Peter MacKay Still Number One …

 

At least in my books.

The Opposition and Liberal Press are now calling for MacKay’s resignation in light of the Auditor General’s criticism of DND in the F-35 procurement.

Indeed, I did a Blog way back when somewhat critical of this expenditure too but along the way have had to modify my position.

My main concern about this expenditure then centred on the fact that, as a middle power, Canada could not, nor should not, seek out such ‘Cadillac’ military hardware to begin with. I cannot recall if I said so at the time, but my concern was subject to what other NATO nations were doing in this area.  If collectively they had decided that this was the best military plane to buy then we here in Canada needed to be onside too and this turned out to be exactly what had occurred.  The Tories for some reason did not properly explain this.

I have said on countless occasions that the days of relying upon the USA for world protection are quickly coming to an end if for no other reason than they are broke.  If the world is to remain as safe as possible – it will not be the United Nations that steps up to the plate – it will be NATO.  And with NATO deciding that the best aircraft to buy is the F-35 – then Canada needs to acquire its fair share. We cannot go into battle with each member nation employing different machines.

And to build on that, Canada as well as the other NATO Nations need to be taking more of their marching orders from NATO rather than the UN which is now dominated by petty tyrants, megalomaniacs, crooks and thieves. 

But there is another reason why we need the very best in aircraft.  The days of the ground wars are also coming to an end. Vietnam, Iraq, and currently Afghanistan have taught the West the futility of sending in ‘boots on the ground’.  We need to Rule from the Skies.  If and when an enemy pokes his head out of his cave or wherever, blow it off from above.  We saw a good example of this in Libya where NATO did its thing in the air, led by a Canadian General no less, while the locals did the mop-up from below. 

So the future of warfare, dear reader, is in the air.  We’ll still need boats to transport and support the planes but the heavy lifting will be done by our piloted planes and pilotless drones. The huge casualties as sustained by young Americans over the years will be a thing of the past.  When ground action is required it will fall to the special forces to execute and then quickly get the hell out.

So there you have it.

Maybe DND did not procure properly, but it did the right thing.  The problem then is with respect to our Procurement Requirements so we need to get to work and update them so they work in everyone’s favour but the bad guys.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

Racial Tension in America

 

As many of you will know, I was most surprised at the deteriorating race relations in the US as was during Obama’s 2008 election campaign.  And it wasn’t being caused by the white side of the equation.  Blacks were and continue to be bitter as evidenced by Obama’s own pastor and even his wife – the latter being quoted that the only time she could recall being proud to be an American was with the election of her husband.  Here is a woman who has been educated on the dime of the American taxpayer and has reached professional heights that only a select few can aspire to.

I am not suggesting that Blacks do have reason to be bitter – but I also know, that as long as they wallow in that bitterness, their problems – and there are many, will not be resolved.  Unemployment, husbandless wives, addiction, crime and the list goes on.

Their Leaders like Reverend Wright, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and so on, use this bitterness to attack ‘the man’ to try to wrestle out more concessions and use it as an excuse to explain abhorrent Black behaviour.  Again I am not suggesting that all Blacks behave in this manner nor even a majority – but I am saying that a significant minority do.

So it takes us to Florida where a week ago a Black teenager was shot dead by a 50% White / 50% Hispanic neighbourhood watch chap.  The police investigated and determined that the Black teenager was the aggressor and no charges were laid.  When word got out, the Black community went wild. Even the President entered the fray speaking out on behalf of the teenager.

The anger of Black Americans has reached such heights that violence in the streets is now a most likely outcome.  So here is what I think.

I think the neighbourhood watch chap should have been arrested.  I will go even further, I think the guy is guilty of murder. The young black had been out that evening to a store to buy some candy.  On his way home he passed the neighbour watch at which point the watch called the police saying he had encountered a suspicious looking Black – and he was wearing a hoody to boot.  The police told him they’d handle it and ordered him to stay put and not to follow the teen.  The guy went ahead any was and subsequent a fight ensued which ended in the Black kid’s death.  There are some accounts that the Black had told his girlfriend he was being followed and that he was scared.  What is not in doubt is the fact that the neighbourhood watch guy had been told to stand fast and he did not so form my perspective as a former lawyer, he loses his right to shoot in self defence. But that is just my opinion.

So what is also clear is that this case begs for a trial.  The shooter needs to be charged and the case decided before the court.  After all that is our system of justice – innocent until proven guilty.

Black Leaders are not so magnanimous.  They view this as a racial killing and are going to great lengths to still up their community.

Obama too was wrong to get involved – and this is not the first time that he has done this.  As President, he represents all the people and must refrain from getting personally involved at least until all the facts are known. His actions too then simply reinforce the Black Community’s anger.

And in defence of the Neighbourhood Watch generally, they have seen far too much violence and robbery committed by members of this minority community.  Is it any wonder then that a nervous neighbourhood watch chap grew suspicious in the first place and when he called the cops, they took his information seriously. 

To add to this, a few days after the above killing, as Asian shopkeeper was killed by three blacks wearing hoodies and the liberal media paid it no mind. 

If I was a Black Leader hopefully I would have the courage to say the following:

Today a young black teenager was shot by a neighbourhood watch and all that kid was doing was returning home from a store where he bought some candy.  I believe the neighbourhood watch was wrong to have shot this young boy and he should be charged and a trial held to confirm the facts of what went down and I will not rest until this is done.  But in the broader picture this killing is a symptom of something even more terrible. Too many of our youth are engaged in criminal activity and America is frightened – Whites, Blacks and Hispanics in makes no difference.  And we must face the truth; there are more black kids killed by other blacks than there are by whites. 

As a Black Leader I look to other Black Leaders to work with me in finding a way to stop this spiral down.  We cannot rest until we make America safe for all its citizens regardless of race.

Until Black Leaders, and in Canada one could say Aboriginal Leaders, speak and act this way, things are more apt to get even worse.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’