Saddam Hussein has lost his appeal of the sentence of death that was handed down to him last month. He will likely be executed within the next thirty days.
I do not believe that Saddam should be executed. In the first place, my disagreement with the sentence stems from the fact that I disagree with the death penalty in general. I do not believe that executions solve anything, and killing only leads to more death. In the second place, I do not believe that Saddam Hussein received a fair trial. Among, other injustices, Saddam's lawyers were not allowed to make closing statements at his trial, and had their microphones summarily cut off when the presiding judge did not like what they were saying. The presiding judge himself had reason to be biased against Saddam because his family had suffered in the crushing of the Shiite revolt that followed the First Gulf War. Saddam simply did not receive a fair trial.
There will be those who say that he has no right to a fair trial because he denied that right to so many others. But to say such a thing reduces the rest of the world to his level, the level of a murderous dictator. Every person has a right to due process and no act can strip a person of that right. Personally, I believe that Saddam was guilty of the crimes of which he was accused, but a free trial should have been held. Saddam could likely have been convicted on the strength of the existing evidence. I would have liked to have seen Saddam convicted in a fair trial before an impartial judge and sentenced to life imprisonment. That is the appropriate punishment for what he did. To rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life.
In all likelihood, the execution of Saddam will spark off yet another wave of violence in Iraq, that will result in the deaths of yet more innocent Iraqis. The civilian population of Iraq is not a legitimate target for the insurgents, only the occupying forces. The bombs set off by insurgents that kill Iraqi civilians are just as detestable as the American bombs that kill Iraqi civilians or the Canadian artillery shells that kill Afghani civilians. Violence can not bring about a better world, it only leads to more violence.
This will be my last post of the year, and to everyone reading it I wish you a happy new year, and a healthy and prosperous 2007.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 756
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
UN Security Council Proclaims Sanctions Against Iran
On Saturday, December 23, the UN Security Council proclaimed trade sanctions against Iran intended to prevent it from aquiring the materials needed for its uranium enrichment programme and missile programme. It seems to have escaped the notice of the members of the Security Council that these sanctions are patently in violation of international law. As a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Iran is entitled to persue nuclear power for peaceful purposes. As the NPT states:
Now let me be very clear. I don't believe that any state has the right to nuclear power or nuclear weapons because both pose an unconscionable risk to the people of this small world. What I am opposed to is the blatant hypocrisy and disregard for international law being displayed by many, many western states that either have nuclear weapons (US, UK, France, Israel) or have the capacity to produce such weapons through a domestic nuclear energy programme (most of the rest of the west, including Canada). These states claim a right to nuclear energy but are unwilling to allow such to their geopolitical adversaries. Such blatant hypocrisy is sickening.
Not until every other state abandons its nuclear energy/weapons can the west claim a moral prerogative to stop Iran from building up nuclear energy capability. Someday, I hope this will be the case.
May the holiday season find all of you who may read this well and may you have a prosperous 2007. May you enjoy whatever activity you undertake at this time of year, be it a religious observance or simply spending time with family.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 760
Convinced that, in furtherance of this principle, all Parties to the Treaty are entitled to participate in the fullest possible exchange of scientific information for, and to contribute alone or in cooperation with other States to, the further development of the applications of atomic energy for peaceful purposes... (text available at this page)No evidence has to date been presented to prove that Iran is seeking anything other than peaceful nuclear power. Iran has not attacked any of it's neighbours since before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which is a marked contrast to other states in the region like Israel, which is in fact armed with nuclear weapons.
Now let me be very clear. I don't believe that any state has the right to nuclear power or nuclear weapons because both pose an unconscionable risk to the people of this small world. What I am opposed to is the blatant hypocrisy and disregard for international law being displayed by many, many western states that either have nuclear weapons (US, UK, France, Israel) or have the capacity to produce such weapons through a domestic nuclear energy programme (most of the rest of the west, including Canada). These states claim a right to nuclear energy but are unwilling to allow such to their geopolitical adversaries. Such blatant hypocrisy is sickening.
Not until every other state abandons its nuclear energy/weapons can the west claim a moral prerogative to stop Iran from building up nuclear energy capability. Someday, I hope this will be the case.
May the holiday season find all of you who may read this well and may you have a prosperous 2007. May you enjoy whatever activity you undertake at this time of year, be it a religious observance or simply spending time with family.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 760
Monday, December 18, 2006
A Christmas Tempest in a Teapot
Christian fundamentalists have decided to brew up an enormous controversy over the decision of judge Marion Cohen to remove a Christmas tree from the lobby of a provincial courthouse in Toronto. Judgee Cohen ordered the removal of the tree saying that it is not appropriate to have a Christian symbol in the foyer of a secular building. That is entirely correct and right. We have a theoretically secular state here in Canada, and it is anathemic to such a secular state to display religious symbols of any religion in government buildings.
The Christian fundies are trying to turn this into an enormous issue, though they are trying to get at it through the back door. The fundies are trying to insist that the Christmas tree is not, in fact, a Christian symbol. The fundies claim that the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol, a symbol of nature religion predating Christianity. The roots of the use of trees at the time of Christmas is certainly pagan, but the tree has been whole-heartedly adopted as the symbol of Christmas. If you show any person living in the western world a picture of an evergreen tree covered in ornaments and lights and ask them what it makes them think of, they will tell you Christmas. The Christmas tree is a symbol of Christmas (the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ) in the modern context. To claim otherwise is to be at least preposterous and at worst disingenuous.
Good on Judge Cohen for making a stand to advance the secularism in Canada, and shame on the fundamentalists of this country who are lying to the people. We should be putting our theoretical secular state into action.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 766
The Christian fundies are trying to turn this into an enormous issue, though they are trying to get at it through the back door. The fundies are trying to insist that the Christmas tree is not, in fact, a Christian symbol. The fundies claim that the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol, a symbol of nature religion predating Christianity. The roots of the use of trees at the time of Christmas is certainly pagan, but the tree has been whole-heartedly adopted as the symbol of Christmas. If you show any person living in the western world a picture of an evergreen tree covered in ornaments and lights and ask them what it makes them think of, they will tell you Christmas. The Christmas tree is a symbol of Christmas (the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ) in the modern context. To claim otherwise is to be at least preposterous and at worst disingenuous.
Good on Judge Cohen for making a stand to advance the secularism in Canada, and shame on the fundamentalists of this country who are lying to the people. We should be putting our theoretical secular state into action.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 766
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
In Memory of the Montreal Massacre
On December 6, 1989, 14 women were shot dead at the l'Ecole Polytechnique by Marc Lepine, simply because they were women at the school. We must always remember what happened there, and that it remains the duty of all people (but particularly of men) to work to end violence against women and to end the misogyny that lies at the root of such violence.
May we always remember the names of the victims:
Geneviève Bergeron (b. 1968), civil engineering student.
Hélène Colgan (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Nathalie Croteau (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Barbara Daigneault (b. 1967) mechanical engineering student.
Anne-Marie Edward (b. 1968), chemical engineering student.
Maud Haviernick (b. 1960), materials engineering student.
Maryse Laganière (b. 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique's finance department.
Maryse Leclair (b. 1966), materials engineering student.
Anne-Marie Lemay (b. 1967), mechanical engineering student.
Sonia Pelletier (b. 1961), mechanical engineering student.
Michèle Richard (b. 1968), materials engineering student.
Annie St-Arneault (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Annie Turcotte (b. 1969), materials engineering student.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (b. 1958), nursing student.
May they rest in peace.
May we always remember the names of the victims:
Geneviève Bergeron (b. 1968), civil engineering student.
Hélène Colgan (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Nathalie Croteau (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Barbara Daigneault (b. 1967) mechanical engineering student.
Anne-Marie Edward (b. 1968), chemical engineering student.
Maud Haviernick (b. 1960), materials engineering student.
Maryse Laganière (b. 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique's finance department.
Maryse Leclair (b. 1966), materials engineering student.
Anne-Marie Lemay (b. 1967), mechanical engineering student.
Sonia Pelletier (b. 1961), mechanical engineering student.
Michèle Richard (b. 1968), materials engineering student.
Annie St-Arneault (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Annie Turcotte (b. 1969), materials engineering student.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (b. 1958), nursing student.
May they rest in peace.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Dion Wins Liberal Leadership
Well, this is about the best that could have been hoped for. And in less time than I expected. Congratulations to Stephane Dion for winning the leadership of the most ideologically bankrupt party on the Canadian political scene. No, scratch that, the second most ideologically bankrupt. First place has got to go to the Green Party. At any rate, a rant about the Greens is a topic for another time. Everyone pretty much knew that Dion had won after the third ballot, when he moved ahead of Michael Ignatieff with the vast, vast, majority of Gerard Kennedy's delegates. It was certainly exciting, though the high-point of the tension was actually waiting for the third ballot results, rather than the fourth ballot, because it had to be seen how many of Kennedy's delegates would follow his lead.
This outcome is probably the best that could have come out of the convention for Canada considering who the top four were. Stephane Dion can likely win the next election, but it will (in all probability) be a third consecutive minority government, a string unprecedented in Canadian history. This means good things for the NDP, even if a Dion led LPC does horn in a little on NDP territory in Ontario and British Columbia. It is much better to have a minority governing party with whom the NDP shares at least some principles rather than an ideologically anathemic party whose arm must be twisted through threats in order to achieve the very smallest gains, or no gains as the Bloc proved this year. Additionally, the Dion-led LPC (and to an extent the Green Party) may draw environmentally conscious prairie voters who would never vote NDP away from the Conservative Party in seats that are NDP - CPC contests. This could very well result in seat gains for the NDP in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Obviously as a New Democrat I would have loved to run against an Iggy-led LPC, but as a progressive I could never wish that on Canada. Iggy was a menace, and it is good that he has been stopped. I hope he decides not to run in the next election. Because if he does run, and the Liberals win, Dion will feel a need to appoint him to Cabinet. And what an ugly thought that is.
A Dion-led LPC can still be made to wear the Liberal record of the 1990s: massive cuts to healthcare and education transfer payments, major corporate income tax cuts and most importantly reducing EI benefits while increasing premiums to create a surplus in a programme that was never meant to have one.
All in all, it will be an interesting next few months, and an interesting next election, which I will go on the record as predicting will be called in late-February or early-March, before the next budget comes down.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 782
This outcome is probably the best that could have come out of the convention for Canada considering who the top four were. Stephane Dion can likely win the next election, but it will (in all probability) be a third consecutive minority government, a string unprecedented in Canadian history. This means good things for the NDP, even if a Dion led LPC does horn in a little on NDP territory in Ontario and British Columbia. It is much better to have a minority governing party with whom the NDP shares at least some principles rather than an ideologically anathemic party whose arm must be twisted through threats in order to achieve the very smallest gains, or no gains as the Bloc proved this year. Additionally, the Dion-led LPC (and to an extent the Green Party) may draw environmentally conscious prairie voters who would never vote NDP away from the Conservative Party in seats that are NDP - CPC contests. This could very well result in seat gains for the NDP in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Obviously as a New Democrat I would have loved to run against an Iggy-led LPC, but as a progressive I could never wish that on Canada. Iggy was a menace, and it is good that he has been stopped. I hope he decides not to run in the next election. Because if he does run, and the Liberals win, Dion will feel a need to appoint him to Cabinet. And what an ugly thought that is.
A Dion-led LPC can still be made to wear the Liberal record of the 1990s: massive cuts to healthcare and education transfer payments, major corporate income tax cuts and most importantly reducing EI benefits while increasing premiums to create a surplus in a programme that was never meant to have one.
All in all, it will be an interesting next few months, and an interesting next election, which I will go on the record as predicting will be called in late-February or early-March, before the next budget comes down.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 782
Friday, December 01, 2006
The Liberal Leadership Convention
It's going to be an interesting weekend. Tomorrow, Liberals will choose a new leader for their party. The hope that this new leader will be the one to defeat Stephen Harper in the next election. Personally, I think that whoever is elected Liberal leader will be the next Prime Minister, but not because of anything that the Liberal Party will have done right, but rather because of what the Conservatives will have done wrong. What this means is that Liberals have to think very carefully before selecting their new leader. Do they want to be led by a man who has turned out to be the most anti-peace leadership candidate in decades, Michael Ignatieff, who endorsed/supported the war on Iraq, endorses torture of detainees, "didn't lose sleep" over the massacre of Lebanese civilians in Qana and is really an American? Do they want to be led by a man who has proven time and again that he has no principles, Bob Rae, who still bears the baggage of governing in Ontario during the worst recession since the Great Depression? Do they want to be led by a personally detestable unknown from Toronto, Gerard Kennedy, who has yet to prove that he has any significant traction beyond southern Ontario?
I want to see Stephane Dion as the next leader of the Liberal Party, because of the four front-runners he is the one who will do the least damage to Canada. He is committed to greenhouse gas reductions, reducing atmospheric and water pollutants and a United Canada. He has experience in a successful government at the federal level which is lacking in all three other front runners. Dion is also on the centre-left of the political spectrum, and will support universal medicare remaining sole-payer and sole-provider. I say that I want to see Dion win, despite the fact that he will likely damage the NDP's prospects to expand in the next election. And that is because in the next election removing Stephen Harper and his paleo-cons from office is so important.
Having said that I will never, ever, vote Liberal, because they are the party that allowed social programmes across Canada to go down the tube with the massive cuts made to the transfer payments to the provinces. They are the party that created a surplus in the Employment Insurance programme by cutting benefits and raising premiums. They are the party that would prefer to cut corporate income taxes rather than spend money on affordable and supportive housing, despite the fact that some of the most powerful people in the party recognize that there is a desperate shortage of affordable housing. No, I will never vote Liberal.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 783
I want to see Stephane Dion as the next leader of the Liberal Party, because of the four front-runners he is the one who will do the least damage to Canada. He is committed to greenhouse gas reductions, reducing atmospheric and water pollutants and a United Canada. He has experience in a successful government at the federal level which is lacking in all three other front runners. Dion is also on the centre-left of the political spectrum, and will support universal medicare remaining sole-payer and sole-provider. I say that I want to see Dion win, despite the fact that he will likely damage the NDP's prospects to expand in the next election. And that is because in the next election removing Stephen Harper and his paleo-cons from office is so important.
Having said that I will never, ever, vote Liberal, because they are the party that allowed social programmes across Canada to go down the tube with the massive cuts made to the transfer payments to the provinces. They are the party that created a surplus in the Employment Insurance programme by cutting benefits and raising premiums. They are the party that would prefer to cut corporate income taxes rather than spend money on affordable and supportive housing, despite the fact that some of the most powerful people in the party recognize that there is a desperate shortage of affordable housing. No, I will never vote Liberal.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 783
Saturday, November 18, 2006
An Admission of Disaster in Iraq
It's about time. Tony Blair has admitted to al-Jazeera that the occupation of Iraq has been a disaster. When veteran broadcaster Sir David Frost said that the war in Iraq has "been pretty much of a disaster", Blair agreed that "it has." It is refreshing to see some honesty from the leaders of the aggression in Iraq. Attacking Iraq and brutalizing it's citizens wasn't a good idea in 2003, and it is not a good idea now. This follows hard on the heels of revelations that a U.S. soldier formerly serving in Iraq has admitted that he and three other soldiers had premeditated the rape of an Iraqi girl, and the murder of her and her family. One of the four rapists and murderers, SPC. James P. Barker, plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty. The reason that Barker gave for what he did: "I hated Iraqis, your honour." So by his logic, it is okay to gang-rape and murder a 14 year old girl, then murder the rest of her family because he hates the entire citizen-body to which they belonged? The details of the story can be found in a Washington Post story here. This is an absolute attrocity. And the Americans and British wonder why they are so virulently hated in Iraq, and around the world.
Foreign troops should be immediately withdrawn from Iraq. The current rationale for why there are there is to stabilize the country and provide the groundwork for a democracy. Well guess what. That isn't happening and isn't going to happen. Eventually the Americans are going to have no choice but to fall back on the true reason for the war, to get American hands on the oil taps. Eventually the argument will be made that if America pulls out then the supply of oil to the economy will be jeopardized. And on that day, I hope that the majority of people in the United States, who cursed anti-war protesters in 2003, will realize, we were right. War is not an acceptable means by which to settle international disputes, let alone to manoeuvre for economic advantage. In 2003 we said, "no blood for oil." We say it still.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 797
Foreign troops should be immediately withdrawn from Iraq. The current rationale for why there are there is to stabilize the country and provide the groundwork for a democracy. Well guess what. That isn't happening and isn't going to happen. Eventually the Americans are going to have no choice but to fall back on the true reason for the war, to get American hands on the oil taps. Eventually the argument will be made that if America pulls out then the supply of oil to the economy will be jeopardized. And on that day, I hope that the majority of people in the United States, who cursed anti-war protesters in 2003, will realize, we were right. War is not an acceptable means by which to settle international disputes, let alone to manoeuvre for economic advantage. In 2003 we said, "no blood for oil." We say it still.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 797
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The Democrats Win the Congress and Rummy Resigns
Oh, it is a good day. The Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives and they have won control of the Senate (all be it with the slimmest of margins). On top of that good news, Rummy has "resigned." Ding dong the witch is dead. It is going to be a glorious two years, watching the investigations into the shenanigans that the Emperor and his team got up to. I am upset that Nancy Pelosi has promised not to impeach the Emperor, but it is only a minor tarnish on the glory of this day.
Hopefully the Emperor will take a message from this election that it is time for the United States to withdraw it's occupation forces from Iraq. Iraqis don't want them there, and Americans clearly don't want them there. You would think that the Emperor could take a hint.
Also good, the Emperor will not have an easy time appointing new justices to the federal bench in the States, and this is only just in time. Many justices are reaching the age when they could die any time, and if the Emperor got to appoint even one more justice, then the Supreme Court would have been skewed for years.
Hopefully, Canada can take a lesson and kick our own corrupt neo-cons to the curb as the Americans have done. I live in hope.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 813
Hopefully the Emperor will take a message from this election that it is time for the United States to withdraw it's occupation forces from Iraq. Iraqis don't want them there, and Americans clearly don't want them there. You would think that the Emperor could take a hint.
Also good, the Emperor will not have an easy time appointing new justices to the federal bench in the States, and this is only just in time. Many justices are reaching the age when they could die any time, and if the Emperor got to appoint even one more justice, then the Supreme Court would have been skewed for years.
Hopefully, Canada can take a lesson and kick our own corrupt neo-cons to the curb as the Americans have done. I live in hope.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 813
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Ontario Plans Referendum on Voting Reform
The Ontario government has announced legislation that will see a referendum on the recommendations of the Ontario Citizens' Assembly on voting reform. This is a good thing, because the Assembly will likely recommend a system of Proportional Representation. There are a number of problems however.
First, the Assembly does not report until May 15 of 2007. This leaves less than five months to educate the people of Ontario on the option chosen by the Assembly. The BC experience shows that five months is not enough, especially if one of the more complicated PR systems is chosen, for example single transferable vote.
Second, an artificially high bar has been set for the success of the referendum. The government will require that 60% of voters province-wide, and 50% of voters in each of at least 60% of ridings, vote in favour of the referendum before it is considered passed. It is the height of hypocrisy that a government elected to a massive majority of seats with a total of less than 50% of the vote and won more than 50% of the vote in less than 60% of the ridings. By their own standard, they do not have a mandate to govern.
Taking these two issues together, this bill needs major tweaking. It is good that we are being given a chance to vote on our electoral system, but we need more time after the report is made. I would much prefer to see a special referendum vote on the issue, perhaps in the spring of 2008. This would mean there would be time to have a proper debate and to make sure that everyone is educated on the pros and cons of the proposed new system. There would also be time to take to implement the new system before the subsequent provincial election, presuming that the next Ontario government is not a minority that falls prematurely. The requirements for success of the referendum also need to be lowered. Much more realistic is a simple majority of province-wide votes along with a simple majority of voters in a simple majority of ridings.
At least the Ontario government is on the right track here, and I hope they are willing to tweak the law to take into account the concerns that I mentioned above.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 828
First, the Assembly does not report until May 15 of 2007. This leaves less than five months to educate the people of Ontario on the option chosen by the Assembly. The BC experience shows that five months is not enough, especially if one of the more complicated PR systems is chosen, for example single transferable vote.
Second, an artificially high bar has been set for the success of the referendum. The government will require that 60% of voters province-wide, and 50% of voters in each of at least 60% of ridings, vote in favour of the referendum before it is considered passed. It is the height of hypocrisy that a government elected to a massive majority of seats with a total of less than 50% of the vote and won more than 50% of the vote in less than 60% of the ridings. By their own standard, they do not have a mandate to govern.
Taking these two issues together, this bill needs major tweaking. It is good that we are being given a chance to vote on our electoral system, but we need more time after the report is made. I would much prefer to see a special referendum vote on the issue, perhaps in the spring of 2008. This would mean there would be time to have a proper debate and to make sure that everyone is educated on the pros and cons of the proposed new system. There would also be time to take to implement the new system before the subsequent provincial election, presuming that the next Ontario government is not a minority that falls prematurely. The requirements for success of the referendum also need to be lowered. Much more realistic is a simple majority of province-wide votes along with a simple majority of voters in a simple majority of ridings.
At least the Ontario government is on the right track here, and I hope they are willing to tweak the law to take into account the concerns that I mentioned above.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 828
Thursday, October 19, 2006
"Clean Air Act" Tabled
The Conservative "Clean Air Act" was tabled today. What a waste of space. On the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, easily the most important environmental issue facing Canada today and one of the most pressing issues period, the Conservatives have basically said wait 44 years and we might do something. The plan calls for emissions to be reduced 45%-65% below 2003 levels by 2050. By that time, I will be a senior citizen! This plan is a joke, but a joke in very bad taste. This is like telling a patient with a terminal heart condition that they face a 45 year wait for a transplant!
What we need to do is get started on reducing emissions now! If the government had the intestinal fortitude to face down powerful industries such as oil/gas, petrochemical and automotive, there would be a chance to do something. We simply do not have 44 years to wait.
All that the Conservatives have accomplished with this proposal is to shift responsibility. They know full well that they will not be in power when any of the deadlines come up. For shame on Harper and Ambrose.
As another factor of this, they claim that the programmes will harmonize with U.S. standards on such things as pollutant controls. So much for the made-in-Canada plan. As Gilles Duceppe put it, this is a written-in-Washington-and-Xeroxed-in-Canada plan. Harper should be ashamed of himself for so blatantly selling Canada and Candians down the river.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 834
What we need to do is get started on reducing emissions now! If the government had the intestinal fortitude to face down powerful industries such as oil/gas, petrochemical and automotive, there would be a chance to do something. We simply do not have 44 years to wait.
All that the Conservatives have accomplished with this proposal is to shift responsibility. They know full well that they will not be in power when any of the deadlines come up. For shame on Harper and Ambrose.
As another factor of this, they claim that the programmes will harmonize with U.S. standards on such things as pollutant controls. So much for the made-in-Canada plan. As Gilles Duceppe put it, this is a written-in-Washington-and-Xeroxed-in-Canada plan. Harper should be ashamed of himself for so blatantly selling Canada and Candians down the river.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 834
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Garth Turner booted from Conservative caucus
Garth Turner, the maverick MP from Ontario, has been given the boot from the Conservative caucus. He says that he will be sitting as an independent.
The Conservatives claim that Turner's booting came as a result of concerns that his blog was breaching caucus confidentiality. But what seems more likely is that he was booted for criticizing the leadership of his party, for example over the defection of David Emerson.
I will be very interested to see what Turner does over the next while. He has generally been seen as a red-Tory on social issues while being a fiscal conservative. In this regard he would seem to be a good fit for the Green Party. It would have profound political ramifications if Turner were to decide to sit as a member of the Greens. Such an action by Turner would provide much more impetus to the demands of the Green Party to be included in the televised leaders' debate.
Should be an interesting next few months.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 835
The Conservatives claim that Turner's booting came as a result of concerns that his blog was breaching caucus confidentiality. But what seems more likely is that he was booted for criticizing the leadership of his party, for example over the defection of David Emerson.
I will be very interested to see what Turner does over the next while. He has generally been seen as a red-Tory on social issues while being a fiscal conservative. In this regard he would seem to be a good fit for the Green Party. It would have profound political ramifications if Turner were to decide to sit as a member of the Greens. Such an action by Turner would provide much more impetus to the demands of the Green Party to be included in the televised leaders' debate.
Should be an interesting next few months.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 835
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Stevie's Hypocrisy on Arrar File
So, Stevie Harper is going to send a diplomatic note to the US government demanding that they come clean on the Arrar affair. I would have more confidence in this if Stevie was actually willing to apologize to Arrar. Until the Government of Canada issues a formal apology to Arrar, this country is in no position to demand anything from the US.
The government must apologize, because what happened to Arrar is Canada's fault. The RCMP sent false information to the FBI, leading directly to Arrar's deportation and torture in Syria. Until Stevie is prepared to offer an unconditional apology on this, there is no reason to expect the US to do anything at all. Stevie has no moral authority on this issue. His Public Security minister, Stockwell Day, expressed a belief, while Arrar was in Syria, that Arrar was a terrorist and chastized the Liberals for "siding with" an al-Qaida terrorist.
For shame, Stevie. Put your own house in order before demanding that anyone else do the same with theirs.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 847
The government must apologize, because what happened to Arrar is Canada's fault. The RCMP sent false information to the FBI, leading directly to Arrar's deportation and torture in Syria. Until Stevie is prepared to offer an unconditional apology on this, there is no reason to expect the US to do anything at all. Stevie has no moral authority on this issue. His Public Security minister, Stockwell Day, expressed a belief, while Arrar was in Syria, that Arrar was a terrorist and chastized the Liberals for "siding with" an al-Qaida terrorist.
For shame, Stevie. Put your own house in order before demanding that anyone else do the same with theirs.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 847
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Another School Shooting
There has been another heart-wrenching school shooting. This one was at a tiny Amish schoolhouse in rural Pennsylvania. The man who attacked the school reportedly sent all of the boys outside before tying up all the girls and shooting them, execution-style, at close range. Three girls were killed, and seven other badly wounded girls were transported to nearby hospitals. The attacker killed himself.
This is a despicable crime on many levels. The killing of innocent people. The fact that the dead were children. The fact that the killer only wanted to kill girls. This is a sick and disgusting crime that should never have happened. I cannot comprehend what might drive a grown man to execute girls who had done nothing to him. This is only too reminiscent of the shootings in Colorado last month in which a grown man took six girls hostage, raped them and killed one of them. It is reminiscent as well of the killings of 14 women at l'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989.
I don't know what can be done to stop these crimes, but we have to find some way to understand what could possibly have driven all of these killers to do what they did. There must be some way to stop this kind of thing from happening. I just wish I knew what that was.
In this case, banning guns would not have helped. The killer was armed with knives as well as guns and could just have easily used those weapons to carry out his crime.
My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the families of the three girls killed, and my wishes for a quick recovery go out to those girls injured. The killings and attacks in the last month make it all the more important that every man do his bit to end violence by men against women and we should all do everything we can to aid the White Ribbon campaign coming up.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 851
This is a despicable crime on many levels. The killing of innocent people. The fact that the dead were children. The fact that the killer only wanted to kill girls. This is a sick and disgusting crime that should never have happened. I cannot comprehend what might drive a grown man to execute girls who had done nothing to him. This is only too reminiscent of the shootings in Colorado last month in which a grown man took six girls hostage, raped them and killed one of them. It is reminiscent as well of the killings of 14 women at l'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989.
I don't know what can be done to stop these crimes, but we have to find some way to understand what could possibly have driven all of these killers to do what they did. There must be some way to stop this kind of thing from happening. I just wish I knew what that was.
In this case, banning guns would not have helped. The killer was armed with knives as well as guns and could just have easily used those weapons to carry out his crime.
My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the families of the three girls killed, and my wishes for a quick recovery go out to those girls injured. The killings and attacks in the last month make it all the more important that every man do his bit to end violence by men against women and we should all do everything we can to aid the White Ribbon campaign coming up.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 851
Monday, October 02, 2006
Iggy Takes the Lead in LPC Delegate Selection
Ignatieff seems to have won about 30% of the elected delegates, with Rae, Kennedy and Dion finishing fairly close together, but significantly behind Iggy at about 19, 17 and 16 percent respectively.
These results will be modified by some ridings in Quebec that have allowed mail-in ballots, as well as the approximately 1500 ex officio delegates are not bound to vote for a particular candidate as the elected delegates are. But these results give a fairly good idea of how the first ballot results will look.
As an NDPer, Iggy is the person I would most like to face as LPC leader. As a Canadian, the best Candidate to have as Liberal leader and likely next PM is Dion, since he seems the most left-wing with some commitment to the environment.
Stevie must be scared of running against Iggy, because Iggy will poach many of the centre-right voters from the CPC. He will also drive a number of left-leaning LPC voters to the NDP because of how far right he is. This pattern could lead to another LPC minority government, and the NDP could pick up a number of very close seats, such as Kenora, Thunder Bay - Superior North, Beaches - East York, Dartmouth - Cole Harbour, Regina - Qu'appelle, Regina - Lumsden Lake - Centre, Saskatoon - Rosetown - Biggar, Yukon and some seats in BC. Obviously this is optimistic, but it is within the realm of possibility.
We shall have to see how the voting goes, and whether an obvious Anyone-But-Iggy candidate emerges.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 852
These results will be modified by some ridings in Quebec that have allowed mail-in ballots, as well as the approximately 1500 ex officio delegates are not bound to vote for a particular candidate as the elected delegates are. But these results give a fairly good idea of how the first ballot results will look.
As an NDPer, Iggy is the person I would most like to face as LPC leader. As a Canadian, the best Candidate to have as Liberal leader and likely next PM is Dion, since he seems the most left-wing with some commitment to the environment.
Stevie must be scared of running against Iggy, because Iggy will poach many of the centre-right voters from the CPC. He will also drive a number of left-leaning LPC voters to the NDP because of how far right he is. This pattern could lead to another LPC minority government, and the NDP could pick up a number of very close seats, such as Kenora, Thunder Bay - Superior North, Beaches - East York, Dartmouth - Cole Harbour, Regina - Qu'appelle, Regina - Lumsden Lake - Centre, Saskatoon - Rosetown - Biggar, Yukon and some seats in BC. Obviously this is optimistic, but it is within the realm of possibility.
We shall have to see how the voting goes, and whether an obvious Anyone-But-Iggy candidate emerges.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 852
Monday, September 25, 2006
Arar Still Waiting for Stevie to Apologize
Maher Arrar, falsely accused of terrorism and deported to Syria to face torture, is still waiting for Stevie, our Dear Leader, to apologize for the actions of the Canadian government. Arar has a very good point, that if the government does not apologize to him, it means that the government does not believe that anything that was done was wrong, and it means that what happened to him is just as likely to happen to some other innocent person.
But, of course, "Canada's New Government" (I will have to have a good rant about that particular piece of bullcrap another time) is refusing to apologize. "We weren't in power then," they cry. "It wasn't our fault," they moan. All that is true, but it doesn't mean that the government is any less bound to apologize. The government of the day, no matter what political stripe, must apologize when it emerges that the government has done something for which an apology is warranted, like assisting the sending of an innocent man to the torture chambers of Syria!!
In fact, if the Conservatives had been in power then, things would have been even worse. The Conservatives, while in opposition, accused the Liberals of "siding" with an al-Qaida terrorist (by whom they meant Mr. Arrar). The Conservatives would have done even less than the Liberals to have him brought home, seeing as they appear to have tried, convicted and condemned him in their closed little minds.
The claims that the Conservative government should not be apologizing to Mr. Arrar because it was a different party in power at the time is utter nonsense. Stevie apologized earlier this year for the Chinese Head Tax, and if I recall correctly, it was the Liberals that instituted the Tax. Yet the Conservatives had no trouble apologizing and taking the credit for the apology that they were due.
Stevie must pull his head out of his ass and apologize to Maher Arrar now. It is a matter of what is right, and what Mr. Arar deserves. Canada provided the inaccurate information that saw Mr. Arrar tortured, and Ottawa stood back and didn't protest as he was shipped to Syria. The Canadian government owes Mr. Arrar an apology, and Stevie as PM of the day is the one who should be giving it.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 859
But, of course, "Canada's New Government" (I will have to have a good rant about that particular piece of bullcrap another time) is refusing to apologize. "We weren't in power then," they cry. "It wasn't our fault," they moan. All that is true, but it doesn't mean that the government is any less bound to apologize. The government of the day, no matter what political stripe, must apologize when it emerges that the government has done something for which an apology is warranted, like assisting the sending of an innocent man to the torture chambers of Syria!!
In fact, if the Conservatives had been in power then, things would have been even worse. The Conservatives, while in opposition, accused the Liberals of "siding" with an al-Qaida terrorist (by whom they meant Mr. Arrar). The Conservatives would have done even less than the Liberals to have him brought home, seeing as they appear to have tried, convicted and condemned him in their closed little minds.
The claims that the Conservative government should not be apologizing to Mr. Arrar because it was a different party in power at the time is utter nonsense. Stevie apologized earlier this year for the Chinese Head Tax, and if I recall correctly, it was the Liberals that instituted the Tax. Yet the Conservatives had no trouble apologizing and taking the credit for the apology that they were due.
Stevie must pull his head out of his ass and apologize to Maher Arrar now. It is a matter of what is right, and what Mr. Arar deserves. Canada provided the inaccurate information that saw Mr. Arrar tortured, and Ottawa stood back and didn't protest as he was shipped to Syria. The Canadian government owes Mr. Arrar an apology, and Stevie as PM of the day is the one who should be giving it.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 859
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Harper Appoints Bigot Judge to Ontario Bench
The Globe and Mail is reporting that Stephen Harper has appointed David Brown to the Ontario Superior Court bench in the Toronto region. This is the man who acted for bigoted and anti-feminist groups like Focus on the Family and REAL Women when they intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada in an attempt to block equal marriage. We do not need a judiciary following in the footsteps of George Bush and his demented pack of right-wing nutjobs in the United States. We do not need a court system that has been polluted by the appointment of judges on a partisan basis. Canada has had a history of balanced, generally apolitical jurisprudence for many years because our judicial system has not been stacked in favour of any one political party or any particular societal point of view.
The appointment of David Brown is a stunning display of political hubris on the part of Stevie Harper. He has a minority government, and a thin one at that. Where does he think he gets off appointing one of the most socially conservative judges that this country has ever seen? The judiciary is not an appropriate way for the Prime Minister of the day to advance his or her political agenda. Public policy is much more appropriate as a tool, and has a history of being used as such.
Stevie, leave our judiciary alone. It isn't a toy for you to play with, and if you keep playing roughly with it, you will break it. If you break our judicial system, it will take a very long time to fix when you get the boot to your ass that you so richly deserve. When you are out of government, Stevie, people still have to continue on. If you use appointments to the judiciary to try and turn back the clock to the turn of the twentieth century, you destroy everything that this country stands for. Stevie, you've been bad. Go to your room and think about what you've done.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 860
The appointment of David Brown is a stunning display of political hubris on the part of Stevie Harper. He has a minority government, and a thin one at that. Where does he think he gets off appointing one of the most socially conservative judges that this country has ever seen? The judiciary is not an appropriate way for the Prime Minister of the day to advance his or her political agenda. Public policy is much more appropriate as a tool, and has a history of being used as such.
Stevie, leave our judiciary alone. It isn't a toy for you to play with, and if you keep playing roughly with it, you will break it. If you break our judicial system, it will take a very long time to fix when you get the boot to your ass that you so richly deserve. When you are out of government, Stevie, people still have to continue on. If you use appointments to the judiciary to try and turn back the clock to the turn of the twentieth century, you destroy everything that this country stands for. Stevie, you've been bad. Go to your room and think about what you've done.
Cheers,
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 860
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
One Canadian's Response to Stephen Harper
This was originally written by Wee Mousie at enMasse.ca with the same title, and is reproduced here with permission. If you want to read this in it's original context, you can find it at the following link.
Sending more than 2,000 Canadian troops to Afghanistan has turned Canada's military into a better fighting force and improved Canada's standing on the world stage, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.
Ah, so that is it. Stevie, you wanted to make the “Who’s Who at the Abattoir.”
. . . 36 soldiers paying the "ultimate sacrifice," but he said it is time for Canada to shoulder its share of the burden of fighting for peace and stability in the world.
Fighting For Peace and War On Terror are almost as good as War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, or Ignorance Is Strength.
"If I can be frank about this, you know, in some ways I think we can complain that only a handful of countries are carrying the bulk of the load and the bulk of the danger there," Harper said.
Or, to put another way, so far, not many countries have leaders moronic enough to support another country’s effort at world domination.
"But, you know, the shoe was often on the other foot. For a lot of the last 30 or 40 years, we were the ones hanging back." Stephen Harper
Yes, Stevie, but only from aggression in which Canadians did not wish to participate.
Depends how you define “better,” Stevie. You’re exposing the same bloody-mindedness as your hero, the Torturer-In-Chief.
Harper said it has been years since Canadian troops have been involved in the kind of sustained fighting that they have encountered in Afghanistan and the commitment made by Canada to root out the Taliban to create a more stable Afghanistan has enhanced the image of Canada abroad.
Soldiers, killing civilians can only enhances a country's image to jackals, Stevie.
"It's certainly raising Canada's leadership role, once again, in the United Nations and in the world community where we used to have an important leadership role," he said.
Yes, we used to have an important leadership role as non belligerents, but a new image is rising, thank to this latest ill-advised adventure, Stevie.
Thirty-six Canadians soldiers and one Canadian diplomat have died in Afghanistan since Canada first sent troops there.
But Harper said Canada is making progress in Afghanistan. The mission will be considered a success, he said, when changes to the country in terms of peace and security are irreversible.
So you say, but then, we have heard similar claims prove erroneous before, while the only things that are truly irreversible are the deaths of thirty-six Canadian soldiers and one Canadian diplomat who have died in Afghanistan.
Canada may have underestimated the strength of the insurgency when it committed troops to the mission, Harper said, but the Taliban continues to be on the defensive.
Or perhaps the number was politically deflated (like your friends in the US underestimated the troop requirements in Iraq) which explains why Canadian forces are experiencing loses at four times the rate that US forces are in Iraq, and the outlook for the future -- even through your rosy glasses -- entails even more deaths in the Canadian military.
"Canada shares its goal of giving the people of Afghanistan, the children, men and women alike, the chance of a better life," Harper said in a Sept. 14 news release announcing Karzai's visit. "A life of peace, security, freedom and justice. A life we as Canadians have for ourselves and that we seek for others."
And Stevie and the American neocons are going to give that to them, even if it takes the life of every civilian in Afghanistan and half the Canadian military.
Sending more than 2,000 Canadian troops to Afghanistan has turned Canada's military into a better fighting force and improved Canada's standing on the world stage, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.
Ah, so that is it. Stevie, you wanted to make the “Who’s Who at the Abattoir.”
. . . 36 soldiers paying the "ultimate sacrifice," but he said it is time for Canada to shoulder its share of the burden of fighting for peace and stability in the world.
Fighting For Peace and War On Terror are almost as good as War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, or Ignorance Is Strength.
"If I can be frank about this, you know, in some ways I think we can complain that only a handful of countries are carrying the bulk of the load and the bulk of the danger there," Harper said.
Or, to put another way, so far, not many countries have leaders moronic enough to support another country’s effort at world domination.
"But, you know, the shoe was often on the other foot. For a lot of the last 30 or 40 years, we were the ones hanging back." Stephen Harper
Yes, Stevie, but only from aggression in which Canadians did not wish to participate.
"It's certainly engaged our military," Harper said. "It has made it a better military."
Quote: “Canada participated in every UN peacekeeping effort from their beginning until 1989, and has since then continued to play a significant role. More than 125,000 Canadians have served in some 50 UN peacekeeping missions since 1949, with 116 deaths.”
Wikipedia
Depends how you define “better,” Stevie. You’re exposing the same bloody-mindedness as your hero, the Torturer-In-Chief.
Harper said it has been years since Canadian troops have been involved in the kind of sustained fighting that they have encountered in Afghanistan and the commitment made by Canada to root out the Taliban to create a more stable Afghanistan has enhanced the image of Canada abroad.
Soldiers, killing civilians can only enhances a country's image to jackals, Stevie.
"It's certainly raising Canada's leadership role, once again, in the United Nations and in the world community where we used to have an important leadership role," he said.
Yes, we used to have an important leadership role as non belligerents, but a new image is rising, thank to this latest ill-advised adventure, Stevie.
Thirty-six Canadians soldiers and one Canadian diplomat have died in Afghanistan since Canada first sent troops there.
But Harper said Canada is making progress in Afghanistan. The mission will be considered a success, he said, when changes to the country in terms of peace and security are irreversible.
So you say, but then, we have heard similar claims prove erroneous before, while the only things that are truly irreversible are the deaths of thirty-six Canadian soldiers and one Canadian diplomat who have died in Afghanistan.
Canada may have underestimated the strength of the insurgency when it committed troops to the mission, Harper said, but the Taliban continues to be on the defensive.
Or perhaps the number was politically deflated (like your friends in the US underestimated the troop requirements in Iraq) which explains why Canadian forces are experiencing loses at four times the rate that US forces are in Iraq, and the outlook for the future -- even through your rosy glasses -- entails even more deaths in the Canadian military.
"Canada shares its goal of giving the people of Afghanistan, the children, men and women alike, the chance of a better life," Harper said in a Sept. 14 news release announcing Karzai's visit. "A life of peace, security, freedom and justice. A life we as Canadians have for ourselves and that we seek for others."
And Stevie and the American neocons are going to give that to them, even if it takes the life of every civilian in Afghanistan and half the Canadian military.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Leader of Aum Shinri Kyo to be Hanged
Al Jazeera is reporting that Japan's Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence against Shoko Asashara, 51, the former leader of Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth Sect), the cult that carried out the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, which killed twelve people and injured about five thousand.
While what Mr. Asashara and the members of his cult did was abominable, I remain morally opposed to the death penalty. Obviously Mr. Asashara deserves to be punished, but I believe that he would be punished much more by being incarcerated for the remaining years of his life, in all likelihood at least twenty more, with no chance of parole. I do not believe that killing a person for their crimes makes the world any better or any safer. As cliche as it has become, the words of Mahatma Ghandi still ring true: "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Together the world must move past a system of justice in which it becomes permissible for the state to take someone's life when that person poses no further threat to the community. If he was incarcerated, Mr. Asashara would cease to be a threat just as much as once he has been executed.
Capital punishment is archaic and outmoded. As human beings we must seek to move forward together and move past capital punishment as a solution to the problems facing our societies. Capital punishment as a deterrent has been shown not to work and is, in fact, a way for society to take the easy way out. If society believes that by taking the life of a person convicted of a serious crime that the crime problem will be dealt with, it is society refusing to face up to the real solutions to crime, namely the eradication of poverty and inequality.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 867
While what Mr. Asashara and the members of his cult did was abominable, I remain morally opposed to the death penalty. Obviously Mr. Asashara deserves to be punished, but I believe that he would be punished much more by being incarcerated for the remaining years of his life, in all likelihood at least twenty more, with no chance of parole. I do not believe that killing a person for their crimes makes the world any better or any safer. As cliche as it has become, the words of Mahatma Ghandi still ring true: "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Together the world must move past a system of justice in which it becomes permissible for the state to take someone's life when that person poses no further threat to the community. If he was incarcerated, Mr. Asashara would cease to be a threat just as much as once he has been executed.
Capital punishment is archaic and outmoded. As human beings we must seek to move forward together and move past capital punishment as a solution to the problems facing our societies. Capital punishment as a deterrent has been shown not to work and is, in fact, a way for society to take the easy way out. If society believes that by taking the life of a person convicted of a serious crime that the crime problem will be dealt with, it is society refusing to face up to the real solutions to crime, namely the eradication of poverty and inequality.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 867
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Shooting at Dawson College
Today a man armed with an automatic weapon attacked the students and teachers of Dawson College CEGEP in downtown Montreal today. As of the most recent news, one woman has been killed and many more have been injured. This is a horrible tragedy. No one should have to fear going to school. No one should have to wonder whether a gun-toting maniac is going to attack their school. My deepest sympathies go out to the family of the woman who was killed, to those who were wounded and continue to suffer, and to those students who are too scared and traumatized to ever return to their school. My thoughts go out as well to all the emergency workers who did everything they could to save the lives and ease the suffering of those who had been shot.
When I first heard about this story, the announcer on CTV NewsNet was simply mentioning shooting and Dawson College, but not that Dawson is a CEGEP school. My sister recently began classes at McGill University in Montreal, and for the five minutes before the announcer mentioned that Dawson is a CEGEP school I was having a minor panic attack. I was afraid that Dawson might have turned out to be a residence at McGill that my sister could have been visiting. My reaction to this situation was not improved by the fact that my sister was in London during the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks on the transportation system.
We need to make sure that illegal weapons stop making their way into Canada. No one needs an automatic rifle for anything. If the gun hadn't been automatic the number of dead and wounded could well have been much lower. We must pass tougher laws to keep illegal guns out of our country.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 870
When I first heard about this story, the announcer on CTV NewsNet was simply mentioning shooting and Dawson College, but not that Dawson is a CEGEP school. My sister recently began classes at McGill University in Montreal, and for the five minutes before the announcer mentioned that Dawson is a CEGEP school I was having a minor panic attack. I was afraid that Dawson might have turned out to be a residence at McGill that my sister could have been visiting. My reaction to this situation was not improved by the fact that my sister was in London during the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks on the transportation system.
We need to make sure that illegal weapons stop making their way into Canada. No one needs an automatic rifle for anything. If the gun hadn't been automatic the number of dead and wounded could well have been much lower. We must pass tougher laws to keep illegal guns out of our country.
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 870
Monday, September 11, 2006
Layton Outlines NDP Five Priorities
In his keynote speech at the NDP Convention in Quebec City today, Jack Layton outlined the five priorities for the NDP over the coming months. The priorities are as follows:
I believe that the intent behind the priorities is good, and addresses many areas that need urgent attention, but I believe that they need work. They must be re-written to be more inclusive and more specific. If the NDP can focus on the (rewritten) priorities, then hopefully some good can be accomplished. Having concise statements of principle such as these will also be helpful in the next election, since the Conservative campaign of 2006 proved that simple and direct priority statements can be effective and because the NDP has struggled to be concise in the past. But they must be reworked. If they are not, I can't support the second point, and will have difficulty explaining point four to others.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 873
- Bring Canada's troops home from Afghanistan.
- Provide more affordable housing to working Canadians and help young people buy their first homes.
- Increase access to education and training for young Canadians.
- Take better care of the elderly.
- Protect the environment through tough auto emissions standards and clamping down on the emissions of large-scale industrial polluters.
I believe that the intent behind the priorities is good, and addresses many areas that need urgent attention, but I believe that they need work. They must be re-written to be more inclusive and more specific. If the NDP can focus on the (rewritten) priorities, then hopefully some good can be accomplished. Having concise statements of principle such as these will also be helpful in the next election, since the Conservative campaign of 2006 proved that simple and direct priority statements can be effective and because the NDP has struggled to be concise in the past. But they must be reworked. If they are not, I can't support the second point, and will have difficulty explaining point four to others.
Cheers
Days Remaining in Bush Presidency: 873
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