Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Eugene Lang discusses the importance of fiscal choice in the lead up to the 2015 federal election. And Don Cayo reminds us that the Cons’ determination to hand free money to the wealthy – most recently through income-splitting and increased TFSA limits –
Continue readingTag: Iraq
Alberta Diary: Ten Questions about the Harper Government’s embrace of war with ISIS-ISIL-IS
Ready, Aye, Ready! Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird whips up the War Party in the House of Commons. Below: Stephen Harper, the prime minister, and Edmonton Centre MP Laurie Hawn. Stephen Harper, John Baird, Laurie Hawn and the rest of the boys yesterday finally got the war in Iraq they’ve
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: You can support the troops, but oppose sending them off to combat.
Putting aside the vote to authorize CF-18’s to fly combat missions to Iraq to try and stop ISIS (which has utterly failed to slow them or stop them so far by the way), I’ve seen the Conservative Party and some media try to claim you can’t say you support the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Ezra Klein discusses how a corporate focus on buybacks and dividends rather than actually investing capital leads to less opportunities for workers. Nora Loreto offers her take on precarious work in Canada. And Lynne Fernandez and Kirsten Bernas make the case for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On political calculations
I haven’t seen anybody else question the most self-congratulatory aspect of Stephen Harper’s position on a new Iraq war, and at least a few commentators seem to have been willing to swallow it whole. So let’s address the question of which leader has the most obvious political reason to position
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Canadians – Say ‘No’ To Airstrikes in Iraq
Harper wants Canada to go on airstrikes on Iraq. That’s right. Canada. The nice ones, the peace keepers, the polite people, the bastion of warm-gooey-joy-joy feelings, the “we’re awesome because we can solve problems without bombing people” great white north. He wants us conducting air strikes. We have to tell
Continue readingcmkl: I had been wanting to say something about our latest war
But this by Michael Harris on iPolitics pretty much sums up all of the practical objections to Canada’s sending F-18s to bomb ISIS in Syria and Iraq. For the principled objections, I give you the immortal words of Michael Franti: You can bomb the world to pieces but you can’t
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Reasons why "The Khorasan Group" was fabricated by the US government
When the US-led bombing campaign in Syria got underway media outlets announced the emergence of a new jihadist threat that posed an even greater threat to the US than ISIL. It wasn’t just a threat to the region, but a direct and imminent threat to the United States. “The Khorasan
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Elizabeth May Responds To Harper’s Iraq War Motion
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May agrees with Harper that “Canada cannot stand on the sidelines,” but warns that “bombings have never ended an Islamic or any religious extremist terrorist threat.” The post Elizabeth May Responds To Harper’s Iraq War Motion appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Wrong Side Of History
I found it ironic today that there are people viewing staying out of Iraq as being on the “wrong side of history”. I couldn’t think of a more perfect example of a battle fought in folly, than Canadian troops going to fight ISIS in Iraq with bombers. Eleven years ago
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Steve, I Don’t Know How to Tell You This. Bombing Isn’t Working.
That didn’t take long. Iraqi Kurds report that ISIS has changed tactics to blunt the impact of allied air strikes. Who, aside from just about anybody, could have foreseen that turn of events? Air strikes against Isis targets in northern Syria have failed to stop the militants from advancing towards
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Justin, Tommy – Here’s Your Talking Points
Look, if you can’t nail Harper on this ISIS business, you’re not fit to govern anything much less our country. What you need to do is pry the lid off ISIS. Show Canadians what lies beneath, who stands behind. Start with the notion that this seemingly well-organized, well-trained, well-equipped and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Andrew Jackson takes a look at some dire predictions about the continued spread of inequality, and notes that we need to act now in order to reverse the trend. And UN Special Rapporteur Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona discusses how more progressive tax policies –
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Iraq, Syria & the Islamic State: Obama’s new & revised Queensbury Rules
For many years, a code has governed the manly art of boxing: the Queensbury Rules, endorsed by John Douglas, the Marquess of Queensbury. These rules set out what you can and cannot do to your opponent in the boxing ring, and are equated with a sense of fair play and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On consensus-breaking
Having earlier dealt with Stephen Harper’s attempt to justify war by building up hatred and hype toward ISIS, I’ll note the other main rationale on offer from the Cons – which can generally be described as government by wrong answer to a rhetorical question: If Canada wants to keep its
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: A friendly reminder from your military-industrial overlords
Money to extend and improve the lives of Canadian citizens is never available, and the need for funding precludes any discussion of the benefits of investing in people. But money for war is free and unlimited, and the need for funding is not to be discussed as part of any
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper Speech Announces Canada’s Air Strikes Against ISIS
Here’s an unedited text of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s speech in the House of Commons on Friday, announcing Canada’s air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. The post Harper Speech Announces Canada’s Air Strikes Against ISIS appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Why Canada is going to war in Iraq: From Harper’s Mouth
I recently wrote a post about the motivations for middle powers like Canada to join international coalitions for wars such as the recent war in Iraq. Now that we have seen Harper official justification for the war to Parliament, it is worth noting how closely what I said tacked with
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Why Canada is going to war in Iraq: From Harper’s Mouth
I recently wrote a post about the motivations for middle powers like Canada to join international coalitions for wars such as the recent war in Iraq. Now that we have seen Harper official justification for the war to Parliament, it is worth noting how …
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