C-FAR #330 December, 1998
Self-determination -- For Minorities
ONLY!
If you've ever wondered what the "slippery
slope" looks like -- B.C.'s NDP government has provided us with an
admirable vantage point -- at the bottom. The province's Nisga'a voted
overwhelmingly in favour of a new treaty which states that non-natives
on Nisga'a lands will be spared the inconvenience of ever again participating
in the democratic process. Not that the propaganda emphasizes that. "The
images are all there: clips of firelit dances to throbbing drums; the swirl
of a salmon's back in the curl of a river current, the smiling, confident
faces of the young. Intercut with damning snippets of facts from the intolerant
past and impassioned endorsements from the likes of David Suzuki. ... The
footage is part of a $5-million government ad campaign to sell British
Columbians on a proposed treaty between their province, the federal government,
and roughly 5,500 native Nisga'a. [By our reckoning, the ads alone cost
B.C. taxpayers nearly $1,000 per Nisga'a.] ... They will also receive $190
million in cash (90 per cent of it provided by the federal government)
... the province estimates the treaty will cost $312 million over 15 years.
The opposition puts the figure at $490 million. ... [Nisga'a will] make
laws that, in some instances, will override provincial and federal statutes,
but only in narrowly defined areas concerning culture, language and adoption.
... Additionally, the treaty will convey rights to 17 per cent of Nass
River salmon in perpetuity to the Nisga'a. Non-native fishermen complain
those terms create a 'racial' fishery." (Maclean's, November 16, 1998)
Isn't representational government wonderful? "A Liberal lawsuit attempting
to force a province-wide referendum on the Nisga'a treaty is 'frivolous,
unnecessary and an abuse of the judicial process for partisan and political
purposes,' the government of British Columbia claims in a statement of
defence." (Globe and Mail, November 23, 1998) There are 90,000 more
B.C. Indians waiting for their chance to "negotiate".
Strange News from the Pages of History
We've long been taught that ancient China exported
civilisation to Western barbarians; but as archaeological and DNA methodologies
are refined, historical orthodoxies are being tipped on their surprised
beaks. The origins of the 4,000-year-old Caucasian "mummy" people
of China's Xinjiang Province remain mysterious, but what is known (thanks
to carbon-dating) is that there is no evidence that any other population
preceded them in the area and, stunningly, these people introduced the
wheel itself to China. These people practised trepanning, (that is, drilling
a hole in the skull to relieve pressure. A radical early "aspirin",
and a practise still extant in the South Pacific). Another of these "Chinese"
mummies' was found to have post-operative horsehair sutures in his chest.
Now comes news that "tattoos found on a prehistoric Alpine mummy are
evidence that Europeans practised acupuncture some 2,000 years before the
Chinese. 'It looks like an early form of acupuncture originated in central
Europe,' said Dr. Frank Bahr, president of the German Academy for Acupuncture,
who was in Vienna to present the results of a study into the tattoos. [Known
as the Ice Man] the 5,200-year-old corpse discovered in a glacier in the
Alpine Oetz valley between Austria and Italy in 1991 showed 15 groups of
simple tattoos on the back of the legs which tallied with those used in
modern acupuncture. 'I was amazed, 80 percent of the points correspond
to those used in acupuncture today,' Bahr told a news conference. ... 'These
points would still be selected by the best acupuncturists today,' Bahr
said." (Reuters, October 19, 1998) Does this mean that actively suppressing
European cultures might not be such a great idea after all?
Just a Couple of "Nice Kids"
Oops! We inaccurately predicted that Christine
Lamont and David Spencer would "likely be home in six months"
[Hotline #106, September 1998] Barely TWO months later, the happy Marxist/terrorist
couple is back. "Under the terms of the prisoner-transfer treaty,
only the sentences follow Mr. Spencer and Ms. Lamont to Canada; they will
not have criminal records once they are freed, potentially in a matter
of weeks. ... Mr. Spencer and Ms. Lamont dropped the pretence of innocence
two years ago and admitted their involvement in a 1989 scheme in which
Albilio Diniz , a wealthy Brazilian businessman, was kidnapped and held
for $30-million ransom before he was rescued by [200] police in Sao Paulo.
... [The couple was sentenced in May of 1990, along with 8 other 'Latin
revolutionaries'. Then, in May of 1993] the Canadian passports of Ms. Lamont
and Mr. Spencer are discovered among other documents in a huge Nicaraguan
arms cache, within what authorities say is a house rented by a Marxist
group. ... [No matter. In April this year, in the spirit of revolutionary
solidarity] the two Canadians and eight others convicted in the kidnapping
begin a hunger strike to push for expulsion from Brazil. The strike lasts
16 days, until a judge offers to review their sentences." (Globe and
Mail, November 23, 1998) Ironically, "the head of Canada's secret
intelligence agency is helping plan a hemispheric assault on terrorism.
Ward Elcock, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, meets
other high-ranking officials in Argentina [November 23] to devise an anti-terrorist
strategy for the Organization of American States." (Vancouver Sun,
November 23, 1998) The Latin Americans must have been really impressed
with Canada's commitment to stop terrorism!
China Trade Down -- We Told You
So
C-FAR has repeatedly warned of the danger of
the persistent illusion that there's megabucks to be made by kowtowing
to the red Chinese. The potentials just aren't there. Here's the latest
proof. "Chretien's 1994 Team Canada trade tour to China ... signed
21 contracts and 44 preliminary agreements potentially worth $8.5-billion.
The prime minister was so enthused by the apparent success of that tour
that he urged Chinese and Canadian business people to aim for two-way trade
of $20-billion by the end of the century. That hope is now seldom mentioned
by the Canadian government. Canadian exports to China did rise to $3.5-billion
in 1995, but in 1996 they dropped to $3-billion. Last year's total trade
was back to nearly $8.5-billion, with Canadian exports down to $2.2-billion,
less than in 1994. Exports to China for the first six months of this year
are only $1.2-billion, mostly because of the Asian economic crisis and
slackening demand for Canadian commodities." (Vancouver Sun, November
21, 1998) Note the massive imbalance in the trade.
Mossad Endangers Canadian Passport
Holders
"Israel's secret service still appears to
be using Canadian passports for its covert operations, despite promises
it would stop doing so, CTV's W-Five said in a report broadcast Tuesday
night. ... In a statement released Tuesday night the government said: '[Foreign
Affairs] Minister [ Lloyd] Axworthy takes these assertions very seriously.
He has instructed his officials to immediately review the claims made in
the W-Five report.' But Leslie Lewis, a dual Canadian-Israeli citizen who
moved from Vancouver to Israel in 1991, says Canadian authorities don't
appear to be too concerned. Ottawa's ambassador to Israel, David Berger,
insists the Israelis are keeping their promise. But Lewis, 55, told W-Five
he informed Canadian authorities the Mossad approached him as recently
as last February about getting its hands on a Canadian passport. Lewis's
involvement with the Mossad began in 1996, when he turned over his expired
Canadian passport after the spy agency told him 'they wanted to get oppressed
Jews in oppressed countries out of these countries.' In September 1997,
Israeli agents were caught after a bungled assassination attempt of a prominent
Palestinian leader in neighbouring Jordan. The agents were carrying doctored
Canadian passports, causing a major diplomatic ruckus between Canada and
Israel. In November 1997, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy promised
his Canadian counterpart, Lloyd Axworthy, that Israel would not use Canadian
passports again. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told his
secret service that Canadian passports were off-limits. But within weeks,
the Mossad asked Lewis again for his new passport, a request he refused.
And last February, it asked yet again, this time about getting his daughter
to apply for a Canadian passport so she could turn it over. Lewis told
W-Five he also knows of a case in which the Mossad approached another Canadian
in April and was given a passport. He said he reported the incidents to
the Canadian embassy." (Canadian Press, Nov. 3, 1998)
Communist Party Funds Colombian
Terrorists
Fanatical free speech opponent and censor extraordinaire
David Lethbridge loves to deal in elaborate guilt-by-association. Here's
one for him to answer for. He ran for the Communist Party of Canada in
the 1997 federal election. He's a monthly contributor to the Party's organ
People's Voice. So, just what is the party doing fundraising for a band
of Colombian terrorists who have kidnapped a Canadian mining executive.
Where's CSIS or are they still chasing the Nazis-who-never-were and the
non-existent "rightwing" menace?
Toronto's Now Magazine (November 19-25, 1998)
reports that Creston, B.C. gold-mining executive Edward Leonard has been
held for more than four months by guerrilla terrorists of the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). "The rebels read the communist works
of Karl Marx by day and discussed the families they'd left behind in the
name of the struggle by night. ... FARC, the largest of three leftist opposition
groups in Colombia is responsible for a slew of gross human rights violations.
It's a portrait the Communist Party of Canada (CPC) which has been raising
money for the group does not want to talk about. People's Voice, the CPC's
official information organ, has been running articles since August about
the urgent need for $8,000 to buy FARC a video editing unit so high quality
videos can be produced 'to inform the global community about the true situation
in Colombia.' ... Members of the CPC central executive committee, however,
aren't offering explanations of why the party is raising money for a group
Amnesty International, the Washington-based Human Rights Watch and the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights all condemn for extrajudicial
killings, disappearances and political violence against government supporters.
Liz Rowley, a member of the CPC executive and the Voice's editorial board,
tries to distance herself from the FARC effort when reached at home....
Instead, Rowley refers queries to CPC Ontario leader and international
affairs spokesperson Hassan Husseini, who first says ... that he'll call
back, but later informs me [writer Enzo Di Matteo] that he's busy in meetings
and won't be available for a week. When NOW shows up at the CPC's Danforth
office to get a few minutes in edgewise, the door is locked. 'It's always
closed during meetings,' says a voice over the phone, after repeated attempts
to buzz fail to elicit a response. Husseini never calls. Helen Kennedy,
another executive member of the party and a member of the Metro Network
for Social Justice, does not return calls either. Party leader Miguel Figueroa
is out of the country until the end of the month. ... A woman who picked
up the phone the day before... calls the FARC fundraising effort a part
of the CPC's 'internationalist duty in support of a national liberation
movement that's fighting a dictatorial regime in Colombia.'" It might
be noted that that government was duly selected in a democratic election!
"Amnesty's John Tackaberry says FARC attacks on civilians in 'peace
communities' -- neutral villages -- 'have been coming our way for the last
year or so.' ... In one case reported by Amnesty this year, FARC rebels
dragged into the street and shot or macheted to death 16 people, including
six women, in the villages of Pueblo Bello and Alto de Mulatos. When FARC
soldiers came calling on a politician who'd criticized the group's campaign
of violence, but found he wasn't home, they killed his son on the spot
instead, Amnesty says."
Immigrant Housing Policy: Near,
and Dear
In a new report, the agency responsible for England's
council flats (public housing), the National Housing Federation, suggests
that while cramped, ghetto-like projects may have sufficed for the English
lower orders, "ethnic minorities should be made to feel more at home
in flats and houses that meet their cultural and religious needs. ... For
instance the layout of estates, with houses overlooking public spaces,
no unseen alleys, and good lighting, could significantly improve security.
... Balconies for barbecues, patios for drying poppadoms [flattish 'bread'
accompaniment to curries] spaces for sewing machines and care with colour
schemes and buildings' geometry were recommended in a guide to building
houses for a multi-cultural society. ... [Some other hints:] Religious
families could have alcoves where they can pray or put a shrine. ... A
niche with racks near outside doors could take the footwear Asian, North
African and Muslim families remove on entry. Low window sills are ideal
for groups with a tradition of sitting on the floor. Separate storage for
milk and meat products is essential in Orthodox Jewish households. Some
Muslim households like sleeping on a north-south axis. In homes for Chinese,
avoid nooks, crannies and attics, black and white paint (associated with
death), rectangular (coffin-shaped) windows and numbers with four in them.
Many believe stairs leading towards the front door will mean wealth flowing
out of the house and do not like their bed facing a door, including a wardrobe.
Some Chinese and Vietnamese may be interested in incorporating Feng Shui
principles, believing alignment and proportion can affect the fortunes
of a household. They like red. Muslims like green. Kitchens in the front
of homes are out of favour with more orthodox Muslim households. Bed positions
forcing the feet to point towards Mecca should be avoided." (The Guardian,
August 14, 1998) All very instructive. The English taxpayer may be more
concerned with "mounting cost to local councils which currently have
a duty to house immigrants waiting for appeal." (The Observer, July
26, 1998) For contrast's sake, Hong Kong,'s chief executive "Tung
Chee-hwa, has pledged to cut average waiting time [for public housing]
to five years by 2003 and three years by 2005. ... The three-year pledge
will also exclude new immigrants who have to meet the seven-year residency
rule to qualify for public housing." (South China Morning Post, November
3, 1998) Perhaps, Her Majesty could give over the second floor of Buckingham
Palace to house some of the foreign hordes her successive governments have
let flood the once United Kingdom -- that is, if the feng shui is suitable.
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