Harry Shannon
An article in the Hamilton Spectator was on hate crimes in the city - at least, based on reports to the police and their judgement as to whether they were indeed hate crimes. But the police officer they spoke to said that the increase was disturbing but also that if they had gone down he would be concerned.
At this point, you'r…
Category: Uncategorized
What has Ontario Premier Doug Ford been smoking?
Harry Shannon
The Premier of Ontario is Doug Ford. He’s a right-wing populist who has won three majority governments in a row. When Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and threatened to make it the 51st state, Ford led the premiers of other provinces and territories in the initial response. He seemed to be uniting the country (which helped…
Getting a start on the Nobel Peace Prize
Harry Shannon
Donald Trump seems to have his heart set on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In support, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has even written a nomination letter for him.
Most people scoff at the prospect that Trump could get the award, given his record. Perhaps, but there are things Trump could do to justify the Priz…
Actions, not just words, are needed
This is the first of two letters I have recently had published in the Hamilton Spectator. It was not in the printed edition, but simply appeared online. That was just over a week ago.
Actions, not just words, are needed
On May 19, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the leaders of the U.K. and France issued a joint statement on Gaza and the West …
“Israel has always sought a peace settlement.” Really?
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…
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…