Canada to boycott Ahmadinejad's UN speech

[Azure]

OTTAWA - Canada's seat at the United Nations will be empty during today's speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Canada will not attend Ahmadinejad's address to the UN General Assembly in New York, said a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon. "Canada's seat at the UN will be vacant during the Iranian president's speech," Catherine Loubier said.

The Iranian president denies the Holocaust, harbours "hostile views towards our democratic ally Israel" and continues to violate the human rights of his own people, Loubier said.

"President Ahmadinejad's repeated denial of the Holocaust and his anti-Israel comments run counter to the values of the UN General Assembly and are shameful," she said by email.

"It is clear that President Ahmadinejad uses his public appearances to provoke the international community and Israel. Canada does not tolerate such unacceptable behaviour."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...da_ahmadinejad

Good.

[octothorp]

Interesting that it doesn't address the illegitimacy of his election, which to me would be the number one reason to avoid his speech. Still, I definitely support this decision. Hopefully other nations do the same.

[rockstar]

They need to do it right as he's about to speak, and make as much noise shuffling out of the room as possible, otherwise the effect will be nil.

[Table 5]

Outside of the fact that Ahmadienjad is totally looney tunes, in terms of a bigger picture, can someone explain to me why Israel's well-being always taken into so much consideration on the world stage?

I guess I've wondered why the well-being of a little fleck in the middle east is worth it. Israel and it's neighbors are the center of a lot of world tension, and being on one side of the other tends to get a lot of people angry at you. From a Canadian standpoint, why do we even bother? What positives does a country like Canada get from supporting Israel? And please, I ask this from a rational, pragmatic point of view, so don't be a turd about it.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Outside of the fact that Ahmadienjad is totally looney tunes, in terms of a bigger picture, can someone explain to me why Israel's well-being always taken into so much consideration on the world stage?

I guess I've wondered why the well-being of a little fleck in the middle east is worth it. Israel and it's neighbors are the center of a lot of world tension, and being on one side of the other tends to get a lot of people angry at you. From a Canadian standpoint, why do we even bother? What positives does a country like Canada get from supporting Israel? And please, I ask this from a rational, pragmatic point of view, so don't be a turd about it.

Only liberal democracy in the Middle East with a functioning and independent judiciary branch.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by peter12

Only liberal democracy in the Middle East with a functioning and independent judiciary branch.

I guess the question is why should someone in Canada care? Nobody gave a crap when countries like Czechoslovakia and Hungary tried to become democracies in the midst of communism....why Israel?

Im not sure all the political/terrorist strife that comes from subsidizing a country like Israel is worth it.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I guess the question is why should someone in Canada care? Nobody gave a crap when countries like Czechoslovakia and Hungary tried to become democracies in the midst of communism....why Israel?

Im not sure all the political/terrorist strife that comes from subsidizing a country like Israel is worth it.

I think rightfully Western governments also feel residual guilt from their entire abandonment of the Jewish people before WW2.

[FireFly]

Well that'll show him, eh?

[habernac]

the entire asembly should walk out just before he speaks.

[octothorp]

I think there are a lot of reasons. Some of it is sympathy for a group that has gone through more persecution than any other through their history. Some of it is a sense that because Israel was a western creation, the west needs to continue to stand up and defend it. And there are those who believe that the state of Israel has an important role in the Christian end-times story. There are those who see the Jewish people as important economic allies, and those who see them as important military allies against the arab nations. The validity of those reason though is another debate...

[TheU]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I guess the question is why should someone in Canada care? Nobody gave a crap when countries like Czechoslovakia and Hungary tried to become democracies in the midst of communism....why Israel?

Im not sure all the political/terrorist strife that comes from subsidizing a country like Israel is worth it.

I can tell you then answer but then people will get mad at the obvious and call in the hounds

[peter12]

Originally Posted by TheU

I can tell you then answer but then people will get mad at the obvious and call in the hounds

Give us the obvious.

[TheU]

Originally Posted by peter12

Give us the obvious.

Wow you must think I have no resolve at all

[Ozy_Flame]

Ah, come on guys, I say we hear the poor guy say a few words. Maybe he'll share a really good dolmeh recipe...All of us Canadians would be missing out.

[Locke]

Harper actually just has to meet his buddies at the bar, theres a Flames game on!!

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Locke

Harper actually just has to meet his buddies at the bar, theres a Flames game on!!

Harper's a geek. No way he actually gives a crap about sports.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Harper's a geek. No way he actually gives a crap about sports.

I don't know - Harper looks like he might enjoy Bocce.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Harper's a geek. No way he actually gives a crap about sports.

Except for the fact that he's currently writing a book about the history of hockey. But yeah, other than that he doesn't give a crap about sports.

[EddyBeers]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Except for the fact that he's currently writing a book about the history of hockey. But yeah, other than that he doesn't give a crap about sports.

He is a Leafs Fan

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by EddyBeers

He is a Leafs Fan

He's a Flames fan

Ignatieff is the Leafs fan

And he's a communist.