From time to time I like to watch movies from my childhood that help me rekindle my youth. Although I don’t celebrate Christmas, I think there are some very important lessons of charity and caring exemplified in Christmas movies that that are not stressed at other times of the year. One such movie that I revisited recently was "Scrooged", a 1988 comedy/drama with Bill Murray. Murray plays Frank Cross, portrayed as a modern day Ebenezer Scrooge who runs a TV station in a ruthless fashion. As in the original tale of A Christmas Carol, Cross is visited by three ghosts that take him through his past, present, and future to caution him and remind him in a very fearful manner about the need to be charitable and kind to others. So you may wonder, what does this have to do with the Middle East, right?

It came to my mind that many of the major powers on the International scene are acting in a similar manner to the arrogant and heartless Scrooge, and some of their "ghosts" or warnings may have already come. International terrorism may well be the haunting reality of a colonial past (not justifying it, only pointing to its root cause). Today’s financial sector and banking failure could be the ghost of a shaky present. And, nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, but I feel worried that if the current state of silence continues it will spell serious disaster for the future.

I am not laying the blame on ALL nations. In fact, I believe all countries, cultures and people have the ability to shine light upon their bright pasts and present abilities to make a positive change in the right direction. However, my fear is that if we stay silent, we will be assured that oppression and injustice will continue to exist. It is said, “Evil will triumph so long as good men do nothing.”

The silent majority must speak up.

Please note that the views expressed by the author of this blog are his/hers alone, and do not necessarily represent the positions of CJPME.

It is often too easy to fall into the trap of letting the mass media dictate what is important in the world. As the rubble continues to settle and the sanctions persist in Gaza, many have forgotten the extent of destruction and ill intent that existed on behalf of Israel. With some simple math, we can discover just how malicious Israel’s intent really was.

In an article published by the Times Online following the ceasefire (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5545939.ece) Hamas claimed that 22,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in Gaza by Israel. According to the same article Hamas also declared that it launched 345 Qassam rockets, 213 Grad rockets and 422 mortar shells during the conflict giving a total of 980 projectiles fired. In order to come to some simple mathematical conclusions let us round the projectiles launched by Hamas to 1000 and the figure of 22 000 buildings destroyed by Israel down to 20 000 in case it was an overestimate. With some simple grade three division skills I found that for each projectile Hamas launched during the conflict approximately 20 buildings were destroyed by Israel.

Israel has claimed that the main reason for the innocent deaths and destruction in Gaza was that Hamas was firing from civilian populations and that Hamas is to blame for the collateral damage when Israel responds. But the math does not add up. If Israel was only bombing buildings that were launching missiles why was there not only a 1000 buildings destroyed as a “response” to the 1000 rockets fired? The answer is simple: Israel’s policy was not response, it was genocide.

Israel was indiscriminately dropping bombs with no regard for human life. The 20 buildings destroyed by Israel for each projectile launched by Hamas proves this. So as Israel continues to use the rhetoric of terrorism against anyone seeking mere justice, we need only to look at the simple disproportion of the damage in Gaza to see who the real terrorists are.

Please note that the views expressed by the author of this blog are his/hers alone, and do not necessarily represent the positions of CJPME.

As a war that is going into its eighth year, with no sign of finishing soon, Canadians should reconsider the war in Afghanistan. Currently there is a withdrawal plan for 2011, but with the rising casualty rates it makes more sense to plan a speedier departure.



I am no fan of the Taliban. Their approach is probably too harsh for even the strictly observant Muslim. However, war should never have been an option. The Taliban, as evil as they may have been portrayed, were willing to hand over Osama bin Laden had evidence been provided that he was responsible for 9/11. Instead, the Bush administration was adamant on waging a war on terror that has only produced more extremism and a great deal of death and destruction to no avail. Canada complacently went along.



As we evolve towards a global village that is based on human rights, Canada should demonstrate foresight on world issues instead of using guns, war, and killing as a solution. As a Canadian, I do not like the feeling that perhaps even a nickel of my tax dollars may have contributed for one stray bullet that found its way into an innocent bystander. Unfortunately, the reality of innocent casualties is far greater than just a few stray bullets with the growing use of drone planes which are responsible for multitudes of innocent lost lives. Our moral integrity continues to be jeopardized being a part of this war and saying “Oops” over and over again is not a justifiable excuse. We are not only adding to the death of innocents in Afghanistan, our hands are blood-stained in Iraq as well.



Although we did not pledge troops for the Iraq war, a lot of Canada’s industry has supported it indirectly through our manufacturing of weapons which are supplied to the US. With the current push for green industry, morally astute Canadians should also launch campaigns against war profiteering. In Afghanistan, many of the improvised explosive devices that are killing our own soldiers are made out of un-blown bombs that are retrieved by the Taliban from aerial bombardments. This is besides the fact that many of the weapons held by the Taliban are remnants of the CIA’s supply to the Mujahideen resistance during the Soviet occupation in the eighties. Hence, our acceptance of violent means is causing the death of our own soldiers. If we intend to have a world filled with human rights and justice, we must be leaders in demonstrating our belief through action in our economic structure. We cannot produce weapons for profit and we should sign this into our own law before advocating non-violence globally which should be our goal.



We should not fear the fate of Afghanistan. With the growth of global economic trade, political culture too is traded as a result. In a condition where there is no compulsion through force of arms, the stronger ideologies will rise naturally. Democracy will arise in Afghanistan eventually, and elsewhere, if there is a sizable middle class that seeks to protect its economic rights. Forcing democracy is proving futile. Instead, let us demonstrate to the world that we are wise and sincere in our beliefs by abandoning war-profiteering and violent means in Afghanistan. Our neighbours to the South may appreciate the foresight.

Please note that the views expressed by the author of this blog are his/hers alone, and do not necessarily represent the positions of CJPME.