Holocaust Denial Up 77% in Canada

Holocaust denial is on the rise, and at an astonishing rate. Have a look at this article from Israel National News.com:

Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada rose by 3.7 percent in 2012, and Holocaust denial rose 77 percent, revealed theAudit of Anti-Semitic Incidents released by the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada.
According to the audit, there were 1,345 anti-Semitic incidents in Canada in 2012, up from 1,297 in 2011.
“We are particularly concerned about this year’s findings of increased participation in these incidents by perpetrators self-identifying as Muslims who are apparently supportive of Islamist ideologies of hate and violence. But we are encouraged by the many Muslims with whom we work closely, who are prepared to expose antisemitism in their community,” said Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada.
“The Audit shows an overall decrease in vandalism and violence, but an increase of 10.6% in incidents of harassment,” he said. “Jews were targeted in their homes and at their workplaces, on their way to synagogue or returning from school. The language has moved from ‘F-- the Jews’ to 'Kill the Jews’, with Holocaust Denial cases soaring by 77%, and threats becoming more ugly, explicit and open.”
“The League is also warning that youth culture is being infiltrated by the lyrics of hate, extremism from abroad through online propaganda, and cyberbullying directed to a victim’s smartphone,” Dimant stated.
“The Audit has set out an Action Plan to counter hate, but it will only achieve its goals if all sectors of Canadian society work together whenever and wherever expressions of hate are brought to light,” he added.
According to a new report, published by Tel Aviv University's Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry, in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress, the year 2012 registered a 30% increase in anti-Semitic acts compared to 2011.

US Poll on Conspiracies

Public Policy Polling has done a poll of Americans and their attitudes on conspiracy theories. From the New York Business Journal today:

Did you know that 4 percent of Americans believe that "shape-shifting reptilian people control our world by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate our society"?

So if you think President Barack Obama speaks with a forked tongue, that could be why. Of maybe it's a sign that he's the Antichrist -- 13 percent of Americans (and 20 percent of Republicans) believe that.

These numbers are courtesy of a recent poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh, N.C., firms that often works for Democrats.

Dean Debnam, the firm's president, noted that "even crazy conspiracy theories are subject to partisan polarization," but he seems to find it reassuring that "most Americans reject the wackier ideas out there about fake moon landings and shape-shifting lizards."

I'm not reassured. If you're like me, you probably come into contact -- or at least walk in close proximity -- to 100 people a day. The fact that four of these folks think shape-shifting lizards are running things scares me.

And there's a lot more support for other ideas that have little, or no, basis in reality: 28 percent of registered voters believe that "a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an authoritarian world government, or New World Order."

15 percent believe "media or the government adds secret mind-controlling technology to television broadcast signals."

15 percent believe "the pharmaceutical industry is in league with the medical industry to 'invent' new diseases in order to make money."

11 percent believe "the United States government knowingly allowed the attacks on September 11, 2001, to happen."

The poll also found that 37 percent of Americans (including 58 percent of Republicans) think global warming is a hoax. That one's worth a healthy debate, but most climate scientists think it's real.