Mideast meet has ambiguous agenda
WASHINGTON (IPS) — As the George W. Bush administration prepares to host its much-publicized Middle East conference, Israeli experts gathered on Capitol Hill this week to discuss whether Washington's latest diplomatic attempts would pave the way for a solution to the long-moribund Palestinian-Israeli peace process. But with less than...Bizarre allegations about Toronto 18
Unorthodox decisions are raising questions about Crown's case Ottawa's abrupt decision to cancel a preliminary inquiry into Canada's most spectacular post-9/11 terror allegations and instead move directly to trial raises new and troubling questions. Everything about the case of the so-called Toronto 18 is shrouded in mystery....Religion an issue in Ontario election
Ontario's Conservative Party leader John Tory has created a storm in the election campaign by raising the issue of provincial funding for private faith-based schools. The Conservatives have come out in favor of such funding, while the governing Liberals are strongly opposed. Ontario's third party, the socialist New Democrats, are also...Why we must stop the war against Iran
To bomb or not to bomb Iran, that's the question the Bush administration appears to be debating these days, once again revealing the extraordinary disconnect between the White House and the American people. With a catastrophic occupation of Iraq and polls showing the American public so skeptical about the use of military force that only...Making Ahmadinejad public enemy No. 1
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly has become a media circus. But the controversy does not stem from the reasons usually cited. The media has focused on debating whether he should be allowed to speak at Columbia University on Monday, or whether his request to visit...Abizaid: World could abide nuclear Iran
Every effort should be made to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but failing that, the world could live with a nuclear-armed regime in Tehran, a recently retired commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said this week. John Abizaid, the retired Army general who headed Central Command for nearly four years, said he was...Islamic banks in Canada?
The Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is considering two proposals to open sharia-compliant banks. Such institutions would neither give nor charge interest and would not engage in speculative transactions. As well, they would not be involved in transactions having to do with pork products, alcohol,...Copts arrested in Egypt
The Toronto-based Middle East Christians Association (MECA), a Copt organization, reports that three of its members in Egypt have been arrested. Founder Nader Fawzy says that the charges against the three — Adel Fawzi, Peter Ezzat Mounir, and Adeeb Ramses—are not exactly known, but it appears that they may be accused of insulting Islam...Canadian interview shuts down Iranian paper
When Iran's most important liberal newspaper Sharg ran an interview with Iranian-Canadian Saghi Ghaharaman, it did not foresee the consequences. The Tehran government shut the paper down. Why? According to Alireza Malekian, an official with the government's "culture" ministry, the punishment was for "an interview with a...Arab-Canadian released from Israeli jail
Jamal Akkal, a Canadian citizen born in Gaza, returned home to Windsor on August 30, having been released from an Israeli prison where he spent close to four years. Akkal was convicted of plotting with Hamas to shoot prominent Jews in North America. While he refused to be interviewed by the Windsor Star on his arrival, he previously...Khadr case back on
On September 24, the U.S. Court of Military Review, set up for appeals on Guantanamo cases tried by military courts, reversed the military court decision throwing out charges against Omar Khadr. The lower court had ruled that it could not deal with the charge of his being an "enemy combatant" because it had been established to try people...Iran: Petrol rationing is bumpy ride
TEHRAN (IPS) — Two months after the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began rationing petrol to "vaccinate" itself against possible sanctions, critics say the plan has failed to cut down gasoline consumption. Instead it has hurt the agriculture, tourism, transportation and other sectors of the economy. Rationing did push...Neocons tie North Korea to Israeli strike on Syria
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Nearly two weeks have passed since Israeli warplanes conducted a mysterious raid against an as yet unidentified target in northeast Syria. Details of the incident have been slow to come, as officials from both countries have remained tight-lipped. In the absence of a clear picture of what happened in the early hours...Time for Canada to exit NATO
NATO has recently had one of its regular meetings of the "Military Committee" in Victoria, B.C., Canada, with appropriate demonstrations against it for Canada's role within NATO and Afghanistan. Phil Lyons, the organizer of the demonstration, which ended peacefully, says "NATO is now a weapon of American imperialists." Another...Benamar Benatta sues Canada for torture
Benamar Benatta has decided to sue Canada for his treatment at the hands of Canadian and U.S officials. He is asking $35 million. His story begins back in his homeland. Benatta was in a tight spot back in Algeria. In 1992 he joined the air force, but that was the year that the military seized power to prevent the Islamic Salvation......
U.S. denies visas to Iranian religious leaders
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A religious delegation from Iran has canceled a scheduled visit to the United States this week after members of the group were denied visas by the State Department. The denial of the visa applications of four of the 14 delegation members was denounced by one of one of the trip's sponsors, who suggested Washington's...An important marker has been passed in global boycott effort against Israel
From a limestone hill rising above Qalandia refugee camp, you can see Jerusalem. I watched a lone figure standing there in the rain, his son holding the tail of his long tattered coat. He extended his hand and did not let go. "I am Ahmed Hamzeh, street entertainer," he said in measured English. "Over there, I played many musical...Muslims scapegoated in Canada
Fear-mongering at the expense of Muslims is the current political game in Canada. In Quebec we have a public consultation on what constitutes "reasonable accommodation" of minorities. That consultation grew out of the code of conduct adopted by the town of Hérouxville, which denounced such behavior as stoning women to death and female...Robert Fisk: Even I question the ‘truth’ about 9/11
Each time I lecture abroad on the Middle East, there is always soameone in the audience — just one —whom I call the "raver." Apologies here to all the men and women who come to my talks with bright and pertinent questions — often quite humbling ones for me as a journalist — and which show that they understand the Middle East tragedy a......
Bush plans war on Iran
The Sunday Times of London is reporting that the Pentagon has plans for three days of massive air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran . Last week, Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security at the Nixon Center , told a meeting of The National Interest, a conservative foreign policy journal, that the military did not...Examining the religion-building enterprise
Blaming Islam for the lack of democratic and scientific developments in Muslim countries is not a new idea but an old enterprise, rooted in the nineteenth and twentieth century European Orientalism. The late Edward Said succeeded, in the 1980s, in unmasking Orientalist notions within Western academia and exposing its false pretense. In......
Canada: Dual citizenship in question
When Canada spent $100 million to rescue Lebanese-Canadians from the war between Israel and Hizbullah last year, some Canadians reacted by accusing these people of being fair weather—or, rather, ill weather—Canadians. As former Immigration Minister Montel Solberg put it, “Canadians want to know that citizenship means something, that we...Strange request from Bush on detainees
The American government has approached Canada on several occasions with a request to admit 17 Ugyhurs being held in Guantanamo. Canada is reluctant to grant this strange request. Obviously, the U.S. has decided that they are not terrorists and not a danger. Yet, it refuses to admit them to the United States and continues to imprison the......