Afghan Karma will run over Harper's dogma until the Canadian military presence in their country resembles a wet paste.

Good to see your stuff again, Murray.
Unfortunately it is not only Harper (or Bush) who steers us on this path to inevitable collapse. A significant minority, of the upper and middle classes actually support the "business as usual" approach to a future which, given what we have seen of human behaviour, looks awful.

The majority of the population has no spare time or energy to concern itself with matters which should be managed better by those entrusted to do so.

I count myself amoung the few who see the crash coming but do not know how to politely request the inebriated driver to
SLOW DOWN!

Unfortunately for Mr. Dobbin, the Liberal leadership frontrunner is even more hawkish than Mr. Harper.

Excellent article, Murray Dobbin.

Harper's "taste for war" is a very clever and subtle manipulation of the Canadian public by Harper to shift the way Canadians perceive themselves, to see ourselves in a new way...to see ourselves, our strengths in terms of war (instead of peacekeeping)....and thus to act and this is the important part, in terms of policies of war set in and by the US of A. He is attempting a psychological shift of the Canadian public....all other issues of deep integration with the US and joint security measures will thus be all the more easy to implement and swallow.

The anti-dote to this is a strong and fiesty peace movement that will reject this new definition of Canada...it being the simplest but most powerful of weapons to convey against the sinister subterfuge of the Harper agenda.... and against the US imperialist policies of endless war that are entrenched within that agenda.

And when you speak of endless war, then you realize for Canada Harper's Afghanistan Misadventure is just a first step on an insane journey.

The article would be improved if it noted that Canada's intial presence in Afghanistan and subsequent undertaking of a more hazardous mission were originally mandated by other governments.

Also it should be noted that the current mission was authorized and extended by parliament.

Perhaps these details will make into parts 2 & 3

Slag off Harper all you like, personally I little regard for him or his ilk, but respect the facts please.

Harper is a neoclassicaly brainwashed economist, plus a disciple of Strauss, who firmly believes that "competition" is the necessary way of life.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the brains to realize that competition always increases costs, and that the purpose of economic competition is to transfer the increased costs on others. Or perhaps he does, but his Straussian brainwash excuses the crimes committed by "competitors"

War and crime are the ultimate degrees of so called "free enterprise" economic competition, so chickenbrained people support it.

History shows that "competitive" societies always self destruct, because they burn out and collapse. There's no other way. We can now watch the process repeating itself with the USA.

Unfortunately, millions of people will die before the message sinks in, as it has happened many times in history.

Ed Deak, Big Lake

Gray, it should also be noted that under the Harper government Canada is now in Afghanistan under the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom.... meaning our military leaders report to American commanders at the end of the day.

Hitler's and his satellites' armies have also fought for "Freedom, Christianity and Western civilization". As have virtually all armies in all wars in history.

One of these days humanity may just wake up to the fact that the "leaders", who
are sending them up the scaling ladders are a bunch of criminals, fools and liars.

It is not countries who go to war against other countries, but one bunch of "leaders" against another bunch.

Ed Deak.

Ed Deak.

I see in NewsWeek that they claim that the war in Afghanistan is beginning to tilt in the Taliban's direction. Clues to this are Canadian Generals, pretending to be american Generals and calling the enemy cowards. Calling the Taliban cowards is a sure sign we are losing the war.

Why are we losing? Simple, Bush sent the US troops to illegally invade Iraq before they got the job done in Afghanistan. Bush's oil buddies got too greedy and now they will pay the price. Of course many Canadian soldiers will die, but the americans don't care, when it comes to Canadian soldiers, we are mere canon fodder.

Nevermind the war now, at the end of WW2 Canada had the 3rd largest navy in the world, a very well equipped and respected army along with an airforce. Since that time every government has kicked the shit out of our armed forces, leaving them outdated, lame equipment (Sea-Kings, unarmored jeeps etc), destroying morale ( cancelled the Airborne Reg., remember the same uniform for all?), closing bases (Chilliwack, for one) and so on. We should have had a small, highly trained and well equipped force at all times, the money needs to be spent now because of almost 60 years of neglect. Asking people to be ready to kill for you (and soldiers, bottom line are killers) is a big deal. These men deserve the best gear and support, no matter if they are helping with natural disasters (no army base in B.C. now) or in armed conflict. I don't care much for Harper, but a nation needs armed forces, just like we need cops, distastefull as that may be. Doesn't mean they have to be used, just have to have them.

Amen to that, Ed Deak.

Climber,

I do believe in national defence, but what's the point in having the best armed forces, when the country is up for sale to every lousy carpetbagger multinational that comes in and the citizens' rights are canceled out by fraudulent free trade agreements, in reality treaties to destroy democratic decision making ? Never even mind about the generals itching to wear US uniforms.

I would say, this sudden clamour for more money into the forces is nothing more than eyewash to divert attention from the
fact that Canada is for sale. Who's going to invade us when their banks can create imaginary capital to take over the whole caboodle without firing a shot?

Ed Deak.

This is not "WW2" anymore.(though it may look like that to some temporarily priviledged voters)

The big war is against the planet itself. Yer latest Hummer all decked out in Titanium Armour or the "classified" replacement Attack Helicopter or jet fighter are no use here - all they do is add to the environmental load as they roar around Kanahar, whoosh off the carrier deck or the drop in air field and fly out to shoot whatever latest toy mounted under the wing.

We could be doing better:
Approach the border of a country which the collective "Unaited Nations" has deemed to be problematic and toss goodies as far as we can inside the territory. Wait a week or two and then toss more food and money in there. After some more time If the locals are calm move forward and toss some more goodies.

Never ever take your heavy hardware or personel outside that perimeter.

Do not fly over and drop bombs or send cruise missiles - it just pisses them off.

doggone:

Never ever take your heavy hardware or personel outside that perimeter.

This was done to all 'march' regions in the 'old days' 1200-1980's (not really tossing stuff over - maybe at the start). More experience from the 'march' should be put to use.

Definately Do not fly over and drop bombs or send cruise missiles - it just pisses them off.

Lynn - we are NOT under American control. We are in Afghanistan at the invitation of the Afghanistan people, under the guise of the United Nations`mandated NATO mission.
Please, if you want to enter the discussion, the very least you can do is get your facts straight.

Please inform me regarding the "March" Murdock

Hey Maxwell
You really sure about your facts>?

Don't you be dissin' my Lynne

Excellent story, Murray Dobbin! And if you had to pick between Paul or Stephen, who would you pick? I won't force you to answer that one :-)

This nation, and the nation of the great, united states of america is in grave trouble due to corruption in government that few of us really want to accept. Eisenhower's warnings of the "U.S. military industrial complex" have gone unheeded, a phrase Eisenhower created to describe the tactical bribing and Propaganda created by corporate defense contractors on the congress and in the whitehouse, and now in the ministry of defense in the house of commons.

If we were to hear that a country made a major defense contractor a vice president of its nation, most of us would think, banana republic. A few of us would ask, "is it the number one weapons dealing nation in the world"? Dick Cheney's war profiteering through Haliburtons S.A. NGR defense corp is becoming obscene. Bush's profiteering off of war is no less subtle. Why would we in Canada expect O'Connor to not walk away with a few directorships and fat accounts for his troubles?

And Harper's agenda with the NCC has not changed. The CBC, the wheatboard, the RCMP, medicare, any system that Canadians use that is universal and already paid for by Canadians will be sold to create a larger U.S. market... for health insurance companies, for media, for grain distributers, for the decentralization of federal powers to assist in the continued intregration of Canada and whats left of its pieces, with the U.S.

Harper's agenda is still found at the NCC's website:

morefreedom.org

Canadians are in no other time in history, at such a huge risk of losing this country to a U.S. coup, with Harper, a groomed U.S. puppet plant raised by NCC ideology and cash to individually profit as Emerson has, with the sale of Canada to the U.S. empire.

Whether its the sale of Canada's resources, its rights... its crown corps... its ethics internationally for peace...

Harper has and is bending over to U.S. defense corp pressures, and corporate market expansion pressures to take over this nation's ability to run or own itself. Harper has amassed a group of yes men and yes women to assist in the sale of this countries resources and sovreignty and unless we vote these bums out, they will surely ruin the future of this country in all ways, environmentally, ethically.

If you all love this country, you will do what you can to stop Harper from continued power and place this power in the hands that are responsible and accountable enough to hold it. And so far, we do not yet know who that is, but can chose it, I think, and am opinioned, with the endorsement of two men. Stephane Dion and Ken Dryden.

Amen, The Brain - although from latest polls, it seems that Bob Rae is now the front runner. GO figure!

Well said, Brain. Harper is all I said he would be. Let's say thanks to smiling Jack for his election.

Working Man
What I guy!

Never miss an opportunity to diss a party that's never once been in power in Ottawa.

THe Liberals lost the last election because of their own corruption - it would have happened no matter what Jack Layton did or didn't do.

Get over it - place the blame where it belongs.

Not that pee wee Rambo isn't a total disaster.

I'm all for Rae as being a conservative person. What a great target to attack. I see a win win situation here for conservatives. Support Iggy.
I am only being political here, but I can;t see a bad side for conservatives.
To be clear, I say I would love to see a battle between Iggy and Harper. That would be truly the 'clash of the titans'

Could it be the NDP's policies that keep it out of power, Gewest?

Smilin' Millionaire Jack brought the last goverment down. You bear the responsibility and wear the pride for that because The Smilin't Millionaire could get a few more seats for it. How many dead kids has that cost us?

Yep, it wasn't the NDP that ran a big corruption scheme in Quebec, it was the Libs. If the libs had been a good government not smelling of corruption then sure, support them. But a corrupt, bad, aimless government? No way, glad the NDP didn't let themselves get tainted with that brush.

As for who to blame for Harper, that would be the non-NDP, Cdn voter.

brain, I like your two picks (Dion and Dryden).

working man
the usual baloney. You could set up a program to post that stuff - it's always the same and it's always wrong. Best case scenario your hero Paul would have called the election at the end of February - to the same result.

Have you been following up on Belinda Stonach's latest escapades Working man?

Remember, she saved Paulie once too - I notice she's now the 'other woman' in the Tie Domi divorce case. She sure gets around. Great Liberal!

No way Harper is the NDP's fault. Jack is no more than 4th in rank in the House of Commons - I'm sure he's pleased you give him so much unearned credit.

LOL

Frank
Have you checked out BCMary's blog today?

http://keyword.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=basi+and+virk&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3Dc322ddbd3b7d2a25%26clickedItemRank%3D8%26userQuery%3Dbasi%2Band%2Bvirk%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fbctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DnsBrowserRoll%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fbctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com%2F

Interesting stuff about how really 'independent' our media actually is.

Its Can-West G, expecting them to report on Basi and Virk is asking a lot isn't it?

The Aspers almost make me wistful for Lord "Napoleon" Black. Almost.

I was interested to read how the T/C editor reacted to Mary's posting her letter of response. She clearly didn't like the attention and the implication that she might have told the reporter to spike the story.

Not quite 'that' wistful! Actually, the first couple of years the National Post was kind of refreshing - obviously aping the Wall Street Journal - and it certainly forced the G&M to pull up its socks.

I'd still wish we could have a kind of branch-plant Toronto Star out here as real competition for the SUN.

Are the Canucks going to be as bad as their exhibition season seems to indicate?

I can't bother to read the G&M any more. Haven't since Gary Mason's hatchet jobs became too predictable.

BTW, Have you read Krugman's "Great Unravelling?"

Canucks : Depends who you believe. I'm an optimist, I think they'll be better than last year and will sneak into the playoffs.

Yeh! I read the Krugman book. Enjoyed it, maaybe thats not the right term. I always read his column in the Times as well.

I gave up on the Globe too - although someone did point out to me in Saturday's that there was a mention of Belinda Stronach as co-respondent (ie other woman) in Tie Domi's wife's divorce petition.

I did think that was pretty funny. She sure gets around.

I just thought that 5-1 result against Anaheim was pathetic. And what happened to BC against the Riders? Brain cramp!

I have to head back there in October - maybe I'll try to get to a game.

24 Canadians died in Bush & Cheney's war driven efforts to spend trillions on nationtional defense in order to personally make billions in front of our eyes. Since then, 37 Canadians have died in Afganistan to support more military spending pushed by defense lobbiests and bribes, for a war against terror built on a lie.

How many wars built on lies must we endure by our U.S. friends?

Yah, G. That Buono call to punt in O.T... made no sense at all. :-)

Of possible tangential interest: Roger Scruton on Chomsky -

Who Is Noam Chomsky?
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110008997

And, it is not only lethal to its foes, but also lethal to its friends. American missile artillery and air support can write off their own because of inept calculations and decisions made by U.S. military.

In the big picture - and against Eisenhower's warning - we have succumbed to the American military industrial complex.

Ed Deak........I always enjoy what you write. And today I agree with you totally. Thank you.

We'll lose more young lives in Afghanistan and all that piece of rank stupidity is going to do is convince more Afghans to join the Taliban.

Absolute mega-fortunes are being made from this insanity, and while the TV news makes it all sound as exciting as the Stanley Cup finals (rah rah rah) the arstles are handing this entire country over to the Amerikkkans and the corporations who run Amerikkka.

When my kids were small I could imagine what their lives would be when they hit their twenties. Now my grandchildren are small and I have no idea what they are going to have to cope with when they head out into the world, but I fear it will be grim.

Canada. Ah, yeah, right, I remember Canada. Used to be a half decent place. Now? Ah, pity, eh.

garbage conservatives just inherited a 13 billion dollar surplus(that's OUR money) and the first thing they do is cut a billion dollars from progressive programs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why? to pay for their fcuking weapons of mass destruction. Weapons to hunt and kill, to search and destroy.
fcuk you harper
fcuk you baird(nice teeth you a$$)
fcuk you flaherty
Time for this critical mass of sleaze and hypocrisy to be "swept into the dustbin of history".

ok doggone:

Andorra is the oldest 'march' region reference I could find.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra

Essentially a 'march' is an area between two opposing states that wish to dominate or control that area. They contest and compete with one another about the area using (mostly) non-violent means. Typically these regions are of little immediate economic value, such as mountainous or swampy areas. Often life is hard or of marginal profit for the 'colonists' sent into the 'march' in order to bring the laws or customs of one or the other major peoples into the area.

The actions of Israel in their building of 'settlements', then building walls into 'disputed' Palestinian territory is a modern version of a march battle. The response from Hezbolla was another side of what the 'march' struggles of the past also involved.

This sort of boundary dispute and conflict has been going on for a very long time, we need to start using more 'stabilizing' techniques in these conflicts and less murderous ones...

This morning we hear that Steve and his buddies are talking"stealth fighters" to eventually replace the ageing F-18's. The military annalists are of the opinion that for present wars something a lot slower and able to hang around for awhile would be a better deal. why else would we be putting money into expendable drones? But if the Us aerospace companies want extra customers, heck Steve is ready to write cheques for mega dollar aircraft to go to a war where the opponents use bicycles, and old cars to kill the troops.Give your heads a shake before using more of my tax dollars. But maybe steve can help george set up a really big war and buy some real high tech stuff, which would keep the military arms sellers quite pleased. The A10 for example is a very efficient killing machine, heavily armoured and cheap to operate. Mind you the pilots have to be able to decide at even slow speeds not to chop up their allies. Try that at supersonic speeds.

Iraq is one thing, but this is a UN and sanctioned war. I don't know if we are winning or losing, but that doesn't dictate why you go to war.

You go to war when a country is controlled by a regime which breeds terrorism, harbour fugatives, oppresses and tortures its own citizens.

I don't know what you commies suggest, but it sounds like you want nothing to do with anything outside of our borders. This is a good thing, we are helping people.

It is sad to see that many people fail to see this.

Much of what is expressed in Mr. Dobbins paper, is acceptable to me, and I do oppose Canada's role in this dangerous and out-of-control mission. However, I feel that there has to be definition given to some of the statements, that are considered to be 'sacred cows'; for example, references to the Soviet Union's support of the progressive government of that era under Najibullah, as being one of many historical incursions by foreign forces as another brand of imperialism, which is definitely not so. Be advised that the Soviet Union had mutual defense agreements with all of their border states, ranging from Turkey through to India and China. In fact, if the so-called "democratic" countries of the world, and the U.N should be included here, support for the progressive forces in Afghanistan at that time, would have resulted in the defeat of the "Taliban", bringing forward and applying the best and historical features of Islam, resulting in the release of agriculture, from the debilitating production of opium, also, bringing the female population forward to full equality. We were told that the Taliban were our freedom fighters against "Soviet aggression"?, funded by the U.S.A and their "intelligence?" agencies. Wow!..give me a break. I believe the families of Canadian forces fatalities would be enjoying the presence of their sons and daughters at Thanksgiving dinner this year. Afghanistan is a disaster, but let's not acerbate this issue, by distorting history.

Wait are we talking about Afghanistan or the US?

Kipling: "The Young British Soldier"

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
and the women come out to cut up what remains
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your gawd like a soldier."

I too agree with some of the facts of this editorial, however not the opinion.

The above quote is somewhat truthful, though it could be presented in a different view.

Harper didn't like the fact that Canada was turning into a "2nd rate Socialistic Country" - though I disagree that his priorities are with only "Calgary and Washington".

Suburban/Rural voters overwhelmingly support this party, and its initiates. It is the socially arrogant urban idealogue, which hates the guy. Canada is an increasingly urban country, and he will have to make inroads. However, give me a break!

You remove the GTA from Canada, and the Conservatives would run this country for the next 2 decades.

People who get too close to Bushes' fire end up burned .
Look at Tony Blair .
He's all done as will Harpo be in the next GE .
Bob Rae will make mince meat out of Harpo in the debates and totally eviscerate him .
Harpo guts everywhere .

If the Afghan people really want us there, I think we should be there to assist them. If they want the Taliban back, we should leave.

One problem is, I don't like our so-called allies. The Northern Alliance needs to be destroyed, their leaders arrested. We should not be helping them by getting rid of their enemies.

Because otherwise we will "save" the Afghans from fundamentalists only to deliver them up to corruption and criminals.

NATO tends to ignore corruption on the part of their allies but the Afghan people can see it for themselves. We won't win hearts and minds until we do to the Northern Alliance what we're doing to the Taliban.

And of course it should go without saying that pouring money into the hands of corrupt people is not going to rebuild Afghanistan.

Fact is we're going to take a thousand casualties for nothing.

Cappy: When has Canada had a socialist Government? It certainly has a rabid right wing one now that seems vitally committed to wasting human resources and blood in Afghanistan. The people of Quebec are busy showing how out of touch he really is. Harper is full of NCC propaganda and knows virtually nothing about the realities of this country - as his failure to hang onto the support he managed to eke out in Quebec in January accurately illustrates.

As usual you get most facts upside down and backwards.

Yea, and if you cast bread on water it generally sinks.
Stupid statement .

Cappy's degree of 'wrongness' is a function of the space time contiuum.
According the latest string theory there are 11 dimensions in our universe so cappy has things all fcuked up and ass-backwards in 7 dimensions we cant even perceive!!
I was thinking of naming a new subatomic particle after hin and his right-wing buddies but BOZON is already taken.

Hey wait a minute, I like this idea, if you took the Langley to Kelowna axis out of BC we'd have had NDP governments for most of the last 40 years.

Hmm, can we force Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, Princeton, Penticton and Kelowna out of BC?

Can Alberta split in two? The Northern half could remain Alberta and the southern half could be renamed New Jesusland and be an independent state. We'd get rid of people like Preston Manning and Steven Harper and a whole nest of whack-jobs while still keeping the oil. New Alberta would probably even go Liberal or NDP. I love it.

Pretty much from Trudeau to Martin.

Bill Vanderzam will be thrilled, as WAC Bennett and junior Bennett to find this country was run by socialists for so long. Drop in Martin, Chretien, Rae, and Captain Canada.

If people who try to make things better, even if they don't do that well at it, are they always branded as Socialists?

Mulroney, Chretien and Martin were socialists? So it was socialists that signed free trade, slashed transfers, avoided anything resembling a social program and turned us into a banker's and shareholder's paradise?

Reagan and Comrade Mulroney sure got along well. Reagan must have been a socialist too then. And Clinton of course. And Bush senior.

Noleftnut:

This is a joke, right?

Frank,

Most of the province has generally supported right of centre governments, with exception for urban Vancouver, the Island and the Kootenays. Langley to Kelowna is a large portion of BC's population. Abbotsford is the 3rd largest city now and rapidly gaining on Victoria.

My point was the Dobbin suggested that Harper is merely pleasing his Calgary base. However, much of the country agrees - with exception to Urban Canada and specifically the GTA - where they have more seats than our entire province, none of which went to the Tories.

So, by this arguement, the Liberals have been bouyed by the GTA and Quebec Nationalists with no real federalist alternative - now that they have one - voila - they lead the Liberals in that province.

More Bozonium in the kool-Aid rhetoric .
Nope Harpo is done like dinner in the next election.
They will be lucky to get,even, 50,seats .
Montreal,Toronto and Vancouver all rejected the nit-wit and now that Duceppe is holding a gun to his head it is all over but the crying .
If he gives in to Quebec he will alienate his western basr(all he really has) if he refuses Quebec well this ten seats are gone,gone gone .

Cap, I know what your point is. I was only trying to point out that you can't take the GTA out of Canada. Toronto, love it or hate it, represents a huge section of Canada's population, commerce etc.

You said that much of BC has supported right-wing governments. That's true, however, unlike the Langley to Kelowna corridor, most people in BC are willing to look at the alternative. Which is why we end up with NDP gov't once in a while. Langley-Kelowna however will vote for the Socred/Libs regardless of their record and federally, the Reform/Conservatives, regardless of theirs.

Now as it relates back to Toronto, that city doesn't have as much of a history of one-party dominance. Especially provincially.

Came back to this sour grapes article: where the author basically hates the PM and will whine about anything he does. When in doubt claim he is a Bush-bot. Your article is weak and that is the nicest thing I can say about it. I guess the minor facts like Canada fought in or played a role in almost every major war in the last century. Had around 1 million people in uniform out of a population around 11 million, had around 10,000 troops in Germany since WWII as part of NATO was not important to mention, just the constant brainwash of a “peaceful Canada” that never really existed. Plus it’s funny that you whine about sullying our reputation, our reputation had become a worn out rag still hopefully wringing out any respect leftover from WWII, Korea and the cold war. The time has come for this generation to step up and earn themselves a place at the international table.
By the way, our soldiers were good at peacekeeping, because they were warfighters always willing and able to give anyone a bloody nose, of course the Liberals were horrified when a bunch of Canadians fought back at the Medak pocket and tried to keep it under wraps for years. As for how the world see Afghanistan, I guess the blessing of the UNSC is not enough for you? Also the world does not care about Dafur and did nothing about Rwanda, so I would not be to worried about their opinion.

Quoting Jean Chretain is pathetic, of course he didn’t want to give money to the military, then he would have less to give to his friends, he certainly didn’t have a problem using defense funds to buy himself some new jets, should have forced him to fly around in Sea kings. As far as defense spending goes, you either pay as you go along, or you pay when everything is broken and all the bills roll in at once.

Dogone you do realize that the US military is one of the biggest users of alternative energy sources? Mainly solar and wind.

Frank, I would disagree, the NDP under Layton did allow them selves to be sullied, by supporting the Liberals, when they should have let them fall.

DPL Well the CF-18 are getting old, the A10’s would be useful (although hated by the top brass in the USAF as they ain’t sexy enough) Reading the postings by guys over thee, they seem to accept the mistake a lot more readily because of the confused situation than the previous incident that should never have happened. In the last big battle, Canadian FOO’s were calling in strikes less than 150m from their positions.

Hannibal
I think Rae is the best Christmas gift that Harper could have, he is not well remembered in Ontario and apparently not well liked in Quebec either.

Frank
Some valid concerns about parts of the Northern Alliance, but as NATO intends to do this war on the cheap and they are part of the reigning government, our hands are tied.

UN security council resolution on the Afghanistan mission

http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2006/sc8669.html

DND backgrounder

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1703

The province newspaper published a letter from me in which I mentioned our Prime Minister in a rather disrespectful tone.

The letter contained a reference to Harper..... I didn't write Prime
Minister Harper - simply Harper (possibly to underline my dislike for his
government's Afghanistan policy).

Ordinarily the Province's editorial staff slash words and phrases unmercifully, so much that
it is difficult to recognize one's own letter. However, in this instance,
the same editorial staff added "Prime Minister" whenever I referred to Harper.

It certainly makes one wonder whether our media - or specifically Israel Asper's media empire - has the will to criticize the government.

Jack's - he is the Prime Minister, isn't he???

Colin, the NDP did let them fall. They only supported the Libs for one budget in order to get spending in areas the NDP wanted. Later, the Libs were refusing to give in to NDP demands and so Layton pulled the plug. And good on him. I supported both of his decisions not out of solidarity but because I think he did the right thing on both counts.

Our hands aren't tied Colin. Assuming "our" means NATO and not Canada alone. We're fighting over there so we should have lots of pull. Even if every last Taliban is killed and a great big parade goes through downtown Kabul it'll mean nothing if the warlords and other criminals are handed the Afghan people on a platter. Canadians shouldn't be in harm's way to make Afghanistan safe for the Northern Alliance. They have to be disarmed and brought before courts and it'll be easier to do while our military is there than afterwards.

Now the big news. Conrad Black wants to get his Canadian passport back. Just think, a new thread on a story that has shifted quite a bit, which is sort of standard in the articles. Maybe Conrad figues if he gets back here, harpo will not let the U.S courts have him.

Wrong again Colin:
The neo-Nazi's are terrified of Rae and what he represents a moderate big tent party that is inclusive .

And some more bad new for the Nazi party .

And then there is this.

Many of them have fond memories of the 1995 campaign that saw the Mike Harris Conservatives sweep the NDP out of office at Queen's Park. But that presumes that lingering memories of Rae Days would weigh more in the scales of the next federal election than the more recent ones of the Common Sense Revolution.

The middle-class voters who booted the New Democrats out in 1995 have also soured on the architects of the Harris agenda since then.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of Harper's Ontario team these days is that it is so dominated by Harris alumni, with Jim Flaherty, John Baird and Tony Clement all installed in senior portfolios.

The worst-case scenario for Harper in the next federal election would a mobilization of progressive voters under a common flag.

Conservative strategists got a taste of what that could mean earlier this week when a steep decline in NDP support paved the way for the defeat of Bernard Lord's Conservative government in New Brunswick.

Yea,keep on singing the same tune Colin.
Maybe someone will actually believe you .

Thanks Murdock. I agree that we should adjust our offerings to acknowledge modern technology: How about - Play Stations for Guns while you attempt to dissarm Small Boys Units in West Africa? The other thing that I thought might help (I spent about 6 months in Liberia) was to arm the women. Yeah, Dumb idea, but we were casting about then.

Looks like we are still casting about and there is no simple solution. If you and I and the rest of the contributors here can not make and agree on sensible recommendations from the comfort of our own home and computer terminal I don't think we should expect armed forces or folks on the ground to do any better.

Politicians have made very plain where they stand (wherever they choose).

Colin:
I'm impressed that the Military is using "Alternative Energy Options" for their Machine

Y'don't suppose they could figure out a way to shut the thing off?

One of the interesting things about the enormous opium crop in Afghanistan(1/3 larger than total world demand), is that the same thing happened during the Lebanese civil war in the 80's. It may have been one of the main reasons the civil war went on so long.

What's happening now with "the Taliban" supposedly being responsible for the insurgency makes little sense in terms of their history of reducing opium production greatly in the years of their greatest power. Have they switched their position on this? Could it not be that it is really the Northern Alliance producing the fighters and above all the money for arms being used against our forces?

What's Rae's position on Afghanistan?

Bob Rae on Afghani mission:

Bob believes in a foreign policy that is in keeping with the best Canadian traditions.

Parliament narrowly supported the Harper agenda for the Canadian military and Afghanistan. Bob has been speaking out during his current campaign tour about how he thought the Harper motion was a "set-up" and he would have voted against it: "Our role as a country is peacekeeping, constitution making."

The recent six- hour debate in the House of Commons on Canada's role in Afghanistan was hardly adequate to make an informed judgment about such a fundamental change in Canada’s role.

The unilateral extension of the combat mission is a departure from Canada's traditional role of peacekeeping and reconstruction. Bob believes Canada could have instead focused our military, aid and diplomatic resources on reconstruction and re-building that war-torn country and that we also should have heard how the Afghan mission affects our ability to contribute to resolving other troubled situations.

In contrast, Mr. Harper is a leader who would have involved Canada in the Iraq war and vows to move ahead with a significant and prolonged combat role for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Dogone
Wasn’t there a woman called that ran a very tough group in Liberia, most of them made up of women that had been raped and had armed themselves afterwards? She was referred to by a rank, but I can’t remember what it was.

Nothing is ever the NDP's fault, especially their lack of electoral success due to an impractical platform.

That truth aside, it was Millionaire Jack who brought the Liberals down. He triggered the confidence vote in the hope of winning a few seats. He did that at the price of dead Canadian soldiers.

Colin: I recall something about that group of women - General was a favourite rank. My time there was '92/93.

Back to the thread: Was anyone else struck by the TV reporting of Canada's troop deployment initially in Afghanistan? The news anchor with a backdrop of big guns and armoured equipment - where have we seen that before?

For a short time I thought Fox had bought CBC

Murray says "...Stephen Harper, the head of a minority government with the support of fewer than 40 per cent of citizens..." - fact - Canada has something around 32-33 million people. Fact - the cons got around 5 million votes. If anyone can tell me how 5 million of 32 million equals forty percent, I'd probably understand many things much better.

siamdave:
One in four Canadians actually voted for the idiot out of something like 5,million who actually bothered to cast a ducat .
I beleive only 60% bothered to vote .
A lot are ineligible to vote too young, landed immigrants etc .
So,yea the numbers are skewed .

The total number of votes cast in the 2006 election, including advance polls, special ballots and ordinary polling day, was 14,908,703 – an increase of about 9.0 percent over the 13,683,570 cast in 2004. Relative to the 23,054,615 electors on the lists, this translates into a turnout rate – using the method employed by Elections Canada – of 64.7 percent. This marks the first turnout rate increase since the 34th general election (1988).
The neo-Nazi's only got 36.4% of the vote.
40% would have put them in majority territory .

People have the habit of voting against people not for the eventual winner. Don't attempt to blame Layton folks, blame yourselves for getting even with the liberals by voting in Harpo and Co.

You voted for him so now it's getting to be time to get rid of him while the country still exists.

doggone:

Yes, we can expect them to 'do' better.

We give them less permissive Rules of Engagement, or better yet, take them away from the place where they can only do more harm than good.

It is impossible to trade or discuss anything with a gun in your hand, it is hard to shake hands.

The mujehedin leaders warned that the duration (after the Soviet war) was going to be harder than the battles. So it was, now we think we can do better than the Soviets, using the same methods with only 1/10th as many troops?

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result then Canada's military leaders are insane and going about their duties without any medications at hand at all. They will likely be killed by their insane approach to this situation.

Actually, what Harper is doing makes sense on another level. He's cutting back on services to people like literacy programs and buying more military equipment to fight an unwinnable war. That's the best possible outcome for the Carlyle group and its ilk.

WM and Colin,
WM you claim Harper is the NDP's fault for not supporting Martin.
Colin claims the NDP is stained by not letting the Libs fall right away.

I love you guys :-)

But just for the record, the fact that the Libs were tossed is the fault, not of the NDP, but of the Libs themselves. Jack Layton didn't run a corruption scheme in Quebec.

As for the soldiers dying in Afghanistan. Blaming the NDP is, at best, incredible. It was Martin that signed on and Harper who extended it. Neither are card carrying NDP'ers as far as I know.

Still, if you keep wanting to blame the 4th party of Canada, who have never held federal power, for the ills of the world you have my blessing.

Truer words Nana, Boeing, Bombardier, Hallaburton, KBR, Oh hell to many evil Corps
http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro

He has never had the chance. His party never has and never will from a government and the number of NDP MPs that have ever sat from Quebec could be counted on one hand.

Carlyle Group I.m not familiar with them.
Any links ?
Thanks

WM,

Exactly, ergo, he is not responsible for the corruption of the Liberals nor their defeat in the following election nor the deaths of soldiers in Afghanistan.

In all three cases the Liberals are to blame.

hannibal,
Carlyle Group is the group of people with more money than Burundi that like to buy things around the world. The Bush family has their hat in the ring.

http://www.carlyle.com/eng/company/index.html

http://www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0,1300,583869,00.html

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3995.htm
This starts out with a Dutch intro, but switches to English quickly

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7094545816220336237

Here's a better version of the video at infoclearinghouse

Thanks Frank and Nana .

Capitalism...

Gawd - you are sooooooo right wing!! You've got to be a Bush supporter..
Oops, pardon me - President Bush.

Harpo doesn't deserve to be called Prime Minister. Period.
He is a pretender to the throne .
Can't wait to see the goof tossed out of office to languish forever on the opposition benches .
Major loser as are all his so called cabinet ministers .
Can't believe they are trying to blame Arar on the Liberal's .
Nonsense .

I must have been asleep in my geography class. Our committment to Afganistan is through our membership in NATO, right? Doesn't that mean NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION. What part of Afganistan touches the north Atlantic, Mr. Harper?

The premise for NATO's existence, the Soviet Union no longer exists, so NATO has become the enforcer for the gangsters who are running the show. Harper is sooooo out of his league. God only knows what he really thinks he's doing.

Musharif flogging his book on Jon Stewart's show was very funny but him telling Canadians to quit whining was not.

Yea, the tea and twinkies summit was hilarious .
His numbers are,way, off though saying that only 2,Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan .
I like the fact that he hates Hamid Karzai who is just another Bush(shrub) marionette .
His pleading will fall on deaf ears in Canada as the nation has already decided we do not want to be used as American gangsters .

Realistically - NATO simply by its raison d'etre has a very heavy military influence - however I am blaming equally the U.N. for jumping on the U.S. bandwagon.
I guess it boils down to 'money has influence'. If the U.S. continues to not cough up its U.N. debt, then the U.N. is in deep do-do.

hannibal wrote...

Don't get this... I think we are being used as American gangsters in Afghanistan.
We have our dandies in Canada too (not only IAMC. Received an email (mistakenly) from a bunch of Canadian rednecks who were salivating over the destruction an American sniper can produce with a 50-cal. WOW bullet/missile.

Well Jacks . I am just saying that popular opinion is unlikely to be swayed by a little tin-pot like Karzai .
The nation has decided and it will cost Harpo his government(?)
They are sooooo stupid they thought that sending troops from Quebec would bring that Province on side .
How dumb is that ?
Like to get a look at that email you were speaking of.

In other words, a black op “foreign Taliban” appears to be at work in Afghanistan, busily attempting to discredit the real Taliban, who are making gains against the occupation of their country.

“Olli-Pekka Nissinen, a Nato spokesman in Kabul, said the high level of civilian casualties had split the Taliban hierarchy,” an effort that benefits nobody but NATO, the United States and, of course, the oil multinationals building a $2 billion plus pipeline spanning the country.

As if to underscore the urgency of maintaining the corporate-globalist neolib status quo, Bush had the military dictator Prevez Musharraf and former Unocal employee and installed Afghan leader Hamid Karzai over for a sit-down dinner at the White House.

http://prisonplanet.com/articles/September2006/280906_b_Taliban.htm

Looka' that: I remembered my all digit password!
Murdock:
What I meant was: "folks on the ground" that'd be the Afgahni in this case, don't have internet access and some do not have a comfortable home. I have both these and no idea what Canadian Forces should do there or how a local person should interact with soldiers who spill out of armoured vehicles in their neighbourhood and hand out candy or eye their water and sanitation systems or, god forbid, just start aiming weapons.

Once I acquired the trust of local people (Liberia led to an offer to go to Rwanda which "T'anks God!" I rejected as it would be too soon for me and turned out to be too late for the locals I accepted a job in Albania,70% Muslim, in 1995) they mentioned that the fact that I was there "shamed" them.

Get used to it, Canada!

Humanitarian is a VERY big word. I did not meet many "humanitarians" working in international aid and the U.N. Observers were mostly interested in the nurses I worked with.

Sorry for pratteling on but it's still a bit "raw" after ten years.
but i would not be surprised if Dobbin's next (and the Chat responses) gets me going again

I wonder how long it will be before we begin probing our potential political leaders about their military background? In the States, this is of paramount ilmportance, but, up to now, not even on the radar in Canada. When that changes, I'll know we've lost our way.

Gawd, Hannibal - you are so right about the 'Quebec sending troops' thing.
Of course Harper is assuming that when a couple of Quebec soldiers are killed, it will propogandize the province into believing in the war.
There should be a rule that if a country gets involved in a war, the leaders fight for a period of one week on the front lines.
Wars would be pretty scarce.

Question for the brain power of Tyee bloggers....

Is it legal for Canada to stop supplying the U.S. with oil?
The rules and regulations for this must be in the 'Competition Act' but trying to wade through something like this is frustrating beyond belief.
Also, it is the Competition Act which prohibits us (Canada) from establishing a special price at our gas pumps. Sounds like something Mulroney would dream up.
Quite frankly I'm so pissed with the American Bush administration that I don't shop or spend any money in the U.S. anymore.
But then I discovered that we are being ripped off by our own merchants on goods imported from the U.S.

Jack's
When we signed on the the FTA, we agreed that in times of energy shortage we would continue to provide the US with the same percentage of production as before the shortage occured. Should we ever decide to abrogate FTA/NAFTA, the energy portions would remain in effect for 19 years afterward.

Nana: Holy cow!
I had no idea they screwed us that badly .
I knew that energy was well protected by the US in NAFTA but Gawd that is insane .
Especially with the Alberta government(?) giving the multi-nationals a free ride with regards to their royalties .
Lowest in the entire world .
Klein gave away over a half trillion dollars to the global bucaneers .

Half a trillion just in lost royalties. I wonder what monetary figure can be applied to the ecological damage done.

Back to the topic, NATO will be assuming command over US forces in Afghanistan next month...so maybe that will put a lid on torture.

Frank
As you noticed, I said the NDP were stained by their support of the Lib’s with full knowledge of what they did, but not involved with the corruption,.

You are quite right that it was JC and Martin that initiated sending troops first to the ISAF and then onto Kandahar. To give some credit to them (gag, gag) They did try to warn people that this would not be an easy task and Canadians would be killed in the process.

There are a lot things I will slag the NDP for, but I to agree they were not instrumental in sending the troops over in the first place, although I seem to remember they did support it back then. But then Taliban Jack is known for flip flopping.

Nana
Even without Afghanistan, the military needed new equipment, not doing so is the equivalent of manslaughter of our own soldiers.

Hannibal
I can’t think of any PM during my life that has impressed me as Harper, I am quite happy with my vote being given to him. The NDP, Greens and Liberals, tossed away any chance of getting my vote by treating me as a 2nd class citizen. But I would like to see NAFTA tossed out.

Nana
NATO was authorized by the UN to intercede on their behalf. But you are quite right that it is searching for a new role in this century. Musharraf is a bit cranky as his much vaunted forces got their asses handed to them by their own creation, rather ironic, rather a pity that Indian was unable to quash them before they got nukes. Pakistan and Bangladesh (to a lesser extent for now) are complete cesspools with Musharraf being the least slimy option.

Colin Doesn't it bother you that pre-paid expertise flowed into Harper's camp well prior to the election from US Republican sources?

Harpers minority prevents him from doing anything rash...but if he ever got a majority....watch out.

The US just passed legislation that says it never has to say it's sorry.
The only reason they have just said they will try through better communications never to let an incident like Arar's happen again is because Harper has to look good.

Colin wrote...

Well, I certainly agree with you about NAFTA. However even if it were tossed, we are still obliged to knuckle under for our lifetime if the energy agreement is any indication.

Harper is the results of 30-dirty years that The Fraser Institute groomed/programmed him for these very reasons!
Big Bucks from uncle sam to harpo camp!
We should be in Darfur right now, not being an aggresor country!

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear: Cicero Marcus Tullius

Gordon Campbell comes to mind also!

Well I guess,Colin, you are easily impressed.
Harpo is the dumbest, most immature leader the neo-Nazi's have ever had .
Read his stand on the issues at the NCC .
Canadian;s ae now clued into the fact that this is all Reform/Alliance policy driven initiatives and he will be tossed out on his fat ass in the next GE. Mark my words .

I hope you're right hannibal...

However, there are a lot of young people who don't read a damn thing, or know anything about politics, who are for Harpo.

Their numbers are constantly growing - and that's what scares me - plus the lack of an alternative.

I hope you are too that's 3 only 25+ million more!
My choice is NDP!
Why not, we've had big biz crooks Liberals Sponsorship Scandal.
Now Harpo's Jack Boot Conservatives
The money from the Sponsorship Scandal would have been enough to fund a new socialist government seeing as Democracy isn't really freedom

Yea, Jack's but generally young people are apathetic about politcs and don't really ,vote .
I think the 'New' Liberal party will be much,much better than the previous incarnations .
A Liberal governement led by Bob Rae would be ,very, exciting. At least to my mind .
Harpo is phuqued on the enviornment as is'Bunny brained' Ambrose.Clueless the pair of 'em .

From yesterday's New York Times:

September 28, 2006
Canadian Seeks to Defend Losses in Afghanistan
By CHRISTOPHER MASON

TORONTO, Sept. 27 — The growing number of casualties in Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan and the resulting political fallout has led Prime Minister Stephen Harper to begin a campaign to reassure Canadians that it is worth the money spent and the lives lost.

The pace of casualties has been growing since spring as Canada’s 2,300 troops have taken on greater responsibilities in the dangerous Kandahar Province of southern Afghanistan as part of the NATO force in Afghanistan. Critics say the government spent little time preparing Canadians for the inevitable rise in casualties that would come with a larger role in the mission.

In all, nine Canadians have died in Afghanistan so far this month, accounting for a quarter of the 36 troops who have been killed since Canada’s Afghan mission began in 2002.

During the first week in September, four Canadian service members were killed in one of the largest battles fought by the country’s forces since the Korean War. Days later another was killed by an American plane in an episode that led to calls for an investigation and dominated newspapers’ letters to the editor for days.

Faced with political pressure and declining numbers in opinion polls, Mr. Harper has gone to great lengths to counter the sobering image of coffins arriving on Canadian soil.

He has given a speech on national television defending the mission, praised Canada’s role in Afghanistan during a speech to the United Nations, given rare interviews on both national broadcasters and had a visit from President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, who addressed Parliament about Canada’s mission in his country.

Mr. Harper took office in February with a handful of domestic priorities, like stiffer penalties for gun crimes and tax cuts, and little focus on foreign policy. But since the election, 28 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and so foreign policy has become the overwhelming focus of Mr. Harper’s government.

“As the events of Sept. 11 so clearly illustrate, the horrors of the world will not go away if we turn a blind eye to them, no matter how far off they may be,” Mr. Harper said in his speech on national television to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

He said on Sept. 15 that Canada would add 200 soldiers and 20 tanks to strengthen its contingent in Afghanistan.

Critics say Mr. Harper is trying to make up for lost time with an effort that should have begun when Canadian politicians voted in May to extend the Afghanistan mission until 2009.

“There should have been more of a government effort to explain why we were there and why we were taking casualties over the summer,” said Jack Granatstein, a fellow with the Canadian Defense and Foreign Affairs Institute. “He’s playing catch-up so to speak.”

But support has been slow to build in a country that identifies itself as a peacekeeping nation.

“I think it’s a shock for many people in our country that we’re involved in something that is not blue helmets and no rifles,” Defense Minister Gordon O’Connor said in early September.

Mr. Harper’s recent efforts have suffered a number of setbacks. Last week, Canada’s military commander declared victory over the Taliban in the Panjwaii district southwest of Kandahar. Hours later a suicide bomber attacked troops who were handing out toys, schools supplies and candy to villagers, killing four Canadians and wounding 10 others.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1159566611565&call_page=TS_World&call_pageid=968332188854&call_pagepath=News/World&pubid=968163964505
You must read this . It is truly heart breaking and almost inomprehensible .

Stephen Harper is the poster boy of the Fraser Institute they started with him 30/dirty years ago programming him for this day in history!
Just to satisfy you people who think I don't have a clue, check these sites out then let's see you comment about why we are in Afghanistan!
Don't bring 9/11 up because that just doesn't fly anymore!

http://straight.com/content.cfm?id=18809
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Harper
http://www.blog.agoracosmopolitan.com/?p=9
http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2005/11/29/HarperBush/

All I can say Dude is they are the dumbest most immature bunch of Nazi's this great nation has eever had to endure .
I see the softwood lumber deal exploded on cue as there are 86,companies refusing to sign on .

"I think the worse they get, the worse they'll look, so they're going to have to rethink this very carefully.''

That about says it all about these morons.
A majority,hah, they will be lucky to get 50,seats in the next election.

Someone has to be the watch-dog against The Fraser Institute during the next Fed election!

Well,nothing stop us from keeping an eye on the mental midgets .
I'll get on their mailing list and see what happens .

It escapes me completely as to why the hell Chuck Strahl is minister of Agriculture. Does he know anything about agriculture - other than having possibly grown a few tomatoes in his back yard.

Also Stockwell Day????? Is this guy for real??? He and many of his followers think that the world began 6000 years ago. I shouldn't knock his religious beliefs but......how the hell can anyone justify him being in the Tory cabinet???
It's soooooo obvious that these are reward appointments for simply being loyal.
That means that if Porky Pig were for real, he could be a cabinet minister!!!

In fact, Porky Pig would be more qualified than either one of these bozoes.

BC Dude...

I would even vote NDP too but only as last ditch thing to keep Harpo out.
Jack Layton is such a Parrot. I keep thinking how he handled himself in the national debate. He kept repeat the same line.
But let's face it he's gotta be better than Harper.... maybe not smarter... but definitely more appealing.
I'm hoping that Bob Rae will turn heads....although he has a few enemies in Ontario - more than we, in the west, can imagine.

I have a feeling that not only could Bob Rae see trouble in Ontario, he wouldn't go anywhere in Quebec. That may be another reason Stephane Dion was endorsed by David Orchard,

Yea, but Bob Rae has the luxury of time on his side . His mistakes have faded into the fog of time while Harpo has 4 of the Harris idiot's(Common No Sense Revolution) in his cabinet .Thanks for Walkerton moron's .
Everytime I see that ass hole John Baird I just wanna kick his stupid face in .
Yea, Chucky Strahl was allegedly terminal 2,years ago. He looks awfully healthy to me for a cancer victim .
Idiot couldn't even grow tomatoes to my mind his garden is all weeds .
Yea, the Flintstones was a documentray Stockboy .What a goof !
Feel free to mock his so-called religion it deserves to be mocked everywhere .
How can they deny evolution and replace it with creationism ?
You have to be mentally defective to believe that load of tripe .
Yea, winners all .

Nana : Bob Rae has no Quebec baggage to speak of and his French is miles ahead of herr Harpo's .
I think Quebec would be willing to give him a chance as he is neither from the Chretien camp nor Martin .
I think he would be a breath of fresh air to all concerned .
Ignatieff is far too right for my tastes and he is Canadian in name only .

Strahl developed cancer from working with asbestos years ago. Most would immediately resign and spend all their remaining time with their family. Not him - he ran in the subsequent election.
Reason? I don't think he's old enough to receive his (considerably abundant) MP pension - and he has no other source of income that I know of. Besides he's still with his family at least 3 days a week as an MP (the rest of the week is travel time and time in Ottawa) So - he decided he'd better keep his job to pay the bills.
But hardship or no - it doesn't make him a contributor of brain power with Harper and the (?) in Chilliwack would vote Conservative nomatter what.

Too right Jack's .
I have no sympathy for him at all .
Most lung cancer victims expire after 6,months of diagnosis . His must be,very, mild .
Your right though the neo-nazi brain trust is a little light .

Decima Research polled more than 2,000 Canadians last month just as Prime Minister Stephen Harper stepped up his efforts to promote the mission.

Fifty-nine per cent of respondents agreed Canadian soldiers "are dying for a cause we cannot win," while just 34 per cent disagreed with that statement.

An even larger majority said they would never fight in Afghanistan themselves under any circumstances - not even if they were forced to in some military draft.

The online survey of 2,038 people was conducted Sept. 8-18 and is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The doubts of respondents about Canada's chances in Afghanistan paled in comparison to their downright dismissal of the overall U.S.-led war on terror.

Almost three-quarters said the Bush administration had made the world more dangerous, 76 per cent said American policy had contributed to a rise in terrorism, and 68 per cent predicted the U.S. will eventually abandon Iraq without success.

Ricky in serious denial . He needs to go back on medication.

And more denial.

"We're all frustrated with the speed of the progress, but it is a challenging environment ... There are a lot of security risks.

"We want to get into the reconstruction in a much greater manner, we want to help build the Afghan army much faster ... but you can't do that without a good solid security base," Hillier said, although he claimed things are better than his last visit in May.

Canada established a provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar province in August 2005.

"We got started up down here ... building relationships with people who run the districts," he said.

In January, Canada took a hit when diplomat Glyn Berry died in a suicide bomber's attack, Hillier said.

"We had to re-cock and recalibrate and come back in," he said.

Yea,yea, yea sure thing Ricky whatever you say .
The mission is a failure. End of story.

-30-

sez Hillier.

Jeez - he must write this crap himself. What a klutz!

What a combination: 'rich and luxurious and caring nation'.

I had no idea. Must be the first time in history anyone's made that connection!!

BC Dude:

reminds me of Darth Cretinous, ahh Jean Creti{e}n.

Bob Woodward of Watergate fame was on 60 Minutes last Sunday and told the American people that Bush has been lying about the supposed progress in Iraq.
Hillier is doing the same about Afghanistan.
Harpo has made us close allies of the U.S. and that's dangerous.
And, can you believe it, there was a time when I really liked and admired the U.S.? Unfortunately, Eisenhower's warning about the military industrial complex went unheeded and now it's too late.

Hannibal
You are free to have your opinion and I am to have mine. Harper is like a breath of fresh air after JC and PM. Layton is twit that should have stayed in Municipal politics where he better suited. Actually I think the only people from the Liberals I could stomach are Bill Graham and possibly Iggy. But I certain could not stomach another term of the Liboranos
Sopranos.

As for Afghanistan, we were told this was going to be a tough run and that is exactly what it is. The west tried turning it’s back on them and it became a cesspool, after the fall of the Taliban, the West promised a lot and delivered little, now we are paying the piper for not living up to our promises.

This morning I was reading a post by a soldier that was wounded recently, he is waiting to go back into the line with his buddies, I find that most people over there still believe in what they are doing and that is the only poll that I am interested in.

Colin
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20060919&articleId=3274
Secret Banff Meeting of CEOs and the Defense Establishment : Militarization and the Deconstruction of North America
by Michel Chossudovsky

Are you sure this is where you want to go?

Well Colin. I guess you are unaware that Harpo's favourite book is a biography of Josef Stalin .
It has become his play book and a blue print on how to operate in Canada .
More like an ill wind .
He is going to lose so big in the next GE he will quit and return to the Fraser Institute with his tail firmly turcked brtween his legs .
You are as mature(?) as that moron Ezra Levant calling the Liberal's the Librano's .
Oooo! how phuquing clever .

Nana I enjoy reading your most informative blogs as are many others!
Then you have your neocon implants here.

A quote:
"So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men:" Voltaire. François Marie Arouet (1694-1778)
Harper will go down along with his conservative mute caucus with Bush and all his evil doers!
Dick Cheney is being investigated by the FBI for massive fraud against U.S. citizens.
There is a great documentary on last night "Iraq's missing billions" talk about massive greed, coverups, Satan is hard work in these times!

Colin, colin, colin.

Will you never tire of picking up the US's dirty laundry. Nato troops are now losing personnel at a rate comparable with what the Soviets were experiencing under the Mujahdeen. When the Yanks reneged after letting the warlords do their fighting for them we should have seen the writing on the wall. The yanks usually find a way to get some other suckers to do most of the bleeding for them. Canada should be out now and Layton is the one federal politician with a national party who has the jam to say so.

Pee wee is burying his chances for a mandate with his big adventure in Afghanistan and you know it. He is a far bigger disaster than Paul Martin, Jean Chretien and, oh pick anybody - Joe Clark - put together.

That any Canadians had to die for his ego and Hillier's advancement is a crime. You know damn well the mission changed with Harper and we're really in the soup now. Poor buggers!

EVERYBODY
Really serious. Bill 16 will prevent an election until 2009.
AND ALL PARTYS ARE IN AGREEMENT.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/bills_ls.asp?lang=E&ls=c16&source=library_prb&Parl=39&Ses=1
GET THROUGH TO ALL MP'S

This esentially gives the green light to the whole US agenda.

http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/temp/articles/Say_NO_to_Bill_C-16.asp

While our attention is drawn elsewhere.

Absolutely G . I see Colin as being deliberately obtuse .
Yes, I supprt our soldiers-it would be unpatriotic to do otherwise-I don't support Harpo on this insane adventure that he O'Conner and Hillier have cooked up .
Our assignment must change to one where we are not used in a basic combast role .
Let the Yanks do the dieing for a change .
They started this scrap let them finish it .

Time to check your facts, the mission has not changed from the one the Liberals set us on.

Nana
After reading your posts on the 9/11 conspiracy, I am afraid I cannot give your opinions a lot of crediability.

Hannibal, I guess we will just have to wait and see you gets picked to lead the country, you bet on your horse and I will bet on mine, the only thing I am complety sure of, is that it will be an interesting race.

Baloney Colin. It has changed - we're now part of a Nato deployment in the Kandahar region - the pretense that the engagement hasn't changed is simply another of Harper's lies.

I'm surprised you bought it. Even nightbloom recognizes we should get out and get out now.

Wake up man - those poor buggers are dying for a bad dream that started in a New York minute five years ago. This is not in our interest and we're only gaining enemies and helping peter the prostrate impress his new best girl - now that she's taken up with Tie Domi.

Colin

Don't be an A.... go to the Parliamentary
site and investigate Bill 16 yourself.

Do you really want the next election to be delayed until 2009! None of us voted for that!

Harper is just doing what his predecessors started!
check this out, scary
http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/temp/articles/Say_NO_to_Bill_C-16.asp

Colin :
How can you say that ?

WSe were there to build Camp Julian which we did then all of a sudden the adventure morphed into a combat role led by the American's .
And then our guys started dieing in droves .
No,Colin the assignment changed radically.

Martin was talking about the new mission in Kandahar here

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1122658571270_118067771

in july of 2005.

Martin lost the election in January of 2006 and the Canadian Forces deployment was complete just about a month later.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060224/soldiers_Harper_060224/20060225/

Harper had no effect on the decision to take on the new role, until May when his government led a vote in parliament to extend the mission that was in place.

These are the substantive facts of the issue, however much one dislikes Harper and his politics.

Stamping your feet, holding your breath and screaming "No" doesn' t change any of that.

greengreen posted: 3 Days Ago

Gray
That's baloney and you know it. The terms of the additional deployment were voted on this summer in the House of Commons. It's entirely possible that the Liberals, if they'd won the election, might have been as stupid about the decision to extend the deployment as pee wee has been. That's not the point I'm making. Canadian troops should have been withdrawn the moment the US Congress voted to cancel the promised aid to Afghanistan. It's been a dead issue ever since.