Israel has Most to Lose in Egypt

Israel is deathly afraid of what could happen if the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition group in Egypt, takes control after President Hosni Mubarak steps down.

And they should be.

While we are still waiting to find out exactly when he will resign, and what that will look like, the change seems to be inevitable. Mohamed El Baradei, the self imposed opposition leader, asked for more than a million protestors to come out Tuesday, and whether that happens is immaterial.

World leaders have called Mubarak, and are encouraging him to stand aside, to facilitate a transfer of power.

Mubarak, so far isn't budging, shutting down internet, phone, TV stations, train service, all in an attempt to stop protestors from gathering. But it hasn't worked.

The youth in Egypt have had enough of Mubarak rule, and want change. As good as Mubarak was to the West, he didn't represent his own people very well. His rule led to poverty in the streets, over priced goods, and, being the only Arab nation that supported the US for years, has alienated the rest of the region as well.

Mubarak, despite efforts to change his party, firing his cabinet, and appointing brand new ministers, still can't gain any traction.

People don't want Mubarak anymore. And they're ready for change, no matter what that might look like.

And it could look creepy, especially if you're Israel.

Egypt is the only ally Israel have in the Arab world it's located in. And up until now, that support has been at a diplomatic level. Politicians backed Israel, because the US backed Israel. The main opposition party in Egypt, which may be in the best position to take over without bloodletting in the streets, is the Muslim Brotherhood.

The same Muslim Brotherhood that some say were the home of several Al Qaida members. Glenn Beck reported that some of the 9/11 masterminds started out with the Brotherhood, and that Hamas was birthed from it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced his concern, saying he worries about his country if Egypt follows down its current path.

The US, being Israel's closest ally must be worried as well. No?

Officials in the US, including President Obama, have spoken on record, calling for a peaceful transfer of power, all but demanding Mubarak step down.

It speaks to the power Egypt holds in the region, and how important it is to keep it in, for lack of a better word, Western hands.

So much so, that the US seems willing to put aside its relationship with Israel.

So yes Israel, be afraid.

Drug Cartels Run Rampant in Mexico

It's true.

All you have to do is look at the numbers. Mexican officials released details on homicides relating to the drug trade since President Calderon's first year in office.

According to government officials, 34,000 people have been killed in the country's drug wars since 2006.

34,000!

That's far more than the number of fans who attend Tampa Bay Ray home games. It's the population of small towns, and it's the number of people killed in Mexican Drug wars in the last 4 years.

One of the main culprits, is Joaquin 'Shorty' Guzman; the head of the Sinaloan drug cartel. For those who don't know, 'Shorty' broke out of a Mexican prison in 2001, and has been on the run since, fighting for territory, and killing anyone who gets in his way.

Despite a Mexican-US multi-billion dollar campaign to stamp out the drug trade, Guzman has expanded his empire from Colombia to China, has 52 operations running world wide, and has an estimated worth of more than 1 Billion dollars.

Two-thirds of his business runs through the US, and more should start flowing soon..as the Sinaloans just took over the town of Tijuana, a well know gateway to the US for drug trafficking.

But the Mexican authorities don't care how much is going out; it cares about how it's being done.

The fact that Guzman has been on the run for a decade now, means corruption at high levels still exist, and bribery of officials still happens regularly. And there are still those that think this whole war on drugs thing is a bad idea. It's rumoured maybe Calderon himself is wary of the problem it might cause.

In the Sinaloan capital of Culican, custom car dealerships, and high priced retailers are afraid if the drug cartels are brought down, it would have an immediate and negative economic fallout.

It could spell disaster for many parts of that country IF the war on drugs is successful.

I know many of you are reading this, with ideas of going to Mexico for vacation in the near future..saying, 'at least it's not Colombia.'

You're right.

In Colombia, the homicides attributed to drug wars has been cut in half since 2002. In Mexico, they continue to rise with no end in site.

Maybe I'll just go to Antigua instead...

Last Rights

Human Rights.

Most people in Western Civilization are very aware of them. We're taught to respect them, to understand them, but most of all to appreciate them.

We've been told they've come at a great cost. How many lives were shortened unfairly by tyrannical dictators? How many people died, never knowing what equality with their fellow man (or woman) could feel like.

So when some man, or woman or group tries to ensure those rights are held up they should be commended, right?

Well, put me on record as getting off the human rights bandwagon.

It's not that I don't believe we need them. Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms will stand as one of the most important documents ever signed by Canadian Parliamentarians. The same can be said for those American patriots who signed the Constitution.

But Western Civilization has lost all meaning of what human rights are. For the most part, we are not challenged with where we will eat, where we will sleep, or where we can go. Our rights tell us, we can do (more or less) whatever we want. Pursue a life better than our own. To borrow from a tired phrase, 'be all that we can be.'

For the most part, nothing stands in our way but ourselves.

And, people who decide to abuse those rights for their own personal gain.

Two examples hit close to home this week. First, when Jean-Claude Duvalier, better known as dictator 'Baby Doc,' returned to Haiti from exile in France, his lawyer told media it was his right as a Haitian to return home.

The second case occured in Toronto, when a man showed up to a police funeral with a sign saying 'NO POLICE STATE' on one side, and "Soldiers Die, Electricians Die and People Die,' on the other. Eric Brazau was arrested, and not charged in the matter. However, he did go on with media for the better part of 2 days, explaining how his rights had been violated.

To both of you, you're right. You have the right to live in Haiti, should you so choose, or protest the funeral of a police officer killed in the line of duty. I have the right to call you out in this blog, and call you self serving sycophants, that couldn't wait to have their 15 minutes of fame.

But it doesn't mean you or I should. Brazau, you say it's not a matter of taste. I disagree. It could be argued that racial or homophobic slurs are a matter of taste in some cases. See Dire Straits - Money for Nothing as an example. In fact it could be argued ALL human rights are a matter of taste. What Western Civilization can stomach before we've gone too far.

Baby Doc Duvalier, what happened to all those glorious rights you trampled on while pilfering money from the sick and needy into your own accounts while you left on a self imposed exile to France for 25 years.

When people like these come forward (and these are just the latest examples) it waters down what human rights mean for those who actually need them. The sick, the poor, those living in developing nations like Sudan, Ethiopia, or Myanmar.

I'm all for rights, and believe they are an integral part of what makes us human. But next time you want to play the rights card, count me out.

It's my right.

Haiti Needs More...

Being a journalist working in Toronto, I could have easily written this blog on the tragedy that befell Toronto Police Sergeant Ryan Russell who was killed when a man stole a snow plow, and ran him over.

Being a journalist in Canada, I could have easily written this blog about how those young Mounties killed in Mayerthorpe, Alberta were not as green as we were lead to believe.

But Haiti has been forgotten long enough. And I don't mean for just the last 365 days.

It's been one year since a devastating earthquake hit the Caribbean nation, killing thousands, many more injured, and even more still killed after a cholera epidemic.

Many people, watching their high-definition TV's during the past week, have been reminded of the catastrophe, and wonder, why isn't everything fixed? We donated billions of dollars! Surely that small country should be back on its feet by now.'

So what is the answer?

Some people believe political corruption is to blame, others would tell you the country sustained more damage than it could fix in one year.

But the answer lies deeper.

The truth is, Haiti has been a 'charity case,' long before January 12th, 2010.

Donations have poured into that country, as the nation's poor have long been left in the cold by the government. Money in the country has been used to keep those in power in power. Keeping their eyes closed to the poor, and letting gangs run free, the country has been in trouble for a long time.

They haven't been able to keep young people in the country to improve their lot either.

75% of those who are educated in Haiti leave for the bright lights of the US, or elsewhere. The ones who are left, remain uneducated and poor; usually living in squalors that aren't much better than the tent city's they live in now.

Which brings us back to the present. Where has the money gone? Is it being stolen by local gangs? Are the Red Cross and United Nations dragging their collective feet? Are the politicians using the money to keep themselves and their allies rich?

I don't have the answer, but I can tell you this.

They lie much deeper than the rubble in the streets of Port au Prince.

No Link Between Vaccine and Autism.

For years now there has been a theory, backed by a study in the British medical journal that pointed to so called evidence that the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine can lead to autism in some children.
The study, written by more than 10 authors, proved, in great detail that there are some chemicals in the MMR shot which in turn can make those toddlers autistic.
National and international autistic organizations used this study to try to get money from governments for research, and to get the vaccines chemically changed. Actors Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey even took to the cause with a ‘Green our Vaccines,’ campaign.
Thousands of people gave to the cause; absolutely floored the government would set forth a vaccination program that could affect the world’s most vulnerable population.
But the study that was published in the British Medical Journal, the highest authority on the subject, turned out to be bunk. The lead researcher, Andrew Wakefield lied. He falsified data, drew inaccurate conclusions, and manipulated information to link the MMR vaccination to autism and bowel disease.
That’s not me making that statement. That’s from the editors of the Journal.
The original study was published in 1998, and was finally retracted in February of 2010. During that time, a 13 year old boy died from Measles, the first fatal case of the disease in Britain in 14 years. Measles was declared endemic status in 2008, the first time that happened in a decade.
But to let Wakefield off with the embarrassment of having his study called a fraud seems criminal.
Essentially, his studies lead to the death of a 13 year old boy. He convinced people, thousands of people that getting a Measles vaccination could be detrimental to overall health.
And all the while Wakefield still denies that his study is fraudulent. He wrote an autobiography entitled Callous Disregard. In it, the former doctor argues he has been unfairly treated by the medical and scientific establishment.
I think it’s time Wakefield read over the Hippocratic Oath, maybe behind solid steel bars.

Banning the N-word

The N-Word.
How is it any different from saying the actual word? Comedian Louis C.K says (I’m paraphrasing) that using the expression ‘N-word’ is cowardly, because instead of actually avoiding use of the actual word; the writer has put it into your head.
So, essentially it doesn’t eliminate the word at all, it just puts the guilt onto the reader.
The latest edition of Huckleberry Finn aims to get rid of every mention of the N-word. 219 times Mark Twain wrote the racial epithet. Now the book was written in 1884. The slur itself was an accepted practice back then, I’m sure. Twain, a celebrated and classical author, wasn’t criticized until the political correctness Nazi’s got a hold of the novel, I’m sure.
Wait, that’s not true you say?
In fact, when the novel was published for American audiences, many libraries refused to carry it. The public library in Concord, Massachusetts decided against cataloguing the book, saying its humour, as limited as it was, was crude, and ‘more suitable to slums than to intelligent, respectable people.’ The Brooklyn Public Library in New York banned the book in 1905, calling it obscene.
The book itself was criticized by literary giants Louisa May Alcott, Ron Powers and Ernest Hemingway. It should be noted these authors believed the novel was generally well written, until the end of it, when Jim is freed by Huck Finn.
As a side note, you’ll notice I didn’t say ‘N-word’ Jim. He’s never called that in the book. Not once. Read it yourself.
The fact that the story itself, as I interpret it, is an attack on racism is generally glossed over. A fact that most scholars are aware of, but most policy makers and ‘nanny-state’ legislators don’t see. The see the N-word. 219 times.
It’s not the only book to use the slur. To Kill a Mockingbird, written in the 1960’s by Harper Lee also makes use of the N-word. But the use is almost exaggerated. And it’s used blatantly as a tool to point out how wrong racism is. That being said, Lee has come under criticism for the use of the word as well.
The publishers of the 2011 version have replaced the N-word with the term ‘slave.’ I can’t help but wonder if this will make it any different. I mean, it’s like Louis C.K said, now it’s all in your head, isn’t it?