Buckdog

They are loosing their minds over at smalldeadanimals again today. The owner of the site has a post up that seems to be making 'sense' to the lunatic right winger nutbars that inhabit that blog.

On a post entitled, "Canadian Addicts; Killing Canadian Troops", here is how the extremist right wingers see it:

Junkies use heroin. Most of the heroin comes from Afghanistan by way of the Taliban. When a junkie buys heroin, the money goes to the Taliban. The Taliban kill Canadian soldiers. Therefore Junkies are killing Canadian troops in the field.

Got that? It seems to make PERFECT sense to them!

I often wonder how anyone can get as screwed up as smalldeadanimal types do. What is up with all of that?

smalldeadanimals blogsite

smalldeadcannibals parody site

French UN peacekeepers in their Leclerc tank (front) block an Israeli tracked armoured vehicle, (rear -R) and jeeps (L) from penetrating deeper into Lebanese territory near the southern village of Marwaheen, Lebanon, EPA/

Wow!

Israeli forces, trying to penetrate deeper into Lebanon were stopped by French UN peace keepers! Despite photographic evidence of the encounter, Israeli officials are denying that the event occured.

Ezra Levant, publisher of Western Standard.ca and other extremist right wingers are trying to spin this as 'France defending Hezbollah'!

The situation in the Middle East just keeps getting more dangerous.

The reaction of the extreme right wing just keeps getting more bizarre.


IHT.com
debka,com
Shotgun Blog

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1) Feminism has taught me that there is a side of the human
condition that finds it easy to repress, to degrade, to demean, to
violate. I have learned that this side must be challenged whenever
it appears.

2) Feminism has taught me that 'different' is not bad - different is
only ‘different’. Different genders, different races, different
views, different opinions. Different is not something to fear.

3) Feminism has taught me that equity and balance cannot occur if
‘repression of one by another’ is not challenged. Silence in the
face of repression allows imbalance to reign.

4) Feminism has taught me that those who conquer get to write the
history. History, when manipulated, is not a reflection of reality.
It is a lie.

5) Feminism has taught me that 'duality' is the rhythm of the human universe:
- -night and day gives us our 24 hour cycle. They are equal.
- -Positive and negative charges exist in all matter. They are equal.
- -XX and XY gives us life - Combined they miraculously make new
life. They are equal.

Dedicated to my Irish Paternal Grandmother, Olive, and my Austrian Maternal Grandmother, Elizabeth - both of who came to Canada as young women and who lived their lives here, raising children and bringing happiness in the midst of economic want. And to all of their mothers and grandmothers before them!

Gen. Rick Hillier, on a visit to Afghanistan, said the Taliban deliberately blend with local populations in Afghanistan and therefore make it difficult for troops to pick out militants from among ordinary people

HUH?!?

General, the Taliban do not wear military uniforms - this is a guerilla war!

Too bad General Hillier does not read any news or talk to his American military colleagues. American General James L. Jones spoke about the situation in Afghanistan last week. General Jones, NATO's commander, cautioned against blaming the Taliban for all the violence in Afghanistan, saying individuals involved in the opium drug tade and other criminal elements are also contributing to the lawlessness plaguing the country.

"This is inaccurate. It doesn't capture the nature of the problem," US Gen. James L. Jones said in a speech.

He stressed that there were others carrying out violence, including remnants of al-Qaida. opium farmers and "the strong presence of the drug cartels which have their own infrastructure, their own export system, their own security system and are feeding the opposition."

"I would caution that we should not make the Taliban 10 feet tall," Jones told the Vienna-based OSCE, Europe's largest security organization.

So, I ask the question, what is General Hillier talking about?

Jerusalem Post
IHT.com

On September 28, the German military authority posted a notice all over the City of Kiev that read:
All Jews living in the city of Kiev and its vicinity are to report by 8 o'clock on the morning of Monday, September 29th, 1941, at the corner of Melnikovsky and Dokhturov Streets (near the cemetery). They are to take with them documents, money, valuables, as well as warm clothes, underwear, etc.
Any Jew not carrying out this instruction and who is found elsewhere will be shot. Any civilian entering flats evacuated by Jews and stealing property will be shot.

Most people in Kiev, including the Jews, thought the notice meant deportation. Others assumed the Nazis were shipping them to a ghetto. Some even arrived early for a good seat on the train. They were wrong. A systematic plan for mass execution on an industrial scale had been devised and would commence on the 29th.

On the morning of September 29, tens of thousands of Jews arrived at the appointed location. Some arrived extra early in order to ensure themselves a ‘good’ seat on the train. A large crowd formed. Each person held onto their family members and belongings. Children were crying. They couldn't see what was happening up ahead. The crowd stretched for blocks and overflowed in the cemetery. A large number of troops were deployed to contain the crowd. Most waited hours in this crowd - only slowly moving toward what they thought would lead them to trucks or trains.

Soon after people passed through the gate into the Jewish cemetery, they reached the front of the mass of people. Here, they were to leave their baggage. Some in the crowd wondered how they would be reunited with their possessions; some believed it would be sent in a luggage van.

The Jews were herded through a barbed wire corridor lined with soldiers onto an area overgrown with grass. Babi Yar is the name of a ravine in the northwestern section of Kiev. The ravine is described as an enormous area, deep and wide, like a mountain gorge. It was here that the Nazis shot the Jews.

In small groups the Jews were taken along the edge of the ravine. Once the Jews were lined up, the Nazis used a machine-gun to shoot them. When shot, they fell into the ravine. Then the next group was brought along the edge and shot. Nazi records indicated that this was an inefficient method of ‘disposal’. From this mass killing more ‘efficient’ methods were developed in the camps in Poland.

According to the Einsatzgruppe Operational Situation Report No. 101-33-771, Jews were killed all day long at Babi Yar on September 29 until it was too dark to ‘work’ any longer. On the morning of the 30th, the killing continued again all throughout the day and into the night. When it was concluded, the Nazis machine-gunned down at least 33,771 over 48 hours. In the ensuing months, the number of people killed at Babi Yar grew to more than 100,000.

This is what happens when the most extreme right wing political madness grips a nation. This is what happens when the self righteous consider other people to be less than human. This is what happens when a group of people are so vilified, that their existence is of no value to the rulers and fellow citizens of a nation.

Babi Yar

historyplace.com

Map of Babi Yar

Due to the Dipper politics that I wear (and because I love our democratic system and processes), I have quietly gone about my leftwing blogging business without ONCE saying a word about the Liberal leadership race.

I have said noting about any specific candidate nor campaign. Other than kicking a little bit of dirt at Liberals for their criticisms of New Democrats in Convention in Quebec City, I have been patient and quiet as my Liberal neighbours went about their democratic business.

But may I simply say that for those of us who are NOT Liberal, who simply mind our own affairs as you go about yours, will you please hurry up and finish your bloody leadership race because it just goes on and on and on and on and on and I would really like to read a few other topics in the blogosphere.

Thank you very much. Please continue with normal blogging.

Yours truly

your Dipper neighbours


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The People’s Republic of China is expressing puzzlement over a chill that has settled over their relations with the Government of Canada. Those who watch Prime Minister Harper and his parliamentary secretary, Jason Kenney, have no doubts about why this chill has entered the relationship between the two nations.

Mr. Harper and Mr. Kenney are hard core, right wing, 'red hating' Reformers from Alberta who are still fighting the Cold War. They do not like the Chinese economy and transacting business with that nation is threatened as long as we have ideologues like Harper and Kenney in control of Ottawa.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce recently expressed serious concerns over the noticeable chill and are also concerned that ideology is getting in the way of billions of dollars of trade between the two nations.

Globe and Mail

Reuters

CBC.ca

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Prime Minister Harper has pledged to fix the current fiscal imbalance that exists between the provinces. What is needed is a complete rewrite of the equalization formula that determines how federal tax money is distributed to the provinces.

Major complaints with the existing imbalance comes from a number of provinces with Newfoundland and Saskatchewan presenting the best examples of the current inequity.

Mr. Harper is having a difficult time resolving this file.

Globe and Mail
Government of Nova Scotia

Sean Durkan is a political commentator and communications consultant. He writes for Embassy: Canada's Foreign Policy Newsletter. In the September 27th edition, he includes the following little snippet. Under the main article heading 'Emotions Run High as Supporters See Red' there is a subheading entitled: Party Time, from which I quote:

Party Time
Acting British High Commissioner Julian Evans has been keeping busy since taking over from David Reddaway, who last month took up his new duties in Ireland. Just last week Mr. Evans hosted two parties at the British HC's official residence on Sussex Drive.

The first was on Wednesday: A reception for the Ottawa Diplomatic Association, which is always a good opportunity to catch up on the news. I gather Jason Kenney, the parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was in attendance. It is no secret in diplomatic circles that Mr. Kenney would dearly love to be foreign affairs minister, but as he noted to guests at Earnscliffe last week, he is going to be out of luck because he is from seat-rich Alberta, which already is represented by the prime minister (Calgary Southwest) and several other ministers. Also doing the rounds was Maclean's columnist Paul Wells, who is busy promoting his new book, The Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New Conservativism.
© 2006 Embassy a division of Hill Times Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

Embassy

NOTE: I have not provided the full link due to copyright issues.

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This Modern World


Dedicated to all of those hard working and cheerfully dispositioned bloggers at SDA, the Shotgun Blog and right wing bloggers where ever they may be!!

Imagine a world without GOOGLE! Like a lot of other users, for me it would be a more challenging world without this convienience. Think about how many times a day or a week you hit the Google button on your computer!

Google has made it into the english lexicon in just a short period of time. 'Google' it is something that happens millions of times, every hour, every day.

Happy Birthday Google!

htmlfixit
blogsearchenginewatch

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The rule requiring passports or another high-technology document to enter the United States at land borders was meant to go into effect Jan. 1, 2008.

But negotiators from the House of Representatives and Senate have agreed to push back the implementation date to June 1, 2009.

CTV.ca

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Country and western singer and candidate for Governor of Texas, Kinky Friedman, is currently in second place according to recent polls. And if that news is not good enough, former Minnesota Governor and wrestler, Jesse Ventura has thrown in with the 'Kinky In 2006' Team!

From out of nowhere, and with very limited funds and using only the internet, extensive touring and other creative campaign strategies, the 'Kinky Team' is causing a stir in Texas politics. Kinky's opponents are getting nervous and mud is starting to fly in the Lone Star State! Kinky's folks recently put out the following special statement:

Kinky Friedman Campaign Statement
"While Rick Perry was cheerleading in college and Chris Bell was being potty trained, Kinky Friedman was picketing segregated restaurants in Austin to integrate them. Now that Kinky’s in second place and a serious threat to the two-party system, Perry and Bell have paid political assassins to dig back as far as 30 years through fictional books, comedy shows and satirical song lyrics, desperately seeking to paint Kinky as a racist. Republicans and Democrats have created an entire industry-- called Opposition Research-- whose sole purpose is to tarnish and destroy people’s reputations. This is why regular citizens don't run for office. If you do, and you start to threaten the system as Kinky has, you’re going to be attacked."

Candidate Friedman describes himself as "sorta democratic Republican or you might say kinda republican Democrat." However you describe Kinky's politics, the word 'colourful' has to be part of the description.

Chron.com
Contacosta Times
Kinky Friedman in 2006

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Conrad Black says he has every confidence in the U.S. justice system and insists that he will be found not guilty of the serious criminal charges he is facing.

"I have settled into my new life as a freedom fighter," he says. "It's very interesting and it's quite stimulating, in a way, but it is an ordeal." (Reuters 2006).

I wonder what 'freedom' he is 'fighting' for? I assume he is referring to his own freedom which is in serious jeopardy if he is convicted in the United States.

Whether you call him Mr. Black or The Rt. Hon. The Baron of Crossharbour, Conrad is a larger than life figure. He knows it. His bluster is famous.

However, Mr. Black's fame in Canada has not deterred the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago with charging him for an alleged scheme to divert more than $80 million US from Hollinger, Inc. Black is facing eight charges, each of which calls for a penalty of five years in prison, if he is found guilty.

To date, he has rejected a plea bargain which would see him serve some time in an American federal facility.

Reuters
Editor and Publisher

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I hate to spoil your day ..... but guess who wants to be a Canadian Citizen again? I don't refer to many people as a 'creep' but I don't have one moments hesitation in applying that term to Lord Conrad Black.

He wants to be a Canadian again! The manner in which he rejected his connection to this nation was despicable.

In order to obtain a British title, he renounced his Canadian citizenship and no one should be anxious to see him get it back.

Shame on him! Let's just say NO to Conrad Black!!!

Globe and Mail

CBC.ca

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Conservative MP Jason Kenney publicly apologized today for repeatedly misleading the House of Commons during Question Period last week. Mr. Kenney claimed that, according to a memo, circulating the names of ATI requesters was a common practice under the former Liberal government. He admitted today that, in fact, the memo said no such thing. The memo spoke of the common practice of circulating minutes from communications meetings on pandemic preparedness strategies, without naming the person who filed the request. Liberal News Release


MP admits he misled House
CanWest News Service
Published: Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's parliamentary secretary Jason Kenney, Conservative MP for Calgary Southeast, apologized to the House of Commons Monday, saying he misled Parliament when he said he had a memo proving that Liberal governments routinely violated the privacy of those who file access to information requests.

"I had an opportunity to reflect on the memo over the weekend and to recognize that I may have inadvertently misrepresented one aspect of the memo. If that was the case, I would like to apologize, Mr. Speaker, to you and the House."

Kenney's apology fuelled renewed calls by the opposition Liberals for his resignation.
© The Edmonton Journal 2006


Liberal.ca

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Friends of RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli are speculating that he is under a gag order from the Harper Conservative government! While Mr. Zaccardelli has recently been the victim of much criticism for the handling of the Arar affair, those close to him believe the Federal government will not allow him to speak openly on the matter.

To those who watch the Harper government closely, I pose this question: 'Are you surprised?' Clearly, our Conservative masters in Ottawa seem uncomfortable with an apology to Mr. Arar.

The Globe and Mail online

How well is the Canadian economy doing under our new Conservative masters in Ottawa? Remember the huge 1 cent GST cut we were all gifted with on Canada Day, July 1st? Remember how it was going to make the economic engines of the nation purrrrrrrr.....

Actually, a number of economists are quietly talking about the recent slow down in Canada’s economy. Tory stimulations are looking to be more rhetoric then substance.

Billions of dollars in new spending on Canada’s military, coupled with a decrease in total revenue is causing a financial squeeze for the Conservatives.

If the Tories cannot demonstrate a boost in the economic health of the nation to counterbalance their recent slip in voter support, a majority government will not be in the cards.

Canada.com
Bloomberg
Reuters
Reuters

"The National Intelligence Estimate was completed in April, 2006 but was not made public until now. Its conclusions, which were first reported by the New York Times, contradict assertions made by President George Bush and White House officials during the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks."

Bush lies to Americans. Harper lies to Canadians. Their 'War on Terrorism' has made the world even more unsafe.

We are governed by ideological idiots.

Guardian UK
CBS
Macleans.ca

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The wrath of the right wing will surely come down on me for this post!! But... in doing some biographical reading on the life of Afghanistani President, Hamid Karzai, I was not aware of his early and former relationship with the Talibam. To make myself perfectly clear - I want to stress the following two points:
1)I fully acknowledge that whatever relationship he had with the Taliban years ago is now COMPLETELY SEVERED. They killed his father and he hates them!
2) I am not trying to detract from the international stature of Mr. Karzai by posting this material, I simply want to demonstrate (as I have done before) that the situation in Afghanistan is MORE COMPLEX THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.


Hamid Karzai

In 1979, while Karzai was a student in India, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Karzai's family fled to Quetta, Pakistan; where he gave financial support and worked as a key planner and strategist, helping to route supplies to the anti-Soviet Islamic guerrillas. When the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, Karzai returned to his homeland. Karzai served for a time in the cabinet under Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani. In 1996, the Taliban took control of his country. Karzai briefly aligned himself with the Taliban, but as a moderate Muslim and advocate of women's rights, he soon joined his father and younger brother in opposition to the Taliban. Karzai became leader of the Popalzai, a clan of about 500,000 members in 1999 when his father was assassinated by people Karzai believed to be Taliban agents. The following year, Karzai testified before the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate on the urgent need to replace the Taliban. In 2001, following the September 11 terrorist attack, Karzai worked with the United States to overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan and muster support for a new government. Karzai helped negotiate the Taliban's surrender of Kandahar, its last remaining stronghold, in December, 2001. On December 22, Karzai was sworn in as interim prime minister of Afghanistan.
Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/hamid-karzai

Hamid Karzai Biographical Data

When the Taliban emerged onto the political scene in the 1990s, Karzai was initially among their supporters. However, he later broke with the Taliban, citing distrust of their links to Pakistan. After the Taliban drove Rabbani out of Kabul in 1996, Karzai refused to serve as their U.N. ambassador. In 1997, Karzai joined many of his family members in the United States, from where he worked to reinstate Zahir Shah. His father was assassinated, presumably by Taliban agents, July 14, 1999, and Karzai swore revenge against the Taliban by working to help overthrow them.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai


Hamid Karzai Biography

During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Western-educated Hamid Karzai served the resistance as an advisor and diplomat, winning the loyalty of the Mujahideen, or "holy warriors," who finally expelled the Soviets from Afghanistan. Karzai was deputy foreign minister in the postwar government from 1992 to 1994, but the country was soon rent by civil war as local warlords competed for power. The Taliban movement sought Karzai's support in restoring order, and offered him the post of United Nations ambassador, but he broke with the new regime when it fell under the influence of foreign terrorists.

From a base in Pakistan, Karzai began to organize anti-Taliban opposition. When his father was murdered in Pakistan, presumably by agents of the Taliban, Hamid Karzai, was selected to succeed his father as Khan of the half-million Popalzai. He immediately defied both the Pakistan and Taliban governments by leading a convoy of tribal mourners to carry his father's body home for burial in Kandahar, a stronghold of the Taliban. The Taliban did not dare intervene. This act of defiance made Hamid Karzai the most visible leader of resistance to the Taliban among the Pashtun people.

In October 2001, Karzai and three friends re-entered Afghanistan to raise a revolt. He had a single satellite phone, no sleeping bags or other supplies, little ammunition, few weapons, and no certainty of outside support, but day by day he attracted more followers. He narrowly escaped capture by the Taliban, and was even wounded by a stray American bomb, but by December, the Taliban had fled from Kandahar.
Academy of Achievement
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/kar0bio-1


Hamid Karzai Bio

Hamid Karzai was born on December 24, 1957 in Karz, Kandahar.
His father Abdul Ahad Karzai was a political leader and Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Parliament.
In 1979, however, while Karzai was a student in India, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and his family fled to Quetta, Pakistan.

Karzai joined the resistance and when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, Karzai returned and served for a time in the cabinet under Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani.
In 1992 he became the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, but he left Kabul in 1994 for Kandahar, after factional fighting intensified.

Growing disenchanted with the corruption of the mujahideen he aligned himself with the Taliban but Karzai fell out with them in the mid 1990s as their extremism became more evident. This schism escalated when in 1999 his father was assassinated. Karzai blamed the Taleban, and rallied support against them from around the world. The attacks of September 11, 2001 proved a catalyst to international action.

Karzai helped negotiate the Taleban's surrender of Kandahar, its last remaining stronghold, at the end of 2001. Karzai became interim prime minister of Afghanistan. A special session of Afghan representatives voted to appoint Karzai transitional head of state until the country held its first-ever general elections.

In December, 2004 Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president. At his inauguration he called for help from the international community to bolster Afghanistan's young democracy in its battle against the threats of terrorism and drugs.

Amongst those in attendance were US Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Biogs.com
http://www.biogs.com/famous/karzai.html

The President of Afghanistan and the Leader of Canada's New Democrats met today for talks in the City of Montreal.

Reports indicate that the two men had a good meeting and they discussed a variety of issues related to the situation in Afghanistan and the Canadian mission to that nation.

CTV reports "Layton said he and Karzai agreed military might alone isn't enough to secure Afghanistan's long-term stability, and any political solution to the country's problems need to include Pakistan."

CTV Online

CBC

The Star


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The sanctimonious hypocrisy of Michael Coren’s article in the September 23rd edition of the Toronto Sun, is enough to induce vomiting. This weeks article by this extreme right wing ideologue comes to the defense of Pope Benedict. Here is a brief sample:
"Let me make it extremely clear that I do not blame all Muslims for what is done by some of their co-religionists in the name of Islam. But when country after country and mob after mob behave thus, a certain pattern does seem to emerge. I hope and pray that this violence and extremism does not represent Islam. I hope there is room for genuine dialogue. But, frankly, I am not optimistic about the possibility of having such an honest discussion now."

Huh!???!!

What did the very same Mr. Coren write in his September 2nd Sun article? ...
"Put boldly and simply, we have to drop a nuclear bomb on Iran. Not, of course, the unleashing of full-scale thermo-nuclear war on the Persian people, but a limited and tactical use of nuclear weapons to destroy Iran's military facilities and its potential nuclear arsenal. It is, sadly, the only response that this repugnant and acutely dangerous political entity will understand. The tragedy is that innocent people will die. But not many."

He criticises Muslims for 'violence and extremism' yet he is anxious and ready to drop NUCLEAR WEAPONS on them! He claims that "I am not optimistic about the possibility of having such an honest discussion now.", yet a few short weeks ago, rather then honest discussion, he was anxious and ready to drop NUCLEAR WEAPONS on them!

This guy is unbelievabel! Period. Michael Coren needs a Royal Canadian Kick in the Arse!!


Toronto Sun Sept 23rd

Toronto Sun Sept. 2nd


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Jason Kenney, 'Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister' is under close scrutiny again, this time he is accused of misleading the House of Commons. Oh oh!

During Question Period in the Commons, Mr. Kenney cited a Government Memo which in fact states the exact opposite of what he claims it said! Ooops!

The former Reform MP, then former Alliance MP, now Conservative MP just can't seem to keep from putting his foot into his mouth.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper must be getting tired of having his official spokesperson in trouble every other week.

Mr. Kenney, it is time to start getting your facts straight, SIR!

Mr. Harper, it is time to consider getting a better parliamentary secretary, SIR!

The Star

Buckdog - Kenney Speaks at Rally of Terrorist Group
Buckdog - More Fallout on Kenney's Double Standard

Further demands for Mr. Kenney's resignation appeared in this mornings Montreal Gazette:
"Opposition Liberals called for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's parliamentary secretary to step down yesterday, charging that Jason Kenney misled Parliament while defending the government against accusations it violated the secrecy designed to protect those who file access to information requests.

"The parliamentary secretary to the prime minister continues to be less than forthright with the House about serious breaches of the privacy laws of the Prime Minister's Office," Liberal MP Wayne Easter said.

"The parliamentary secretary shattered the integrity of the public office he holds," Easter added. "Will he resign?"

The Liberals also called on Harper to dismiss any member of his staff found to have violated the Privacy Act.

"The government has known for more than six months of this unlawful disclosure to political staff and it has done nothing until this week when it was caught," said Stephen Owen.

"Will the government assure this House that all political staff found to have violated the law by the privacy commissioner will be dismissed?"

New Democratic MP Pat Martin served notice yesterday that he will call on Parliament's Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics committee to investigate whether the shroud of secrecy that is supposed to protect the identities of those who file access requests has been violated by the Conservatives or by the Liberals who preceded them.

"I think this issue warrants a full investigation," said Martin, vice-chairman of the committee.

"If that has been the past practice, we want to know the extent of it, and we want to know whether there was any deliberate conspiracy in this government to exploit that practice and even expand it."

The calls for resignations and for a parliamentary inquiry are the latest developments following the revelation by The Gazette Wednesday that the government appeared to have violated the law by disclosing the name of Canadian Press reporter Jim Bronskill during a March 15 telephone conference call, in which officials discussed which reporters were working on stories related to security and to pandemic preparedness.

Documents obtained by The Gazette under the Access to Information Act show that officials from at least eight departments participated in the conference call.

Minutes of the call were distributed to an additional 19 people in the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister's Office.

Those in the PMO include communications director Sandra Buckler, deputy communications directors Christine Csversko, Genevieve Desjardins and Stephane Rondeau as well as special assistants Rebecca Thompson and Vanessa Croy.

Excerpt from article by
ELIZABETH THOMPSON, The Gazette
Published: Saturday, September 23, 2006

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Quebec City-area MP Daniel Petit has retracted his comments that Quebec's treatment of immigrants helped inspire school shootings in the province and that's good enough, said Jason Kenney, ethical giant of the Conservative Party and Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"The member for Charlesbourg has recognized that those comments were inappropriate," Kenney told the House of Commons. "Which is precisely why he has retracted the comment."

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Harper severely criticised a newspaper columnist for comments similar to Petit's. Once again we see Conservative double standards at play in Canada's political arena.

Globe and Mail

cyberpresse.ca en francais

Liberal Party Website

Canada.com


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Lorne Calvert's NDP government is preparing for two major battles with the Federal Conservative Government:
-The inequities in Canada's Equalization formulas
-The Tory Plan to neuter the Canadian Wheat Board


After campaign promises to fix Canada's equalization mess, the Harper Government is desperately trying to minimize the damage they will incur by breaking their word.
National Post

And watch for another major battle brewing between prairie farmers and the Conservative government's plan to drastically change the Canadian Wheat Board WITHOUT the consent and approval of western grain farmers.
Wheat Board Future
Common Ground
Reuters.com


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I was curious to read the full text of President Hugo Chavez's speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations. For historical purposes, anyone who is interested in what he said in his full address, here you go.

Text of Hugo Chavez Speech (english translation)


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During the election, Harper's Conservative Party pledged to fix the fiscal imbalance which exists in the formula by which Equalization payments are allocated to the Provinces.

Reports are circulating that Ottawa is preparing to table a 'fix' that will please large richer provinces like Quebec, Ontario and Alberta but is sure to anger others such as Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Prime Minister Harper likes to portray himself to Canadians as a 'promise keeper'. Premier Lorne Calvert of Saskatchewan and Premier Danny Williams of Newfoundland and Labrador will have something to say about that!

In recent weeks, this story has taken a few turns with Harper calling his election promise a 'commitment' not necessarily a 'promise'.

During the election campaign, the Conservative Blue book was widely distributed with the following statement:

The plan:
A Conservative government will:
• Work with the provinces in order to achieve a long-term agreement which would address the issue of fiscal imbalance in a permanent fashion.
• Work to achieve with the provinces permanent changes to the equalization formula which would ensure that non-renewable natural resource revenue is removed from the equalization formula to encourage economic growth. We will ensure that no province is adversely affected from changes to the equalization formula.

Sparks will fly! Soon.

National Post

Press grills Harper on equalization

Sask Tory MP's Come Out of Hiding

Tories Blame Liberals for Equalization Problem


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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations this morning in New York City. This was his first speech to the U.N. in his role as Canada's PM.

He stated that the world cannot fail Afghanistan, and that Canada is committed to its role in fighting for democracy and the rule of law.

Text of Harper's Speech

CNews

Our Prime Minister spoke to the Economic Club of New York yesterday to sell Canada as a stable energy source for American business to tap into.

He also addressed Canada's role in Afghanistan. "On Afghanistan, Harper said: "I don't really accept that Canadians are opposed to the mission."

A Strategic Counsel poll released Monday found that 42 per cent of Canadians support the Afghanistan mission, while 49 per cent support oppose it. Mr. Harper doesn't have to 'accept' reality if he doesn't want to, but what does that say about his leadership ability?

CTV Online

photo courtesy http://www.conservative.ca/

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Canadians are starting to get used to the crafty political games that our Prime Minister insists on playing.

Remember the FIVE PILLARS that he so loudly announced and trumpeted througout the nation? Well looks like he actually meant his FOUR PILLARS! OOooops!

Mr. Harper, excuse me sir, are your 'pants on fire'?

Winnipeg Sun

Conservative Website (until they get embarrased and take it down)

There is a festering wound in the Middle East. Until it is resolved, no healing can occur and the ongoing political insanity places the entire planet at risk.

Since the turmoil that surrounded the creation of the state of Israel, the 1967 War and other wars since then, the plight of Palestinian people remains unsolved.

The Palestinian people do not have a country. There is no state of Palestine.

To the Arab and Muslim world, this is a grievance that must be resolved or peace in the entire region likely can never be found.

Western media, NEVER gives the historical background to this situation. Daily we hear about the Palestinian 'people' but no one talks of 'Palestine' - why, because we close our eyes to the fact that it does not exist.

Slowly but surely, the Israeli government is erecting a wall around the West Bank. While this does not advance the creation of a new state, it certainly sets the stage for it.

Until the Palestinian people have PALESTINE, where they may live their lives as they wish, peace in the region will be elusive.

Until the world community welcomes the delegation from the State of Palestine to take a seat at the General Assembly of the United Nations, peace in the region will be elusive.

Here is a link to a website that contains historical data on the history of Palestine. The owner of the site has strong views concerning Palestine.

Palestine History website

Buckdog neither endorses nor advances any opinion concerning the material contained in the linked site. It is included in this post as a resource to the reader.

Guess what Prime Minister Stephen Harper DOESN'T want to talk about as Parliament reconvenes today? A F G H A N I S T A N!

And for good reason. His mishandling of the foreign affairs file has been a disaster. Canada is bogged down in a quagmire in Afghanistan that military experts keep assuring us will only last for 4 to 5 years!

Flag draped coffins are making the nation uneasy.

Top NATO Generals have stated that we aren't only fighting the Taliban; opium growers, drug cartels, Mujhadeen remnants and other assorted riff raff are shooting at our troops. We don't have a handle on Afghanistan.

Harper has divided the nation along pro and anti 'mission' lines - which does nothing for national unity, SIR!!!

And what is it that our Prime Minister DOES want to talk about? He wants to see if Members of Parliament would like to revisit a debate as to whether or not official discrimination of gay persons should come to another vote.

This is Canada - September 18th, 2006. We are being governed by fools.

the Hill Times

If Pope Benedict's speech had included the Official Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, he may NOT have been in trouble with the Muslim world. Here is the official Roman Catholic teaching on the religion of Islam:

841: The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the One, Merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
CATECHISM OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION
FIDEI DEPOSITUM ON THE PUBLICATION OF THE
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

See Section 841 - Catechism of the Catholic Church

Pope Apologizes


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Montreal shooter, Kimveer Gill, spent a lot of time on his blogsite located at vampirefreaks.com . The Toronto Sun reports that hundreds of bloggers have gone after Gill's site and his blogging pals in a verbal barrage of reprimand in the aftermath of the shooting at Dawson College.

Toronto Sun


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"...the fact of the matter is we are fighting a war in Afghanistan - we need to beat the taliban on the battlefield"
Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Prime Minister STephen Harper told CBC Radio that Canada is at 'War'. Oh really? I thought we were on a mission in Afghanistan to rebuild the nation and to assist the Afghan people to govern and police themselves.

On Saturday, September 16th on the CBC Radio show, The House, an interview with the Prime Minister features him telling the interviewer that Canada is at war with the Taliban.

Excuse me SIR, I have NO recollection of Parliament declaring war! I have no recollection of the Opposition being able to ask questions in Question Period concerning the fact that Canada is 'at war'.

What does 'being at war' actually mean? Are we contemplating invoking The War Measures Act? What are the implications of a 'state of war' on this nation? What are the financial implications to taxpayers since we are 'at war'?

I hold the Harper Conservative government responsible for a blind race towards a formal state of war and to implement a war economy in this country.

Shame on Stephen Harper for being such an extreme right wing ideologue! Shame on him for his flippant and poor choice of words.

Regina Leader Post

The House


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Senior NATO Military Command is making it very clear that there are groups other than the Taliban attacking and engaging with Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Fighting is also attributed to opium drug cartels, followers of various regional war lords as well as the remnants of other jihadist groups.

It is far too simplistic to believe that the Taliban is the sole enemy that Canadian forces are encountering and dealing with in this war torn region.

For Canadians to make an informed decision on our ongoing role in that nation, we simply must get the facts and incorporate them into our thinking. We can not risk operating on mere emotion and rhetoric when deciding what our future obligations should be.

IHT

UK Guardian


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A story in the Jerusalem Post quotes the senior American General in Afghanistan to have said that the Taliban is not the lone source of attacks on NATO forces in the nation.

"There is a tendency to characterise all of the violence in Afghanistan as the resurgence of the Taliban," said US General James Jones, the alliance's supreme allied commander Europe. "This is inaccurate. It doesn't capture the nature of the problem." He said the violence had other causes, including "the strong presence of the drug cartels which have their own infrastructure, their own export system, their own security system ..."

So in spite of rhetoric from the Conservative Party, smalldeadanimal 'types' and other assorted wing nuts, the Taliban are not the only group shooting at Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan! Yet these same right wing loud mouths are quick to attack Jack Layton and the New Democratic Party for the resolution passed at last weekends National Convention.

Why do so may right wing individuals (who operate only on impressions - without fact) feel it necessary to shoot off their reactionary crap without any concept of what is real???

Jerusalem Post

Guardian Unlimited


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People in Montreal are still somewhat dazed today in the aftermath of the shooting at Dawson College.

For the first time, one of his parents has spoken briefly to the press.

Gill took his mother's car yesterday morning and drove to Dawson College where the shooting occurred.

CNEWS

Toronto Sun Article

'A picture is worth a thousand words'. The body of the gunman lays under tarp at Dawson College. CBC has put together an incredible montage of photos that depict the chaos surrounding the shooting in Montreal.

CBC Photo Gallery


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American Forces in Afghanistan had approximately 200 Taliban fighters in their sights recently during a funeral service for Taliban killed in combat.

Under international law, it is a war crime to target troops during a funeral service. Cemeteries are also off limits during war times.

Respecting international law, American military forces did not fire on the funeral. This is a very unique photo of the Taliban taken by a drone aircraft.

Taliban funeral

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The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is telling Prime Minister Stephen Harper to be cautious in his recent decision to chill relations with China.

"Policy decisions affecting China cannot be taken in isolation from their impact on trade and investment and are best dealt with through ongoing senior-level engagement between both countries," reads the report, released Tuesday in advance of the chamber's annual general meeting this weekend.

Jason Kenney, bombastic Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, has spoken harshly on matters concerning China recently. A chill in our relationship with China is a direct result of the fusion of Conservative Party ideology into Canada’s official foreign policy.

It will be interesting to see if Harper maintains a right wing ideological approach in these dealings or will voices from the Canadian business community force the Tories to return to a more pragmatic policy that understands the intricacies of foreign affairs.


CBC.ca


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American voters are preparing for mid term elections in November. One of the most interesting campaigns being fought is the race for Governor of Texas. Independent candidate Kinky Friedman is running a brilliant online campaign. From out of nowhere, this colourful country and western singer, cigar in hand has defied all of the odds and exceeded all requirements necessary to get on the ballot.

Texas electoral law requires a candidate to obtain 45,000 signatures from Texas voters in order to qualify for the race. Kinky Friedman’s supporters obtained almost 200,000 signatures.

Recent polls show him within 12% of the leading candidate. While his campaign is slim on cash, endorsements have been given by Willie Nelson and other personalities. Kinky is out to win! In the 2002 election for Governor, only 29% of voters cast a ballot.

MSNBC said, "Friedman told a few dozen supporters and reporters huddled for a brief, sidewalk announcement that his real opponent was not Gov. Rick Perry, but voter apathy. Only 29 percent of Texas' voting age population cast ballots in the 2002 gubernatorial general election.
"If we can get the 29 percent who voted last time up to 39 percent, it'll all be over, and there will be a whole new spirit blowing through Texas," he said. "There will be a smile on everybody's face and a chill up the spine of every politician."

For election junkies, Kinky is absolutely refreshing. While I don't agree with a number of his platform planks, I find his use of the internet, blogs and other online tools extremely interesting!

Kinky proposes several options that, if implemented, would bring new money into the education budget and improve the state of education in Texas:

- Legalizing casino gambling ("Slots for Tots") to bring in billions per year,
- Closing corporate loopholes so that the 10,000 Texas businesses that are not
currently paying taxes will be charged
- Increasing teacher salaries—currently $6,000 below the national average,
- Establishing a Trust for Texas Heroes program to increase the salaries of
teachers, cops, and firefighters through a 1 percent tax on oil and gas
produced in Texas
- Outsourcing sports funding to sports companies/retailers, and
- Stopping the practice of "teaching to the test."
- Reinstitute funds for health care for children slashed recently

Kinky's election website is very colourful and you should take some time and give it a tour.

Kinky Friedman For Governor in 2006

With Kinky now starting to edge the Democrats into 3rd place, the campaign is starting to heat up. The Democrats are particularly nervous. A Democratic representative has just today come out spitting anger over Friedman's comments on Katrina evacuees in Houston. Watch this campaign.

Lonestar Times