Huron Expositor, 2006-08-30, Page 4Opinion
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Page 4 August 30, 2006 • The Huron Expositor
4.
Fditori i1
Prime : s p • en Harper's ongoing refusal
to open up the issue of Canada's role in
Afghanistan to proper debate in the House of
Commons is becoming less and less acceptable to
Canadians.
Instead, Harper seems to be employing the tac-
tics honed by leaders before him by either accusing
or insinuating those who question the effort as hav-
ing less than noble intentions.
Fortunately, Harper has not gone so far as U.S.
President George Bush Jr. who repeatedly ques-
tioning the character of those who question the
Afghanistan mission. But, Harper is not addressing
the issue either.
Recent media reports reveal the Prime Minister's
Office has received thousands of letters from ordi-
nary Canadians, pleading for ail end to Canada's
involvement in Afghanistan. Given the fact most of
those are Canadians acting on their own, and are
not being organized by any one lobbying group, it is
easy to discern the public is less than keen on the
seemingly never-ending Afghanistan mission.
It's true Canada did the right. thing when it
stepped up following the terrorist -driven attacks on
the eastern U.S. seaboard on Sept. 11, 2001.
But, times have changed. It is interesting to note--
that
ote-that the U.S. has called off its search for Osama
Bin Laden.
As Canadian servicemen and women continue to
fight, with what is often called inadequate equip-
ment, and some are killed in the line of duty, it is
important and necessary for the country's leaders
to justify why Canadians are there in the first:
place.
Anything less pays a disservice to the men and
women in funiform who were ostensibly sent there
on a peacebuilding mission : but are finding ing them-
selves in an ever-increasing hostile environment
In the interim,'Cana is timing in a capaei
ty that has .drasti€call
on Afghanistan's soil
Simply put, Canada no ave = ' e resources
-- or the will -- to go to war with terrorists.
As history has shown, Afghanistan is not inclined
to become a democracy, and democracy, as a rule,
cannot be forced upon a country.
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straddle the paths
of journalism and academics
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is essentially this: to gath-
er .information, condense
it, and put it into lan-
guage almost anyone can
understand.
Those of us who study
literature . at the universi-
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sion.
As someone fortunate enough to be a jour-
nalist during the summer months and a stu-
dent of history and English the other eight
months of the year, I strad-
dle two worlds. Many col-
lege and university stu-
dents would tell you they
do the same thing.:
A student's life is
essentially this: moving
from one rut to another,
then back again, every few
months.
What I should have
said by now is this: the rut I've been . in since
summer began is one I'm sorry to leave
behind. .
You haven't seen much of me this summer,
but as a reporter roving between four differ-
ent community newspapers, I have been
extraordinarily blessed.
Over the past four months, I have inter-
viewed the new head scout of the Pittsburgh
Penguins, Ontario NDP leader Howard
Hampton, and a hundred important local fig-
ures : whom I would likelynever spoken to-
otherwise.
My stint at the Whitton Echo found me in
the middle of the taping of an upcoming
Discovery Channel television show.
In brief stints in Seaforth and Mitchell, I
spoke to accomplished athletes, inspiring
agriculturalists and ambitious community
activists.
In Clinton 'I made small talk with a mem-
ber of the provincial government, interviewed
a tremendously talented group of high school
students who produced one of the best pod
Set) I'M, Page 6
Ron & Dave
1.Where'd you get the model?
I Joined a club at that new
church, and we build model
airplanes every week)
•
We just sing a few hymns,
and they give us these
models to build)
They can't do thatl That's
BRIBERY, in exchange for
religious indoctrinationl
by David Lacey
It's got retractable
landing gears
How many hymns do
you have to sing?
4
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