Currents

If Canadians could vote in the upcoming US election, America’s coldest state would be a landslide for Barrack Obama. Certainly, all of the Americans who came up here after the last Kerry-esque electoral debacle are happy to see a Democratic candidate with such wind in his sails so close to voting day (Of course, now might not be the best time for them to be heading back, while the economy tanks. My American-import friends, grab another double-double and stay awhile.

Canada’s political commentators have been busy trying to figure out whether an Obama victory is good for Canada. Given that Canada is so dependent on a prosperous America, and Obama represents a break with economic policies that have brought a superpower to the brink, I’m certain an Obama win is good for our great country. I think the video below demonstrates my point:

Even better after you see the original. Genius.

Another arrogant response from the RCMP. Stonewalling the justice system on the investigation of Robert Dziekansky’s videotaped death by cop is making our country look bad. For those who may not remember, the killing at Vancouver airport was an international incident.

These cops have come a long way from the upright ways of Dudley Do-Right and have started to resemble Vladimir Putin’s old pals.

From the Vancouver Sun story:

“This is just such an unbelievable set of circumstances,” Kosteckyj said. “We’re talking about 20 or 30 seconds. Why would it take so long for the RCMP to complete their report? It leaves the impression they’re delaying in the hope the public will forget.”

Maybe they’ve never heard of the adage that justice delayed is justice denied.

UPDATE: It just keeps getting better. One of the police officers accused of being involved with Robert Dziekansky’s death (”accused” being a fairly generous term for a guy caught on videotape) has now been charged with impaired driving in a man’s death (Winnipeg Sun).

These are the kinds of people the top cops appear to be covering up for? Yikes.

Congratulations to some Vancouver blogging superstars for getting the Carrie Bradshaw treatment in time for the start of the hockey season. Cheers, Crazy Canucks.

This isn’t what we’re fighting for in Afghanistan (New York Times):

KABUL, Afghanistan — An appeals court sentenced a young Afghan journalist to 20 years in prison for blasphemy on Tuesday… The defendant, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, 23, was a journalism student in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and worked for a daily newspaper there. He was arrested last October and accused of printing and distributing an article from the Internet about Islam and women’s rights, on which he had written some comments about the Prophet Muhammad’s failings on that issue.

“They may be sons of bitches, but they’re our sons of bitches”, is not an acceptable basis for foreign policy. The democratic government of Afghanistan needs to step up to its responsibilities to itself and the world and release Sayed now. We can help.

This is what we’re fighting against in Afghanistan: Pure evil.

This is what the world is fighting against, in Afghanistan, and elsewhere: List of Islamic Terror Attacks For The Past Two Months

On a recent trip to Barrack Obama’s stomping grounds in Chicago, my true love and I showed our support for the man we believe will be a great President of the USA.

Of course, being Canadians, we can’t vote in foreign elections. But we wish him well.

I came across a protest against the Israeli “apartheid regime” and the BC liquor store’s sale of wines produced on the Golan heights in downtown Vancouver on the weekend. The protesters appeared to be the usual mix of starry-eyed but misinformed activists and fellow travelers for regimes and groups that oppose the West. Not all of the bystanders were on board with the small gathering’s message, to say the least. Hilarity ensued.

My video camera came out, used iMovie to put all the unruly shenanigans into an entertaining little four-minute doc, and presto-YouTube, we’ve got Harsh Words: Debating the Middle East conflict on the streets of Canada.

One of the reasons I recorded this was to find out why some people get involved in these protests. Clearly, it ain’t just about Israel or Middle East politics. Watch for the older Palestinian dude from Bethlehem calling for the downfall of America. Enjoy.

Only 59.1 per cent of my fellow Canucks voted (CBC.ca) in Canada’s election 2008.

To those who ignored their minimum obligation of living in a democratic state and decided to play the role of ignorant slaves, you ought to be ashamed. By the way, you don’t get to bitch about anything the government does or doesn’t do for the next couple of years. Cheers.

Of course, this may seem a bit redundant to those easterners who have already cast their ballots. But for those wondering how they should vote this evening, here’s my advice: go down to the booth and mark your ballot.

Oh, you wanted advice on which party to vote for? Not likely. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past six weeks, you know what kinds of issues you want to see addressed, and you’ve got a good idea which candidate is going to deliver.

Screw strategic voting. Don’t vote for the lesser evil (or the greater evil, for that matter). Get out there and cast your vote for the party you support. That’s how you get the government you want. Do your duty, Canada. Cheers.

I love you. You’re awesome. You make my life complete.

We’re going to have a great day together. There’s no one I would rather spend it with.

Happy birthday, Super Lady.

The media’s job is to inform the public. But when it comes to Afghanistan, there’s been so much disinformation this week that one begins to question motives.

Actually, the stories we’re reading aren’t the problem. It is the headlines which tend to mislead. A few examples:

Foreign troops cannot bring peace to Afghanistan: Canadian PM

Actually, what he said was that foreign troops ALONE cannot bring peace to Afghanistan — an important distinction. The headline would make it appear that Canadian PM Stephen Harper has made a dramatic about-face. Actually, it’s just a restating of a longstanding position that the Afghan National Army will ultimately have to bear the brunt of protecting Afghans from an insurgency that is likely to continue at least on the scale of similar conflicts in Columbia, the Phillipines or Israel.

Another headline, Commanders call for Taliban talks validates NDP position: Layton

Again, the commander in question, Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith, simply repeated the longstanding mantra of the international effort in Afghanistan, that the Taliban can’t be beaten by force alone, but that hearts and minds must be won. Standard stuff. As for his remark that a negotiated settlement with the Taliban could be a pragmatic way forward, that’s not new either. The Afghan government has already negotiated the demobilization of thousands of Taliban fighters. The problem is that since no particular group of Taliban seems to speak for the whole insurgency, and negotiators have been murdered by the Taliban on several occasions, a wholesale peace negotiation likely isn’t in the offing in the near future.

The NDP’s position, as put eloquently by fellow Canada-Afghanistan Solidarity Committee member Terry Glavin, is not at all what Carleton Smith is talking about:

And let’s not forget that the Taliban isn’t interested in negotiations, and they’ve made that clear, but still, Carleton-Smith quite reasonably hopes and expects that eventually, the Taliban leadership will be crushed to the point at which its only choice is to negotiate or die. Let’s also not forget that this is a prospect that isn’t even possible to contemplate under Layton’s approach, which requires that the Taliban’s international adversaries should first withdraw their troops, and then disarm themselves, and then return with some sort of list of demands.

It is particularly important that during a federal election, a leader of a mainstream Canadian political party like the NDP should be absolutely clear what his strategy means: unconditional surrender by the West to the international jihad, a Darfur-sized humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and the retreat of Canada into fortress America for the foreseeable future. Is that what Canadians really want?

In any case, the Afghanistan issue is certain to affect the outcome of the Canadian election. Let’s hope Canadians are reading the full articles, not just the headlines.