Tag Archives: conservative party

Suicide Bombings A Good Sign: Oda

foreign affairs, peace,

The Harper cabinet minister who removed “equality” from the mandate of Status of Women Canada, arguing that that would improve women’s equality, today went further down the rabbit hole:

One of the cabinet ministers visiting Afghanistan to meet with that country’s leadership and Canadian troops says that roadside and suicide bombings in Kabul indicate that the situation is improving in the country.

According to the Canadian Press, International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda went before skeptical Afghan journalists and said roadside and suicide bombings indicate that the insurgents have made a shift in tactics. She said that shows the success of the NATO mission.

I wonder, if the insurgents get their hands on a dirty bomb or worse, will Oda continue to take that as a positive indicator of progress?

New Low

conservative party, democracy and good government, social justice, water,

It’s no secret that I don’t have a lot of love for Stephen Harper, but yesterday he sunk to such a new low that even I was surprised.

For the past few days, opposition parties have been asking the government questions about the handling of Afgan detainees because, well, there’s mounting evidence that we may be implicated in their torture, and because when they asked defence minister Gordon O’Connor about it he — what’s the term again? — “mislead” the House. So, you can see why they’d be concerned.

Harper responded by saying that, just because they asked those questions, those MPs obviously cared more about Taliban prisoners than Canadian soldiers. He subsequently refused to apologize. In other words, not only has “you’re either with us or against us” migrated to Canada, somehow concern for human rights is now anti-Canadian.

Speaking of which, I will remind you today, on World Water Day, that under this government Canada still refuses to declare water a human right. (So, what is it then? A privilege?)

I used to think comparisons of Stephen Harper to George Bush were exaggerated and unfair. Not any more.