kar0ling

Israel is now committing a second genocide.  Funny thing, when you turn a blind eye to human rights abuses because you think the folks it's happening to are expendable, the abuser doesn't stop; they move on to a new victim.  Israel is seeking to permanently depopulate a large swath of southern Lebanon, ordering the evacuation of all Lebanese south of the Litani River. On Sunday Defence Minister Israel Katz said the IOF will “accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes in the line of contact villages, to thwart threats to Israeli communities, in accordance with the model of Beit Hanoun and Rafah,” which are cities in Gaza that were largely flattened. Since the start of the month Israel has killed over a thousand Lebanese and destroyed large swaths of Beirut. Before Hezbollah launched a half dozen rockets in response to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Israel violated the fifteen month ‘ceasefire’ 10,000 times, killing 300 Lebanese, according to the UN mission in Leb...

A letter from World Beyond War, Just Peace Advocates, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, Canadian BDS Coalition. Slightly adapted.  Send your own Dear Prime Minister Carney, How could you possibly suggest formally dispatching Canadian troops to assist Trump and Netanyahu’s completely illegal aggression? A recent Angus-Reid poll shows that 70% of Liberal party supporters *oppose* this war. The US and Israel have already killed over 1200 Iranians. They’ve been committing a horrific massacre everyday. On Wednesday US War Secretary Pete Hegseth bragged about killing 100 Iranians by blowing up a defenseless, ammunition-less Iranian navy vessel taking part in a ceremonial exercise far away in the Indian Ocean. In Lebanon – which Israel has no reason to pick a fight with -- Israel has killed more than 100 and demanded half a million evacuate their homes. Israel is ramping up its bombings in the country and ground invasion. Even musing about Canada formally dispatching troops boost...

When CMU announced “Singing Resistance” – an event to come on down to the chapel and sing protest songs together with music professors at the beginning of February – at the height of the terrible ICE raids happening in Minneapolis, I thought, yes! This is exactly right.  SINGING RESISTANCE In solidarity with Minneapolis Join us for an evening of singing old and new songs of protest and courage, in solidarity with Minneapolis, shaped by traditions of faithful voices choosing community over violence and hope over despair—part vigil, part community chorus. This is not a concert. It is the community coming together to raise voices in the face of injustice, fear, and the uneasy times we are living through Singing Resistance is an open invitation to remember that even when things feel out of control, our voices still matter. And so does being together. But then I saw how popular it was. The news was racing through Facebook. This event is going to be packed, I realized. My heart sank. Thi...

Dear Prime Minister Carney, First of all, let us be clear that the regime in Iran has treated its citizens terribly, especially in recent weeks when it has murdered thousands of civilian protestors. There is no question that this regime would be better ended.  There is a very real question about the best way to do that, however. U.S. intervention -- to serve the financial interests of certain wealthy oligarchs -- has never been an effective way of replacing a human rights abusing regime with a human rights respecting one.  Your statements in support of the US/Israeli war on Iran are condemnable. Tens of thousands will likely be killed in the rogue states’ bid to balkanize Iran. Already hundreds of Iranians have been killed, including upwards of 100 in a strike on a girls elementary school in Minab, southern Iran.  Why have you said “Canada supports” the US/Israeli war when this unprovoked attack is clearly a violation of the UN charter? If international law only applies t...

On the longest night, we gathered at Home Street Mennonite Church for an Advent vigil for Palestine. The liturgy below was adapted from  Preach Palestine 2025: Advent of a revolution and birth of a movement by Freedom Church of the Poor; FOSNA; Kairos - the Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice and Red Letter Christians: God with us: faith in the face of genocide and the service was a response to the Red Candle Advent challenge . In longing and grief, we also heard about Kairos II, the “Moment of Truth,”  whose challenge we took up to name occupation , apartheid , and genocide . From Preach Palestine, opening reflections included... “We live in a time of monsters. “The story and tradition of Advent reminds us that the time of monsters is also a time of powerful expectation. A time when we see the signs of something new breaking through. “The Advent story was intended to affirm a new way, realized in the lives and struggles of the poor and dispossessed, that se...

Another letter calling for Canada to close the loopholes. This time, it’s Greenpeace getting in on the action. Mostly them, a little bit of me: Dear Prime Minister Mark Carney/ Minister Anita Anand, Although a ceasefire has been called, Israeli forces continue their assault on Palestinians while they are trying to rebuild from the ruins. What kind of ceasefire is that? Not surprising, though, from a government that lies frequently and fails to keep their side of the bargain. Ninety-two percent of human beings in Palestine have no home to return to; hundreds of bodies are still being pulled from the rubble; and 85,000 children have been orphaned. Let that sink in. Imagine your own children or grandchildren with no bed to sleep, no parents to comfort them, or worse, dead under a pile of rubble.  Prime Minister Carney, “peace” in name alone is not enough. Furthermore, the violence will not end with this ceasefire even if it is ever observed by Israel. Canada has a *lega...

Dear Mr Carney and Ms Anand The nations of the Hague Group have plenty of black marks to their names regarding human rights abuses. Yet even they can recognize and condemn genocide when they see it. Even they declare " Either we act together to enforce international law or we risk its collapse.... Let this moment mark the beginning of a renewed commitment to internationalism and the principles that bind us as a global community.”   I join with them to beg Canada to support the findings of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice with more than words. We must take meaningful action to stop the genocide.    I join with Greenpeace to demand  that Canada: support an immediate and permanent ceasefire; halt all arms sales and military cooperation with Israel; ensure the safe and unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza; uphold international law and human rights; and actively work toward a just and lasting peace for both ...

A response to this statement, paragraph by disingenuous paragraph: https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2025/06/16/g7-leaders-statement-on-recent-developments-between-israel-and-iran Dear Prime Minister CC: Minister of Foreign Affairs, interim leader of the Conservative party, interim leader of the NDP, leader of the Green Party, leader of the Bloc and my local MP Respectfully, leaders of the G7, your words are worse than utterly meaningless. How can you possibly claim a “commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East” when you continue to sell weapons to the country who is making it unstable? How can you affirm Israel's “right to defend itself” when it is the unprovoked attacker? What about Iran’s right to defend itself? How can we claim to uphold a rules-based order if we only respect the sovereignty of countries we like? (And why we should like Israel remains a mystery: this is not a commentary on the people of the country, only the reprehensible actions of its gov...

Dear Mr Carney, Canadian party leaders and my local MP When Canadians voted Liberal, they did so with the belief they would be getting an adult in the room. They were voting for a Canada committed to peace. They voted for someone who promised to build homes for Canadians They voted for someone who promised to work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples regarding energy – clean energy. They voted for someone who recognized that kindness is a virtue, who promised to be humble. Sir, we did not vote for war. Increased NATO spending will not put food on Canadian tables. Increased NATO spending will not address the crisis of loneliness and despair that leads many Canadians to destructive addictions. Increased NATO spending will not mitigate climate change, a rising threat to all of us, as is so clearly demonstrated by the wildfires ravaging Manitoba and Saskatchewan as I write this.  Mr Carney, increased spending an on international military alliance is more likely to *cause* war...

Peace Train Canada painting by Norma Emerson To the leaders of Canada’s political parties: I write to you to echo Elizabeth May's call for Canada to endorse the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. “Although Canada does not possess nuclear weapons of our own, engaging with the TPNW is Canada’s opportunity to be a global leader in moving disarmament forward by influencing our allies with our decisions ,” she writes. “The threat of nuclear weapons being used once again is becoming more real every day.” “We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines any longer. ” Canada has a reputation for being a country that supports peace. We must not rely on reputation only but continue on many fronts with proactive statements, policies and initiatives to declare that violence solves no problems. At both individual and state levels, peoples of the world must recognize that human flourishing requires peace, not war. At this crucial moment in history, rather than raining destruction upon...