Neil Kitson

There are only so many catastrophes a citizen can deal with. Canada’s election started off as a non-election based on The Strong Leadership of Stephen Harper, but as it turned out, Strong Leadership hadn’t counted on the environment being a hot button, which it was. Coincidentally, there occurred a global economic meltdown that Strong Leadership … Continue reading “Blind Spot: Afghanistan in Canada’s Federal Election”

Hunter Thompson employed a deranged Samoan attorney on his notorious Las Vegas run. My attorney is Hungarian rather than Samoan, but he is similarly deranged, his suitability for my purposes being his instinct for the jugular. I trust him implicitly. He’s advising me informally, as I can’t pay him what he’s actually worth. I need … Continue reading “Fear and Loathing in Vancouver”

In the barrage of words concerning Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, Lloyd Axworthy has a creditable track record. As president of the University of Winnipeg, Canada’s foreign affairs minister from 1996-2000, and architect of the Ottawa Convention banning land mines, Axworthy’s voice has been consistent, humane, and enlightened. Where does that get us? Lloyd has written … Continue reading “Talk Is Cheap – Do Something!”

Calgary’s weather is notoriously capricious, particularly this year, when horrendous snowfalls have occurred unseasonably. Meanwhile, Maxime "Mad Max" Bernier, Canada’s minister for foreign affairs and international trade, a loose-ish cannon who has already been in trouble for taking a scantily clad date to an official Ottawa ceremony, has put his foot in it again by … Continue reading “Calgary in Afghanistan: Snow Job in the Flush of Spring”

Matt asked me this question (Matt being Matthew Barganier, merciless editor at this Web site) in response to a draft rant from me about NATO’s role in Afghanistan. It’s a good question: what should NATO do in Afghanistan? Here’s my answer: (1) read the Globe and Mail, (2) take it to the streets. I don’t … Continue reading “‘What Should NATO Do?’”

So I’m waiting around for Robert Marleau to give me some information about Canadian prisoners in Afghanistan, having waited 14 months, the waiting likely to be longer now that I’ve posted a snotty letter to him about the delay, and I can’t help but notice the Manley Report. Actually, it almost doesn’t matter about my … Continue reading “The Quick and the Dead:
Eric Margolis and John Manley on Afghanistan”

Mr. Robert Marleau Information Commissioner of Canada Place de Ville, Tower B 112 Kent Street, 22nd Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3 Dear Mr. Marleau, I read with great admiration and (Canadian) pride your appeal for the government of Canada to pursue more open communications, honoring the spirit of the Access to Information Act, now 25 … Continue reading “The War of Fog: Canadian Prisoners in Afghanistan”

The Honorable John Manley Chairman, the Manley Committee Formerly, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada No Fixed Address Ottawa, Canada Dear Mr. Manley, Re: A public submission to your committee to advise Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Canada’s plan for Afghanistan. When the formation of your committee [.pdf] was announced at the end of October, there … Continue reading “Stephen Harper’s Index”