Condrums, Causes and Coolness*

I'm more and more conflicted over Canada's military role in Afghanistan, less whether or not Canada should be involved than whether or not our tactics are making a difference. The cost in lives and money is worth it only if Canada is making a difference. Make no mistake - the Taliban are proponents of an ahistorical, monolithic and self-righteous Islamic sect that takes its justification from a literalistic interpretation of the Qu'ran so utterly devoid of context and perspective as to border on perversion. They systematically repress and oppress women and anyone who takes issue with their singular interpretation of Islam, which recokons - among other things - that paradise on earth was achieved in the 7th century. They are also, by large measure, Afghans - and for this reason, we need to find a better way to fight the resurgence of Talibanism than violence. Broad thinking is needed to address the problems that face Afghanistan, of which endemic, crushing poverty and scarcity of resources that afflict the largest part of the nation is only the most pressing. Poverty and lack of opportunity crush hope and breeds frustration. Pathological, dogmatic, violent movements like the Taliban feed on the frustrations and hopelessness of young men. Until some form of security and prosperity can be achieved in Afghanistan, no amount of military action will choke off the trickle of young man into the Taliban's fold. Unfortunately, it seems like Canada's gearing up for more of the same-old, same-old this spring, since the simplest thing that we could doom to improve security and prosperity in Afghanistan was to buy their poppies. In fact, the price of purchasing Afghanistan's poppy crop, which IIRC is worth $2 billion a year, is less than half of what Canada is spending on our battlegroup in Khandahar. Naturally, no one in government is seriously considering this options and NATO argues over whether or not to destroy this year's poppies while direly predicting the need for newer, bloodier offensives come spring, instead.

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It was a story I read in the Toronto Star about one soldier's rehab that started all this spinning in my brain this morning: "his body shattered in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan, Mike McTeague is winning the battle to heal." What particularly struck me was the response of his family and friends who responded to McTeague's wounds by creating the The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund to help support "all Canadian Forces members wounded on operations, at the outset of their healing process. The fund aims to improve the general morale and welfare of the soldiers and their families by working through first-line caregivers, medical staff, chaplains and assisting officers."

I plan to send them a cheque.

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In far less serious news, King Leonidas is exhorting my paperwork to stand and fight him, if it dares. Hawgirl is standing behind him to the left, looking formidably nonchalant, her morning star resting against one thigh, while Nightwing stands in his disco suit just infront and to the left of her, grinning - he doesn't seem to appreciate the potential gravity of the situation. Or he thinks Leonidas is crazy.

Could go either way at this point.

*Cool for a certain value of coolness.

The Kung-Fu Is Strong with the Monkey

Comic book writer, script writer and blogger, John Rogers, aka the Kung-Fu Monkey, has an excellent post today where he lays it all down regarding the recent flap involving a couple of bloggers hired by Senator Edwards' campaign.

I found myself nodding and adding an occassional "hell yeah" as I read Rogers' comments - particularly about Catholic League president Bill Donohue (making American Catholics look like flaming idiots since 1997). Donohue sees himself as a flaming sword of righteousness, defending embattled Catholics across the United States. As Rogers said, maybe if O'Donoghue works really hard a Catholic will one day be President of the United States...

Now maybe this is (yet another) Canadian thing but could someone explain to me how an institution that has lasted for 2,000 years and survived the assaults of (among other things) the Roman Empire, the Reformation and the Enlightenment (and seriously, you want Anti-Catholic propaganda, read Voltaire), should concern itself with the works of Kevin Smith?

(FTR, Canada's first Roman Catholic prime minister, Sir John Thompson, was elected in 1892 and Stephen Harper is the first Protestant elected Prime Minister of Canada in over a quarter of a century - and yet we still have gay marriage - the pope is rather consternated about the whole thing, too. But nobody tell Bill Donohue - he'd give himself a rupture trying to figure out who was oppressing who).