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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
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This from today's Globe and Mail:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has imposed central control over all information and comments to the public issued by government officials and even cabinet ministers, directing them to have everything cleared by the Prime Minister's Office, according to an internal e-mail and government sources....those five points being " Federal Accountability Act, a GST cut, a child-care allowance, tougher criminal sentences, and a patient waiting-times guarantee." I guess the PM wants to be the only person to talk about Afghanistan:
The orders, described in an e-mail to bureaucrats, indicate that ministers have been told to avoid talking about the direction of the government, and that the government wants them to be less accessible to the news media. And all government officials are instructed to avoid speaking about anything other than the five priorities outlined in the Conservative campaign.
Before its liberation, under the Taliban regime, Afghanistan often served as an incubator for Al Qaeda and other terror organizations....yike...Baby Bush alert!
This reality hit home with brutal force on 9-11, when two dozen Canadians lost their lives suddenly and senselessly in the destruction of the World Trade Centre.
Those were ordinary Canadians. People with families, partners, children and dreams for a better future. Just like all of our citizens, people who died suddenly and for no reason at the hands of fanatics.
Since that time, Al Qaeda has singled out Canada as one of the countries targeted for terror.
And beyond the threat of terror there’s the threat of drugs.
NOTE: There is an informative thread at rabble.ca about our troops in Afghanistan, our relationship with USA in this matter, and international law.
A friend of mine recently posed the question: are Canadian soldiers handing Afghani prisoners over to US military? And if yes, is the US military adhering to the Geneva Convention? And if no, or even maybe not, then how can we demand for the protections of Geneva for our soldiers? To my mind, this gets to the heart of the phrase "support our troops." I am looking for discussion of this question on blogs or in the media. Any links would be appreciated.
Jennifer McMackon has posted a considered, critical (in two senses of the word) review of Quantal Strife at Simpleposie. Her review and my response are here. I have also posted a brief response to Peter Goddard's Toronto Star review here (scroll down).
I'm definitely getting on the bus tomorrow (March 16th) to Doris McCarthy Gallery for the opening of Return, Afghanistan, a show of work by Zalmaï, an Afghani photographer. I've seen some of these pictures in a book and they are gorgeous. It's timely. And the opening is going to be really fun, with good food and music too. As always, the bus is FREE!
Zalmaï: Return, Afghanistan
March 16 - May 12, 2006
Opening: March 16, 2006, 6-9 pm
With traditional Afghan dance, food and music
Official Remarks by Ambassador Omar Samad, Afghanistan Ambassador to Canada at 7 pm
Rubab and tabla performance by Yasser Karimzad, James Kippen and Atiq Nikzad
Free bus departs 401 Richmond Street West at 6:30 pm and returns from UTSC at 9 pm
Uh-oh. That killer whale named Luna living in the harbour at Gold River died this morning. Apparently a tugboat was involved. [earlier post]
Jim Munroe posted a very nice Q&A with me about Quantal Strife on No Media Kings.
