Top 10 under-reported facts about a decade of war in Afghanistan

Top 10 under-reported facts about a decade of war in Afghanistan | rabble.ca
Excerpt regarding "Women's Rights"

The "women's rights" rationale has been exposed as a cynical sham. I'm not sure who really takes this fraud seriously anymore, but it's important to remember that this was presented early on through wall-to-wall media coverage as a key reason for occupying Afghanistan. Afghan women's rights boosted the careers of many western NGO spokespeople, but from the beginning the post-Taliban government installed by NATO was full of anti-women fundamentalists. Rapists continue to enjoy widespread impunity in Afghanistan; female suicide by self-immolation is higher than ever. Many outspoken women's activists have been murdered, either by the Taliban or by fundamentalists linked with the Afghan government. Others, like Malalai Joya, have been banished from elected positions.

You're not defending our freedoms

An Open Letter to the Troops: You’re Not Defending Our Freedoms: Information Clearing House: ICH
Stephen Harper, Conservatives and Liberals : you should take heed of this letter too. The situation in Afghanistan with Canadian troops is also pointless, is not defending our freedoms, and jeopardizes the safety of Canadians all over the world.

CRTC holds public public hearing on "Fox News North " (SunTV)

Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-649

Notice of hearing

19 November 2010

Gatineau, Quebec

Deadline for submission of interventions/comments: 1 October 2010

The Commission will hold a hearing commencing 19 November 2010 at 9 a.m. at the Conference Centre, Portage IV, 140 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau, Quebec, to consider the following application:

 [Broadcasting interventions/comments form]

Applicant and locality

1. TVA Group Inc., on behalf of a general partnership to be constituted or a corporation to be incorporated

Across Canada

Application 2010-1188-2

1. Across Canada

Application 2010-1188-2

Application by TVA Group Inc., on behalf of a general partnership to be constituted or a corporation to be incorporated,
for a broadcasting licence to operate a national, English-language
Category 2 specialty television programming undertaking to be known as
Sun TV News.

The proposed licensee will be formed or owned by TVA
Group Inc. (51%) and Sun Media Corporation (49%), two subsidiaries of
Quebecor Media Inc.

The applicant stated that the application is in
accordance with the Commission’s framework for competitive national news
services, as set out in Conditions of licence for competitive Canadian specialty services operating in the genres of mainstream sports and national news, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-562, 4 September 2009, and that it would accept the standard conditions of licence set out in Conditions
of licence for competitive Canadian specialty services operating in the
genres of mainstream sports and national news – Implementation of the
Accessibility Policy and other matters, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-562-1, 18 June 2010.

However, the applicant is seeking an exception to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2009-562 by applying for mandatory access.

The applicant argued that Sun TV News requires short-term
and time-limited mandatory access by broadcasting distribution
undertakings for a maximum period of three years to effectively expose
and promote its programming to viewers across Canada.

The applicant stated that it was not seeking mandatory
basic distribution, but only to be made available on cable and satellite
distribution undertakings, allowing the public to have access to Sun TV
News without any obligation to choose it.

Additional information may be placed on the public
examination file as it becomes available. The Commission encourages
interested parties to monitor the public examination file and the
Commission’s website for additional information that they may find
useful when preparing their comments.

Conservative government still blocking Afghan committee requests

CBC News - Canada - MacKay denies Afghan committee request

The Conservative government has refused a parliamentary committee's
request to allow the military's former top lawyer to testify without
legal restrictions on the Afghan detainee affair, CBC news has learned.

Ken
Watkin, Canada's former chief military prosecutor, said his involvement
with the Afghan detainee file was covered by solicitor-client
privilege. (Dan Balilty/Associated Press)Letters
obtained by CBC news show that Defence Minister Peter MacKay was
unwilling to waive the government's right to solicitor-client privilege
when it comes to the testimony of the military's one-time senior legal
adviser, despite a request for it to do so from the House of Commons
special committee on Afghanistan.

Last November, retired brigadier-general Ken Watkin, a former judge
advocate general of the Canadian Forces, was called to testify before
the committee as it investigated the Canadian government's handling of
Afghan detainees.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/08/31/afghan-detainees-lawyer-watkin.html#ixzz0yGB90F2U

G8 Roundup

G8 leaders criticise Gaza blockade - Americas - Al Jazeera English
The leaders of the G8 Summit decided on the following:
- The would like to see Israel ease the blockade of Gaza
- They would like the Afghan government to make progress within 5 years of looking after it's own internal security, and for a reduction of corruption and drug production and trafficking, and an improvement to human rights and basic services
- They would like Iran to hold a transparent dialogue over its nuclear enrichment program
- Noted the efforts of Turkey and Brazil to broker a deal with Iran over its nuclear program
- Condemned the attack on the attack on the South Korean vessel, the Cheonan, which was allegedly perpetrated by North Korea
- They agreed that economic global recovery is still fragile
- They pledged $5 billion in aid over 5 years to reduce deaths among mothers and newborn children in Africa (5 years ago, the pledge was to increase this aid up to $50 billion by 2010)

G20:
Will focus mainly on economic issues, either to cut or spend to economic recovery.
The USA supports continued stimulus. European countries are leaning towards cutting.

Harper intends on breaking the law again

Harper digs in over Afghan documents - thestar.com
Evidence has shown that the Conservative government knowingly ordered our troops to hand over prisoners in Afghanistan into the hands of people who were torturing the prisoners. This is a war crime.

Now, Harper and his Conservative government, is saying they won't hand over the documents relating to this, even after the Speaker of the House made his ruling on the issue. It has been made quite clear that by not handing over the un-censored documents, Harper and his government will be in contempt of parliament - which is a serious crime too. It is a crime against the people of Canada and our democracy.

I say lock them up and throw away the key.

Opposition considering Censure of the Tories

Censure Tories over detainee handling, MPs urged - thestar.com
Excerpt:

Mendes, one of the country’s top constitutional scholars, said
Parliament’s power exceeds that of the various national security laws
that have been used to censor government memos and diplomatic cables
describing who was warned about possible war crimes violations going
back to early 2006, when Canadian soldiers moved to Kandahar province.

That leaves MPs with two paths forward: they can ask the Supreme
Court of Canada to rule on their right to access the information, a
process that could take years; or they can invoke a rarely used power to
censure, expel and even imprison any member of the House of Commons for
contempt.

I say, throw Harper and his gang of crooks in jail so parliament can get on with its work.

Harper hiding behind troops

Travers: Harper uses troops as political shield - thestar.com
Excerpt:
Determinedly obtuse reasonably describes his response this week when asked on YouTube why Conservatives routinely hide behind the troops when questioned about abuse.

Harper answered by again using soldiers as a shield. There's no evidence, he said for the umpteenth time, that Canadians did anything wrong.

That's an artful dodge that ducks not one but two of the most salient points. One is that the Red Cross, diplomat Richard Colvin and Afghan human rights watchdogs provided compelling warnings that Canadian prisoners were routinely tortured by Afghans. The other is that international law requires only suspicion, not proof, before a country transferring prisoners must act to protect them from abuse.

Harper's stonewall defence is disingenuous at best, deceptive at worst. It suggests he doesn't know the law or fears the truth.

Equally troubling, the Prime Minister's determination to shift the focus away from himself, ministers and most senior commanders puts at risk the very troops and military institutions that Conservatives accuse political rivals of attacking.

As sure as war is hell, the Afghanistan story will inevitably unfold and the walls will come tumbling down. When they do, Harper, his cabinet and at least one chief of defence staff will have much to explain.

If the opposition does not force an election, then the will have given up a lot more power

Travers: They used to behead kings for what Harper is doing - thestar.com
If the opposition parties do not vote to hold Harper in contempt for not releasing the Afghanistan-related documents regarding the torture scandal, then they are basically handing over their power to the prime minister's office and saying that they are answerable to the prime minister and not the other way around (as it is/is supposed to be).

Excellent summary of the issues around Prorogation 2 by the Harper government

by the Real News
http://www.acreativerevolution.ca/node/2326

Correction: They state that about 5,000 people showed up at the Jan 23, 2010 rally in Toronto. Actually, about 10,000 were there.

Note: one of the people they spoke to said that this issue would all blow over by March when Parliament re-opens. However, the protest movement is still growing and Harper's conservatives are still dropping in the polls. I don't think this will blow over. I think it is blowing up in Harper's face.

Peace to be negotiated in Afghanistan

The Afghan government and allied forces have finally concluded that the only way to end the war will be go negotiate. Taliban leaders have already met with UN representatives.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/757498--allies-okay-road-map-out-of-afghanistan?bn=1

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/afghan-endgame-from-victory-to-compromise/article1448361/

Jack Layton was ahead of the Pack

Everyone agrees with Taliban Jack now

http://www.surphace.com/search/?q=sphereit:http://queerthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/01/jack-layton-was-ahead-of-pack.html/

Supreme Court declares that the Canadian Government clearly violated Charter and International Human Rights laws regarding the Omar Khadr case

But, they overturned the previous decision of the Federal Court that ordered the Harper government to request Khadr's return.

The Supreme court ruled against ordering the Canadian government to request that Omar Kadr be returned to Canada. But, they also declared that there is a clear breach of section 7 of the Charter, and that Canadian officials have violated their international human rights law obligations. It issued a “declaration” that stated clearly the actions of Canadian officials contributed to the continued detention of a young person who had no access to legal counsel, was subjected to “improper treatment” through sleep deprivation, likely aided his upcoming criminal prosecution, and violated principles of fundamental justice.
Court refuses to order Khadr home.

More on this news item:
http://lawiscool.com/2010/01/29/david-asper-centre-responds-to-prime-minister-of-canada-v-omar-khadr/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/a-chance-to-do-the-right-thing/article1452503/

The main whistle-blower in the Afghan scandal having his legal funding halted

Diplomat-whistleblower says he faces government reprisal - thestar.com
First the Conservatives prorogue to run away from the demands for the documents in the Afghan Detainee Torture Scandal, then they stop the legal funding for the whistle blower in hopes that he will go away too.

Questions for the PM

Questions for proroguing PM - thestar.com
The Star published a decent set of questions for the PM to answer, including things like "When will you release the documents demanded by Parliament showing communications among officials about the risk of torture for detainees handed over by Canadian troops to Afghan custody?", and others covering if he will recall Parliament earlier than planed, cutting off funding to KAIROS, how his GST Tax cut has helped create the deficit (the Star should have included the larger corporate tax cuts here as they are the largest contributor to the deficit, along with the mis-managed recession spending), unemployment, environment, and pensions.

This is a good starting point. It's unfortunate that Harper has prorogued Parliament because these are some of the urgent questions and issues that would be covered in Parliament were it up and running. So far Harper and members of his party and the MSM for the most part have brushed off questions about recalling Parliament and about the rising numbers of concerned Canadians speaking out and showing their disagreement with the prorogation of Parliament. it will be interesting to see if Harper and his team and the MSM continue to ignore the growing unrest in Canada.

Opposition fights back on Prorogation

Opposition fights back on prorogation - thestar.com
Both the Liberal and NDP leaders are in support of the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament and what it stands for.

The Liberals are going to hold hearings, with key speakers who were silenced by Harper.

...

Opposition critics say the latest move was a deliberate attempt to muzzle a parliamentary committee’s probe into the treatment of Afghan detainees.

But Layton said today that the three opposition parties have agreed to continue their investigation unofficially with hearings scheduled to resume Feb. 3.

The prorogation also meant the end of more than 30 pieces of legislation. Parliament had been due to resume Jan. 25.

In a speech attended by NDP MPs and party supporters, Layton ripped Harper’s decision to suspend Parliament, accusing the prime minister of showing “disdain” for MPs and Canadians.

“With so many challenges facing Canada – job creation, climate change, the war in Afghanistan – Parliament must be able to do its work,” Layton said.

“The Prime Minister must be held to account,” he said.

Layton suggested that Harper may pay a political price for his decision to prorogue Parliament, extending a Christmas recess for MPs until Mar. 3.

“There’s been a real uprising of Canadians against this notion that you simply shut down Parliament whenever you feel like it as Prime Minister,” Layton said.

He said that NDP members will be active participants in cross-country rallies planned for this Saturday to protest the prorogation and called for a “new politics.”

“The new politics says there’s a better way forward – an end to secrecy and arrogance, the beginning of openness and accountability,” Layton said.
...

Are you so superficial that you only vote for the most charismatic leader?

One argument, regarding current Canadian politics and the reason why someone voted for Harper, that I bump into often (usually from Internet trolls) is that there is no one else to vote for. Are you so superficial that you only vote for who you see as the most charismatic leader? What about their party policies, ideals and values? What about their plan?

If the plan of one party was to destroy Canada as we know it and replace it with a bad dream from George Bush's head, and that party had, in your view, the most charismatic leader, would you vote for that party? But, I believe I waste my time as you probably don't even know the word charismatic.

I think this is how Harper got some of his votes. Yes, it is too bad that some of the electorate are as dumb as stumps and proud of it! But there will always be this group no matter how much we try to promote book learnin'.

The only group of people who have benefited, or will benefit from Harper's plan are the wealthy - period. So, if you are wealthy and dis-compassionate and don't care about other humans or the environment or the future of this country or life in general, then Harper is who you vote for. But, I don't think this group is as big as 30% of the Canadian electorate. Maybe 1% if that. So, that leaves the other 29%. Who are they? Why did they vote for Harper? They must be people, like those mentioned above, who aren't intelligent enough to know better. They are duped by the Tory-supporting MSM. They are duped by campaign promises, and even vote again for a party that obviously lied in the last election campaign.

If you are part of this group and feel offended by what I have written, then there is hope for you. Only the truly evil or stupid would not be offended if they are part of this group. For those of you who are, do some research and find out the truth behind the man behind the curtain (Harper).

Here are some links to get you started:
http://drivingtheporcelainbus.blogspot.com/2010/01/harper-attack-on-canadian-democracy.html
http://drivingtheporcelainbus.blogspot.com/2010/01/harper-plan.html
http://drivingtheporcelainbus.blogspot.com/2010/01/canada-failures-have-been-deliberately.html
http://drivingtheporcelainbus.blogspot.com/2010/01/insight-to-stephen-harper-from-his-1997.html

And visit the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament
They aren't really against prorogation. They are against this particular recent prorogation, which was done for completely selfish reasons and not any responsible-to-Canada reason.

Educate yourself before you vote next time. Don't vote for who the media says is a winner. Don't vote for who has the nicest sweater. Vote for a party that truly represents your views and ideals. And read between the lines, get a second opinion.

Here is a good site for alternative news and views in Canada:
http://www.progressivebloggers.ca/

And if you are war supporter, especially a supporter of going to war or killing people for no good reason, you are in the wrong country. Canadians, the majority of Canadians, support peacekeeping, not war-making. War is not a game, like hockey or football. It is serious. People get killed - hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians like you and me - in war. And they don't come back to life (like in video games). Think about the consequences before you say things like At least Harper is beefing up our military. Ask yourself - what for? Why is the current government pumping a lot of money into killing people in another country that never threatened us or our way of life? The answer is not for what the mainstream media is telling you - to give Afghanistan a democracy - that has been proven to be untrue time and again.

I guess I left one group out of who supports people like Harper and his party in elections - couch mass murderers. I would hope there are not too many of them in Canada.

Tories drop in the polls and protests over prorogation go international

Conservatives on 'razor’s edge of losing government' - The Globe and Mail

...
The organizers of the anti-prorogation rallies planned for Jan. 23 are now saying there will be rallies in London, England, and New York. There is also the possibility of an anti-prorogation demonstration in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Allan, the spokesperson for the rallies that were inspired by the anti-prorogation Facebook group, is boldly predicting huge turnout. “As we enter the second decade of the 21st century and become exposed to the whims of an unaccountable government, we are legitimately confident that these rallies, including the ones in Ottawa and Toronto, will be among the largest independent political protests in years,” he told The Globe in an email, noting that it’s a non-partisan effort.

“We have rebuked all assistance from opposition parties; this is an entirely grassroots organized event,” he writes. “We, as the citizens of Canada, are demanding that the elected representatives of our Parliament return to work immediately – if not in the House of Commons, at least within the context of the parliamentary inquiry into the government’s complicity in torture and war crimes.”

"Everybody knows that Parliament was prorogued in order to shut down the Afghan inquiry"

It is obvious to most people that the main reason Harper prorogued parliament was to avoid answering questions about the Afghan detainee issue. It was becoming very clear that the Conservative government were/are guilty of knowingly handing over detainees who would be tortured. This is a war crime. They have refused the order to hand over the documents and they have been caught up in their lies. If parliament had of continued on, the Conservatives would have been completely exposed for what they did and the Canadian public would be crying for an end to their governing and parliament would have definitely lost confidence in the Conservative government. Here, in a recent CBC interview, Tom Flanagan, former chief of staff to Harper, says pretty much the same thing:

Flanagan lays into PM's prorogation defence - Inside Politics
In a panel interview on Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, Tom Flanagan, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, doesn't mince words on the prime minister's suggestion on Monday that the instability of the current minority Parliament hurts the markets.

Flanagan: "Well, you know, it actually doesn't make much sense to me. The market just in this past year had, I think, its greatest increase in a single year, and that was in, during a minority government. I don't think the antics of politicians have actually that much to do with the market, i think that's based on economic fundamentals as investors see them. So i think the prime minister is stretching a bit when he made that comment.

Solomon: "What do you think the strategy is behind that, Tom?"

Flanagan: "Well, I don't know that there's much strategy behind it. I think his problem is that the government's talking points really don't have much credibility. Everybody knows that Parliament was prorogued in order to shut down the Afghan inquiry, and the trouble is that the government doesn't want to explain why that was necessary. Personally I think it was highly defensible action, but instead of having an adult defence of it, the government comes up with these childish talking points. So then you try and backfill with other stuff that doesn't make much sense either. So it's a self-created problem."

Flanagan, for good measure, then added: "I hope nobody thinks I'm a Harper stooge anymore."

More on this here:
McQuaig: Proroguing Less Trouble Than Sitting
And even in the, gasp!, National Post (this is old news, but to see the NP publish such a news item...) :
Scholars add their voices to prorogation protest

"This is simply cowardice" - regarding Harper proroguing parliament to avoid the tough questions on the Afghanistan detainee issue.

Prorogue is indefensible no matter who is selling it - Owen Sound Sun Times - Ontario, CA
...

Harper was taking serious fire on the detainee issue, and he was beginning to find it uncomfortable. The mess in Copenhagen didn't help. He didn't want to come back to more controversy. So he closed the doors, hoping the Olympics would take our minds off the workings of government.

He had an opportunity to rebut Richard Colvin's points about detainee handling. Instead he fled and sent Parliament home. He ran away, rather than face his critics in a stand-up, public debate.

...

Like I said, Harper is a coward.

Release the documents if you think Canadian's won't notice or care

If no one cares about detainee issue, Mr Harper, then release the uncensored documents « Scott's DiaTribes

Harper came out on his CBC interview with Peter Mansbridge tonight claiming that the Canadian public “don’t care” about the issue.

Well, Mr Harper, if people don’t care, then there should be no reason for you to not hand over the documents to Parliament and by proxy the Afghanistan Committee – as voted on and ordered by Parliament (as you’re eventually going to have to anyhow, I predict).

...
One of the top issue in my mind these days is that Harper prorogued our parliament in order to cover up his wrong-doings regarding detainees in Afghanistan.
Richard Nixon had documentation shredded to cover up his wrong-doings. Harper shut down the country's government to cover up his wrong-doings. I think people have noticed this right away, and it is going to become the biggest albatross for Harper yet. What a dum-ass Harpo is.