Look who's friends with Giorgio Mammoliti

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Stupid Quote of the Day

This gem comes from an interview with Robert Finch, Dominion Chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada in today's New York Times:

“The fact that the queen can’t change her hairstyle because she has to look like the person on her money, that’s an example of a big sacrifice,” Mr. Finch said.

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JDL allies with Austrian Freedom Party

"it's always heartwarming to see a prejudice defeated by a deeper prejudice."
-- Lone Star

On the heels of the Jewish Defence League's rally in support of the fascist English Defence League comes the news that the JDL and Meir Weinstein is cozying up with another group of extremists - none other than the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO). You may remember their founder late, longtime leader Jörg Haider who praised Waffen-SS veterans, praised the Nazis, described concentration camps as "punishment camps" and compared the wartime deportation of Austria's Jews to concentration camps to the postwar expulsion of Sudentland Germans from Czechoslovakia. The Freedom Party's entry into Austria's ruling coalition government in 2000 resulted in a widespread diplomatic boycott of the country.


Well, it seems that as much as the FPO hates Jews, they hate Muslims more and that's good enough for the JDL and Meir Weinstein who seems to be working under the rallying call "Muslim-haters of the world unite!" Of course, it's not only the JDL that is building links with fascist parties, Israel's ruling Likud Party is as well. Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara visited Austria at the invitation of the FPO late last year. All this is in spite of the fact that as recently as last April, an FPO candidate found herself in hot water for making "ambiguous statements about the Holocaust and criticism of Austria's tough 1947 anti-Nazi law." The Archbishop of Vienna weighed in to say "Someone who questions the National Socialism prohibition law and fails to make clear statements regarding the Holocaust is not an option for me personally.”
Words fail to describe the irony when a party condemned by a Catholic Archbishop for its anti-Semitism is embraced by the JDL or Likud who are quite happy to overlook a little bit of Judenhasse as long as the party in question supports Israel against the Palestinians because while they hate Jews, they hate Muslims so much more.


65 years after the end of World War II, European fascists have come to learn that campaigning on anti-Semitism is now a non-starter. The Jewish population of Europe is a fraction of what it once was due to the Nazi genocide and emigration and most of the Jews who remain are assimilated to the degree that they are indistinguishable from other Europeans. Furthermore, the right used to associate Jews with Communism and use that association to argue that Jews posed a dire threat to European civilization. The fall of the Soviet Union has removed the Communist spectre from Europe and, in any case, Jews today tend to be more conservative then previous generations, so trying to build a xenophobic wave with fear of Jews as its centrepiece does not hold the potential it would have had 80 years ago. Fear of Muslims however, that has potential to light a mass panic, and so today's fascist parties from Britain to Holland to France to Germany have put anti-Semitism on the back shelf in favour of Islamophobia and some, like the EDL, the Dutch Freedom Party and now the Austrian Freedom Party have gone as far as embracing the Israeli right and the Zionist right, is happy to return the embrace.

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At long last, Farber forced to denounce JDL

After years of treating the Jewish Defence League as if they were a rogueish but loveable younger brother, Canadian Jewish Congress supremo Bernie Farber has finally said something about the JDL that's stronger than "they're not my cup of tea" or that he's "disappointed" by them.

A shame he and other self-appointed leaders of the Canadian Jewish community have looked the other way or been quietly encouraging of them over the past few years as the JDL has organized and grown and been busy on campuses and even high schools recruiting youth.

The JDL is and always has been a hate group and a violent one at that and Farber et al's insistence that the Canadian JDL is somehow different than its US counterpart has only given them cover and allowed them to work unopposed within the Jewish community. Had any other group said about Jews what the JDL has long said about Muslims the CJC would have been rightly outraged and insisted that the group in question be ostracised.

Instead, Farber has always quietly defended the JDL or, at worst, issued the mildest of rebuke. This is perhaps his greatest failure as a "liberal" who has been too opportunistic and too wary of being outflanked on the right to say anything. Indeed, he has been so reticent to be critical that JDL head Meir Weinstein actually thinks of Farber as a friend and speaks glowingly of him to others.

Now that the JDL's extremism is undeniable will Farber finally do what he should have done years ago and work to ostracise the JDL within the Jewish community and try to deny them the space to organize? Somehow, I doubt it. There would be a political price to pay and Farber lacks the integrity needed to expend the political capital needed to root out the JDL. He'd much rather ostracise and marginalize Independent Jewish Voices for the crime of criticising Israel than to consistently oppose the JDL, an organization rooted in a variety of ultra-nationalism that can only be called fascism.

Still, good that he had this printed in the Toronto Sun, it's a modest step. Let's see if he issues a similar, or hopefully stronger, missive in the Canadian Jewish News. Will he actually meet with the principals of Jewish Day Schools and urge them to ban the JDL from their schools? Will he ask Jewish campus groups to refuse to work with the JDL? Will he ask the UJA to freeze them out? Or can we expect this summer, yet again, the sight of Meir Weinstein walking down the route of the annual Walk With Israel like a conquring hero or some fascist version of the King of Kensington kibbitzing and patting the back of every "community leader" he encounters, including Farber, as if Weinstein is a somebody, a Big Man on the Jewish Campus? Independent Jewish Voices and its predecessor, the Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians, have warned about the JDL and urged Farber and others to denounce them. While I'm sure we're gratified that, however late in the day, Farber has finally seen the light let's see if this epiphany will last. Farber's started talking the talk. Will he and the "leadership" of the Jewish community now walk the walk?

Troubling marriage for T.O.’s Jews

The EDL is well-known throughout Europe for its anti-Muslim street protests

By Bernie Farber and Benjamin Shinewald, Guest Columnists

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"As long as they kill Muslims, I don't care"

BCL's post on today's JDL rally for the neo-Nazi English Defence League and Ron Banerjee's promise to bring out "security" for the rally got me rememberin'

About a year ago, I happened by a JDL rally outside Ryeson and got into an argument with Ron Banerjee, leader and likely the sole member of the "Canadian Hindu Advocacy" (sic). A far right extremist group that supports the fascist BJP/RSS party in India and is particularly fond of the BJP led government of Gujurat which is notable for its complicity in anti-Muslim pogroms and for having schools carry history textbooks that praise Hitler.

I asked Banerjee, who can often be seen at JDL events, how he can have the nerve to pretend to be pro-Jewish or even pro-Israel when he supports a party that praises Hitler.

His answer? "As long as they kill Muslims I don't care"

The JDLers by the way, didn't seem to be at all phased by having a guy whose party supported the Nazis during WWII in their midsts. One of them even said "World War II was a long time ago"

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Mayor Ford's first day on the job: the first cut.

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The Toronto Sun is now officially a propaganda sheet.

During the 1984 federal election campaign, the Globe and Mail ran a photo of Liberal leader John Turner speaking to the Empire Club or some such group. The picture was taken at such an angle, however, that the part of the backdrop that appeared behind Turner's head made it look as if the Liberal leader had devil's horns. The picture was roundly condemned even though most people who saw it probably didn't notice the offending part of the image until they'd had their attention drawn to it and despite the fact that it's quite possible the photographer and editors didn't see it until angry Liberals pointed it out. Nevertheless, the incident stained the Globe and Mail's image as an objective newspaper, at least for a short time.

Well, there's no such ambiguity or benefit of the doubt possible with the Toronto Sun's cover this morning which literally depicts mayoral candidate George Smitherman as the devil with horns, goatee and Snidely Whiplash mustache drawn on, a red background and the headline "Bedevilled" screaming above George's head. It's not that much of a surprise to find the Sun demonizing someone but do they have to do it so literally?

Now, I'm not a fan of George Smitherman and I've told him so to his face but this has to be a new low in journalism. What could the editors of the Toronto Sun possibly be thinking as they pumped out a pure, unadulterated example of propaganda the likes of which we haven't seen in Toronto since 1949 when the Toronto Daily Star attempted to smear the Tories by claiming that George Drew had secretly agreed that if he won the election, he would appoint to cabinet as his Quebec lieutenant none other than Montreal mayor Camillien Houde - whose opposition to World War II had seen him interned during the war. On the Saturday before election day 1949, the Star's campaign reached its peak with the banner front page headline:

KEEP CANADA BRITISH
DESTROY DREW'S HOUDE
GOD SAVE THE KING

(this third line was changed to "VOTE ST. LAURENT" in later editions)

If the Sun depicts its political target as the Devil incarnate three weeks before election day you have to wonder what they'll be doing on October 24th and 25th.

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The Sun thinks you're stupid: Tab hypocritical in Davey Affair

On the latest edition of CTV's Question Period, ex-Iggy press secretary Ian Davey responded to a question about a Sun Media report by saying the Sun "is a newspaper for people who can't read" thus betraying what most senior politicos actually think about the tabloid. The surprise is not, of course, that Davey is dismissive of the Sun but that he would be politically inastute enough to insult the paper's readership rather than its editors. While the Sun is a politically conservative newspaper and sometimes little better than a propaganda sheet I suspect that a good percentage of its readership don't share the paper's editorial line and pick it up for the sports, entertainment coverage, Sunshine Girl (or Boy) or because of its readability. Worse still, Davey's elitism reinforces the Tory narrative that Ignatieff and his circle are elitists who look down on ordinary Canadians.

Predictably, the Sun is exploiting Davey's comments, trying to stir its readers up into a state of indignation in order to both elevate their degree of identification with the paper and mobilize them against the hated Liberals (even though Davey no longer has any official capacity within the Liberal Party or Iggy's office and therefore only speaks for himself, not the party).

Here is the lede of the Sun's article on the matter - titled "Who's the dummy?" in its print edition and "Iggy's former mouthpiece takes 'cheap shot' at Sun readers" online:

Read this if you can.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's former chief of staff, Ian Davey, hit Sun Media readers below the belt Sunday, saying they're all illiterate.

That means you can't read.

Sun readers must be quite thankful that their paper is so quick to defend their intelligence, if only it didn't feel it necessary to insult their intelligence at the same time by explaining what illiterate means. 

Ian Davey and the Sun evidently both think that Sun readers are stupid. Davey says it outright, the Sun demonstrates it by evidently believing they have to spoonfeed their readers politically, through crude attempts at propaganda, and intellectually, by feeling they have to explain the meaning of the word illiterate. The real difference between Davey and the Sun, though, is at least Davey is honest enough to state his views while the Sun is cravenly hypocritical and cynical by complaining loudly about Davey's "elitism" while inadvertently demonstrating that they actually agree with him.

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Power struggle at the Ontario Federation of Labour

There's been a showdown building at the OFL between recently elected president Sid Ryan and five of the affiliated unions that fund the labour federation and have all cut their dues payments forcing the OFL to layoff several of its staff. It also appears that there's a power struggle between Ryan and his two deputies, Marie Kelly and Terry Downey . All in all, this amounts to an attempted coup that would either force Ryan to resign or force him to all but resign by becoming President in name only and ceding all operational authority to Secretary-Treasurer Marie Kelly and the unions that are backing her. Kelly is supported by Wayne Fraser, Director of Steelworkers District 6 (ie the leader of the Canadian Steelworkers) despite an apparent conflict of interest as Fraser and Kelly are said to be in a long term romantic relationship.

The following letter detailing the crisis has been making the rounds:

What is going on at the OFL?


By now, you may have heard rumours about affiliates cutting their per capita to the OFL, and OFL staff being laid off. Unfortunately, those rumours are true! Five unions - OPSEU, ONA, SEIU, Firefighters and the Society of Energy Professionals all cut their per capita payments tot the OFL in half over the last few months.

Why? No one is saying. But a leaked e-mail from ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud dated April 29, 2010 shows that the per capita cuts were planned and orchestrated by a handful of OFL Executive Board members, and that OFL Secretary-Treasurer Marie Kelly and Executive Vice President Terry Downey are part of the secret "OFL Group".

What motive could they possibly have for trying to financially cripple the OFL?

Flash back to spring 2009. A majority of union leaders have agreed to back Sid Ryan to run for President of the OFL at the November convention. Then some start to get nervous about whether Sid will be too outspoken or controversial. They decide they want to run Marie Kelly as President instead of Sid, but this time Sid has made it clear that he will run no matter what. Realizing the Marie can't beat Sid on the convention floor, they decide to shift tactics. They announce that they will support Sid for President after all and run Marie for Secretary-Treasurer. All three Officers are subsequently acclaimed at the November OFL convention.

Flash forward to January 2010. Sid takes over at the OFL and brings his EA from CUPE, Antoni Shelton, with him. The majority of OFL staff are enthusiastic about Sid's leadership and activist agenda for the OFL, and embrace Antoni as part of the team. But OFL Secretary-Treasurer Marie Kelly and Executive VP Terry Downey immediately object and e-mails start flying at the Executive Board. They want Antoni fired. At the very first Board meeting, less than 2 months after Sid has assumed office, Marie and Terry spend 5 hours berating Sid and airing every minor grievance they have against him. Without even looking at the budget, Marie, Terry, Marie's "close associate", Wayne Fraser, and a few of their friends on the Board argue that the OFL doesn't have the money to employ Antoni (this despite the fact that the OFL has been employing an extra Director on contract for the past two years, and he has now left to take a job elsewhere.)

The situation escalates over the next few months. The secret "OFL Group" is formed, with Marie Kelly and Terry Downey as participants, and they work to try to convince other Board members to join them. They agree on a plan to de-fund the OFL. This is in direct violation of the Officer's oath of office. The first of the five affiliates (OPSEU and ONA) cut their per capita in half. Two OFL Directors and one support staff are given lay-off notices. Two posted positions are left unfilled. The CAW announces it will re-affiliate 15,000 members to the OFL as of June 1. The other three affiliates in the secret group proceed to cut their per capita.

The situation comes to a head at the June Executive Board meeting. As Secretary-Treasurer, Marie Kelly brings in a budget that she tries to use to prove the financial crisis is the result of mismanagement by her predecessor and long-standing un-funded liabilities, in order to shift the blame away from the de-funding by the five unions. At around 7:00 pm, after half the Board members have left, the Board votes 12 to 11 to fire Antoni Shelton without cause and pass a budget that forces the lay off [of] two more Directors and one more support staff. Marie and Terry vote in favour of the firing of Antoni and the staff lay offs. Some Board members who are part of the secret group start talking about demanding concessions from the remaining staff in order to save jobs. The decision cuts the OFL staff by over half. When the lay offs are complete, only 4 of 9 department Directors will remain, along with an office manager and 4 admin/clerical staff. And 3 full-time officers!

The reality is there was no financial mis-management at the OFL. The present financial crisis has been manufactures. The intent is to undermine Sid Ryan as President, either force him out or set the stage for Marie Kelly to run against him in 2011, and to extract concessions from the OFL staff whose collective agreements are currently expired, and downsize the organization.

This does nothing to strengthen the labour movement. This does nothing to help our members in the workplace. This does nothing to help us oppose concessions from employers and the government. This will only serve to silence the voice of organized labour in this province.

What can you do to support the workers at the OFL and the duly-elected President from this attack?


Help get the word out. Distribute this [letter] to all your contacts in the labour movement. The secret "OFL Group" wants to keep all of this under wraps. They threaten anyone who tries to speak out.

Find out where your union leadership stands. Ask the president of your union how he/she (or their designate) voted at the June OFL Board meeting.

If you are a member of one of the five unions who cut their per capita, ask the members of your Executive Board if they knew and approved of their union's role in de-funding the OFL.

If you belong to one of the small affiliates, ask your leadership if they knew that the VP Representing Small Affiliates, Rod Sheppard, is part of this secret "OFL Group" that is working to destroy the OFL and voted to lay off OFL staff.

Help put pressure on the 5 unions to restore their funding. If you belong to one of the other unions, pressure your leadership to speak to the leaders of the five unions who have cut their per capita in half to stop this nonsense and work to build our labour movement, not destroy it!

This letter is from a long-time trade union activist who asked that their name not be used for fear of reprisals.

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Islamophobia: The New Anti-Semitism

A fascinating article by Daniel Luban in Tablet magazine. Luban argues that Islamophobia as it is developing in North American and Europe has strong parallels to traditional anti-Semitism and examines the furor over the "9-11 mosque" as the latest and most fervent example of this. Here's an excerpt:

many of the tropes of classic anti-Semitism have been revived and given new force on the American right. Once again jingoistic politicians and commentators posit a religious conspiracy breeding within Western society, pledging allegiance to an alien power, conspiring with allies at the highest levels of government to overturn the existing order. Because the propagators of these conspiracy theories are not anti-Semitic but militantly pro-Israel, and because their targets are not Jews but Muslims, the ADL and other Jewish groups have had little to say about them. But since the election of President Barack Obama, this Islamophobic discourse has rapidly intensified.

While the political operatives behind the anti-mosque campaign speak the language of nativism and American exceptionalism, their ideology is itself something of a European import. Most of the tropes of the American “anti-jihadists,” as they call themselves, are taken from European models: a “creeping” imposition of sharia, Muslim allegiance to the ummah rather than to the nation-state, the coming demographic crisis as Muslims outbreed their Judeo-Christian counterparts. In recent years the call-to-arms about the impending Islamicization of Europe has become a well-worn genre, ranging from more sophisticated treatments like Christopher Caldwell’s Reflections on the Revolution in Europe to cruder polemics like Mark Steyn’s America Alone and Bat Ye’or’s Eurabia.

It would be a mistake to seek too precise a correspondence between the new Islamophobia and the old anti-Semitism, which differ in some key respects. Jews have never threatened to become a numerical majority, or even a sizable minority, in any European country, so anxiety about Jewish power naturally gravitated toward the myth of the shadowy elite manipulating the majority from behind the scenes. By contrast, anti-Muslim anxiety has focused on the supposed demographic threat posed by Muslims, in which the dusky hordes overwhelm the West by sheer weight of numbers. (“The sons of Allah breed like rats,” as the late Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci put it.) It may be that in many ways this Islamophobia shares more of the tropes of traditional anti-Catholicism than classic anti-Semitism.

But if the tropes do not always line up, there is some notable continuity in the players involved. One of the most striking stories of recent years has been the realignment of segments of the European far right behind a form of militant support for Israel. Much of the traditional neofascist right remains both anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic, but savvier far-right leaders have realized that by dropping the anti-Semitic elements of their platforms and doubling down on Islamophobia, they can tap into a new base of support from pro-Israel hawks across the Atlantic. Both the British National Party and the Vlaams Belang in Belgium have gone this route, although it remains questionable whether the move away from anti-Semitism is more than skin-deep. (The Vlaams Belang’s predecessor party, for instance, was disbanded after a controversy concerning Holocaust-denying statements made by one of its top officials.) Equally striking has been the rise of Geert Wilders, the controversial Dutch politician whose Islamophobia, virulent enough to draw the condemnation of even the ADL, has made him a darling of “anti-jihadists” in the United States.

 The entire essay is available here. The Atlantic Monthly's Jeffrey Goldberg makes a similar point in his response to Reverend Franklin Graham's claim that "president [Obama]'s problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim". Goldberg retorts, "This kind of rhetoric has a strange historical antecedent in Jewish history. In the 1400s, in Spain, a movement arose that questioned the sincerity of those Jews who had previously converted to Catholicism," and adds that "Anti-Muslim sentiment in America today has many of the hallmarks of the anti-Semitism of yesteryear."

Tablet is a "daily online magazine of Jewish news, ideas, and culture" and carries articles from across the political spectrum (for instance here's a piece against the one-state solution) as well as non-political pieces.It's refreshing to see that at a time when Jewish publications and the Jewish community is under increasing pressure to submit to groupthink, Tablet is willing to publish dissenting pieces. I doubt Luban's piece or anything like it would be published by the Canadian Jewish News, for instance.

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