kar0ling

Sent in response to the Oct 7 homepage.  Dear Winnipeg Free Press Your homepage above the fold right now is sadly one-sided.  Now I suppose Russians may say the same thing about the FreeP's coverage of the war in Ukraine; but you've sided against the oppressor in that conflict, while you've sided with the genociders in Gaza, contrary to international law. Of course the Jewish community is entitled to feel relief and joy that the Israelis taken hostage on 7 October 2023 have been released. They may also feel rage and despair that those hostages weren't released on 9 or 10 October 2023 when there was already a hostage deal on the negotiating table.  But to spill an entire article of ink on Jewish grief for the ~1500 (rounded up) with nary a word of Palestinian grief for the 67,000 (likely an undercount by a factor of 10) is unbalanced.  To only mention the “relatively good shape” of Israeli hostages without mentioning the shockingly poor physical condition of the tiny ...

Yet another bunch of boats on a humanitarian mission have been illegally boarded and their passengers illegally abducted by the completely rogue state. And nations sit silent. Shameful.  I whipped off this letter to the PM, the global affairs minister, the armed forces minister and the local MPs of the Canadians on board, CCd also to the leaders of the other political parties and my local MP.   Dear government leaders including the MPs for the Canadians aboard the Conscience As a Canadian, I simply cannot understand why our country is standing by and allowing a government who has demonstrated flagrant disregard for international law and wanton unconcern for human life to illegally abduct Canadian citizens without a peep of protest.  You claimed, Mr Carney and Ms Anand, back in May and again in summer, that you were "prepared to take action" if Israel did not change its behaviour. Not only has it not changed, but it has doubled down on its illegal and inhuman activiti...

Frankly, it's getting exhausting how many problematic things there are to push back against. Can our government do nothing to build a just and sustainable society without immense pressure? With thanks to the  International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) for the letter Send your own letter here To...  Mark Carney (Prime Minister) Sean Fraser (Minister of Justice) Patricia Lattanzio (MP) Larry Brock (MP) Rhéal Fortin (MP) I am alarmed at the newly proposed Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9). The government has said it is meant to prevent hate crimes, yet instead it threatens the  Charter rights and civil liberties of all people in Canada, including those communities that the government wishes to help protect. New provisions in the bill would outlaw the display of symbols associated with listed terrorist entities. The listing of terrorist entities is secretive, politicized, discretionary and *violates due process*. It has been used to target groups that have foug...

 Another form letter with personal adaptations. Thanks to Kairos Canada for this one. https://kairoscanada.org/gaza-letter-campaign   Dear Mr Carney and Ms Anand (I wish they would copy this to all the shadow ministers too)  “The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,” you declared on May 20. Along with leaders from Britain and France, you promised further action if Israel failed to halt its offensive and lift restrictions on aid. You have since made similar public statements and promises,  with other countries and allies, stating that you are prepared to take further action. We welcome your words and intentions.  But no meaningful action has taken place — only continued Israeli bombardment, displacement, blocked aid and the deaths of more and more civilians, many of them children, desperate for food and water. Despite agreement on a ceasefire proposal from Hamas, Israel continues wanton bombing, blockades and dehumanization of ille...

Just move that little blue box off the park and onto the yawningly large and empty parking lot. Everyone is happy! :) A letter to CoW councillors, riffing off a Right to Housing Coalition letter campaign: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/in-support-of-supportive-housing-rezoning on this proposal: https://www.winnipeg.ca/building-development/housing/housing-accelerator-fund/city-sites-supportive-housing  Why do we make parks fight with housing while parking lots get a free pass? There's a lot of horrific “not in my backyard” rhetoric about the proposed supportive housing sites, so I am writing to support supportive housing. Yes, I support rezoning of City-owned properties to support the construction of supportive housing. I also strongly support the sale or long-term lease of these properties to non-profit housing providers at nominal rates. The City has a key role to play in addressing the housing needs of Winnipeg residents and this is an important way to support to our nei...

Dear Prime Minister Carney & Minister of Foreign Affairs Anand CC local MP, leaders of other parties Thank you, Mr Carney, for recognizing Palestine (alongside the UK and Australia), and for following the recent examples of Ireland, Spain, and Norway, which recognized Palestine last year. While this was a necessary step forward, it is not enough to address Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its plans to annex the occupied West Bank; it will not automatically end Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestine; it won't even stop the flow of arms from Canada to Israel (which has been demonstrated to still being going on, your protestations to the contrary notwithstanding).  It should be noted that the International Court of Justice is clear that the Palestinian people have an inalienable right to self-determination, so this shouldn't even have been a question in the first place. Furthermore, more than 140 UN member states already recognized Palestine. Canada is not leading here or be...