Durgan

A two page article about the conflict in Afghanistan. This is a two page article closely typed describing the conflict in Afghanistan by some-one who was there. I suggest it will demolish a lot of the main line media propaganda. Durgan. Much of Afghanistan is now in a state of chaos and civil war. There is no such thing as peace-keeping in the country. The war will rage on indefinitely and in time the entire Afghan population will rise up to throw out the foreigners. Rather than wait for that, the Americans and all their supporters should get out, totally – in the way that they should get out of Iraq. Although it’s the Americans that created the disaster to begin with – in both countries -- it seems it will have to be the indigenous people to somehow resolve the problems. And when it comes to Canada, what are the Canadians doing pulling American chestnuts out of the Afghan fire? --John Ryan, Ph.D., is a retired professor of geography and senior scholar at the University of Winnipeg in Canada. He can be reached at [email protected]

URL to the article Afghanistan: Time for Truth 18 September 2006 Durgan. by Eric Margolis Foreign Correspondent September 18, 2006 AFGHANISTAN: TIME FOR TRUTH Do not believe what OUR media and politicians are telling us about Afghanistan. Nearly all the information we get about the five-year old war in Afghanistan comes from US and NATO public relations officers or `embedded’ journalists who merely parrot military handouts. Ask yourself, when did you last read a report from a journalist covering Taliban and other Afghan resistance forces? Now, the official rosy view is being flatly contradicted by impartial observers. The respected European think-tank, Senlis Council, which focuses on Afghanistan, just reported the Taliban movement is `taking back Afghanistan’ and now controls that nation’s southern half. This is an amazing departure from claims by the US and its NATO allies that they are steadily winning the war in Afghanistan. Or, more precisely, winning it again, since the Bush Administration claimed to have won total victory in Afghanistan in 2001. At the time, this column predicted that victory was an illusion and the war would resume in force in 4-5 years. According to the Senlis Council, southern Afghanistan is suffering `a humanitarian crisis of starvation and poverty…caused by `US-British military policies.’ Deflating optimistic western reports, Senlis investigators found, `US policies in Afghanistan have re-created the safe haven for terrorism that the 2001 invasion aimed to destroy.’ This is a bombshell. The US and NATO have been insisting any withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan - or from Iraq - will leave a void certain to be filled by extremists. These claims are nonsense, given that half of Afghanistan and a third of Iraq are already largely controlled by anti-western resistance forces. Were it not for omnipotent US airpower, American and NATO forces would be quickly driven from Afghanistan and Iraq. If Afghan and Iraqi resistance forces ever manage to obtain effective man-portable anti-aircraft weapons, such as the US Stinger or Russian SA-18, the US-led occupation of those nations may become untenable. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980’s was doomed once mujahidin forces obtained American Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. Last week, Canadian and British commanders boasted they were about to annihilate Taliban forces `surrounded’ around Panjwai and Zahri. They crowed an `estimated 500 Taliban,’ had already been killed. A storm of bombing and shelling did kill many Afghans, but most of the dead `suspected Taliban militants’ turned out, as usual, to be civilians. NATO failed to show bodies of dead enemy fighters to back up its absurd claims. When NATO forces entered Panjwai after weeks of air strikes and shelling, the supposedly `surrounded’ Taliban had vanished. Embarrassed British and Canadian commanders admitted `we were surprised the enemy had fled.’ Surprised? Doesn’t anyone remember the Vietnam War’s fruitless search and destroy missions and inflated body counts? Don’t NATO commanders know their every move is telegraphed in advance to Taliban forces? Don’t they see what’s going on now in Iraq? Did Canadian officers making such fanciful claims really believe Taliban’s veteran guerillas would be stupid enough to sit still and be destroyed by US air power? Now, Canadian-led NATO forces are crowing about having finally occupied Panjewi. `Taliban has fled!’ they proudly announced. Don’t they understand that guerilla forces don’t hang on to fixed positions? Occupying ground is meaningless in guerilla warfare. Seemingly immune to history or common sense, Canada is sending a few hundred more troops and a handful of obsolete tanks to Afghanistan. Poland, which will send troops anywhere for the right price, is adding 1,000 more soldiers next year. US, British and Canadian politicians say they are surprised by intensifying Taliban resistance. They have only their own ignorance to blame. Attacking Pashtuns, renowned for xenophobia, warlike spirits, and love of independence is a fool’s mission. Pashtuns are Afghanistan’s ethnic majority. Taliban is an offshoot of the Pushtun people. Long-term national stability is impossible without their representation and cooperation. What the west calls `Taliban’ is actually a growing coalition of veteran Taliban fighters led by Mullah Dadullah, other clans of Pashtun tribal warriors, and nationalist resistance forces led by Jalalladin Hakkani and former prime minister, Gulbadin Hekmatyar, whom the CIA has repeatedly tried to assassinate. Many are former mujahidin once hailed `freedom fighters’ by the west, and branded `terrorists’ by the Soviets. They represent national resistance to foreign occupation. In fact, what the US and its NATO allies are doing in Afghanistan today uncannily mirrors the brutal Soviet occupation during the 1980’s. The UN’s anti-narcotic agency reports Afghanistan now supplies 92% of the world’s heroin. Production has surged 40% last year alone. Who is responsible? The US and NATO. They now own narco-state Afghanistan. Dominating the main oil export route from Central Asia was a primary objective of the US invasion of Afghanistan. Ironically, instead of an anticipated oil bonanza, the US now finds itself mired deep in the Afghan drug trade. Washington and NATO can’t keep pretending this is someone else’s problem. Drug money fuels the Afghan economy and keeps local warlords loyal to the US-installed Kabul regime. Afghanistan’s north has become a sphere of influence of Russia and its local allies, the Uzbek-Tajik Northern Alliance led by notorious war criminals and leaders of the old Afghan Communist Party. The US and its allies are not going to win the Afghan war. They will be lucky the way things are going not to lose it in the same humiliating manner the Soviets did in 1989. In recent week, near panicky calls by British PM Tony Blair for more NATO troops to be sent to Afghanistan show that western occupation forces are on the defensive, fighting to hold their bases, and facing the specter of eventual defeat. Just, in fact, like every other invader that has ever occupied Afghanistan. A final point. US and NATO forces are not fighting `terrorists,’ as their governments claim. They are fighting the Afghan people. In the 1980’s, I saw mujahidin too poor to afford shoes strap 110lbs of mortar shells on their backs, and climb 6-8 hours over mountains through snow to bombard a Communist base, then trudge home. These are the people we are fighting. Anyone who knows Afghans know they will not be defeated, even if they must resist for an entire generation. copyright Eric S. Margolis

Last week the forums were describing the casualities such that' This was the bloodiest War in Canadian History". I grieve about the casualities but at least the rhetoric has been toned down. Mark Twain: There are lies, dammed lies and statistics. The casuality, death, figures serve no purpose of which I am aware. Death is death and one death is one too many. Durgan.

Visits Harvard In his recent five-city U.S. tour, former Iranian President, Mohamed Khatami gave out speeches, attended interviews and meetings with foreign policy groups, through which he offered a moderate take on relations between East and West, that had been disturbed due to global developments in recent months. Khatami, who acknowledged the iHolocaust as a "historical fact", condemned Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, focused in his speeches on rejecting violence, and ways for mutual and better understanding between the West on one hand, and the Arab and Muslim world on the other. A voice of reason from the Muslim world. If this was in the Western Press, I missed it. It appears the West is ignoring some positive signals. Durgan.

If you can't beat them, then join them. Durgan. The awakening "President Bush said yesterday that he senses a "Third Awakening" The White House did not release a transcript of Bush's remarks, but National Review posted highlights on its Web site.

One purpose of a military: The body bags means absolutely nothing in the final analysis, this is the hazards of the trade. A few crocodile tears and condolences to the bereaved and move on. Work the compassionate bit amd milk the patriotic bullshit to insure the country has enough canon fodder to facilitate the implimentation of our foreign policy. That is primarily what the military is designed for. Use volunteers until the shit hits the fan then implement conscription is the method used. The enforcing arm of our diplomat's in reality. Durgan.

Whether Canadian's are encouraged to vote by the threat of punishemnt or by reward encouragement will never happen in our great democracy, since no political party will ever suggest either approach. The issue would become as divisive as abortion, same-sex marriage,, the mission in Afghanistan, government safe injection sites, etc. Don't stir the pot is the best policy, when one has power. Out Governments will continue to be a group selected by a majority of those who vote, representing in reality about 24% of the voting population. Maybe this is the best that can be achieved in Canada. Proportional representation seems to be a dead issue. At least it would give better representation of those who have enough interest in voting. Durgan.

Periodically some-one brings up the oil bit, regarding motives in Afghanistan. I suggest a perusal of this following chart will dispell any illusions. URL to Proven Oil Reserves Chart: World Oil Reserve Chart URL to a informative Rational review of the Afghanistan operation and Terrorism. Rational Review >A change of course is needed. We need to understand that we will succeed in this struggle not by killing all Islamic extremists, but by discrediting the cause they champion among those from whom they draw recruits. Victory lies not in capturing foreign capitals, but in capturing the support of others against our common enemy. In blunt terms that may sound frivolous but are not, we need to approach the struggle against Islamic extremism less like a war and more like an international popularity contest. That description will no doubt infuriate some, but if our true goal is victory and security, rather than satisfying a thirst for revenge, it is a useful way to think about things. Our smartest, most experienced military professionals acknowledge and in fact stress that this struggle cannot be won through military means. They understand better than anyone the limitations of even unlimited military power. Richard Dearlove, until recently the head of British intelligence, said recently that the Western world, more particularly the United States, was doomed unless it reclaimed the moral high ground and once again began to live by the values it preached. Dearlove used to run spies during the Cold War, and he recalled that recruiting agents was made easier in that struggle by the clear moral superiority of the West, an advantage we must never squander. < It is time to take the emotion out of the equation and apply workable solutions. Judging by some of the posts, rational thought and cognitive logical thinking is sadly lacking. Bar room solutions are not particularly informative, and contribute little to the discussion. Durgan.

Glass bottles are not an environmental hazard in any way. A finely crushed bottle is harmless in general. Mind you, I have no objection to re-cycling or collecting bottles, but they constitute no environmental problem of any significience. Plus they are a pain in the ass for the recipeint store, depending upon how they be returned. A deep dig in a few dumps a few years ago found paper, particularly phone books were completely readable after 20 years. Since then this has probably been addressed. I mention this for interest only. The thing that I find dotting the landscape is Time Horton Coffee cups. I found them all through the North on three recent trips. Paper does not deteriorate well in nature. Mr. McGuinty is suggesting correcting a problem focusing on the wrong item. It should be Tim Horton Cups, plus other paper cups from the fast food joints. Durgan.

Letters from Earth- Mark Twain. for Humans and God Tropic of Cancer- Henry Miller , for visiting a Catholic Church in Paris, and taking one of Ghandi's Disciples to a Whore house. Ponds End -Thoreau- how cheaply one can live and be healthy. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, for the poems about people and animals. SUPERSTITION IN ALL AGES By Jean Meslier 1732 - definitive book about all religions. Garrison Keeler, various books for dry humour. The Moccasin Telegraph and Other Indian Tales by W. P. Kinsella , for Canadian Indian stories as they are. Life and Loves by Frank Harris, for late 19 century and early 20th of the British Empire. The Crippled Tree by Hans Suyin for a personal view of China, to inspire further reading. Forty-one years in India by Frederick Sleigh Roberts for information on Afghanistan. The Prince by Nicolò Machiavelli, for political methods. Selected Stories bt Anton Chekhow, for human nature and short story perfection. These are off the top of my head. Durgan

Nintey-Six comments condemning the Pope's comments in the Globe and Mail, before the paper's censor closed the comments. I didn't see one that was flattering. Many are a good read. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ernational/home http://xrl.us/rngc Durgan.

There is some suprising results when the 40%, who normally do not vote, decide to exercise their franchise. Recert events in Boliva, Venezula, and in the past Chile caused a complete upheavel to the status quo. There is another ongoing event in Mexico. Encouraging people to vote, I suggest is probably a prudent democratic move. Australia from day one slightly forced people to vote by imposing fines. I suggest their elected government's probably reflect public opinion to a greater degree, than when the 40% do not vote. Australia is remarkably similiar to Canada and their voting procedures don't seem to overly upset the citizens. My suggestion was/is some minor reward to encourage the practice of voting, since it might upset the freewill of a few citizens. I might add free will is a bit of an illusion in practice. Durgan.

BTW, Mulroney is right about Ottawa. Adrienne was married to Stephen Clarkson who wrote a hagiographic book about Trudeau with Christina McCall who was married to Peter Newman. (I might have missed a few marriages, sleep-overs there.) excessively flattering I thought Adrienne was gone and she rises from the dead. The second rising in recorded history. I said it before and I say it again, "Be gone, as Governer General you did enough harm to the office". I hope she is not expecting to make big money from her musings. Durgan.

First of all it is not bold it is Times Roman and is size 4. The choicer is given on the site, I choose that because it is easy to read. I have great respect for the 25 sheep, who veer off rather than follow the other 475 over a cliff, when 500 are stampeding. Whether you read it or not is of no interest to me, and possibly many others, ignorance is bliss to some to use a trite phrase, , which seems to be your criteria. Q.E. D. Durgan.

Lets face a bit of reality. The media Journalists are so poor reporting the facts, that they might as well close shop. Journalism is popular, but it is popular mainly as fiction. Life is one world, and life seen in the newspapers is another. Gilbert K. Chesterton The Afghan President doesn't dare move without the 32 US Special Forces body guards. He has absolutely no authority outside of Kabul. Shiah Law prevails. The Taliban operated under the same laws when they had power. All that is in power nominally is a puppet acceptable to the West. The Canadians's stay in their fortresses, and are under threatened attack when they move on the roads. They even speed down the center of the road in Kabul, and alienate the people there. The people are in dire straights all over the country. Aid is not getting to the outlying areas, which constitutes most of Afghansitan. The Taliban had erradicated opium growing. There is a bumper crop this year, 2006. Pakistan troops are being removed from the border, and most of Pakistan has sympathy with the Taliban, who are on a jihad against the foreigners. The West has basically lost the support of most of the Afghans, and the hatred is increasing daily. The number claimed dead are often non-combatants. The only true figures are our own dead. Patriots in Canada are babbling about supporting our troops. Our leaders have placed the troops in severe danger with no chance of winning anything, except to create death and destruction to all of Afghansitan .And more and more body bags for the final resting place in Canada. 'My country, right or wrong' is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.' Gilbert K. Chesterton Support our troops by removing them from the theatre is the only sensible choice as soon as it is politically correct to do so. I hope you all notice our press doesn't report on the activities of the other NATO Troops in the theatre. Few of the 37 NATO countries are supporting this mission with material. It is mostly rhetoric. This is not a war against terorism, but murder on a vast scale. The West is creating a situation, where hatred will continue for years. Minor so called terrorist plots are blown out of proportion by the media. People are looking for terrorists almost under their beds. The perpatrators of these plots are criminals. May I remind you of the two who drove across the US shooting at random , and the destruction in Oklohoma City. 9/11 was a dastardly deed, and needed revenge. I suggest we got our revenge, and enough blood for sacrifice in Afghansitan. This post is about Afghanistan not Iraqi so I will refrain. Even the main line Taliban dislikes the terrorists, who attack indiscrimately, and often do not support their actions. It is time to negotiate. I might add due to the Internet all the relevant information is available, all one has to do is look. Durgan.

O'Connor and Hillier have indicated that it is impossible to defeat the Taliban militarily. At the worst Canadian troops are being used for target practice, at the best they are attempting to achieve some stability in the Khandhar area. Re-building the country and assisting a poor and desolate people is on hold. Sufficent aid is not getting down to the mostly rural and remote villages. The rural people grow 90% of the worlds drugs as a cash crop, to supply the insatiable illegal demand of the Western Countries. To achieve some semblance of stability my suggestion is: Maintain the NATO presence, which I might add is not properly supported by most of the 37 member countries participating. Purchase the opium crop yearly from the Afghan peasants. This would cost about $600 million for about 4200 tons of raw opium. The purchaser would have complete control of most of the world supply of the illegal drug. A portion of this supply could be put into the legal channels,of which there is a shortage, and the remainder could be destroyed. The peasant would get some immediate relief and would have monies for everyday life. This could be a five year plan, with the aim of getting the peasants to grow more acceptable crops. I suggest this is a far better method and is practicable in the short term. The people are more likely to accept the carrot than the stick. Durgan.

Australia: What happens if I do not vote? Initially the Australian Electoral Commission will write to all apparent non-voters requesting that they either provide a reason for their failure to vote or pay a $20 penalty. If, within 21 days, the apparent non-voter fails to reply, cannot provide a valid and sufficient reason or declines to pay the penalty, then prosecution proceedings may be instigated. If the matter is dealt with in court and the person is found guilty, he or she may be fined up to $50 plus court costs. I suggest compulsary voting would be good for Canada, but the Candian method seemd to be don't force people to participate. In other word the stick is not socially or politically acceptable; so how about the carrot. A cheap inducement might be to give everone who votes a lottery ticket after the ballot is put in the box. Every voter is not aware of the issues, and this is not a requirement for participating. I suggest if every citizen who voted was aware of the issues, the percentage of votes would be in the low 10%. Durgan

The media is fighting a rear-guard action. Personally, I go to the forums for the real story. I use the main stream media for the headlines knowing full well, that it will have a bias, and indeed may be even outright propaganda. Most of the forums use the main stream media for supplying the particular topic for discussion. Seldom is a story created outside the main stream media. People are conditioned to think, that the media are capable of supplying news of interest, which I believe eventually will simply not be the case. The main stream media still has tremendous power to inform or more likely mis-inform, or at least decide what the masses should be exposed to. Many stories are begging for an answer to an obvious question that arise in a reader's mind, but is simply ignored. Hence, the forums. I find it is possible to learn more from a good forum than from the main-line media about most specific stories. After that ramble. Harper is doing a good job, even though I didn't vote for the party. Durgan.

Canadians should be banned from travelling to Iraqi except on official business. This crap of getting kidnapped, and bleating for help should no longer be tolerated. Not that the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department ever helped any Canadian in trouble in a foreign land. It simply doesn't make sense going into a lion's den and relying on the good will of the lion to prevent being slaughtered. These silly people should find other ways to satisfy their egos. They impress me not. Durgan.

Why bother getting involved? The world is full of religious nuts, simply leave them in peace. The next world is more important to them than this one. The Romam Catholic Church used to burn people at the stake for the same crime, apostacy. It took several centuries to wipe out the practice. Let us bring the the Afghan's a puppet, submissive government in the guise of Democracy and take the resources we want and get on with living. Durgan.

[quote name='Slavik44' date='Mar 21 2006, 04:00 AM' post='104384'] I have a few problems with the study... Mainly what are the before results, we have none. This doesn't tell me anything other then the fact that a PHD still can;t help you do a good study. For all I know thsi could tell me dumb people smoke pot, not that pot makes people dumb. This could tell me that people who succeed less at school are more likely to do drugs such as pot, they are not successfull at these tests because there are below average. Maybe people with very slight mental handicaps are more likely to do drugs, therefore likely to perform poorly on such tests. Maybe pot smokers are more likely to binge drink and thats why they performed poorly on this test. Maybe Pot smokers are more likely to eat doritoes and that is why they performed poorly on this test, maybe doritoes are the real problem. Based on this study we just don't know, and I personally would not want to spend 40 billion dollars a year based on this study, I would not want to stop housing projects so I can build prisons, I would not want to cut school education so I can fund in prison education programs, I wouldn't want to cut health aid to drug addicts just so I can spend more money to put them in prison. If Pot inhibits your decision making ability then perhaps the DEA needs to stop smoking the pot they confiscate. Just imagine how terrific you would be in your memory accomplishments if you did not partake. A similar situation might have existed had Winston Churchill been sober during his tenure as PM of the UK during the war. The WWII might have ended in 1943. As with most medical studies, as you duly mentioned, there is no control, which makes most studies suspect. Durgan.

Yesterday I disagreed with Harper's (CPC) policy of vetting candidates for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada. Today I am in total agreement with his policy. Silent appointments by previous governments have now stacked the court with individuals who put ideals ahead of common sense. The Supreme Court of Canada is completely out of touch with the people of the country. The Supreme Court decision has brought disgrace to the court. The Supreme Court of Canada made a ridiculous decision. No religion has untrammeled licence to practice rites that do harm or have the potential to do harm to others. No kirpin has been used in an attack in any school, but knives are usually banned for the reason that they have the potential to cause harm. A kirpin or daggar is the same type of instrument in spite of the religious overtones. It is conceivable that a defence will be 'it is my religion." There are religions in this world that practice female genital mutilation. Following the logic of the Supreme Court of Canada, I presume if this practice if brought before them the vote will be 8 to 0 in favour, with the explanation that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows freedom of religion. What is the definition of a religion? As far as I know this has never been defined. In a secular society I suggest "Freedom of Religion" means practices that do no harm to another being, and does not infringe on the space of others. A Sikh, carrying a kirpin, will never be allowed to pass through security in any airport in the world. Parliament has to act on this issue. The Supreme Court decision is too rediculous to be allowed to be the law of the land. I just read feedback in the Globe and Mail about 250 responses (The most responses they have received on any subject) that mostly condemns the Supreme Court decision. Here is one comment by a Sikh. Bob Crier from Toronto, Canada writes: I am devout, practicing Sikh and I do not agree with this decision. I am also ashamed of the fact that there are hardly any Sikhs posting comments against this decision. We do not need to carry our religious symbols around to prove our faith either to ourselves or to others. We must change the old ideas with the changing realities of the time. Canada has opened up its doors to us and allowed us the freedom to practice our own religion. The least we owe to this country is to try to understand the very ideologies that make it accept people from all over the world and respect their values. Because, if we look at those ideologies very carefully, we will find that we must move away from symbolism and try to accept other people's values if they are logical and are for the betterment of the society. How does allowing Kirpans make Canada a better society? How is this helping Sikh’s integration into this society? How is this helping other new immigrants coming into this country? What examples are we setting? As a Sikh, I am ashamed of this decision. The people who pushed for this decision have committed an act that is not in the interests of the Canadian society and certainly not in line with the Sikh way of thinking. Shame on us!! Durgan.

Buy a Prayer Mat, and start reading the Koran. You will have nothing to fear. Durgan.

Here is one of those Muslim Women. Durgan. http://duxedlet.notlong.com We were brought up to hate - and we do By Nonie Darwish (Filed: 12/02/2006) A few highlights I was born and raised as a Muslim in Cairo, Egypt and in the Gaza Strip. In school in Gaza, I learned hate, vengeance and retaliation. Peace was never an option, as it was considered a sign of defeat and weakness. At school we sang songs with verses calling Jews "dogs" (in Arab culture, dogs are considered unclean). Criticism and questioning were forbidden.