The Geneva convention does not apply

Modern warefare in the West will never be the battle between two states again; it looks like it will be conflict between non state organizations and states like Israel and the U.S. This picture sums it up nicely, and I encourage you to go read the article.

Clearly the Geneva convention does not apply to this modern conflict, since targeting civilians and hiding among civilians is clearly prohibited.

Many US conservatives, most notably Newt Gingrich, is calling the modern war on terror World War III - this conflict between extreme Islam and Western nations anywhere. They feel this is the great conflict of our age, even if we are only now waking up to it.

Extreme Islam cannot be appeased or negotiated with, because we have nothing they want. It's either we win, or they keep trying to. They can't militarily of course, but they can demoralize us and wait until they are the dominant population.

Now that's a scary thought.

UK high court rejects gay marriage

This one hasn't received too much press, has it? Two Canadian women were married here in Canada, and then went over to the UK and asked the courts to recognize their marriage, saying their human rights had been violated.

Mark Potter, president of the High Court's Family Division, ruled there was a "long-standing definition and acceptance" that marriage refers to a relationship between a man and a woman, primarily designed to raise children.

"To accord a same-sex relationship the title and status of marriage would be to fly in the face of the (European) Convention (on Human Rights) as well as to fail to recognize physical reality," Potter said.

"The belief that this form of relationship is the one which best encourages stability in a well-regulated society is not a disreputable or outmoded notion...," Potter said.

So he used the Convention on Human Rights to justify the decision. Interesting, isn't it? Europe rarely leads in this kind of policy area, but this is a very welcome development.

mideast war redux

An interesting but brief analysis of how we got to where we are in the Mideast.  Miscalculation, retaliation, and a changing climate...

Wars just aren't fought the same way any more

The Israeli army is calling people before it bombs their homes in Gaza.

it takes a villiage

Or in our case, it takes the government - to bring the Rolling Stones that is. Check this sponsorship list out:

$270,000 - Sasktel
$225,000 - Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation
$300,000 - City of Regina, and Prov. Government
$800,000

Harper is alright

Don Martin thinks so anyway, saying that he has emerged unscathed from the latest stuff in the middle east and the trouble evacuating all of those dual citizenship Canadians from Lebanon.

I agree with most of the analysis - Harper is showing decisive leadership that most Canadians can respect, and his stance may hurt him slightly in Quebec where Israel is (surprise) unpopular.

For the most part it has been a very good half year for the Harper Conservatives - solid on policy (except maybe taxes), the Liberals are in disarray (Volpe, Volpe...), and things are strong and stable at home. If we can get gas prices and income taxes down he will be very, very popular. With me anyway!

The wrong move in Afghanistan

Karzai has approved the recreation of the The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice - the taliban era ministry that was responsible for beating men when their beards weren't long enough, or women when they weren't accompanied by a male relative. This is a step backward, and should be widely protested and rejected.

Volpe for PM

It just gets more and more bizarre. Time to face facts, kids (and I mean that literelly, with all those underage donors out there). Joe's done. Been done for a while. Never had a chance actually.

I'm back!

If anyone is still out there - I'm back! Vacation was awesome, in case you are wondering. Enough of that. Here's a great article outlining the short history of the recent violence in the middle east. Really worth reading.

And here's another, by the same author.