CUPE ban is out to lunch!

In his latest article, Michael Coren wrote: “Peaceful and legal protest against Israel or any other nation is entirely acceptable and even helpful in a free and democratic society, even when it’s ill informed and predictable.”

I think we would all agree, however, that CUPE’s support for a “a ban on Israeli academics doing speaking, teaching or research work at Ontario universities as a protest against the Dec. 29 bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza”, is absolutley absurd. Simply put, Sid Ryan, CUPE president, wants to see Israeli academics condemn Israel’s current military operations in Gaza, or banned from teaching in Ontario universities.

Obviously I do not need to go into why this ‘ban’ is out to lunch; but I will anyways.

Firstly, but not necessarily most importantly, the very foundation of post secondary education is, or at least should be, about promoting free academic inquiry. This of course, has the ability to create debate, discourse, and dialouge. To simply say that there is but one ‘right’ academic view on the military situation in Gaza is a slap in the face to academic freedom.

Secondly, why Israel? Why not go futeher; banning all academics that do not denounce the military action in Gaza. Interestingly enough, I heard no calls to ban Chinese academics over China’s role in Tibet, or Russian academics for Russia’s role in Goergia. “As Bernie Farber, Canadian Jewish Congress CEO, pointed out last week, CUPE has not called for Palestinian academics to be banned over Hamas rocket attacks.”

Thirdly, this ‘ban’ does not target those who have made the decisions in Gaza. Instead, they target members of the academic community who happened to be born in the Jewish state. Most probably, these men and women had no role in creating or enacting the government policies that resulted in the military invasion into Gaza (and they certainly are not the ones firing rockets from Gaza into Israel). Yet, it is still these men and women that CUPE has decided to target.

I could go on and on. Simply though, the problem with such a ban is that is is contrary to the freedom of expression, it undermines academic freedom, and is hypocritical.

Most importantly, however, it is simply anti-Semitic. As Steyn concludes, this is just a form of the ‘oldest’ kind of hatred. “Once upon a time on the Continent, Jews were hated as rootless cosmopolitan figures who owed no national allegiance. So they became a conventional nation state, and now they’re hated for that. And, if Hamas get their way and destroy the Jewish state, the few who survive will be hated for something else. So it goes.”

Another Interesting Judicial Ruling

I usually tailor my posts towards Canadian politics, but this story in the globe and mail caught my eye.

A Toronto man is responsible to for continued child support payments after a DNA test has shown he is not the biological father of two 16 year old twins. If this were the end of the story, it would be somewhat reasonable and not un precendented. This man raised two girls for 16 years as their father, and as such, should continue to be so. The story, however, is not over: the man did not know he was not the father. The mother had affair which resulted in her pregnancy, and ‘bamoolzed” the husband into believing they were his children.

The man, who has already paid child support for some 10 years, is claiming that he is a victim of fraud. This claim, however, was not sufficient for the court. The Judge concluded that:

“While the failure of Anciolina Cornelio to disclose to her husband the fact that she had an extramarital affair – and that the twins might not be his biological children – may have been a moral wrong against Mr. Cornelio, it is a wrong that does not afford him a legal remedy to recover child support he has already paid, and that does not permit him to stop paying child support”.

The judge went on to argue that child support is ” the right of a child even if a parent behaves poorly”. These are indeed strong words from the judge: possibly too strong. I would have been much more comfortable with the judge arguing that the father had a legal obligation to pay, but to say that the children have the right  to child support, that may be going overboard.

Like it or not, this is the age we live in: the age of rights.

Canadians Don’t Know Enough About The Holocaust

A recent national survey about Canadian’s knowledge about the Holocaust has revealed a considerable knowledge gap. This is especially true among younger and less educated Canadians, as well as significant portion of francophones. The survey coincided with intaernational commermorations of the Night of Broken Glass in 1938, when 92 Jews were killed and another 30,000 were arrested.

Here are some of the more surprising findings:

The telephone poll of 1,500 Canadians, conducted in October for the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies, showed seven per cent of all respondents had never heard of the Holocaust.

However, 13 per cent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 said they didn’t know what the Holocaust was, and nearly one-quarter of respondents with only elementary-level education – 23 per cent – had never heard of it.

Meanwhile, about 12 per cent of francophones reported no knowledge of the Holocaust compared with about four per cent of English-speaking respondents.

Despite the validity of some of the explanations (Quebec’s opposition to conscription caused less emphasis to be put on the “traditional historical narratives”), the results are still both concerning and saddening.

Let Us Never Forget Our War Dead

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae

Anti-Abortion Activist has to pay Income Tax

A very interesting case to keep your eyes on in the future.

A man convicted last fall of not paying income tax,  because he refuses to fund abortions, has lost his appeal before the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench. Protesting against the federal government’s funding of abortions, David Little, a devot Roman Catholic has stopped paying his taxes for some years now.

Little, defedning himself, argued that his conviction last year on three counts of not paying his income taxes should be overturned because it violates his religious beliefs under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Twice the judge interrupted, saying Little should stick to legal arguments, not moral, religious or political ones.

Despite the conviction and intense beliefs, the judge ruled that little did not show any error in law. The CBC is reporting that it has been Little’s goal to be charged with tax evasion since the mid 1990’s. If charged with tax evasion Little’s case would garner the attention of the national media and raise the profile of his case and his arguments.