Register for free!
1704 users online right now

[x]

Canadian News, Weather, Forums and Information

The most stolen books!
*Finally, some positive news.......* *Why are people RAVING about these books?* “Basically, these books make all the books that I've read to date look like a complete waste of paper! ” — Rafal, Australia *Over 10 million copies sold with no advertisement!* Anastasia has been creating a frenzy of excitement among people from all walks of life. The Ringing Cedars Series has been translated into over 20 languages and already sold over 10 million copies, with no advertising except word of mouth! *A mysteriously powerful woman…* Discovered in 1995, Anastasia lives in the wilderness—for the most part without warm clothes, food cultivation or man-made shelter—and survives on fruit, nuts, berries and mushrooms, brought to her by "wild" animals with which she lives in peaceful harmony. She displays the most developed psychic and mental powers including remote viewing and healing, mind reading and seemingly perfect memory. When challenged to solve some of society's most complex problems, after only a few minutes lying on her back on the ground, with eyes closed and just her fingertips twitching, she has provided answers in such incredible detail, that witnesses have been left flabbergasted. Ringing Cedars Press - Official Publisher's Website () Ringing Cedars Press - Reviews ()
Taliban claim 5,220 foreign troops killed last year
Image: CTV.ca | Taliban claim 5,220 foreign troops killed last year () ---Quote--- KABUL, Afghanistan -- *The Taliban have long exaggerated their military successes, but their recent claim that they killed more than 5,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan last year may be the militia's most startling yet.* *The Taliban said last week on their website that they killed 5,220 American and NATO troops in 2008 -- an exaggerated figure nearly 20 times the official death toll.* *The insurgents also said they downed 31 aircraft last year. Their * *fighters destroyed 2,818 NATO and Afghan vehicles and killed 7,552 Afghan soldiers and police, according to a statement from a spokesman.* *The true damage inflicted on U.S. and NATO fighters over the last year has been* *"repeatedly hidden by the enemy and they have controlled the media by using money, power and their lies,"* *the statement said.* *NATO and its member countries announce all troop deaths, providing names, ages and hometowns and how the soldiers were killed. According to an Associated Press tally based on those announcements, 286 foreign forces died last year in Afghanistan.* Though the death toll was highly exaggerated, the Taliban have had increased success recently. Violence in Afghanistan has spiked in the past two years, and Taliban militants now control wide swaths of countryside. In response, the U.S. is planning to pour up to 30,000 more troops into the country this year. *The insurgents' exaggerations are designed to boost morale inside the Taliban and to attract financing from donors sympathetic to their cause, a U.S. military official and a Taliban expert said.* *"They put out this propaganda in order to raise capital to continue their operations,"* said Col. Jerry O'Hara, a U.S. military spokesman. *Vahid Mojdeh, the author of a book on the Taliban who continues to study the militia, said the exaggerated claims help the insurgents recruit new fighters.* *"The Taliban needs volunteers to carry out suicide attacks, so they want to show they are killing a lot of people,"* Mojdeh said. Propaganda has long been a key element in war, particularly in conflicts where the sides are fighting to win support from the population. *The Taliban exaggerate U.S. or NATO deaths in order to persuade average Afghans that the insurgents are winning, while U.S. and NATO spokesmen frequently highlight construction projects -- roads and schools -- to Afghan journalists in the hopes that average Afghans will associate foreign troops with increased development.* *A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, stood by the militia's numbers in a telephone interview Monday, saying that Taliban fighters film every operation and verify the tolls.* *"All the time the foreign invaders are trying to hide the reality from the media,"* he said. *"The numbers I have given to you, that is counted one by one. For example, when we are saying there are 2,818 vehicles destroyed, that is a correct number. Why aren't we saying 2,820? Because we have reports of 2,818."* *Mojdeh, the Taliban expert, said that some of the exaggerations likely come from false assumptions. For instance, he said, if a roadside bomb hits a U.S. Humvee, then the Taliban probably report four U.S. deaths, even if everyone inside the armoured vehicle survived.* *The Taliban updates their site every day with claims of military successes that often defy credibility. The numbers from 2008 appear to be a tabulation of those daily claims.* ---End Quote--- See if they had a proper education, they could perhaps learn to count properly. It'd be pretty noticable if that many soldiers and vehicles have been killed/destroyed and a lot of people would be asking why they haven't heard anything back from their loved ones over seas fighting. :roll:
Hundreds in Kandahar city protest against Israel
Image: Afghan men attend a demonstration against the Israeli attacks on Gaza in Kandahar city on Monday, Jan. 5, 2008. Image: An Afghan man warms his hands by a fire as an anti-Israeli banner is seen pinned in the background against the Israeli attacks on Gaza, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. CTV.ca | Hundreds in Kandahar city protest against Israel () ---Quote--- KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- *Hundreds of people shouted* *"Death to America" and "Death to Israel"* *as the embers of an Israeli flag smouldered on the streets of Kandahar city during an angry demonstration Monday.* *More than 700 people spilled into the streets and onto the balconies and rooftops of gated shops in the city's centre to denounce Israeli attacks on Hamas-controlled Gaza.* *Community leaders, including Bismillah Afghanmul, a member of Kandahar's provincial council, called for a unified Muslim response to the attacks.* *"In the history of Muslims, they never like war; they always like peace,"* Afghanmul said, according to a translator. *Israel says it launched the offensive 10 days ago to stop Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza, which have traumatized southern Israel. The rocket attacks were in retaliation for the siege of Gaza by Israel.* *The United States has supported Israel's* *"right to defend itself"* *against the attacks and blames Hamas for triggering the crisis.* *But some Middle Eastern and European governments have strongly criticized Israel, accusing it of using excessive force.* *Nearly 550 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza -- with another 2,000 wounded -- in the offensive. Five Israeli civilians and one soldier have been also been killed.* *Unlike other demonstrations around the globe, however, rally organizers in Kandahar city also condemned NATO air strikes aimed at Taliban fighters, which have killed scores of civilians.* *At least several dozen people -- including women and children -- died during an Aug. 22 U.S. raid on the village of Azizabad in Herat province.* Afghan President Hamid Karzai has harshly condemned the bombings. Karzai, who has pushed for a review of the use of U.S. and NATO air power, says civilian deaths erode support for the war among his people. *At the demonstration, a man named Matiullah, 38, called the Israeli offensive* *"disgusting"* *and questioned what he sees as Muslims being* *"targeted"* *by non-Muslim countries.* *"The reason why we got together is to become one against these nations who are bothering us time and again,"* Matiullah said, referring to his reason for attending the Kandahar city demonstration. *Another man, Haji Ghani, 33, said he was sitting with his ailing mother in a nearby hospital when he got word of the demonstration. He decided to leave his mother and join the protesters in the streets below.* *"I am glad that at least we are having demonstration,"* he said. *"I am really against Israel's attack on Palestine. They are killing innocent people illogically."* Canadian military officials at Kandahar Airfield did not respond to a request for comment. ---End Quote--- I wonder what sort of effect this will have on the situations in Afghanistan.
IVF Healthcare funding?
TheStar.com | Babies & Pregnancy | Holding out hope for in-vitro funding () It's likely that Quebec will include two rounds of IVF at 10k per cycle in their provincial healthcare coverage. The debate is moving to Ontario as well. Are you for or against public healthcare funding for IVF?