B'nai Brith calls Liberal MP Marlene Jennings "sinister"
Liberal MP Marlene Jennings puts her foot in it again. Jewish-Canadians get Rosh Hashanah cards from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, so Jennings wants to get the Privacy Commissioner to investigate how the Conservatives are tracking the Jews or some such nonsense.
B'nai Brith to Marline Jennings: We know you and the rest of the Liberal Party don't care one jot about the Jews in Canada or anywhere else, and we don't appreciate being used for your political games.
Ouch!
One of those odd stories that has come up recently is how awful it was that Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent Rosh Hashanah greetings to Jewish people.
I know, it's weird. But thankfully, Liberal MP Marlene Jennings is pushing the issue:
Liberal MP Marlene Jennings is among those requesting an investigation, saying she believes the mailing violates the privacy rights of those who received the greeting.
“It appears the privacy of these individuals has been violated but that is what I want the privacy commissioner to determine, so that if the prime minister is compiling lists of Canadians by their religious or ethnic affiliation, it doesn’t happen again,” said Jennings.
The federal Conservative party boasts one of the most sophisticated electronic databases in Canadian politics, with more than two million names.
The so-called CIMS program, for Constituent Information Management System, was launched in 2004 and stores data gathered through phone calls, door-to-door canvassing and other means.
Conservative party officials have said in the past that they do not buy corporate information on individuals because that’s illegal under the Privacy Act.
So let's here from Canada's leading Jewish organizations on this "violation":
There is nothing "nefarious" about Prime Minister Stephen Harper compiling a mailing list of Jewish Canadians and sending their households holiday greetings, two prominent Jewish lobby groups said Friday.
Their comments come amid news the federal privacy commissioner has begun an inquiry into last month's Rosh Hashanah greetings, following several complaints from private citizens.
Some recipients complained to the media that they could not understand how they had been identified and did not appreciate the gesture. Several also contacted privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart.
An expert in Jewish studies said the notion of lists of Jews being kept by political parties or governments has dark historical echoes for some Holocaust survivors and their descendents.
But both Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress and Frank Dimant of B'nai Brith Canada praised what they called government outreach and said there should be no controversy.
"I don't think there's anything nefarious here whatsoever," said Farber, who's received greeting cards from various political parties for the past 20 years.
I think people would be shocked at just how much organizations, political parties, and corporations know about all of us. That can be annoying, even a bit scary, and sometimes the information is wrong in places.
So maybe some people were surprised to get the mailing, maybe even upset, but that is a far cry from concluding that rules were broken:
Harper's office would not say how it compiled the mailing list, although Jewish phone directories for a number of Canadian cities are readily available on the Internet.
So what is this about secret lists illegally compiled? Are these accusations themselves politically motivated instead of legitimate attempts to protect the privacy of people? B'nai Brith is clear -- the Liberal Party is not interested in protecting Jews in Canada or anywhere else:
Dimant turned the tables and said anyone complaining about Harper's Jewish new year greeting has a political agenda.
"I really do think there's a very sinister motivation by individuals who are asking for an examination of where these lists came from or how they were accumulated," Dimant said in an interview.
He welcomed the greeting, calling it a first for a Canadian prime minister, and said he hopes "it's a tradition that prime ministers down the line will carry on."
Harper has won praise from both the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith for shifting Canada's foreign policy to a more pro-Israel footing.
Got that? Marlene Jennings is very sinister.
Hey, I didn't say it.
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Comments
Well I'll say it -- she's sinister. I mean, like Jack Nicholson in Batman, or Lee Marvin in The Big Sleep -- that kind of sinister. This story is brilliant. I only wish Farber had said your version.
Posted by: Jason Bo Green at October 12, 2007 11:28 PM
Desperation looks good on the libs, its a nice fit.
I suspect they'll be wearing it for awhile.
Posted by: biff at October 12, 2007 11:58 PM
Marlene Jennings is at it again.
There is no question that Jennings has the gift of the gab.
But she would be well advised to use it to the benefit of the Liberal Party, and not be so "sinister' as she so often appears to be.But it also shows the desparation of the Liberal Party at large.And it looks like that after the next election there will not be a Liberal Party, and that would be the best thing what could happen to this Great Country.
Posted by: Jan at October 13, 2007 07:25 AM
What's the surprise from big mouth Jennings? She's got verbal diarrhea at the best of times so she'll be even worse in the worst of times which the Lieberals are in right now.
Posted by: Libby at October 13, 2007 10:06 AM
Marlene Jennings is an idiot. Why are these groups even taking her seriously? The PMO "no comment" response is the best.
Posted by: at October 13, 2007 12:53 PM
Nice try - these Jewish groups are "lobbyist" groups and you know it. Also, the president is a conservative and you know it.
I didn't get an Xmas Card, Easter card or any other card - it's pure and simply a vote-buying scheme.
I'm don't like the fact that the Conservative party has so much personal info on any one - this is not good.
Posted by: Sam at October 13, 2007 01:21 PM
"We stand with Israel" were the famous words spoken by Peter McKay. Thus giving them a great voter block for the next election.
Sam--you are so right--we don't get Christmas cards or any other cards from the PMO.
As for the lists governments have on people. I remember the Liberal list that there was a great hue and cry about--we were told it was destroyed but I have it on first hand info that it was not. I imagine the CPC has even a longer list as names will have been added--you know, like Santa--I hope I am on the naughty list--
Posted by: George at October 13, 2007 02:40 PM
I'm don't like the fact that the Conservative party has so much personal info on any one - this is not good.
And you think the Liberals didn't have any personal info on anyone when they were government? If you truly believe that, then I must wonder if you also believe in the existence of Santa Claus or the Great Pumpkin.
Posted by: Brian in Calgary at October 13, 2007 02:52 PM
Hey, I got Christmas Cards from Paul Martin, and JC, here in conservative alberta. Could have been because I attended several wine and cheese parties and had fun conversations with landslide annie.
I also have cards from Preston, Stockwell, Casson and PMSH.
They have all been saved over the years.
Posted by: Mary T at October 13, 2007 03:08 PM
We get Christmas greetings from our MP every year, not a problem. It's a pretty good sign the Libranos are scraping bottom worrying about such trivialities.
Anyone worrying about privacy had better stop the world and get the hell off.
Posted by: Libby at October 13, 2007 04:00 PM
I don't like it. And I don't like that those two bigoted bloody groups give their ok for it too. And I'm jewish. Happy New Year everyone, that is what Rosh Hashanah is. The year is 5768. So party all week.
We live in an age where all of our information is filed everywhere. We tell our kids not to pass out personal info over the computer or to strangers but strangers have a way of getting it all anyway. Even the PMO is harvesting info. Today an address and ethnicity, tomorrow what? Homes by Halliburton?
Does not the fact of cards only for jews creep out anyone? Ramadan was just on, or is on, whatever... have cards been sent out? This would be ok? Cards?? Why Cards? This is not a traditional nor kosher thing to do. You drop by, with a cake, you sit and talk, have a little drink, have a little cake, then go to the next house. Like that.
As for Jennings, she got excited is all, she's not sinister but if I got a card I would of got excited too. Somehow I'm not on the list. Maybe I'm not in the database. I would like that. When I left home it took my parents months to find out where I lived. Actually they don't know where I live right now. All good tho, I don't know where they are.
So how much info is enough, and how much is too much?
Posted by: Gee2 at October 16, 2007 02:26 AM
Oh, for a closer walk with Marlene:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topics/Mark+Holland
http://stevejanke.com/archives/220944.php
Posted by: at October 16, 2007 06:12 PM
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