Daily Digest November 4, 2008

The DAILY DIGEST: INFORMATION and OPINION from ST. JOHN'S to VICTORIA.
ARCHIVED at http://cdndailydigest.blogspot.com/

EDITORIAL PAGEs

ST.JOHN'S TELEGRAM -
Will that be cash or cheque?

CHARLOTTETOWN GUARDIAN -
A health hint for Island women
There's simply no good reason for Island women to pass on the availability of Pap screening.

CAPE BRETON POST -
Younger voting back on table
http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=186383&sc=151

HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD -
DOWNTURN BUDGETING

AMHERST DAILY NEWS -
Food inspection should be priority

MONTREAL GAZETTE -
We wish our neighbours well - and a clear result 

Cut federal program spending before even thinking of a deficit  

OTTAWA SUN -
Welcome to the land of the have-nots

KINGSTON WHIG STANDARD-
OBAMA AND AFGHANISTAN

BELLEVILLE INTELLIGENCER -
Christian Church lives by God's word, even on homosexuality

Now is the time to give blood

TORONTO STAR -
Ontario faces challenges

GLOBE & MAIL -
No stigma in have-not statusComment18
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081103.weequalization04/BNStory/specialComment/home

Toward a real alternative
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081103.weSouthafrica04/BNStory/specialComment/home

Salmon and whales
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081103.weWhales04/BNStory/specialComment/home

TORONTO SUN -

Time to pass the hat for Ontario

HAMILTON SPECTATOR -
Obama is best for U.S., world

SUDBURY STAR -
Today's vote is about hope

WINNIPEG SUN -
Going after the 'skippers'

CALGARY HERALD -
Time to stun Taser use

Premier needs to deliver plan that will restore hope

Atheism is a belief system too -- should it be protected?

CALGARY SUN -
Dig a little deeper for a poppy

EDMONTON JOURNAL -
Paper ballots the cutting edge?

Art gallery feud restarts war with feds

Comparisons to the Great Depression are meaningless

EDMONTON SUN -
Burdens facing new president are immense
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Commentary/2008/11/04/7295496.html
 

ISSUES

AFGHANISTAN -
Royal Marines strike at Taliban stronghold
http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Royal-Marines-strike-Taliban-stronghold/article-447157-detail/article.html

Nato denies Afghan election claim
BBC (11/04/2008)

Afghan tales: Conflict and chaos
Reuters (11/04/2008)

Taliban Two-Step: Can't Sit Down Yet
Newsweek (11/03/2008)

U.S. war aims in Afghanistan grow doubtful
Reuters (11/03/2008)

Taliban to US: There is nothing to talk about
Asian Age (11/03/2008)

Afghan govt not capable of delivering: Obama
Pajhwok (11/03/2008)

Trying to reach the Taliban
Globe and Mail (11/03/2008)

Afghanistan negotiations 'very difficult': British PM
AFP (11/03/2008)

Increasing kidnapping cases worsen Afghanistan's already chaotic situation
Xinhua (11/03/2008)

Push to delay next year's presidential election
FT.com (11/03/2008)


CANADIAN FORCES
Cross-continent vigil revives stories of fallen soldiers

DND puts up cash to study brain damage
National Defence is grappling to better understand the phenomenon of "blast injuries" suffered by soldiers in Afghanistan. 

Canadians finally return to Afghan base after heavy fighting in nearby province
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081104/national/afghan_cda_battle

Fiscal crisis raises spectre of defence cuts

NATYNCZYK SAYS 2011 PULLOUT DATE HAS NO IMPACT ON THE TROOPS
http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/defencewatch/archive/2008/11/04/natynczyk-says-2011-pullout-date-has-no-impact-on-the-troops.aspx


CANUSA/USACAN
Plenty of pressing matters await next president

An American litmus test for Canada Travers:  MORE...

What U. S. election outcome implies Francis: .. MORE...

The 'better angels' of the American character Jeffery Simpson:  MORE...

Obama knows where the money is Cohn:  MORE...

Obama's leading, but never count out McCain Worthington: . MORE...

Military sees Obama as key to victory in Afghanistan Saunders: . MORE...

Proud to be American once again Wente: MORE...

Completing the American Project J. Kay: . MORE...

Obama backs unfair labelling law Waugh: O MORE...

Regardless of the outcome of today's vote, the U.S. is a changed country

Observers unsure of poll accuracy in U.S. race

Hope for Accountability in an Obama Administration


ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Manufacturers ask government to guarantee loans

Industry groups call for economic rescue plan

Industry pleads for help to ease 'crisis'


FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Middle East awaits next American president
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/westview/story/4245446p-4888507c.html

Pakistan's dress-rehearsal should scare the US
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/bronwen_maddox/article5076442.ece


HEALTH CARE RELATED
Health care as 'religion' must end: CMA chief

Fake IDs used to defraud health system

Delay food inspection deregulation, union urges

Listeria recall costs Maple Leaf Foods millions

Listeria recall expanded in Atlantic Canada

Quebec-made roast beef is recalled over listeria concerns

Impossible to eliminate listeria in meat plants, maple leaf CEO says

Chinese-made chocolate coins recalled

Food agency orders review of listeria tests

Chinese cookies recalled in Canada over melamine fears

POLITICS IN THE PROVINCES
Ontario got here all by itself Ivison: MORE...

Welcome to the land of the have-nots Goldstein:  . MORE...

Have-not Ontario faces challenges

Ontario wants auto aid

Ottawa 'clued out' on Ontario's challenges: Duncan

Ont.'s have-not status sees critics blast province which, in turn, targets Ottawa

Ontario becomes a pauper in a broken system Campbell: MORE...

Panic time for NDP Brodbeck:  MORE...

Quebec economic update sets stage for election

Newfoundland wary after rout of local Tory MPs


PARTY POLITICS



POLITICAL OPINION -
Whither Peter Milliken?

Manley won't run for Liberal leadership

Committees set for shakeup

Speakers move to handcuff budget officer

MacKay to Williams: Put lid on it

Equalization – Ottawa will transfer less to Quebec next year

Ontario's now 'have-not,' but for how long?

Election victors, vanquished cope with government transition

Lauzon chosen as caucus chairman

Everyone pointing fingers in battle over who should pay cost overruns

Lost document more sensitive than Baird indicated, expert says


PRESSURE POINTS
Canada near bottom of environmental standings


OPINION AND INFORMATION
History clear about 'savages'

A time bomb for the next president

A dangerous profession of faith

Media beware, the offended just might yell back

The Death of the Anbar Militia Strategy in Afghanistan
http://easterncampaign.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/the-death-of-the-anbar-militia-strategy-in-afghanistan/


INFOS 
Manley ne sera pas candidat
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/dossiers/succession-de-dion/200811/04/01-36072-manley-ne-sera-pas-candidat.php

Le chef libéral annonce des nominations parlementaires
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081103/N110340AU.html

L'Ontario recevra des paiements de péréquation de 347 millions $ en 2009
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081103/N1103168AU.html

Péréquation - Ottawa versera moins au Québec l'an prochain
http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/11/04/214066.html

Une privatisation dénoncée
http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/National/2008/11/03/002-dereglementation-aliments.shtml

Michael Wilson optimiste
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/atlantique/2008/11/03/003-NE-ambassadeur_n.shtml

BELOW(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)

http://www.commondreams.org/

From: "Craig Brown, CommonDreams.org" <commondreams@mail.democracyinaction.org>
Subject: Election Returns: The Whole World Is Watching

 

November 4, 2008

Dear Friend of Common Dreams.org

The whole world is watching.



You are cordially invited to join us tonight at CommonDreams.org to watch with us as the election results come in.

We have partnered with DemocracyNow! to provide a special, 5-hour live broadcast as this historic night unfolds. Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill will host the broadcast from 7pm ET until 12 midnight ET.

We will also provide a map with state-by-state live results. And we've compiled links to every states official results so that you can track local races, referendums and national results at the local level.

Please join us for the best progressive election coverage of this important night.

In hope,

«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»

From: "Rebecca Gingrich"
Subject: Is this a warning Canada should take seriously?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21150.htm

                      The End of International Law?

By Robert Dreyfuss

November 04, 2008 - -"The Nation" -- -10/28/2008 -- A parallel new Bush
doctrine is emerging, in the last days of the soon-to-be-ancien regime, and
it needs to be strangled in its crib. Like the original Bush doctrine -- the
one that Sarah Palin couldn't name, which called for preventive military
action against emerging threats -- this one also casts international law
aside by insisting that the United States has an inherent right to cross
international borders in "hot pursuit" of anyone it doesn't like.

They're already applying it to Pakistan, and this week Syria was the target.
Is Iran next?

Let's take Pakistan first. Though a nominal ally, Pakistan has been the
subject of at least nineteen aerial attacks by CIA-controlled drone
aircraft, killing scores of Pakistanis and some Afghans in tribal areas
controlled by pro-Taliban forces. The New York Times listed, and mapped, all
nineteen such attacks in a recent piece describing Predator attacks across
the Afghan border, all since August. The Times notes that inside the
government, the U.S.Special Operations command and other advocates are
pushing for a more aggressive use of such units, including efforts to kidnap
and interrogate suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders. Though President
Bush signed an order in July allowing U.S. commando teams to move into
Pakistan itself, with or without Islamabad's permission, such raids have
occurred only once, on September 3.

The U.S. raid into Syria on October 26 similarly trampled on Syria's
sovereignty without so much as a fare-thee-well. Though the Pentagon
initially denied that the raid involved helicopters and on-the-ground
commando presence, that's exactly what happened. The attack reportedly
killed Badran Turki Hishan al-Mazidih, an Iraqi facilitator who smuggled
foreign fighters into Iraq through Syria. The Washington Post was ecstatic,
writing in an editorial:

"If Sunday's raid, which targeted a senior al-Qaeda operative, serves
only to put Mr. Assad on notice that the United States, too, is no longer
prepared to respect the sovereignty of a criminal regime, it will have been
worthwhile."

Is it really that easy? To say: We declare your regime criminal, and so we
will attack you anytime we care to? In its news report of the attack into
Syria, the Post suggests, in a report by Ann Scott Tyson and Ellen
Knickmeyer, that the attack is raising cross-border hot pursuit to the level
of a doctrine:

"The military's argument is that 'you can only claim sovereignty if you
enforce it,' said Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies. 'When you are dealing with states that
do not maintain their sovereignty and become a de facto sanctuary, the only
way you have to deal with them is this kind of operation,' he said."

The Times broadens the possible targets from Pakistan and Syria to Iran,
writing (in a page one story by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker):

"Administration officials declined to say whether the emerging
application of self-defense could lead to strikes against camps inside Iran
that have been used to train Shiite 'special groups' that have fought with
the American military and Iraqi security forces."

That, of course, has been a live option, especially since the start of the
surge in January, 2007, when President Bush promised to strike at Iranian
supply lines in Iraq and other U.S. officials, including Vice President
Cheney, pressed hard to attack sites within Iran, regardless of the
consequences.

On October 24, I went to hear Mike Vickers, the assistant secretary of
defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, speaking at the
Washington Institiute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israeli thinktank
in Washington. He spoke with pride about the vast and growing presence of
these commando forces within the U.S. military, noting that their budget has
doubled under the Bush administration and that, by the end of the decade,
their will more than 60,000 U.S. forces in this shadowy effort. Here are
some excerpts of Vickers' remarks:

"If you look at the operational core of our Special Operations Forces,
and focus on the ground operators, there are some 15,000 or so of those --
give or take how you count them -- these range from our Army Special Forces
or our Green Berets, our Rangers, our Seals, some classified units we have,
and we recently added a Marine Corps Special Operations Command to this
arsenal as well. In addition to adding the Marine component, each of these
elements since 2006 and out to about 2012 or 2013 has been increasing their
capacity as well as their capabilities, but their capacity by a third. This
is the largest growth in Special Operations Force history. By the time we're
done with that, there will be some things, some gaps we need to fix
undoubtedly, but we will have the elements in place for what we believe is
the Special Operations component of the global war on terrorism.

"Special Operations Forces, I think through this decade and into the
next one, have been and will remain a decisive strategic instrument. ...

"There's been a very significant -- about a 40 or 50 percent increase in
operational tempo and of course more intense in terms of the action since
the 9/11 attacks. On any given day that we wake up, our Special Operations
Forces are in some sixty countries around the world. But more than 80
percent or so of those right now are concentrated in the greater Middle East
or the United States Central Command area of responsibility -- the bulk of
those of course in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Notice what he said: operating in 60 countries.

Of course, the very invasion of Iraq was illegal in 2003, and it flouted
international law. So some may say, these cross-border raids are small
potatoes. But they're not. This is a big deal. If it becomes a standard part
of U.S. military doctrine that any country can be declared "criminal" and
thus lose its sovereignty, then there is no such thing as international law
anymore.

When Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked about this, here's what he
said, as quoted in the Post article cited earlier:

"'We will do what is necessary to protect our troops,' Defense Secretary
Robert M. Gates said in Senate testimony last month, when asked about the
cross-border operations. Under questioning, Gates said that he was not an
expert in international law but that he assumed the State Department had
consulted such laws before the U.S. military was granted authority to make
such strikes."

Not an expert in international law? He'll leave it to the State Department?
And this is the guy that Barack Obama's advisers say ought to stay on at the
Pentagon under an Obama administration?

===================================
From: "Robert Ede"
To: torstar <lettertoed@thestar.ca>, Rae.B@parl.gc.ca, Raeb1@parl.gc.ca, Harper.S@parl.gc.ca
Subject: Bob Rae into All-the-Talents Cabinet (failing that the Lib. Leadership)

Dear Ed, 
re: Ontario gets equalization payments.
 
Surely no one other than Bob Rae has more experience in dealing with Ontario during a rocky economic/fiscal/monetary time.
 
No doubt, he has spent innumerable hours pondering what he'd do differently if he could 'do over' 1990-1995.
 
I'd say, our twice-minority-in-spite-of no-real-opposition PM could do with some help in this critical period since he has not demonstrated a resonance with or from Ontario.
 
Canadians could benefit from a government formed with ALL the Talents in the assemblies (not just some) and perhaps this broader  perspective would help spur the engine of Canada back from have-not status.
 
Tough times have bred similar solutions - the name comes from Grenville's 1806 English cabinet, Churchill had a WWII coalition and we've had the Grand Coalition (headed by MacDonald-Tache) leading to Confederation and a pre-war 1917 Union government with Laurier-Borden in 1917).
 
Failing Mr Harper's offer, the Liberals should give him a go as Leader, provided he runs as the Champion of 1) Canada's 3 biggest cities, 2) once-industrial central Canada (southern ON & PQ) and 3) taxpaying, resident citizens (all three or nothing) irrespective of where they reside.
--
Robert (Rob) Ede,
Thornhill, ON

===================================