Sir Bandelot

"Woman out", is a denigrating sexist comment. Can't you think of a better adjective? Too late for you, you deluded macho man. As indicated previously your credibility = zero. And now, respect = zero too... But let me be clear about what I'm saying. This war should be brought to a swift end, not dragged on in the sickly fashion it has been. This war is fought by half measures. If the war can be won quickly with a massive surge, so be it, get it done. If there is any confidence left to do so. But now it seems that there isn't, not because the troops are not willing and able, but because the same weak leadership that carried it to this point still continue to sit on their hands. They are too ham-strung by their own pathetic political entanglements to make such brave decisions. I seriously doubt that they have the mental capacity, or the will to do it. And if not, then some kind of negotiating option should be considered. In other words negotiate with the Taliban. They probably have too many of their own political elements in the Afghanistan government anyway for this to be ignored. And BC, no I don't have any faith or confidence in your new president. He's sitting on the fence too, with his 40,000 troops. Or is it 60,000, or 80,000, or 90,000. All those numbers have been making the media rounds. McCrystal said it clearly, if you can't give us the numbers we need, don't bother giving us anything less. No more war by half measures. Yet lately we hear exactly that. Maybe SOME troops, maybe a smaller surge. Bullshit, from weak minded bureaucrats.

You don't get it, do you. Let me be clear about this- it's not about the GOP vs Dems here, at all. It's about the colour of that flag you're waving.

Keep repeating that to yourself, to make sure you actually believe it. It might have been a "just" fight eight years ago when this started, but it has dragged on and is going the wrong way. If our butthead leaders had done the right thing from the beginning, this war would be over now. But in typical Canadian style we marginalized our troops by not providing enough resources to win it effectively. Thats why it drags on and on, like cruel slow death. Yet, they clearly have the resources to pay big companies and banks, to the tune of billions of dollars, and came up with the cash very quickly too. Thats injustice, and the leadership should be blamed and made to pay for their mistakes. If they did it right, many of these soldiers would not have to die, let alone the civilians. This war should have been over by now. But you don't get that simple fact, do you, keyboard jockey boy. You just keep chatting away about how you think its a good thing. I ask, I implore our government to end this fight now.

Karzai rival Abdullah quits Afghan run-off Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah quit an election run-off on Sunday after accusing the government of not meeting his demands for a fair vote, leaving a cloud over the legitimacy of the next government. "As far as I'm concerned, the decision I have reached is not to participate," he later told reporters at his Kabul home. "I have strong, strong reservations about the credibility of the process," he said. Abdullah said he quit because the demands he had sought from the government and the Independent Election Commission (IEC), including the sacking of Afghanistan's top election official in the wake of the tainted first round, had not been met. He said there would be no demonstrations and urged his supporters "not to take to the streets, not to feel grief." A weakened Afghan government under President Hamid Karzai would also be a blow for U.S. President Barack Obama as he decides whether to send more U.S. troops to fight a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. Obama met his top military leaders on Friday as part of a strategic review. Some analysts were scathing in their assessment of what was seen as a flawed election staged against the backdrop of increasing violence after eight years of war. "It is a shocking failure of efforts by the West and other international communities to build a democracy in Afghanistan," said Norine MacDonald, president of policy research group The International Council on Security and Development. ------- Too bad if they won't take to the streets. But then with their terrible security problems, given the fact that western troops cannot maintain security because of the lack of support/ resources from western leaders, who can blame them. I guess Obama et al needs to think about this some more...

You keep forgetting, your great thread on the Iran elections. Funny how your attitude has changed now that the foot is up the other ass. M.Dancer credibility = 0

I truly feel for those people who have both partners working long hours, just to make ends meet. We are in the same situation here too. Lucky for me I have more flexible hours than my wife, otherwise we would both have to work until 6pm, get home at 6:30 and rush to make a dinner for the kids. That is the way the system has changed from that of our parents, where generally only one had to work. So instead of welfare for the poor, lets save our money for the banks and the big auto companies, to balance their phony/ bad investments. That way they can still give themselves a nice bonus at the end of the year too. Yeah that makes me feel real good. Maybe I can get a second job, cleaning their toilets, that should help me to pay them even more.

HA! Keekerekeee!!! Eh Dancer? Keekerekeee!!! Don't forget to puff up your chest while doing that.

Afghan challenger to withdraw from run-off The decision, if confirmed, would effectively give Karzai a second five-year term. The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment. There's a clear reason for this. Abdullah knows that the runoff election will be just as corrupted as the first one, and despite that Karzai will still win, and the west will hail it as a "great victory" for democracy. By pulling out, he makes this election a complete farce, and hands Karzai the empty victory from what the whole world already knows was a corrupted election. He undermines any notion of validity for Karzai and his western financial backers. The people all know this. One more nail in the coffin, for the liars who stand at their pulpits and crow the sounds of western virtue.

He was. More a man than most of you. Or anyone who works on the hill, thats for sure. And now he's food for the worms

As to my "impotence", when I say "leaders", that includes all of them in this alliance, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, USA, and other. I picked on Obama in particular, as there's been some talk lately about him dithering on the decision. There is no reason to wait on his decision, for the outcome of another corrupt Afghani election. I say he IS dithering. Mr. Bush would have made a decision much sooner. Probably, the WRONG one, but a decision no less. No decision is also the wrong one, in my view. But it probably wouldn't have saved these lads from being just another statistic. Well it's better than arguing about the stupid flu virus.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/10/30/c...anistan193.html A Canadian soldier who had spent less than a week in Afghanistan was killed Friday by an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol in Kandahar. Sapper Steven Marshall, 24, from 11 Field Squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, based in Edmonton, was patrolling 10 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City in the Panjwai district when the bomb exploded, Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance said. "Steven will be remembered as the life of his section. Vance said. "Having arrived in the theatre of operations less than a week ago, he was eager to get out and begin making a difference," Vance said. Lt. Justin Garrett Boyes, 26, was killed Wednesday when his foot patrol was hit by an IED southwest of Kandahar City. The latest death brings to 133 the total number of Canadian soldiers who have died as part of the Afghan mission since it began in 2002. ------- What a nice looking kid. He should be playing on my hockey team, not dead in some bleak dusty hell hole. Canadians are either oblivious or numb to this ongoing loss of lives. We might read the headline, feel a moments sadness, then shrug it off and get back to work. Their lives were lost for a political abstraction, that will never become reality. Meanwhile the leaders give fancy speeches and look the other way. And Obama has more meetings to talk about what

Lets force people to wear clothes that we approve of. Lets make a big deal out of it when they don't.

Ok. Read my previous post and you will understand what I think, in general.

Indeed, I could already hear you getting the tinfoil out, and folding it nicely along the edges...

Well now, I see that BC has had his evening treat before going off to bed. He likes snacks --- While I didn't click the link myself, but if, from the sounds of it, this is about more of the typical "we are manipulated by the elite descendants of Rothschilds, etc." and the general public is totally deluded part of the machinery, all I can say is, I couldn't agree more... Long as it doesn't get into the reptilicons thing, because that is a little too wacko. Because yes, our governance is totally corrupt, worldwide, and has been for thousands of years. Yes the elite power mongers do well to conceal themselves. And yes, the masses are merely grease for the machinery and the treads of our tank wheels. The question is, now that your mind has been "opened" by this, what are you going to do about it? Because, quite frankly there is no hope to achieve the peaceful utopia of love and brotherhood that you dream of, around the world. There's too many different people with different needs, and too much history and resentment for things done in the past, that people are not able to let go of. And probably never will, as further insult adds to injury and so on. We live in a world gone mad, this world created by us. The human animal is psychotic, mentally ill. And violence is part of the very thing, that made us superior. Thats a little hard to let go of. My advice is, to not try and globalize everything into everything else, try to live a good life yourself and keep learning. Evolution, or annihilation will take care of the rest.

I wonder how he feels about the fact that Obama wants to negotiate, and pay the Taliban, and offer them amnesty for doing such things to your bud.

Well why not, they've done just about everything else. Oh wait, they did that to him too... twice. Resilient little *&@^*isn't he

They should charge him with anything they can, legally. If they have no case, if they can prove nothing, they should let him go. But they've dragged it on so long, thats an admission that they fear there is a problem. It's time to shit or get off the pot, as they say. They might not be able to use the evidence they have, it might be inadmissable due to the use of torture. read a little further in the article- "One of the greatest challenges facing Obama's task force in deciding these cases is whether statements made during interrogations will be discounted in court as the product of torture. U.S. Special Forces shot Khadr twice in the back during his capture, and he was brought to the American-operated prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, in critical condition. During the three months before his transfer to Guantanamo, he was interrogated more than 40 times for up to eight hours a day. His chief interrogator, Joshua Claus, was later court-martialled in connection with the death of an Afghan taxi driver at Bagram." So they may have undermined their ability to convict him, guilty or no. This is what happens when you let a bunch of non law-abiding red neck amateurs have a field day, without professional oversight. If what they did means its inadmissible, he would be let go, and it will be their fault. Time to eat your own guts out.

Sounds crazy? She mentioned that Great Britain has de-listed the swine flu as a serious threat. I went to the BBC news web site, there is no mention of swine flu anywhere. I even clicked on the "Health" tab, still no mention of it. The top headline was about diabetes. Clicked on the "Americas" link, still nothing! So whats with that? Maybe the British are naturally immune? http://news.bbc.co.uk/

I recall they got money as well, years later. If they had already died, their next of kin got the money.

Actual trial? I'm all for it. I mean, a real one. Please execute justice. NOT, leaving prisoners in detention for years without due process. Thats the travesty here.

Now we know why Mr. Harper does not want him sent back to Canada. After all the lies and spin we've heard, h$e would be a free man. And the lawsuit would be hefty hefty

No real improvements will be made until consumer confidence returns, and that has not happened. Until then its a blip in the graph. A fly speck. And our bankers and politicians want to make a big deal and trumpet the sound of success, over that fly speck. The foundations of this system are based on corruption, and in this age of information, people have come to know this. I doubt that consumers will return to the level of care free buying they once did in the past. To think that this fly speck indicates that our problems are over, is like giving a drug addict more dope, and calling them "cured" because they start to feel good.

It has been several days since the nuclear inspectors visited "the site" in Iran. They had access to the site on Sunday, and have returned to Vienna. So far we get to hear nothing about what they found. Well, almost nothing. Scant information. "On Thursday, a team of U.N. nuclear inspectors returned to the agency's headquarters in Vienna from a visit to a previously secret Iranian uranium enrichment site. It expressed satisfaction with the mission but details have not been revealed." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33528916/ns/wo...ideastn_africa/ No news is good news? Interesting how quickly we react with outrageous indignation when certain leaders shout loudly from atop their soapboxes, about things which are based purely on unsubstantiated evidence, couched in selective omissions of truth. Yet when its time to get the real facts, we hear very little. Especially if said facts are not advantageous to their agenda. Now, don't get me wrong here... I don't defend Iran as though they always speak the truth. But I say, our own people don't speak the truth either. They are proven to be liars, time and time again. So watch out

In that case we might as well all give it up... false information abounds.