With regard to the ISIS threat, here is what Prime Minister Harper had to say in the House: “These are necessary actions, they are noble actions” …. “When we think that something is necessary and noble, we don’t sit back and say that only other people should do it. The
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Politics and its Discontents: This Is Not The Time For Absolutism
In the absolutist world of Stephen Harper, there are those who wear white hats and those who wear black. No berets (especially berets!) of middling colours are recognized. So when he declares that Canada will not stand on the sidelines on this possibly endless battle against ISIS, King Stephen is
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Washington, Kabul Kiss & Make Up. US Troops Stay in Afghanistan Until 2024.
Hamid Karzai talked tough about getting Western forces out of Afghanistan immediately if not sooner. Afghanistan, however, is under new management that means America’s longest war ever will be extended for another decade. Barack Obama, elected president in 2008 on a wave of anti-war sentiment, will pass off both
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper Lied About U.S. Requesting Canada’s Military Help In Iraq
American officials say Canada offered further military help to fight the Islamic State in Iraq – not the other way around as Harper told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. The post Harper Lied About U.S. Requesting Canada’s Military Help In Iraq appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Harper’s small but important lie on Iraq
Harper got caught in a lie important enough that the US Secretary of Defence’s office took the somewhat rare move of embarrassing Harper by telling everyone it was indeed a lie. Namely, as reported by Global News, Harper made something of a big show that the US was asking for Canadian
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Harper’s small but important lie on Iraq
Harper got caught in a lie important enough that the US Secretary of Defence’s office took the somewhat rare move of embarrassing Harper by telling everyone it was indeed a lie. Namely, as reported by Global News, Harper made something of a big show that the US was asking for Canadian
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Harper’s small but important lie on Iraq
Harper got caught in a lie important enough that the US Secretary of Defence’s office took the somewhat rare move of embarrassing Harper by telling everyone it was indeed a lie. Namely, as reported by Global News, Harper made something of a …
Continue readingdrive-by planet: New US-led Middle East war repeats old mistakes: fuels the cycle of violence
Airstrikes and rockets targeting sites in Syria and Iraq this week marks an escalation in the early stages of a war stamped with the trademark Made-in-the-USA. This misguided war is a continuation of earlier interventions and strategic errors that have fanned the flames of jihadist resistance around the globe. The
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper Lied About U.S. Requesting Canada’s Military Help In Iraq
American officials say Canada offered further military help to fight the Islamic State in Iraq – not the other way around as Harper told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. The post Harper Lied About U.S. Requesting Canada’s Military Help In Iraq appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Conservative MP, Commons Speaker Desecrated Parliament
A simple question by NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair during Question Period led to a bizarre exchange with a Conservative MP and exposed House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer’s incompetence and lack of neutrality. The post Conservative MP, Commons Speaker Desecrated Parliament appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingISIS—a force for peace?
A juxtaposition of two articles in the Guardian this week suggested a very odd development indeed in the Middle East—the barbaric hordes of ISIS currently marauding through Syria and northern Iraq may actually be, in the longer term, a force for peace. The first article referred to a meeting in
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Be careful what you ask for! Jim Prentice walks away with the Wildrose political play book
Premier Jim Prentice. Below: Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith and former party strategist Tom Flanagan, this time on the button. As the expression goes: be careful what you ask for! You might just get it. There is irony – perhaps even bitter irony – in what newly minted Alberta Premier
Continue readingWhy are Americans so frightened?
ISIS has thrown the fear of God into Americans. According to a poll conducted by the Opinion Research Centre, ninety per cent of Americans believe the group is a direct threat to the U.S. with over seventy per cent believing it already has cells inside the country. All of this
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Why Getting Our Arab Allies Off Their Fat, Pampered Asses Matters
Since Obama started this ‘get ISIS’ coalition-building business, the Sunni Arab world has been conspicuous by its absence. The Sydney Morning Herald’s chief foreign correspondent, Paul McGeough, weighs in on Australian prime minister Tony Abbott’s decision to jump in with both boots. The smart thing for Western leaders in the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Oh Hell, There Goes the NATO Neighbourhood
The allegation: our longtime NATO partner, Turkey, has been supporting al-Qaeda in Syria. The accuser, Francis Ricciardone, until late June the American ambassador to Turkey. “Turkey has directly supported al-QAeda’s wing in Syria, in defiance of America, the former US ambassador has disclosed.“The Turkish authorities thought they could work with
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Obama Doesn’t Have a Clue
Barack Obama has a mess on his hands in Iraq and has no idea what to do to clean it up. And so he falls back on neo-America’s default option – bomb it. Retired US Army commander turned academic, Andrew Bacevich, offers some insights that reveal how hapless – and
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: ISIS, IS or ISIL … Whatever It’s Called This Week
It comes as no surprise that Harper is in a great hurry to commit Canada to a shooting war in Iraq/Afghanistan/Syria. Make no mistake, “military advisors” is a euphemism. Harper is committing troops to a shooting war that frankly we have no business involving ourselves in. I remember saying back
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Murky Lessons Of History
Blindingly clear for some, obscure and ambiguous for others, the lessons of history need to be given close scrutiny these days, especially by our chickenhawk prime minister. Like so much else that his regime brays and sputters about, Stephen Harper’s recent tough talk about the Ukraine and the Middle East
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Fidel Castro compares NATO with Hitler’s SS: says US/Israel responsible for the creation of ISIS
Below: Demo in Poland protesting this weeks NATO summit in Wales In an article published in Cuban state media iconic revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, calls out NATO and imperialist war mongering. He compares statements by NATO representatives with Nazi SS talk. Castro: “Many people are astonished when they hear the
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