It is a day that should go down into history, but likely won’t at least not with any fanfare.

On January 1, 2008, Erich Kastner, the last remaining soldier who fought for the German Imperial Army during the First World War died. (CBC)

Unlike the “winning” side… Germans don’t celebrate or even commemorate their war veterans… for obvious social issues.

However, at this point almost 100 years later… I think it’s safe to say what happened during WWI was simply the worlds greatest tragedy. And those veterans, on all sides, deserve our respect for having fought in such terrible, horrifying conditions.

And so, goodnight, Mr. Kastner. You are the end of a generation. We hope never again to repeat the bloodshed that you were a part of.

Because clearly… given past actions… if he has, then it really seems inevitable. (either by the US or it’s effective proxy, Israel which just practiced the first 1/4 of the run across northern Syria towards Iran when it was shot at by Syrian Air Defenses.).

What past actions? Well Iraq obviously, but not for the reasons we thought we know… but for the reasons we now know for sure.

Both the French intelligence service and the CIA paid [Naji] Sabri [-- Saddam's foreign minister --] hundreds of thousands of dollars (at least $200,000 in the case of the CIA) to give them documents on Saddam’s WMD programs. “The information detailed that Saddam may have wished to have a program, that his engineers had told him they could build a nuclear weapon within two years if they had fissile material, which they didn’t, and that they had no chemical or biological weapons,” one of the former CIA officers told me.

The next day, Sept. 18, Tenet briefed Bush on Sabri. “Tenet told me he briefed the president personally,” said one of the former CIA officers. According to Tenet, Bush’s response was to call the information “the same old thing.” Bush insisted it was simply what Saddam wanted him to think. “The president had no interest in the intelligence,” said the CIA officer. The other officer said, “Bush didn’t give a fuck about the intelligence. He had his mind made up.”

I wonder if that is the simple explanation why there was such a sudden about-face by France in late-summer of ‘03 when Chirac was at one point rallying his own troops for war… and then a few weeks later the largest obstacle to Bush and Blair.

Perhaps it’s as simple as… Chirac trusted his own Intelligence Agency… Bush, chose not to listen… who is Bush listening to now?

The Presidential Elections simply can’t come fast enough.

There is so little good news from Iraq, this should be the top story on every newcast and blog around the world.

The Iraqi National Soccer team (The Lions) has won the Asian cup in a major upset. They beat Australia, South Korea and finally Saudi Arabia today in the final. (See the link for great pictures).

The team is made up of all Iraqis, Sunni, Shia and Kurd.

All of Iraq rejoiced today, even as bombs went off.

This is the type of thing that can truly revive a nation and allow it to remember the pride it always had.

May Iraqis revel in this victory.. and may it help them continue being strong in the face of terrible, terrible circumstances.

(It was so very special today, to see my RSS feed for Iraqi blogs, and every single one was positive and cheering… wonderful wonderful day)

I don’t believe it… but a former Reagan official does…

Unless Congress immediately impeaches Bush and Cheney…. a year from now, the US could be a dictatorial police state at war with Iran

Listen to the Interview with Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary to the Treasury during the Reagan administration. (And so called “father” of Reaganomics).

And he doesn’t think his words are very inflammatory…

In the past many weeks, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced over $20 billion in new military spending. It is my opinion that world leaders have woken up to what will be the true battle of the 21st century. It will not be terrorism or climate change, though those will be both sideeffects, and scapegoats… rather, it will be ever diminishing fossil fuel energy resources that will dictate where, when and how countries fight to survive and adapt.

“We don’t have the option of saying that anything is off the table. We simply need to do everything we can,” NPC Chairman and former ExxonMobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lee R. Raymond told reporters following the council’s July 18 meeting, where the study [Facing Hard Truths] was approved and relayed to US Sec. of Energy Samuel W. Bodman, who had requested it.

So as I said, there seem to be two distinct camps to face this challenge.

Camp #1: Those that would fight aggressively, either through military might, or political muscle, for every last remaining scrap of oil, thus propping up their doomed economies with the promise of “cheap” energy, while wasting that same energy on fighting unwinnable wars and sowing dissent and fear both at home and abroad.

Camp #2: Those that choose to move away quickly from fossil fuels, and either reduce energy consumption drastrically or dramatically expanding renewable energy resources (or both), thus diminishing their need to rely on foreign supplies in fiery lands and making the issue of political capital through control of fossil fuel resources a moot point. (They also have the added benefit of “controlling” what will inevitably be the future of energy production)

It is worth noting that only the developed or largely-developed world need bother with these “camps”, as only they can and will continue to afford the cost of oil as it becomes more dear. We are already seeing the least wealthy countries scramble to provide energy for their citizens as costs rise… and being an oil exporter does not guarantee you a privileged spot. Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ghana, Bolivia, Argentina, Bangladesh, and many others are all feeling the effects of higher energy costs, and growing demand.

With the ongoing military buildup, and continued stubborn refusal to reevaluate our mission in Afghanistan, Stephen Harper is clearly positioning Canada to be in Camp #1 along with the US, Britain, Australia, and other war-on-terror stalwarts.

The message being sent by Stephen Harper and Defense Minister O’Connor is clear, Canada is preparing it’s military to fight wars abroad.

1. New C17 Globemasters,and associated new support structure, to get us there.
2. New Air Expeditionary Force to clear a path.
3. New Leopard Tanks to fight the “enemy”.

Then of course there is the plan for the new fleet of small Arctic ice breakers and Arctic deep sea port, but I will get to that later.

Canada is an oil exporting nation.. were it not for that fact, and the high price of energy, would Canada be able to afford this strategy? Would we even be able to afford our continued presence in Afghanistan?.

While I am all for the solid defense of Canadian borders and values, I cannot support a government that would jeopardize our god-given gift of vast energy resources by squandering it abroad in a fight to secure energy resources for other countries.

Should we use those Arctic ice breakers to stake out and defend our sovereingty over energy resources which may be hidden under the ice in the Canadian Arctic? Absolutely. But if we just turn around and use that energy to fuel a raging war machine, then really what are we gaining?

It is time to refocus.

The countries that win this fight for energy in the 21st Century will be the ones who successfully transition their economies AWAY from fossil fuels. If they don’t do that, no matter how many foreign oil and gas fields they control, they will be constantly threatened by ever-increasing energy prices.

Canada is in a priviledged position. We are an oil exporter, we have the largest developed unconventional reserves (the tar sands) in the world, and we are a stable, democratic country. We have the opportunity to shift the money we make from the ongoing subsidization of energy security and energy consumption… to finding alternatives and ways to conserve.

The $300 Million being spent on Bagotvilles new Air Expeditionary Wing could have been spent to set up a nationwide research and development program into all forms of renewable energy.

Funds for development of transit systems, national electrified rail, wind, solar, and tidal farms as well as biomass generators should all be funded directly from the sale of our national endowment of fossil fuels. Instead, we’re fighting unwinnable wars in far away lands, and making excuses for our industries to continue consuming and emitting massive amounts of energy and waste.

Time is short, but it is not too late to switch camps. Perhaps our energy endowment has made us complacent. Perhaps we are simply being greedy. Or perhaps we are being pushed by outside influences.. but whatever it is, if Canada and Canadians wish to continue having the standard of living we’ve had over the past 60 years, then we’d better refocus on the truly Canadian values that we claim to hold so dear.