In an effort to be relevant, many Canadians have reacted to the scenes of carnage televised from Israel and Gaza by marching and proposing boycotts. This is not new but for myself and other NDP supporters who also support the efforts of Canada's NGOs and our Armed Forces in Afghanistan it has intensified our alienation from the more visible elements in our Party.

Bans and boycotts, which seem popular in academia, do not promote the interests of Gazans or Palestinians. They do however serve the domestic agenda of swamp dwelling, Hamas cheerleaders and the egos of fascist-allied activists from the decrepit-left. The killing of civilians in Israel, Palestine and Gaza are happening because (the Israeli centre-right party) Kadima and (the Fascists-who-pervert-Islam) Hamas both need the same thing - to remain in power. How convenient for the decrepit-left that photos of dead Gazan children are easily available to bolster their self-image as revolutionaries. Do the same standards of conduct apply to the Taliban, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and Hamas? Why are the weak morally superior or at least less responsible? Since the Canadian Armed Forces are in Kandahar should they not be employed in rendering the Taliban incapable of inflicting more misery on the people of Afghanistan or are human rights violations committed by illiterate religious fanatics to be judged less severly than human rights violations committed by democratically elected governments?

My answer is that if Hamas and the Taliban respected human rights, engaged in democratic politics rather than terrorism, then none of this would be happening. While criticism of Canada and our allies in Afghanistan and the IDF's specific actions are often constructive, there should be no doubt that the loyalty and sympathy of Canada's New Democrats is with those forces that promote democracy - not democracy's enemies. A few activists, Sid Ryan for example, encourage the thought that my Party (the NDP) is unable to hold Hamas and the Taliban to the same standards as Israel. From the Party of the committed anti-Fascist and anti-Stalinist David Lewis this is profoundly disheartening.

Dave Mann