Thursday, December 14, 2006

The Fountain Of Youth

Is not a fountain. It is the Turtle. Whom it turns out are not only living fossils but the longest living teenagers. And we are it's only real enemy and the reason for its possible extinction.

“Turtles don’t really die of old age,” Dr. Raxworthy said. In fact, if turtles didn’t get eaten, crushed by an automobile or fall prey to a disease, he said, they might just live indefinitely

Turtles resist growing old, and they resist growing up. Dr. Zug and his co-workers recently determined that among some populations of sea turtles, females do not reach sexual maturity until they are in their 40s or 50s, which Dr. Zug proposes could be “a record in the animal kingdom.”

Turtles are also ancient as a family. The noble chelonian lineage that includes all living turtles and tortoises extends back 230 million years or more, possibly predating other reptiles like snakes and crocodiles, as well as birds, mammals, even the dinosaurs.

The turtle’s core morphology has changed little over time, and today’s 250 or so living species all display an unmistakable resemblance to the earliest turtle fossils. Yet the clan has evolved a dazzling array of variations on its blockbuster theme, allowing it to colonize every continent save Antarctica and nearly every type of biome nested therein: deserts; rainforests; oceans; rivers; bogs; mountains; New Brunswick, Canada; New Brunswick, N.J.

With its miserly metabolism and tranquil temperament, its capacity to forgo food and drink for months at a time, its redwood burl of a body shield, so well engineered it can withstand the impact of a stampeding wildebeest, the turtle is one of the longest-lived creatures Earth has known. Individual turtles can survive for centuries, bearing silent witness to epic swaths of human swagger. Last March, a giant tortoise named Adwaita said to be as old as 250 years died in a Calcutta zoo, having been taken to India by British sailors, records suggest, during the reign of King George II. In June, newspapers around the world noted the passing of Harriet, a Galapagos tortoise that died in the Australia Zoo at age 176 — 171 years after Charles Darwin is said, perhaps apocryphally, to have plucked her from her equatorial home.

Behind such biblical longevity is the turtle’s stubborn refusal to senesce — to grow old. Don’t be fooled by the wrinkles, the halting gait and the rheumy gaze. Researchers lately have been astonished to discover that in contrast to nearly every other animal studied, a turtle’s organs do not gradually break down or become less efficient over time.


Imke Lass for The New York Times, at the University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Lab

From top, a leopard tortoise, a South African land-based species and a common pet. Center, a New Guinea snakeneck turtle, a carnivorous species found in the river system in the southern part of the country. Above, a big-headed turtle, native to mountain streams in Southern China and related to North American snapping turtles.


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Baba Sitting


As I have said here before the childcare in Alberta is based on baby sitting provided by Baba. Which is now the Federal Conservative child care plan. And this is the result that Canadians can look forward to...

A report presented to Cochrane's town council last week concluded that the town has only 12 provincially approved child-care spots for its 12,400 residents, with private day homes and babysitters filling the gap.

At tip o' the blog to My Blahg

See

Daycare


Childcare

Whose Family Values?






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Tax Breaks For Some

Let's see the PM's son plays hockey so we have a tax break for sports.

Social Conservatives hate the Status of Women and so it's eliminated by the death of a thousand funding cuts.

They tax the Income Trusts but offer wealthy middle class retired couples income splitting, pandering for the Seniors vote.

Now the Conservative Government is offering a tax break for disabled children and their caregivers. Generosity, compasionate conservatism or opportunism? You decide....

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty expects the next budget will include a plan to allow parents of severely disabled children to set aside up to $200,000 tax-free for their care.

The report, which was written by a panel established by Mr. Flaherty and led by Toronto tax lawyer Jim Love, also calls on Ottawa to provide parents of children with severe disabilities with cash grants of at least $1,000 annually over 20 years, and to double those payments to low-income families.

When asked yesterday if he liked the dollar amounts included in the panel's report, Mr. Flaherty, the father of teen triplet sons, one of whom has a mental disability as a result of contracting encephalitis when a toddler, replied, "Yes, I do."

And he offered hope to parents of disabled children that they may not have to wait long to see the recommendations implemented.




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Tax Cuts


Flaherty



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Mars Or Bust


Well in this case its a bust for the Canadian Space Agency and Canada's value added high tech industries that are leading edge in space robotics.

Ottawa scraps plans for Canadian-built Mars rover

Harkening back to the days of Diefenbaker Conservatives who abolished the Avro Arrow program for the sake of the American Military Industrial complex, this time its nothing as sinister. Just good old fashioned incompetence, and internal squabbaling over the spoils of government largese and patronage.

There currently is no head of the Canadian Space Agency. And for the past decade the agency has had its budget cut under the Liberals. Now the Conservatives dither over funding a project that Canada is leading the field in. A project that both the Europeans and NASA are willing to pay for!

Hello what was that Jim Flaherty was talking about in his fall pre-budget announcement oh yeah Advantage Canada. Well that advantage apparently does not extend to our expertise in space exploration technology.

Another Avro in the making. Nice to see non partisan outrage over this in the blogosphere,Progressive Bloggers have posted on this latest impact of Tory funding cuts. And as usual the silence is deafening over at the Blogging Sorries.

Oh yes and by the way this was a scoop by CBC, the taxpayer funded public network, not CTV or Global. Hat tip to our public broadcaster.

The federal government has turned down a request by Canada's space industry to support a contract that would have allowed the companies to build the European Space Agency's Mars surface rover, CBC News has learned.

The decision stunned the companies and has left the ESA scrambling to find a new partner, as no European firm is adequately prepared to match the technical abilities of Canadian firms to build its ExoMars rover.

A computer rendition of the ExoMars rover, which the European Space Agency wanted the Canadian space industry to build for a planned mission to Mars by 2015.A computer rendition of the ExoMars rover, which the European Space Agency wanted the Canadian space industry to build for a planned mission to Mars by 2015.
(European Space Agency)

The ESA wanted Canadian space companies — considered world leaders in robotics — to build the rover for its planned exploration of Mars by 2015. The rover would have a far more sophisticated robotics package than the current U.S. platforms in use.

In July, the companies made an impassioned presentation to federal Industry Ministry officials for a clearer mandate for the Canadian Space Agency, which included making the Mars rover project its top priority, the CBC's Henry Champ told the CBC's Don Newman Thursday on Politics.

The project required no additional funding from Ottawa, but was contingent upon $100 million over 10 years from the existing CSA budget being redirected to the program by restructuring priorities and cancelling or postponing other projects, according to documents obtained by the CBC.

But just a few short weeks after the presentation, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier told the companies the government hadn't made up its mind about the future of Canada's space role and didn't want to go forward with the project.

See

Space

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Hanging Out With Warlords

While Conservative Cheerleaders at the Blogging Tories and Pro-War Liberals like to besmerch Jack Layton with the epithat; Taliban Jack, perhaps they would like to explain why RH Stephen Harper has been hanging around with a warlord, Mullah Naqib, whose connection with the Taliban were such that he was usurped from govenorship of Kandahar thanks to the CIA and US special forces.

Why the main suspect in the death of a Canadian diplomat walked free

Mullah Naqib shakes hands with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in March, less than two months after the Kandahar elder helped free the main suspect in Glyn Berry’s death. Tom Hanson/CP

Mullah Naqib shakes hands with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in March, less than two months after the Kandahar elder helped free the main suspect in Glyn Berry’s death.

The key to Mohammed's release was Mullah Naqib, an important ally of the Afghan government who has been commanding respect in Kandahar since his days fighting the Russians. In a country where blood is everything, Mohammed was lucky enough to be born a member of the old warlord's tribe.

It's a measure of Naqib's standing - and a reminder that loyalty is a complicated thing in Afghanistan - that just months after Berry's death, the warlord stood on the grounds of a military base in Kandahar and shook hands with another Canadian, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was making a quick visit in March.

In an interview, Naqib warmly remembered his meeting with Harper, saying the prime minister extended a friendly invitation to visit Canada. "He said, 'Please come to my country,' " Naqib recalled, chuckling.

NDP blasts association with warlord -

From
Hansard - 96 (2006/12/12)

Ms. Alexa McDonough (Halifax, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's Globe and Mail carried a picture of the Prime Minister shaking hands with Afghan warlord Mullah Naqib, a man who admits using his influence to free a leading suspect in the masterminding of the suicide bombing that killed Canadian diplomat Glyn Berry and injured three of our soldiers. Can the Prime Minister explain Canada's relationship with Mullah Naqib and why he saw fit to meet with him?

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):
Very briefly, Mr. Speaker, I met Mullah Naqib when I visited the Canadian provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar, where he met me as part of a delegation of Canadian and Afghan officials. He was introduced to me as an individual who had been involved in the insurgency and was now working on our side. I would point out that if the hon. member reads the rest of the story carefully, she will see that much of the allegations in there are speculative.

Ms. Alexa McDonough (Halifax, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, this situation gets worse. Not only did the Prime Minister stage a photo op with this shadowy warlord, he rolled out the welcome mat for Naqib to visit Canada.
Is offering hospitality and a handshake to the warlord credited with subverting the police investigation into these tragic Canadian deaths the Prime Minister's concept of justice for the families of diplomat Glyn Berry and three of our soldiers wounded in action? Or, given Mullah Naqib's close association with the Taliban leadership, is this the Prime Minister's notion of dialogue with combatants? Which is it?

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):
Once again, Mr. Speaker, I was introduced to Mullah Naqib, and in fact at the Glyn Berry room, at the provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar. He was introduced to me as an individual who was assisting Canadian and Afghan government officials.

Perhaps the PMO should have briefed Steve about Mullah Naqib by getting him to read these books. And these news reports from the time and then these later articles;

Outside Kandahar, some anti-Taliban forces mobilized behind Hamid Karzai, a commander who supports the exiled King Mohammed Zahir Shah. Karzai spent weeks working undercover in Afghanistan, drawing on his old tribal networks and recruiting chieftains to join the battle. His strategy was to sever the Taliban from its tribal links, winning over local chiefs with promises of peace and international aid. Karzai's men advanced from Uruzgan, north of Kandahar; on the other side of the city, thousands of armed men from southern border towns loyal to another tribal elder, Ghul Agha Sherzai, moved into positions in the hills in the east. A delegation of tribal elders led by Abdul Haqiq, a former mujahedin commander, spent three days with Taliban representatives negotiating the handover of Kandahar and three other southern Afghan provinces. Under the plan, Mullah Naqib, an ex-commander, and Haji Bashar, a businessman allegedly linked to the opium trade, would both become interim leaders of Kandahar.

With the airport in Gul Agha's hands, the Taliban needed to flee Kandahar. They made a hasty deal to surrender the city to Mullah Naqib Ullah, a onetime commander who was on friendly terms with them. Mullah Naqib Ullah, in turn, would support Karzai. It's not clear whether Gul Agha was part of the deal or whether he was being cut out, or what role the United States might have played, but Gul Agha's forces rushed from the airport to the dusty city and captured it without firing a shot on Dec. 7. The Taliban were finished; Gul Agha was the victor.

Kandahar will be run by Gul Agha, who was deposed as governor of the city when the Taliban seized control in 1994. His deputy will be Mullah Naqibullah, a former Taliban supporter who oversaw the surrender of Taliban forces on Friday.

CNN.com - Transcripts

ROBERTSON: Some are people are telling us -- with all respect to Mullah Naqib that they think that he is not suitable to be the new governor or administrator of Kandahar and that's why the situation we're in now, where Mr. Gulazar (ph), Mullah Naqib...

KARZAI: Mr. Mullah Naqib is not the governor of Kandahar. He just helped with the surrender of power by the Taliban. Those things will be determined by the central government.

Tuesday, October 10th, 2006
Sarah Chayes on Life in Afghanistan After the Taliban and Why She Left NPR


AMY GOODMAN: You, very early on in your book, talk about a report you couldn’t do or didn’t get in onto NPR. What was that story?

SARAH CHAYES: It was really this story. It was, I watched -- there were U.S. Special Forces that were embedded in a group, a kind of tribal militia, which was directed to put pressure on Kandahar from the south. President Karzai also had U.S. Special Forces with him. He was coming down toward Kandahar from the north. The Taliban surrendered to him. They left. Al-Qaeda left the city. The city was in the hands of President Karzai and his chosen representative, and then these U.S. Special Forces urged this warlord to take the city by force from President Karzai.

AMY GOODMAN: Wait, now, explain how this went down and how you understood what was happening. You were on the border with this --?

SARAH CHAYES: I was on the border. I was not with this group, but I was on the border, and I was listening to the radio, where a lot of this played out, and I was speaking to people who were coming back across the border, and I knew that President Karzai had designated a certain person whose name is Mullah Naqib to be governor of Kandahar. And then, suddenly this warlord is in the city. And then, there’s this huge and angry standoff, which is being played out on the airwaves of the BBC actually, of their Pashto Service, and this warlord is saying, “No, I’m going to be governor of Kandahar.” And I knew there was something strange. And eventually that’s what happened. And Mullah Naqib basically pled old age and said, “Oh, I’m too old.” And I thought, “That’s not right.” You know.

Power shift in Afghanistan | csmonitor.com December 10, 2001

The problems that beset the victorious Afghan factions in Kandahar are a composite of the challenges that Afghanistan's new rulers face in cities around the country, and indeed, in the formation of a new national government. Even though most of the warlords and political leaders who now control Afghanistan shared a common goal of throwing out the Taliban, their agreement ended once the Taliban were defeated. Now, some top warlords, such as Pashtun leaders Pir Syed Gailani and Haji Abdul Qadir, reject the new interim national government put together last week in Bonn. Uzbek General Abdul Rashid Dostum told US officials yesterday he will now cooperate with the new interim government.

In a country with so many possible dividing lines - by ethnicity, language, religion, and tribe - Afghanistan's new leaders are searching for ways to bind their country together.

The man who bears this burden is Hamid Karzai, a southern Pashtun leader who was recently selected as Afghanistan's interim leader. This week, Mr. Karzai has been shuttling between rival warlords in the city of Kandahar. Unlike Pashtun expatriates in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, who had organized an anti-Taliban council called the Eastern Shura before taking the eastern city of Jalalabad, the Pashtuns of the south have no such council. This leaves them with the unwieldy task of forging political alliances between armed groups, while the smoke of war is still clearing.

The chief dispute in Kandahar lies between Pashtun warlord and former Kandahar governor Gul Agha Sherzai and another former governor, Mullah Naqib Ullah, who handed over the government of Kandahar to the nascent Taliban movement seven years ago. Mr. Gul Agha's followers criticize Mullah Naqib for his close ties to the Taliban, while Mullah Naqib's supporters say that Gul Agha's troops are unruly thieves.

Kandahar on brink of chaos as warlords ready for battle

War in Afghanistan: Observer special

Peter Beaumont in Quetta
Sunday December 9, 2001


Residents of the Taliban's former headquarters city of Kandahar were last night bracing themselves for a return to the inter-factional fighting that raged there until the Taliban took control in 1994, as evidence grew that militias were preparing to fight for control of the city.

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's new interim leader, called a shura, or council, to resolve the differences. But former factional leaders seemed already busy accumulating men and weapons for a return to civil war.

According to Pashtun tribal sources in Quetta in neighbouring Pakistan, commanders loyal to Gul Agha Sherzai, the former governor of Kandahar, who is angry that the city has been handed over to his bitter rival, Mullah Naqib Ullah, has been recruiting men in Pakistan to join his forces.

Gul Agha has a house in Quetta, home to thousands of refugees who have fled Afghanistan's two decades of conflict. 'I know his commanders were here last week,' said one source in the city. 'They are actively recruiting and moving men across the border.'

There are conflicting reports over the whereabouts of the Taliban's supreme spiritual leader, Mullah Omar, who escaped Kandahar, apparently with the connivance of the man who accepted the Taliban surrender, Mullah Naqib Ullah.

The threat of fighting over the spoils comes amid increasing international concern over deepening splits across Afghanistan's tribal, nationalist and religious divide, despite the agreement to form a broad-based interim government, headed by Karzai, due to be inaugurated on 22 December. Aid workers and diplomats in the region claim the tensions have hastened Afghanistan's descent into lawlessness as the Taliban disintegrated.

Already Uzbeki General Rashid Dostum has protested against the way power was shared out by the Bonn talks, making veiled threats of a return to war. Some sources claim Dostum has had satellite phone talks with Gul Agha to discuss a joint strategy.

Pashtun sources in Quetta allied to Hamid Karzai told The Observer the real problem was Gul Agha, who they claim has enjoyed the support of the Pakistani intelligence agencies. Until Gul Agha is 'removed', they say, there cannot be a solution.

At least four groups allied to former Mujahideen commanders appeared to be moving fighters into the city. At the centre of the dispute is the issue of who controls Kandahar, the scene of two months of ferocious US bombing attacks.

Following his personal negotiation of the surrender of Kandahar, Karzai agreed that the Taliban should hand over control of the city to Mullah Naqib Ullah, who has enjoyed good relations with them for years.

Indeed, it was Naqib Ullah's agreement to quit Kandahar with his fighters in 1994 that handed the keys of the city to the Taliban. According to his detractors - including Gul Agha ,who reoccupied his old headquarters on Friday - Mullah Naqib Ullah is Taliban in all but name.

'There is a shura in the city now to try to figure out how to control the situa tion,' said Khalid Pashtun, spokesman for Gul Agha.

He said the council included Hamid Karzai, Gul Agha and Mullah Naqib Ullah. 'Mullah Naqib Uullah is also there, but that is the biggest obstacle,' Pashtun declared by satellite telephone. 'Right now, we have to convince Mullah Naqib Uullah to stand aside.'

On Friday night, Pashtun all but accused Naqib Ullah of harbouring Mullah Omar and 1,000 followers. 'Our information is telling us that Omar and some other leaders, they are all with Mullah Naqib Ullah.'

As well as forces loyal to Naquib Ullah, Mullah Haji Bashar (who is based in nearby Spin Boldak) and Karzai, former commanders attached to the Hezbe-i-Islami leader, Engineer Hekmatyar, occupied Qishla-i-Jadeed garrison on the outskirts of the city.

Reports in the Pakistani media claimed some other unaffiliated commanders, including Kabibulah Khan, had taken control of Taliban tanks and armoury in the Bagh-i-Pul area and moved their fighters to Kandahar. Ustad Abdul Halim, another former Mujahideen commander from Professor Sayyaf's Itthead-i-Islami, was also reported en route to the battered city to revive his forces and seek a role in the new administration.

All these commanders had divided Kandahar into fiefdoms until their ejection in 1994. They were so hated that the Taliban captured the city and surrounding province almost without a fight.

Evidence has emerged of the devastation rained on Kandahar during the past two months, in particular on the Taliban positions. One Taliban official said: 'Our defence lines were broken. Seven times we tried to rebuild them and every time they bombed. 'Rows and rows of Taliban soldiers were killed and we couldn't even find the bodies.'

The Talibs

The Mujahideen had literally fallen apart, fighting each other as fiercely as they had fought the Soviets, the commanders becoming warlords in the territories they ruled over e.g. Ismail Khan became Governor Herat, Mullah Naqib Kandahar, Haji Qadeer Jalalabad, etc. Lesser commanders simply became brigands, blocking roads and imposing “taxes” at will. Absolute lawlessness ruled the land, rape, loot and pillage became the order of the day.

The new Afghan Armed Forces became an amalgam of elements of the Soviet trained Afghan Army and lateral entries from the Afghan Mujahideen. Most of those inducted were Tajik and Uzbek loyalists of Defence Minister Ahmed Shah Masood (the actual man in power), this alienated the majority Pashtuns. Holding the major cities and the military bases around the country, Masood abandoned the countryside to the Mujahideen-turned-bandits. The withdrawing Soviets left a vast surplus of defence material, particularly tanks, fighter aircraft, helicopters and ammunition of all kinds, greased and packed in crates.

With Masood increasingly hostile, his troops stood by as a mob set the Pakistan Embassy on fire, the Benazir Government in 1994 mandated the ISI to help the traders secure a route for Central Asia through Kandahar and Herat to Turghundi. Unwittingly Ms Benazir acted as a midwife to the birth of the Taliban. A convoy of Pakistan trucks was intercepted by the local Mujahideen Commander in Hilmand along with the accompanying ISI operatives. When the Governor Kandahar Mullah Naqib expressed his helplessness, ISI requested Mullah Zakiri, who was in Quetta, for help. A small group of Talibs led by a relative obscure religious preacher Mullah Umar, who had lost an eye during the Afghan War, freed the convoy. Welcomed as saviours, the Talibs replaced Mullah Naqib. Hundreds of Talibs from all over rushed to join the Talibs in Kandahar. With Kandahar in their control Mujahideen from the other factions and even entire units of the Armed Forces defected to the Talibs. The world could not believe that these country yokels, now known as the Taliban, could handle sophisticated weapons. They concluded these were Pakistani skilled personnel despite the fact that Soviet origin equipment (except for MI-8 helicopters) is not in use in Pakistan. For their own individual selfish purposes some ISI officers, started the myth that Pakistan created the Taliban, this damaged Pakistan no end. True that Pakistan has been giving money and material support, far cheaper than to have refugees costing many times more for their upkeep.

The Taliban restored law and order by clearing the roadblocks of all bandits and disarming everyone not in the new militia. Fed up of years of lawlessness and atrocities, the population welcomed the cleanliness of Taliban governance. Provinces fell without firing a single shot when the local commanders came over to the Taliban side. Fully 90% of those called Taliban were not Talibs and have never been Talibs, many have never been to any school or Madrassah. The Taliban ultimately took over control of Kabul in 1996 from Masood, his forces withdrawing to the safety of his native Panjsher Valley. Masood was brave but parochial in looking only after the Tajik interest. This myopic vision created anarchy in all of Afghanistan except Kabul, a set-piece environment for takeover by the Pashtun-dominated Taliban. Mazar-i-Sharif changed hands a couple of times before Rashid Dostum fled.


An Introduction of the Taliban


The cycle of violence, destruction, and chaos of the Mujahideen era created the condition for the rise of the puritanical Taliban. There are several versions of how a small group of taliban, led by Mullah Muhammad Omar took control of areas around Qandahar in 1994.

According to the most widely circulated account amongst the residents of Qandahar, a group of "madrasee" (belonging or originating from a Madrasa) taliban, headed by Mullah Mohammad Omar arrived in Afghanistan with the intent to re-establish law and order and to re-organize themselves. They took residence in a school near Dand in Qandahar. On September 20, 1994, an Afghan family on its way to Herat from Qandahar, was looted, its male members molested, and its female members were raped by gangs manning one of the so-called "check points" along the route. One of the victims escapes and reaches the newly established Taliban compound. The story goes that Mullah Omar and his followers rushed to the scene, capturing the perpetrators, executing them on the spot and then collecting and burying the bodies of the victims. It is this faithful incident, the Taliban claim, that marked the beginning of their campaign in Afghanistan. The Taliban then moved in and disarmed other groups in the area. They began consolidating their position and procuring weapons by winning the allegiance of several local military commanders. Among the groups who surrendered to the Taliban (through a peaceful arrangement) was that of Mullah Naqib, who along with a group of other warlords, had divided up the province amongst themselves. One of these warlords was Lalai, a former thief and "Sarbaz" (communist militia) who had defected to the Mojahedin during the Jihad era and had now become a post Jihad era warlord of a sector of Qandahar. While there is no a consensus about the triggering events that would mark the rise of the Taliban, it is clear that the initial popularity of the Taliban was due to the complete collapse of law and order under the so called Mujahideen era, which had officially begun in 1992.

UNHCR Emergency & Security Service AFGHANISTAN: INTERNAL POLITICS.

.

Towards the end of 2001, Gul Agha Shirzai, the pre-Taliban governor of Kandahar,
successfully challenged Governor Mullah Naqib Ullah for the governorship of the province.
Naqib was supported by his tribe, the Alikozay, which is stronger than the Shirzai tribe, but
Gul Agha had the support of the US military. However, he also chose to build a form of
coalition among Pashtun tribes, giving some positions to members of the Alikozay and
playing on ethnic Pashtun pride by supporting Amanullah Khan (a Pashtun commander south
of Shindand) against the multi-ethnic forces of Ismail Khan. Gul Agha also declared his
allegiance to President Karzaï.
These examples illustrate that, in the Pashtun tribal belt, the ‘winner’ is the one who succeeds
in getting support from the dominant players (the Afghan state and the US army) or who is
able to benefit from lack of co-ordination between them. But there is always a need for some
sort of ‘godfather’ due to the existence of a power balance between the tribes, who are all
engaged in a permanent negotiating process in which they rely heavily on external brokers.
The warlords will achieve substantive power only if there is rivalry or lack of co-ordination
between the dominant external actors. Hence the significance of the US decision in late 2002
to cease dealing directly with local warlords and using them as proxies in the war against Al
Qaeda. Such a withdrawal is necessary if the fragile central state is to have sufficient leverage
and room for manoeuvre in its relations with provincial leaders.


A House Divided? Analysing the 2005 Afghan Elections


Agha Lalai Dastgeeri, PC candidate, explains Alokozai voter organisation
One month prior to the elections, the elders of the Alokozai tribe met at the house of Mullah Naqib [the current leader of the Alokozais in Kandahar]. All the candidates gave their speeches highlighting their aims and policies. Some tribal elders, including Mullah Naqib, were then selected and given the authority to choose the candidates on behalf of the tribe. They went to a separate room and selected one Wolesi Jirga candidate and three Provincial Council candidates. But some of the candidates did not agree with the decision of the tribe…Thirty years of war has destroyed the old tribal system. Before there were very few tribal elders – now there are many and there are many divisions between children. They are not unified. Many jihadi groups and political parties have also divided people and have weakened the tribal system.

Source: Interview with Agha Lalai Dastgeeri, Kandahar, 8 October 2005

The frequently heard statement that “people voted according to how they were told to vote by
the tribal elders” did not prove to be true in the case of the Alokozais. The endorsement of the
Alokozai tribal elders, including the tribal leader Mullah Naqib, clearly did not result in most
Alokozais voting for Haji Shahkaka, who ended up in fifteenth place in the WJ contest.
Different explanations were given for this poor showing. Some felt that the choice of
candidates was the problem, as Haji Shahkaka, although a respected tribal elder, was quite
old and not very powerful or influential. The theme that voters wanted powerful and influential
representatives who would be effective in delivering patronage and resolving their problems
emerged in many interviews. There had been a stronger Alokozai candidate, Izzatullah
Wasefi, who belongs to an influential Alokozai family from Kandahar. However, following his
appointment by President Karzai as Governor of Farah Province, he withdrew as a candidate.
Some blamed weak tribal leadership for the Alokozais’ poor performance. Mullah Naqib, other
than hosting the meeting where the candidates were selected, largely remained disengaged
from the election campaign. Unlike many other tribal leaders, Mullah Naqib chose not to contest the elections, reportedly preferring instead to focus on his business interests.
Furthermore, Khan Mohammad, the powerful former Alokozai militia commander and head of
the Kandahar Garrison, had lost influence in Kandahar since his appointment as the Chief of
Police in Balkh Province. As one interviewee noted, the Alokozais failed to organise because
“Wasefi didn’t campaign, Mullah Naqib sat back and did not actively participate, and Khan
Mohammad is in Mazar.”


See

Warlords


Afghanistan



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On Our Backs

Alberta Report, a new blog covering provincial politcs, named after our favorite rightwing magazine, is actually a progressive. He suggests that turfed Labour Liberal MLA Dan Blacks is being courted by Brian Mason of the NDP. Apparently they were meeting in the Legislature cloak room exchanging email addresses.

NDP Talking to Dan Backs? Sources at yesterday's Ed Stelmach availability in the Legislature TV Room were surprised to overhear Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason speaking with Dan Backs about a meeting. Mason delivered his crop of Stelmach criticism, then spotted the ousted Liberal MLA skulking around as things were winding down in the room. Mason was overheard asking Backs if he was busy later. No word on Backs' reply.

I have said that Backs and the NDP were a natural fit.

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Labour Liberal

Dumb Move


Kevin Taft

Gomperism

Liberals

Unions


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News Briefs


Or is that News Boxers? Anyhoo a few short tid bits.

Ish Theilheimer, no really that is his name, at Straight Goods wishes everyone Seasons Greetings with two posts on one page.

First One; predicting that there will be NO Federal Election in 2007. How brash of him. Being contrarian to all popular pontifications and predigitations of the pundits. Anyways his reasoning is interesting, check it out. I actually think that
if it is called it won't be in the spring but the fall. The reason, Quebec provincial election.

Second One; A short precise review of the the past crimes of the RCMP that implicate more than just the Commissioner. They are rotten to the core as are their current political masters.

Straight Goods is not impressed by the un-truth-telling and subsequent resignation-when-exposed of RCMP Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli. Although it is believable that he was kept in the dark of some of his force's errors and wrongdoings, it is unlikely he was completely ignorant of everything going on. And if he was, that represents gross incompetence. (This could be called the Paul Martin dilemma. Not knowing is as bad as knowing.) The horrific Arar affair is one of many recent stains on the RCMP including:

  • Zaccardelli wrote a letter during the recent federal election campaign that announced an investigation into former finance minister Ralph Goodale's handling of the income trust affair. There have been no charges since or indications of wrongdoing. Gooddale was eliminated from seeking the leadership after that;
  • the March 1999 raid by the RCMP in which officers served a search warrant on then BC premier Glen Clark and tipped off TV local reporters. Clark lost his government after that, over what turned out to be a $12,000 backyard deck;
  • the RCMP received approximately $3 million in cash handed out by Liberal-friendly firms during the Adscam scandal;
  • politically motivated actions in support of Jean Chrétien including raids on enemies of the Prime Minister's and aggressively pepper-sprayed peaceful demonstrators during the 1997 APEC meeting;
  • embarrassing former prime minister Brian Mulroney over the Airbus affair and costing taxpayers more than a million dollars to cover lawsuits;
  • inadequate disclosure about why four members were murdered by a madman in Mayerthorpe, Alta., or the deaths of the two officers in Spiritwood, Sask., this year.
  • Meanwhile, the Harpocrites continually invoke a Bush-style law 'n' order campaign, including a proposal to let the police stack the judiciary. With police like this, who needs criminals?


    We now return to regular programming.

    See

    RCMP

    Election




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    Rona Goes, Maybe


    Well its about time. Rumours abound that Harper will use the xmas break to shuffle his deck of cards on the Tory Titanic.

    In this case
    most speculation is that Rona Ambrose our MIA Environment Minister will be moved from that portfolio, since she did her best imitation of a potted palm in the position.

    Yesterday in anticpation of the move she was looking at used cars.

    However Jane Tabor of the Globe and Mail speculated, and I think correctly, on Mike Duffy Live/CTV yesterday that Rona could be moved to Minister of Intergovernmental affairs. Her old Alberta Policy Wonk stomping grounds.

    Of course that would mean she would have to take French lessons, as her French is as bad as Stephane Dion's English.

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    Ambrose


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    Bravo MP Bill Casey

    I am posting the letter I wrote Conservative MP Bill Casey, (Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley) about his private members bill to create a national registry, national standards and a national program for studying brain tumors.

    I watched Casey's presentation on CPAC. With the exception of the BQ the other parties supported it in a truly non-partisan fashion. Even if they raised questions about it, they were all supportive, well almost all.... Surprise, surprise that the PQ didn't support Casey's bill. Of course Canadian Federal/National standards are not Quebecs Nation-alist standards. Those standards are; we go it alone, just gimme the money.

    Young brain tumour survivor lobbies for better guidelines
    ChronicleHerald.ca, Canada - 13 Dec 2006
    Brandon and his mother flew to Ottawa from Amherst to push a private member’s bill that their MP, Bill Casey, introduced for debate on Tuesday. ...

    Duceppe: Legislation would intrude on Quebec’s jurisdiction
    ChronicleHerald.ca, Canada - 3 hours ago
    Isabelle Paris, a Montrealer who lost her mother-in-law to a brain tumour last year, said Wednesday that she wrote a letter of support for the bill because ...

    My letter:

    Dear Mr. Casey,

    I am not a Conservative Party supporter, however I want to congratulate you on your efforts on behalf of Canadians suffering from brain tumors. I watched your presentation on CPAC yesterday and was very impressed. I was impressed by the authentic non-partisan support you elicited from all parties except the BQ.

    I want you to know that I think you have done an excellent job in representing your constituents, and in going beyond to bring forward a bill that is extremely important for all Canadians and indeed for people around the world.

    From what I heard of your bill, and I have not read it, you are calling for national standards, which are crucial in developing further medical research into the causes of brain tumors. It is the reason we have a Federal Government, to set national standards.

    To this end I am also pleased to see that the government intends to fund this research out of federal funds. This is why we have a national Canadian Health Act, which is itself a national standard.

    I worry about the impact of asymmetrical federalism that your party has embraced in relation to Quebec. When the Prime Minister and Finance Minister announced that they planned to devolve fiscal responsibilities to the provinces, I am afraid that gives more ammunition to the BQ. As the only party to oppose your motion I think you will understand why. The BQ is using the issue of financial imbalance as a way of undermining national standards. They deplored your motion as an interference in Quebec provincial rights. Well that maybe however as the saying goes he who pays the piper calls the tune.

    Since federal funds will be used for this research, funds over and above regular transfer payments if I am correct, then the Quebec government should not be opposing your bill, as they seemed to be from the quotes read out in the house by the BQ MP.

    It is imperative that in areas of medical research especially using statistical data, that all such data from each province, city, rural riding, etc. be made available. If my understanding of the comments made in the House by the BQ, Quebec has no intention of doing so.

    This is a serious challenge to any national standards program, and I believe it is a direct result of the failure of the New Canadian Government to address the real need for federal jurisdiction and powers to set national standards. Quebec wishes only to run its own programs and then demand the federal government pay for them.

    It this was done across the country in all the provinces and territories chaos would ensue, and there would be no national standards.

    Thus your party's promotion of the idea of a devolution of federal powers, runs counter to your own private members bill. In that I wish to say I was glad your bill did call for national standards.

    I am hoping it will pass. And I am hoping that as concerned MP you will see that your party's policies regarding federal provincial relations may run counter to what Canadians really need, which is strong national standards for medicare, day care, etc.

    Sincerely,

    Eugene W. Plawiuk

    Edmonton Strathcona


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    The Dead Dead Sea

    Now why does this headline strike me as darkly ironic in a Lovecraftian fashion......The Dead Sea is Dying. Perhaps because I thought it was already Dead.

    As Lovecraft wrote;
    "That is not dead, which can eternal lie. Yet with strange eons, even death may die".

    And the reaon is as usual the use of water for irrigation in an area that should not be irrigated, sort of like the area around Lethbridge in Southern Alberta. And as usual having created an environmental disaster the solution is itself a disaster in the making!

  • Irrigation has lowered water level
  • Rescue plan 'will make things worse'
  • Only a minute’s walk from the fast-receding coastline of the Dead Sea is the starkest evidence of what environmentalists have feared for years. Decades of a policy to drain water from the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River to turn the deserts green have inflicted a heavy cost — the shrinking of the Dead Sea, and the alarming appearance of fissures and sinkholes on its shores.

    See

    Environment

    Lovecraft


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