Return of the Combating Terrorism Act

Your government announced yesterday, on a Friday just before the playoffs, that it needs more powers to combat terrorism.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson : "These provisions are necessary to protect our country from the threat of terrorism."

A redo of the panicky now defunct Anti-terrorism Act of 2001, the new Combating Terrorism Act includes preventive arrest and forcing people to testify at secret hearings about terrorist acts that might happen in the future, and if you don't like it you can go to jail for up to a year with a judge's option to extend.

There are more safeguards included this time round - you can have a lawyer! at any time! - which will only allow the Libs to go along with it so as not to be painted as soft on terrorism. Mark Holland, Liberal critic for Public Safety and National Security, already looking to cave.

The argument in favour of anti-terrorism legislation is that criminal law only deals with crimes already committed. What to do about people who feel that crimes perpetrated by the state against their people require a response like blowing things up?

The argument against it is ... well, let's look at how they're doing with the laws they've already got.

The federal government case against Ottawa terror suspect Mohamed Harkat appears to have suffered a significant blow Wednesday when a document was introduced in court showing that Abu Zubaydah, once considered a master terrorist and 9/11 mastermind, actually had nothing to do with the attacks.

Even more surprising, the document, which quotes U.S court filings declassified last week, shows that Zubaydah, once believed to be one of the top leaders in al-Qaeda, was not even a member of the terrorist group.

The unfortunate Mr. Zubaydah got waterboarded 83 times in the US, coughed up Harkat's name, and the Canadian government obligingly held Harkat for 3 1/2 years.
A clue about the reliability of Abu Zubaydah's "testimony" might have been found in his confession to terrorist acts committed after his imprisonment, but sadly, no, it wasn't.

Abdelrazik? "Closely associated" with the same hapless Abu Zubaydah.
Result? Abdelrazik was tortured, then exiled in Sudan for six years. Still on the UN's 1267 terror list, and the Canadian government has frozen his bank account and he can't work.
Help him get off that list? Blow me, said Minister of Public Security Peter Van Loan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon.

Maher Arar - the first inkling for many of us that something had gone terribly wrong.
Adil Charkaoui - in custody 21 months, now free.
Hassan Almrei - in custody for 8 years, now free.
Mahmoud Jaballah - in custody for 6 years, now free.
Mohammad Mahjoub - in custody for 7 years, freed, requested return to jail in 2009 to protest bail conditions worse than jail.
Benamar Benatta - rendered to US for 5 years
Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin

And then there's the ever-expanding definition of just what constitutes terrorism.
According to Jason Kenney's "infandous" Mr. Velshi, George Galloway's proposed visit to Canada last year to give a speech entitled "Resisting war from Gaza to Kandahar" was sufficient for him to prevent a sitting British MP already on tour in the US from entering Canada on the grounds he is "a terrorist supporter".

Nothing about these vile clowns inspires any confidence in their wanting to accrue more secretive powers to their already abused arsenal of abominations.

The Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism

In February, Bernie Farber CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, and 10 other Canadian parliamentarians attended the London Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism.

From Farber's Feb 25 article at CJC :

"Of all the strategies and tactics reviewed, one stood out for broader emulation. It was the development of all-party enquiries into the state of anti-Semitism in individual countries. Such a committee establishes a clear focus and accountabilities, a specific timeline for co-ordinated action by government ministries, agencies and law enforcement groups and a political check against any attempts at appeasement.

It ensures that the fight against anti-Semitism becomes validated by all parties, and avoids anti-Semitism serving as a wedge issue among politicians. It puts the onus for leadership of the battle on non-Jews who have the most credibility in pushing this agenda within civil society. "

And voilà! : The Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism is born. (h/t Dr. Dawg)

The coalition will conduct a national inquiry into antisemitism in Canada.
Today’s announcement is intended to signal that in this country, legislators of all parties are deeply concerned about what seems to be a rising international tide of renewed antisemitism, on a scale not seen in my lifetime.

There will be hearings. There will be witnesses. You can make a submission by July 31.

The FAQs page assures us this is not an attempt to muzzle criticism of Israel.

Yet even as Farber noted in his column "the rise of new forms of anti-Semitism" such as "the linkage of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism", he informs us, apparently without irony or noticing the significance himself (italics mine):

"The U.K. Community Security Trust (CST), which co-hosted the London conference, has developed one of the leading evidentiary methodologies for tracking and understanding anti-Semitic incidents. Last week, it noted that a decrease in anti-Semitic incidents in 2008 (for the second year running) was totally overshadowed by an unprecedented rise during and after the Gaza operations."

Odd coincidence, that.

You know, if some of you guys would knock off conflating criticism of Israel's carnage in Gaza with anti-Semitism yourselves, like this recent nonsense concocted by Farber to punish Zerbisias, Jason Kenney's success in barring George Galloway from entering Canada, and Steve going all Godwin on us last year :

Criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, Harper says

Mike Souza, Canwest News May 09 2008

Some of the criticism brewing in Canada against the state of Israel, including from some members of Parliament, is similar to the attitude of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned yesterday.

"I guess my fear is what I see happening in some circles is (an) anti-Israeli sentiment, really just as a thinly disguised veil for good old-fashioned anti-Semitism, which I think is completely unacceptable," Harper said in an interview with CJAD radio.

... it would go some distance towards striking a blow against the actual anti-Semitism that really does need combating.

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Critics of Israel's policies know anti-Semitism exists and we support legitimate attempts to combat it.

What we do not support is the weasely conflation of anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism/criticism of Israel by Israel's defenders in the underhanded attempt to muzzle any criticism of the policies of the State of Israel by calling all of it, in Steve's happy phrase, "good old-fashioned anti-Semitism".

Unfortunately I fear that whatever McCarthyite machinations are being brewed up in this parliamentary committee of Farber and Kenney's will only serve to further blur that line.
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Grade 5 composition; Grade 10 social studies

Over at Creekside, Alison provides information most people had received via the public education system by the time they were 15. If they had stayed in school.

I have one more item to add.

No matter how one views the George Galloway controversy, if one is going to frame a petition, or in this case, a counter petition, one should be certain that the opening does not contain a heinous error in the salutation. (For those who were absent that day in grade 5, that would be the person or persons directly addressed.)

Jason Kenney is not The Right Honourable. Officially, as a Canadian minister of the Crown (and not the prime minister), the correct honorific is "The Honourable". Kenney is not entitled to the socially superior reference. That's basic secondary school stuff.

Notwithstanding, there are many other things we could call Jason Kenney with complete accuracy.

George Galloway runs afoul of the Canada-Israel "border"

Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, has stated repeatedly that the banning of George Galloway from Canada is not his responsibility.
Well of course it isn't.
It's the responsibility of the Canadian Border Services Agency under Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan.

Say, how's that Canada-Israel "homeland security" border coming along?

State of Israel - Ministry of Public Security :

"On November 17-26, a delegation from the Ministry of Public Security visited the United States and Canada on an official visit. The visit was within the framework of the joint work team with the American Department of Homeland Security on Science and Technology.

In March 2008 a Declaration of Intent was signed between the Israeli Ministry of Public Security and the Canadian Ministry of Public Safety in order to promote mutual interests in the fields of the battle against organized crime, human trafficking, terrorist financing, managing crisis situations, border security, crime prevention and other aspects of homeland security.

The first work meetings of the two sides were held on November 24-26 in Ottawa, Canada, with the aim at forming a framework for the implementation of the agreement signed between the two countries.

The meetings were attended by the Deputy Director General of the Ministry, the Chief Scientist, representatives of the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service, a representative of the Counter Terrorism Division in the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister, and representatives of the Canadian Ministry of Public Safety, the Canadian Police and Canadian Prison Service.

The meetings focused on the following fields:

• Security of strategic facilities
• Border control
• Emergency preparedness
• Correction facilities and services
• Crime and delinquency
• Science and technology – including law enforcement and counter terrorism
  technologies.

During the meetings the two parties surveyed their primary activities in their fields and examined potential projects of mutual interest. The meetings concluded by deciding on primary principles of the operational and technological cooperation between the two countries in the above fields. "

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Public Safety Canada :
Declaration of Intent Between the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada and the Ministry of Public Security of the Government of the State of Israel :

To establish a Management Committee that would:
Be comprised of the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada, and the Director General of Public Security for the Government of the State of Israel;
Meet annually and as needed to develop and approve a program of work, consistent with the scope and objectives of this Declaration, for that upcoming year;

To achieve the following objectives:
Build on their shared commitment to facilitate and enhance cooperation to protect their respective countries’ population, assets and interests from common threats;

Integrate and coordinate of the identification, prioritization, and implementation of cooperative efforts between themselves in the area of public safety;

I'm guessing somewhere amongst all that "shared commitment" and "enhanced cooperation", George Galloway fell under the heading of "aspects of homeland security : projects of mutual interest" and "common threats" at a CBSA "program of work".

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Harper is seen above on Thursday "urging all Canadians to confront what he calls a 'rising tide of anti-Semitism' around the world" :

Harper, who was joined by Conservative MP Peter Kent, who represents the area, urged all Canadians to "confront" anti-Semitism as a "moral evil."

Speaking of "moral evil", Harper has previously joined George Bush in publicly attempting to blur the lines between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism.
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Presumably he's referring in his speech Thursday to people like this or this or this or this .
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What can you do? L-Girl has a list of actions.

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Cross-posted at Creekside

RepubliCons : One Big Happy Family, Part %$*&#

Jason Kenney spokesthingey AlyKhan "pee on the carpet" Velshi is an interesting fellow in his own right.
So outrageous was his debut on Channel Four News to explain why Canada is banning British MP and Viva Palestina! leader George Galloway from entering Canada, I thought I'd look him up.

Here he is in 2006 fondly reminiscing about his days at the American Enterprise Institute :

"Ambassador Kirkpatrick, until fairly recently, was a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where I interned last year, and her office was only a few steps away from my bay on the 11th floor. She later went on to help found the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies."

And then the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies went on to employ Alykhan Velshi ... along with Clifford May, Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich, William Kristol, James Woolsey, Charles Krauthammer, Michael Ledeen, Gary Bauer ... You get the idea ... if you signed the PNAC letter, you're in.

Here he is at FDD touting a 2007 article he co-wrote for National Review Online - "The law and terrorist charities" :

"There is, however, a compelling basis for a government ban on any assistance — even self-described humanitarian aid — to terrorists. Because terrorist organizations are not known as models of corporate transparency, there is no way of knowing whether a terrorist entity’s humanitarian arm is funneling money to its militant one."

Gosh, isn't that just what his new boss Jason Kenney thought he was up to two days ago when he stripped federal funds to the Canadian Arab Foundation for providing language training to new immigrants and the Canadian Islamic Congress for providing sensitivity training sessions to the Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority? [h/t Stageleft]

Do the Cons get all their ideas from ex-American Enterprise Institute interns?

Be sure to drop our Minister of Multiculturalism a line and tell him what you think : Kenney.J@parl.gc.ca or minister@cic.gc.ca.
Libby Davies and Olivia Chow have already done so.

Courtesy of L-Girl, there's Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62965075809 and a petition.

Cross-posted from Creekside