Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The Science of Many Arabs

Charles comments below at Covenant Zone that our intelligentsia is missing the point. Below Charles' comment is a piece from a local Internet site showing just how little they grasp of reality, and in this particular case, how little a political science professor at UBC gets. We must ask just what we can expect from students who graduate out of our universities when the likes of this fellow are instructing them in the nature of sophisticated intellectual analysis.
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"[I]t feels like there are far more left-leaning people who understand Israel's reaction as a justified self-defensive measure... and are willing to say so.

The exception seem to be the university denizens, still saying and doing what they said and did back in the 90s. The people in the "learning" business seem to be the ones least capable of changing what they think."

http://covenantzone.blogspot.com/
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And now, as promised, a poitical science professor from our local university:

Ottawa's pro-Israel tilt could take political toll: Arab critics

Canadian Press Published: Wednesday, July 19, 2006

OTTAWA (CP) - Arab-Canadian critics say Prime Minister Stephen Harper will pay a political price for what they're calling an unabashed pro-Israel shift.

"It has left a bad taste in everybody's mouth," says Hani Faris, a professor of political science at the University of British Columbia who grew up in Lebanon.

"There is basically no concern for the sentiments or the feelings of the hundreds of thousands of Arab-Canadians or those who sympathize with (them)."
[....]

Harper has said the onus is on militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas to stop long-running attacks against Israel and return the kidnapped soldiers.

"I think we have to hold ultimately responsible for the violence people who advocate it as a solution and act upon those desires," Harper said Tuesday in Paris.

Several Canadian Arab groups have accused Harper of abandoning a traditional federal position that recognized Israel's right to exist while showing balanced concern for affected Arab communities.

[....]

Harper has deliberately sharpened that pro-Israel tone, Faris said in an interview Tuesday.

"These are his own ideological leanings, his alliances.

"Canada is unfortunately forsaking its humanitarian position . . . . It is losing its even-handedness and balance on Middle Eastern issues."

Faris recalled a meeting he had last year with former Liberal foreign affairs minister Pierre Pettigrew on similar concerns.

"I told him: 'Don't take Arab-Canadians for granted. There are hundreds of thousands of them.' "

To put it in crass political terms, at least one Conservative estimate says there are about 800,000 Arab-Canadian votes versus around 300,000 Jewish votes.
[....]

Ottawa's pro-Israel tilt could take political toll: Arab critics
Canada.com, Canada
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That's why we call it political "Science." Hey, we ain't no dummies here. We can even do some basic adding and subtracting. Scientifically speaking, therefore, more Muslims means democracy should keep the Liberal Party in power so they can be balanced in favor of terrorists. It's science, you know.

And do you know what else?
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Mission Statement of the Palestine Community Centre in British Columbia:

To establish a community center in British Columbia which aims to provide social, cultural, and political programs and services; where a sense of belonging and unity are strengthened.

To Serve the Arab Community in BC and to protect and preserve the Palestinian national identity.

To empower the Arab Community and its political presence in BC.

Our Goals

1) To protect and preserve the Palestine national identity.

2) To defend the social, cultural and political rights of the Palestinian and Arab Community in BC.

3) To provide services to the community, which includes:
a) To teach the Arabic language to youth, adults and children
b) To teach the English language to new immigrants and others.
c) To raise the awareness of the Palestinian & Arab communities on issues related to citizenship rights and responsibilities, elections, history of Canada and immigration services.
d) To offer special programs on health and social issues such as Aids, drugs, sexual harassment, etc.

4) To raise awareness and focus on the history of the Arab culture and civilization.

5) To offer programs on folk arts such as: Dabka folk dance, music and visual arts.

6) To teach the history of the Palestinian people and the history of their struggle against Zionism and occupation.

7) To defend the national and natural rights of the Palestinian people (right of return for Palestinian refugees & national independence)

8) To unify the Arab community regardless of their color, gender, age or beliefs.

9) The center adopts a clear and firm stand to support all oppressed groups and nationalities in BC, Canada, and worldwide.

10) The centre aims to develop the relationship between Palestinians and the native groups and their struggle for land and self-determination.
www.workingtv.com/palestinebanquet.html
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Hani Faris is not only an oppressed Palestinian, he's a scientist! Wow, is that cool or what?!

5 comments:

Charles Henry said...

Faris is the equivalent of a court astrologer all right. He does make one good point that I agree with:
"Canada ... is losing its even-handedness and balance on Middle Eastern issues."

Yup, it's called regaining our moral compass.
How can someone "recognize Israel's right to exist" while showing "balanced concern" for savages wanting Israel to cease to exist, anyway?
Being neither a political scientist, nor an astrologer, I have no idea how that works.

truepeers said...

Charles, you really should mail that comment to Faris, and remind him that Harper has left a very good taste in many people mouths: yes, it's true, I almost want to kiss him. Of course, when Faris says H. has left a bad taste in "everyone's" mouths, he means the only people that matter: the Gnostic intelligentsia, aka traitors to the people.

Frank said...

Israel is being completely intransigent in its position with Hezbollah. It won't even make a small good faith gesture like encouraging its citizens to start drifting toward the Red Sea prepatory to driving themselves into it at some point in the future. Its not like Hezbollah is demanding everything happen tomorrow.

If the Israeli government would just take a few itsy bitsy baby steps toward the total destruction of its own state, I'm sure Hezbollah would give them back at least the heads of their detained soldiers, and probably nicely wrapped up in life jackets to boot.

civilian-at-arms said...

"There is basically no concern for the sentiments or the feelings of the hundreds of thousands of Arab-Canadians or those who sympathize with (them)."

Feeeeelings. How does support for Israel affect Arab-Canadians in any substantive way? Does support Israel take food from Arab mouths? Does it rip the roofs off their heads? Does it take away their rights as Canadian citizens? No. So essentially the pork Arab-Canadians have with Israel is because it's peopled by Jews; and the Canadian government is supposed to take such a constituency seriously? Or what? Will put their votes where their mouths are, or put their bombs where their hearts are?

truepeers said...

That's right, DT. You don't hear the Arab-Canadians crying out too much about the daily Arab vs. Arab violence going on somewhere or other. They cry about the Jew-Arab violence because in their heart of hearts, their great wrenching dream is for all the arabs to all just get along... to be as one... and that requires a scapegoat.