Fingers Crossed

Minister of Defense O'Conner told CBC Newsworld that our Mission in Afghanistan was all about keeping our fingers crossed. Yep. Fingers Crossed that we would succeed. Then he admited that the mission is a failure and doomed.

Taliban can't be entirely defeated: O'Connor

O'Connor has warned that NATO would not be able to defeat the Taliban completely, although it might be able to contain the insurgency in the south.

"There's a flow of Taliban back and forth into Pakistan. And so, we will eliminate pockets of the Taliban, and they will withdraw into Pakistan and they will come back again," the defence minister told CBC News on Thursday.

"Unless we have international co-operation, where Afghanistan and Pakistan work together and the allies work together to reduce and eventually eliminate the Taliban, we can't do it the way it's going now."

Nope we can't. This is a one sided opium war. With Canada leading the way, after the U.S. dropped the ball in Southern Afghanistan and NATO delayed picking it up. Now NATO is calling for reinforcements because they underestimated the Taliban and regional Warlords.

NATO's top commander, U.S. Gen. James Jones, appealed for military reinforcements in the region earlier Thursday, warning that the next few weeks could decide the mission's outcome.Jones said the "level of intensity" of the Taliban attacks surprised NATO when it stepped up its campaign in southern Afghanistan in July. He acknowledged that NATO did not expect Taliban fighters to stand and fight instead of using their old tactics of hit-and-run attacks.

That underestimation has cost Canadian lives. Which is the historical predicament we find ourselves in. It happened in WWI and WWII our troops were expendable to the British high command. And now we are expendable for NATO.

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Afghanistan

War






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Bully Boy Harper

Smirking, smug and concited Stephen Harper appeared before the Senate today. The first PM ever to do so. Historic moment. And given the opportunity to be statesman like he blew it.Senate to be election issue?

He called for the Senate to support his reform bill S-4 putting time limits on Senate appointments. Step one in his plan to reform the Senate. Luckily we did not have the kind of show they put on in the U.S. when the President addresses the Senate. No Hail To The Chief, no thunderous applause, even when Harper departed. He could not tell the Senate what his plans were for Senate Reform. Cause he doesn't have one.

What he did do was act the bully boy. Like he has over the softwood deal. Or the pending motion to have Rona Ambrose removed as Minister of the Environment. He told the Senate to pass his bill or else. Another confidence motion.

Liberal Senator Jim Munson picked up on the less than veiled threat, made in French by Harper, who told the Senators to pass S-4 or "face the political consequences."

Harper promises bill to elect senators

Liberal Senator Jim Munson questioned Harper about the possibility that he would "fight an election on the backs of the Senate."

"Well, don't give me the opportunity," Harper replied. He said there would be political consequences if Canadians become convinced that any kind of Senate reform became impossible.

Munson said Harper sounded like Pierre Trudeau when the former prime minister uttered the line: "Just watch me," in regards to dealing with the FLQ during the October Crisis.

Yep our six month old PM is as arrogant as the PM who was in power for 16 years.

As for his reform the Senate plan well its the same old same old Triple E Senate that he helped draft for the Reform party. No room for a Senate that includes Aboriginal and Inuit representation, let alone territorial representation of the three new Inuit territories and the Yukon and NWT, no room for gender equality or minority representation in an enlarged Senate.

With nine Senate seats open he could have offered the Terrorities those seats, when questioned by Senator David Watt. That would have gone along way to assuaging a historic wrong.

Instead Harper dismissed all the Senators quiries with the fact that all he wants is a Triple E Senate.

If he wants Senate Reform so bad he should take it to the people of Canada in a referendum. Two simple questions;

Reform the Senate--Yes or No
Abolish the Senate--Yes or No.

Frankly I beleive the only way we will achieve any genuine political reform of this outdate British parliamentary system will be by empowering a Citizens Constitutional Assembly to draft proposals for a wider democratic insititution of governance that includes, proportional representation, referendum and recall. The Triple R of real reform. Something the ruling Conservatives have forgotten all about.

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Harper

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Playing Footsie With A Terror State

In Islamabad yesterday, Mr. O'Connor offered a mixed view of Pakistan's role. "I really appreciate what Pakistan is doing and they are doing a fantastic job," he said. "But in my ideal world, they could do even better because that way our troops will be safe."

Oh like making side deals with the Taliban, offering Osama bin Laden amnesty, and killing popular opposition politicians in provinces bordering Afghanistan. That really helps our troops.

The minister's meetings yesterday included talks with Habibullah Warraich, Pakistan's Minister for Defence Production. He suggested that Canada might be able to assist Mr. Warraich's department, although he did not specify how.

Lets see maybe by providing more nuclear fuel for their bombs. This guy is a big an idiot as Hearn.

It is Pakistan that is the source of the terrorists in Afghanistan....so maybe we should go there and settle this once and for all...that would go along way to keeping our troops safe.

A NATO source confirmed last night that a U.S.-Pakistan bilateral agreement allows cross-border pursuits, and expressed hope that Canada might win similar permission.

Not likely. We're pals with Pakistan.

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Afghanistan

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Royal Newfoundlanders Died For the Seal Hunt

Days numbered for seal hunt after EU declaration demanding ban: activists In an unusual move, Hearn said he told Belgian politicians that an import ban would amount to "taking the livelihood away from a number of Canadians whose family members left their blood on the fields here in Belgium, Flanders fields and other places" during the First World War.

Uh Huh? What???! The Royal Newfoundlanders led to slaughter in the killing fields of the Somme in France were fighting for seal pelts? Hardly. Hearn, like other Harpocrites, is an idiot. Our troops died for you so don't boycott us. Wow that's foreign policy genius at work. Others would call it blackmail.

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Seal Hunt


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Green Party Bump

The Green Party, with new leader Elizabeth May, came in at a surprising 10 per cent - more than double the 4.5 per cent they garnered on election day.

This poll done over the Long Weekend shows that the Green Party got 'bump' off its convention coverage on CPAC, publicity on CTV and the ensuing media coverage of the Leadership Race and May's election as Party leader.

Of course those in the Vert universe are all jumping up and down with joy, just like Who's in Whoville.

Of course this too shall pass. It is after all just a bump not an earthquake.

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Green Party


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Cherniak Whines

Liberalblogger Jason Cherniak, who organizes purges of fellow Liberals who question Israeli Imperialism and its illegal occupation of the Palestine, is upset.....I'm sick of the insults

And then he goes on to say this.....

Not too long ago, I was defending Liberal Jews against a young man who said we should all leave the Liberal Party. In response to my comments, the head of the Blogging Dippers called me "anti-Semitic" because I said that it is not "normal" for Jews to spend all their time protesting Israel in a group such as Jewish Women Against the Occupation. This is the same person who once wrote "F--k the Jews" on his website. As far as I am concerned, the continued support of this man by the NDP and much of the blogging community is reprehensible. I have been trying to ignore his comments for a while now.

Now who is being insulting?

I also commented on Cherniaks post about defining JWAO as not being 'normal jews' quote unquote. He actually tones it down here. He called them 'nutbars'.
Which if anyone else had called them that Jason would have screamed 'anti-semitism'.

Somewhere along in this debate I also asked Jason if he considered the Refuseniks and Peace Movement in Israel as being nutbars also. To which I got no reply.

However it is important to note that opposition to Israeli Imperialism does exist in the homeland, even if the Israel lobby here disavows it. Israeli opposition to Lebanon War

Though he didn't take issue with my comment at the time he did and does with a similar comment at MyBlahg.

Firstly Robert from MyBlahg set up the Dippers aggregator, to call him the head, is to imply we all agree with Robert, and are all following the leader. It's an aggregator for those who identify with the NDP whether they are members of the party or not. Anyone could have set it up. Robert is just another contributor.

There are many blogs on the Dippers aggregator that are not official blogs of the NDP, ie. a constiuency blog or a candidate blog, and so the party has no say over them nor do they represent the party. I don't. Robert doesn't.

So demanding the party purge Robert, well thats a bit much, since I don't know if he is a member of the party. Anyways whether he is or not his blog is his, it is not the official blog of the NDP.

And it's not very liberal of Jason to demand we all drop association with Robert because of his post on F***k the Jews. It's a red herring as far as I am concerned. Besides I can disagree with him and defend his right to free speech. Something it appears neither Jason nor Kinsella apparently can, thus thrusting both of them to the right of all real progressives and classical liberals.

But it's typical of the Stalinist mentality that scurries throughout Jasons diatribes. Of course he has been successful in purging his party of dicontent. Even if it was misplaced. Hubert was vilified for the usual utterances

How proud he is, so now he demands others purge those whom he disagrees with. If one reads between the lines of the purge of poor Thomas Hubert, one sees that Jason was as upset over him being an ex-NDP'er as he was over the questionable comments made by Hubert that Jason decided were anti-semitic. You see Jason has no love for the NDP as a true blue Liberal.

One has to ask is Jason blogging as himself or as Communications Director for the Dion campaign? I remember when he blogged for the Martin Camp. So who does he speak for? In his confusion between being a blogger and being an official 'Liberal' blogger, he miscontrues others who blog and support poltical parties.
I do not speak for the NDP even though I am on the Dipper list. I am also on other blog aggregators as well. Ones blog affiliation does not construe that we accept all our fellow travelers. Nor should it construe party affiliation. Except i guess it does in Jasons case. All Liberalbloggers should be true blue Liberals, err red....and if not Jason who runs the Liberal aggregator purges them.....

Apparently he now takes issue with my comments on his opinion that the JWAO were nutbars.

Now I also have a bunch of people on the left-side of the spectrum who disagree with me, but they do so by calling me names. A surprisingly large number of them even insult my religious ethnicity. What is wrong with these people? Didn't their parent's teach them any manners?

I have manners and I never insulted his religious ethnicity. Can one have a religious ethnicity? One can be an ethnic Jew or a Religious Jew, they are not necessarily the same thing. And one can be an athiest Jew, many anarchist Jews were. Jews can be opposed to anti-semitism with out being a Zionist nationalist. However with the death of the anti-Zionist movement within the larger Jewish community in the post WWII diaspora in North America, the Zionist Nationalists dominate. And they use anti-semitism as an epithat to cover any criticism of their sacred state; Israel. But again not all Jews are Zionists.

Zionism is the last of the nineteenth century European nationalisms. Since there was no piece of territory where Jews could establish a homeland in Europe they were forced to look outside, mainly to Palestine because of the historical and religious connections. Early Zionists were largely secular and were opposed by the religious leaders since the latter believed the return to Zion should be only through divine intervention. Political action would usurp the divine prerogative. Since the establishment of the state of Israel most religious Jews have become Zionists though many religious Jews still oppose the state of Israel. Zionism has the failing of other ethnic nationalisms. Those in the homeland who do not share the ethnic paradigm become second class citizens. However, support for national liberation movements and self-determination and opposition to Zionism means national liberation and self-determination are only for gentiles.Anarchism and National Liberation

I said by Jason's standards his own words accusing the JWAO of being nutbars could be considered anti-semitic if uttered by anyone else. So depite his protestations let's be clear about one thing, Jason speaks not in defense of Jews but the State of Israel and its official ideology; Zionist Nationalism. That is a political position, and all politicial positions are open to being challenged. And such political debates and challenges should not be subjected to perjoratives or epithats like 'anti-semitism'. That's whats really insulting.

Ideologically, Zionism affirmed the Nazi belief that Jews were an alien race that could never be fully accepted and welcomed into European society. This was contrary to the Bundist attempt at Jewish emancipation and normalization, which proclaimed Jews full-fledged members of the nations in which they lived, and ergo, fully entitled to the same rights as all other citizens of those nations. This is very much the ideology underpinning the American Jewish experience: That we are fully American and not strangers in someone else’s house. The Zionists were all too eager to concur with Hitler that the Jews simply did not belong. (Interestingly, when Avraham Avienu declared, “I dwell among you but I am an alien,” he did not then conclude “And therefore I do not belong among you and should leave and form my own state.” He intentionally went to where he would be seen as alien so that he could employ his identity as an outsider to foster cultural criticism and provide a light unto the nations.) Zionism archive at Orthodox Anarchist


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Secret Prisons Secret Torture

Bush admits to secret prisons The only reason to have secret prisons is to practice torture in secret. And nothing that Bush said yesterday will change that. The CIA will be allowed to operate secret prisons, rendition programs, and yest torture...despite the assurances of President Bush to the contrary....The president declined to disclose the location or details of the detainees' confinement or the interrogation techniques. Bush insisted that the detainees were not tortured. "I want to be absolutely clear with our people, and the world: The United States does not torture," Bush said. "It's against our laws, and it's against our values. I have not authorized it, and I will not authorize it."

Nope the U.S. doesn't torture on its soil it outsources torture...the reason for secret prisons...

Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, said: "President Bush's speech was a full-throated defence of the CIA's detention program and of the 'alternative procedures' - read torture - that the CIA has used to extract information from detainees.

"Although the president adamantly denied that the US government uses torture, the United States has used practices such as waterboarding that can only be called torture.

"The draft military commission legislation he announced today would allow the use of statements obtained under coercion, and would allow the accused to be convicted on the basis of secret evidence."

And Bush says that the information they got from the prisoners helped stop attacks on America. Didn't stop the attacks in Spain, Indonesia, India,Russia or London though.

Yesterday the White House announced a no torture of prisoners revision to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Because of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the scandal over GITMO. In the case ofAbu Ghraib, the abuse by Military Police aside, the torture and interrogations were conducted by the CIA and outsourced to Military Advisors aka mercenaries. Neither the CIA nor private contractors are covered by the US Military Uniform Code of Justice. So it will be business as usual.

At the United Nations and other international forums, Washington has long officially opposed torture and advocated a universal standard for human rights.

Simultaneously, the CIA has propagated ingenious new torture techniques in contravention of these same international conventions, a number of which the United States has ratified.

In battling communism, the United States adopted some of its most objectionable practices -- subversion abroad, repression at home and, most significantly, torture itself.

From 1950 to 1962, the CIA conducted massive, secret research into coercion and the malleability of human consciousness, which, by the late 1950s, was costing $1 billion a year. The hidden history of CIA torture

Meanwhile it appears that Bush has some international support ....Australia backs US use of secret prisons for terrorist suspects Can the Harpocrites be far behind in applauding torture and secret prisons...

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No Invite To White House

Guess after you say this you don't expect to get an invite to visit the Rose Garden......Ex-Iranian leader blames Bush policies for terrorism Ironically the visiting Iranian reformer Mohammad Khatami was supported by the Bush White House attempting to influence the Iranian elections. Not that he was expecting any red carpet treatment upon his visit to the U.S. Though if the White House had any political smarts they would have invited him to talk.

Of course then again George is afraid to debate the current Iranian President. This maybe why.

Washington has said the call for a debate is a diversion.

But Ahmadinejad's office said in a statement that he told his cabinet he was ready to debate in the U.N. General Assembly and that Bush could bring his advisers if he wished.

A presidential official told Reuters that Ahmadinejad's remarks were partly to rebut a Bush speech on Tuesday in which the U.S. president said Shi'ite "extremists" were subjecting Iran to "a regime of tyranny", backed terrorists, sought atomic bombs and threatened the United States.

Afraid to talk to the Iranians....yet willing to declare economic , and possibly military, war on them...typical of the Bush foreign policy of; America Only Decides The Fate Of The World, Nyah, Nyah, I Can't Hear You I Have My Fingers In My Ears.....




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Free Button

Bring Our Troops Home....just copy and past to your page. It links to the NDP petition to bring our troops home.






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