Fire at Buddhist temple in Scarborough

It's important not to jump to conclusions; however, given the tensions surrounding the situation in Sri Lanka, this story is worth noting.

From the Toronto Star (Scarborough fire related to Sri Lankan conflict, monk says by Madeleine White, May 16, 2009):

A Buddhist monk believes a suspected arson at a temple in Scarborough is related to the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka.

The fire sent three monks running for safety from the building on Kingston Rd. just south of Military Trail Rd., at about 4:30 a.m. after its east emergency entrance was found burning. Police and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office are investigating.

Nalaka, a resident monk, said he believes the incident is connected to the war in Sri Lanka. He also said the monks have been threatened in the last week.

The incident has caused upset across Toronto's Sinhalese community

Read the whole article.

See also:
If you support the Tamil Tigers, you support an evil cause

If you support the Tamil Tigers, you support an evil cause

Tiger flags on University Ave. Click to enlarge
[Update: Ramanan disagrees with my message. Read his comments here.]

On Monday I wrote a message in which I said "The Tamil cause is evil." A neighbour of mine whose ancestry is Tamil, but who doesn't support the Tigers, objected. Perhaps my first message wasn't clear, so let me try again.

The Tamil protesters who have been blocking traffic in Toronto claim the moral high ground. They say they have the right to disrupt the lives of other Torontonians because they are trying to draw attention to a "genocide" in Sri Lanka. Our civic leaders have responded by giving protesters the benefit of the doubt. Dalton McGuinty, for example, called on Torontonians to have patience because the demonstrators are worried about relatives in Sri Lanka.

I'm saying the demonstrators don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. While I accept that the protesters are concerned about people dying, I note they also support the Tamil Tigers - a group that Canada has officially declared a terrorist organization. And Canada is far from alone. Thirty-one other countries have banned the Tigers.

While the Sri Lankan government has a bad human rights record, the Tigers have a long history of deliberately killing non-combatants as part of a campaign of terror. They are terrorists not because they have an army, but because they go out of their way to murder civilians. They have a history of bombing public places that are not military targets. That's terrorism and it's evil.

Many people have remarked on the fact that the protesters in Toronto have been flying red flags with a Tiger emblem. They say the protesters are carrying terrorist flags. Tamil spokesmen deny this. They say the flag they carry symbolizes Tamil Eelam (an independent Tamil state) and not the Tigers. This is disingenuous at best. An outright lie at worst.

First, it's hard to believe that a flag with a roaring tiger surrounded by a halo of bullets does not symbolize the Tiger terrorist group. Are we to accept as a coincidence the fact the two flags are virtually identical? (The official Tiger flag also has the name Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam emblazoned below the Tiger symbol.)

Secondly and more importantly, the protesters are chanting "Tamil Tigers Freedom Fighters" and "Our glorious leader Prabhakaran." Velupillai Prabhakaran leads the Tigers. It's not just a few protesters chanting either. The organizers of the rallies are leading the people in these chants. These demonstrations which Torontonians are being asked to tolerate in the name of "human rights' are an open show support for a terrorist group. If you support a terrorist organization, you support an evil cause.

Do all Tamils in Toronto support the Tigers? No. Are Tamil civilians dying in the war zone? Yes, they are. But who is responsible? I am not there, but there are reports that the civilians are being held hostage by the Tigers who shoot people who try to flee. The protesters ask Canadians to take on faith that their concerns are humanitarian. However, their support for an outlawed terrorist organization calls that claim into question.

I repeat what I said in my previous message. It's not enough for civic leaders to tell the protesters to stop blocking the road. They should also condemn the protests for what they represent. I am not saying the authorities should ban lawful protest, (i.e. protest that doesn't block roads and highways) but politicians should stop showing so much understanding. Instead of rewarding, the protesters our leaders should say, if you support the Tamil Tigers you are showing contempt for Canada's civic values. You are spitting in the eye of the country that granted you (or your parents) refuge.

The Tamil cause is evil

Portrait of terrorist leader Vellupilai Prabhakaran carried by Tamil protesters on University Avenue

[Update: It's been suggested this post needs a better headline. Fine. Here it is: If you support the Tamil Tigers, you support an evil cause]

[Update: The National Post's Jonathan Kay has an article describing how the Tamil Tigers murdered a moderate Tamil politician by the name of Neelan Tiruchelvam. Read it here.]

I'm too busy to post as much as I would like about the Tamil protests that first blocked University Avenue and more recently the Gardiner expressway. However, I would like to make a short comment.

I hear a lot of people saying they sympathize with the Tamil protesters but they object to the methods used. I hear civic leaders saying blockading roads and highways is counterproductive. That may well be, but the methods used by the protesters aren't the only problem. The Tamil cause itself is evil.

I work downtown and every day I go by the protesters who were on University and are now at Queen's Park. I've heard the organizers lead people in chants of "Tamil Tigers Freedom Fighters" and "Our Glorious Leader Prabhakaran." I've seen the terrorist flags the protesters are waving and as well as the portraits of Velupillai Prabhakaran.

These are demonstrations in favour of terrorism and they should be unequivocably condemned even if the protesters were law-abiding, which they are not.

Welcome to the new Canada where multiculturalism means flying terrorist flags while stopping other people from going to work

Click to enlarge - More pictures here[Update: Tamil protesters moved off University Ave.]

As everyone in Toronto already knows, Tamil protesters have been blocking traffic on University Avenue for three days now. Yesterday there were clashes with police who made some arrests. Among the chants I heard when I went downtown yesterday afternoon were "Tamil Tigers - Freedom Fighters".

Right.

These are freedom fighters who kidnap children to use as frontline soldiers in a separatist war. These are freedom fighters who use extortion and other crimes to fund suicide bombings and other acts of murder.

Not that the Sri Lankan government is any better. It was Sinhalese chauvinism that started this mess in the first place.

Unfortunately, the approaching military defeat of the Tigers in Sri Lanka won't mean the end of Tamil terrorism in Canada. The Tigers will continue to exist. They will continue to raise money illegally. They will continue to teach Tamil children that their first loyalty is to murderous thugs on the other side of the globe.

People sometimes say immigration and multiculturalism have created a new Canada. That's certainly true. Welcome to the new Canada, where supporters of a foreign terrorist organization don't think twice about displaying terrorist symbols while occupying a major street in the country's largest city.

Welcome to the new Canada where police are afraid to clear the road because they know if they do, they will be called racists by the Barbara Halls of this world.

Speaking of which, isn't flying a terrorist flag somewhat you know, err, what's the word ... hateful? Why aren't these protesters being hauled before the human rights commission to explain their open display of hatred towards the Sinhalese? Why is the board missing out on this chance to invent a new crime? Why it could even coin a new word to join the growing list of phobic neologisms: homophobia, Islamophobia, Sinhalophobia. And speaking of words, what do we call citizens of one country who openly display loyalty to a foreign government or in this case foreign terrorist group?

More protest pictures here.

Please support Vdare (and Immigration Watch Canada)

Even though I haven't posted regularly for over a year, people are still coming to this blog. Readers come for different reasons, but I assume most of you are here because you care about immigration. If you think Canada needs to reduce its immigration levels, I urge you to support Vdare. Although Vdare is an American site that focuses on America's immigration disaster, it also covers Canada, largely because its founder Peter Brimelow used to live here and has a better understanding of our country than most Canadian analysts. Just to be clear, when I say support Vdare, I mean GIVE MONEY. Another group that deserves support is Immigration Watch Canada. If you want to help their fight to bring some sanity to Canadian immigration policy, go here. Consider it an investment in Canada's future.

Ottawa ignored predictions high immigration would lower Income growth. Canadians have paid the price

From Immigration Watch Canada's April 9th bulletin:

John Meyer, a Canadian businessman and a past-president of Zero Population Growth, is the author of the article ("Immigration To Canada Now That We've Grown") featured in this bulletin.

Mr. Meyer's observations are particularly relevant in this deepening recession :

(1) In the 1970's, it was predicted that higher rates of immigration would lower per capita income growth. Recent OECD stats on this issue show that Canada has under-performed every other OECD country and that the prediction has come true. High immigration to do the so-called "dirty low paid jobs that Canadians reject" was a clear attempt to expand and perpetuate low-paying work.

(2 The move to raise immigration even higher is a "smoke stack era policy" which ignores social and environmental effects. High immigration makes environmental goals, such as a commitment to Kyoto, worthless.

(3 Creating millions of low-paying workers means creating a group which contributes minimally to our tax pool. This makes it impossible for Canada to both balance budgets and maintain full social programs.

(4) The impact of mass immigration on deficits and the environment has never been officially calculated. High immigration supporters such as cheap labour employers (supported by huge indirect subsidies) and land speculators lobby our governments to keep things that way. Canada, now likely a net food importer, has moved from feeding the world to consuming the world.

(5) Canada's accounting system remains cash-flow based. It values negative things such as sitting in traffic and paving farmland because these activities increase paid activity. Our GDP does not present a true picture because it fails to measure much more important factors in our economy.

(6) Canada needs to advance to a real-wealth accounting system which values environmental assets and considers the true and total effects of high immigration. Our current system hides all these negative effects and allows Canada's immigration lobby to control immigration policy. We do not permit the tobacco industry to write health legislation. We should not allow the immigration lobby to control immigration policy.

(7) "Knowing what we are measuring , looking down the road and developing integrated policies are core competencies for a democratic government--as is keeping a full set of books." Canada does not have any of these "core competencies" in place.

Read the whole bulletin

An excellent resource: Immigration Watch Canada

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog, but I'm still here and I'm still thinking about immigration. I see no reason to change my opinion that Canada's current immigration policies are a disaster. I plan to resume this blog, but I don't know when. In the meantime I would like to remind visitors that Immigration Watch Canada is an excellent resource for learning more about immigration policy. Also, please read, and just as important, support Peter Brimelow's website Vdare. Be sure to visit the blog. Even though Vdare is an American site, it often publishes articles about Canada. Just put Canada into the site's search engine. Furthermore, although Canadian and American immigration problems are different, there are enough similarities for the American articles to be of interest to Canadians.