Kandahar brass confident insurgents have been ‘flattened’ The commander of Canada’s last combat mission in Kandahar arrived home Friday, confident that his soldiers had "flattened" insurgents and put the troubled region on the path to stability. "Afghanistan still has its challenges but we feel that there is significant improvement in the fight against the insurgents," said Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner. "I’m guardedly optimistic that things are moving in the right direction." I would have thought a "flattened" insurgency would mean fewer violent attacks. So how to explain this report (pdf) from the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO) which tells a somewhat different story? ANSO tracks attacks by Armed Opposition Groups (AOG) and this is from the summary and refers to all of Afghanistan, comparing the second quarter of 2011 with the same quarter in 2009: By the end of June 2011 … the Q.2 attack total has grown by 119% to a staggering 7,178 operations (p.7) or approximately 40 per day. Conflict related civilian fatalities have grown by nearly 106% over the same period, with approximately 1,856 people killed in the first six months of this year alone. Security for aid workers has inevitably deteriorated in lock-step with 73% more incidents…
Continue readingAnders Behring Breivik’s connection with the English Defence League
Breivik bragged that he ‘recommended certain strategies’ to the EDL.”I have on some occasions had discussions with SIOE and EDL and recommended them to use certain strategies,” he wrote two years ago.”The tactics of the EDL are now to ‘lure’ an overr…
Continue readingConservatism: not a politics…
…but a diagnosis. Good Catholic Michael Coren shows his compassionate side. [H/t reader Shiner and Let Freedom Rain]…
Continue readingI have seen the future of Canada’s working class
It is Vancouver’s East Hastings street.I left Salmon Arm, over a month ago, and arrived here, in rags and tatters.How can I describe Skid Row? Take an average man, get him drunk and high, and then smash in his face, again and again until he’s on the gr…
Continue readingThey Call Me "Mr. Sinister": More Right Wing Empathy
Via Warren Kinsella, Michael Coren says, well, I will just quote him verbatim: Tragic irony. The teenagers at the socialist youth camp on the Norwegian island who were victims of terror had just demanded that Israel remove the separation fence – the …
Continue readingAmy Winehouse: 14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011
A wild talent. All temperament, ache and need. Every note was like a bit of her life ebbing away. She was 27….
Continue readingMorton's Musings: Justice Julius Isaac Obituary
Chief Justice leaves a legacy of giving and nurturing
Deaths – The Globe and Mail
http://bit.ly/qBfwdm
Jul 22, 2011 – Working through school as a miner and railway porter, he was the first person of colour at top of Federal Court of Canada
Continue readingPeace, order and good government, eh?: So when will they put the logos on the Legislative Assembly?
You know how big name musical acts often have specific corporations sponsoring their tours? Welcome to politics in the 21st century. Twenty-six organizations invested between $5,000 and $50,000 to sponsor the two-day premiers’ meeting in Vancouver this week. The list of sponsors include companies from the gas and oil, transportation and pharmaceutical industries. It’s claimed that corporate sponsors aren’t paying for special access and my reply to that would be: they already have special access. How else do you explain the fact that it’s corporations who have all the money but they’re the ones who keep getting their taxes cut? And even if this is just for advertising purposes, since when is government a vehicle for advertising? Why don’t they just have "Property of Exxon Mobil" stamped on their foreheads and have done with it? In politics, perception is everything. And the perception this encourages is that our elected officials are bought and paid for. On second thought, maybe I should applaud them for finally being open about it….
Continue readingAmy Winehouse dead
Shocking and heartbreaking such a talent succumbing so early in a promising life. In Postmedia, Michael Coren blames the Norwegian victims.H/T: @jonkay
Continue readingTerahertz: “Not an inch of space”
Never mind that Europe is supposed to be all metric all the time, here’s a quote relating to yesterday’s tragedy: "That the perpetrator apparently comes from the far-right scene shows once again how dangerous racist and anti-foreigner ideologies are," Germany’s opposition Greens said in a statement. "We must not allow them an inch of space […]
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Jeffrey Simpson laments the Cons’ evidence-averse crime policies. But it’s worth noting that Simpson is off base on one point: much as he assumes that years of spin from the Cons and the media alike have pus…
Continue readingMichael Coren blames Norwegian victims as “socialist children” “who showed no empathy at all for Jewish suffering”
I thought the Washington Post was grossly irresponsible for keeping up a hate column by Jennifer Rubin blaming Muslims for the Norwegian tragedy but this bit of hate speech from Michael Coren is one of the most disgusting bits of unapologetic enmity dressed up as ‘irony’ as I have ever encountered.
It is . . . → Read More: Michael Coren blames Norwegian victims as “socialist children” “who showed no empathy at all for Jewish suffering”
Continue readingConservative government now monitoring unreported crime
Ministry of Justice officials confirmed Friday that the government has recently started compiling statistics of unreported crimes. A spokesperson for MP Rob Nicholson told reporters “We are carefully tracking crimes that are unreported. Our ears have b…
Continue readingMichael Coren blames Norwegian victims as "socialist children" "who showed no empathy at all for Jewish suffering"
I thought the Washington Post was grossly irresponsible for keeping up a hate column by Jennifer Rubin blaming Muslims for the Norwegian tragedy but this bit of hate speech from Michael Coren is one of the most disgusting bits of pure hate dressed up a…
Continue readingYour liberal media: Washington Post still has Jennifer Rubin piece up blaming Muslims for Norway bombing
Shameful the way the right has peddled this horror conducted by a right wing extremist as Islamic terrorism. Even more shameful when the Washington Post does it and neglects to remove the error-ridden bit of hate speech.
Continue readingLeDaro: Celine Dion’s funny pictures and controversy
See more images here.Read the story here
Continue readingFar and Wide: Colossal ASSHOLE Alert
This just blows my mind:Leftist SyndromeTragic irony. The teenagers at the socialist youth camp on the Norwegian island who were victims of terror had just demanded that Israel remove the separation fence – the wall – that has saved any number of i…
Continue readingBene Diction Blogs On: A blogging bishop
By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. As traditional as a church may be, as the world changes, little things about how the church does things may change too. This fall, a new Catholic bishop will be able … Continue reading →
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Teen gets 18 months probation for racist vandalism
Teen gets probation for anti-Semitic graffiti By Daryl Slade, Calgary Herald July 22, 2011A teen who spray-painted anti-Semitic graffiti on two synagogues and a Holocaust memorial 20 months ago has not only affected the Jewish community but soiled th…
Continue readingMorton's Musings: "Judges must be free from political intervention or intimidation" Stockwell Day
This is a pretty ordinary sentiment but I picked it because Stockwell Day was often portrayed as a radical beyond radical. In fact, Mr Day appreciated well the constitutional role (both privilege and responsibility) for jurists. This matters because …
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