Not signing the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, as in the US? Or signing it and then failing to come anywhere close to meeting it, as in Canada?

All the Canadians who have vehemently criticized the US for not signing on might want to redirect a little of their criticism to our own government.

In June, 1972, South Vietnamese planes bombed a Vietnamese village with napalm and white phosphorus. A photographer named Nick Ut was nearby. The photograph he took of the burned and panicked young girl fleeing the explosions won him a Pulitzer Prize. It was a turning point in the public perception of the war in Vietnam.

Today, the controversy that started with the release of a documentary by Italian state television station RAI still rages. The video claims that US forces used white phosphorus (WP) to kill indiscriminately in the battle of Fallujah, showing footage of the burning phosphorus raining down on huge areas. It includes graphic photos of Iraqi civilians whose flesh had burned to the bone but whose clothing remained remarkably intact.

Following the release of the video, the US totally denied it had used WP in Iraq for anything besides illumination and for creating smoke screens, two widely-accepted uses of the chemical. The denials came from spokesmen for the military, American ambassadors and even the US State Department itself.

But it was true, and the US finally admitted it. Now they claim its use to kill in Fallujah was legal, because the US has signed but not ratified the most relevant international treaty on the use of WP and napalm in civilian areas.

Much of the media focus, especially in the US, has now moved to examining whether or not that legal argument holds water. But the US has shown that it does not care if its actions are legal or not: the war in Iraq, the endless detention of detainees without trial or charge, the secret prison sites, and the abuse, torture and murder of prisoners are all illegal, under international law and the laws of the US itself.

So the legality of using WP as a weapon, especially in civilian areas, is not the most important issue. The important issue is whether or not its use is right. The American government itself gave a telling clue when it denied using it from the beginning. Why deny doing something that is both legal and moral?

Because they know the facts, which speak for themselves. The American military unleashed an indiscriminate incendiary weapon with particularly brutal effects inside a densely populated city, with appalling consequences for the people living there. Examining what actually happened is more important than dusting off UN conventions or chemical weapons treaties. What actually happened is what’s driving the international outrage.

I think it’s time for a United Nations investigation into exactly what happened in that city.

To: Layton.J@parl.gc.ca
CC: Christopherson.D@parl.gc.ca
Re: commonsense compromise?

Dear Mr. Layton,

In the last election, I voted for David Christopherson in the riding of Hamilton Centre, Ontario. In spite of my continued respect for Mr. Christopherson, I now find myself wondering if my vote was a mistake.

Mr. Layton, allow me to ask you a simple question: how stupid do you think Canadians are?

Your website, in the section entitled Commonsense Compromise, describes in calm and reasonable tones the “compromise” the NDP has forged with your latest allies, the separatists and conservatives:

The NDP can put forward a common sense compromise that allows the election to proceed in an orderly, reasonable manner — and keep getting things done for people. That’s what Jack Layton outlined last week.

On Sunday, Canada’s three opposition leaders demonstrated the same willingness to compromise. A majority of Parliament now supports an election call in early January for a vote in mid-February. It’s a common sense solution to the situation in Parliament, and there’s nothing preventing the Liberal Party from saying yes.

Nothing, that is, except the release of the second installment of the Gomery Report on February 1, smack in the middle of your proposed election campaign. How can you expect Canadians to see this as anything less than blatant political opportunism?

To make matters worse for Canadians, who would like to enjoy the holiday season by eating turkeys instead of watching them parading on TV, the Liberals are extremely unlikely to agree to your “reasonable compromise”, which isn’t even constitutional. This paves the way for you to announce you have no choice but to trigger a holiday election because the Liberals are unreasonable.

Mr. Layton, let me ask you again: how stupid do you think Canadians are? Do you really think we can’t see through this ploy, which is about as opaque as a December icicle?

You have had numerous, legitimate opportunities to topple the government. You will have many more. I suggest you either take advantage of one of these opportunities, or cease wasting our time with calculated political strategies that are certainly not “getting things done for people”.

Canadians aren’t stupid, Mr. Layton. Treating us as such will bring painful consequences at the ballot box.

Sincerely,

Adrian Duyzer

As our politicians continue to play games, Canadians are more and more frustrated with our government, especially the federal government, which is supposed to be running the country. An issue that comes up over and over again is democratic reform. Given our politicians’ marked lack of interest in this issue, I’m proposing a new solution that I think would deliver dramatic results.

It’s a television game show called Political Hot Potato. Here’s how it works. Each leader of a Canadian federal party is forced to participate. They are confined to a small arena which is completely enclosed in bullet-proof glass (for the protection of the spectators, not the politicians, as you’ll soon see).

Then they don special vests, each packed with explosives, which display a large colourful timer. The incumbent politician is the first one holding the Political Hot Potato, which simply means that his timer is the one that starts counting down first. The timer starts at 10 seconds and counts to zero, should it reach zero, the explosive vest detonates and the politician is thus removed from the electoral process.

To pass the Political Hot Potato, the politician simply has to touch one of the other participants, whose vest will start counting down from 10. When a player successfully passes the Potato, his vest resets to 10 seconds and stops counting.

Here’s how I see this working out:

———

“Right this way gentlemen”, said the referee as he led Paul Martin, Jack Layton, Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe down the hall towards the centre of the arena. The men could hear the screams of the crowd echoing down the concrete corridor. The cheering built into a crescendo as they came out of the corridor and clambered into the ring.

The politicians looked nervously at each other. “Here we go again”, said Martin, shifting his bulky vest uncomfortably. “Why do I always get stuck holding the Potato???”

“OOOOOOOOOHHHH-KAY!!!” bellowed the announcer. “TIME TO GET STARTED WITH TONIGHT’S GAME OF POLITICAL HOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTT POTATO!”

The crowd roared its appreciation. Layton could see the announcer off in the distance. Ominously, his head was covered in a black hood. Layton started to worry that the announcer was a conservative, maybe even a former Reform party member.

“Okay guys”, said Martin. “This will be starting in a just a few moments and it doesn’t look so good for us. I have a suggestion. Why don’t we cooperate by simply standing around in a ring, passing the Potato around and around? That way our timers will constantly reset, and we’ll last the night! What do you think, Jack?” Martin gave Layton a friendly slap on the back. “BEEP!” Layton’s face lit up with the glow from the LED display on this vest. He was now holding the Hot Potato!

“What a second! The game hasn’t even – ” Layton was cut off by the announcer. “ANNNNNND…GO!”

“Okay, fine” said Layton. “Let’s do it”. He passed the Potato to Harper, who immediately passed it to Duceppe, who passed it back to Martin. The politicians started passing the Potato around and around, the timers beeping loudly with each pass. The plan appeared to be working.

Several minutes went by and the crowd started to grow impatient. Layton could see that people weren’t happy. At this rate they’d still be passing the Potato during the Christmas holidays, and that just wouldn’t do.

“Hey, Steve and Gilles, I’ve got a new idea”, he said. “How about the three of us petition the announcer to increase our timers to 20 seconds each, and decrease Paul’s timer to 3 seconds? If Paul is really interested in cooperating with us, he should be fine with that.”

“I don’t think so”, said Martin. “You can’t just change the rules in the middle of the game.”

“Eet’z fine with me”, said Duceppe. “Me too”, said Harper. “I don’t think Paul has the moral authority to keep passing around the Potato”.

“Hey, announcer!” called Layton feebly. “Announcer? We’d like to change the rules! Can we change the rules please?”

“OHHHHHHHHHH-KAY!” roared the announcer, giving no hint that he had heard Layton through the layers of plexiglass that separated them. “IT’S TIME FOR ROUNNNNND 2! LAST PERSON LEFT STANDING GETS TO BE PRIME MINISTER!”

“What!?!?” exclaimed Duceppe. “I don’t want to become prime minister, I just want to ” – BEEP! Harper had poked him right in the gut and now his timer was counting down!

“Ahhhhhhhh!” screamed Duceppe as he chased after Martin. Martin faked left, then right, but it was no use. Duceppe tagged him. BEEP!

Martin looked around, panicked. The wily separatist had speed, and Harper and Layton were in the far corner of the arena. Huffing and puffing, he ran at Harper. “SIX! FIVE! FOUR!” The crowd was on its feet. “I knew all the poutine would do me no good”, he thought. But Harper was none too speedy either. Martin was gaining…

———

Shadowy prisons. Torture. Chemical weapons. Massacres. Iraq under Saddam Hussein? Yeah, and America right now.

Evil isn’t a word I use very often. It’s misused all the time as a favourite adjective of preachers and politicians. But there’s times when its presence is unmistakeable. It carries with it a stink of rot, of bodies decaying in cellars, of maggots and filth. It shrouds itself with secrecy. Death and pain are its fruit.

It permeates the government and military of the United States.

I don’t spend much time writing about America these days. I prefer writing about my own country. It’s not like there’s a shortage of people with opinions about the US, and lots – thousands, maybe tens of thousands – already have blogs. Why waste the words?

So in September when I came across the photographs of the burned, mutilated and shattered Iraqis that American soldiers trade for online porn, complete with captions like “cooked Iraqi”, I said nothing here.

Five days ago, when I read in the Washington Post that the US has a secret network of prisons called “black sites” run by the CIA which hold terror suspects, I didn’t comment, even though it’s outrageous. These covert facilities are thought to be in Eastern Europe. Those who are held inside are utterly isolated from the outside world, have no rights and see and speak with no one who is not CIA.

What death, what pain, shrouds itself in secrecy in these dirty concrete holes left by the Soviets? “The Senate has passed legislation banning torture, but the Bush administration is seeking an exemption for the CIA spy agency”, reports the BBC today. That should give us a good idea.

Consider the things that happen in the places we know about. Manadel al-Jamadi died in Abu Ghraib while being interrogated by Mark Swanner, a CIA officer: “His head had been covered with a plastic bag, and he was shackled in a crucifixion-like pose that inhibited his ability to breathe; according to forensic pathologists who have examined the case, he asphyxiated.” According to the New Yorker, he still works for the CIA. The CIA supervisor that oversaw the Afghan prisoner who froze to death in his cell in 2002, after being stripped to death and chained to the floor, was later promoted.

I didn’t write about it. The torture, the sadism, the bizarre sexual abuse, they’re not news any more. Par for the course when you’re talking about the US of A. Like the natural disasters and famines of the developing world, we feel momentary outrage or pity, then move on.

But what I saw tonight still has the power to shock. Maybe it’s the monumental hypocrisy of the American military using chemical weapons in a war started because they claimed Iraq had them. Maybe it’s the open acknowledgment by an American veteran of the war in Iraq about their use, and his matter-of-fact acknowledgment that yes, he’s killed Iraqi civilians. Maybe it’s the vivid images of the victims themselves.

WATCH all of that put together in one startling expose. (Warning: contains graphic and disturbing footage.)

If you would prefer not to see it, you can read a summary of its contents here.