Decapitating Statues of Historical Figures

Address snapshot ... Pope Francis

"[Beware] a form of ideological colonization, one that leaves no room for freedom of expression and is now taking the form of the 'cancel culture' invading many circles and public institutions."

"This view of history risks cancelling identity under the guise of defending diversity. [Representing a type of] one-track thinking [taking shape and developing fully as constraining or denial of history; rewriting it in terms of present-day sensibilities]."

"[Some attitudes] leave no room for freedom of expression and are now taking the form of the 'cancel culture'. Under the guise of defending diversity, it ends up cancelling all sense of identity, with the risk of silencing positions."

"As a result, agendas are increasingly dictated by a mindset that rejects the natural foundations of humanity and the cultural roots that constitute the identity of many people."

"Diplomacy is called to be truly inclusive, not canceling but cherishing the differences and sensibilities that have historically marked various peoples."

"What is needed instead is a recovery of our sense of shared identity as a single human family. [The] alternative can only be growing isolation."

Pope Francis

Cancel culture, the darling methodology of silencing voices that progressives in their culture of 'wokeism' infiltrating all facets of human communication, has many newly emerging critics, none of whom voice concerns from the pulpit of the progressives, but from within society's conservatives and none is more conservative that traditionalists. More neutral sources that speak with indignation of the damning work of the progressives are historians along with individuals and groups who find themselves targeted for their 'controversial' positions, deemed so by progressives whose aim is silencing their critics.

 

A leaflet distributed at the Montreal protest described Sir John A. Macdonald as "a white supremacist who orchestrated the genocide of Indigenous peoples with the creation of the brutal residential schools system"

 

It is hardly surprising that the Catholic Pontiff now sees fit to add his voice to the growing chorus of condemnation of this pernicious, insulting and leftist insularity that rejects reality and history claiming it to reek of colonialism and 'white privilege' while elevating the victimhood issues of 'people of colour' and the socially and gender-deprived in traditional society. At a time when convention with respect to polarizing discrimination has turned in the opposite direction expressing remorse and conciliation.

Woke progressives accept nothing but abject admissions of present-day 'colonialists' that they are guilty of all the sins of their predecessors, presumably by historical inheritance. Unctuous salutations expressed in new language forms of address become compulsory as proof of deserved guilt and condemnation. The wronged will be forever wronged and deserve and expect to be elevated above the descendants of their former tormentors. Demands that society reinvent itself so that exceptional privileges be extended to 'victims' satisfy vengeance-drooling accusers.

 

Damned white society is slowly picking itself up, recalling that dignity must be apportioned to all, even themselves and now question the veracity of claims of victimhood, asking when endless reproaches will come to an end and all people be enabled to live together as individuals no longer divided into groups of 'the guilty' and 'the victims'. The voice of Catholic Christianity speaks from a fear of marginalization, the accumulating loss of faith and worship, the incidentalism of religion, and the relegation of 'Christmas' to mere 'holiday' status. 

 

A statue of Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Va .Credit...@Thicketoftrash, via Associated Press

The re-write of history pivots from Holocaust denial and trivialization of resurgent anti-Semitism as just desserts in a puzzling portrayal of Jews as oriental 'others' while classifying them as part of the subset of 'white privileged' colonialists. Figures of European and North American history with its interminable conflicts and its subjugation of less-'developed' nations, to secure their valuable natural resources, including the enslavement of aboriginals and indiginals, and trading in Black slaves for forced labour is the only history recognized by the woke. Those instrumental in maintaining white supremacy must no longer be regarded as part of history, but trashed.

At the Vatican, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin expressed his concern with a draft European Union communications manual playing with the suggestion of excising the long-venerated term Christmas, and presumably with that, the very Christian religion itself in an increasingly less religious continent. Who best to speak to diplomats assembled at the Vatican, representing 163 nations of the world than a Catholic Pontiff whose authority as god's spokesman on Earth still resonates?

And so, he spoke of historical situations that must logically be viewed and interpreted in the context of their times, not by the standards of the present day, for this is history that must be unadulterated to suit the surly moods of its new critics, and presented as time and tide viewed all  human interactions when and where they occurred and to whom they referred and whose circumstances they affected; not through the lens of today's critics.

Pictured: Pope Francis warned against attempts to cancel culture, decrying 'one-track thinking' which he said attempts to deny or rewrite history according to today's standards

 

Vladimir Putin Redeeming the Glory of the USSR

"Memorial is a special organization with its own ideology. We combine what's called relevant human rights activities with historical studies and comprehending the historical path of Russia in the 20th century."

"It seems that such a union does not please someone in the Russian leadership."

Oleg Orlov, Memorial board member

"The decision ...confirmed that the history of political terror ... does not remain an academic theme for Russia of interest for just specialists but an acute problem for modern Russia."

"Our country needs an honest and scrupulous reflection on its Soviet past."

"Memorial is the need for Russia's citizens to know the truth. Nobody will succeed in 'liquidating' this need."

Memorial statement

Supporters hold placards saying "we will live forever" with Memorial's flame symbol above the Russian word "we"    Reuters

 

The Supreme Court of Russia has found the country's most seasoned human rights group, Memorial International, to have offended the country's dignity and pride in its past. The group has been ordered to disband. Critics within Russia of the Kremlin, of its policies, of its crackdown on dissenting voices, and above all, of its president-for-life, disturb the peace and serenity that Moscow enjoys in the capable hands of its new czar who aspires to return Russia to its former glory days.

The order for Memorial International to cease and desist, to fold up and be no more, more or less caps a few successful years of silencing and setting aside critics of the regime. As explained by Moscow, it owes the nation protection from those involved in extremism, who plan to do harm and destabilize Russia, with the considerable encouragement, incitement to violence, and funding from abroad. Clearly, foreign agencies are at the heart of nefarious plots to unseat the government and the Kremlin will not stand for it.

Memorial's mission is to document and to remind the nation of what Josef Stalin wrought in his "Great Terror", when those inconvenient to and critical of his brutal regime were sacrificed to the altar of Communism. The mass killings of intellectuals, Bolshevik officials, political officials, members of the military, writers, ethnic minorities, scientists, writers, foreigners and peasant land-owners. Along with any other groups Stalin conceived of as saboteurs. 

 

The number of dead during the great purge has been variously estimated to be between three-quarters of a million, to two million people, while political prisoners numbered around a million, sent to the Gulags, as Stalin's reign consolidated its position by eliminating challengers and suspected challengers. Since Vladimir Putin ascended to power and changed the constitution to allow him to reign in perpetuity, he has imprisoned critics, assassinated others, a silencing mechanism hugely relied upon for its finality, however clumsily undertaken.

 

He has banned political groups critical of his administration, and imprisoned their leaders on implausible charges. He has taken to emulating Stalin's purges to silence his critics. And he seems determined to restore the reputation of the USSR as a force for good, both for Russia and for its satellite states. Memorial was established during the period of 'glasnost' introduced to Russia by then-president Mikhail Gorbachev, determined to modernize Russia and move it away from a closed state. 

Addressing the court, a state prosecutor stated that Memorial had promoted a 'false image' of the USSR as 'a terrorist state', besmirching its proud memory during the Second World War. "Someone" was paying Memorial for such treachery, he averred. Subsequently, Memorial was found to have broken a controversial law on foreign agents by repeatedly failing to use a disclaimer in its materials and its website relating to receiving foreign funds.

This, despite that Memorial is quite openly frank that it receives funding from abroad, where its website lists funding from Poland, Germany, Canada and the Czech Republic. The U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, spoke of the court order as "a blatant and tragic attempt to suppress freedom of expression and erase history". Memorial had been co-established by nuclear physicist and Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov.

It had recently challenged the repression of critics, publishing lists of people it considers to be political prisoners. In 2015, Russian authorities had placed Memorial on an official list of "foreign agents", burdening it with restrictions on its activities. The Memorial Human Rights Centre and Memorial International were accused of violating the foreign agent law.

Memorial International, according to prosecutors, breached regulations through failing to mark all its publications, including posts on social media with the distinguishing label. They also accused the group of condoning terrorism and extremism. According to President Putin, Memorial had defended organizations that Russia labels extremist and terrorist; its list of victims of Soviet-era repression included Nazi collaborators.

Saudi Bloggers Invite the Vengeance of the Powerful MbS ... Asylum Abroad? There is no Escape

Omar Abdulaziz  Washington Post/Getty Images

"[The Canadian authorities -- RCMP] received some information regarding my situation that I might be a potential target."

"MbS and his group or – I don’t know – his team, they want to harm me. They want to do something, but I don’t know whether it’s assassination, kidnapping, I don’t know – but something not OK for sure."

"They [RCMP] asked me, ‘What do you think about it?’ I said, ‘I’m happy'."

"I feel that I’m doing something. You know, if you’re not doing anything that bothers MbS, that means you’re not working very well."

"I don’t want to tell you that I’m scared. I’m not, honestly. But you have to take some precautions to be ready."

"[Saudis at one time commented freely about Saudi Arabia on Twitter]; That all changed with the rise of MbS. Saudi Twitter gradually morphed into a propaganda platform, with the government deploying trolls and pressuring influencers to amplify its messages. More than 30 influencers told me that the Saudi government blackmailed them with material obtained by hacking their phones. They were given two options: Tweet propaganda or have your private content, including pictures, released on Twitter." 

Omar Abdulaziz, Saudi blogger, activist, self-exiled in Canada

 

"[The Official Opposition in Parliament want to see the governing Liberals create a] robust plan to counter foreign influence operations on Canadian soil."

"The government's response to Canadians facing intimidation and harassment by foreign agents is wholly inadequate." 

Michael Chong, Conservative foreign affairs critic

 

"It is completely unacceptable and we will never tolerate foreign actors threatening Canada's national security or the safety of our citizens and residents."

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair

 

"Now that the U.S. has clearly signalled that it will not fundamentally change the relationship with Saudi Arabia, it becomes much more difficult and costly for American allies in the west to change their relationship with Saudi Arabia."

Thomas Juneau, professor, faculty of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

 

YouTuber Omar Abdulaziz, now a Montrealer, has been under pressure by agents of Saudi Arabia trying to persuade him to return to the Kingdom. Once he returns, he well knows, he will be subject to additional pressure to surrender his opposition to the ruling House of Saud, and to become part of the Kingdom's stable of electronic propagandists under the imprimatur of Crowns Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Alternately, he could very well and more likely suffer the fate that awaited Raif Badawi, another blogger and activist who has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for the past eight years.

 

Ensaf Haidar, Raif Badawi's wife has been actively engaged for the period her husband has been incarcerated, in approaching governments and human rights groups for their support in applying pressure to Saudi Arabia to release her husband. When Raif Badawi was originally taken into custody in 2012, charged with insulting Islam and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, he was also sentenced to receive 1000 lashes as additional punishment. He was subjected to an initial 50 lashes which almost killed the frail young man.

 

An international outcry persuaded the Saudis to settle for the 50 lashes for the time being. Raif Badawi's ten-year sentence is set to soon expire. But his wife Ensaf Haidar has become an irritating thorn in Mohammed bin Salman's side, and signs have emerged that she is set to be 'investigated' by the Saudi legal system for besmirching the reputation of the Kingdom. Underlying that threat is another, that a new charge is being leveled at Mr. Badawi which would most certainly extend his prison stay into the future.

Ensaf Haidar, wife of imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi, holds a poster with his photo at a rally for his freedom on Jan. 13, 2015, in Montreal. Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press/File

Like Russia and Iran, Saudi Arabia has long been known to seek out its nationals abroad who have taken to criticizing the Kingdom, to threaten or silence them. The murder and dismemberment of Saudi Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul represents the most high-profile of the Saudi intelligence group's effort to silence a critic; a hit that went sideways with a resulting gasp of horror at the extreme lengths chosen to silence a critic through a grotesquely ill-conceived 'disappearance'.

 

Since the 2017 palace coup when King Salman's son Mohammed persuaded his father to anoint him successor to the Saudi throne rather than his uncle, when Mohammed bin Salman then had many members of the royal family placed under house arrest, thus removing any challenges to his claim to the throne in a reorganized succession, the Kingdom has seen various types of turmoil, internal and external. MbS has proceeded slowly to loosen Saudi laws restricting the human rights of Saudi women. While at the same time arresting women who publicly agitate for their human rights.

 

Mohammed bin Salman, Getty Images

He also formed a coalition with other Sunni Arab states to become involved in an Iranian proxy civil war in Yemen, arming and training Houthi rebels for the greater goal of consolidating the influence and power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a wider arc of Shi'ite influence encircling the majority Arab Sunni states. The mass arrest of senior Saudis, repression of dissidents and the disappearance of those close to dissidents sheltering abroad have all marked the Kingdom's MbS launch into notoriety.

"We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi." 

"While the United States remains invested in its relationship with Saudi Arabia, President [Joe] Biden has made clear that partnership must reflect U.S. values." 

"To that end, we have made absolutely clear that extraterritorial threats and assaults by Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents and journalists must end. They will not be tolerated by the United States."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Another Saudi blogger living in Montreal where he had sought asylum began to block fellow activists on social media. Other Saudi dissidents in Canada posted that Ahmed Alharby had informed them of a visit he made to the Saudi embassy in Ottawa where he had undergone interrogation. A new Twitter account appeared in mid-February under Alharby, featuring the image of Mohammed bin Salman, making ti clear that Alharby had returned to Saudi Arabia and was no longer a critic, but a stalwart fan of MbS. 

Saudi women have to wear the abaya in public by law   Getty Images

Saudi Saad Aljabri, formerly a high-ranking intelligence officer, linked closely to the deposed uncle of Mohammed bin Salman, has been harassed at his home in exile in Toronto, with Saudi agents trying to persuade him to return to his country of birth. Two of his adult children living in Saudi Arabia have been 'disappeared' in an apparent effort to persuade their father to return to Saudi Arabia. Aljabri has launched a lawsuit against Mohammed bin Salman in the United States charging him with dispatching a hit squad to dispose of him, but the squad was denied entry to Canada by suspicious Canada Border agents.

Reporters Without Borders has filed legal documents in Germany for an investigation to be launched into alleged crimes against humanity in the repression of journalists by Mohammed bin Salman. Clearly, he has failed to positively impress governments and various agencies around the world. "The official opening of a criminal investigation in Germany into the crimes against humanity in Saudi Arabia would be a world first", observed German executive director of Reporters Without Borders, Christian Mihr.

A cyclist passes as activists demonstrate outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy against the recent Saudi court ruling that upheld a previous verdict of ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes for Saudi blogger Raif Badawi on June 11, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images