Iraq's new constitution - will it protect women and minorities ?

Iraq's new constitution

Source: Politics1.com

IRAQ: As lots of folks are spinning what the "new Iraq" will be like and whether or not it will become an Islamic Republic, I'd simply suggest you check out the language of the draft Iraqi constitution.

Here is a direct quote from Article Two: "Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation. No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam."

michael mccafferty comments:

What does that mean for the rights and lives of women?

or for the lives of gay people (who are being regularly executed in neighboring Iran)?
or practioners of Christianity and other religions?

We should not get too excited about this 'new' constitution for Iraq.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel -

Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip

STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA
ON THE GAZA WITHDRAWAL

Prime Minister Paul Martin issued the following statement welcoming Israel’s successful evacuation of settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank:

"The Government of Canada fully supports the significant decision taken by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Government of Israel to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. We are pleased that the evacuation of settlers was carried out in a relatively peaceful manner.

"Canadians are impressed by the professionalism, discipline and restraint demonstrated by the Israeli Defence Forces and police forces involved in the removal of settlers. This is a painful moment for the people of Israel but necessary if the parties are to return to the Quartet's Roadmap process and resume negotiations for a comprehensive settlement.

"We are pleased that the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have coordinated certain practical aspects of the withdrawal, proving to the world that they can work together. It is also encouraging that the Israeli government has evacuated the settlers peacefully while the Palestinian Authority has maintained order among the Palestinian population.

"This represents a historic opportunity for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his people to make progress toward the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. We are hopeful that both parties will work toward this goal by respecting their commitments under the Roadmap."

michael mccafferty comments:

I admire the courage and leadership of Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Prime Minister Sharon and indeed the Government of Israel is to be congratulated on this historic move towards peace in the region.

I respect and support the position of Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has an outstanding website for those who would like to learn more.
This organization has been described by the NEW YORK TIMES as the most important pro-Israel organization there is -- and that is why I recommend it -- because I am pro-Israel.

PRIME MINISTER Frank McKenna ?

Canada's next Prime Minister -- Frank McKenna ?

COPYRIGHT MACLEANS.CA


Frank in front

Ignatieff? Rae? Not a hope. The real money's on McKenna for next Liberal leader.

JOHN GEDDES

Ask a prominent Liberal about who might be the party's next leader and the first response is a deep, exasperated sigh, combined with much eye-rolling and head-shaking. After the long years of the Chrétien-Martin wars, can't we leave it alone? And, anyway, given Stephen Harper's southbound polling numbers, isn't it the identity of the next Tory leader that should be the subject of speculation? But with those complaints out of the way -- and with a firm understanding that this is all off the record, right? -- leadership handicapping is a sport that's never out of season. Liberal MPs might not dare talk much about it during the workday when their caucus meets for a summer session in Regina this week, but it's bound to come up after hours. What's intriguing is that the same insiders who say there is no subterranean leadership race also agree there is a frontrunner -- Frank McKenna, Canada's ambassador to the United States.

CLICK HERE to read entire MACLEANS aricle.

michael mccafferty comments:

Frank McKenna is my friend and I am honored to be his friend. I first met Frank McKenna way back in 1967 when we were students -- and I came to admire his intelligence and leadership ability. McKenna is by far a truly remarkable and outstanding Canadian who would truly make a 'great' Prime Minister of Canada.

I look forward to the day in Canada when we have Prime Minister Frank McKenna.

US Senator Chuck Hagel speaks out on the Iraq war issue.

US Senator Chuck Hagel on the Iraq war issue

Copyright Politics1.com

US Senator Chuck Hagel (REPUBLICAN - NEBRASKA ) -- a decorated Vietnam War veteran -- is clearly positioning himself as the peace candidate on the Iraq War issue. Appearing Sunday on ABC's This Week, here is what Hagel said: "Stay the course is not a policy. Part of the problem that ... we have no measurement for progress, for success. And so I think, by any standard, when you analyze two and a half years in Iraq where we have put in over a third of a trillion dollars, where we have lost over 1,900 Americans, over 14,000 wounded, electricity production [is[ down, oil production [is] down -- any measurement, any standard you apply to this -- we're not winning ... The reason that I don't think more troops is the answer now is ... because we are locked into a bogged-down problem not dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam. The longer we stay, the more problems we're going to have. The more occupying force dynamics flow into this, the more influence of the outside people, as well as the inside people are going to hurt this country."

michael mccafferty comments:

US Senator Chuck Hagel has the courage to say what he did about the situation in Iraq.
Chuck Hagel is a Viet Nam war hero and a genuine American patriot. I respect and admire him for what he has said about Iraq.

Thank you Saint Jude for making Helene cancer free.

Thank you Holy Saint Jude

For those in dire need of help with their lives, particularly for things that seem to need a miracle... the Saint Jude Novena has helped time and time again...

St. Jude, patron saint of the impossible St. Jude Thaddeus was one of the twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus Christ.

CLICK HERE to learn more about SAINT JUDE.

michael mccafferty comments:
A few weeks ago my wife Helene went for a mammogram test, and the doctor there told her she would have to undergo more tests because of the possibility of cancer. I remembered what a devout Roman Catholic friend told me about praying to Saint Jude to ask for a miracle.

I asked Saint Jude in prayer to make Helene cancer free.

Today we got the news of a miracle -- Helene is cancer free !

Thank you to Jesus and Holy Saint Jude.

Stop the flow of American handguns into Canada !

Guns from USA being smuggled into Canada

August 10, 2005
COPYRIGHT MACLEANS.CA

American guns, Canadian violence

Weapons are crossing the border by the thousands and the number of people wounded and killed in this country is mounting

In the past two weeks, five people have been killed and 11 injured in 14 separate shootings in Toronto, including one that sent a four-year-old boy to hospital with four bullet wounds, and another that scattered late-night revellers from a downtown square. The unrelenting stream of gunplay drew alarmed reaction from politicians, including Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, and it didn't take long for someone to point a finger south. Mayor David Miller, among others, singled out the U.S. as a prime source of gangland weapons on Canadian streets, saying the guns that come over the border are "very easily accessible to these kinds of thugs."

If the experience of Canada's border agents is anything to go by, Miller is right. In the past five years, authorities have seized more than 5,400 firearms coming into the country from the United States, a figure believed to represent a fraction of the northward flow. The lion's share of those weapons -- some 3,695 -- were handguns, which tells you something about who was doing the buying. Pistols, after all, are the tools of the urban street gang, and a threefold growth in gang-related killings since the mid-1990s is the one glaring exception to Canada's overall decline in violent crime. At the same time, handguns have been steadily supplanting long-barrelled guns as weapons of choice in gun homicides, reflecting what experts see as a critical shift in the nature of violent crime in Canada. "Overall, there are more gang and drug-related killings, and fewer family killings," says Tom Gabor, a University of Ottawa criminologist. "Those involved in the former seem to have a preference for handguns, many of which are unregistered and likely smuggled into the country."

CLICK HERE to read complete MacLean's special report on guns being smuggled into Canada from USA.

michael mccafferty comments:

The Government of Canada must take strong measures to crack down on the shocking number of handguns being smuggled into Canada from the USA. Prime Minister Martin must make ti a priority to stop the flood of handguns coming into our country. This is a serious issue and Ottawa must take action !

Canada's Governor General designate Michaelle Jean

Michaelle Jean and the 1995 Quebec referandum

Governor General designate Jean must explain views on sovereignty: premiers

COPYRIGHT CTV.ca News

CTV.ca News Staff
At least two premiers think that incoming Governor General Michaelle Jean should tell Canadians her views on Quebec sovereignty and how she voted in the 1995 referendum.
"Did she vote yes or not?'' New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord wondered Friday.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell agreed that Jean should explain her feelings on a united Canada.

CLICK HERE to read entire CTV NEWS article.

michael mccafferty comments:

I do not believe the premiers should be calling into question how Governor General designate Michaelle Jean voted in the 1995 referandum in Quebec. She obviously has a desire to serve as Governor General of Canada in a very honorable and meaningful way.

As a Canadian I am very impressed by her credentials to be Governor General of Canada, and I believe the premiers are 'playing politics' with how she may or may not have voted. SIMPLY STATED: It should not be an issue.

Canadian 'hero' Smokey Smith, Victoria Cross winner.

Canada has lost a great hero - Smokey Smith

Ernest Alvia (Smokey) Smith, Canada's last surviving winner of the Victoria Cross and the only Canadian private to win the honour in the Second World War, has died at his home in Vancouver. He was 91.

CLICK HERE to view special Veterans Affairs Canada Memorial website to Canada's hero Smokey Smith.

michael mccafferty comments:

Smokey Smith was truly a great Canadian -- a patriot and war hero. As the last surving winner of the Victoria Cross in Canada Smokey Smith was an inspiration to all Canadians. Prime Minister Paul Martin said: We are a better nation because of men like Sgt. Smokey Smith. He was – and will always be – a much-respected and remarkable Canadian hero.

God bless Smokey Smith.

God bless our friends in England and God bless Prime Minister Tony Blair !

I respect and admire Prime Minister Tony Blair.

British Prime Minister cracks down on militants

Blair cracks down on militants
Seeks to change deportation laws

copyright
By Kevin Cullen, BOSTON GLOBE August 6, 2005

LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled plans yesterday to make it easier to prosecute and deport those who foster terrorism, insisting that extremists and their supporters have exploited and abused Britain's tradition of tolerance.

Blair also said the government would seek the power to shut down places of worship, including mosques, that are used ''as a center for fomenting violence."

Blair announced the proposals amid a growing sense of anger among many Britons who contend that they have become the targets of extremists whose families were given sanctuary as economic migrants or asylum seekers.

''Let no one be in any doubt that the rules of the game are changing," he told reporters at his monthly Downing Street press conference, as he prepared for his summer vacation. ''The circumstances of our national security have now self-evidently changed."

Among the key items of the 12-point list of measures: enacting a law that makes it illegal to condone, justify, or glorify terrorism; broadening the grounds to strip citizenship, deport someone, or prevent them from entering the country if they are linked to a terrorist threat; and setting a maximum time limit on suspects' extradition challenges. The plan also would extend beyond 14 days the amount of time police can detain suspects before charging them, and increase the number of judges hearing terrorism cases.

michael mccafferty comments:

I respect and admire the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Canada's new Governor General Michaelle Jean.

Prime Minister names new Governor General of Canada

PM picks Quebecer
Haitian immigrant as next GG

CTV.ca News Staff

The new Governor-General of Canada will be an award-winning journalist who was born in Haïti and immigrated to Quebec as a child. Michaelle Jean will also be the youngest person to ever serve as the Queen's representative in Canada.

CLICK HERE to read complete CTV NEWS story about Governor General designate Michaelle Jean.

michael mccafferty comments:
Prime Minister Martin has made an absolutely wonderful choice in naming Michaelle Jean as Governor General of Canada. Ms. Jean is a remarkable and outstanding woman.
As a Canadian I believe Governor General Jean will make us proud of Canada.

My friend -- SENATOR HUGH SEGAL

Prime Minister names my friend Hugh Segal to the Senate of Canada

PM names 5 new senators

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 15:59:00 EDT

CBC News COPYRIGHT

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, whose exploits as a coroner inspired the TV show Da Vinci's Inquest, and Hugh Segal, who was former prime minister Brian Mulroney's chief of staff, are among five new senators named Tuesday.

CLICK HEREto read CBC NEWS report on Senate appointments.

michael mccafferty comments:

While I am a western Canadian who believes the Senate of Canada should either be elected or abolished I was very delighted to learn the news that the Prime Minister had named my friend Hugh Segal to the Senate of Canada.

Hugh Segal is a very remarkable and outstanding Canadian. Hugh Segal is a brilliant man who brings great vision and leadership to Canada's Senate.

31 years ago I worked with Hugh Segal at the national headquarters of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada -- and I like countless Canadians consider him to be an absolutely great Canadian. I am happy for my friend Senator Hugh Segal.

Sinn Fein and the IRA announce that the IRA will 'disarm' and bring peace to Northern Ireland.

IRA to disarm

White House Praises IRA Disarmament Pledge
copyright Guardian Unlimited

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House on Thursday called the Irish Republican Army's pledge to end its armed campaign and resume disarmament an ``important and potentially historic'' move toward peace in the historically troubled region.
The IRA's move is aimed at reviving Northern Ireland's peace process. The IRA said all of its clandestine units had been ordered to place their weapons in arms dumps and cease all activities, although it would not formally disband.

CLICK HERE to read THE GUARDIAN article on the IRA Disarmament.

SINN FEIN website.



michael mccafferty comments:

Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the disarmament promise of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during his Angelus audience on Sunday, July 31.

"This is beautiful news," the Holy Father said, adding that the IRA's announcement "has rightly led to satisfaction and hope" in Ireland and elsewhere. He offered his enthusiastic and prayerful support for all those involved in the effort to bring peace to Northern Ireland.

Former US President Bill Clinton, who was instrumental in negotiating the Good Friday peace agreement in 1998 has welcomed the IRA's decision to disarm. He says he's looking forward to the implementation of this decision. "The announcement that the IRA made today is potentially the biggest thing to happen in this peace process since the Good Friday agreement, and if it is done and verified, it represents the fulfilment of something I have worked for since 1994, both as President and later as a private citizen."

Clinton was the first US President to visit Northern Ireland and to actively engage unionists and separatists towards a ceasefire.

Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein Leader: "Today's decision by the IRA to move into a new peaceful mode is historic and represents a courageous and confident initiative. It is truly momentous and is a defining point in the search for a lasting peace with justice."

As an Irish-Canadian - a direct descendent of Henry and Elizabeth McCafferty who came to Canada in 1824 from Ireland - I am delighted by the historic decision by the IRA to disarm.