Israel has killed, once again, civilians in Lebanon. 54 people this time, including 34 children.
Hizbollah attacked again - thankfully killing no one this time - launching 115 rockets into Israel, three people were wounded.
It's an awful situation.
Israel is stuck with an awful terrorists group on its borders, Hizbollah, which consistently targets no one but civilians. And now, Israel, has had enough, and have decided to destroy Hizbollah.
On the face of it, it's not an entirely unreasonable position.
But like most things, scratching the surface really doesn't help any.
Israel has targeted the refugee camps, and areas that hold civilians, because that is where Hizbollah operates, and this is most certainly true. But probing a bit deeper, this week's Salon.com notes the situation is not that simple.
Hizbollah (and many other terrorist organisations) provide more than just missiles. They provide education and health services as well... which one of the reasons they are in the those refugee camps. Targeting individuals who provide those services raises some uncomfortable questions, regardless of their affiliation.
In short, Israel bombs Lebanon, creating refugees. Refugees are not happy to be refugees, and are likley ticked off with Israel. Refugees go to camps where they get food, medicine and education from Hizbollah. Sometimes, they get bombed again by Israel.
This is not an uncommon terrorist pattern. Indeed, the fore-runner of the IRA, (the Irish Republican Brotherhood) provided social services such as education and health care.
Anyone care to guess what happens next?
Score one for Hizbollah.
So whereas I too support Israel's right defend itself... I find myself asking, is Israel actually defending itself?
Indeed, today's attack drove Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora who is normally at odds with Hizbollah, to actually thank them for defending the border.
Score two for Hizbollah.
And why are Syria and Iran getting off scot-free? Obviously Israel realizes that messing with Syria and Iran would be a different thing than picking a fight with their shattered Lebanese neighbour.
Score three for Hizbollah.
No one seems to be able to broker restraint with either side, in particular the US, leaving Israel's American ally, appearing to be powerless in the middle east. Indeed, with US, British, Canadian and Australian current troop commitments, it is clear that diplomacy is all that there is... and it is failing.
Then there is the notion espoused by Harper that troops from the region should hold the border.
Like who? The Syrians who are already there? Maybe the Saudis? The Egytians? Perhaps the Iranians? No doubt they would all be welcomed by Israel.
Score four for Hizbollah.
I have no doubt that in the end Israel will leave Hizbollah beaten and bloodied. But in doing so, I would be concerned at how many new terrorists are spawned.
The smoke and broken mirrors of the latest Lebanese war obscures the real issue here.
Until Lebanon has the internal strength to govern itself, this will keep happening. Changing that will require real commitment, from outside the region.
And Syria and Iran will need to be dealt with, and that is a very unclear path... which no one has had the courage to consider.
Until then... well, good luck to the average joe in the middle east...
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Volpe organizer quits over Lebanon
Running on the CP wire right now....
Volpe loses campaign manager over difference of opinion on Lebanon
OTTAWA - Joe Volpe's trouble-plagued bid to become the next Liberal leader has suffered another, possibly fatal blow, with the resignation of his national campaign manager.
The Canadian Press has learned that Toronto MP Jim Karygiannis has quit Volpe's campaign over what one insider described as a difference of opinion over the situation in Lebanon.
Volpe has strongly supported Israel's right to bombard Lebanon in an attempt to stop Hezbollah extremists from firing missiles and conducting raids across the border into Israel.
Karygiannis, meanwhile, has been recruiting supporters for Volpe among Canada's ethnic communities, including Muslims.
He has been firing off news releases condemning what he calls the federal government's tardy efforts to evacuate Canadians from Lebanon and calling for Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay's resignation.
Volpe's campaign ran into trouble last spring when it was revealed that he had accepted $108,000 in donations from 20 current and former executives of pharmaceutical giant Apotex, their spouses and their children, including 11-year-old twins; Volpe eventually returned $27,000 received from five donors under the age of 18.
Volpe loses campaign manager over difference of opinion on Lebanon
OTTAWA - Joe Volpe's trouble-plagued bid to become the next Liberal leader has suffered another, possibly fatal blow, with the resignation of his national campaign manager.
The Canadian Press has learned that Toronto MP Jim Karygiannis has quit Volpe's campaign over what one insider described as a difference of opinion over the situation in Lebanon.
Volpe has strongly supported Israel's right to bombard Lebanon in an attempt to stop Hezbollah extremists from firing missiles and conducting raids across the border into Israel.
Karygiannis, meanwhile, has been recruiting supporters for Volpe among Canada's ethnic communities, including Muslims.
He has been firing off news releases condemning what he calls the federal government's tardy efforts to evacuate Canadians from Lebanon and calling for Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay's resignation.
Volpe's campaign ran into trouble last spring when it was revealed that he had accepted $108,000 in donations from 20 current and former executives of pharmaceutical giant Apotex, their spouses and their children, including 11-year-old twins; Volpe eventually returned $27,000 received from five donors under the age of 18.
If Dunkirk had been a photo-op...
I am left wondering what the PM intends to do with his airbus today.... surely he won't leave it on the tarmac...? Surely the PM's plane (and photographer) will continue to ferry Canadians home... it's all about doing the right thing, eh?
This was not a photo-op. I repeat, not a photo-op.
... well, for all the grouching about having to divert resources to ensure the PM's plane could help with the evacuees, PMO must be giggling with the front page of the Grope and Flail this morning.
This was not a photo-op. I repeat, not a photo-op.
They must also be mystfied as to how the Don Mills PMO forgot to run the same picture, but I digress... evidently they did not get the memo.
Still, for some compare and contrast on how the evacuation efforts are going in different parts of the world take a look here. I thought 40,000 Canadians was a lot, but apparently Sri Lanka and Brazil are even more screwed than we are...
... and for a balanced and smart round-up of what is really going in Lebanon, try Taylor Owen's blog here... he is one smart dude.
This was not a photo-op. I repeat, not a photo-op.
... well, for all the grouching about having to divert resources to ensure the PM's plane could help with the evacuees, PMO must be giggling with the front page of the Grope and Flail this morning.
This was not a photo-op. I repeat, not a photo-op.
They must also be mystfied as to how the Don Mills PMO forgot to run the same picture, but I digress... evidently they did not get the memo.
Still, for some compare and contrast on how the evacuation efforts are going in different parts of the world take a look here. I thought 40,000 Canadians was a lot, but apparently Sri Lanka and Brazil are even more screwed than we are...
... and for a balanced and smart round-up of what is really going in Lebanon, try Taylor Owen's blog here... he is one smart dude.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
“A book of quotations is a good thing for an uneducated man to read” More nonsense on the racially-segregated fishery on the West Coast.
Or so said Winston Churchill
This morning's Calgary Hurled runs an interesting piece by Mike ‘Martin Luther King’ Milke featuring his newly discovered interest in equality and rights.
Milke argues that we should scrap the Native west-coast segregated fishery.
Indeed, he pines for a world described by MLK "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character,"
Because, as Mike says, “That's progressive.”
Hallelujah…. Character. Progressive
That would be the kind of progressive character that makes a deal and sticks to it, eh Mike?
Well, there is a five volume set of treaties Mike needs to read. Then let’s talk about the content of our characters.
And while we’re doing some reading, maybeMike wants to try something a little more profound than Bartlett’s….like the whole MLK speech, in particular though the section that states:
This morning's Calgary Hurled runs an interesting piece by Mike ‘Martin Luther King’ Milke featuring his newly discovered interest in equality and rights.
Milke argues that we should scrap the Native west-coast segregated fishery.
Indeed, he pines for a world described by MLK "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character,"
Because, as Mike says, “That's progressive.”
Hallelujah…. Character. Progressive
That would be the kind of progressive character that makes a deal and sticks to it, eh Mike?
Well, there is a five volume set of treaties Mike needs to read. Then let’s talk about the content of our characters.
And while we’re doing some reading, maybeMike wants to try something a little more profound than Bartlett’s….like the whole MLK speech, in particular though the section that states:
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.An exile in their own land. Sound like anyone you know, Mike?
Friday, July 14, 2006
Race-based nonsense and other fishy tails…
In a sop to their west-coast cracker-nut constituency, Harper announced a few days ago that he will not support a race-based fishery.
And Prentice spent yesterday at the AFN Assembly pretending not to be backed into a corner.
What nonsense.
Let’s get a few facts straight.
First, the issue is that salmon stocks in the Fraser River appear –after rising in the last few years – to be declining.
Some blame the decline on illegal fishing by natives upstream in the Fraser. If that is the case, then it’s not a race-based fishery, it’s poaching.
But the term ‘race-based’ or ‘racially-segregated’ is the troubling one here. It’s fall-back to the old Reform line that any specific program or policy providing benefit to First Nations is wrong because it is based on race.
In other words… interesting to see Tom Flanagan is still around? Will the real Minister of Indian Affairs, please stand up?
The notion of race here is the big lie. Natives don’t want race-based anything. They want – quite rightly – their treaty rights respected.
The problem in BC is that they don’t have a treaty. It’s not just a problem for them either… because it means the land and the resources there contained, are in dispute.
It’s all well and fine for Harper to say everyone should have the same access to a commercial fishery.
But we’d all think it was nutty if he started handing out licenses for the fjords of Norway, wouldn’t we? Because that is some one else’s land….
No one is arguing that the Fraser River is not Canadian territory, but it is disputed land. And until that dispute is settled, maybe it’s worth trying to sort out some sort of interim deal with the original and current occupants?
That’s not a race-based anything. It’s called common sense and respect. It's access to resources – like a fishery – based on treaties. Treaties like, oh, I dunno, NAFO?
And I haven’t seen any comments from Loyola Hearn on the race-based fishing enforced through NAFO in the Atlantic…
Prentice contradicts Harper: Race-based economic development is OK
Prentice applied Orwellian newspeak yesterday and immediately contradicted Harper, noting that DFO still plans to buy out non-native licenses and provide these to First Nations, but only for economic development purposes, not because of rights.
So race-based economic development is ok?
Of course Prentice is doing what Flanagan and Harper have not done… reading the decisions from a myriad of court decisions which repeatedly tell the federal government to fulfill its obligations, and provide access to resources on disputed land.
The bottom-line here is that Harper has – once again – inflamed racial tensions instead of mediating them.
This is the politics of old-fashioned racism, just the kind of thing that leads to segregation and anger, that divides nations instead of uniting them.
And its one nasty way to fish for votes on the west coast.
And Prentice spent yesterday at the AFN Assembly pretending not to be backed into a corner.
What nonsense.
Let’s get a few facts straight.
First, the issue is that salmon stocks in the Fraser River appear –after rising in the last few years – to be declining.
Some blame the decline on illegal fishing by natives upstream in the Fraser. If that is the case, then it’s not a race-based fishery, it’s poaching.
But the term ‘race-based’ or ‘racially-segregated’ is the troubling one here. It’s fall-back to the old Reform line that any specific program or policy providing benefit to First Nations is wrong because it is based on race.
In other words… interesting to see Tom Flanagan is still around? Will the real Minister of Indian Affairs, please stand up?
The notion of race here is the big lie. Natives don’t want race-based anything. They want – quite rightly – their treaty rights respected.
The problem in BC is that they don’t have a treaty. It’s not just a problem for them either… because it means the land and the resources there contained, are in dispute.
It’s all well and fine for Harper to say everyone should have the same access to a commercial fishery.
But we’d all think it was nutty if he started handing out licenses for the fjords of Norway, wouldn’t we? Because that is some one else’s land….
No one is arguing that the Fraser River is not Canadian territory, but it is disputed land. And until that dispute is settled, maybe it’s worth trying to sort out some sort of interim deal with the original and current occupants?
That’s not a race-based anything. It’s called common sense and respect. It's access to resources – like a fishery – based on treaties. Treaties like, oh, I dunno, NAFO?
And I haven’t seen any comments from Loyola Hearn on the race-based fishing enforced through NAFO in the Atlantic…
Prentice contradicts Harper: Race-based economic development is OK
Prentice applied Orwellian newspeak yesterday and immediately contradicted Harper, noting that DFO still plans to buy out non-native licenses and provide these to First Nations, but only for economic development purposes, not because of rights.
So race-based economic development is ok?
Of course Prentice is doing what Flanagan and Harper have not done… reading the decisions from a myriad of court decisions which repeatedly tell the federal government to fulfill its obligations, and provide access to resources on disputed land.
The bottom-line here is that Harper has – once again – inflamed racial tensions instead of mediating them.
This is the politics of old-fashioned racism, just the kind of thing that leads to segregation and anger, that divides nations instead of uniting them.
And its one nasty way to fish for votes on the west coast.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Women, politics & Dion: Not putting your money where your mouth is...
I have steered away from the leadership race in my blog, because, well, there are plenty of folk blogging on that, and me, well, I am pretty busy these days.
But Dion's plan for women in politics intrigued me... until I actually read it. What's most interesting is what is missing... Dion commits to, among other things,
But Dion's plan for women in politics intrigued me... until I actually read it. What's most interesting is what is missing... Dion commits to, among other things,
- ensure gender parity in appointments to the Senate
- ensure gender parity on nominations to the boards of Crown Corporations
- commit to running a minimum of 33% female candidates in the next election and continuing to increase their representation in subsequent elections until at least 50% is achieved
- make immediate progress on having a more gender-equitable Cabinet, including the appointment of women to key portfolios
So what is missing?
Selection and Cabinet.
I supported Chretien's policy of appointing female candidates, and think Dion's on the right track but I think it's not good enough.
Running women candidates is not the same as electing them. It's not the same as appointing them to cabinet.
Dion seems to be willing to foist them on Crown corporations, the senate, the riding associations... but apparently doesn't seem to have the confidence in women to guarrantee them same access to his own cabinet.
Call me crazy, but if there were some sort of notional allocation to cabinet (beyond the usual Status of Jim Abbot and Women gig) I will bet you that 50% candidate target would be easier to hit... and I will also bet you that those female candidates would have a better chance of winning.
Come on Stephane, put you're money where your mouth is.... My daugher may just run one day, I'd like her to be a Liberal...
Friday, July 07, 2006
Wal-Mart US told to carry the morning-after pill
Here is something I never thought would be an issue.
Wal-Mart"chooses not to carry many products for business reasons." Despite having room for ammunition, tobacco products and McDonalds, the morning-after pill was not available.
Not in any US Wal-Mart.
Except Illinois. Where they were required by law.
Well, that's about to change.
A recent court decision in Massachusetts is about to change that, and Wal-Mart will have to make the contraceptive available in its pharmacy.
Available contraception is not something I've ever had to worry about.
Amazing that some still do have to worry.
Amazing that they only live about an hour-and-a-half away.
Wal-Mart"chooses not to carry many products for business reasons." Despite having room for ammunition, tobacco products and McDonalds, the morning-after pill was not available.
Not in any US Wal-Mart.
Except Illinois. Where they were required by law.
Well, that's about to change.
A recent court decision in Massachusetts is about to change that, and Wal-Mart will have to make the contraceptive available in its pharmacy.
Available contraception is not something I've ever had to worry about.
Amazing that some still do have to worry.
Amazing that they only live about an hour-and-a-half away.
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