There are a few numbers that have been on my mind lately.
One Hundred and Fourty Six (146) - This is the number of Canadian soldiers who have given their lives during the current war in Afghanistan.
One Hundred and Three (103) - This is the number of months that Canada has been actively involved the war in Afghanistan.
Twenty Eight Hundred (2800) - The approximate count of Canadian Military troops engaged in the war.
Eighteen Billion ($18,000,000,000) - The approximate dollar value the Canadian government has spent on supporting the war.
Thirty Four Million (34,000,000) - The number of Canadians who just want our troops to come home safely and just have it all over with.
We are in Afghanistan to help restore the democratic government that was over thrown by Sunni radicals (Taliban) in 1996. Hamid Karzai is the rightful, democratically elected president of Afghanistan, and he deserves the right to lead his people to rebuild and prosper in a democratic country, for the good of all other countries on this planet. In order to do that, the oppression and violence of the Taliban insurgents (NOT a government by any means) needs to be removed before that rebuilding process can really begin. We, the USA, and the Russians are largely responsible for allowing the Taliban to take power in the first place, so we have a moral obligation to set things right.
I get a little weary of hearing people whine about how Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party are responsible for us being there. This situation pre-dates Stephen Harper by decades. The previous Emperor of Afghanistan was overthrown in 1973 and the country has been in a variable state of civil war ever since, often fuelled by US/NATO and Russian arms sales. We joined the allied forces in Afghanistan under Jean Chretien's Liberal government in October 2001 and that party had 5 more years in power to choose to change that path before the Conservative government came into power and inherited the situation.
If Canada were overthrown by a radical, violent, oppressive regime bent on self-serving profiteering by turning our farmland into drug growing operations, as the Taliban has done in Afghanistan, I would welcome an invasion of NATO and allies to fight them and help win back our freedom and right to a democratically run country.
We *have* been there too long and we *do* need to bring our troops home, but we have important work to do there and the people of Afghanistan deserve the right to self government. This is about global stability and fighting for the concept of open democracy. This is about fighting oppression and tyranny where it lives strongest. I support our troops there 100% and hope they can get the job done soon so they can all come home safely and we can look forward to a long term beneficial relationship with the new democracy of Afghanistan.
We live on this planet, not just in this country and we all have a moral obligation as citizens of Earth to help other countries provide for a safe, democratically run government for the good of all mankind. Canadian soldiers know that their lives are at risk every day to meet that goal, regardless of the country they do it in and for that I can only say "Thank you".
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Criminal Negligence in the Oil Field
I have to wonder if anyone on the planet actually believes that the thousands of barrels of oil per day that spill into the Gulf of Mexico are anything more than a scheme to increase the value of oil while creating work for thousands of unemployed Americans. I am actually starting to wonder if BP execs didn't engineer the "accident" in he first place. It would not be the first time a large company broke the law and ignored morals in order to turn a profit.
Where were the inspectors who are supposed to ensure that safety mechanisms exist in the event of a failure? Where was the government regulation that was supposed to prevent this kind of disaster in the first place. Where is the political will to enforce a fix and clean up? Why are we now 45 days into he worst ecological disaster in written history without any sign of repair or responsibility?
Why is it that a couple of farmers can come up with an almost free clean up scheme [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6_LU4zHlSE] while BP, who is at least partly responsibe and is one of the largest corporations in the world chooses to spend $50 Million on TV advertising to basically say "it's not our fault". In fact, there are a large volume of suggestions to fix this mess that are going largely ignored. It amazes me that the US Army core of engineers has not been engaged to seal the leak. Leaving the clean up responsibility in the hands of the idiots who caused the problem in the first place is insane. If the US government will not step in and take action then perhaps the UN needs to engage their peace keeping forces and their associated engineering cores to solve this problem at any cost and them bill it all back to BP and Transocean.
Once we finally clean up this mess, Transocean and British Petroleum should both be held criminally responsible. Yes, I said criminally responsible. The damage this has and will cause to the life-forms that depend on the Gulf of Mexico for survival, including humans, is staggering. Their inability to protect the environment that surrounds their drill-site absolutely must be punished not only in painful financial damages, but in prison terms. If the US government will not demand it, then we and citizens of Earth must do so. If this kind of business over humanity thinking continues, our civilization will be lost forever.
You may think that sounds overly dramatic, but history tells us otherwise. Greed makes men wealthy while destroying the planet we rely on for survival. This kind of environmental impact can only have devastating effects on us as a society of people, and where will the perpetrators be when we are looking for new resources to feed ourselves years from now?
It's time for people to take a stand against corporations who recklessly endanger our lives by poisoning the environment with their waste and accidental fallout. Entire species face extinction because some corporate executive chose not to spend the money to fix a safety mechanism.
What an incredibly sad commentary on what 21st century man has become.
Where were the inspectors who are supposed to ensure that safety mechanisms exist in the event of a failure? Where was the government regulation that was supposed to prevent this kind of disaster in the first place. Where is the political will to enforce a fix and clean up? Why are we now 45 days into he worst ecological disaster in written history without any sign of repair or responsibility?
Why is it that a couple of farmers can come up with an almost free clean up scheme [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6_LU4zHlSE] while BP, who is at least partly responsibe and is one of the largest corporations in the world chooses to spend $50 Million on TV advertising to basically say "it's not our fault". In fact, there are a large volume of suggestions to fix this mess that are going largely ignored. It amazes me that the US Army core of engineers has not been engaged to seal the leak. Leaving the clean up responsibility in the hands of the idiots who caused the problem in the first place is insane. If the US government will not step in and take action then perhaps the UN needs to engage their peace keeping forces and their associated engineering cores to solve this problem at any cost and them bill it all back to BP and Transocean.
Once we finally clean up this mess, Transocean and British Petroleum should both be held criminally responsible. Yes, I said criminally responsible. The damage this has and will cause to the life-forms that depend on the Gulf of Mexico for survival, including humans, is staggering. Their inability to protect the environment that surrounds their drill-site absolutely must be punished not only in painful financial damages, but in prison terms. If the US government will not demand it, then we and citizens of Earth must do so. If this kind of business over humanity thinking continues, our civilization will be lost forever.
You may think that sounds overly dramatic, but history tells us otherwise. Greed makes men wealthy while destroying the planet we rely on for survival. This kind of environmental impact can only have devastating effects on us as a society of people, and where will the perpetrators be when we are looking for new resources to feed ourselves years from now?
It's time for people to take a stand against corporations who recklessly endanger our lives by poisoning the environment with their waste and accidental fallout. Entire species face extinction because some corporate executive chose not to spend the money to fix a safety mechanism.
What an incredibly sad commentary on what 21st century man has become.
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