Unreal exchange in House of Commons over Canada’s involvement in Iraq -Global


I am not sure how long Global keeps its video links, but this really is a must see. Regardless of where one stands on the issue of Canada’s involvement in the current Iraq crisis, or on Canada’s relationship with Israel, this not the way to have an intelligent debate on an important policy issue.




Despite the tears, its not much of an apology. He did not promise not to do it again.

US, Iran woo rival Kurdish factions in battle against IS -al Monitor


Interesting and fairly detailed discussion of how Iran has been supporting one part of the Kurdish ruling coalition (the PUK) while the US has supported the other (the KDP). This could be a stable arrangement, allowing the US and Iran de facto cooperation without formal coordination. Iran’s relationship with the PUK predates the current crisis, while the KDP has had better relations with Turkey, so the divergence is nothing new. The test will come if Iran and the US start having different preferences on the ground, and start pulling the KRG in different directions.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/peshmerga-iraq-iran-kurd-isis-krg.html?utm_source=Al-Monitor+Newsletter+%5BEnglish%5D&utm_campaign=9179ba8ea5-September_23_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_28264b27a0-9179ba8ea5-93109553#ixzz3E9kd0R4o








RCMP using new measures to stop ‘high-risk travellers’ -Globe and Mail


“The threat of homegrown terrorism isn’t new, but the manner in which the RCMP zeroed in on this couple represents a fresh gambit in the fight to identify and stop prospective terrorist recruits before they leave Canada. These techniques, which have attracted the ire of civil liberties advocates, are being deployed amid a growing sense of urgency: Officials are warning that more than 100 Canadians are suspected of involvement in terrorism activities around the world.”


Troubling in a bunch of different ways. Western youth being drawn to Islamic radicalism did not start with ISIS and will not end with ISIS. So the Canadian legal system will have to develop a mechanism for dealing with the problem, but arbitrarily using passport laws to restrict the movement of “high-risk” individuals seems like a recipe for disaster to me. The media portrayal of the issue is also disturbing. It’s taking on a bit of a “reefer madness” tone, with stories of fresh faced kids being lured by the evils of extremism and violence. Like this one: