George & George

Why this George and not the other George?

Canada's Minister of Citizen, Immigration, and Multiculturalism bans George Galloway from speaking in Canada, but why, using Kenney's (il)logic and use of Canada's (corrupt) anti-terrorism law, wasn't the other George banned by Kenney from coming into Canada to speak? That is, George Bush the war criminal?

Why was this dangerous George who is responsible for land and resource theft of magnanimous proportions, i.e. of a whole country--Iraq--and the deaths of 100,000s of Iraqi people and the deaths of American soldiers and the maiming of Iraqis and American soldiers, and the creating of 100,000s of refugees and widows--and this is only his gutting of Iraq, not Afghanistan--why was he not stopped at the border in accordance to Canadian anti-terrorist legislation?

No, this George of death was paid 6 figures to speak at a $400/plate dinner to 1500 George and Georgette wannabes in the heart of cowboy capitalism and neo-liberalism: Calgary.

Yesterday, my sister, my husband and I were wondering, where have all the investigative journalists disappeared? It is even more pressing to have investigative journalists in today's neo-liberal climate where all sorts of oppressive practices are normalized, such as the George Bush administration's looting and terrorism, as well as the rewarding of bonuses to the criminals in the US who are responsible for taking capitalism to uber-criminal heights rather than putting these corporate criminals in jail where they all belong!

So, I was pleased to find Thomas Walkom in this Saturday's Toronto Star. Thank you, Thomas Walkom, for stepping up to the public plate. Kudos to Walkom for writing a good critique of Immigration Minister Kenney's ridiculous banning of George Galloway from Canada.

[Walkom also wrote an article on the political economy, A Union Divided, which sheds good light on the state of unions in Canada today (only 30% of our workforce is unionized), through a particular case example, the attempt to organize Toronto's poorly paid hotel workers.]

Walkom's piece on Kenney's barring of the anti-George, that is George Galloway, caught my eye for his daring to speak out. Imagine, that in Canada it should be considered bold to defend the right of free speech! His article rightfully points to the larger issue regarding the banning of George the-exposer-of-state-terrorism, because it is not an issue just reduced to Galloway and his beliefs, but to the highly problematic anti-terrorist legislation that Canada enacted after 9/11. This draconian legislation is seriously in need of repeal. See, for another example, what has happened to Mohammed Majoub, "Canadian Secret-Trial Detainee Mohammad Mahjoub Forced Back to Jail by Draconian Conditions That Have “Broken” His Family."

Find Thomas Walkom's article on Kenney's idiocy below:

Banning British MP a clumsy, dangerous move

"Jason Kenney has gone over the edge. The increasingly erratic immigration minister made headlines last week when, in a fit of pique, he cut off funding to an Arab organization that helps newcomers learn English. Now, Kenney has banned British MP George Galloway from entering Canada, on the spurious grounds that he supports Middle East terrorism.

It's a clumsy move, designed presumably to bolster the Conservative government's support among voters who ardently back Israel.

But in a roundabout way it does illustrate how absurdly broad Canada's new anti-terror laws are and how dangerous they can be in the wrong hands."