there is a fund of evidence which leads to the inevitable conclusion that there is a plot, worldwide in scope, deliberately engineered by a small number of ruthless international financiers. (10)

It was their own fault. They just needed to be sat down and have the whole thing explained to them. Maybe a day of humiliation and prayer would make them see the light.

What Kind of Country Do We Want to Live In?

That question was asked recently in a column about the closing of Canada's Prison Farms, but it relates to many of the changes made to the Canadian identity, since Stephen Harper and his Reform Movement took power.

Do we want to be "a haven in a heartless world" as Michael Ignatieff suggests and see the symptoms "of the continued humanitarian suffering in Sri Lanka" as Jack Layton reminds us. Or will we simply "bask in our warm pious glow" as feared by Rob Mckinnon?

We have pulled ourselves, for the most part, out of the darkness of anti-Semitism, but now risk jumping head first into the perils of bigotry against others, based on the fear of "strangers". This is the kind of fear that prompts a Florida minister to consider burning the Quran. And it is the kind of fear that prompts right-wing groups, like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to suggest that taking in refugees is a threat to Mother Nauture. (I'm sorry, but that's just nuts).

And it's the same fear that prompts Stephen Harper to tell oppressive regimes to sort out their own "mess" and not send it here. Canadians should not have to be "bothered" with this.

Forget that Sri Lanka is quickly become a "white van" culture, where the police and other government agents engage in intimidation and unwarranted arrests**. Where corruption and police brutality have become the norm. (11) And that Reporters Without Borders have ranked Sri Lanka 165th among 173 countries in its annual worldwide press freedom index***. Or that Human Rights Watch**** research alleged that the Sri Lankan government is responsible for widespread abductions. (Wikipedia)

Instead Vic Toews is focusing on the criminal act of selling passports to legitimate refugees, as the main problem, and not the fact that they are "legitimate refugees." That we have to listen to their stories, and not as Stephen Harper suggests, leave it to the government with the "white vans" to sort out the problem.

The refugees aboard the St. Louis bought their freedom. But by not listening, and assuming the worst, we sent them to their deaths.

Is this really your Canada? Is this really how you want to be defined?

We need to listen to the Rob McKinnon's of this country and ignore the Dimitri Soudases, and the Vic Toews and the Stephen Harpers and the Maureen Baders.

And we need to listen to the Tamil Refugees. Our identity as a fair and compassionate people depends on it.

Something else to think about. The following Nazi poster depicts the heroes of the French resistance as members of an Army of Crime. Something to think about.



Footnotes:

*Canada may soon have out own Glen Beck in Kory Teneycke and Fox News North.

** G-20 anyone? Witch Hunts Anyone?

*** Accurate News and Information anyone?

**** Amnesty International report anyone?

Sources:

1. Voyage of the St. Louis, Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Museum

2. Sri Lankan Tamil refugees spark racism row in Canada: Government accused of scaremongering after prime minister claims 500 asylum seekers aboard boat a security concern, By Duncan Campbell, UK Guardian, September 7, 2010

3. The S.S. St. Louis, Bible Study, No. 148

4. An Evasion of Duty, By Ron McKinnon, Discourse, September 8, 2010

5. Voyage of the SS St. Louis: Journey toward a better future: Canadian government points the way forward by commemorating blights on our history, By: Bernie Farber, Toronto Star, May 27, 2008

6. Letters, Apr. 24, 1939, By: Ben Caldwell, Time Magazine

7. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, By Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Vintage Books, 1997, ISBN: 0-679-44695-8, Pg 3-4

8. The Migration Experience as Expressed in the Arts, James Shasha Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, June 4 – 8, 2006

9. A Look Back at Canada’s Anti-Semitic History: Frederick Charles Blair, Fight Hatred, March 22, 2010

10. A Trust Betrayed: The Keegstra Affair, By David Bercuson and Douglas Wertheimer, Doubleday Canada, 1985, ISBN: 0-385-25003-7, Pg. 34-38

11. The Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan State, by Ashik Bonofer & David Morgan, South Asia Analysis Group, Paper No. 3786, April 29, 2010

Guest Column by Ashik Bonofer & David Morgan

What is Stephen Harper up to Now? This Man is Dangerous

As Harper and his army of misfits have been posturing in the North, a story of immense military build-up in the area should be troubling to Canadians.

This is a government with it's head stuck in the Cold War and you can just imagine their "base" salivating and chanting "get those Ruskies".

Military exercises are one thing, and so is the appearance of an alliance as a deterrent, but the game that Harper and MacKay are playing is a dangerous one indeed.

After visits by Canada's defense and military chiefs to inspect the multinational war games, Prime Minister Harper arrived in Resolute on August 25, the penultimate day of the 20-day military maneuvers, to - in the words of one of the nation's main news agencies - rally the 1,500 Canadian, American and Danish troops present.

Harper's visit to inspect the exercise occurred only hours after another - potentially dangerous - publicity stunt by his government: Dispatching CF-18 fighter jets (variants of the American F/A-18 Hornet) to allegedly ward off two Russian Tupolev Tu-95 (Bear) strategic bombers patrolling off Canada's northern border, "something the Russian military does frequently." Harper's press secretary, Dimitri Soudas, "said the two CF-18 Hornet fighters visually identified the two Russian aircraft approximately 120 nautical miles north of Inuvik in Northwest Territories," over international waters.The timing of the Canadian action, as that of its announcement, was calculated. As was a comparable incident in February of 2009 when then recently installed U.S. President Barack Obama paid his first visit abroad to Ottawa, to meet with Harper, and his host scrambled warplanes to intercept a Russian Tu-95 bomber - on a routine mission thousands of kilometers from the Canadian capital - in a show of bravado and of loyalty to his ally south of the border.

"The Russians said then the plane never encroached on Canadian airspace and that Canada had been told about the flight beforehand." [18] Last year Canada's prime minister and defence minister made the following comments:Harper: “We have scrambled F-18 [CF-18] jets in the past, and they’ll always be there to meet them.” MacKay: “When we see a Russian Bear [Tu-95] approaching Canadian air space, we meet them with an F-18.” A few days before Operation Nanook began, July 28, Canada also deployed CF-18 fighters against Russian Tu-95 bombers "as debate rage[d] over whether Canada needs the next generation of fighter jets to replace the nearly 30-year-old CF 18s. The Harper government has committed to buying 65 F-35 stealth fighters at a cost of $9 billion. Critics have said such Cold War-type jets are no longer needed."

I attended an all-candidates meeting in Kingston last night, as our local Liberals are looking to replace Peter Milliken, now that he is retiring, and the question of Arctic sovereignty was raised. The answers all round were good, but two things were stressed. Moral sovereignty and diplomacy.

Two notions that would be completely alien to this government.

Harper's Northern Annual Photo-Op Was Just More Hot Air

Since Stephen Harper refuses to do anything about global warming, we should at least keep him out of the Arctic. The glaciers are melting fast enough without more of his hot air.

Susan Riley had a great column in the Ottawa Citizen today, in which she exposes the Harper government's view of reality. From Dimitri Soudas's nonsense about a Russian threat, to Stephen Harper's nonsense about a Russian threat.

The Russians must think we're idiots. I can just imagine their political cartoons.

But she also sheds a little light on Harper's posturing in the Great White North.

The truth is that Harper's government, while giving northern sovereignty welcome profile, has promised much and invested little -- outside of annual photo ops like this week's military ballet on ice and Harper's unexpected northern jig.

Meanwhile, a 2005 promise of three new icebreakers has been downgraded to one big ship and six patrol vessels. There is still no sign of the promised northern deep-water port. And -- despite Harper's announcement of three new surveillance satellites to keep an eye on "the bad guys" -- investment in northern science, environmental protection and military presence has been slow in coming.

As Gen. Walt Natynczyk (whose candour is becoming refreshing) noted, the North is a more hostile and expensive environment for Canadian forces than even Afghanistan. Now, if he could free up $16 billion somewhere ...

I agree with Riley. This government is dealing in illusions.

Ideology, illusion, will probably trump reality, evidence, in both these cases. The next challenge for Harper is to convince Canadians, including deficit-shy Conservatives, that we really need those expensive fighter jets -- not exactly tailored to fight home-grown terrorism, which seems a more immediate threat than a replay of the Second World War.

Dimitri Soudas Busted Out of Rehab. If You See Him Send Him Back

Word is that Dimitri Soudas didn't get past the first step in his 12 step Idiots Anonymous program.

IA had sent out an all points bulletin, demanding his immediate return.

Apparently, he stood in front of the group, said "Hi. My name is Dimitri and I am an idiot", then bolted out the back door, screaming "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!"

The police were alerted, and report that he was discovered holding himself and whimpering under a sign with a P and a line through it.

The officer explained that while he couldn't urinate there, they had a nice clean washroom in the psyche hospital. He smiled.

We are safe once again.

Media Fighting Back Over Harper's Message Control

Canadian journalists are now fighting back and demanding a more transparent government. It has gotten so bad that they are not even allowed to report it when a member of government or their staff say "no comment". I'm sorry, but that's fascism, my friend.

This has gone on for four years with barely a whimper. Threats and intimidation has silenced the media, but I think they are finally going to start reporting the news and doing what they went to journalism school for. It wasn't to cut and paste.

Journalism associations from across the country have issued a stern rebuke against the Harper government and called on reporters to fight back against its tight information control.

In an open letter published Thursday, a number of organizations said that what began as a minor irritant has evolved, over four years, into a veritable threat to the public's right to know. The letter begins with an anecdote about how, in Stephen Harper's Ottawa, even no-comments are now delivered off the record -- meaning journalists are told they can't report a refusal to comment.

The letter offers a few examples of how elected people and federal employees are muzzled, images are heavily staged and Access to Information requests are blocked by political staff. "Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the flow of information out of Ottawa has slowed to a trickle," the letter states.

I've quit reading newspapers or watching the news on television, it's gotten so bad. I get most of my information from the foreign press or the Religious Right websites. They seem to be the only groups who actually have access now.

Of course Dimitri Soudas, not wanting Guy Giorno to outdo him in the stand-up comic competition fired back with "Communicating with the Canadian public is one of our government's most important functions..." Yes but how do they communicate:

... handout shots are, unfortunately, widely used by media outlets, often without the caveat that they are not real journalism." The organizations are encouraging their members to take a stand against several practices. For instance, many of the quotes published in daily newspapers are actually emailed from junior staffers.

Reporters habitually receive a few emailed lines from a Blackberry when they've asked for a government official to answer questions about government decisions. The journalism associations are urging members to let their readers and viewers know. Instead of simply reporting emailed lines from the government as if they were real quotes, they say journalists should explain to readers and viewers all the questions they couldn't get answered.

"We are calling on journalists to stand together and push back by refusing to accept vague email responses to substantive questions that require an interview with a cabinet minister or a senior civil servant," the letter says. "We are also asking journalists to stop running handout photos and video clips. We are also calling on journalists to explain better to readers and viewers just how little information Ottawa has provided for a story. "Every time a minister refuses to comment, a critical piece of information is withheld, or an (Access to Information) request is delayed, Canadians deserve to know."

Let Sun Media or the National Post run their nonsense. No ordinary Canadian reads their crap anyway.

Fox News Plans to Run Canadian All Harper, All the Time Network

I posted yesterday on the news that Harper's former communications director and long time Reform Party activist Kory Teneycke, would be joining the ultra right-wing Sun Media, heading up their Ottawa bureau.

However, I have just learned that he is applying for a license to operate a Fox News style, all Harper, all the time; television network that will run 24 hours a day. (Big Brother, anyone?)

A new, all-news network directed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former chief spokesman could soon be coming to Canadian living rooms. uebecor Media Inc., has filed an application for an English-language TV news network with the CRTC, the federal broadcast regulator. The application comes in concert with Quebecor's appointment of Kory Teneycke — Harper's former communications director — as vice-president of development.

By hiring Teneycke, Quebecor and its president and CEO Pierre KarlPeladeau are following the path of Fox News Channel, whose founding presidentRoger Ailes is a former communications adviser to Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr.

The role of Glen Beck will be played by Dimitri Soudas, while Stephen Harper will be playing himself.

They plan to add a children's segment, where Harper will instruct the kiddies on how to clean the sand out of their fingernails after throwing it in their opponent's eyes. It will be called 'Sponge Harp, Kick in the Pants'. Featured Guests include Dick Dastardly and Simon Bar Sinister.

The Joker declined an invitation, saying that Stephen Harper was simply too scary to work with.

We should have seen this coming after learning in December that Harper's office had appropriated almost two million dollars for the creation of movies, that would replace real news.

Taxpayers are being asked to pay an extra $1.7-million this fiscal year to help bolster Stephen Harper's communications support services – just as the Prime Minister's Office begins distributing government videos of Harper to the news media. Supplementary estimates tabled last month by the Privy Council Office, the Prime Minister's bureaucratic back office, boosted internal operational spending by almost $7.3-million for 2009-10. That's on top of existing budgets.

The Privy Council Office already has an archive of more than 300 videos of Mr. Harper dating back to his first months in office, according to an Access to Information request by The Canadian Press. In the last two weeks, the PCO started sending news organizations links to new videos in the same way the PMO has routinely distributed photos shot by Mr. Harper's official photographer. The photos, and now the videos, have sparked a debate over media access and when the use of government-produced and approved images may be appropriate in an independent news media.

“It's not access,” said Chris Waddell, who holds the Carty chair in business and financial journalism at Ottawa's Carleton University. “Access is an opportunity to ask questions and an opportunity to engage in independent work according to journalistic principles. What they're giving you is public relations.” Dimitri Soudas, the Prime Minister's spokesman, says there is no difference between a press release and a photo or video release. (1)

Can't wait to see what our two millions bought. Harper at the Beach, Harper at Home, Harper Making Voodoo dolls of Michael Ignatieff.

Not too surprising, because George Bush did the same thing. And we all know that whatever Georgie does, Stevie's not far behind:

Even more insidiously, the Bush White House is infiltrating local news broadcasts with taxpayer-funded propaganda. On March 13, 2005, the New York Times published a major expose on the production and distribution of Video News Releases, or VNRs, government-sponsored "news" stories distributed to the American people by the so-called independent media.

"Under the Bush Administration, the federal government has aggressively used a well-established tool of public relations: the pre-packaged, ready-to-serve news report that major orporations have long distributed to TV stations to pitch everything from headache remedies to auto insurance. In all, at least twenty federal agencies have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, research and interviews show. Many were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government's role," " (2)

Can I just say how much I love living in a dictatorship. I no longer have to think for myself with people like Kory Teneycke around to (try to) do it for me. I just have to set up my PVR, because I don't want to lose a minute of watching Harper videos. And remember: War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Harper is good.

Sources:

1. Taxpayers on hook for $1.7-million as PMO rolls out video, By Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press, December 08, 2009

2. Too Close for Comfort: Canada's Future Within Fortress North America, By Maude Barlow, McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2005, ISBN: 0-7710-1088-5, Pg. 58

Sorry David Akin But Again You are Dead Wrong

I am so tired of our media trying to spin stories, that part of my mission to work with others to take this country back, is to call out some of these so-called journalists who say really stupid things.

And no that doesn't mean that I expect them to be anti-rightwing or pro-leftwing, but I do expect them to be honest. This country is in serious trouble with a government that acts in almost total secrecy, and a media that helps to keep their secrets. Jack Layton recently referred to it as an attempt to build walls around the truth.

Earlier this month Gloria Galloway wrote an in depth piece on the struggles that legitimate journalists have in obtaining information from this government. And she states.

In 2006 and early 2007, reporters in Ottawa noticed that documents requested through federal Access to information and Privacy (ATIP) laws were taking longer and longer to arrive. Information officers in various government departments privately blamed a new requirement, imposed by the Harper government, that requests be vetted by the Privy Council, the departmental arm of the Prime Minister's Office.

Access to information for the media has become a huge problem, and government control of information, has reached epidemic proportions. This is very serious and needs immediate attention.

The tipping point may have been the discovery that a staffer of then Public Works minister Christian Paradis, ordered the unrelease of a sensitive document, eventually only allowing 30 pages of the 137 pages to be handed over.

Dimitri Soudas went into typical damage control, threatening to fire anyone who pulled that stunt again, but everyone knows that is was business as usual for this government.

According to the Hill Times: Cabinet ministers' offices regularly interfere in ATI requests, says Tory staffer.

Cabinet ministers' offices had been under orders to pressure bureaucrats to pare down the amount of information released under the Access to Information Act up until The Canadian Press recently broke the story on how one political staffer killed the release of a document, forcing the Prime Minister's Office to get involved and to do some damage control, says one Conservative staffer.

"Since we formed government, the PMO has been pressuring us to take a hard line on ATIP requests," the staffer, who did not want to be identified, told The Hill Times.

This is not only completely unethical but should be totally unacceptable in a democratic country.

Amir Attaran, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and a frequent user of access system, is critical of the Information Commissioner's Office and said the apparent interference by Mr. Togneri is more than shocking. "He clearly counselled the concealment of the records, that's a no-brainer, and it's a question of what defence he has," Prof. Attaran said.

Dean Beeby, the CP reporter who broke the story on how his access request was handled by Minister Paradis' office, is a veteran ATI user who has been using the system since it came into force in 1983. He said the ATI system has "pretty much ground to a halt" and that he's "never seen the system so broken."

Enter David Akin, Stephen Harper's little puppet on the Hill.

Canwest News Service Hill reporter David Akin said he was unsurprised by the Paradis incident, adding that it's par for the course for both this Conservative government and previous Liberal governments. "It's not that the Conservatives are particularly bad at this compared to any other group. Governments are bad, I can't stress that enough" .....

Now remember David Akin was also the pseudo-journalist who tried to defend being held hostage on a plane, by suggesting that he has to write for 'conservative' Canadians too. I can't imagine 1/3 of Canadians supporting kidnapping, but who am I to judge.

Akin also recently got into a flap over a story he wrote about Harper's interview with Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe, because the headline (which he quickly stated was not his doing) called it shameless exploitation. After his hissy fit, the headline was changed to something like "And God sent down his second son, Stephen Harper ... )

Smarten up! This is no longer good enough. You can't justify this government's abhorrent behaviour by comparing it to governments past. I was one of seven children, and if we tried that nonsense with my mother, she'd say "if they jumped off a bridge would you do it too?" It is WRONG and I can't stress that enough!

Everyone, with the exception of Akin and 90% of what passes for Canadian media these days, recognize the danger signs. Clues Mr. Akin .... 2006 and 2007 reporters in Ottawa noticed that documents requested through federal Access to information and Privacy (ATIP) laws were taking longer and longer to arrive ... and ..... never seen the system so broken.

It might be Dimitri's job to run interference for the PMO, but it's not yours. David Akin - consider yourself prorogued.

Update on Libby Davies and Dimitri Soudas

After Dimitri Soudas's outrageous performance on Thursday, when describing the protest of our government's decision to challenge the survival of the safe injection facility, Insite; myself and several CAPP members decided to do something about it.

Soudas had taken a peaceful protest and turned it into a hostage crisis, when he learned that NDP Libby Davies was standing with the protesters.

From there it turned completely bizarre with accusations of threatening the lives of Chinese Canadians, veterans and children ... oh, and puppies. There were puppies. (no there weren't, though I'm sure if he saw a picture of a puppy on the wall, he would have included that)

It was pretty clear that Dimitri Soudas had really crossed the line of common decency with this one, and I was quite disappointed in the media who provided oxygen to this embarrassing display.

So on the advice of Christopher White, the man who started Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament; several of us emailed the Prime Minister to let him know that Dimitri's behaviour was unacceptable and in fact, had been for some time.

We also made sure to copy our emails to all opposition leaders.

But then after listening to the radio interviews with Evan Solomon, and reading of Davies hard work on this file; I thought an email to her, on behalf of Canadians was in order. She did nothing to deserve this, and since Soudas is after all, our employee, it was up to us to let her know that the majority of Canadians do not condone this.

And I was very surprised and pleased to get a personal email in reply. Along with the email was the press release from the NDP, who not only denounced his most recent hyperbolic fit, but also previous attacks on their party members, and also on Michael Ignatieff.

See this is what politics is supposed to be about. Respect for each other.

Maybe, since it would appear that Stephen Harper has little interest in reining in the ugly, it's up to us to try to restore some civility, to let all politicians know that we are paying attention.

And as Canadians, most of us are smart enough to know who the real victims are.

Libby's Email:

Hi Emily,

Thank you so much for your message and for letting me know members of CAPP are writing to the Prime Minister on Mr. Soudas' comments. It is very heartening to know that we can, in such non-partisan ways, focus on the need to abide by democratic values (such as not proroguing Parliament) and engage in respectful public discourse (which Mr. Soudas seems to have trouble doing!).

I've attached the press release we sent out today, which also includedes a reference to the attack on Mr. Ignatieff as well.

Thanks for writing, Emily!
Sincerely,
Libby

The NDP Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 12, 2010
PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE MUST APOLOGIZE FOR ATTACKS VANCOUVER

Vancouver East MP Libby Davies is calling on the Prime Minister to apologize to her and retract the inflammatory and false statements made on Wednesday by his chief spokesperson Dimitri Soudas.

“Soudas’ comments misrepresented the actions of an elected Member of Parliament. This type of behaviour should be beneath the Prime Minister and his staff,” said Davies. “Soudas’ hot-headed statements undermined the integrity and dignity of the office of the Prime Minister.”

Davies attended a protest in Vancouver on Wednesday to show her support for InSite, Vancouver’s safe injection site, which the Harper Conservatives have been attempting to shut down despite scientific evidence that shows it is saving lives.

Soudas told the press that Davies organized the protest and that she encouraged “locking and chaining doors of buildings while seniors, veterans, and young children are gathered inside.”

All his charges are completely unfounded and untrue.

This isn’t the first time the Prime Minister’s communications staff have jumped to conclusions based on little or no facts.

In December, Soudas publicly berated environmentalist Stephen Guilbeault at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, accusing him of creating an anti-Harper press release that another group later claimed responsibility for.

In October, the Government accused New Democrat Leader Jack Layton of being responsible for a protest in the public gallery in the House of Commons. Again, the charge was a fabrication.

And last July, the Prime Minister had to apologize after he attacked the Liberal leader based on false information provided to him by Soudas.

“At best the Prime Minister’s spokesperson is incompetent, and at worst malicious,” said Davies.

“However, we're giving the Prime Minister a chance to the do the right thing, apologize, and correct the misinformation that his chief spokesperson has distributed to the public.”

SEE THIS IS MY CANADA!

My Apologies to Libby Davies on Behalf of the Canadian People

Dear Ms Davies;

I hope that you will accept my apologies on behalf of the Canadian people, for the horrible verbal assault you endured, from one of our employees; Dimitri Soudas.

He often forgets that his job is to speak for the prime minister, on behalf of the Canadian taxpayer, and not to act as a hyper partisan bully for the Conservative Party of Canada.

I admire your courage, standing with your constituents, and other concerned citizens; despite the fact that the Insite project could be deemed by some, to be controversial.

I personally support this important service and would like to see similar projects adopted by all major cities in Canada. I feel that it is not our government's job to judge, only to heal.

But this is not about what brought you to the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver, to stand with the protesters; but the unwarranted attack on your character and credibility.

For that I am truly sorry.

Members of CAPP have written to the prime minister expressing our displeasure with the conduct of Mr. Soudas, which sadly has become part of a pattern. We have copied our emails to all party leaders, so they are aware that we can no longer condone this kind of behaviour.

I will tell you up front, that I am a Liberal supporter, but I am a Canadian first, and it is as a Canadian that I am contacting you now.

Our local NDP candidate, Daniel Beals, has been a tireless worker in Kingston, on behalf of trying to save our prison farms; and what I especially like is that we also have people from the Green Party and Liberals, all working together on this important issue.

That to me is what politics is supposed to be about. Cooperation for the good of the country.

Thank you so much for everything you do to move this nation forward. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, I can assure you.

-----------------------
I just sent this as an email to Libby Davies, who did not deserve the horrendous actions of Dimitri Soudas. You can contact her too: Davies.L@parl.gc.ca

And be sure to copy it:

Stephen Harper: pm@pm.gc.ca

Michael Ignatieff: IgnatM@parl.gc.ca

Jack Layton: laytoj@parl.gc.caGilles

Gilles Duceppe: DucepG@parl.gc.ca

Elizabeth May: leader@greenparty.ca

Why Stephen Harper's Attack Dogs Must be Muzzled

Stephen Harper's attack dogs have always been ankle biters, but they are increasingly now going for the jugular.

This is both embarrassing and alarming, as this country's experts are being not only marginalized, but ostracized.

Columnist Frances Russell asked just before Christmas: Who's next on Harper's smear list?

The George W. Bush administration isn't gone, its policies and political style have just moved north.

Like the Bush administration, the Harper government uses Karl Rovian tactics to smear and intimidate not just opposition critics, but parliamentary officers, heads of quasi-judicial agencies and tribunals and even Canada's seven major Christian churches Who's next?

Peter Tinsley, chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission and Paul Kennedy, chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, have both been refused second terms for not toeing the government's line. Tinsley's sin was initiating the Afghan torture probe; Kennedy's was criticizing the RCMP's actions regarding the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport...

While the list of Harper victims is much longer, we did learn this week of another viscous attack, this time on the CEO of the Toronto Dominion Bank, because he dared to speak out in favour of raising taxes to pay down the deficit.

Of course maybe if the media quit downplaying the situation with words like 'spat', we might have a better chance of restoring some order to this zoo.

PM's office attacks top banker in deficit spat

OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office went after one of Bay Street's top figures – TD Bank CEO Ed Clark – for saying senior Canadian executives favour higher taxes to slay Ottawa's deficit ....

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Why Dimitri Soudas Must Be Fired Immediately

Anyone who has watched the 1973 movie the Exorcist, might remember the scene where Linda Blair's head starts spinning and she spews fake vomit.

Stephen Harper's spokesperson, Dimitri Soudas, reminds me of that scene. Constantly spinning and spewing verbal vomit.

Yet, he now represents our only line of communication to the prime minister, and in a democratic country, this should be totally unacceptable.

Especially since he is nothing more than a hyper partisan bully, who has become a total embarrassment to us and the office of the prime minister.

And as an employee of the Canadian taxpayer, why is he now replacing elected representatives on discussion panels? Will he be the only voice we hear from the entire party now?

However, his performance this week, during the protests in Vancouver over the government's announcement that it would be challenging the decision to keep the Insite safe injection facility open, was an all time low for a man notorious for ridiculous stunts.

I doubt however, that he would have bothered to mention the protest at all, since it is a fairly common scene. But realizing that NDP Libby Davis was there in support of her constituents, gave him a perfect opportunity for a little partisan knee capping.

So he fired off this email to the Ottawa Press Gallery:

Veterans, seniors and young children are currently being prevented from exiting or entering the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver because of the Libby Davis “welcoming committee” has taped all exits shut. This is a lack of respect for seniors, veterans canadians (sic) of chinese (sic) origin and the young kids inside the building. The situation has created a security risk for all the people currently in the building. Some doors have been chained or taped shut while people were preparing for a Chinese New Year rehearsal.

He only left out puppies. There were also puppies trapped inside.

This is absolutely ridiculous. If this had been a hostage crisis, as implied by the email; the Swat team would have moved in. There was a bicycle chain placed on a door that the police had removed. The tape mentioned was symbolically placed around the building, but anyone could step over it or go under it, and it did not impede entrance to, or exit from, the building.

And as one person put it:

.. I am making no excuses for anyone chaining doors. I do find it curious yet typical that Soudas jumps up and accuses Libby Davies of organizing the event and of holding people hostage. Wasn't Soudas the same guy who jumped to conclusions in Copenhagen and publicly wrongly blamed a Montreal environmental activist for the Yes Men fake website stunt?

Another thing that strikes me as very odd is that with all of the heightened security in Vancouver, that the PM's entourage could not be escorted through a relatively small crowd of demonstrators. According to reports I've heard, the ability of a small number of people to disrupt the PM's schedule is giving encouragement to those who have larger demonstrations in the works.

See this is what happens when you have a prime minister who refuses to address the people. No press conferences, and only approved questions with scripted answers. This has got to change.

And it will.

Because the Canadian people are going to make bloody sure that it does. If we have to call out every single media personality who allows themselves to accept this lack of communication, we will. We have to.

But for now, our immediate concern is getting rid of Dimitri Soudas.

So Christopher White, founder of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, has suggested that we all email Stephen Harper, but make sure that we also copy that email to the leaders of the opposition parties and our own MP.

Maybe if there are enough complaints, we can make it happen. Here are the email addresses and you can can look up your own MP's here.

Stephen Harper: pm@pm.gc.ca

Michael Ignatieff: IgnatM@parl.gc.ca

Jack Layton: laytoj@parl.gc.ca

Gilles Duceppe: DucepG@parl.gc.ca

Elizabeth May: leader@greenparty.ca

Just let him know that as the employer of Mr. Soudas you demand his resignation, because he does not represent the interests of the Canadian people, only the interests of the Conservative Party of Canada. And that is simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH!