New Media

Stephane Dion’s wife vents her spleen.

The Liberal Party is falling apart, and will not recover. Like all liberal parties in Europe, it will become a weakling at the mercy of ephemeral coalitions. By refusing the historic coalition that would have placed it at the helm of the left, it will be punished by history.

Read all the gory details.

Politics is rough. Poor Stephane. Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in.

Canada-Afghanistan Solidarity Committee co-founder and professional human rights advocate Lauryn Oates issues a call to action for the international mission in Afghanistan: stay involved and help provide education to the new generation — and by the way, make sure the security is there so that the fanatics don’t wreck the these efforts in the meantime:

I think it’s imperative that an international security force remain on the ground in Afghanistan for at least a decade to come, and that should include representation from Canada. This is part of the solution in that it will provide much needed breathing space to build the foundations of a long-term solution: the establishment of effective, quality education, health care, good governance, legal reform, poverty alleviation, and space for the growth of civil society. But the Canadian government, and other donor governments who want to see a stable, peaceful Afghanistan must begin to explicitly make the link between long-term security and quality education; and they must be in it for the long haul.

Education is the most important place donor governments can put their money. But it will take years, if not decades, of commitment and there must be clear measures of accountability for results. It’s not enough that schools are open and pupils – girls and boys – are in their seats. More must be done, and soon. By investing in a quality education system in Afghanistan, Canada will help prevent future wars; and by maintaining a military presence on the ground now and beyond 2011, they can help stop this one.

This of course is in stark contrast to the strategy that appears to be favored by Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya, the darling of the largely leftist “troops-out-now” movement. Joya has still failed to explain how an international pullout followed by a civil war and eventual Taliban victory would be good for Afghan women.

Indeed, it is clear that all Afghan women with access to email list-servers and other means of communication are virtually unanimous in their opposition to Joya’s treacherous demagoguery. That’s because they know what a Taliban victory means in Afghanistan.

Malalai Joya, how will this help Afghan women?

A good summary of the bad things that happen when religious extremists get a firm grip on the levers of power, Freakin’ Fundamentalists from the Georgia Straight:

On November 18, a 20-year-old divorcee who, because she had a boyfriend, was stoned to death for “adultery”. (Yes, these wackos call it “adultery”, even if a person is divorced.) On November 6, it was a 33-year-old man who was stoned to death for adultery. His girlfriend is scheduled to be killed the same way once she gives birth. Last year, these same fanatics murdered a 13-year-old girl for “adultery” after she was gang-raped. And one thousand people turned up to cheer—or at least watch—the killing…

On the whole, I agree with much of what Vancouver writer Mike Cowie says in his op-ed, though I think it may go a bit over the top in seeming to imply that religion itself is the root of evil. After all, some of the most avowedly secular political movements in the twentieth century brought on equally repugnant results.

Canada is at war. It may seem hard to believe at times, given our remoteness from the conflict and the distinct lack of impact on most Canadians’ daily lives. But when our soldiers in Afghanistan are not helping provide schools, health clinics and training to the Afghan army, they are helping defend Afghan population centers against a predatory and nihilistic enemy. And when that thuggish enemy, who would surprise us more if they did not commit atrocities in a steady parade of head-splitting brutality, complains of ill treatment at the hands of our allies, the immediate response ought not to be tainted by political opportunism.

Should we believe allegations that Canadian soldiers were complicit in the torture of Taliban detainees? It’s sad to see Canadian opposition parties essentially taking Taliban prisoners at their word in a ham-handed effort to hit the Conservative government with… well, something.

Our enemy is well aware that the any hope for a pullout of international forces from Afghanistan, a prelude to a Taliban takeover, depends on a loss of confidence on the home front. As such, they will lie. They will make up stories of the most horrific abuse. They will lay out a scenario that rivals the blood and gore of a Rob Zombie film.

Being at war, our political representatives of all stripes have a duty to not use unproven allegations, presumably from the mouths of our enemies. Deep down, I suspect most Canadians could care less whether would-be suicide bombers and child-killers are rotting in a medieval-style dungeon, so attacking the Conservative Party with this issue is unlikely to change any votes either way. But this willingness to repeat our enemy’s propaganda may sap faith in the mission and as importantly, in our system of justice.

Fight the Conservatives on the economy. Beat them up on the environment. But it’s time to stop using the Taliban’s talking points to play politics.

Bloggers of Vancouver, it’s time to celebrate. Shane Birley, the guy who literally wrote the book on blogging, and yours truly (I never wrote a book, but I do author blogs, so I guess that’s enough) have been called up by Raul to help restore order to this frenzied new media scene that’s developed in our fair city.

Contents of my inbox from last night, courtesy of Raul:

Dear members of the Vancouver Blogger Meetup,

A few months ago, I realized that while running the Vancouver Blogger Meetup is my passion and I love doing it, I wasn’t being effective by trying to juggle 768 things. Two members of the VBM emailed me privately and asked me if I needed any help running the VBM. I responded that I was doing ok and that I would call upon them when I did need help.

As it turns out, I do now. And thus I have asked Shane Birley and Jonathon Narvey to be true to their promise and step up to the plate to be the Assistant Organizers. I still remain the Organizer of the Vancouver Blogger Meetup, but now there are two wonderful friends who are very much committed to the VBM who will help me organize the monthly meetup.

I will be tasking Jonathon and Shane with keeping up with the frequency of the VBM (once a month seems to be working well), and I will be doing coordinating with them to keep them organic, free-flowing and non-corporate.

All responsibility in regards to the meetup, of course (including responding to complaints) is mine, so please do complain/compliment/send me an email should you have any concerns or questions.

I want to acknowledge the continued support of Jan Karlsbjerg who always keeps detailed minutes of our Meetups on his blog (http://www.jankarlsbjerg.com) – thanks Jan!

Finally, thanks to all of you for being part of this group, and for your kind words whenever I’ve needed support. You are all wonderful.

Any questions, comments, worries, doubts, complaints or otherwise written communication, fire them up my way.

Yours sincerely,

Raul

All Vancouver-based bloggers must now forward their blog username and password, as well as all pertinent information such as candid sexy photos are invited to send along suggestions of themes and venues for future blogger meetups to Shane and I so that we can better serve your needs. You know how to reach us. Best regards.