Politics-Federal

Is Afghanistan Winnable? Damn Straight It Is!!

Mulder

It may take several years and an hard border between Pakistan erected, but it is possible.

I hear so many people say that the Russians couldn’t do it with over 100,000 troops. Well the Russians had to face an American backed force when they came to Afghanistan. The battle took place at the height of the cold war and may in fact been a big part of how the Americans sucked the resources out of the Soviet Union, which helped them win the cold war.

This time, the strong American economy, the strong Canadian economy and the strong British economy are behind the stabilization. The Russians may or may not be involved on the other side of the fence, but I really don’t think it matters. The need to treat Afghanistan like a meat grinder is starting to show. If the west puts in small amounts of troops, they will just be ground to bits slowly but surely by the populous militants flowing back and forth across the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. But if you stuff the meat grinder with so much meat that it can’t turn, the grinder comes to a halt.

The Canadians are on the brink of shaming the French and Germans into sending more troops to help in the south. The Americans are calling for more troops. Even Bill and Hillary Clinton support this idea. Poland just announced another 1000 troops. The Canadians are mobilizing the Van Doos early. Tanks will be rolling in to choke the meatgrinder. This is what Afghanistan needs.

It’s the right move to free the Afghan people from the tyranny of living under the Taliban.

OSTV Is On The Air

Mulder

OK so I stole the catch phrase from SCTV.SCTV

After the Granola Policy Conference last weekend, I had created three new videos bringing my total at youtube to five. With the new session of parliament coming up, I think the footage will be fast and furious so I have a feeling this online TV network will be growing nicely.

In fact, it already has. Lunatic Fringe has been viewed over 250 times to date, Hit The Road Jack Layton almost 150 times, NDP Surfin’ On Heroin over 150 times.

But thanks to Blogging Tory TV, Dan The Man Matheson has been viewed almost 600 times. But far and away the most viewed has been the video on Why the WTC Towers Fell. This video has been viewed over 1100 times.

I can’t wait to get my WinTV programmed for QP on CPAC starting Monday. I think it’s going to be a great fall session.

Lunatic Fringe – The NDP And Their Hatred Of George Bush

Mulder

After blogging the single motion session of the NDP national convention Saturday morning from my cushy seat in front of CPAC, I started recording until my harddrive was jammed up (and violently ill from) NDP national convention footage. My only regret was not getting a copy of the “First nine times I saw George Bush’s name come up“.

But thanks to the suggestion from my friend Alan, I started putting a collage together. He also suggested the background music which I thought was incredibly fitting. (You can go read the lyrics of the tune here).

If you enjoyed “The NDP Surfin’ on Heroin” and “Hit The Road Jack“, then you should really enjoy this one. I think it is the piece de resistance, or more aptly put, the piece de resistance de guerre. Here is Lunatic Fringe-A tribute to the NDP.

Enjoy, because after this, I need a break and some relaxation…which I will get by bashing a few Liberals around.

p.s. don’t forget to rate it at youtube if you have the time.

If you can’t view the video above, try clicking here.

NDP Support Surfin' On Heroin

Mulder

I love playing with Windows Movie Maker. Below is a video I made from a clip taken from the CPAC coverage of the NDP policy convention in Quebec City this weekend. Jim Green pointed out that his wife worked for the organization that created the safe injection clinic (in fact she was the president) and his daughter works for them. Talk about a biased opinion of safe injection.

I took the liberty of adding some commentary, some smokin’ music … errr … some shootin’ up music by a Canadian band called the Forgotten Rebels and uploaded to youtube.

Enjoy.

If you cannot see it embedded above try clicking here

NDP Convention – Bush Count Hits 9 On CPAC

Mulder

Last night I watched ten minutes of the NDP convention and heard George Bush’s name once.

This morning Alexa McDoughhead was interviewed and said George Bush’s name four times.

Laurel Gibbons was interviewed shortly later and the other NDP gentleman who was interviewed with her mentioned Bush once and that it was a war for oil. (I do commend Laurel for at least being supportive of the troops as she is married to a military man.)

ADDENDUM: 9:07 am – Paul Dewar just mentioned Iraq twice, Vietnam and Americans in his interview regarding his resolution. No mention of Bush, but he did just say people signed up to the military years before Iraq, implying they had no clue that they would end up in a war (morons) and it also shows that Paul Dewar and the NDP are trying to tie the current Afghani mission to the one in Iraq when Canadians are not even in Iraq.

ADDENDUM: 9:17 am Jack Layton gets the mic first and mentions Bush three times.

ADDENDUM: 9:38 am – After complaining that the vote to extend the mission last session in parliament only had 6 hours of debate, the NDP have a standing vote after 21 minutes to go to a vote on the resolution to remove our forces from Afghanistan immediately. They don’t have the 2/3rds needed to go to vote and debate continues. (Peter Stoffer is a real man and I would like to shake his hand.)

ADDENDUM: 9:46 am – A motion to defer the debate is made and debate on the referral begins.

ADDENDUM: 9:54 am – Vote to refer the motion fails and they move back to the main motion.

ADDENDUM: – 9:58 am – after a full 51 minutes debate, a full 5 hours and 9 minutes LESS than the debate in the house on this issue, the NDP pass a motion to resolve that they remove troops from Afghanistan immediately. (i.e. the NDPussy Motion passes)

NDPussies

Mulder

Canadian Casualties Through History

The Great War (World War I) – 1914-1918
Military Deaths – 66,655 (approximately 13,000/year)
Wounded – 172,950 (approximately 34,500/year)

World War II (1939-1945)
Military Deaths – 42,042 (approximately 7,000/year)
Wounded – 53,145 (approximately 9,000/year)

Korean War (1950-1953)
Military Deaths – 516 (approximately 125/year)
Wounded – 1042 (approximately 250/year)

Afghanistan (2001-2006)
Military Deaths – 33 (approximately 5/year)
Wounded – 129 (approximately 20/year)

Note: for annual approximation averages, whole calendar years were used even if the war only took place for part of that year (for ease of calculations)

ADDENDUM In case the above post was misconstrued, it was not meant to put down our military one bit. It is meant to tell those who want to cut in run in Afghanistan to go take a flying leap. If we had cut and run against Hitler, where would we be? If we had not helped South Korea from being overrun, we would not have such great companies like Hyundai or Samsung.

The mission in Afghanistan must continue because the Afghanis need us. These oppressed people need strong humans to help them live free. When schools are blown up because girls are allowed to attend, they need us. When teachers are tortured because they teach girls along with the boys, they need us.

I, and my whole family, are very proud of every single soldier who has set foot in Afghanistan on behalf of the NATO mission which has been sanctioned by the UN. Just because the NDPussies want to get out, doesn’t make this mission wrong.

Don’t be fooled by their pansy asses.

NDP Propose To Ignore Maps Via Pullout Of Troops From Afghanistan

Mulder

…by blaming the Iraq war. Stephen Taylor has busted out the NDP proposals for their national convention and in resolutions 6, page 3, they feel we should leave Afghanistan because the war in Iraq sucks. Ironically, we were in Afghanistan BEFORE the Iraq war.

I really wish someone in the NDP would look at a map of the middle east and figure out that Iraq is not Afghanistan and that there are no Canadian troops in Iraq.

WHEREAS the war on Iraq was based on the threat of weapons of mass destruction, and

WHEREAS there are not and were not any weapons of mass destruction; and

WHEREAS the Canadian mission in Afghanistan helped support the war in Iraq and the bigger picture which includes the control of oil in that region; and

WHEREAS the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan is a mission of military occupation; and

WHEREAS this mission aids the Americans and the transnational oil corporations in their lust for control of oil; and

WHEREAS war resisters in Canada are bravely communicating their difficult conscientious decision to abandon the amoral Iraqi war,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the NDP actively advocates for the immediate end of the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan

You have to love the cute little peaceniks. I bet the person who resolved this wore tye dye at one time and just forgot to take it off. I wore tye dye for a stretch of my life too, but then I grew up.

Refugee Status Vs. Old Age Pension In Canada

Mulder

Apparently, there is an email circulating which discusses the difference between the funds provided for Old Age Pension vs. the funds provided refugees to Canada. It goes as follows.

CANADA PENSION

Only in Canada.

Do not apply for your old age pension. Apply to be a refugee. It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00.

This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 or 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!

I wanted to do my due diligence so took a quick peek around the Government of Canada website for refugee funding and found the $580 RAP (Resettlement Assistance Program) money but could not find where the $1,890 came from.

If anyone out there is aware of where this $1,890 monthly allowance comes from, I would appreciate knowing because if this email circulating is true, it really says a lot about how poorly we have Officially Screwed our senior citizens.

ADDENDUM – I found the Old Age Security payment charts. There is obviously some variation on the amount from the email floating around. You can see the whole grid below and for much more info click the link above. The Guaranteed Income Supplement from the government site is $1006.19. This is not quite the $1012 claimed in the email but pretty darn close so I give the email some credibility here.

While digging for the source of the $1890, I did find the one time household start up page but this is not a monthly allowance. It simply helps refugees start up a household with initial clothing, food, cleaning supplies, phone hookup, etc.