World of Opinion
On relations between Japan and China: Like two feuding branches of a family that fell out badly a few generations ago, but which now sense that the time has long passed to bury the hatchet, Japan and China are again straining to be friends. Relations between Asia’s two giants blow hot and cold, whatever Hu Jintao, China’s president, might say about Sino-Japanese ties now entering an “everlasting warm spring”.
The latest test of this new diplomatic warmth came yesterday afternoon when the first Japanese warship to visit China since the Second World War docked in a southern Chinese port, laden with relief supplies for victims of last month’s Sichuan earthquake.
And also a band, which will perform “friendship” concerts during the destroyer’s five-day stay.
The symbolism is not lost on the authorities in Beijing, who launched this latest round of diplomatic pingpong by sending a Chinese missile destroyer to visit Japan in November – the first Chinese ship to do so since 1891.
Maybe that everlasting warm spring has finally sprung.
On the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride march in Jerusalem:
The “Jerusalem Pride and Tolerance March for Infinite Love” is scheduled to take place. … Starting out at Independence Park, participants will parade down King David Street, winding up at the Liberty Bell Garden, where they will hold a rally to demand equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
What appeared last week to make this year’s gay pride parade different from its predecessors was the surprising decision on the part of the Edah Haredit, the ultra-Orthodox umbrella group, to ignore – rather than protest – the event they consider so abhorrent. Haredi insiders say spontaneous demonstrations could still erupt, but there will be no call on the part of the Edah Haredit to prevent the LGBTs from marching.
The haredi decision does not constitute a newfound tolerance for homosexuality. Rather, it was tactical: based on the fact that this year’s parade is local in nature, unlike the 2006 “World-Pride” event, which drew participants from other countries.
Furthermore, haredi leaders have had second thoughts about exposing yeshiva students, even if in protest, to the “depraved” gay scene.
… Taking his cue from extremist counterparts in the United States, Rabbi Moshe Sternbach, one of the senior rabbinical leaders of the Edah Haredit, last week rejected the decision by the organization not to stir up trouble before or during the parade, asserting it a duty to “prevent the abomination.” …
But there is a larger issue at stake here. Though Jerusalem may be the city of the Kotel and the Kolel, the Stations of the Cross and the Aksa Mosque, it is also the vibrant, cosmopolitan, international capital – attracting residents and tourists to its concerts, films, fireworks, cafes and pubs – of a pluralistic democracy that prides itself on freedom of expression.
Woe to this and any society that curtails such freedom.
On national security:
Canada’s Jewish community was urged to exercise caution last week following several reports that terrorist cells with ties to the outlawed Hezbollah organization were planning acts of violence. …
The Department of Public Safety lists some 40 terrorist groups that are operating across Canada, and all of them are a threat to the security of Canadians. …
The threat to the homeland, however, has intensified since the terror attacks of 9/11 and the escalation in violence between the West and radical Islam.
There’s no army in the world that can defend against a small terrorist cell determined to wreak havoc on defenseless and unarmed civilians, but properly trained and funded intelligence organizations have shown that they can intervene before an attack is launched.
Canada’s agencies have had some success, but there is concern that some government departments have not gotten up to speed.
The Canada Border Services Agency, for example, was cited last year by auditor general Sheila Fraser because it lacked an adequate system for assessing threats at the border. Another report issued just last month found that the agency had lost track of 41,000 illegal immigrants ordered to leave the country.
Canadians would like to trust that their government and its agencies have got matters under control, but it’s hard to have such confidence when a key department is still having a hard time mastering the basics.