Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, January 30, 2012

Israel has ‘no better friend in the world than Canada,’ John Baird says

JERUSALEM—Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird kicked off his first full day in Israel by attending the opening of a new Holocaust education facility in Jerusalem.

Baird says the new seminars wing of the International School for Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem will play a key role in ensuring humanity doesn’t forget the lessons of genocide.

And he says Israel has no better friend in the world than Canada.

Baird and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will spend the next several days visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The campus holds seminars each year for educators from 55 countries around the world and Israel, and develops country-specific and custom-made tools for different age groups in more than 20 languages.

Jewish philanthropist Joseph Gottdenker, himself a Holocaust survivor, says Yad Vashem gives a voice and a name to each person who perished, “and restores to them the dignity of living history.”

“Holocaust education enables us to remember the lessons of the past and provides guidance to a more tolerant, hopeful and brighter future,” Gottdenker said.

In 2011, the school hosted 67 seminars for educators and lay leaders around the world, twice the numbers held in recent years.

Baird, a black skull cap perched on his head, emphasized the importance of Yad Vashem and its new 4,100-square-metre facility in documenting and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust.

“There is no better friend to Israel than Canada,”Baird said. “We shall always be there for you, and in front of you.”

Original Article
Source: Star 
Author: The Canadian Press  

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