Mid-Week Post

Fall is coming just as surely as this puppy will chew slippers.

I thought generals were supposed to be astute:

A retired Canadian general who hopes to be elected as a Liberal MP next year believes Israel's military forces fired "indiscriminately" on Palestinian women and children in the recent Hamas-Israel conflict.

"Casualties are caused by the Israelis using very heavy weapons systems, firing indiscriminately onto Palestinian women and children," Andrew Leslie said at an event on Aug. 19.

Leslie, who plays a key role as co-chair of a group of international affairs advisers to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, made the comment as part of an extended response to questions from a woman who attended a roundtable on veterans issues he hosted in Ottawa-Orleans, the riding in which he hopes to become the next Liberal candidate. ...

eslie started off by saying every nation has the right to defend itself and his remarks should be seen in that context. "Keep that as a thought bubble."

A few minutes later, though, he criticizes the Israeli government for strategic failures and the Israel Defence Forces for killing Palestinian civilians.

"The Palestinian people are not the enemy. Hamas, absolutely.

"You're talking to a guy who has hunted terrorists for quite some time. You gotta kill them? You gotta kill them. Hey, I've got no problems with that. But Palestinian women and children who are taking refuge in UN-designated compounds? Come on. 'Oh, it was an accident.' Sorry doesn't matter to anyone. Shooting dumb artillery close to children is dumb."

On Tuesday, Leslie said: "The totality of my comments are balanced and I have nothing additional to add."

Has he thought this through? The IDF sent warnings prior to any bombing. Did Mr. Leslie miss the reports of Hamas using human shields? In his experience, has he seen other war zones where UN buildings were used by the enemy? Perhaps he would be so good as to enlighten the electorate where and when and what the military solution to that would be?

This is the government Liberal voters want.


Moving on...


Once again, the man without a plan speaks out of an orifice never meant for human speech:

"We know that if we are joined by the international community, we can continue to shrink ISILl's sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point  where it is a manageable problem," said Obama.

"And the question is going to be making sure we've got the right strategy but also making sure we've got the international will to do it. This is something that is a continuation of  a problem we've seen certainly since 9/11, but before and it continues to metastasize in different ways. And what we've got to do is make sure that we are organizing the Arab world, the Middle East, the Muslim world, along with the internationl community to isolate this cancer.

"This particular brand of extremism that is first and foremost destructive to the Muslim world and the Arab World and North Africa and the people who live there. They're the ones who are most severly affected. They're the ones who are constantly under threat of being killed. They're the ones whose econimies are completely upended to the point where they can't produce their own food and they can't produce the kinds of goods and services to sell in the world marketplace.

"And they're falling behind because of this very small and narrow but very dangerous segment of the population. And we've got to combat it in a sustained, effective way. And I'm confident we're going to be able to do that."

Manageable? Why not dead? Why not do it yourself, Obama?

Nothing in his little speech indicated that he had a plan or that he would be at the opposing forefront of what is clearly a genocidal campaign from a ruthless, well-funded and ever-swelling band of bloodthirsty murderers. What exactly is he confident of? That someone else will take the lead so he can continue golfing? He won't even mention the chief victims of this ethnic cleansing. He won't. Obama isn't just weak and lazy; he is sympathetic to the cause of Islamism.

Also:

Lashing out at Russia, President Barack Obama on Wednesday cast Moscow's aggression in Ukraine as a threat to peace in Europe. He vigorously vowed to come to the defence of NATO allies that fear they could be Vladimir Putin's next target.

Yeah, sure, whatever. Transmit that to Putin, Obama.


No time to be cheap, Harper:

Canada will take further action to combat the rising threat of Islamic extremism in the Middle East, but it will only do within the confines of a sensible, frugal budget, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday.

Oh, for the love of pie, Steve! Go long!


"Leery?" As well he should be:

Accompanied by two of his political rivals, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird slipped quietly Wednesday into one of the world's most dangerous countries, where he declared Canada would stand by the people of Iraq. ...

But Baird was unwilling to cut neighbouring Iran any slack, despite that country's stated opposition to ISIL's advance and recent signals that it's willing to work with the U.S. and its allies. Canada still lists Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.

"Obviously we have a very different view when it comes to the government of Tehran," Baird said. "It could suspend its considerable support to terrorist organizations not just around the region, but around the world."

More on Steven Sotloff:

As President Obama confirmed the authenticity of the video showing the execution of journalist Steven Sotloff by ISIL, an Israeli spokesman revealed that Sotloff held dual American-Israeli citizenship.

Obama let his own ambassador die. He has verbally attacked Israel when it enraged him. Rest assured, this murder will go on the backburner. 


And now, the Adventures of Curious George Washington. Enjoy.