News round-up
NDPer and United Church minister Blaikie accuses Bush of plotting to kill Iraqi children
Quite a few prominent members of the New Democratic Party have been United Church ministers, and current NDP leadership candidate Bill Blaikie is one of them. Both the United Church and the NDP have spoken strongly against the possibility of an American-led war in Iraq, so one would expect Blaikie to oppose it too; but many of Blaikie's critics think he may have crossed a line last week when he said that US President George W. Bush spends "every minute of his life" thinking of ways to kill Iraqi children, reports the National Post. "I find it strange," said Blaikie during a leadership debate, "that a pro-life politician like George Bush is planning every minute of his life to kill as many Iraqi children as he can in the name of oil or whatever it is that's really on the agenda."
Blaikie was criticized by many people outside the NDP, of course, but he was criticized by some members of his own party, too. "I don't think it's fair comment to say that Mr. Bush wants to kill children. I don't think that's his purpose at all," said NDP defence critic Peter Stoffer, who is supporting rival leadership candidate Lorne Nystrom. Fellow rival leadership candidate Jack Layton said he agreed with Blaikie's criticism of Bush, but not with the way it was expressed: "I wouldn't have stated it that way. I do not believe that Mr. Bush spends every waking hour thinking about how to kill Iraqi children. I think the problem is he's not thinking about the consequences on the world's children of his policies."
The National Post also criticized Blaikie's remarks in an unsigned editorial: "The NDP's shrill anti-American fringe will no doubt be proud of Mr. Blaikie for delivering this mother of all smear jobs. In a single sentence, the MP managed to characterize Mr. Bush as a baby murderer, deflect attention from the predations of Saddam Hussein (a man who, quite literally, has set out to murder Iraqi babies in the country's Kurdish region), promote the specious claim that the campaign against Iraq is motivated by oil-lust -- and somehow tie it all in to Mr. Bush's conservative social values."
Blaikie, however, said he did not regret his remark. He said Bush "is planning a war in which many Iraqi children will be killed. I just said I found it passing strange. . . . We were in the middle of a debate about pro-choice versus pro-life, and I said I found it strange how some pro-life politicians don't seem to have any problem planning a war in which many children will be killed. . . . He is not thinking of the consequences for children. What I want him to do is to bring the concern he expresses for children to bear on his deliberations about the advisability of a war."
Other stories from the past week:
Conscripting God into battle
Presidents and rogues have always invoked the Deity when heading into battle, to galvanize their people, demonize the enemy and excuse violence.
Gordon Barthos, Toronto Star, January 9
Ottawa fights church's win in abuse case
Native residential schools: Government appeals Alberta ruling
National Post, January 10
Earlier: Keewatin pledges support for schools settlement
Finding his own way
Tom Harpur's new book says traditional churches increase stress in an already frantic world. He suggests turning to meditation and yoga with the knowledge they are based in religion
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, January 10
Noticed: Mystic chic
Let's try to find some kind of faith that isn't so divisive. As always, the first place to look for inspiration is Hollywood.
Karen von Hahn, Globe and Mail, January 11
Tolkien's monster resurfaces
A J.R.R Tolkien manuscript discovered by accident in an Oxford University library may give new popularity to the poem Beowulf, long the scourge of English literature undergraduates.
National Post, January 13
Early: Tolkien film Towers above its rivals
Jewish group plans rally against CBC
An angry, grassroots Jewish organization is organizing a demonstration today against the CBC, alleging its Middle East coverage has been "consistently negative" against Jews.
Globe and Mail, January 14
Stone Tablet Confirms Solomon's Temple, Biblical Narrative
Solomon's Temple Tablet may be the most significant archaeological finding yet in Israel
ChristianityToday.com, January 15
Earlier: James 'bone box' the star attraction at biblical conference
Fifth Harry Potter book due on June 21
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," . . . which at 38 chapters and 255,000 words, will be a third longer than the last book -- "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" -- has been delivered to its English language publishers Bloomsbury of Britain and Scholastic of the United States.
Reuters, January 15
Earlier: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Dangerous mission
Many aid workers, especially missionaries, are in peril
Maclean's, January 20
Earlier: Faith tested in the danger zone
50 Canadians to watch in 2003
Vancouver has become a hotbed of social experimentation, from rightist Premier Gordon Campbell to the crusading new mayor, Larry Campbell, to Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham, who has sparked a world debate with his willingness to sanction gay marriage.
Maclean's, January 20
