Omar Alghabra

Radioactive 51 Comments

I’m getting a lot of email on the Omar Alghabra “victory for Islam” nomination story in Mississauga. Kathy Shaidle is trying to get to the bottom of this one, with the help of others like Lost Budgie and KennethK – so my advice is to head over there and follow her links and updates.
Further thoughts: There seems to be concern that this incident has “undermined” the integrity of the blogosphere. I find that concern perplexing – watching the story develop across a variety of sites, it seems to me the blogosphere is approaching this in the expected manner. Sure – some people took the report at face value – just as dozens of bloggers took the MSM hysteria about “hundreds of thousands” of lost Iraqi artifacts at face value, and others were led down a false path by the same individual later reponsible for fooling CBS with the fake “Rathergate” memos.
The story was denied within hours by the candidate, that denial has been duly noted, further investigation is taking place and new details are emerging. No concensus yet on what actually went on, but from my vantagepoint, things are humming along quite normally. If this turns out to be the work of an intentional plant, hoping to use the blogosphere to push a lie – things are likely to turn out badly for them, whoever they may be.

51 Replies to “Omar Alghabra”

  1. Oh dear.
    Well, I have hit a wall as of 7:18 PM EST. There is an alleged Liberal Party press release making the rounds, denying everything. However, as of this moment it still isn’t up at the Liberal Party website press room. Will look again.
    The story gaining traction is that a supporter of OA made the comments at the meeting, not Omar himself. But again, I get the impression people are just seeing this on one site and posting it wherever they go.
    Am continuing to monitor the situation, and I welcome any tips.

  3. I wonder if we’d hear more in the press if it were….say……..Cheryl Gallant or Stock Day proclaiming “Victory for Christ”????
    Just wondering…………
    Anyone have any ideas?????????

  4. Or it may never happened at all, which is why the media didn’t cover it.
    I’m the first one to cry Liberal Bias, because 99% of the time it is a fact. This time, enough doubt has been expressed to make me wonder.

  5. Where, oh, where is the MSM on this?
    Remember how they crucified Stockwell Day for simply being religious?
    Now we hear of an alleged Islamic supremacist winning the nomination for the Liberal Party and allegedly making extremist declarations in the name of Islam. Doesn’t this alarm the MSM? If not, then it’s bloody damning for the MSM. Canadians should be concerned about this, as the MSM has the power to shape the perceptions of the electorate.

  7. Cut this guy some slack. Put yourself in his shoes. A person relatively new to this country wins a nomination to a Canadian political institution, wouldn’t you think they’d be a little excited and make some wild comments. It’s easy to sit in your comfy chair noodling on your computer. What if it was you who won the nomination to TCPC. How coherent would you be?

  8. Incoherent, wild comments, little knowledge of this country. Sounds like he’d fit in perfectly as a Liberal MP.

  9. Yelling ‘victory for islam’ is entirely inappropriate – it demonstrates a complete lack of respect for the infidels!

  10. I have ordered the tape of the evening from Rogers. It won’t arrive until the new year 🙁
    A prominent muslim leader has stated that the remarks were made by Khalid Osman who is himself a city councellor in Markham (disturbing as well).

  11. In case anyone else wants to purchase the DVD…
    http://www.conservativelife.com/blog/index.php/canada/2005/12/21/liberal_nomination_meeting_for_mississau
    Though it appears as though the folks at Rogers DID edit the video…
    “We do not have raw footage as news tapes are recycled and only material worth keeping is archived. In this case, nothing was archived.”
    Yeah right. DVDs cost 25 cents. Using the excuse that archiving is too expensive is bogus.

  12. “Put yourself in his shoes. A person relatively new to this country wins a nomination to a Canadian political institution, wouldn’t you think they’d be a little excited and make some wild comments.”
    So if a former American, who lived in Calgary, won a nomination and said it was “a victory for Evangelical Christians” you’d be all for it Ron?
    Personally, I don’t have a problem with either, but it seems to me that many Liberals are Hypocrites; they support Freedom of Religion as long as you’re not a Christian, they support a persons choices in life as long as its not a Choice to smoke, and they support Multiculturalism as long as you’re culture doesn’t contain ‘Un-Canadian’ beliefs.

  14. He’s not new to this country…and if his spokesman made the comments, and he did not rebuke or fire his spokesman, then he supports the comments.

  15. What is clear is that this candidate belongs to a suicidal cult that demonizes its opponents… It’s called Team Martin.

  17. whether Victor Fouad is a provocateur has not been established by anyone as of yet. there are people that heard what fouad alleges and their are people that didn’t. the lieberal spin crew are getting sufficient traction to 1. destroy the credibility of blogs, 2. undermine moderate arabic relations, 3. show us all to be reactionary. let’s get fouad’s feet into this fire before we bet the farm.
    a good dicussion, based on fouad’s unsubstantiated claims, can be found at jihad watch. like…they’d know.
    http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/009484.php#comments

  18. I could give a crap about what the guy said. HOWEVER, what bugs me and makes this stink so much is that the MSM is mute.
    I recall headlines just a month or so ago about how the Christian Right was infiltrating the Conservative Party in order to position itself to be able make drastic and dramatic changes to society after a Conservative win.
    Once again the hypocracy of the bunch (including Liberals, because they were as guilty as anyone) since if a person in the Conservative party makes any mention of being religious, they are a bunch of nuts. In the case of the liberals, it is ??????
    Ed the Hun

  19. Who gives a rat’s ass whether he said it or not.Point is, Martin will support ANYBODY and ANYTHING if it gives him a shot a retaining his power. If he did say it,Martin will just say the guy has the right to support his religion,and the idiots in Ontario will never spot the hypocracy.Come on guys/gals. Stop beating this dead horse called democratic Canada and just give it the burial it needs.

  20. Further proof of the double standard against Christians … propagated by the media, practised by the Liberals and believed by most Canadians…

  21. I know this is off topic but has anyone heard anymore about the circumstances surrounding the death, in Haiti, of retired RCMP officer Mark Bourque?
    As I was reading the story in today’s National Post a couple of paragraphs caught my attention:
    “A quiet, meticulous RCMP investigator who was hailed as a hero in the international fight against organized crime was shot and killed in an ambush yesterday while on a United Natins peacekeeping mission in Haiti.” … “Mr. Bourque was shot while on patrol in the Port-au-Prince slum of Cite Soleil. A colleague who was travelling with him was not injured.” … “Mr. Bourque was among the first investigators in Canada to realize that the key to disrupting large organized crime networks was to follow the money trail.” … “His meticulous chasing of financial transactions by the leading members of the Caruana-Cuntrera organization …. documented extensive money-laundering activities using Montreal banks.” …. “After he (Mr. Bourque) retired, he was assigned to the RCMP’s VIP Section, overseeing the protection of prime ministers and diplomats, said RCMP Sgt. Nathalie Deschenes…”
    I’m sure I heard a commentator on the CBC news last night mention that he was off duty and in an area where he wouldn’t have normally been for some reason. I also find it strange that his “partner” was not injured at all.
    In fact, I have to admit, I also had many questions running through my head about this terrible incident after watching the CBC news on TV last night.
    Remember Gagliano? He is / was alleged to have ties to the Bonano crime family in the U.S. and Caruana was the Bonano rep in Canada was he not?
    I’m relying on my memory of past stories in the press. I have not mined the internet for archived articles or information. But for some reason, I just can’t shake the feeling that something is not quite right with this incident in Haiti.
    I have the same feeling about the guy who was the head of the organization trying to bring some kind of international games to Quebec. He ended up dead in a Molson Canadian Brewery parking lot reportedly from a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Appartently the fellow knew alot about the sponsorship program and was lobbying to recieve a large amount of money from the ole “slush fund”.
    If Mr. Bourque was off duty and in an area he normally wouldn’t visit, why did the National Post report (the next day) that he was on duty and on patrol?
    Was Mr. Bourque and his partner travelling in a vehicle or on foot?
    How is it that Mr. Bourque’s partner did not get shot too?
    Knowing there are allegations out there that a former Minister of Public Works had ties to the Mafia, the same Mafia group that just happened to launder duffle bags full of cash through Montreal banks (the epicenter of the sponsorship program)and was investigated by Mr. Bourque. I wonder if Mr. Bourque found a trail of money leading back to the Liberal Party of Canada?
    If Mr. Bourque did find evidence of money laundering by the liberal party of Canada, did he tell anyone? Is that why he was promoted (after he retired) to VIP duty? I’m only speculating of course. You know the old saying “keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer”.
    If Mr. Bourque knew something about the sponsorship program he would certainly be a person of interest to people who don’t want light shed on the whole sorry affair.
    Like I said in the opening paragraph; there’s something strange about the death of Mr. Bourque.
    Anyone know anymore about this story?

  22. this is a BIG story that needs reporting. slightly after the election campaign began a fellow named Yves Engler heckled junior and spent 4 days in jail. he had earlier splashed red paint on pierre pettigrew’s hand signifying the blood on canadian hands for their actions in haiti. there are lots of plays taking place down there with the francophone section of our government (read Canadian Government) pushing their weight around.
    check out this site for the horror story our representatives in the government aren’t telling us at: http://www.haitiaction.net

  25. CR may be on to something there. The Toronto Star just posted a story about this topic saying Bourque was the subject of what looks like a botched kidnapping. “The bullets penetrated the vehicle and tore off parts of the door…” Sounds like quite the gun was used. Why would they shoot at the car like that if they were trying to kidnap him? Sorry for the huge link.
    http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1135205412075&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News

  26. I’m getting a lot of email on the Omar Alghabra “victory for Islam” nomination story in Mississauga. Kathy Shaidle is trying to get to the bottom of this one, with the help of others like Lost Budgie and KennethK – so my advice is to head over there and follow her links and updates.
    And what directions do you have for the rest us non-minions, who thought this was just a tired smear orchestrated by the CPC, Kate?
    Further thoughts: There seems to be concern that this incident has “undermined” the integrity of the blogosphere.
    Scary “quotes” Bad move. I think your use of “scary quotes” “undermines” the blogosphere.
    I find that concern perplexing – watching the story develop across a variety of sites, it seems to me the blogosphere is approaching this in the expected manner
    Gee, you really have a low opinion of the blogosphere, don’t you?
    Sure – some people took the report at face value – just as dozens of bloggers took the MSM hysteria about “hundreds of thousands” of lost Iraqi artifacts at face value…
    *bzzt* *pfuit* *ee-yah-ee-yah* *ah-ooh-gah*…
    Stop right there, Kate. Irrelevant comparison.
    …and others were led down a false path by the same individual later reponsible for fooling CBS with the fake “Rathergate” memos.
    Oh, Kate, Kate, Kate…come on!
    The story was denied within hours by the candidate, that denial has been duly noted, further investigation is taking place and new details are emerging.
    Yes, they are. Are you excited about real evidence? You should be. I think it’s the first time you’ve actually acknowlegdged it exists.
    No concensus yet on what actually went on, but from my vantagepoint, things are humming along quite normally. If this turns out to be the work of an intentional plant, hoping to use the blogosphere to push a lie – things are likely to turn out badly for them, whoever they may be.
    On this we agree. Very. Badly. Indeed.

  27. Who cares if the guy actually said this?
    Well, as a conservative (fiscal and mostly social), I should care. And I do.
    My objectives are a government that is not powerful enough to limit freedom, economically or politically, while being powerful enough to take on and, if necessary, destroy our enemies.
    How are my objectives (and the country’s interests) served if we ignore the questionable nature of an allegation? Part of the problem with the sponsorship scandal has always been there is a large subset of Canadians who actually believe nothing serious happened. When we build mountains out of molehills, such as what somebody is alleged to have said, and there is no proof, we do a disservice to those issues where there is proof, and we need Canadians to take interest.
    Please, those on the right, shut up until we find out what can be known about this allegation. Too much has been said already, most of it plain stupid.

  28. And if this story is proved to be definitively false, all those blogs who posted the original story verbatim will also post retractions, right?
    The story will miraculously disappear from Google caches and mirrors, it will be as if it never ever happened, right?
    Bullshit. As suspicious as we are of the MSM, we need to be EQUALLY suspicious of the blogosphere.
    From everything I have read, the original story is completely bogus: the story being that Omar Alghabra shouted “This is a victory for Islam! …” in his acceptance speech, despite any actual evidence beyond hearsay.
    The burden of proof is on the ones making the accusations. So far, I have not seen one iota of proof that the alleged comments were made by anyone present.
    God help the Conservatives if a supporter of a Conservative candidate ever shouts “This is a victory for God, let the faggots beware!”.

  29. And withing 48 hours of this “press release” the story is the fifth result Google’s page when searching for the candidate’s name.
    How edifying.
    How damn edifying.

  30. God help the Conservatives if a supporter of a Conservative candidate ever shouts “This is a victory for God, let the faggots beware!”.
    Is this the kind of thing you allow on your blog, Kate? Exhorting the extermination of gay people?

  31. It’s clear from this thread that the Liberals have staryed an anti-(conservative)blog campaign. People like like Ti-Guy, Ron & others…wonder if they’re being paid (directly or indirectly) from the public trough?
    Well, Libranos, I have news for you: no-one here is getting paid for their commentary, except for you!

  32. Ron sounds like those leftists who excuse everything leftists say whereas they condemn everything conservatives say.
    Ron should denounce Alghabra as a bigot and extremist and call for his nomination’s cancellation by Martin if, in fact, it’s demonstrated he indeed said what he’s supposed to have.
    It’s dangerous to come up with lame excuses for extremism like, for example, the extremist is a new Canadian or something. Anyone who doesn’t understand tolerance and moderation in Canada has no business being an elected official and Paul Martin must take a stand and cancel the nomination if the comments are demonstrated as having been made.
    I’m sick and tired of these double standards perpetuated by lefitsts.
    Ironic, btw, that Ti-Guy, an apparent misogynist, complains about any perceived (in his mind) agenda of “extermination of gays” on the part of anyone. No one advocated anything of the kin. Ti-Guy doesn’t want to admit this. He’ll make the accusation till the cows come home. He needs professional help. Poor fellow. I hope he’ll be all right someday. Sad, but sometimes people become troubled in the head. Too bad the Liberals don’t care enough to fund places to provide troubled people with help and instead let everyone go through life all alone, suffering without any compassion from the so-called Liberals…

  33. Lying is common policy among Mohammedans of all stripes. The lying is called “taqiyyah”. Beware the lying liars & their nefarious lies. SSMartin AdScam is a liar, also. >>>>
    http://canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/12209.shtml
    Would Omar lie to us?Re: Who is the story.
    [ Follow-Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Public Message Forum ]
    Posted by Hossam Rafik on 15:43:34 2005/12/21
    In Reply to: Who is the story.CCD or the Mississauga Liberal? posted by N Flagg
    Would Omar lie to us ?
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    Lying in Islam
    By Abdullah Al Araby
    Like most religions, Islam in general, forbids lying. The Quran says, “Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies.” Surah 40:28. In the Hadith, Mohammed was also quoted as saying, “Be honest because honesty leads to goodness, and goodness leads to Paradise. Beware of falsehood because it leads to immorality, and immorality leads to Hell.”
    However, unlike most religions, within Islam there are certain provisions under which lying is not simply tolerated, but actually encouraged. The book “The spirit of Islam,” by the Muslim scholar, Afif A. Tabbarah was written to promote Islam. On page 247, Tabbarah stated: “Lying is not always bad, to be sure; there are times when telling a lie is more profitable and better for the general welfare, and for the settlement of conciliation among people, than telling the truth. To this effect, the Prophet says: ‘He is not a false person who (through lies) settles conciliation among people, supports good or says what is good.”
    In exploring this puzzling duplicity within Islam, we will examine first some examples from recent and ancient Islamic history. These examples demonstrate that lying is a common policy amongst Islamic clerics and statesmen. >>>
    http://www.investigateislam.com/lying_in_islam.htm

  34. Point is, the press wasn’t touching the story with a ten-foot pole, which should have been at least a yellow flag. The alleged speech would have been news, if it was confirmable that it happened (note: a candidate not making an inflammatory Islamist speech isn’t news), but certain bloggers’ hysterical mistrust of the press led them to take the original story at face value.
    That’s fine, so long as they didn’t use the story to, just for instance, very explicitly associate Alghabra with terrorism. When they did, it became a problem. Not for the blogosphere as a whole, mind you, but for the person who did it.

  35. Patrick
    Get with the program
    You’ve come to the WRONG place if your message is let me get the last word then you all “shut up”.

  36. In this a.m.’s Mississauga News:
    http://www.mississauganews.com/mi/news/story/3231343p-3740866c.html
    “Just days after publicly accusing the federal Liberal candidate for Mississauga-Erindale of making pro-Islamic remarks during his nomination acceptance speech, the Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) has rescinded its position.
    “The CCD now alleges the candidate uttered his remarks after he had left the stage and finished his speech.
    “However, the president of the Mississauga-Erindale riding association and other Liberal party stalwarts insist the remarks were, in fact, made by another Liberal party member from Markham…”

  37. Ti-Guy, are you completely dense? Reread what valiantmauz wrote. He’s not in any way “exhorting the extermination of gay people”, he’s posing a hypothetical question — “What if a Conservative said this?” Whether it’s a despicable drive-by smear or an attempt to ask the question that Conservative supporters have been thinking about on this incident — what the MSM’s reaction would be to such an allegation compared to their reaction on this allegation — I can’t determine.
    If I were to don the tin-foil hat, I’d say the two of you were in cahoots on that — valiantmauz poses the absurd question, then you get to jump on it as an example of Conservative hate mongering (even though it completely flies in the face of the context of the post!) before anybody else responds to it.
    Regardless, your accusation is completely dishonest and should be withdrawn.

  38. Aw come on Chris, you can name me. I don’t have any “problems” so far and don’t anticipate any. Wooo, I’m shaking.
    You’re the one who called the story “a heaping pile of unsubstantiated bullshit”.
    http://www.tartcider.com/blog/archives/2005/12/buzzkill_indeed.html
    I didn’t happen to think that a story that came from a CCDD press release, quoting a leading member of the Coptic Christian community, then picked up by Kate, Arabian Dissent, Damian Penny and Warren Kinsella, gave off a notable whiff of cow poop right off the bat.
    Congrats on those superior bs detection skills you picked up at Upper Canada College.
    Of course, your post only picked me out for condemnation, and none of the other folks mentioned above, all of whom ran this story before I did.
    Your weird obsession with my blog is awfully unbecoming. Why not focus your devastating 20-something contrarian snobbery on a more worthwhile target?
    But thanks for sending all those visitors my way. They made up an entire 2% of my hits yesterday. Hoorah!

  39. Canadian Sentinel…I have no comment on what Ti-Guy said but please explain what exactly is misogynistic about his remarks. Do you even know what the meaning of the word is?

  41. OK, here is my last (for a while, I hope) post on the subject, along with an apology to OA:
    However, it does sound like someone at that event, someone with a Liberal Party connection, made some inflammatory statements — heck, even our pal Carolyn Parrish says so!
    http://relapsedcatholic.blogspot.com/2005/12/liberals-rally-behind-alghabra-my.html
    Oh, and I think I figured out what ticked off Chris. Come on, if you heard that an Italian who owned a “waste management company” was running for MP in Hamilton, you wouldn’t make a crack?
    Muslim engineers have a habit of being terrorists. Blame them for being terrorists, not me for pointing it out.
    That is it for me. Thanks for the forum Kate. I’m goin’ back to my own blog now. Folks can continue to send me info on this if they wish.

  42. It is a credit to Kathy, Kate, Lost Budgie and Furies that the story was reported and followed up on so diligently and so quickly. When have have we seen the MSM react as honestly and decisively? It is a credit to Blogging.

  43. TiGuy – you are clearly an idiot. If you couldn’t see that my post was a hypothetical example of the utter field day the blogosphere, and likely the MSM would have if a supporter of the CPC said something over the top at a nomination meeting, or heck, even a whistlestop appearance.
    For crying out loud, that’s what the Liberals and the MSM did to the CPC in the last election.
    I am sincerely ticked off at the sheer irresponsibility of disemminating this story without sniffing it first. The MSM media at least, has the virtue of being readily identifiable – and suable – when they make a gaffe.
    The story, as it was originally posted, appears to be factually false.
    As in a lie.

  44. Ron, he wasn’t misogynistic in the above remarks. He has been before in other comments, in my opinion, which is no less valid than him bizarrely claiming someone above called for the “extermination” of a group. Misogyny, btw, is a hatred of women, just in case you’re the one who doesn’t know.
    And who are you, an obvious leftist, to demand proof of TiGuy’s misogyny? Your own ilk never proves any of the illogical, horrible claims they make against conservatives, and the MSM lets you folks get away with it all the time. Why the double standard?
    Careful there, Ron. I’m prepared to discuss anything with you, no matter who you are. I suspect you may be more comfortable on the CBC, where I could be cut off just as I move in for the kill whereas they would let you take all the time you may need to finish your bullshitting.
    Kate, sorry to go o/t. I’ll let it rest at this.
    Interesting, btw, that Ron rhymes with Don, isn’t it?

  45. I wish C.S.’s mommy would confiscate his computer. What is this dope? Like 12, fat, and covered with acne?

  46. “It’s clear from this thread that the Liberals have staryed an anti-(conservative)blog campaign. People like like Ti-Guy, Ron & others…wonder if they’re being paid (directly or indirectly) from the public trough?
    Well, Libranos, I have news for you: no-one here is getting paid for their commentary, except for you!”
    Posted by: evilprinceweasel at December 22, 2005 04:09 AM
    And the reason for that is that most of you here wouldn’t be worth paying to do ANYTHING, let alone write! (based on your twisted logic and bared-teeth approach to discussion.) The people posting here in defense of reason are the ONLY ones talented enough to be paid.
    (btw, evilprinceweasel, what a perfect name you’ve chosen for yourself!)
    ps re: maz2. Take your meds before you hurt someone. You’re violently delusional. The hate oozes from you like pus.

  47. Every single Lefty, without fail, takes a shot at my name…sounds kind of like the Liberal Party method of attacking opposition candidates’ personae.
    That’s all you can do, all you ever have done.
    I also note that you haven’t denied my assertion; just deflected from the issue.
    Typical!

  48. Your “assertion” is absurd, no deflection necessary, evilprinceweasel. And it’s not your “personae” I’m attacking – it’s your, for lack of a better word, “intelligence”.
    (psst…I’m NOT a liberal.)

  49. You know what? I love our Canadian neo-cons. At least they let people comment openly.
    Courage people. The mediocrity and half-measures that Kate McMillan seems to think are at the root of Canada being such an appallingly unsatisfying country means that she, as well, will never be half the man Ann Coulter is.

  50. Well arthurdecco, the fellow who thinks Ahamadenijad the President of Iran has some valid points on the Jews, accuses someone of lacking intelligence. Arthurdecco, I know your game and I’m hear to shut down your credibility before you start your bring back Ernst Zundel campaign.

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