If it’s apparently ok to disrupt and bring to a halt public services and infrastructure for the purpose of “being heard” and getting politicians to do what we want, then…
Hey! Let’s all have protests like the Tamils did!
We’ve got LOTS of perfectly legitimate grievances, but no one seems to be listening.
Therefore, we’re desperate. We need a last resort.
Hey! I got it! Let’s shut down major roadways and occupy other peoples’ land and homes!
Yeah! That’ll do it!
The police don’t give a crap. They’ll just stand around eating donuts or whatever.
Right?
Oh, crap… you gotta be “special” in order to get away with that stuff…
What to do then???
Who cares about us un-special people anyway?
You know the lieberal media wants to make the issue of racism about the Tamil Tigers protest. I noticed that the questions were not how come the ‘LTTE’ was using the Tamil’s as human shields and why they are backing a terrorist group. Sri Lanka had them backed in 10km² with the sea at their back. I’m personally hoping that they have boats in sea to pick off the ones who decide to escape by swimming for freedom. You can bet they will take at least a suicide vest with them. The Sri Lanka soldiers can always tell ‘UN’ they blowed up real good.
What is this farm protest crap?
I have worked in downtown Toronto for over 2 decades, most of those right next door to the U.S. Consulate. I’ve seen pretty much everything that’s gone on up and down University Avenue as well as at Queen’s Park, and NOTHING comes even close to the disruptions that have gone on with these Tamil protests.
“If you don’t like being told to ‘go back to where you came from’ , then don’t conduct your protests under a foreign flag.”
Posted by Kate at May 14, 2009 4:03 PM
Exactly !!!
Well said, Kate.
If it were thousands of German immigrants doing the same thing and we criticized them, would Lorrie be calling us racists?
Makes no difference to me what colour these protestors’ skin is or how their English is accented.
This is kinda like being called a racist because you do not support Obama.
Ridiculous. Lorrie’s way off base on this one.
This would be nothing more than a dumb, forgettable and sadly typical article if not for the name of the author.
Did Lorrie drink the same think as Peter MacKay?
CANADA PENSION – A Must Read. Only in Canada . Do not apply for your old age pension… Apply to be a refugee. It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1, 890.00 and each can get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2, 470.00. This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 or 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1, 012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Furthermore if you had the wisdom to have a RRSP and made other income generating investments you may have earned the right to receive nothing from the Federal Government as they claw your Old Age Pension back because in their opinion you do not need it!!!!! Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Let’s send this thought to as many Canadians as we can and maybe we can Get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470.00, So they can enjoy the money they were forced to submit to the Canadian government for those 40 to 50 years. Just a thought..
I wouldn’t be too concerned. The Toronto Sun today is a pale imitation of the original and must be really bleeding because until lately it consisted mostly of wall to wall car ads from manufacturers and local franchise dealers with AP news snippets jammed where they could fit.
McClelland in typical fashion said: “So the next time there’s a pro Israel rally-…-I can scream at them, “go back to where you came from.”
Well,
1) if they’re blocking a major highway,
2) with their own kids,
and
3) if Israel has been declared a terrorist organization,
and
4) if they’re all busily sending money back to terrorists in the old country,
and
5) if they’re actually -from- Israel,
then sure Rubert, knock yourself out. Kind of rude, but then that’s normal for you.
Personally I have no objection if people want to go back to the old country and fight their battles. I just don’t like it when they fight the battle on the Gardiner Expressway.
Don’t even try to pretend that wasn’t a Tiger demonstration. Their frickin’ flag was all over it.
Since you mentioned Randy Hillier, I’d be quite happy if the Tiger demonstrators were treated the same as the farm demonstrators. They weren’t. OPP wrote tickets to the non-violent farmers, they didn’t write jack for the Tigers who did indeed punch out some cops.
Go back to your bog where people have short memories and think you’re clever.
John
me thinks you just loaded the protest gun, lets gather and block the runways at pearson international airport:-)))))
Phantom said “..they didn’t write jack for the Tigers who did indeed punch out some cops.”
As soon as you let people start pushing around the police with no payback then the police will stop trying to fix problems. That’s when they start doing the FIDO approach to crime. (F*k it drive on) Which they do on a regular basis in Toronto.
Lorrie really blew it on this one. He’s usually a stand-up guy on things like this. Maybe the princess has a Tamil in the woodpile.
Wow. 99% of the time I’m completely behind Lorrie. Methinks he’s fallen an smacked his head badly on this one though!!! I sent him this. It’s another aspect which I haven’t seen discussed by the media or even disclosed who is to BLAME for what’s happening to the Tamils in Sri Lanka right now.
**********
Just a note regarding an aspect of the TamTiger mess which I heard form an “involved” party and one which has not made the news or been the subject of any discussion.
With the rather massive influx of Tamils over the last decade came increased fund raising efforts for the ongoing separatist movement back home. Canadian largesse is well known. Large amounts of money suddenly became available to the Tamil Tigers. As such Tamil Tigers, with newly bought and much more advanced weapons financed by mostly Canadian fund raising efforts, became a MUCH bigger threat to the Sri Lankan government, military and general population. In effect the Tigers’ fund raising efforts HERE is what prompted the Sri Lankan government to act with way more force than we have ever seen before. Their new weapons were a much bigger threat but Canadian reaction as well as Tamil protests did not begin until after the Sri Lankan government / military cracked down on the new threat. The Tamils were rarely criticized in their terrorist attacks on SriLankan government, police and military targets in SriLanka – only when the retaliation began was Canada supposed to “do something.”
In effect Canada and the Tigers are directly responsible for the sheet-storm that’s descended on them. Not saying it justifies the atrocities and attacks on the civilians … just saying the actions by the SriLankan government is not without provocation.
I didn’t read the comments…yet.
I have my own opinion, and I don ‘t want it diluted by sane people.
When does “run over a Tamil” day start? Too bad I live so far from Gardiner and York, or whatever intersection the protesters were at.
Nothing beats giving a plackard carying ingrate, my well fueled 250+ horsepower feedback!!
In a nutshell, the issue here is that there’s one law for the newly minted, two-passport, multicultural, visible-minority, sometime-citizen, immigrant group (the police mostly back off) and another for the rest of us who’ve built this country into the democracy it is — and the envy of the rest of the world, the REASON why all of these immigrants want to come to Canada.
The great irony — tragedy, if you will — is that the goose that lays the golden eggs is being slain. Soon there won’t be a goose and there sure as heck won’t be many more golden eggs.
As a sixth-generation, one-passport Canadian whose grandfathers and father risked their lives fighting in WWI and WWII, to ensure the democratic freedoms we enjoy here in Canada, I’m sick at heart and mad as H*ll that sometime-citizen immigrants are hijacking our democracy — and that our governments (that would be municipal and provincial), our judiciary, and our policing agencies are allowing them to walk all over us.
If stating these concerns is racist, Mr. Goldstein, then there’s something wrong with your racist metre.
Correction to above: … there’s something wrong with your racism metre.
“Correction to above: … there’s something wrong with your racism metre.
Posted by: batb at May 15, 2009 7:40 AM ”
Tut,tut. There ya go,batb.Being all racist yourself! How dare you spell “meter” using that old spelling of the horrible,colonizing,racist British!! /sarc off.
Never ascribe to “racism” what can simply be explained as Canadian’s petulance over the ill temper and misdirected indignation of new Canadians.
The place to protest Sri Lankan government is in Sri Lanka or the Sri Lankan embassy. The party to pressure for social change in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan parliament. Tamils are insulting Canadians if they think Canadians are unmoved by the strife in that nation, however real change in Sri Lanka will only come from Sri Lankans, not Canadians.
I don’t think Lorri’s point was that people are racists for objecting to the Tamil protests. It was the language being used in the objections. If you’re read the posts on the Sun Media websites some of them are pretty awful.
I’d like to think that when people get frustrated or angry the lash out in a way that they believe will hurt the people they are lashing out at the most. Calling a black person the “n” word or a homosexual a fag or an overweight person a fat cow, that sort of thing
The intention is to be hurtful, not racist.
But, hey what do I know, I’m a middle aged white guy.
Warwick,
We can at least say you’re an idiot for talking about the Rwandan genocide without knowing the facts. It was Hutus who massacred Tutsi and Hutu moderates.
What we have here is another example of the culmination of Trudopianism. First you infiltrate the LPC as a moderate progressive. Then you use federal power to destroy whatever traditions and customs present that interfere with your socialist agenda. Then you subvert the immigration process by declaring the country as a safe haven for all flotsam and jetsam of the world by opening the nation’s doors to “refugees”. (regular immigrants can take a number especially if they are caucasian) Offer full welfare state privileges to refugees and allow them to “patriate” their families. Instead of integrating refugees into the pre-existing culture which you have already destroyed allow them to cluster in large metropolitan areas in culturally segregated communities calling it “multiculturalism”. Confer rights and freedoms on refugees as well as anyone else able to swim to our shores throught the Charter. Have your toadies in academia and the media declare you as one of the best Prime Ministers the country ever had.
BTW: Woodporter has it exactly right.
john, can i go to flordia for a couple of years, not pay taxes in the u.s. and then come back as a refugee?
i had a couple of emails back and forth with lorrie and man he is not there on this one. i don’t know why. i just did not reply after the third. he usually does not carry on a direct discussion of a column.
Kate, I noticed a lot of Israeli flags at those counterprotests you attended during the Gaza War.
If it’s apparently ok to disrupt and bring to a halt public services and infrastructure for the purpose of “being heard” and getting politicians to do what we want, then…
Hey! Let’s all have protests like the Tamils did!
We’ve got LOTS of perfectly legitimate grievances, but no one seems to be listening.
Therefore, we’re desperate. We need a last resort.
Hey! I got it! Let’s shut down major roadways and occupy other peoples’ land and homes!
Yeah! That’ll do it!
The police don’t give a crap. They’ll just stand around eating donuts or whatever.
Right?
Oh, crap… you gotta be “special” in order to get away with that stuff…
What to do then???
Who cares about us un-special people anyway?
You know the lieberal media wants to make the issue of racism about the Tamil Tigers protest. I noticed that the questions were not how come the ‘LTTE’ was using the Tamil’s as human shields and why they are backing a terrorist group. Sri Lanka had them backed in 10km² with the sea at their back. I’m personally hoping that they have boats in sea to pick off the ones who decide to escape by swimming for freedom. You can bet they will take at least a suicide vest with them. The Sri Lanka soldiers can always tell ‘UN’ they blowed up real good.
What is this farm protest crap?
I have worked in downtown Toronto for over 2 decades, most of those right next door to the U.S. Consulate. I’ve seen pretty much everything that’s gone on up and down University Avenue as well as at Queen’s Park, and NOTHING comes even close to the disruptions that have gone on with these Tamil protests.
“If you don’t like being told to ‘go back to where you came from’ , then don’t conduct your protests under a foreign flag.”
Posted by Kate at May 14, 2009 4:03 PM
Exactly !!!
Well said, Kate.
If it were thousands of German immigrants doing the same thing and we criticized them, would Lorrie be calling us racists?
Makes no difference to me what colour these protestors’ skin is or how their English is accented.
This is kinda like being called a racist because you do not support Obama.
Ridiculous. Lorrie’s way off base on this one.
This would be nothing more than a dumb, forgettable and sadly typical article if not for the name of the author.
Did Lorrie drink the same think as Peter MacKay?
CANADA PENSION – A Must Read. Only in Canada . Do not apply for your old age pension… Apply to be a refugee. It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1, 890.00 and each can get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2, 470.00. This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 or 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1, 012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Furthermore if you had the wisdom to have a RRSP and made other income generating investments you may have earned the right to receive nothing from the Federal Government as they claw your Old Age Pension back because in their opinion you do not need it!!!!! Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Let’s send this thought to as many Canadians as we can and maybe we can Get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470.00, So they can enjoy the money they were forced to submit to the Canadian government for those 40 to 50 years. Just a thought..
I wouldn’t be too concerned. The Toronto Sun today is a pale imitation of the original and must be really bleeding because until lately it consisted mostly of wall to wall car ads from manufacturers and local franchise dealers with AP news snippets jammed where they could fit.
McClelland in typical fashion said: “So the next time there’s a pro Israel rally-…-I can scream at them, “go back to where you came from.”
Well,
1) if they’re blocking a major highway,
2) with their own kids,
and
3) if Israel has been declared a terrorist organization,
and
4) if they’re all busily sending money back to terrorists in the old country,
and
5) if they’re actually -from- Israel,
then sure Rubert, knock yourself out. Kind of rude, but then that’s normal for you.
Personally I have no objection if people want to go back to the old country and fight their battles. I just don’t like it when they fight the battle on the Gardiner Expressway.
Don’t even try to pretend that wasn’t a Tiger demonstration. Their frickin’ flag was all over it.
Since you mentioned Randy Hillier, I’d be quite happy if the Tiger demonstrators were treated the same as the farm demonstrators. They weren’t. OPP wrote tickets to the non-violent farmers, they didn’t write jack for the Tigers who did indeed punch out some cops.
Go back to your bog where people have short memories and think you’re clever.
John
me thinks you just loaded the protest gun, lets gather and block the runways at pearson international airport:-)))))
Phantom said “..they didn’t write jack for the Tigers who did indeed punch out some cops.”
As soon as you let people start pushing around the police with no payback then the police will stop trying to fix problems. That’s when they start doing the FIDO approach to crime. (F*k it drive on) Which they do on a regular basis in Toronto.
Lorrie really blew it on this one. He’s usually a stand-up guy on things like this. Maybe the princess has a Tamil in the woodpile.
Wow. 99% of the time I’m completely behind Lorrie. Methinks he’s fallen an smacked his head badly on this one though!!! I sent him this. It’s another aspect which I haven’t seen discussed by the media or even disclosed who is to BLAME for what’s happening to the Tamils in Sri Lanka right now.
**********
Just a note regarding an aspect of the TamTiger mess which I heard form an “involved” party and one which has not made the news or been the subject of any discussion.
With the rather massive influx of Tamils over the last decade came increased fund raising efforts for the ongoing separatist movement back home. Canadian largesse is well known. Large amounts of money suddenly became available to the Tamil Tigers. As such Tamil Tigers, with newly bought and much more advanced weapons financed by mostly Canadian fund raising efforts, became a MUCH bigger threat to the Sri Lankan government, military and general population. In effect the Tigers’ fund raising efforts HERE is what prompted the Sri Lankan government to act with way more force than we have ever seen before. Their new weapons were a much bigger threat but Canadian reaction as well as Tamil protests did not begin until after the Sri Lankan government / military cracked down on the new threat. The Tamils were rarely criticized in their terrorist attacks on SriLankan government, police and military targets in SriLanka – only when the retaliation began was Canada supposed to “do something.”
In effect Canada and the Tigers are directly responsible for the sheet-storm that’s descended on them. Not saying it justifies the atrocities and attacks on the civilians … just saying the actions by the SriLankan government is not without provocation.
I didn’t read the comments…yet.
I have my own opinion, and I don ‘t want it diluted by sane people.
When does “run over a Tamil” day start? Too bad I live so far from Gardiner and York, or whatever intersection the protesters were at.
Nothing beats giving a plackard carying ingrate, my well fueled 250+ horsepower feedback!!
In a nutshell, the issue here is that there’s one law for the newly minted, two-passport, multicultural, visible-minority, sometime-citizen, immigrant group (the police mostly back off) and another for the rest of us who’ve built this country into the democracy it is — and the envy of the rest of the world, the REASON why all of these immigrants want to come to Canada.
The great irony — tragedy, if you will — is that the goose that lays the golden eggs is being slain. Soon there won’t be a goose and there sure as heck won’t be many more golden eggs.
As a sixth-generation, one-passport Canadian whose grandfathers and father risked their lives fighting in WWI and WWII, to ensure the democratic freedoms we enjoy here in Canada, I’m sick at heart and mad as H*ll that sometime-citizen immigrants are hijacking our democracy — and that our governments (that would be municipal and provincial), our judiciary, and our policing agencies are allowing them to walk all over us.
If stating these concerns is racist, Mr. Goldstein, then there’s something wrong with your racist metre.
Correction to above: … there’s something wrong with your racism metre.
“Correction to above: … there’s something wrong with your racism metre.
Posted by: batb at May 15, 2009 7:40 AM ”
Tut,tut. There ya go,batb.Being all racist yourself! How dare you spell “meter” using that old spelling of the horrible,colonizing,racist British!! /sarc off.
Oh, oh. It looks like Lorrie’s going to have to appear as a HRC witness against Peter Worthington for this thought crime:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/peter_worthington/2009/05/15/9464696-sun.html
Never ascribe to “racism” what can simply be explained as Canadian’s petulance over the ill temper and misdirected indignation of new Canadians.
The place to protest Sri Lankan government is in Sri Lanka or the Sri Lankan embassy. The party to pressure for social change in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan parliament. Tamils are insulting Canadians if they think Canadians are unmoved by the strife in that nation, however real change in Sri Lanka will only come from Sri Lankans, not Canadians.
I don’t think Lorri’s point was that people are racists for objecting to the Tamil protests. It was the language being used in the objections. If you’re read the posts on the Sun Media websites some of them are pretty awful.
I’d like to think that when people get frustrated or angry the lash out in a way that they believe will hurt the people they are lashing out at the most. Calling a black person the “n” word or a homosexual a fag or an overweight person a fat cow, that sort of thing
The intention is to be hurtful, not racist.
But, hey what do I know, I’m a middle aged white guy.
Warwick,
We can at least say you’re an idiot for talking about the Rwandan genocide without knowing the facts. It was Hutus who massacred Tutsi and Hutu moderates.
What we have here is another example of the culmination of Trudopianism. First you infiltrate the LPC as a moderate progressive. Then you use federal power to destroy whatever traditions and customs present that interfere with your socialist agenda. Then you subvert the immigration process by declaring the country as a safe haven for all flotsam and jetsam of the world by opening the nation’s doors to “refugees”. (regular immigrants can take a number especially if they are caucasian) Offer full welfare state privileges to refugees and allow them to “patriate” their families. Instead of integrating refugees into the pre-existing culture which you have already destroyed allow them to cluster in large metropolitan areas in culturally segregated communities calling it “multiculturalism”. Confer rights and freedoms on refugees as well as anyone else able to swim to our shores throught the Charter. Have your toadies in academia and the media declare you as one of the best Prime Ministers the country ever had.
BTW: Woodporter has it exactly right.
john, can i go to flordia for a couple of years, not pay taxes in the u.s. and then come back as a refugee?
i had a couple of emails back and forth with lorrie and man he is not there on this one. i don’t know why. i just did not reply after the third. he usually does not carry on a direct discussion of a column.
Kate, I noticed a lot of Israeli flags at those counterprotests you attended during the Gaza War.