Further Notes On The Dualistic Illusion (This ought to raise the hackles of the fundamentalists – both secular and religious. But I don’t write for the narrow of mind anyway, so I am not concerned about that.) Now here is someone who knows what he is talking about: Rabbi David
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wRanter.com: It’s time to mend fences in the Jewish community
When we sat down in early summer to discuss how we’d cover what was expected to be a five-week fall campaign, CJN editor Yoni Goldstein asked me to write a weekly column about election topics of Jewish interest. The idea – a departure from past practice of mostly limiting ourselves
Continue readingwRanter.com: Cultural and religious issues dominate as election day nears
Thank God for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). I say that not because trade is an inherently Jewish issue, nor because I know for certain the recently negotiated deal will be good for Canada, especially since its details have yet to be released. Irrespective of its long-term effects, the TPP might
Continue readingwRanter.com: Munk Debate glosses over Israel – is that a good thing?
Is that all there was? Given how much praise – and criticism – the Harper government’s strong support for Israel has attracted, it’s somewhat surprising that so little was said about the Jewish state in the Sept. 28 Munk Debate on foreign policy in Toronto. The night’s only exchange on
Continue readingwRanter.com: Gaffes and ‘anti-Semitism’ on the campaign trail
In the Sept. 17 Globe and Mail leaders’ debate, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made reference to “old-stock Canadians” in defending his government’s policy on health care for refugees and immigrants, saying it had only denied care to bogus claimants. “We do not offer them a better health-care plan than the
Continue readingwRanter.com: A national icon takes his leave
One of the questions I posed in this space a few weeks ago was: who will be the next big-name Jewish MP? With apologies to Joe Oliver, Canada’s first Jewish federal finance minister, what I may subconsciously have been asking is who will be the next Irwin Cotler, now that
Continue readingwRanter.com: Refugees: a Jewish issue comes to the fore
A quintessentially Jewish issue has dominated the news and become a prominent election issue ever since the picture of three-year-old Alan Kurdi lying dead in the Mediterranean surf generated headlines worldwide earlier this month. For many, the painful image has crystallized the ongoing question of what the world ought to
Continue readingwRanter.com: Jewish issues at centre of partisan sniping
Jewish issues and candidates made headlines last week and became the subject of some distasteful political rhetoric on the campaign trail. In Alberta, a 21-year-old hijab-wearing university student resigned Aug. 18 as the Liberal candidate in the Tory stronghold of Calgary Nose Hill a day after conservative activists publicized noxious
Continue readingwRanter.com: Who will be the next big-name Jewish MP?
Last week, we examined four “Jewish” battleground ridings, including two – York Centre in Toronto and Mount Royal in Montreal – where, one way or another, a Jewish candidate is likely to win. This week, we look at Jews running for all four major parties across the country. Jews have
Continue readingwRanter.com: Four ‘Jewish’ battleground ridings to watch
It’s no secret that Jewish voters have apparently shifted from being largely supportive of the Liberal party to heartily supporting the Conservatives in what seems like majority numbers, due largely to the party’s full-throated support for Israel under Prime Minister Stephen Harper (and to a much lesser degree its commitment
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Shawnigan’s Discovery Elementary School Drama May Be Nearing Resolution
Don Maroc-Cowichan Conversations Contributor Act one of the Discovery Elementary school drama of misguided, overzealous parents disrupting classroom decorum and taking advantage of school district authorities’ well-meaning efforts at accommodation has run its course. Let school district policy makers, whether elected school trustees or a province imposed single trustee, take
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Remember the reason for the season: It’s time to put Krampus back into Christmas
Jiggers, look busy, it’s Krampus! And why is this mom giving him the thumbs up, I wonder? Below: Santa Claus, the God of Coca-Cola; Che Guevara; and Jesus Christ. Never mind Jesus Christ! It’s time to put Krampus back into Christmas. Who the hell is Krampus, you wonder? Well, we’ll
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Sunday Disservice – The Dark Side of ‘Shalom Aleichem’
A frequent dodge to avoid actually thinking about the issue criticism I have to deal with is that, as an anti-theist, I unfairly target Christianity and/or Islam. Why don’t I go around completely dismantling the vile B.S of other religions? Are their supernatural beliefs not just as irrational? Yes.
Continue readingwRanter.com: The PQ is embarrassing itself
Share this: It’s been an inauspicious month for Premier Pauline Marois’ minority government. First it tabled its so-called charter of Quebec values. Bill 60 – whose full, Orwellian name is the “Charter affirming the values of state secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a
Continue readingwRanter.com: Preparing for the unlikely
Share this: A version of this post appeared as a signed editorial in The Canadian Jewish News on Sept. 12. As a new Jewish year begins, renewed U.S.-led peace talks continue between Israel and the Palestinians. Much has been written about the low expectations surrounding these negotiations on both sides. Certainly,
Continue readingAndy Lehrer: My letter to the National Post
My response to the article “Jewish alumni ‘distressed, disappointed’ over Queen’s University plan to give Jimmy Carter honorary degree” is the lead letter in today’s National Post.
Continue readingCanadian Firebrand: My letter to the National Post
My response to the article “Jewish alumni ‘distressed, disappointed’ over Queen’s University plan to give Jimmy Carter honorary degree” is the lead letter in today’s National Post.
Continue readingAndy Lehrer: My letter to the National Post
My response to the article “Jewish alumni ‘distressed, disappointed’ over Queen’s University plan to give Jimmy Carter honorary degree” is the lead letter in today’s National Post.
Continue readingAndy Lehrer's Firebrand blog: My letter to the National Post
My response to the article “Jewish alumni ‘distressed, disappointed’ over Queen’s University plan to give Jimmy Carter honorary degree” is the lead letter in today’s National Post.
Continue readingwRanter.com: Slicing through ignorant anti-circumcision rhetoric
Share this: Every once in a while, the subject of circumcising male newborns and boys rears its ugly head – no pun intended – and the discussion rarely takes long to veer into ethnocentrism, if not outright intolerance. With the best of intentions, and without realizing it, many people who
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