True North Humanist Perspective - May 2015

True North Humanist Perspectives logo

Lia Tarachansky

A Jew reports from Israel

Brilliant writer of critical analyses in prose and poetry

provides a new series about the Israeli-Palestine crisis

Editor's Note: In 2012 I had the privilege of a brief conversation with Lia Tarachansky at a dinner table in Ottawa Canada. During more than half a decade of publishing True North Perspective I was wary of stepping into the churning cauldron of Israeli-Arab relations. I just didn't have the depth of background to make sense of it all. During the half-hour I spent talking with Lia Tarachansky I learned that she was working as a journalist in Israel and, most important, I concluded that she had a profound grasp of the conflict and a brilliant, critical, creative mind. She gave me permission to use her work in True North Perspective. I'm happy to say here that we will begin with a story of her life and will continue in each issue with her journalism and creative work. This way, True North Perspective readers will be able to learn in prose and poetry about the reality of that tortured area of the world, well away from those who lie by commission and omission for narrow vested interests. Lia Tarachansky's copy will go a long way to satisfy True North Perspective's abiding quest for learning, and knowledge, and seeking the truth. — Editor, Carl Dow.

Click here for the link to Lia Tarachanky's third interview with Paul Jay of The Real News titled Identity and Collective Denial this is the third of three. Ms. Tarachansky talks about her journey from growing up in a settlement to opposition to the Israeli occupation. For the first contribution, please click here. Each issue of True North Humanist Perspective will feature Lia Tarachansky.

_______

Putin proves US funding North Caucasus militants

Seems US secret service kicked Geo. W. Bush's ass

Published time: April 26, 2015 17:55
Edited time: April 26, 2015 19:07

In a new documentary focusing on Vladimir Putin’s 15 years in power, the Russian president says communications intercepted in the early 2000s show direct contacts between North Caucasus separatists and the US secret services.

"At one point our secret services simply detected direct contacts between militants from the North Caucasus and representatives of the United States secret services in Azerbaijan," Putin said in the film, released by Rossiya 1 TV channel on Sunday 26 April.

"And when I spoke about that to the then president of the US, he said... sorry, I will speak plainly, he said, "I'll kick their asses", Putin recounts his conversation with George W. Bush on the issue. A few days later, he says, the heads of Russia's FSB received a letter from their American counterparts, which said they had the right to support opposition forces in Russia.

"Someone over there, especially the West's intelligence services, obviously thought that if they act to destabilize their main geopolitical rival, which, as we now understand, in their eyes has always been Russia, it would be good for them. It turned out, it wasn't," Putin muses, saying he had warned the West about the possible dangers of supporting terrorists. (More)

_______

Senior Russian rabbi says Jews safer in Russia

Government has supported the renovation of dozens of synagogues

and funded the establishment of a large Jewish museum in Moscow

27 April 2015 MOSCOW (RT) — Russian Jews would be in serious danger if Russian President Vladimir Putin was ever ousted from power, a senior Russian rabbi has stated. He added, the current government guarantees the safety of Jewish people better than many Western powers do.

“The Jews of Russia must realize the dangers inherent in the possible collapse of the Putin government, understand the rules of the game and be aware of the limitations,” the head of Russian Federation of Jewish Communities Aleksandr Boroda said at an annual Jewish learning event, which was organized by Limmud FSU.

The conference, which saw around 1,400 participants attend, opened on Friday 24 April at the state-owned Klyasma resort in the Moscow region. (More)

______

Polish general ‘calls back support’

of Ukraine over nationalist glorification

Cites Ukrainian slaughter of 100,000 Poles in 1943-44

Retired General Waldemar Skrzypczak, an influential figure in the Polish military, says he withdraws all words of support for Ukraine due to the country sliding towards nationalism. Earlier he advocated supplying heavy weapons to Kiev.

The angry U-turn in attitudes towards the Ukrainian government was published on Friday 17 April in the Gazeta Prawna newspaper. Skrzypczak said he is outraged with a law that the Ukrainian parliament passed hours after Polish President Bronisław Komorowski spoke before the MPs to express support for Ukraine.

The law gave benefits to all people who fought for Ukraine’s independence throughput history. Those include fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which was responsible for mass killings of Polish citizens in 1943-44. The tragic events are known as Volhynian slaughter in Poland.

“I realized that Ukraine has no concern for Polish people. I am talking about what happened in Volhynia, the slaughter of 100,000 Poles by the UPA,” the ex-general said.

“The UPA murdered my uncle. They nailed him with forks to a barn door. For what I know, he was dying maybe for three days. Their savagery was beyond imagination. And Nazi Germany didn’t invent the things the Ukrainians did to us. They hacked people with axes,” he added. (More)

'Capitalism doesn't work'

Image: Demonstrators March in Ottawa. Origin of photo unknown.

Larger than ever, thousands turned out for May Day celebrations across the country. Fed up with cutbacks while corporate profits soar, the roar that 'capitalism doesn't work' has come to the forefront for the first time in years.

Click here to return to

Search TNP

For True North Perspective issues prior to September 3, 2010, please select True North Perspective Archives.

There are strange sites read

on the world-wide web

By the folks who surf for info;

The cyber pages have their secret wages
That would make your thoughts run cold;

The internet has some brilliant sights,
But the most brilliant site I've seen
Was the Friday night (or Saturday morn')
That True North Perspective came to me.

If you fear you'll miss an edition

of True North, the solution is easy!

Just ... click the link!

Click the link above and we'll let you know when our new edition is available.

And rest assured, your privacy is important to us; we won't sell or rent your information to anyone.

Donate!

True North Perspective is free but that doesn't mean it doesn't have costs to cover. And so far, our experiment in carrying advertising is not coming close to doing so.

And so we call on you, our readers, to step up and contribute to our growing service!

If half of you contribute the price of half a cup of coffee a day, True North Perspective will be on a sound, long term financial platform.

If you enjoy True North Perspective, put your money where your mouse is and send us a donation today! (If you can't afford to donate, then forward your favourite articles to your friends or link to us on Facebook, twitter, or your favourite social media site!)

No credit card? No problem!

You can donate the old fashioned way: send cheque or money order to:

Carl Dow, True North Perspective, Station E, P.O. Box 4814

Ottawa ON Canada K1S 5H9

Website may be path to success
for authors, publishers, and companies

Prolific best-selling Ottawa author and publicist Randy Ray has developed a website to promote his publicity services, which he offers to authors, publishers and companies. Mr. Ray has helped many clients get their message out across Canada on CTV, CBC Radio, CH-TV, A-Channel and Global TV, and in Source, Source, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun, Halifax Herald and many Ottawa-area weekly newspapers. Mr. Ray's web site is RandyRay.ca. He can be contacted at: (613) 731-3873 or randyray@rogers.com.

True North Perspective is powered by
Servarica virtual private servers.

You are here