Canada’s No-fly list -- A False Sense of Security

terrorist, no fly list, Canada, civil liberties, flight, UPS

This is based on a close review of the U.S. experience as well as the plight of individuals who are already encountering difficulties in flying within Canada without Ottawa even having an official list of our own yet. The extraterritorial application of U.S. watch lists is already impacting us; how will we fare once we have our own list interacting with, confirming and/or merging with other lists? Hasty and ill-considered national security initiatives, which are essentially aimed at managing public perceptions more than they are in really addressing legitimate and manageable security concerns, will not move us forward in the fight to disrupt terrorism. It will only complicate the lives of innocent Canadians and increase the opportunity for religious and racial profiling. No matter how vigorously it is denied, racial/religious profiling is too often the reality for a growing number among Canada's Muslim and Arab communities and certainly in the national security context. The experience of many Canadians who have already been caught up in the web of watch lists, in areas other than flying - be it for opening bank accounts, wiring money, sending courier packages, etc. - does not bode well for the no-fly list.

Taqwacores on Tour!



They bought a yellow school bus, painted it green and are taking it on the road: the Kominas, Omar Waqar (formerly of Diacritical), Al-Thawra, Vote Hezbollah and MWU's very own Mike Knight. They're starting in Boston, and it all culminates...

Letters from Hebron

Sheikh Taqiy Eddin Al Nabahani;Hebron; wedding; letter from Hebron;Jehad Aliweiwi;Israel;Palestine;prisinor

Friday marks the third week for me in Palestine. It also marks the release of more than 250 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Out of more than 10,000 prisoners held by Israel, the release of 250 detainees including, 6 women, 12 under the age of 18 and the deputy secretary general for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Mr. Abdel Rahim Mallouh, sounds more like an insult and less of a sign of goodwill.

What Use Were All The Wars?

Palestine; Syria;Quneitra;Arab; Mona Eltahawy; 1967; World War II

My birth at the end of July 1967 makes me a child of the naksa, or setback, as the Arab defeat during the June 1967 war is euphemistically known in Arabic. There was no Summer of Love for us in 1967. We Children of the Naksa were born not only on the cusp of loss but also of the kind of disillusionment that whets the appetite of religious zealots.