Wilber

Call it pragmatism then. Not hateful at all. I have nothing against the guy. He may be the best out there. It's just the way I see it the situation and of course, I could be wrong.

I think you guys are creating a myth of why Canada was not in Iraq. Please show some credible evidence rather than your belief why Canada couldn't go to Iraq. It has never been cited by anyone that Canada couldn't go because it wasn't capable. Maybe a look at the Canadian contribution to the First Gulf War might be appropriate. Had the CAF's capability to fight a high intensity ground war changed much between 1991 and 2001? I doubt it. It may well have got worse. I agree that it wouldn't have made any difference to Chretien. He was always committing troops and equipment we didn't have to politically correct causes which would make him Brownie points.

this was offered as a sad sarcastic joke about bigotry??? It was offered as reality.

Which, to me, gets to the fundamental problem with the discourse over Afghanistan which is divided between those who think we must do something and those who think it's not our place. Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning can we do anything? We are doing something. The questions are. Can we do enough? Is it possible for anyone to do enough? Is it right not to try?

They have a beef with Karzi and his government and they don't like the support he is getting. Many of their criticisms are no doubt valid. Trouble is, we are limited to working with the least objectionable and those who do not support organizations who will attack us. We don't get our first choice because such a thing probably doesn't exist in Aghanistan and we know we can't govern the country ourselves. Show me where RAWA, Amnesty International, or Human Rights Watch have said that NATO and the UN should abandon Afghanistan, that the Taliban should be allowed to retake the country or that they believe women would be better off with the Taliban being given a free reign.

They did not say they were rigged, they said that different interests including the Taliban tried to stop or influence the election by the use of violence. RAWA thinks life was better under the Taliban? I read the link and though they have beefs with the Karzi government and with NATO for not putting more pressure on him, a great many of which are probably valid, I missed the part where they wanted NATO out. The last paragraph. How's that supposed to happen if everyone leaves?

In 1966 my parents sold a house in Vancouver for $26,000. It was a nice big house on a large city lot in Point Grey and it took several months to sell. Tax assesments on lots alone are averaging around 1.2M this year. Not typical maybe but it shows what can happen. Aside from the investment aspect, the more I see the more I believe it is important to own where you live, no matter how humble it may be. Every week it seems there are people being evicted from apartment buildings in this area because they are being renovated and sold as condos. People are told, come back in six months with a few hundred grand and maybe we will sell you back your place. Rental accomodation is getting harder and harder to find because there is less money to be made building rental property. No security in renting.

HRW, Amnesty International and the UN all said that there were attempts by the Taliban and different war lords to influence the election through intimidation and violence. None of those organizations has said the elections were rigged. Who are the Afghan Observer and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan? You have a country where there is no law and the only security is provided by too few foreign troops. Duh, what do you expect? They managed to have an election in spite of that. How many people would have the guts to go to the poles in this country if they thought there was a good chance to be assaulted or even murdered on the way? Would you? Give them some credit. You need real cojones to cast a vote in that country, particularly if you are a woman. Women have a tough go in Afghanistan. I believe it but tougher than before? How would you improve that, give the place back to the Taliban? If you have ideas to make life better for Afghan women and children lets hear them because there are Canadians putting their lives on the line trying to do that right now. etc, etc.

What are the odds of someone with a middle name of Hussein getting elected President of the United States in this decade. Not good methinks.

I agree that the real mission got side tracked by Iraq but it seems you are maintaining that the only way Afghanistan could be sovereign is under the Taliban. Even more reason to make sure that doesn't happen, IMO. Sometimes winning is not losing.

It was done with the approval and support of the Taliban who made up the government of Afghanistan at the time and are the people our troops are fighting. Our presence there is more like self defense but those who attack us and our allies should fear retribution. What organizations? As opposed to the Taliban who took power by force and have never held or taken part in an election, ever? A government that brutalized women, anyone and anything else which didn't conform to the letter of their vision of Islam? A government which was recognized by only three other countries, the Emirates, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia?

A vote for the Liberals is a vote for Hamas?

The spelling of humour is not another of Poly's conspiracies. It is in fact the English (Canadian) spelling of the word according to the Oxford dictionary, which I think is probably a better reference than Wikipedia when it comes to the language. humour

The Carter years were a low point for the US military and that included the serviceability of their equipment. They were headed in the same direction as our military under Chretien.

Who would be in your Canada? Alberta is part of my Canada as much as any other province. You have an odd way of looking at things. You seem to think that we would be better off with less. That depending on other countries for the resources we need for industry would somehow make us more secure and self sufficient. That Alberta having oil sucks the resources out of the rest of the country, never mind what they send to the rest of the country in equalization. That paying Middle Eastern or South American countries for the oil to run your Canada would be preferable and somehow make us more prosperous and secure. The value of our dollar is the value the rest of the world puts on our country. Evidently you feel we should be worth less. A balanced portfolio of resources, industry and technology would better but having less of something doesn't make you better off, it just makes you poorer. Like every other country we have to make the best of the population, geography and climate we were dealt. You live in a country that is blessed, instead of being bitter about its good fortune, be thankful.

One thing we know for sure, even if a missile is fired at us, we will have to depend on the Americans to do something about it. Canada has always benefited from MAD but it has always been the Americans who paid for it.

An odd comment. You believe Canada would be better off if Alberta had no oil and gas? Do you also believe that Canada would be better off if no province had any natural resources?

An un-armed American Or more accurately, where only the criminals are armed.

Yes, but what I'm saying is we just have to take your word for that.

Exactly and calling a contribution a "loan" doesn't make it a loan if there is no intention by either party to have it paid back. Are there any mechanisms to ensure that these "loans" are in fact repaid and by who? The cynic in me says that no matter what rules are made or who makes them, parties and politicians will start looking for ways to circumvent those rules because money is too important to success.

My be so and maybe not. Depends on the "lender".

The Millennium Bomber and incompetent handling of SARS in Toronto didn't help either! Yup, you got the one who entered from Canada and missed all the ones who came direct. You also taught them to fly when they got to the US. I doubt the Millennium Bomber had a trunk full of explosives when he entered Canada. Prior to 9/11, it would seem that no one was doing a great job.

In the last three days there were two people killed by hit and run drivers in Vancouver. Considering the number of Canadians who go to Mexico during the winter, I wonder if the odds are that much different.

I have mixed feelings about this thing. I have no doubt that it will be some kind of a threat or that a system to intercept limited attacks is doable, but is it worth it? I don't see any downside to getting involved as long as doesn't mean our spending a bunch of money. After all, we were not consulted as to whether there would be a system, we were just told there will be one. If there is to be one, it can't hurt to have some sort of input.

Nonsense, that's how Saddam kept power, by killing any opposition to Sunni domination. The US pried off the lid he had kept on sectarian violence. The result ain't pretty but eventually it would have happened anyway. Just too many different groups in that country who hate each others guts.