October 24, 2011, Surrey, BC and New York, NY - After successfully lodging a private torture prosecution with a British Columbia court against former U.S. president George W. Bush as he visited Surrey for a paid speaking engagement, four torture victims have had their pursuit of justice blocked by the attorney general of B.C.
Prominent Individuals and Organizations Sign on in Support
October 19, 2011, Surrey, BC - On Oct. 20, four individuals who allege they were tortured during George W. Bush's tenure as president of the United States will lodge a private prosecution in Provincial Court in Surrey, British Columbia, against the former president, who is due to visit Canada for a paid speaking engagement at the Surrey Regional Economic Summit on the same day. The four men will take this step after repeated calls to the Canadian attorney general to open a torture investigation of George Bush went unanswered. Human rights groups and prominent individuals will sign on in support of the effort.
About this dismal business of federal politics. The way I figure it, we're waiting for the Harper government to finally shoot itself in the head after shooting itself in the foot roughly every three months. We're also waiting for the Opposition Liberal party, which is already dead on the floor, to show signs of life.
In an inaugural address to 2,000 soldiers in the Ottawa Congress Centre in February 2005, Gen. Rick Hillier declared: "When Canadian troops go overseas, they expect sex." Within a split second, he corrected himself: "success."
It was clearly a slip of the tongue. But, according to someone who was there, it also fit the mood of the room. After years of feeling like an emasculated army of peacekeepers, Canadian soldiers finally had a real fighting man at their helm. No more girlie-man peacekeeping, boys! We're gonna make war!
The transformation of the Canadian military into a war-oriented force -- a partner in George W. Bush's freewheeling War on Terror -- was the product of the influential Hillier, with the backing of the Harper government.
When former U.S. president George W. Bush descended on the Regional Economic Summit in suburban Vancouver last October, there was, understandably, no shortage of protesters, pleas for indictments and cries of "war criminal." Left out of most news coverage as well as activist communiqués, however, was any focus on another former U.S. president who was tagging along, someone equally deserving of such protest but who seems, remarkably, to get off fairly lightly these days: Bill Clinton.
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2.jpg "David Climenhaga, author of the Alberta Diary blog, is a journalist, author, journalism teacher, poet and trade union communicator who has worked in senior writing and editing positions with the Toronto Globe and Mail and the Calgary Herald. His 1995 book, A Poke in the Public Eye, explores the relationships among Canadian journalists, public relations people and politicians. He left journalism after the strike at the Calgary Herald in 1999 and 2000 to work as Communications Director of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, which with more than 73,000 members is Alberta’s largest union and Canada’s 10th largest. Alberta Diary focuses on Alberta politics and social issues. Contact: albertadiary @ gmail.com")