National Security Law

Since the National Security Law came into effect, Hong Kong is no longer a freewheeling spy center of the world. Domestic and foreign anti-China forces in HK can no longer 'freely' operate and make troubles and chaos to separate HK from China. __________________________________________________ The year-long US led political riots and color revolution against China almost destroyed HK. The 'One Country Two Systems' has survived, but the wishful thinking to turn China and HK into 'Two Countries Two Systems' has failed. __________________________________________________ Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China. It was all anti-China political BS to deny this fact. It was futile trying to make HK independent. It would and did fail. __________________________________________________ Cancellation or suspension of extradition agreements by some countries with HK is not surprising. Nor is it surprising that the National Security Law came into effect. Certainly the anti-China separatists and foreign spies don't like it, but there are millions of Hongkongers who cheered and celebrated that the Chinese Government has finally come to their rescue. They have had enough of the violent, destructive and terrifying riots. Law and order are being restored. They now feel safe to wave the China flag and sing China's national anthem without fear of being beaten up by the anti-China thugs and separatists. __________________________________________________ Beware that the National Security Law has taken away one's 'freedom' to commit serious crimes of secession, sedition, terrorism, and collusion with external powers to endanger the security of HK, China. Freedom is not absolute and unlimited. It doesn't include the 'freedom' to commit a crime without paying for the consequence. __________________________________________________ All countries have national security laws. The US has more than 20 such legislations. Yet China may not pass a national security law to protect the sovereignty and security of China including HK which is part of China? Why only talk about some 20 plus Western countries against this National Security Law but ignore some 50 plus countries at UN which support it? What right do foreign countries have to tell a country, in this case China, not to pass a national security law to protect itself? Can I tell you to leave your doors wide open to 'freely' let the strangers, thieves, burglars, spies and criminals of all kinds come into your home? Peace! __________________________________________________ Edi Lee for Peace *** Fast Edi Thoughts and Comments

Middle East

Breaking news: Saudi Arabia cuts diplomatic ties with Iran. Bad Bad Bad ... Middle East is a mess !!!

Omar Khadr versus Stephen Harper

Omar Khadr is free on bail. Thumbs up to his lawyer Dennis Edney ! The argument of Stephen Harper's Government that setting Omar free would hurt U.S. and Canada relation has been rejected by the Court.

Examples are plenty, that Stephen Harper's get-tough-approach didn't seem to respect and care about Canada's constitution and judicial system, international laws, and the UN Charter. Our prime minister seems to be just following, copying, obeying and taking orders from Uncle Sam. He seems to have been Americanizing and militarizing Canada. He has made Canada join the American Fighting and Killing Club, whose war hawk leaders seem to have a never ending agenda for fighting, killing and wars. Canada under Stephen Harper's rule is not the same Canada of peace and peacekeeping that we used to know. Sometimes I wonder if Stephen Harper is a closet dictator and would-be war hawk, or what ?     

In the case of Omar Khadr, Stephen Harper's approach is typically an American macho-man approach, with little Canadian compassion and sensitivity. Omar was a child soldier. He was only 15 years old when he allegedly killed an American soldier in Afghanistan. Even if he did kill an American soldier, he was still only a child. He was labelled as a terrorist and illegal combatant by Uncle Sam, and certainly Stephen Harper concurred.   

This case of Omar Khadr smells strongly American, not Canadian. Stephen Harper had chosen not to seek extradition or repatriation, despite the urging of Amnesty International, UNICEF, the Canadian Bar Association, the Federal Court of Canada and other prominent organizations. What does this tell you about Stephen Harper and his not-so-Canadian way of treating Omar? Did all these respectable recommendations matter to him at all? Was pleasing Uncle Sam more important than everything else?

Omar's lawyer Dennis Edney accused Stephen Harper of being a bigot, but I won't go that far. However, I do feel that under Harper's Government, it seems that Canada no longer treats its citizens equally. In a few cases, Stephen Harper seemed to be biased and selective, in deciding which Canadian citizens to protect, and which just to ignore, when they got into troubles in foreign lands and needed help.  

There are 2 undeniable facts about the case of Omar Khadr: (1) Omar was a 15 years old child soldier. Calling him a terrorist or illegal combatant did not change the fact that he was only a minor at the time, and (2) Guantanamo Detention Center in Cuba was the hell hole and military base outside the legal system of Uncle Sam, where Omar was imprisoned, tortured and grew up. 

Regarding democracy, freedom, human rights and international laws, Guantanamo is a shame of Uncle Sam. Didn't Obama promise he would close it down in his first year of presidency ? ( please read my blog of Dec.16, 2013 titled Guantanamo Prison ). Omar said the plea agreement that he signed was completely created by the U.S. Government, and that he signed it only to escape the continued abuse and torture at Guantanamo Bay.

This case of Omar Khadr is not over yet. The story goes on, hopefully with positive development, and not with any more political interference.  

Stephen Harper's Canada

First and foremost, I don't belong to any political party in Canada or anywhere. I don't blindly take side with one political party against another political party. I look at the issues and concerns rationally, and see how our leaders deal with them. Basically, I am a pacifist. I am pro-peace and anti-war. I am pro-diplomacy and anti-destruction. I am pro-negotiation and anti-nuke. I am pro-freedom and anti-fear. 

I am a Canadian. I love Canada, even the whole world. I am very concerned about the Harper Government's domestic and foreign policies. To put it bluntly, I don't like them. But do I still respect Stephen Harper? Yes, he is our prime minister. He is not all bad. Is he a good politician? Yes, he is. Is he a great statesman? No. 

Today's Canada is not the Canada that I used to know. Sad to see that Stephen Harper has joined the U.S. led Fighting and Killing Club.It is my opinion that Canada must not go into Syria to strike ISIS. However bad you think Syria is, it is a sovereign country. Call it a dictatorship, evil empire, or whatever, it is a sovereign country. Without the support of the Syrian Government,  it just doesn't make any legal and diplomatic sense, to go into Syria to fight ISIS or do whatever. Does Syria post a direct threat to Canada? No. Even if it does, the Canadian Parliament must first approve a declaration of war against Syria, before Canada should go into Syria. Have we learned anything at all from 911 and the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq? Had there not been an Iraq War, there would not even have been ISIS. Do international law and the U.N.Charter mean anything at all ?    

Canada used to stand for Peace and Peace Keeping. What is Canada now becoming ? Now that oil price has dropped drastically, Harper and his gang can no longer boast that Canada is a super oil power. Alberta is moaning. Sorry, no more easy oil money! I feel very sad that Harper is turning Canada into a militarized and war-oriented country. 

I despise politicians who use moral justification in their military actions, to order the fighting of evil with evil, and killing of other human beings, including the innocent, all in the name of god and religion. Adding religion to politics only makes it stink even more.To me, war is the worst kind of organized crime. There is no true honor in killing innocent people, whether they are your enemies or your own countrymen. Can you tell me any war which was not messy, in which there was absolutely no injury or death of the civilians? You can't. Want to talk about moral high ground ? How about Thou Shalt Not Kill ? How about Love your neighbor ? How about Love your enemy ? So many religious and political hypocrites !!! 

Regarding fighting ISIS, I do not favor the military involvement of Canada. I support any humanitarian work, such as helping the refugees and displaced people, which Canada is very good at. I would like to see Canada return to its old peaceful way. Improving homeland security should focus on home soil, not by fighting and killing in foreign lands far away. Again, have we learned from 911 and the U.S. illegal invasion of Iraq? Don't tell me that you don't understand the difference between Defense and Invasion. To defend your country, you must focus on your homeland and its border, not by invading another country or engaging in fighting and killing people far away from home. 

In the past, if you held a Canadian passport, you would be welcome everywhere in the world. After 911, some American travelers pretended to be Canadians, to avoid being targets of the terrorists. Today, the terrorists treat Canadians the same as Americans. Why? Please do some thinking yourself and you will find the answer.

I love Canada, but not Harper's Canada. As said earlier, I don't belong to any political party, but I am hoping that Stephen Harper will not be re-elected in the upcoming election. But there is a good chance that I will be disappointed. He may win again!     
 

Unity Rally In Paris

Je suis Charlie. Où est Obama?

Unity ? The world leaders were not even with the crowds. They only had a Photo Op holding hands at a separate location. A good number of these world leaders showed support to freedom of speech in France, while banning or censoring free speech in their own countries, even harassing journalists and putting them to jail.

This is my guess why Obama did not attend this so-called Unity March: 

The world of Islam is huge. There are billions of Muslims just as there are billions of Christians in this world. The Muslim World is not only one small country like North Korea that Obama could easily pick on. Obama himself has a Muslim family background and spent some childhood years living in Indonesia, the country with a very large Muslim population. Some people even believe that Obama is a closet Muslim, although he claims that he is a Christian. 

The point I want to make is this: Obama understands that one may not create an image or picture of Mohammed, the Muslims' prophet. While freedom of speech is a fundamental right available in most countries in the West, creating an image or picture of prophet Mohammed is an unforgivable blasphemy to the Muslims. Obama is not a stupid man. I believe he decided not to attend the rally. Had he gone to attend the freedom of speech rally in Paris, that would have offended the Muslim world, and be seen taking side with France and the West against Islam and  the Muslims in the world. Instead, he just sent his spokesperson to issue sort of an apology or excuse afterwards. Well, it is only my guess. 

All said, it is my opinion that all violence, killing, war and terrorism are wrong. Love and Peace are always right. Unfortunately, in the name of God, Religion, Democracy, Nationalism, or Whatever, some people would justify the use of violence, killing, war and terrorism. And then some others who are against terrorism are ironically terrorists themselves. Oh, so much hypocrisy, so much failure ! Yes, we still live in a messy and 'uncivilized' world ! What do you think ? 

Shooting in Ottawa

However you thought regarding the shooting on Parliament Hill, that it was a crime, an act of terrorism, a war with ISIS on home soil, a crazy act of religious extremism carried out by a radicalized Zehal-Bisbeau, or whatever, October 22, 2014 was definitely not an ordinary day.  

By now, we know that the fallen soldier was Nathan Cirillo. Condolences to his family and loved ones !  Thanks to Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Canadian Parliament, Zehal-Bisbeau was taken out. Kevin is hailed as a national hero of Canada.

It could have been much worse, as it happened not only outside, but also inside the Parliament of Canada. This tragic incident is a wake up call for Canada, that it is not immune to this kind of crazy shooting, which would and did happen in the U.S. and other countries. New security measures should be discussed and implemented by the Government of Canada, especially to protect the Parliament, which is the heart of Canadian democracy and the central work place of the Canadian Government leaders.

I was impressed by what I saw, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper walked over to shake hands with and embrace the opposition leaders Justin Trudeau and Tom Mulcair. That was so Canadian, so civilized, so ministerial. Thumbs up this time to Harper!        

A Canadian song of the Great Big Sea comes to mind. It is called Ordinary Day. Certainly, as said earlier, October 22, 2014 was definitely not an ordinary day. However, the song lyrics still provide some good advice, which said " At the end of the day, you've just got to say it's all right."  It's all right, Canada. Let's move on ! 

Nine One One

Today is the 13th anniversary of 911. Is the U.S. and the world getting safer and better ?

Peeping Sam

In the news, Uncle Sam spies on not only his own American citizens, but also the citizens and countries of the whole world. The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) spies on everyone: its own citizens, foreigners, friends and enemies, the European Union (EU), even the United Nations (UN) and more than 80 embassies and consulates.You are not a terrorist, fine, but Uncle Sam can still be watching you anyway. Does Uncle Sam care about people's privacy and international law at all? I remember an old joke question,"What do you call a Chinese spy?" The answer is "Peking Tom". It gives way to my question, which is not quite a joke, "What do you call an American spy?" The answer is "Peeping Sam".