What is torture? According to the dictionary it is defined as: “The action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something. Great physical or mental suffering or anxiety.” With regards to torture, the 17th Article of the Geneva Conventions states: “No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not ...More »

Well, it’s done. The House of Representatives has voted 263-171 in favour of the $700 billion dollar bailout plan. Now that it’s over I suppose there’s one of two things that Americans can do. 1) Read today’s headlines and then carry on with their lives, which many will do given that they have their own daily survival to worry about. 2) Remain vigilant and make an effort to hold their representatives accountable if those on Wall Street that were responsible for the crisis eventually profit from it, ...More »

Congress will vote tomorrow whether to back a Senate revision to the proposed $700 billion dollar economic bailout package. The President, as always, continues to play the fear card, claiming that it is an issue that goes beyond Wall Street and that the House Of Representatives has a responsibility to average Americans to support the deal and thus instill a sense of stability. Of course, the House’s rejection of the initial bailout plan was very much aligned with public sentiment, something that the White House ...More »

The Prime Minister is asking that the upcoming debate’s full hour be devoted to the economy, obviously in response to the current crisis in the United States. The NDP is supporting the amendment. Something that should not escape anyone is the ability to use what is currently transpiring as a tool of political fear. President Bush attempted to cast the crisis in just such a light prior to Congress voting down the proposed bailout package, and he continues to do so. Of course, lost in ...More »

As Congress votes on the proposed bailout plan, the Dow Jones has fallen 600 points today, with oil dropping below $100 dollars a barrel. But rather than opine on the domestic causes for the crisis, I want to direct some attention to an article recently written by Chalmers Johnson entitled We Have the Money - If Only We Didn't Waste It on the Defense Budget that delves into a little discussed aspect of the current crisis… “There has been much moaning, air-sucking, and outrage about ...More »

... not even close. In fact I (and I would wager most Canadians) love the U.S., for so many reasons. In its history, The United States has produced many of the world's foremost musicians, authors, poets, actors, playwrights, athletes, politicians, scientists, post-secondary schools, et al. We as Canadians regularly enjoy the aforementioned for the fruits they bare in our lives everyday, in all aspects of our culture, whether we know it or not. So when I or any other Canadian write of the deeply flawed and ...More »

The headline reads Pakistan Fires On Nato Aircraft. Of course, that’s a bit of a stretch. The helicopters that were engaged by Pakistani forces today were American, and it’s not as if the United States hasn’t made its intentions clear with regards to conducting cross-border military incursions despite repeated warnings by the Pakistanis. The incident occurred along what is known as the Durand line, a stretch of disputed territory that both Pakistan and Afghanistan claim as their own. Of course, that doesn’t alter the fact that ...More »

There’s only one word for it, and I wish it were more eloquent, but clusterfuck is it. The US Presidential race has been hijacked by the financial crisis, there’s no questioning that. John McCain wants to delay the upcoming Presidential debate because of it and Obama doesn’t. How their disagreement will play out in the minds of voters is anyone’s guess. There is no doubt that the American public has been so consumed by fear over the last week and a half that delaying a ...More »

It’s happened twice in recent days – two US incursions into the Pakistani Province of Waziristan, both denied by the United States. The first involved two US helicopters that were, according to Pakistani sources, fired upon, and which returned to Afghan airspace without returning fire. The second incident involved a US drone that reportedly crashed in Southern Waziristan yesterday according to the Pakistani media. Despite the recent attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, the Pakistani government’s position regarding the sanctity of its sovereignty remains ...More »

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio’s 9th District lays it out on the floor of the House in plain English… And, for kicks, a video that you probably don't want to see. Just a hunch, but I don't think God wants to see it either. More »