Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Monday, December 31, 2012
Opinion pieces by Henry Srebrnik, listed chronologically:
(Please visit as well: “I Told You So Long Ago,” at http://i-told-you-so-long-ago.blogspot.com)
March 27, 2003 – Canadian Jewish News:
Canadian Jews Should Rethink Alliances
April 23, 2003 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Will the Kurds Seize the Day and Attempt to Create a Sovereign State?
August 25, 2003 – The Calgary Herald:
"We Are Transitioning Towards the Truth"
October 21, 2003 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Defining Ourselves by Government: Permanent Liberals: PC – Alliance Merger May Provide Serious Opposition, But Don’t Bet On It
December 11, 2003 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Canada Faces Problems of National Identity, Regionalism and Legislative Ineptitude
January 3, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Living a Life of Western Guilt: Some Professors, Journalists Seem Embarrassed by their Privileged Status
January 29, 2004 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Are Iranian Rulers Ready for Democracy and Rapprochement with the U.S.?
March 23, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Stephen Harper’s Experience Makes Him the Right Person for the Job: The New Leader of the Conservative Party Has Served for Many Years in the Political Trenches
April 17, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Just How Far Would the Liberals Have Gone to ‘Save’ Canada?
May 20, 2004 – [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Winning, and Then Losing, in Iraq
May 27, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
What Do the Political Contours of the Federal Election Look Like?
May 31, 2004 – The Calgary Herald:
‘Party of State’ Pegs its Future on Felling Harper
June 8, 2004 - [Charlottetown , PEI
Taking a Look at the Winners and Losers in the Global Propaganda Wars
September 30, 2004 – [Charlottetown , PEI
Taking a Closer Look at the Selection of Judges
October 6, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The State of Politics and the New Parliamentary Session
October 6, 2004 - Canadian Jewish News:
We Need to Think Clearly about Islamism
November 1, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Why John Kerry Will Win the American Presidency
November 5, 2004 - The Calgary Herald:
Lament from the Ivory Tower
November 18, 2004 – [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
What does the Bush victory mean for Israel and the Mideast?
December 30, 2004 – The Calgary Herald:
Is Stronger Canada Chretien’s Legacy?
April 21, 2005 – [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Jerusalem and the Three Abrahamic Faiths
August 19, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Canada and Hans Island: Is It Worth Fighting For?
September 7, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is It Fair to Criticize the New Occupants of Rideau Hall?
September 24, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
No Matter What, Canadians Think Liberal Rule Is Just Fine
October 18, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Defying Laws of Politics When It Comes to Quebec and Alberta
December 27, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Let's Try Changing Our Political Architecture: Why Not Create a Bicameral Parliament for PEI?
January 5, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Who Is Responsible for Canada’s Slide Towards National Disintegration?
January 17, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
When Did ‘Canadian Values’ Become Such an Issue?
January 25, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
An Analysis of Why the Liberals Lost
February 10, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Conservatives Should Remove Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage from their Agenda
February 22, 2006 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Different Reasons Why Some Approved, Others Condemned the Danish Cartoons
March 11, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Examining Our Role in Afghanistan: Should We Be There?
March 22, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The U.S. is on the Verge of Losing the War in Iraq
March 23, 2006 - [Calgary] Fast Forward Weekly:
Nationalism Persists as a Mobilizing Force; Ethnic and Religious Conflict Remains the Primary Cause of War in the World
http://www.ffwdweekly.com/Issues/2006/0323/view.htm
April 2006 - Newsletter of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship (SAFS):
UPEI Faculty Opposes Gag Laws
http://www.safs.ca/april2006/srebrink.html
April 20, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Federal Liberals Should Choose Ignatieff as Leader
May 5, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
As Fijians Go to the Polls
May 16, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Few Brickbats
August 4, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Pondering What Will Happen Next for Lebanon
August 31, 2006 - [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Hezbollah's Strength
October 18, 2006 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Liberals, Israel and the Issue of War Crimes
October 19, 2006 - [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Are Quebec's Political Elites too Sensitive to Criticism? A Personal Recollection
November 2, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Changing Political Landscape?
November 22, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Quebec Really a Nation?
December 20, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Harper’s Motion Poses the Question: Who is a Québécois?
March 29, 2007 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
What of Quebec's Anglophones?
April 6, 2007 – The Calgary Herald:
Greens Must Keep Focused on Cause
April 28, 2007 – The Calgary Herald:
Gov. Gen. Has Power to Thwart an Election
August 3, 2007 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Barack Obama: Trailblazer for Black Americans
August 4, 2007 - The Calgary Herald:
A Strong Dollar, and Short Memory
August 16, 2007 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
Does Israel Have a Right to Exist?
August 25, 2007 - TheCalgary
Israel
September 6, 2007 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Endless American Vote
October 1, 2007 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A Strong Dollar, but Where are the Savings?
November 1, 2007 – [Charlottetown , PEI
The Loonie versus the U.S. Dollar
December 17, 2007 - [Charlottetown , PEI
The American Presidential Race - So Far
December 27, 2007 – [Toronto
Back to the Future in a ConsociationalPalestine
February 6, 2008Charlottetown PEI
“Banal” Nationalism:America Canada Quebec
February 19, 2008Charlottetown , PEI
Is Hillary Clinton a Democrat?
March 3, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Clinton and Obama: Who's Been More Oppressed?
March 10, 2008Charlottetown , PEI
Hillary Clinton’s Mud Sticks to Obama
March 15, 2008Summerside , PEI
A Caustic Look at the Never-Ending Primary War
March 25, 2008Summerside PEI
John McCain: A Political Resurrection?
March 25, 2008Charlottetown PEI
The Year 1968: Where Did the Time Go?
April 3, 2008Toronto
Carville and the J-Word
April 4, 2008 – [Summerside PEI
The Democratic Party Race: The Beat Goes On...and On...and On
April 25, 2008Summerside PEI
Has Running for theU.S.
April 30, 2008Charlottetown PEI
Hillary WinsPennsylvania
May 6, 2008Summerside , PEI
Indiana and North Carolina Vote . . . What Next?
May 8, 2008Toronto
The Delayed Reaction to the Holocaust
May 22, 2008 - [Halifax, Nova Scotia] Chronicle-Herald:
Clintons' Shady Dealings Have Taken the Shine off Two-for-One-Deal, Part 2
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Letters/1057351.html
June 6, 2008 – [Charlottetown PEI
June 24, 2008 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
Will Gender Rivalries Impact Institution of Marriage?
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/content/view/730/53/
June 25, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
How Would Clinton Fit on the Vice-Presidential Ticket?
July 4, 2008 – [Summerside , PEI
Barack and Bill: Not a Good Match
August 15, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Tale of Goose and Gander
September 4, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Obama and the Clintons: A Convention Hijacking
September 22, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Crisis in the American Financial System
September 29, 2008 – [Summerside , PEI
The Economic Chickens Come Home to Roost
October 14, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
McCain Carrying a Load of Ethical Baggage
October 24, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Quebec Marches to Its Own Electoral Drummer
October 30, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Just What Does it Take to Run the Office These Days?
November 19, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Closing Thoughts on the American Presidential Election
December 2, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Stéphane Dion About to Become PM?
December 8, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Bye Bye Parliamentary Legitimacy
December 18, 2008 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
A Letter from Jerusalem - circa 1972
December 27, 2008 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Our Governor General Up to the Job?
January 8, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
The Hitler-Stalin Pact: Two Years of Infamy
January 22, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
Where Do Israel, Jewish People Stand at This Moment?
January 30, 2009 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A Middle Eastern Apocalypse in the Offing?
February 2, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Library of Unwritten Books
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=217703&sc=104
March 10, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
Are Canadian Jews Savvy?
March 30, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Only Glimmer of Hope for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=237212&sc=104
Thursday, April 9, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
Who Are the Real Criminals?
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/200904071553/Who-are-the-real-criminals.html
April 16, 2009 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The "New" Age of Piracy
April 20, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Rush Limbaugh and the Party of "No"
April 23, 2009 - [Toronto
Anti-Zionist Israelis Would Turn Jewish State Into Another Diaspora
May 5, 2009 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Will Somali Piracy Spark Further Mideast Conflict?
http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=248406&sc=123
May 6, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Will the Problem of Piracy Only Get Worse?
May 12, 2009 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A One-State Palestine or Two Nation-States?
http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=250266&sc=123
June 1, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Ignatieff the Expatriate - or Aristocrat?
July 8, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Less Bread, More Circuses for America
August 10, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Are the Russians Still Defending the Pact that Led to the Second World War?
September 11, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Troubled America
September 24, 2009 - [Toronto
Name Changes in Montreal Should Work Both Ways
October 19, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The End of Communist Rule in Eastern Europe
November 3, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Fall of East Germany: A Retrospective
November 24, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Canada Really a Paragon of Democracy?
January 25, 2010 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
What's Next for Haiti?
January 27, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Israel Pitches in With Help for Haiti
February 11, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
Central Asia Should Not be Ignored
March 2, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
Look Around at the De Facto States by "Stealth"
March 9, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Inuit Have Become Self-Ruling Body
April 28, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
The Perils of Predicting the Future
April 29, 2010 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune
Irredentism: A Potent Form of Nationalism
May 25, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
New York Women and the U.S. Supreme Court
June 29, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
The Troubles to Our South
July 16, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
Obama's High Hopes
August 30, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
California Dreaming . . . or is it Just a Nightmare
October 5, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
End of Trudeauism
December 2, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Elections Not Always the Answer for Troubled Countries
December 10, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is Really the Sixth “Stan”
December 23, 2010 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune :
Nazi Germany Fought Many Different Wars in WW II
December 27, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Should Ideology of Human Rights Trump Nationalism?
January 4, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Gulf War of 1991 and its Aftermath
January 5, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
From Mugabe to Mubarak, Many African Dictators Still Reign
January 20, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A Power Structure Built on Sand
January 27, 2011 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune :
Will Islamist Parties Vie for Power in Tunisia?
January 31, 2011 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Little Portugal Created a Lusophone World
February 1, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is History Repeating Itself?
February 22, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Arab Awakening Arrives in Libya
February 24, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune :
Portugal's Jewish Diaspora and Its Lessons for Our Times
February 24, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Who Will Replace Today's Middle Eastern Rulers?
February 25, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Gadhafi’s Son Reveals ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Persona
February 28, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Unable to Avoid Criticism, U.S. Should Do the Right Thing
March 10, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
A New Chapter in the Assault on Israel
March 12, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Four Main Types of States on the World Map
March 15, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is President Obama Playing the Role of Hamlet?
March 19, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Gadhafi Should Be Removed Now
March 21, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Gadhafi and His Enablers
March 29, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The "Chelm" War
March 31, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Coalition’s War Aims Remain Confusing
April 4, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Libyan War Becomes an Unnecessary Stalemate
April 18, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Voters Would Welcome Majority
April 19, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Should Hawaii Belong to the U.S.?
April 27, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Aid Group Failed Wartime Jews
May 5, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Swept Away by the "Orange Crush"
June 9, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
The American South Today
June 13, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Canadian Jewish Congress Future Uncertain
June 17, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is "Arab Spring" Now Stalled?
June 17, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Uprising Highlights Ethnic, Religious Divisions
June 22, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
No "Arab Spring" in Yemen
June 27, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Libyan War Could Signal NATO's Collapse
June 30, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
In the Company of Microstates, P.E.I. Is a Giant
July 2, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Canada Courts a World Power
July 18, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Case for Israel
July 25, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Reshaping the State to Avoid Secession
August 1, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Hold 'Em or Fold 'Em?
August 2, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The State that Gets No Respect
August 20, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Woodstock and America, Then and Now
August 22, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Tribal Revenge a Worry in Post-Gadhafi Libya
August 31, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Three Down, Two to Go? Apparently Not
September 6, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Iran is a Regional Power in the Middle East
September 8, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
The Lasting Impact of the Iran-Iraq War
September 10, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Does One Have to Return to British Symbolism to be Conservative
September 19, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is Turkey Creating an ‘Ottosphere’ in Middle East?
September 27, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Positioning to be Major Player
also available on the Guardian website
October 3, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Cyprus Could Be New Flashpoint
October 18, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Locked in Ethnic and Territorial Disputes
October 21, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Still Trying to Figure out why Quebec Chose the NDP
November 16, 2011 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Reflections on the Demise of the So-Called “King of Kings”
November 22, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
What's to Become of Mideast's Christians?
December 1, 2011 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Student Newspaper Best Indicator of Intellectual Vibrancy on Campus
December 5, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is the Middle East Edging Towards War?
December 9, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Arguing for Real Gender Equality
December 16, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Palestinians Are a Nation
December 19, 2011 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Political Culture More Important than Formal Structures
December 28, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Questioning Civil and Ethnic Nationalism
January 3, 2012 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Four Divided Cities, Then and Now
January 16, 2012 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
To Name Is to Claim
January 17, 2012 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Can Romney Win the Presidency?
January 21, 2012 - Calgary Herald:
MADD Represents Modern-Day McCarthyism
January 23, 2012 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Crusade Against Drunk Driving
January 25, 2012 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
"Mister One Per Cent" Loses South Carolina Primary
February 17, 2012 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Soviet-Style Disproportion
February 23, 2012 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
A Vanished Ideology: Jewish Communism 1917 - 1956
(Please visit as well: “I Told You So Long Ago,” at http://i-told-you-so-long-ago.blogspot.com)
March 27, 2003 – Canadian Jewish News:
Canadian Jews Should Rethink Alliances
April 23, 2003 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Will the Kurds Seize the Day and Attempt to Create a Sovereign State?
August 25, 2003 – The Calgary Herald:
"We Are Transitioning Towards the Truth"
October 21, 2003 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Defining Ourselves by Government: Permanent Liberals: PC – Alliance Merger May Provide Serious Opposition, But Don’t Bet On It
December 11, 2003 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Canada Faces Problems of National Identity, Regionalism and Legislative Ineptitude
January 3, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Living a Life of Western Guilt: Some Professors, Journalists Seem Embarrassed by their Privileged Status
January 29, 2004 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Are Iranian Rulers Ready for Democracy and Rapprochement with the U.S.?
March 23, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Stephen Harper’s Experience Makes Him the Right Person for the Job: The New Leader of the Conservative Party Has Served for Many Years in the Political Trenches
April 17, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Just How Far Would the Liberals Have Gone to ‘Save’ Canada?
May 20, 2004 – [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Winning, and Then Losing, in Iraq
May 27, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
What Do the Political Contours of the Federal Election Look Like?
May 31, 2004 – The Calgary Herald:
‘Party of State’ Pegs its Future on Felling Harper
June 8, 2004 - [
Taking a Look at the Winners and Losers in the Global Propaganda Wars
September 30, 2004 – [
Taking a Closer Look at the Selection of Judges
October 6, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The State of Politics and the New Parliamentary Session
October 6, 2004 - Canadian Jewish News:
We Need to Think Clearly about Islamism
November 1, 2004 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Why John Kerry Will Win the American Presidency
November 5, 2004 - The Calgary Herald:
Lament from the Ivory Tower
November 18, 2004 – [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
What does the Bush victory mean for Israel and the Mideast?
December 30, 2004 – The Calgary Herald:
Is Stronger Canada Chretien’s Legacy?
April 21, 2005 – [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Jerusalem and the Three Abrahamic Faiths
August 19, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Canada and Hans Island: Is It Worth Fighting For?
September 7, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is It Fair to Criticize the New Occupants of Rideau Hall?
September 24, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
No Matter What, Canadians Think Liberal Rule Is Just Fine
October 18, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Defying Laws of Politics When It Comes to Quebec and Alberta
December 27, 2005 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Let's Try Changing Our Political Architecture: Why Not Create a Bicameral Parliament for PEI?
January 5, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Who Is Responsible for Canada’s Slide Towards National Disintegration?
January 17, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
When Did ‘Canadian Values’ Become Such an Issue?
January 25, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
An Analysis of Why the Liberals Lost
February 10, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Conservatives Should Remove Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage from their Agenda
February 22, 2006 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Different Reasons Why Some Approved, Others Condemned the Danish Cartoons
March 11, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Examining Our Role in Afghanistan: Should We Be There?
March 22, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The U.S. is on the Verge of Losing the War in Iraq
March 23, 2006 - [Calgary] Fast Forward Weekly:
Nationalism Persists as a Mobilizing Force; Ethnic and Religious Conflict Remains the Primary Cause of War in the World
http://www.ffwdweekly.com/Issues/2006/0323/view.htm
April 2006 - Newsletter of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship (SAFS):
UPEI Faculty Opposes Gag Laws
http://www.safs.ca/april2006/srebrink.html
April 20, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Federal Liberals Should Choose Ignatieff as Leader
May 5, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
As Fijians Go to the Polls
May 16, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Few Brickbats
August 4, 2006 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Pondering What Will Happen Next for Lebanon
August 31, 2006 - [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Hezbollah's Strength
October 18, 2006 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Liberals, Israel and the Issue of War Crimes
October 19, 2006 - [Calgary] Jewish Free Press:
Are Quebec's Political Elites too Sensitive to Criticism? A Personal Recollection
November 2, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Changing Political Landscape?
November 22, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Quebec Really a Nation?
December 20, 2006 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Harper’s Motion Poses the Question: Who is a Québécois?
March 29, 2007 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
What of Quebec's Anglophones?
April 6, 2007 – The Calgary Herald:
Greens Must Keep Focused on Cause
April 28, 2007 – The Calgary Herald:
Gov. Gen. Has Power to Thwart an Election
August 3, 2007 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Barack Obama: Trailblazer for Black Americans
August 4, 2007 - The Calgary Herald:
A Strong Dollar, and Short Memory
August 16, 2007 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
Does Israel Have a Right to Exist?
August 25, 2007 - The
Israel
September 6, 2007 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Endless American Vote
October 1, 2007 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A Strong Dollar, but Where are the Savings?
November 1, 2007 – [
The Loonie versus the U.S. Dollar
December 17, 2007 - [
The American Presidential Race - So Far
December 27, 2007 – [
Back to the Future in a Consociational
February 6, 2008
“Banal” Nationalism:
February 19, 2008
Is Hillary Clinton a Democrat?
March 3, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Clinton and Obama: Who's Been More Oppressed?
March 10, 2008
Hillary Clinton’s Mud Sticks to Obama
March 15, 2008
A Caustic Look at the Never-Ending Primary War
March 25, 2008
John McCain: A Political Resurrection?
March 25, 2008
The Year 1968: Where Did the Time Go?
April 3, 2008
Carville and the J-Word
The Democratic Party Race: The Beat Goes On...and On...and On
April 25, 2008
Has Running for the
April 30, 2008
Hillary Wins
May 6, 2008
Indiana and North Carolina Vote . . . What Next?
May 8, 2008
The Delayed Reaction to the Holocaust
May 22, 2008 - [Halifax, Nova Scotia] Chronicle-Herald:
Clintons' Shady Dealings Have Taken the Shine off Two-for-One-Deal, Part 2
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Letters/1057351.html
June 6, 2008 – [
June 24, 2008 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
Will Gender Rivalries Impact Institution of Marriage?
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/content/view/730/53/
June 25, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
How Would Clinton Fit on the Vice-Presidential Ticket?
July 4, 2008 – [
Barack and Bill: Not a Good Match
August 15, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Tale of Goose and Gander
September 4, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Obama and the Clintons: A Convention Hijacking
September 22, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Crisis in the American Financial System
September 29, 2008 – [
The Economic Chickens Come Home to Roost
October 14, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
McCain Carrying a Load of Ethical Baggage
October 24, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Quebec Marches to Its Own Electoral Drummer
October 30, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Just What Does it Take to Run the Office These Days?
November 19, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Closing Thoughts on the American Presidential Election
December 2, 2008 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Stéphane Dion About to Become PM?
December 8, 2008 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Bye Bye Parliamentary Legitimacy
December 18, 2008 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
A Letter from Jerusalem - circa 1972
December 27, 2008 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Our Governor General Up to the Job?
January 8, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
The Hitler-Stalin Pact: Two Years of Infamy
January 22, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
Where Do Israel, Jewish People Stand at This Moment?
January 30, 2009 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A Middle Eastern Apocalypse in the Offing?
February 2, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Library of Unwritten Books
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=217703&sc=104
March 10, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
Are Canadian Jews Savvy?
March 30, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Only Glimmer of Hope for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=237212&sc=104
Thursday, April 9, 2009 - [Toronto] Jewish-Tribune:
Who Are the Real Criminals?
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/200904071553/Who-are-the-real-criminals.html
April 16, 2009 – [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The "New" Age of Piracy
April 20, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Rush Limbaugh and the Party of "No"
April 23, 2009 - [
Anti-Zionist Israelis Would Turn Jewish State Into Another Diaspora
May 5, 2009 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Will Somali Piracy Spark Further Mideast Conflict?
http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=248406&sc=123
May 6, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Will the Problem of Piracy Only Get Worse?
May 12, 2009 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A One-State Palestine or Two Nation-States?
http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=250266&sc=123
June 1, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Ignatieff the Expatriate - or Aristocrat?
July 8, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Less Bread, More Circuses for America
August 10, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Are the Russians Still Defending the Pact that Led to the Second World War?
September 11, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Troubled America
September 24, 2009 - [
Name Changes in Montreal Should Work Both Ways
October 19, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The End of Communist Rule in Eastern Europe
November 3, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Fall of East Germany: A Retrospective
November 24, 2009 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is Canada Really a Paragon of Democracy?
January 25, 2010 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
What's Next for Haiti?
January 27, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Israel Pitches in With Help for Haiti
February 11, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
Central Asia Should Not be Ignored
March 2, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
Look Around at the De Facto States by "Stealth"
March 9, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Inuit Have Become Self-Ruling Body
April 28, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
The Perils of Predicting the Future
April 29, 2010 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune
Irredentism: A Potent Form of Nationalism
May 25, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
New York Women and the U.S. Supreme Court
June 29, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
The Troubles to Our South
July 16, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
Obama's High Hopes
August 30, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
California Dreaming . . . or is it Just a Nightmare
October 5, 2010 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
End of Trudeauism
December 2, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Elections Not Always the Answer for Troubled Countries
December 10, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is Really the Sixth “Stan”
December 23, 2010 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune :
Nazi Germany Fought Many Different Wars in WW II
December 27, 2010 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Should Ideology of Human Rights Trump Nationalism?
January 4, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Gulf War of 1991 and its Aftermath
January 5, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
From Mugabe to Mubarak, Many African Dictators Still Reign
January 20, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
A Power Structure Built on Sand
January 27, 2011 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune :
Will Islamist Parties Vie for Power in Tunisia?
January 31, 2011 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Little Portugal Created a Lusophone World
February 1, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is History Repeating Itself?
February 22, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Arab Awakening Arrives in Libya
February 24, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune :
Portugal's Jewish Diaspora and Its Lessons for Our Times
February 24, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Who Will Replace Today's Middle Eastern Rulers?
February 25, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Gadhafi’s Son Reveals ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Persona
February 28, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Unable to Avoid Criticism, U.S. Should Do the Right Thing
March 10, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
A New Chapter in the Assault on Israel
March 12, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The Four Main Types of States on the World Map
March 15, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is President Obama Playing the Role of Hamlet?
March 19, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Gadhafi Should Be Removed Now
March 21, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Gadhafi and His Enablers
March 29, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The "Chelm" War
March 31, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Coalition’s War Aims Remain Confusing
April 4, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Libyan War Becomes an Unnecessary Stalemate
April 18, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Voters Would Welcome Majority
April 19, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Should Hawaii Belong to the U.S.?
April 27, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Aid Group Failed Wartime Jews
May 5, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Swept Away by the "Orange Crush"
June 9, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
The American South Today
June 13, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Canadian Jewish Congress Future Uncertain
June 17, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Is "Arab Spring" Now Stalled?
June 17, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Uprising Highlights Ethnic, Religious Divisions
June 22, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
No "Arab Spring" in Yemen
June 27, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Libyan War Could Signal NATO's Collapse
June 30, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
In the Company of Microstates, P.E.I. Is a Giant
July 2, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Canada Courts a World Power
July 18, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Case for Israel
July 25, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Reshaping the State to Avoid Secession
August 1, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Hold 'Em or Fold 'Em?
August 2, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
The State that Gets No Respect
August 20, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Woodstock and America, Then and Now
August 22, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Tribal Revenge a Worry in Post-Gadhafi Libya
August 31, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Three Down, Two to Go? Apparently Not
September 6, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Iran is a Regional Power in the Middle East
September 8, 2011 -- [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
The Lasting Impact of the Iran-Iraq War
September 10, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Does One Have to Return to British Symbolism to be Conservative
September 19, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is Turkey Creating an ‘Ottosphere’ in Middle East?
September 27, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Positioning to be Major Player
also available on the Guardian website
October 3, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Cyprus Could Be New Flashpoint
October 18, 2011 -- [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Locked in Ethnic and Territorial Disputes
October 21, 2011 -- [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Still Trying to Figure out why Quebec Chose the NDP
November 16, 2011 – [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Reflections on the Demise of the So-Called “King of Kings”
November 22, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
What's to Become of Mideast's Christians?
December 1, 2011 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
A Student Newspaper Best Indicator of Intellectual Vibrancy on Campus
December 5, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Is the Middle East Edging Towards War?
December 9, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Arguing for Real Gender Equality
December 16, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Palestinians Are a Nation
December 19, 2011 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Political Culture More Important than Formal Structures
December 28, 2011 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Questioning Civil and Ethnic Nationalism
January 3, 2012 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
Four Divided Cities, Then and Now
January 16, 2012 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
To Name Is to Claim
January 17, 2012 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Can Romney Win the Presidency?
January 21, 2012 - Calgary Herald:
MADD Represents Modern-Day McCarthyism
January 23, 2012 - [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer:
The Crusade Against Drunk Driving
January 25, 2012 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
"Mister One Per Cent" Loses South Carolina Primary
February 17, 2012 - [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian:
Soviet-Style Disproportion
February 23, 2012 - [Toronto] Jewish Tribune:
A Vanished Ideology: Jewish Communism 1917 - 1956
Thursday, February 23, 2012
A Vanished Ideology: Jewish Communism 1917-1956
Henry Srebrnik, [Toronto] Jewish Tribune
In May, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York will host a conference on Jews and the Left, which will include presentations on Jews and Communism in the 20th Century.
Few people now recall how significant a role that ideology once played among a segment of the community. But it would come to an abrupt end.
On Feb. 25, 1956, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, delivered a four-hour speech to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party in which he denounced the crimes committed by Joseph Stalin and his associates.
Stalin's antisemitic campaigns, which had intensified after 1948, were also finally acknowledged. The Warsaw Yiddish Communist newspaper Folkshtime in April 1956 published articles about the extent and virulence of Stalin's antisemitism.
All of this came as a shock to Jewish Communists in the western countries, and the Jewish Communist movement, which had flourished since the Russian Revolution in 1917, virtually vanished.
The movement had its origins in east European traditions of political radicalism, and sought to improve the condition of working-class Jews by adding ideas of Jewish renewal to Marxist-Leninist ideology.
It constituted a response to the economic, political, social and cultural problems facing the mainly Yiddish-speaking immigrant Jewish populations and gained a fair number of adherents and some measure of success between 1917 and 1956. Though officially part of the larger world Communist movement, in reality the Jewish Communists developed their own specific ideology, which was infused as much by Jewish sources, including the literature of such Yiddish poets and writers as I.L. Peretz and Sholem Asch, as it was inspired by the Bolshevik revolution.
The Jewish Communist movement created its own fraternal organizations - in Canada, the United Jewish People's Order; in the United States, the Jewish People's Fraternal Order; in Britain, branches of the Workers' Circle - as well as publications, schools, and camps. The Yiddish-language groups, especially, were interconnected through the YKUF, the World Jewish Cultural Union.
Indeed, through YKUF, which operated mainly in Yiddish, they had access to a great variety of newspapers and theoretical and literary journals. Hence, Jewish Communists were able to communicate, disseminate information, and debate issues such as Jewish nationality and statehood independently of other Communists.
In much the same way as Zionist organizations considered themselves support groups for the building of a Jewish nation in Eretz Israel, so did the Jewish Communists propagandize on behalf of the Yiddish-language Jewish Autonomous Region in Birobidzhan, in the Soviet Far East.
During World War II, they took their political cue from the Moscow-based Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, and helped sponsor the 1943 tour of the Soviet Jewish emissaries Itzik Feffer and Shloime Mikhoels to Canada, the United States, Mexico and Britain.
The period during and immediately following World War II proved to be the historical "moment" for the Jewish Communists. They had been involved in a decade of "popular front" campaigns on behalf of anti-fascist struggles in Spain and elsewhere. They were in the forefront of support for the Soviet Union in its struggle against Hitler.
By 1945, most were also favourably disposed towards a Jewish state, and were instrumental in moving the world Communist movement in that direction.
This relatively short-lived but favourable conjuncture of ethnic and class forces enabled Jewish Communists in several countries to post a number of electoral and ideological victories in constituencies with significant Jewish populations.
In the July 1945 British general election, Phil Piratin, a Communist candidate, was elected to Parliament from the predominantly Jewish constituency of Mile End, Stepney. In the Cartier riding of Montreal, Fred Rose, running for the Labour Progressive (Communist) Party, won election to the House of Commons in 1943 and 1945; two LPP candidates, including J.B. Salsberg, won seats in the 1945 Ontario provincial election.
In the United States, Leo Isacson, running on behalf of the Communist-dominated American Labor Party, won election in 1948 to the House of Representatives from the largely Jewish 24th Congressional District in the Bronx. And South Africa witnessed the election, in January 1949, of Sam Kahn, a leading Communist Party theoretician.
The movement was also very active in the Jewish communities of Argentina, Australia, France, Mexico and Uruguay.
It remained a force in Jewish life until the mid-1950s. But it was already becoming ideologically marginalized after the establishment of the state of Israel.
The disillusionment with the Soviet Union that followed the revelations of Stalin's crimes and antisemitic repression was for most of its members the last straw.
Henry Srebrnik, [Toronto] Jewish Tribune
In May, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York will host a conference on Jews and the Left, which will include presentations on Jews and Communism in the 20th Century.
Few people now recall how significant a role that ideology once played among a segment of the community. But it would come to an abrupt end.
On Feb. 25, 1956, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, delivered a four-hour speech to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party in which he denounced the crimes committed by Joseph Stalin and his associates.
Stalin's antisemitic campaigns, which had intensified after 1948, were also finally acknowledged. The Warsaw Yiddish Communist newspaper Folkshtime in April 1956 published articles about the extent and virulence of Stalin's antisemitism.
All of this came as a shock to Jewish Communists in the western countries, and the Jewish Communist movement, which had flourished since the Russian Revolution in 1917, virtually vanished.
The movement had its origins in east European traditions of political radicalism, and sought to improve the condition of working-class Jews by adding ideas of Jewish renewal to Marxist-Leninist ideology.
It constituted a response to the economic, political, social and cultural problems facing the mainly Yiddish-speaking immigrant Jewish populations and gained a fair number of adherents and some measure of success between 1917 and 1956. Though officially part of the larger world Communist movement, in reality the Jewish Communists developed their own specific ideology, which was infused as much by Jewish sources, including the literature of such Yiddish poets and writers as I.L. Peretz and Sholem Asch, as it was inspired by the Bolshevik revolution.
The Jewish Communist movement created its own fraternal organizations - in Canada, the United Jewish People's Order; in the United States, the Jewish People's Fraternal Order; in Britain, branches of the Workers' Circle - as well as publications, schools, and camps. The Yiddish-language groups, especially, were interconnected through the YKUF, the World Jewish Cultural Union.
Indeed, through YKUF, which operated mainly in Yiddish, they had access to a great variety of newspapers and theoretical and literary journals. Hence, Jewish Communists were able to communicate, disseminate information, and debate issues such as Jewish nationality and statehood independently of other Communists.
In much the same way as Zionist organizations considered themselves support groups for the building of a Jewish nation in Eretz Israel, so did the Jewish Communists propagandize on behalf of the Yiddish-language Jewish Autonomous Region in Birobidzhan, in the Soviet Far East.
During World War II, they took their political cue from the Moscow-based Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, and helped sponsor the 1943 tour of the Soviet Jewish emissaries Itzik Feffer and Shloime Mikhoels to Canada, the United States, Mexico and Britain.
The period during and immediately following World War II proved to be the historical "moment" for the Jewish Communists. They had been involved in a decade of "popular front" campaigns on behalf of anti-fascist struggles in Spain and elsewhere. They were in the forefront of support for the Soviet Union in its struggle against Hitler.
By 1945, most were also favourably disposed towards a Jewish state, and were instrumental in moving the world Communist movement in that direction.
This relatively short-lived but favourable conjuncture of ethnic and class forces enabled Jewish Communists in several countries to post a number of electoral and ideological victories in constituencies with significant Jewish populations.
In the July 1945 British general election, Phil Piratin, a Communist candidate, was elected to Parliament from the predominantly Jewish constituency of Mile End, Stepney. In the Cartier riding of Montreal, Fred Rose, running for the Labour Progressive (Communist) Party, won election to the House of Commons in 1943 and 1945; two LPP candidates, including J.B. Salsberg, won seats in the 1945 Ontario provincial election.
In the United States, Leo Isacson, running on behalf of the Communist-dominated American Labor Party, won election in 1948 to the House of Representatives from the largely Jewish 24th Congressional District in the Bronx. And South Africa witnessed the election, in January 1949, of Sam Kahn, a leading Communist Party theoretician.
The movement was also very active in the Jewish communities of Argentina, Australia, France, Mexico and Uruguay.
It remained a force in Jewish life until the mid-1950s. But it was already becoming ideologically marginalized after the establishment of the state of Israel.
The disillusionment with the Soviet Union that followed the revelations of Stalin's crimes and antisemitic repression was for most of its members the last straw.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Soviet-Style Disproportion
Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
In his State of the Union speech last month, Barack Obama warned that America is becoming “a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by.”
The United States has gone from being a comparatively egalitarian society to one of the most unequal democracies in the world. The richest fifth of the population controls about 85 per cent of the country’s wealth.
Income inequality stands at its highest rate since the Great Depression. Chief executives now make roughly 200 to 300 times as much as their average employees’ salary.
The incomes of most Americans began to flatten or decline after 1980 -- they now enjoy less economic mobility than their counterparts in Canada and much of Western Europe.
The economic meltdown since 2007 has created further damage, asserts the well-regarded Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz. “Unemployed young people are alienated. It will be harder and harder to get some large proportion of them onto a productive track. They will be scarred for life by what is happening today,” he wrote last December in a Vanity Fair article.
But the problem is not simply that a small number of people are very rich or pay less than their fair share of taxes. It also lies in the way many of them got rich.
They are all too often bankers, hedge fund managers, and Wall Street traders who manipulate immense sums of money for their own benefit, and give themselves multi-million dollar bonuses – regardless of whether their activities actually benefit the economy as a whole.
Very often it’s actually the reverse, as companies are downsized, manufacturing jobs outsourced to other countries, workers laid off, and homes foreclosed.
Yet financiers and corporate leaders have managed to grab more and more of the country’s income for themselves -- even when their corporation’s performance has been disappointing.
These are not the “captains of industry” of yesteryear.
The political class has also done well for itself. Roughly 11 per cent of members of Congress have a net worth of more than $9 million, according to an analysis of 2010 financial disclosures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. That puts these politicians in the top one per cent of Americans in terms of wealth.
Has America developed a Soviet-style “nomenklatura,” an elite that appropriates a disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth, by virtue of its position in society? After all, many of these people don’t “make” (as in produce) anything, they just make money.
In the Soviet Union, while the economy stagnated, the Communist party elite enjoyed a standard of living far greater than that of ordinary Russians. The system provided them with ample high quality goods, while those less privileged might wait months or years for basic necessities.
And when the Soviet command economy finally collapsed, and people could buy state-owned industries and property, it was these privileged Communist apparatchiks, with strong connections to Soviet power structures and access to the monetary funds, who snapped them up at bargain-basement prices, becoming a class of ultra-rich oligarchs.
Is America, with its growing gap between the privileged few and a declining middle and working class, beginning to resemble the Soviet Union after the 1970s?
Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
In his State of the Union speech last month, Barack Obama warned that America is becoming “a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by.”
The United States has gone from being a comparatively egalitarian society to one of the most unequal democracies in the world. The richest fifth of the population controls about 85 per cent of the country’s wealth.
Income inequality stands at its highest rate since the Great Depression. Chief executives now make roughly 200 to 300 times as much as their average employees’ salary.
The incomes of most Americans began to flatten or decline after 1980 -- they now enjoy less economic mobility than their counterparts in Canada and much of Western Europe.
The economic meltdown since 2007 has created further damage, asserts the well-regarded Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz. “Unemployed young people are alienated. It will be harder and harder to get some large proportion of them onto a productive track. They will be scarred for life by what is happening today,” he wrote last December in a Vanity Fair article.
But the problem is not simply that a small number of people are very rich or pay less than their fair share of taxes. It also lies in the way many of them got rich.
They are all too often bankers, hedge fund managers, and Wall Street traders who manipulate immense sums of money for their own benefit, and give themselves multi-million dollar bonuses – regardless of whether their activities actually benefit the economy as a whole.
Very often it’s actually the reverse, as companies are downsized, manufacturing jobs outsourced to other countries, workers laid off, and homes foreclosed.
Yet financiers and corporate leaders have managed to grab more and more of the country’s income for themselves -- even when their corporation’s performance has been disappointing.
These are not the “captains of industry” of yesteryear.
The political class has also done well for itself. Roughly 11 per cent of members of Congress have a net worth of more than $9 million, according to an analysis of 2010 financial disclosures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. That puts these politicians in the top one per cent of Americans in terms of wealth.
Has America developed a Soviet-style “nomenklatura,” an elite that appropriates a disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth, by virtue of its position in society? After all, many of these people don’t “make” (as in produce) anything, they just make money.
In the Soviet Union, while the economy stagnated, the Communist party elite enjoyed a standard of living far greater than that of ordinary Russians. The system provided them with ample high quality goods, while those less privileged might wait months or years for basic necessities.
And when the Soviet command economy finally collapsed, and people could buy state-owned industries and property, it was these privileged Communist apparatchiks, with strong connections to Soviet power structures and access to the monetary funds, who snapped them up at bargain-basement prices, becoming a class of ultra-rich oligarchs.
Is America, with its growing gap between the privileged few and a declining middle and working class, beginning to resemble the Soviet Union after the 1970s?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
"Mister One Per Cent" Loses South Carolina Primary
Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] GuardianNewt Gingrich came from behind to beat Mitt Romney handily in the Republican South Carolina primary last week.
Romney is a casualty of the ‘Occupy' movement, which has highlighted the growing gap between rich and poor in America - the so-called "99 per cent" of the population versus the ultra-rich "one per cent."
Romney has played into the hands of populists with flat-footed statements that demonstrate how out of touch he is in a country where millions are unemployed or having their homes foreclosed.
When asked during the primary contest about his income, this was his answer:
"For the past 10 years, my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past, rather than ordinary income or earned annual income," he responded. "Then, I get speaker's fees from time to time, but not very much."
Not very much? From February 2010 to February 2011, Romney earned $374,327.62 in speaking fees - 10 times what an average worker in South Carolina makes in a year.
But even that is small potatoes. His fortune of about $250 million comes from his time as a "venture capitalist" with Bain Capital.
Romney has now released tax returns indicating that he and his wife, Ann, paid a tax rate of 13.9 per cent in 2010. He is among the top one per cent of taxpayers.
Romney's tax rate is below that of most wage-earning Americans, who may pay as high as 35 per cent, because most of his income flows from capital gains on investments. His holdings include an undisclosed amount in funds based in the Grand Cayman Islands, although his aides say he never used the location as a tax haven.
Romney wasn't a "capitalist" in the classical sense of the term - someone like Henry Ford or Thomas Edison, a businessman who founds a successful manufacturing company.
Following graduation from Harvard with law and business degrees, Romney joined Bain & Co., a global management consulting firm in Boston.
He then co-founded, with rich friends, the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became highly profitable by taking over companies and downsizing them in order to make greater profits. This often involved laying off workers, of course.
In other words, Romney simply got friends to pool money in order to buy (and in many cases destroy) companies. He's a child of privilege - how many readers of this article could get rich by first having access to millions of dollars?
Romney has defended Bain's practices by referring to the theory, first popularized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter in his book Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, of "creative destruction." But Romney deliberately misinterprets the term.
Destroying firms to enrich investors isn't what Schumpeter meant by creative destruction. It refers to the fact that innovative or improved technologies, which create new products, can lead to the demise of firms producing things no longer in demand. They change the capitalist playing field.
When Xerox invented the photocopier, it was the end of the road for producers of carbon paper. The word processor finished off typewriters. And thanks to the digital camera, which doesn't require film, Eastman Kodak has just filed for bankruptcy.
Texas governor Rick Perry (of all people) called what Romney did "vulture capitalism." Even if Romney wins the nomination, given today's economic climate, there's little chance he can become president of the United States.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Crusade Against Drunk Driving
Henry Srebrnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Last December, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States lost his job after being arrested driving drunk late at night.
The crime had nothing to do with his work, nor did it take place at his office. It’s not as if he had been drinking on the job.
But he is now without work and who knows what will become of him.
That same month, Edmonton MP Peter Goldring withdrew from the Conservative caucus after he was charged with refusing to take a breathalyzer test following a fundraiser where alcohol was served.
The patrol that pulled Goldring over at about 12:30 a.m. was doing roving checks to catch inebriated drivers.
Drunk driving is now the crime de jour, thanks to the breathalyzer, which provides law enforcement with a non-invasive test providing immediate results to determine an individual’s alcohol concentration at the time of testing.
For instance, a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 means that 0.10 (one tenth of one percent) of a person’s blood, by volume, is alcohol.
While the Criminal Code sets the legal limit at .08, Alberta and Ontario have created a legal grey area where drivers with a blood alcohol level above .05 can be fined or lose their licence. No due process, no right of appeal.
Let’s look at this whole issue through the prism of previous crusades.
McCarthyism, after all, identified a real evil, Communism, but eventually went too far.
An article in the National Post of Jan. 11 reveals that this crusade, too, is going off the rails.
The newspaper reported that in May of 2011, an 82-year-old Cranbrook, B.C., woman with medical problems was made to stand outdoors for more than two hours while RCMP officers attempted 15 times to obtain a breath sample.
She had just arrived home when an off-duty RCMP officer pulled up and told her she had been driving badly and uniformed officers were on their way to check for impairment.
“When the stone-cold-sober pensioner with poor lung capacity was unable to blow hard enough to activate the roadside screening device, Margaret MacDonald was cited for failing to blow, her licence was suspended, she was fined $500 and her car was towed,” reported the paper.
“I was treated as guilty of driving while impaired without anyone even asking me if I had had a drink,” she said.
“I have had a motor vehicle licence for 63 years without any other incident. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I was standing in the cold, lungs congested, legs hurting and dry mouth. They did not care.”
She quickly went to the local hospital where she had her blood tested for alcohol and obtained a medical certificate that said there was none in her system.
But it will take longer for her to get over her humiliation.
Of course everyone should oppose drunk driving – that goes without saying.
Drunks on the roads are a menace. But common sense has disappeared.
That’s what happens in crusades.
Henry Srebrnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Last December, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States lost his job after being arrested driving drunk late at night.
The crime had nothing to do with his work, nor did it take place at his office. It’s not as if he had been drinking on the job.
But he is now without work and who knows what will become of him.
That same month, Edmonton MP Peter Goldring withdrew from the Conservative caucus after he was charged with refusing to take a breathalyzer test following a fundraiser where alcohol was served.
The patrol that pulled Goldring over at about 12:30 a.m. was doing roving checks to catch inebriated drivers.
Drunk driving is now the crime de jour, thanks to the breathalyzer, which provides law enforcement with a non-invasive test providing immediate results to determine an individual’s alcohol concentration at the time of testing.
For instance, a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 means that 0.10 (one tenth of one percent) of a person’s blood, by volume, is alcohol.
While the Criminal Code sets the legal limit at .08, Alberta and Ontario have created a legal grey area where drivers with a blood alcohol level above .05 can be fined or lose their licence. No due process, no right of appeal.
Let’s look at this whole issue through the prism of previous crusades.
McCarthyism, after all, identified a real evil, Communism, but eventually went too far.
An article in the National Post of Jan. 11 reveals that this crusade, too, is going off the rails.
The newspaper reported that in May of 2011, an 82-year-old Cranbrook, B.C., woman with medical problems was made to stand outdoors for more than two hours while RCMP officers attempted 15 times to obtain a breath sample.
She had just arrived home when an off-duty RCMP officer pulled up and told her she had been driving badly and uniformed officers were on their way to check for impairment.
“When the stone-cold-sober pensioner with poor lung capacity was unable to blow hard enough to activate the roadside screening device, Margaret MacDonald was cited for failing to blow, her licence was suspended, she was fined $500 and her car was towed,” reported the paper.
“I was treated as guilty of driving while impaired without anyone even asking me if I had had a drink,” she said.
“I have had a motor vehicle licence for 63 years without any other incident. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I was standing in the cold, lungs congested, legs hurting and dry mouth. They did not care.”
She quickly went to the local hospital where she had her blood tested for alcohol and obtained a medical certificate that said there was none in her system.
But it will take longer for her to get over her humiliation.
Of course everyone should oppose drunk driving – that goes without saying.
Drunks on the roads are a menace. But common sense has disappeared.
That’s what happens in crusades.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
MADD Represents Modern-Day McCarthyism
Henry Srebrnik, Calgary Herald
In every society, there is a crime considered beyond the pale. Today, Canada's main crusade is against drunk driving, thanks to the convergence of two phenomena: technology and an important pressure group.
When Robert Borkenstein invented the breathalyzer in 1954, it provided law enforcement with a test providing immediate results to determine an individual's alcohol concentration.
The organization that has taken advantage of this is Mothers Against Drunk Driving, perhaps the most influential interest group in the country. They have become ideological neo-prohibitionists.
That's usually the case with such movements, be-cause extremists and fanatics end up calling the shots. (Do I have to mention that I'm opposed to drunk driving and have never engaged in this practice?)
The breathalyzer has provided law enforcement with a non-invasive test providing immediate results to determine an individual's alcohol concentration at the time of testing.
For instance, a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 means that 0.10 (one 10th of one per cent) of a person's blood, by volume, is alcohol. In Canada, the legal limit is 0.08. So now we have the equivalent of fingerprints or DNA - incontrovertible scientific evidence.
The organization behind much of this new "war against the demon rum" is MADD, founded in 1980 in California by Candice Lighter after her 13-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver.
In Canada, local activities are carried out by MADD chapters in approximately 100 communities across the country.
MADD has now become neo-prohibitionist. This refers to the belief that the influence of alcohol should be reduced through laws and policies that further restrict the sale and possession of alcohol to reduce consumption.
In other words, they have become the modern version of an old Protestant-based organization, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Founded in Cleveland in 1874, the purpose of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was to create a "sober and pure world" by abstinence, purity and evangelical Christianity. The group was instrumental in bringing about prohibition in the United States in 1919.
The law resulted in the criminalization of producers, suppliers, transporters and consumers of alcohol and allowed gangsters like Al Capone to flourish. It was repealed in 1933.
In 1885, Letitia Youmans founded the Canadian arm of the organization. In 1898, a federal referendum on prohibition was held, receiving 51.3 per cent for and 48.7 per cent against prohibition.
Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier chose not to move forward. As a result, Canadian prohibition was instead enacted through laws passed by individual provinces during the first 20 years of the 20th century. However, between 1920 and 1925, five provinces voted to repeal prohibition - though Prince Edward Is-land stayed dry until 1948.
But we now have a wave of neo-prohibitionism. While the Criminal Code sets the legal limit of alcohol in the blood at .08, most provinces have created a le-gal grey area, where drivers with a blood-alcohol level above .05 can be fined or lose their licence.
In Ontario, for example, drivers with a level between .05 and .08 face a three-day roadside suspension the first time they're caught, which increases to one month for people who break the rules a third time. Alberta has recently passed a similar bill.
Such laws, which allow police to make roadside stops and test people at random - even those who do not appear inebriated - will make it almost impossible to have more than a glass of wine at a party or restaurant. Who needs the risk? We don't carry breath-alyzers around with us, so why take chances?
Let's look at this whole issue through the prism of previous crusades. McCarthyism, like MADD, identified a real evil, in the one case, communism, in the other, excessive use of alcohol. But both eventually went too far.
It was one thing during the Cold War to expose a Soviet agent or spy, another to fire from a job some movie actor or teacher who had long ago belonged to a communist front group. There were no degrees of culpability. Informing on people was encouraged. And many a target com-mitted suicide or ended up working as a janitor or clerk for the rest of his or her life.
Today, we no longer distinguish between a reckless inebriated lout barrelling down a major thoroughfare at two o'clock in the morning and crashing into a tree, and someone who had slightly more to drink in a restaurant than is legal, and backed into a parked car in a shopping centre lot at 6: 30 in the evening.
Both are named and shamed and stand to lose their jobs. Both may spend time in jail. Common sense has disappeared.
Henry Srebrnik, who hardly ever drinks alcohol, is a professor of political studies at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown. He previously taught at the University of Calgary.
Henry Srebrnik, Calgary Herald
In every society, there is a crime considered beyond the pale. Today, Canada's main crusade is against drunk driving, thanks to the convergence of two phenomena: technology and an important pressure group.
When Robert Borkenstein invented the breathalyzer in 1954, it provided law enforcement with a test providing immediate results to determine an individual's alcohol concentration.
The organization that has taken advantage of this is Mothers Against Drunk Driving, perhaps the most influential interest group in the country. They have become ideological neo-prohibitionists.
That's usually the case with such movements, be-cause extremists and fanatics end up calling the shots. (Do I have to mention that I'm opposed to drunk driving and have never engaged in this practice?)
The breathalyzer has provided law enforcement with a non-invasive test providing immediate results to determine an individual's alcohol concentration at the time of testing.
For instance, a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 means that 0.10 (one 10th of one per cent) of a person's blood, by volume, is alcohol. In Canada, the legal limit is 0.08. So now we have the equivalent of fingerprints or DNA - incontrovertible scientific evidence.
The organization behind much of this new "war against the demon rum" is MADD, founded in 1980 in California by Candice Lighter after her 13-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver.
In Canada, local activities are carried out by MADD chapters in approximately 100 communities across the country.
MADD has now become neo-prohibitionist. This refers to the belief that the influence of alcohol should be reduced through laws and policies that further restrict the sale and possession of alcohol to reduce consumption.
In other words, they have become the modern version of an old Protestant-based organization, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Founded in Cleveland in 1874, the purpose of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was to create a "sober and pure world" by abstinence, purity and evangelical Christianity. The group was instrumental in bringing about prohibition in the United States in 1919.
The law resulted in the criminalization of producers, suppliers, transporters and consumers of alcohol and allowed gangsters like Al Capone to flourish. It was repealed in 1933.
In 1885, Letitia Youmans founded the Canadian arm of the organization. In 1898, a federal referendum on prohibition was held, receiving 51.3 per cent for and 48.7 per cent against prohibition.
Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier chose not to move forward. As a result, Canadian prohibition was instead enacted through laws passed by individual provinces during the first 20 years of the 20th century. However, between 1920 and 1925, five provinces voted to repeal prohibition - though Prince Edward Is-land stayed dry until 1948.
But we now have a wave of neo-prohibitionism. While the Criminal Code sets the legal limit of alcohol in the blood at .08, most provinces have created a le-gal grey area, where drivers with a blood-alcohol level above .05 can be fined or lose their licence.
In Ontario, for example, drivers with a level between .05 and .08 face a three-day roadside suspension the first time they're caught, which increases to one month for people who break the rules a third time. Alberta has recently passed a similar bill.
Such laws, which allow police to make roadside stops and test people at random - even those who do not appear inebriated - will make it almost impossible to have more than a glass of wine at a party or restaurant. Who needs the risk? We don't carry breath-alyzers around with us, so why take chances?
Let's look at this whole issue through the prism of previous crusades. McCarthyism, like MADD, identified a real evil, in the one case, communism, in the other, excessive use of alcohol. But both eventually went too far.
It was one thing during the Cold War to expose a Soviet agent or spy, another to fire from a job some movie actor or teacher who had long ago belonged to a communist front group. There were no degrees of culpability. Informing on people was encouraged. And many a target com-mitted suicide or ended up working as a janitor or clerk for the rest of his or her life.
Today, we no longer distinguish between a reckless inebriated lout barrelling down a major thoroughfare at two o'clock in the morning and crashing into a tree, and someone who had slightly more to drink in a restaurant than is legal, and backed into a parked car in a shopping centre lot at 6: 30 in the evening.
Both are named and shamed and stand to lose their jobs. Both may spend time in jail. Common sense has disappeared.
Henry Srebrnik, who hardly ever drinks alcohol, is a professor of political studies at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown. He previously taught at the University of Calgary.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Can Romney Win the Presidency?
Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
This coming Saturday, South Carolina will hold its Republican Party primary. The candidates include Mitt Romney, who was victorious in Iowa and New Hampshire; Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, two social conservative Christians, and the more secular Newt Gingrich.
Last week, more than 100 evangelical Christian conservatives gathered in Texas and voted overwhelmingly to rally behind Santorum, to create a united front against Romney. Their problem? Romney's Mormon faith.
Romney is a sixth-generation member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as the denomination founded in the 19th century by Joseph Smith is officially known.
Mormons consider themselves Christians. However, the theological differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity are so fundamental, experts say, that they encompass the very understanding of God and Jesus, what counts as Scripture, and what happens when people die.
The Mormon Church maintains that in the early 1800s, its first prophet, Joseph Smith, had revelations that restored Christianity to its true path. He bequeathed to his church volumes of revelations, including the sacred Book of Mormon, which includes an appearance by Jesus in the Americas shortly after his resurrection.
But no other Christian denomination has ever accepted divine revelations that go beyond the two Biblical testaments. After all, Muslims, too, recognize the entire Christian and Jewish Bible as divinely inspired, but also consider the Quran to be the final word of God as revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
Persecuted by other Americans - Smith himself was lynched by a mob in 1844 - the Mormons trekked across the American Great Plains under the leadership of Brigham Young in 1847, and created their own "Zion" by the Great Salt Lake in today's Utah (then still Mexican territory).
Romney's mother comes from Utah, but his father was born in a Mormon colony in Mexico. He is descended from Mormons who came to the Chihuahua desert in 1885 seeking refuge from American anti-polygamy laws.
Polygamy continued in the Mexican colonies after church elders officially banned it in the U.S. in 1890. It was the only way Utah was able to attain statehood six years later.
When it comes to the matter of his faith, Romney's time as a young missionary during his two and a half years in France was apparently pivotal. In a new book, "The Real Romney," Boston Globe journalists Michael Kranish and Scott Helman write that, "Having begun his mission with what he called thin ties to the faith, he became a stalwart believer."
In South Carolina, where about 60 per cent of Republican voters are evangelical Christian Protestants, Romney, a former bishop in the church, faces an electorate that, in many cases, considers Romney's faith apostasy.
It's possible that Romney will overcome this and other hurdles and become the Republican nominee in next November's presidential election. But unless the U.S. economy is at that time in a deep depression, he will lose to President Obama.
Secular people who don't care about any of this are more likely to be Democrats anyhow, whereas the evangelical backbone of much of the Republican Party will, in large numbers, find Romney's faith too hard to ignore.
They won't vote for Obama either, but they'll stay home in large numbers. (Of course African-American evangelicals will vote for Obama.)
In a sense, for many voters, bigotry (objecting to Romney due to his religion) will trump racism (opposing Obama because he is African-American) when they go to the polls.
Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian
This coming Saturday, South Carolina will hold its Republican Party primary. The candidates include Mitt Romney, who was victorious in Iowa and New Hampshire; Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, two social conservative Christians, and the more secular Newt Gingrich.
Last week, more than 100 evangelical Christian conservatives gathered in Texas and voted overwhelmingly to rally behind Santorum, to create a united front against Romney. Their problem? Romney's Mormon faith.
Romney is a sixth-generation member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as the denomination founded in the 19th century by Joseph Smith is officially known.
Mormons consider themselves Christians. However, the theological differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity are so fundamental, experts say, that they encompass the very understanding of God and Jesus, what counts as Scripture, and what happens when people die.
The Mormon Church maintains that in the early 1800s, its first prophet, Joseph Smith, had revelations that restored Christianity to its true path. He bequeathed to his church volumes of revelations, including the sacred Book of Mormon, which includes an appearance by Jesus in the Americas shortly after his resurrection.
But no other Christian denomination has ever accepted divine revelations that go beyond the two Biblical testaments. After all, Muslims, too, recognize the entire Christian and Jewish Bible as divinely inspired, but also consider the Quran to be the final word of God as revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
Persecuted by other Americans - Smith himself was lynched by a mob in 1844 - the Mormons trekked across the American Great Plains under the leadership of Brigham Young in 1847, and created their own "Zion" by the Great Salt Lake in today's Utah (then still Mexican territory).
Romney's mother comes from Utah, but his father was born in a Mormon colony in Mexico. He is descended from Mormons who came to the Chihuahua desert in 1885 seeking refuge from American anti-polygamy laws.
Polygamy continued in the Mexican colonies after church elders officially banned it in the U.S. in 1890. It was the only way Utah was able to attain statehood six years later.
When it comes to the matter of his faith, Romney's time as a young missionary during his two and a half years in France was apparently pivotal. In a new book, "The Real Romney," Boston Globe journalists Michael Kranish and Scott Helman write that, "Having begun his mission with what he called thin ties to the faith, he became a stalwart believer."
In South Carolina, where about 60 per cent of Republican voters are evangelical Christian Protestants, Romney, a former bishop in the church, faces an electorate that, in many cases, considers Romney's faith apostasy.
It's possible that Romney will overcome this and other hurdles and become the Republican nominee in next November's presidential election. But unless the U.S. economy is at that time in a deep depression, he will lose to President Obama.
Secular people who don't care about any of this are more likely to be Democrats anyhow, whereas the evangelical backbone of much of the Republican Party will, in large numbers, find Romney's faith too hard to ignore.
They won't vote for Obama either, but they'll stay home in large numbers. (Of course African-American evangelicals will vote for Obama.)
In a sense, for many voters, bigotry (objecting to Romney due to his religion) will trump racism (opposing Obama because he is African-American) when they go to the polls.
Monday, January 16, 2012
To Name is to Claim
Henry Srebrnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
People of a certain age might remember the rather silly song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” first recorded by the Four Lads in 1953. One verse goes like this:
Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks
The city of Constantinople, situated between the Black and Mediterranean seas, had been the capital of the Greek Byzantine Empire for more than a thousand years, and is still the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. It was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who were Muslims, in 1453. They would rename it Istanbul and it became the capital of their vast empire.
And despite what the song lyrics say, it may still also be part of the Greeks’ “business.” Peoples have long memories.
The song by the way, also noted that New Amsterdam became New York. That name change occurred in 1664, when the British ousted the Dutch from their colony.
To name, or rename, is to demonstrate hegemony and possession. Such changes have occurred throughout history. The biblical Canaan, for instance, became the land of Israel, which in later centuries was called, by succeeding rulers, Palestine. Part of it is again the modern state of Israel.
Some name changes are the result of decolonization, especially in Africa. The British colony of Gold Coast became Ghana, the name of an ancient empire, when it acquired independence in 1957. Mali, the former French Sudan, was also named for an ancient empire, three years later.
Rhodesia, created by the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, would clearly have to alter its name upon independence: It became Zimbabwe in 1980, and its capital, Salisbury, became Harare.
In the Congo, Belgian place names were also replaced after 1960. The capital, Leopoldville, named for King Leopold II, became Kinshasa -- and none too soon. Leopold’s harsh regime in the Congo between 1885 and 1908 had been directly or indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people.
In Europe, name changes have often reflected territorial or ideological transformations.
After World War II, when Poland acquired former German territory, the cities of Danzig and Breslau became, respectively, Gdan'sk and Wroc?aw. The Italian city of Fiume, ceded to Yugoslavia, was renamed Rijeka. It is now part of Croatia.
In Canada, the former Berlin, in southwestern Ontario, became Kitchener during World War I. There were similar anti-German name changes elsewhere in Canada and the United States.
Marxist ideology in the new Soviet Union created after the Russian Revolution resulted in many changes, as cities were renamed for Communist heroes: St. Petersburg became Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod became Gorky, Yekaterinburg was called Sverdlovsk, Tsaritsyn became Stalingrad, and so on.
Ironically, in most cases, the post-Soviet Russian Federation has restored the old tsarist names, though Stalingrad is now Volgograd. For obvious reasons, the Russians have kept the name Kaliningrad, named after a Soviet president, for the Prussian city of Königsberg, captured from the Germans in World War II and annexed to the Soviet Union.
In the former Communist East Germany, the city known from 1953 to 1990 as Karl-Marx-Stadt is once again Chemnitz. However, in Communist Vietnam, the old Saigon is still Ho Chi Minh City.
Even a different way of spelling the same word can indicate a change of status. The city of Montreal, when spelled with an e-acute, as Montréal, changes the sound of the word from “Munt-reeyol” to “Mon-reyal.” This also reflects shifts in political power in Quebec.
Prince Edward Island has had – and maybe still has? – at least three names. To the Mi’kmaq nation it is Abegweit or Epekwitk; when it was ruled by France, it was called Île Saint-Jean; and the British named it for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a son of King George III, in 1798.
To name is to claim.
Henry Srebrnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
People of a certain age might remember the rather silly song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” first recorded by the Four Lads in 1953. One verse goes like this:
Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks
The city of Constantinople, situated between the Black and Mediterranean seas, had been the capital of the Greek Byzantine Empire for more than a thousand years, and is still the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. It was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who were Muslims, in 1453. They would rename it Istanbul and it became the capital of their vast empire.
And despite what the song lyrics say, it may still also be part of the Greeks’ “business.” Peoples have long memories.
The song by the way, also noted that New Amsterdam became New York. That name change occurred in 1664, when the British ousted the Dutch from their colony.
To name, or rename, is to demonstrate hegemony and possession. Such changes have occurred throughout history. The biblical Canaan, for instance, became the land of Israel, which in later centuries was called, by succeeding rulers, Palestine. Part of it is again the modern state of Israel.
Some name changes are the result of decolonization, especially in Africa. The British colony of Gold Coast became Ghana, the name of an ancient empire, when it acquired independence in 1957. Mali, the former French Sudan, was also named for an ancient empire, three years later.
Rhodesia, created by the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, would clearly have to alter its name upon independence: It became Zimbabwe in 1980, and its capital, Salisbury, became Harare.
In the Congo, Belgian place names were also replaced after 1960. The capital, Leopoldville, named for King Leopold II, became Kinshasa -- and none too soon. Leopold’s harsh regime in the Congo between 1885 and 1908 had been directly or indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people.
In Europe, name changes have often reflected territorial or ideological transformations.
After World War II, when Poland acquired former German territory, the cities of Danzig and Breslau became, respectively, Gdan'sk and Wroc?aw. The Italian city of Fiume, ceded to Yugoslavia, was renamed Rijeka. It is now part of Croatia.
In Canada, the former Berlin, in southwestern Ontario, became Kitchener during World War I. There were similar anti-German name changes elsewhere in Canada and the United States.
Marxist ideology in the new Soviet Union created after the Russian Revolution resulted in many changes, as cities were renamed for Communist heroes: St. Petersburg became Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod became Gorky, Yekaterinburg was called Sverdlovsk, Tsaritsyn became Stalingrad, and so on.
Ironically, in most cases, the post-Soviet Russian Federation has restored the old tsarist names, though Stalingrad is now Volgograd. For obvious reasons, the Russians have kept the name Kaliningrad, named after a Soviet president, for the Prussian city of Königsberg, captured from the Germans in World War II and annexed to the Soviet Union.
In the former Communist East Germany, the city known from 1953 to 1990 as Karl-Marx-Stadt is once again Chemnitz. However, in Communist Vietnam, the old Saigon is still Ho Chi Minh City.
Even a different way of spelling the same word can indicate a change of status. The city of Montreal, when spelled with an e-acute, as Montréal, changes the sound of the word from “Munt-reeyol” to “Mon-reyal.” This also reflects shifts in political power in Quebec.
Prince Edward Island has had – and maybe still has? – at least three names. To the Mi’kmaq nation it is Abegweit or Epekwitk; when it was ruled by France, it was called Île Saint-Jean; and the British named it for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a son of King George III, in 1798.
To name is to claim.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Four Divided Cities, Then and Now
Henry Srebnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal-Pioneer
Four major cities were divided due to war in the 20th century. Two are completely reunited, one may someday again face partition, and one remains split in two.
The capitals of Berlin and Vienna were also split into four sectors, though each city was within that country’s Soviet zone.
The American, British, and French zones soon united as West Berlin, while East Berlin became the capital of Communist East Germany.
At first, the border between the Western and Eastern sectors of Berlin remained open, but in August 1961 the Communists built the infamous Berlin Wall, to prevent people escaping the east.
Checkpoint Charlie was the name given to the best-known crossing point and became a symbol of the separation of east and west.
The number of people who died trying to cross the wall during its 29 year existence was well above 200.
The wall was finally opened in November 1989. East and West Berlin were merged one year later with German reunification.
The four-power occupation of Vienna differed in one key respect from that of Berlin: the central area of the city constituted an international zone in which the four powers alternated control on a monthly basis.
During the 10 years of the four-power occupation, Vienna became a hot-bed for international espionage between the Western and Eastern blocs.The four-power control of Vienna lasted until the Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955, when Austria regained full sovereignty and the city was reunited.
The 1947 United Nations resolution to partition Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state stipulated the establishment of Jerusalem as a third, internationally administered, separate political body. It was to be a corpus separatum, under a UN‑appointed Governor.
But this never happened. When Israel declared its independence, on May 15, 1948, warfare with its Arab neighbours ensued. While the Jordanian attempt to take West Jerusalem failed, the Arab Legion held on to East Jerusalem, including the walled Old City, which includes the Temple Mount, with the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock; the Western Wall of the Second Jewish Temple; and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
A no-man's land between East and West Jerusalem came into being in November 1948. Barbed wire and concrete barriers ran down the center of the city, and a crossing point was established at the Mandelbaum Gate.
In 1967, during the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the entire West Bank. East Jerusalem was subsequently annexed.
But Jerusalem remains a deeply divided city of two thoroughly antagonistic and mutually hostile communities who hardly set foot in each other's areas, who hardly communicate with each other, and who live very separate lives, mentally and culturally divided.
However, a repartition of Jerusalem that would involve a return to the 1967 armistice lines would be difficult, as it would necessitate the eviction of some 200,000 Jewish residents of East Jerusalem from their homes.
An alternative to a territorial partition might be a partition of sovereignty, with an open city, so that the existing Arab populated parts of the city would be part of Palestine, and the existing Jewish populated parts of the city would be under Israeli sovereignty. Another version of this “condominium” solution might involve a form of joint sovereignty only over the Old City.
After all, the Jewish and Muslim holy sites (the Western Wall and the Temple Mount) are conjoined, nor can they be surgically separated. In any case, as the Israeli writer Avishai Margalit has asked, how does one divide a symbol?
Nicosia (Lefkosia in Turkish), the largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center, is the only divided capital in the world.
The southern section is the capital and seat of government of the Greek-run Republic of Cyprus. The northern part functions as the capital of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Turkish troops occupied northern Nicosia (as well as the northern part of Cyprus). A buffer zone, the Green Line, controlled by UN peacekeepers, was established across the island to separate the northern Turkish controlled part of the island from the Greek south.
After many failed attempts on reaching agreement between the two communities, the barrier at Ledra Street was re-opened in April 2008. It became the sixth crossing point between the southern and northern parts of Cyprus.
But the island remains partitioned and with no prospects of political union in the offing, so does Nicosia.
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