Canada Bans Pacifist, Welcomes War Criminal

Yesterday, an outspoken and somewhat wacky British Member Of Parliament was banned from entering Canada for two university speaking engagements on security grounds in the same week George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion of Iraq on bogus pretenses, was allowed into Calgary for a speaking engagement.

British MP George Galloway was banned by Canada Border Services Agency officials. Pertinent minister Jason Kenney, who has the power to overturn stupid and evil decisions, says he will not do so.

Galloway is accused of supporting designated-terrorist organization Hamas (trying to use neutral language in a loaded topic here) because he helped deliver aid to the Gaza Strip during the widely-viewed-as-excruciatingly-horrific Israeli attack earlier this year that were sparked by the widely-viewed-as-"asking for it" rocket attacks against Israel (that were sparked by yadda yadda yadda that were sparked by historical etc.).

The decision by Canadian officials is stupid and makes the Minister (whom we're sure had nothing whatsoever to do with banning Galloway) look like an asshole who doesn't support free speech unless it's the kind of free speech he likes.

Critics (e.g. me) suspect Galloway is actually being barred because he says inflammatory things about how the war in Afghanistan is wrong. In other words, he's being banned for being anti-war.

Opinion: You can't call British MPs terrorist supporters when they're not and ban them from Canada. That's fascism.

Here are links--read them and you'll know as much as I do and possibly more since my reading
comprehension is suspect when I'm this pissed off.

-The Toronto Star's initial report.
-Today's TorStar article saying Galloway will challenge the decision.
-Toronto Star column on why this decision is nuts.
-The Globe And Mail's story on this fiasco.
-The Guardian's initial report.
-The Guardian's Saturday story.
-The Wikipedia entry on George Galloway for those interested in a litany of his wacky shenanigans (which include public boasting of having sex with Greeks).

UPDATE: The Regina Mom, AKA prairie dog contributor Bernadette Wagner, has alerted me to her post on the recent stupidities of federal Conservatives. You can read it here. It discusses much more thoroughly than I have a litany of shenanigans from Canada's immigration minister. Recommended.