Dateline Mali. If you want to know how screwed up the civil war in Mali truly is look no further than the cast of characters. Everything began falling apart when the popularly-elected president was ousted by a military coup. “In years past, U.S. Special Operations Command frequently sent commandos to
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The Disaffected Lib: Hindus Slam Canadian Government for Racism in Hungary
Apparently the Harper government has posted billboards in Hungary aimed at Roma (Gypsy) would be asylum-seekers that some Hindus have denounced as inappropriate and blatantly racist. “Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that this unprecedented billboard and other media campaign in Miskolc (second largest
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Did Harper Give China a Toehold to Canada’s Arctic Resources?
China in Tuktoyaktuk? That’s right. China has eyes on Arctic resources, including ours. You didn’t hear much Chinese spoken on the Mackenzie River until the summer of 1999. But then excitement swept through the sleepy Tuktoyaktuk settlement in Canada’s Northwest Territories, when a vast ship with a crew from the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: I Am a Prepper, Sort Of
I am something of a “prepper” but so are most of my neighbours. Our provincial and local governments encourage us to be that way but not for the reasons you see on those TV shows with oddballs who believe the Russians are bound to invade. I’m a prepper because sometime
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: On a Diet Rich in Carnage and Mayhem
I’m not sure but I think there was a time when a news account of a car bomb in some market square killing 25 innocent people would have been quite disturbing. It would be emotionally engaging, certainly attention getting. Now there is often one or more stories like this almost
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A Sensible Liberal When the Party Most Needs One
The Liberals are lucky. They have a leadership candidate that could actually help them and the country. No, it’s not Trudeau and it’s not Hall-Findlay or Garneau. It’s Joyce Murray of Vancouver. Murray, unlike her rivals, wants to restore progressivism to the Liberal Party, something that has been consigned to
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Palin Tributes Just Keep Rollin’ In
From Salon.com. A collection of tweets in reaction to the FOX News announcement that the network was parting company with Sarah Palin. – The Blaze and Al Jazeera in a bidding war for Palin. – The Palin business will be v hard to explain to future generations, like Boulangerism in
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: EnviroCan Coddles Big Fossil
Harper’s EnviroCan doesn’t have the stomach to prosecute oil, gas and pipeline companies for their wanton mishaps. It prefers, instead, to speak sternly to them or at least send them letters. The warnings include letters to oilsands producer Devon Canada, and to Gibson Energy – a midstream company that manages
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Latest Affront to Decency – Ag-Gag Laws
Big Agra has been plagued by whistleblowers exposing industrial agriculture’s excesses such as animal cruelty, food safety or environmental degradation. Now Big Agra in the U.S. is fighting back with what are called Ag-Gag laws. These target those who investigate and expose Big Agra’s excesses and brand their work “acts
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Good Neighbours, Bad Neighbours
Let’s say your kids were doing a bit of batting practice in the backyard and put a ball through your neighbour’s window. Would you say that’s the neighbour’s tough luck or would you apologize and cover the cost of fixing the shattered window? Most of us, I’m sure, wouldn’t hesitate
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: They’ve Named It – "Afrighanistan"
The Domino Theory is back. It played a fundamental role in drawing America into a hopeless, protracted war in Viet Nam. If the Communists weren’t repulsed from South Vietnam, all of Southeast Asia would fall to the Red horde and so America wasn’t fighting for Viet Nam but for the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Happy Robbie Burns Day
If you’re connected to that ancient and noble tribe, it’s a very happy Robbie Burns Day to you. The Ploughman Poet was born on this day in 1759 in Alloway, Aryshire, Scotland. Burns had a hard and brief life, dying at just 37. Here’s a fine and fitting tribute to
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Vancouver’s Dirty, Filthy Secret
Most people don’t know that Metro Vancouver, thanks to its Fraser Port Authority, is poised to become the biggest coal exporter in North America. The Port Authority is now approving a large expansion of tenants, Neptune Terminals’ and Fraser Surrey Docks’ coal installations. It has ignored the appeals of local
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Overcoming Stephen Harper and the Sophisticated Objection
Loosing the Gordion Knot We hear it all the time, especially from our Conservative government. Yes, climate change is a real threat, and, yes, something must be done about it, but unilateral action by any country won’t work and will, instead, impose unjustifiable costs to the economy. At the end
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Legislator (Female) Wants Jail Time for Rape Victims Who Abort
This is sicker than sick. A Republican state state representative has introduced a bill that would make it a crime for a rape victim who becomes pregnant to have an abortion. Representative Cathrynn Brown’s position is that the womb is a crime scene and the fetus must be preserved as
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Cake And The Icing – America’s Women Go To War
It has rankled some American women that they were denied the opportunity to serve in combat in their nation’s military forces. Now the outgoing Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, has opened the door to admitting women into the fighting trades. It didn’t take long for the other shoe to drop. If
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Murky Mali Mayhem
Afghanistan could be characterized as a perpetual civil war waged by people who range from bad to worse. Leaders change sides effortlessly, ally with and betray each other routinely. But Africa’s Afghanistan, Mali, and the rest of the war in the Sahara is far more complex, far more confusing. If
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: This Burns Me Up
As in Robbie Burns. I just read that the haggis has been banned in the United States since 1971, all thanks to FDA squeamishness about the inclusion of sheep lung in the authentic recipe. Haggis, of course, is a concoction of sheep’s liver, heart and lung (commonly called “pluck”) mixed
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Precautionary Principle
In Harper’s Canada we consider it bad form to discuss things such as the “precautionary principle.” It’s treated as an unwarranted impediment to government, especially Harper’s deviant view of economic progress. Fortunately for Harper, the Liberals and New Democrats largely play along. What is the precautionary principle? It’s not new
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: And Now a Timely Warning from Chris Hedges
I know this is dreadful, dreary stuff but it’s an inescapable reality we have to come to grips with, a reality we must demand those who would lead us also embrace. From Chris Hedges, TruthDig. Clive Hamilton in his “Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth About Climate
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