Since having a ton of google video windows open on a page kinda slows it down, i've limited the main page to 4 posts. Don't forget you can always find older posts in the archive, to the right of the page. If the page is slowed down anyways, clicking on the one you want to watch in the archive will single it out for you.
Here's a short video featuring english speaking Lebanese Grad students discussing america. It was shot back in 2005 before this summers war and the current internal tensions between the anti-syrian government and the pro-syrian opposition.
I'm very afraid Lebanon will be plunged into civil war shortly. Hez'b'Allah is using the fact that they are heavily armed to demand veto power in the Lebanese parliament despite the fact they do not have the votes to back it up. As the only political party in Lebanon today with a militia that operates above the law there is a high risk that violence could erupt at any time.
Today Hez'b'Allahs true colors are shining through for the whole world to see. If they truly represented the Lebanese people they would lay down there arms and dominate the political scene with the peoples popular support. Instead they use masked thugs to bring the economy to a halt and force the lebanese people to submit to their will. They seek political power through domination - not consensus.
Many in the west have a sadly mistaken view of Hez'b'Allah as some sort of stalwart peoples resistance. These people should examine the facts objectively and critically instead of allowing their disdain for Israeli policy to cloud their perception of an anti-democratic fundamentalist militia that operates above the law and is accountable to no one but Nasrallah.
Let's examine some facts, mmmkay?
We know Syria supports HezbAllah, and that HezbAllah is always quick to portray themselves as a peoples movement. We should ask ourselves why the Syrians are so quick to lend support to a violent faction that brings war to Lebanon and claims to be fighting "Israeli Aggression". If this was truly the motivation then would it not be logical for Syria to have their own resistance? For militias to launch rockets over the Syrian border considering the fact that ISrael occupies the entire Golan Heights?
There is no such thing as a Syrian "resistance". Bashar Al-Assad (Syria's secular dictator) has no interest in provoking Israel into a devastating war that would likely leave his military decimated and his stranglehold on his nation weakened - opening an opportunity for various oppressed opposition movements to take hold.
Assad and Hez'b'Allah have opted instead to use Lebanon as a staging ground for war against Israel. They have used Israel to weaken the democratically elected government of Lebanon and open an opportunity for Hez'b'Allah to violently seize power - effectively destroying any hope for a prosperous democracy in the diverse and progressive nation of Lebanon.
Bashar Al-Assad and Nasrallah care little for the people of Lebanon. They seek to dominate the people and impose their will at the cost of Lebanese prosperity and stability. How unfortunate that a few thousand anti-democratic thugs can be responsible for the destruction of such a beautiful country. How unfortunate that the democratic aspirations of the Lebanese people are surrendered to people who would bring death to a thousand and a half Lebanese citizens without consensus and proclaim it a "victory".
How unfortunate that many in the west harbor such a deep rooted disdain for Israel and America that they would cheer as thugs and gangsters take control of such a progressive and beautiful country.
for more news on the current situation check out Ya Libnan.
Here's a shocking documentary full of undercover video shot in mosques in Britain. The clerics in these allegedly moderate mosques preach spouse abuse, child abuse, marriage of pre-pubescent girls with older men. They preach that muslims are superior to "kuffar" and that the muslims must subvert the western democratic culture until they take over and turn it into a muslim state.
Here's a look at the controversy in the Global Warming debate and how the Oil Corporations funnel money to scientists willing to take their position. Many of these people are scientists who took the tobacco corporations position when there was a debate about cigarettes causing cancer.
Check out this news piece about attempts to set up Sharia courts in Canada. Pay attention to the way the supporter of Sharia treats the women who disagree with him. Notice the overbearing attitude. Notice the utter lack of respect. Notice the lack of compassion for the suffering of a vulnerable women.
Why should I allow oppressive legal systems from socially underdeveloped parts of the world where authoritarian theocracy is par for the course into my secular democracy? This is a legal system where women who are raped face lashes. Where girls of 17 are hung for defending themselves from violent gang rape. If immigrants to my nation want to reap the benefits of a secular, democratic society with equal rights for people of all faiths, then they damn well better adapt to my secular legal system. If they would rather enjoy the kind of society that "political Islam" brings then they can stay in Pakistan. They can stay in Saudi Arabia. They can stay in their poverty stricken, violent and oppressive nations.
I'm not anti-immigrant. I'm not "Islamophobic". Far from it. This nation was built by immigrants from all around the world. I see Muslims as another part of the pluralist culture that is central to the prosperity and security we enjoy in Canada. What I hate is political Islam. I hate how people with authoritarian political agendas use religion and accusations of persecution to obscure their true intentions, particularly when these intentions constitute a direct attack on the foundation of my democratic institutions - the secular legal system with equal rights for men and women.
These Sharia courts represent the worst elements from the wider Muslim world. These Sharia courts represent an attack on the separation between church and state that forms one of the pillars of western democracy. These courts represent an attack on civil rights in Canada. These courts have no place in Canada, or this century, for that matter.
I have no tolerance for attacks on my democratic society. This doesn't make me anti-Islam. This makes me pro-democracy, pro-civil rights, pro-free speech, pro-secular society. When somebody attacks the foundation of the best society on the face of the earth where people of all different races and religions live in peace, where free speech is a *right* and all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law we have an obligation to our fellow citizens, to ourselves, and to future generations to protect it.
These freedoms aren't set in stone. People from all over the world struggle and suffer in unimaginable ways just to get here. Have we become so spoiled we don't value our basic freedoms? Are we really willing to sacrifice our democratic institutions to "political correctness"? We won't have these rights and freedoms forever if we are unwilling to protect them from anyone who seeks to undermine them.
Political correctness be damned.
Oh yeah, on an interesting side note the Muslims who are working to preserve the democracy they value so much are receiving death threats from fundamentalists (pdf format). The Muslim Canadian Congress is working to keep sharia courts out of Canada, and in many cases are risking their lives to do so. You can check them out right here.
Here's some cult related material for you. First is a movie called "Moon: Emperor of the Universe". Second is a great lecture by Steven Hassan at Harvard university about Waco, and how the United states government failed to understand the "cult mentality". Hassan himself was a recruiter for the Moonies and offers an in-depth and first hand look at the underlying traits that make an organization a cult. As he explains in the lecture, it's not what the organization stands for that makes it a cult, it's the methods they use to attract, control and retain members. A Family can operate like a cult, a major religion can operate like a cult.
Here's the movie. It's a bit soft on the Moonies if you ask me. Check out the lecture for more information.
Enjoy! Comment! and fucking pay attention....
Here's the lecture. Three parts. Real player is needed.
Here's an award acceptance speech by Maher Arar describing his torture at the hands of Syrian officials following his illegal extradition by American officials.
