Harry Shannon
I keep hearing people saying that Israel has always been ready to reach a peace settlement with Palestinians, but there’s no “Partner for Peace.” This argument is best exemplified by former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s sly and often-repeated saying that the Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an oppor…
Category: Uncategorized
Falling behind
Harry Shannon
Like everyone else, I get too many emails. You know, spam, phishing, ads, promotions, etc. – and occasionally ones I actually want to read. It’s partly my own fault; at some times that I don’t remember, I signed up to various websites.
So the other day I decided to cancel ones that I am only vaguely interested in and cert…
BDS is not antisemitic
There was an OpEd in the Hamilton Spectator recently on BDS (the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel). There’s been a campaign attacking Sara Jama, an MPP (member of the Ontario legislature) who is black and wheelchair-bound. She’s a supporter of BDS (the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel), hence…
Simplistic propaganda
Harry Shannon
My latest letter in the Hamilton Spectator. It's pretty much self-explanatory, though see below for some background as well as the paragraph that the newspaper edited out.
Simplistic propaganda
The letter writer (Death toll is ‘window dressing,’ February 27) claims that the sole cause of violence on the West Bank is Pale…
I’m Not a Customer
Harry Shannon
Here's my letter that appeared in the Hamilton Spectator recently. It's self-explanatory - no background info needed.
Not a Customer
I called Premier Doug Ford’s office to give my opinion on some of his policies. Before I spoke to a human, a recorded message told me I would be forwarded to a ‘Customer Service Representat…
U.S. Supreme Court justices sought new solution to problem of originalism
Harry Shannon
The U.S. Supreme Court justices who believe in originalism have been using an unusual method to help their decisions.
Originalism is the view that interpretations of the U.S. Constitution should be based on the “original meaning,” that is, the meaning understood by those who adopted the Constitution.
As many critics have…
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is not up to the task
Harry Shannon
Background: This letter to the Toronto Star followed their editorial outlining some of the problems with how Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been handling the pandemic. I thought the analogy with sports players would resonate with Ford himself, as well as others. The letter was published in the January 22 edition of the paper.
Re…
Dear Albertans
Harry Shannon
I sent the article below to the Calgary Herald as a possible contribution to their Opinion page. I haven’t even had an acknowledgement.
Some context: I wrote this after hearing the Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on the news. Kenney and his government have tried to keep the province’s economy open during the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Proposal for a Museum (or Museums)
Harry Shannon
You probably read about the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol. Amid the protests over the police killing of George Floyd, it was pulled off its pedestal, rolled to the harbour, and pushed into the water.
I grew up in England, but I had never heard of Colston. Yet his name “permeates the city [Bristol] on buildings and landm…
Doug Ford’s tragic mismanagement
Harry Shannon
Another unpublished letter sent to the Toronto Star.
Mostly self-explanatory, and not saying much that hasn't been said already. But I was trying to put it all together and join some dots. In fact, over the last week since I sent the letter, there has been a fair amount of criticism of Doug Ford and his (Ontario) government. F…