Canadian News Stories From NM&P

May 14 2010 // News

So here we are on the eve of the deadline for the negotiated release of the Afghan detainee issue documents that was extended past the original two weeks, as ordered by Speaker of the House Peter Milliken, and there's an  impasse. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. I'm shocked that the impasse didn't occur earlier. I'll say it clearly now, I never expected the tories to relent and and I had even less confidence in the courage of the opposition to hold them in contempt of Parliment and force a snap election.

 The leaders of the opposition are poll-watchers and not confident in their abilities to bring the issues at hand to the Canadian public and sway them in their favour. I do not pretend to understand why this is so as the Conservatives would seem to be on the wrong side of issues that Canadians care deeply about but there you have it.

 The former Liberal Defense Minister, Bill Graham admits an agreement signed under his watch to protect detainees handed to rough Afghan jailers was flawed and should have included better follow-up monitoring for torture.

 The campaign to free Marc Emery from being extradited has begun and I urge you to e-mail Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and let him know how you feel, politely.

 Add another big voice to those calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to talk about climate change at the Group of 20 summit in Toronto next month. Nicholas Stern, the British economist  and author of a seminal 700-page study on the economics of global warming, says the G20 has a role in achieving the “political agreement” that he believes is necessary to advance on the commitments made at the UN climate change conference last December in Copenhagen.

 Finally, there are those that hate democracy - they'd much rather shove their agenda down our collective throats than give in to fact that Canadians have spoken on the issue! I really wish people would accept that choice is between the people involved and their maker.If they truly believed in god they'd accept tthat. It's about smug self-righteousness and little else - either that or they don't believe the big invisible guy's in control and not having anticipated what the creatures he created would do, made no provisions for the souls of the unborn.