Friday digest

- Jack Layton on Afghanistan:

"We believe that a comprehensive peace process has to bring all combatants to the table. You don't accomplish peace if those who are fighting are not involved in the peace-based discussion" ... "a collective desire to reduce violence and death could become a real motivation on all sides" to join peace talks.

Personally, I don't remember seeing the Taliban's desire to reduce violence and death on 9/11, or any time since for that matter. However, according to the leader of the NDP, all you need is love. What's even more silly about this line of thinking from the socialists is that they say Canadian troops should be in Lebanon and Darfur, but should lay down their arms and negotiate with the Taliban. Could it be because the States are leading the charge in Afghanistan? I think that the high priests of Canada's official state religion (ant-Americanism), the NDP, have once again let their hatred of anything red, white or blue get in the way of clear thinking.

With this kind of rhetoric from Layton, the Liberal caucus having nothing in common except for the fact that they a) all hate each other and b) call themselves Liberals, and Gilles Duceppe too comfy in Ottawa to leave and go to Quebec City to push for Quebec separation, the opposition parties are going to have do a lot better if they want to unseat the PM.

- According to living Marxist legend Noam Chomsky, everybody's long been on board for a two-state solution in the Middle East except for the US and Israel, of course. Oh, and no mention of the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah.

Why is this guy taken seriously?

- Meanwhile, Miss England, a Muslim herself, says that moderate Muslims are turning to terrorism to "prove themselves".

To whom?

More here.

- "The Republicans deserve to lose at the ballot box, but the Democrats don't deserve to win." True, 'dat. But are the South Park Conservatives really in play?

- It's time to put the biggest non-story of the decade to bed.

Told ya so.

- A look back at the corrosive effects of dependency one year after Katrina, while Juan Williams reminds us that the way to avoid poverty is to do the following:

Finish high school, at least. Wait until your 20’s before marrying, and wait until you’re married before having chi

ldren. Once you’re in the work force, stay in: take any job, because building on the experience will prepare you for a better job. Any American who follows that prescription will be at almost no risk of falling into extreme poverty. Statistics show it.

No argument here, and in my opinion, anyone who pretends differently is doing so simply for crass political purposes.

- Finally, Happy Labour Day.