Cut Defense!!!!!!!!!

The Defense budget in the U.S is 20% of the U.S budget. That is of course double than what it was in 2001. If the U.S wants to get back to the surplus years of the 1990's then they will have too cut into defense heavily. Except a lot of the defense spending is in the two wars one is almost finished except there is 50,000 troops still left in Iraq, and Afghanistan is slowly going to be stopped. Not much savings so far. This means that the U.S should maybe look at the pentagon which is spending over 500 billion dollars a year. Maybe look into massive cuts into the pentagon. Even though most people would agree the pentagon needs a lot of money, and I agree with that, but if the U.S wants to reduce the deficit than they are going to need to cut important aspects of the budget. And to be truthful the pentagon is spending a much more than before. I am not saying kill the pentagon, but cut it by 80 billion minimum this year alone. The U.S should also cut homeland security, and many other security programs that have billion of dollars in the budget that the U.S can't sustain. Here in Canada we have a defense budget of about 7% , and it doesn't need to grow any more in fact with the mission in Afghanistan ending the defense budget should lower in value of the total budget. We don't need a big army. We don't have any country to fear except maybe North Korea and Iran and they have bigger fish to fry, and nevertheless we do have allies with similar defense spending then us who can join in if needed.Our defense funding is fine where it is now we have the 13th highest defense budget in the world. The U.S is of course way on top of the packed and can afford (or really needs to) cut it's military capacity.

By taking a holistic approach, $80 billion could be slashed from the $553 billion the Pentagon has requested for 2012, the authors say. Expensive projects ill-suited for today's wars -- like missile defense and the V-22 Osprey -- would be cut.

Read more here

Get the Right Plane

The F-35 is not the right plane for Canada. The Harper government has suggested that these fighters are going to be used to defend the Arctic against the Russians. The truth is that any purchase Canada is going to make to defend against the Russians would have to be huge. Too big for the likes of us. If the Russians do invade (and that is a big if), 65 planes will not stop the massive Russian Air Force. The US would probably step in.

Now, it has been discovered that there is no way with present equipment that the military can refuel the F-35s while flying. We would need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on upgrades. Also, even though the prime usage for this fighter was supposed to be the Arctic, the runways up north are too short for the plane.

When we spend $16 billion on 65 planes, we should make sure that we get the right one for our needs. If this is not the right plane, and it isn't then we should not get it. Let's save our money for an airplane that will really meet our needs.

OTTAWA -- The Canadian military does not have the ability to conduct aerial refuelling of the F-35 fighter jet it wants to purchase and is now looking at ways to get around that problem.

Options range from paying for modifications to the stealth jets to purchasing a new fleet of tanker aircraft that can gas up the high-tech fighters in mid-air. That option could cost several hundred million dollars, depending on how many new tankers are needed.

Read more at the Ottawa Citizen. 

Related articles

• DND denies F-35 flaw claims (cbc.ca)
• When defending the F-35, the government bombs again (fullcomment.nationalpost.com)

Loaded Gun Brought on Plane

You know there is something wrong with the airport security system when a loaded handgun passes unnoticed through the carry-on screening process. Yet, that is exactly what happened last year, when a Houston businessman forgot to remove it from his bag. This makes me wonder why we are investing in the fancy naked body scanners that invade our privacy, when someone could walk onto an airplane with a gun. And it's not an isolated incident, according to a whistleblower. The failure rate for screening at some airports is70%! If this is true, then it is time to stop trying to invade people's privacy and get back to the basics: making sure that no dangerous items, such as a gun, are brought aboard a plane.



Read more at ABC.

Most Americans don't mind body scaners.

A new poll done by USA Today has shown that 71% of Americans said that they wouldn't be angry or would be bothered going throw the scanner. 71% of Americans also believe that the scanners are worth to prevent terrorist attacks. Clearly we need to keep the scanners. They help protect us and all passanger. Although they may be a bother it helps keep us safe. In fact national opt out day was a plan in the U.S to try and make havoc by making people on the business airplane travel day opt out of the scanners and to the pat downs to stall flights. In fact barely anyone did this, and it was seen as a total failure. I understand that we think that the scanners are bothersome, but the best way to go about it is just go throw the scanners and get on with are lives.

Despite heavy coverage by the media and calls for a boycott against the procedures, a USA Today/Gallup survey indicates that 71 percent of Americans who consider themselves air travelers say that a potential loss of personal privacy from such screening is worth it as a method to prevent terrorist acts, with 27 percent disagreeing.

According to the poll, 18 percent of people who say they've flown at least twice in the past year say going through a full body scan would make them angry, with 24 percent saying they would be bothered but not angry and 57 percent saying they would not be angered.

Read more here

Security vs Freedom

The United States as well as Canada are looking to install new full-body scanners which will probably in the near future be standard. People can opt out of this machine, in exchange for a thorough pat-down. My co-blogger has said that the ends justify the means. I do not agree with him. So it's either letting Joe the surveyor see us naked, or let someone feel our body over. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. This full-body scanner intrudes into our private life too much. We shouldn't need to go through them.

Caught between complaints that airport screening has become too intrusive and threats of new terror attacks on aviation, Obama administration officials said on Sunday that they were sensitive to criticisms that security measures go too far, but insisted that the measures now in place are justified by the risks.

Read more at the New York Times.

Related articles

• U.S. tries to quell uproar over invasive pat-downs, scanners (calgaryherald.com)

Security vs. Incovenience

The new Scanners in Canada and all around the world have been given much criticism about it being to invasive. The criticism may have regrown with a recent passenger telling airport security during a pat down "Don't touch my junk". Now people should know these scanners are very important for people's security. People should understand that we have to have strong airport security if we want to stop terrorist attacks, but in the future the world will have to ask ethical questions on how far will we go to keep people safe. In the case of these scanners I find that they are necessary, and a majority of people agree with this in the U.S. In order to maybe stop future security measures countries across the world have to stop terrorism activities in some countries including in our own.  I am not supporting military action, but rather create more democratic systems in these countries to stop allowing these terrorist groups to continue to grow. put pressure on these countries to get there act together on terrorist groups or create sanctions on the government or dictatorship of that country.

Koran burining on 9/11 Cancelled

A pastier in Florida on the 9th anniversary of 9/11 planned to burn the Koran. Now Peter Mackay, Hilliary Clinton,Aglina Jolie,Colin powell,Stephen Harper and Barack Obama have all said that it is wrong and is asking him not too.The risk of backlash in the world by terrorist groups was a main concern of this event.Clinton I think had the right reaction to say that this pastier in rural Florida with less than 50 people who come to his church is getting too much attention. I don't know why he is getting all this attention. This Pastier Then canceled the event only because he was told that the Islamic center in ground zero will be moved. This is the right thing to do for the wrong reasons. Because there is nothing wrong with having an islamic center in NYC. I think that he should have stoped the event because it was wrong, but instead he continues discrimination agaisnt Islam in another way. By wanting the Islamic center moved he supports the thinking that 9/11 was the fault of all muslims. That is wrong and we shouldn't look at Islam with one braud brush.

A hero? I think not!

Jet blue flight attendant Steven Slater has been getting much support for his action on a flight. Yeah I thought that the definition of hero was helping people. Well I guess I should alert my English teacher that a hero is now a guy who get's angry at a passenger because he was being very rude to him grab some beer than went off on an emergency off the plane. Now Slater said that the passenger was not following the rules and was grabbing his bag to early before the plane stooped. Then when he open the top compartment it hit Slater. Slater ask for an apology but the passenger said no. Then he grab the beer and went throw the emergency exit. Now the passenger is no angel cursing at the flight attendant. Slater is no angel either, because his job is to help people on the plane not to endangered everyone on the plane because some guy cursed at him. I think firing him doesn't have to happen he should probably get a fine go to court face the judge, and if he wants to keep his job he should get courses to make sure this doesn't happen again. In all honesty he did something wrong, and if they want to fire him I say they are aloud. If it where me in charge I would say pay the fine admit it to the judge and take the courses then I think he deserves a second chance maybe then he could a hero.

He was charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and criminal trespass, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

That's when Slater got on the plane's public address system. Passenger Phil Catelinet wrote on his blog that Slater said, "To the passenger who just called me a motherf-----: f--- you. I've been in this business 28 years, and I've had it."

Read more here  

The impossible G8/G20

I know we all think this summit cost a lot, but this money is needed for safety. Sarkozy said something kind of risky. He was asked about the cost of his G8/G20 summit in France next year. He said that his summit will cost 10 times less than ours. I would like to see him try. Our summits cost 1 billion, so his summit he thinks he can sprinkle that down to 100 million. Most summits before this one cost around 600 million or more. So unless there are not going to be police, I don't think Sarkozy can pull this off. Although I like the idea, I just don't see it happening. What he should have said was that his summit will be efficient, safe and have no unnecessary cost in it. Now I think if Sarkozy maybe does not want this to end up as controversy next year he should maybe restate his position. Now I think summits do have to have a lot of money on security I just don't support fake lakes that cost 2 million dollars and other pork barrel spending.

A reporter who scrambled to the microphone asked whether French citizens should brace themselves for a similar summit tab as Canada, which is expected to pay out more than $1-billion to host the G8 in Muskoka and the G20 in Toronto this weekend.

As for the French G8/G20, even though I can’t confirm the Canadian numbers, they will be ten times less. Exactly.”

Read more at the Globe and Mail.

Go! Canada Go!

Old news: Iran has been accused of getting nuclear weapons. The UN has imposed multiple sanctions on Iran, and now Canada has imposed sanctions to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. I have said that Iran should be pressured by the international community to not build weapons of mass destruction. Now it is happening. So I am congratulating the UN, Canada, U.S , and all other countries for doing this. We must make sure that no new countries get nuclear weapons, and that countries that have threaten our allies do not get weapons.  

On June 9, the UN passed a resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions against Iran that was approved by a final tally of 12 "yes" votes, two "no" votes, from Brazil and Turkey, and one abstention, from Lebanon.

Canada demands that Iran fully co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency by suspending its enrichment activities, as well as engage in a constructive dialogue with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States with a view to reaching a diplomatic solution as soon as possible, Cannon said.

Read more at CBC.

Fire Away!

An MP from Calgary wrote on a card for Canadian troops, "When in doubt, pull the trigger." What a good attitude to the war in Afghanistan. The Conservative MP says that this expression is common in military use and means keep safe and to defend yourself. I actually believe him. However, I do think he could have used different words to express what he means. There is no need to offend people for no reason. He might need to make a few apologies, and that is fine. This MP wished well for the troops just as we all do. This should nevertheless be a lesson to others. Think before speaking, writing or expressing yourself in public.

Controversial Calgary West member of Parliament Rob Anders is coming under fire for a well-wishing note he left for Canadian troops that says: "When in doubt, pull the trigger."

A Christian group, El Shafie Ministries, asked if a large "Support Our Troops" card could be placed in the House of Commons lobbies for MPs to sign in Ottawa -- a request agreed to by the Conservatives and opposition parties.

Read more at the National Post.

Rand Paul for once I agree with you

You may all know about how I have mentioned how I disagree with Rand Paul on some issues, but here is one me and him are in agreement. He said that he wants to stop the law that would allow the illegal immigrants children who are born in the U.S citizenship. The current law in the U.S is that if you are born there you have citizenship, but if there was an illegal immigrant who came in the U.S then had a baby born in the U.S that baby would have citizenship. This is not fair how a baby can get become a citizen of a country, because his mom broke the law, and went into the U.S. This is not correct , and it encourages people to illegally immigrate so their baby can legally be a citizen.

"We are the only country I know of that allows people to come in illegally, have a baby, and then that baby becomes a citizen," Paul said. "And I think that should stop also."

Legislation referred to as the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009, a bill that has 91 co-sponsors, would modify the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent U.S. citizenship for individuals born to undocumented immigrants

read more here

Tea Party leader rasict

The tea party leader, Mark Williams blogged about a new mosque, and a new Islamic cultural center near ground zero. He said the mosque would be a place where the Muslims would pray to there "terrorists monkey-god." I think this is racist for him to say such a thing about another religion and for trying to make the connection between Islam and terrorism is just horrific. I think we can all agree that Mark Williams should apologize, but he sent an email to the media saying that he wasn't sorry. He even said that he meant to connect terrorism and Islam. Mark is setting a bad example for the tea party, and I can speak for many people when saying that racism should have no part in a democratic country.

"The monument would consist of a Mosque for the worship of the terrorists' monkey-god," Williams, a frequent guest on CNN, wrote on his Web site

In an e-mail to the Daily News, Williams was unapologetic - saying his comments were specifically aimed at the terrorists, which he described as "the animals of Allah."

Read more at the Daily News.

The Compromise

All political parties in Parliament have reached a decision regarding the Afghan detainee documents. There will be a committee of MPs from all four parties reviewing the uncensored documents to decide which of them other MPs and the public should view. Personally, I don't think we should have come to a compromise. I don't think Harper is willing to go to the polls right now. He would have had to hand over all the documents. Now, this compromise is fine, I just think that we, the public, should be able to get the full uncensored documents. I hope we won't have any more black pages.

OTTAWA—A last-minute deal on the release of Afghan detainee documents has been reached by government and opposition MPs.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson tabled the agreement in the House of Commons, saying it will allow a committee of MPs from all four parties to review documents in their “unredacted” or uncensored form, to determine whether they are relevant to a Parliamentary investigation into the treatment of detainees handed over to Afghan authorities.

 Read more at the Toronto Star.
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Nuclear treaty signed

Both countries (US and Russia) have now decided to reduce their nuclear weapons. There are some loopholes to this disarmament treaty. Such as how countries can modernize their weapons, and that boomers who have 20 nuclear weapons they use to count as 10 bombs, but now they count as 1 so the number will look smaller than it actually will be. I think that this treaty is a step in the right directions, but these loopholes I think should be closed. I do still think this treaty is much better than the cold relationship Moscow had with Washington during the Bush years. this is a step in the right direction, and I hope not just Russia and the U.S, but the entire world will get ride of their nuclear weapons, and eventually the threat of a nuclear war ending the world will end. This would also apply to Iran who should be pressured by the international community to not seek nuclear arms, and the same goes for North Korea.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,688173,00.html

Collateral Murder

A web page called "Wikileaks" has released a video (actually two) showing US troops gunning down innocent civilians including two journalists who worked for Reuters. This video shows a lot that the military didn't say how the journalists were killed and said they did not know how children were injured. All lies. These two videos show that the military could have found out who they hit. If some smart guys running Wikileaks could do it, I'm sure the US Army, with all their hi-tech equipment could have pinpointed a grape in the destruction if they wanted to. The point is that incidents can be covered up. Soldiers aren't angels. And investigating incidents like this, can lead to the truth. Investigating incidents like this or demanding access to incidents like these doesn't mean that we don't support the troops. All we want is the truth. The cold hard truth whether it's supportive of our soldiers or not. Is that too much to ask of our government? Therefore, I demand the release of the full uncensored Afghan detainee documents. In other words, I want the truth. Now.
Warning: the videos might be disturbing for some viewers.

Short Version


Long Version


http://www.collateralmurder.com/

Worried Troops

Now about the contents of the documents. They show that our soldiers in Afghanistan were worried about the treatment of detainees. In fact, one soldier reports that the Afghan police/army took a detainee and for all of our and his knowledge, killed him. However, there was very little follow up on any of these observations. Therefore, the comments were deemed unfounded. While our own troops were worried about the treatment of prisoners, the opposition MPs were too. By just inquiring about the detainees, they were submitted to an onslaught of accusations that they were attacking our soldiers. But, our soldiers were also worried and inquiring about the treatment of prisoners. So according to the Conservatives, the soldiers were attacking themselves. Again, great arguments from the great Tories.

All of the incidents are deemed unfounded by military investigators, but the documents also show a disturbing trend of front-line soldiers and senior military officials keeping their own police investigators in the dark and even threatening them at a time when sensitivity to how Canadians treat and handle their Afghan detainees was at its highest.

Read about it at The Toronto Star

Thud!!!!

The sound of 2,500 pages falling on the Speaker's desk. His office now needs to photocopy those thousands of pages for the opposition MPs. It came in a cardboard box with no warning at all. These heavily censored documents were released by the Tories to try to avoid three of their ministers being in contempt of Parliament. This action actually shows more contempt. They just dumped a pile of documents on the Speaker's office. This kept the opposition MPs and journalists waiting for hours for photocopies. Stephen Harper calls himself a strong leader. Well, it's time he became more responsible.

"I have to say it's a sad day when members of Parliament request information and they are treated in such a contemptuous fashion by the government," New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton told the Commons. While MPs have been fighting for several months for access to uncensored documents, they wound up with "a pile of censored documents" produced without notice or ceremony.

Also, the documents were not translated into French, one of Canada’s official languages. Well, It would certainly make life easier for francophone MPs to read in French. Another display of irresponsibility.

Holding up a page that was completed blacked out, Bloc MP Claude Bachand mocked the government's request for unanimous consent for tabling the documents because they are not translated into both official languages. How long would a blank page take to translate, he wondered.

This is a complete political move meant to quiet the opposition. The Conservatives want to say, “We’ve done everything we have to do. Now shut your mouths!” It will not work. This display of total disregard is disgusting. And the Tories say that releasing documents in this manner will  continue to be done. So, the MPs will continue to wait in line for their photocopies. And imagine, that’s not in an airport.
You can read about the new releases at the CBC, the National Post, the Toronto Star and two articles at the Globe and Mail, here and here.

Tory Tantrum #2

Sounds familiar? This time it was Veteran Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn. He tried to carry a bottle of tequila onto a plane at Ottawa’s airport on February. Most of us probably know that we are not allowed any liquid or gels in carry-ons. And this was alcoholic. He proceeded to demand that the security guards destroy the bottle; as if he thought that somebody else was going to drink it. He and the guards started arguing and at a point, security almost called the police. Why do these Conservatives think they are above the law? They say they are tough on crime, but the Tories expect preferential treatment over others. There is no need for Harper’s cronies to get special treatment over the rest of Canadians who willingly abide by the law. Maybe I should open a whole new label for Tory Tantrums...

According to CTV, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn had a bit of a temper tantrum when airport security would not let him carry a bottle of the Mexican fire-water onto the plane at the Ottawa airport in February.
When security guards told him he could not carry the bottle on to the flight, CTV reports, he demanded they empty its contents in his presence. The network says the argument became so heated that security almost called the police.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100318/minister_airport_100318/20100318?hub=Canada

Documents, Now!

Liberal MPs and Bloc MPs are calling on the speaker to rule that basically, the government must release the documents on on Afghan detainees. Good for the opposition. We are moving forward and hopefully past the Tory censors. We will find out the truth and nothing but the truth. But only if the speaker accepts the motion, will their be victory for us.

Liberal MP Derek Lee, NDP defence critic Jack Harris and Bloc Québécois MP Claude Bachand argued in the House on Thursday morning that the Conservatives' refusal to abide by a House order to hand over the documents flies in the face of parliamentary rights and traditions.
"If we don't stand up, efforts to undermine our constitution will have succeeded," Lee said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/03/18/parliament-afghan-detainee-documents.html?ref=rss#ixzz0iYZA23hN