“All compatriots are informed from the date of the issuance of this decree, poppy cultivation is absolutely prohibited in the whole country and no one can try to cultivate the plant.” With this decree, the Taliban banned the growth of poppies, thus threatening 80 percent of the word’s opium supply.
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Views from the Beltline: The American retreat punishes the Afghan people
The Taliban are in a celebratory mood. Afghanistan has just defeated its third Western empire and they can take the credit. The Afghans humiliated the British in the 19th century, the Russians in the 20th and and now the Americans in the 21st. Unfortunately, however, you can’t warm your home
Continue readingAlberta Politics: This is not a setback, it’s a rout – the war in Afghanistan is all but over and the Taliban insurgency has won
Suddenly, the provincial capitals of Afghanistan are falling like bowling pins to the Taliban. As of yesterday, the New York Times reported, only four major cities remained in the hands of the Afghan government. One of them was Kabul, the capital. Two of them were besieged. The last Soviet troops
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Calling Peter MacKay! Could you remind us what we were fighting for in Afghanistan again?
Peter MacKay, former Harper Government defence minister and one of the dimmer candles to cast his flickering light Canadian affairs, turns out to have been a prophet after all! Who would have guessed? Back in 2008, when Canada’s role in the long war in Afghanistan had grown considerably in its
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Prab Gill saga seems to have legs, so UCP Leader Jason Kenney attacks environmentalist Tzeporah Berman …
Astonishingly, the Prab Gill saga appears to have legs. Yesterday, the Star Metro arm of the Toronto Star’s effort to create a national footprint, informed Alberta readers there’s no way the United Conservative Party will be revealing the contents of its insider investigation of ballot stuffing and snatching by Mr.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Stephen Harper’s Paris speech to Mojahedin-e Khalq: No laws were broken; appropriate interests were served; get over it!
Many readers would be offended if someone were to suggest the Roman Catholic Church was a former terrorist organization with cult-like attributes. Still, wouldn’t terrorism be a fair description of the Inquisition, the brutal effort to root out heresy carried out from the 12th to the early 19th centuries by
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Never mind apologies, it’s time for Canada’s Tories just to admit Jack Layton was right about talking to the Taliban
PHOTOS: Jack Layton in Edmonton in 2011. Below: Forgettable Harper Government foreign minister Lawrence Cannon (Photo: Abigail Veronneau, Wikimedia Commons) and Peter MacKay, who took some of the cheap shots at Mr. Layton in 2006 (Photo: Department of National Defence, via the Wikimedia Commons). Never mind the apologies. That ship
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Excerpts from “Letter to a Young Army Ranger” – Rory Fanning
A brief note. I think that this essay should be required reading for all those who consider joining the armed forces and participating in the cycle of terrorism and destruction that currently dominates our foreign policy and geo-political goals here in the West. Many thanks to Tom’s Dispatch for hosting
Continue readingAlberta Diary: On the centenary of Gavrilo Princip’s fateful shot in Sarajevo, let’s learn the right lessons from history
Gavrilo Princip under arrest. Below: Princip and the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Today is the centenary of the day Gavrilo Princip took his little Belgian pistol to Sarajevo and blew the heir presumptive to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire into history. As is well known, not long after young Princip
Continue readingLeDaro: Malala Yousafza gives a speech at U.N.
Malala Yousafza is a very bright young lady. What the Taliban did to her was barbaric. She gave a great speech at the United Nations. However, Obama should give some thought to refrain from drone attacks which have killed many young Malalas.
Continue readingLeDaro: Young Woman Shot by Taliban Recovering
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy She is very brave, great to hear that Malala is recovering. It is appalling that she – a young teenage girl – was shot by the Taliban for promoting something that is a basic human right, education for
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Malala Yousafzai Honoured With Global Day Of Action
A Taliban gunman shot her as she made her way home from school in Pakistan. She survived the assassination attempt and is now recovering at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital hospital in the UK. Today, Malala Yousafzai has become the symbol …
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Shame: 61 million children not in school worldwide
Globally, 61 million children, most of them girls, are denied their birthright to education. They’re discriminated against, marginalized and exploited. Please click here to add your voice to millions around the world calling on governments and…
Continue readingTrashy's World: Facebook is a great place to see sappy photos…
… and sentimental meanderings and gag-worthy non sequiturs. This isn’t like that.. Taliban = Cowards. (8) Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Anonymous Dumps Wikileaks [VIDEO]
Hacktivist collective, Anonymous, has severed ties with long-time ally WikiLeaks. Anonymous announced the divorce via a tweet, and said the Julian Assange-controlled whistle-blowing website had become a one man “Julian Assange show”. The tweet: “The end of an era. We unfollowed @Wikileaks and withdraw our support. It was an awesome idea ruined by Egos.
Continue readingMalala Yousafzai—heroine
This week the Taliban committed yet another atrocity in the name of religion when they shot 14-year old Malala Yousafzai in the head and neck while she sat with her classmates on a school bus. Still in critical condition this morning, she has been flown to the country’s top military
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Another Victory for the Star: The Harper Government Blinks
The Globe and Mail arrogantly proclaims itself to be ‘Canada’s national newspaper’ and ‘Canada’s paper of record.’ It is a self-proclaimed designation that I have longed disagreed with, so much so that I eventually cancelled my long-standing subscription to it some time ago, substituting the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: More From Paul Watson on Sayed Shah Sharifi
The older I get, the longer I live, the more I realize that true justice is uncommon, and that evil frequently prevails over good. The case of Sayed Shah Sharifi, the Afghan interpreter whose work was so highly-prized by the Canadian military, is only the latest example of this fact.
Continue readingLeDaro: US/NATO is winning in Afghanistan??
Great victory eh! Once U.S and NATO forces leave, not only will Afghanistan fall back in the hands of the Taliban but also Pakistan and maybe Iran. Pakistan is becoming more fanatic religiously. Since 1978 Pashtuns from Afghanistan have taking refuge i…
Continue readingRedBedHead: US Sacrificed Aid Agencies That Help Children To Kill Bin Laden
If you ever had any doubt that the hunt to locate and then kill Osama bin Laden was about anything other than vengeance and demonstrating to the world that Captain USA always gets his man, this latest revelation ought to dispel that. First, it was reve…
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