Iraq Debate: The Center Of Gravitas Shifts

...to Jean Chretien.  Mind you, I'm not particularly set in my opinions re Canada's contribution to the fight against ISIS.  These thoughts still apply, more so, perhaps, now that the tide seems to have turned in Kobani.  But JC's main point, that there are more roles to be played in this situation beyond bomb-lobbing, and that being among the bomb-lobbers now may preclude taking up certain other roles later, is a sound one.  It's is certainly nice to hear an adult voice in this debate, rather than kooks like Terry Glavin, who seems to be dabbling a bit heavy in some kind testosterone replacement therapy.

Another Shoe Drops In Northern Gateway Debate

Following Bob Rae's somewhat watered down but nevertheless not bad interjection yesterday, the NDP brings a bit more rhetorical muscle:

OTTAWA -- If the independent review panel studying Enbridge's Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline proposal gives its OK to the project, the interim leader of the federal NDP says that still wouldn't settle the matter for her.

If both Bob Rae speaking yesterday in Vancouver and Turmel speaking today are trashing the pipeline, then you know somebody has whispered into their ear that its good politics.

And by the way the secret weapons in the anti-NGP fight aren't the First Nations or hippy enviro types from California.  They are the weird, homegrown Left/Right amalgams that B.C. kicks up in times of trouble.  I'm thinking Rafe Mair, guys like Van Der Zalm in his latest anti-HST incarnation (remember: his policies may have been far right but his 60's side-burns were left of Neil Young) and, most significantly these days, Terry Glavin.  Thank Gawd the pointless Afghan Mission is winding down, because Terry can quit bashing all us folks who knew that both it and the Iraq War were going to be a gigantic bloody waste of time, and turn his considerable talents for invective and outrage in a more useful direction. When the tractors come, I expect he and Rafe will lie down in front of the first one, and rage agin' it together.

Terry Glavin Is Right:

...the detainee issue arose under Paul Martin's Liberal government. Presumably, this fact would be raised during the course of any hearings into the matter. It is, however, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper that prorogued parliament in order to avoid such hearings, and fled under the cover of darkness.

There's a distinction to be made here.