My friend, Graham Thomson, a political columnist with the Edmonton Journal, is off on an “adventure.” He is on his way to Afghanistan to be embedded with our troops for a couple of months. We had lunch recently and he was really excited in an engaged and focused way. I think his is crazy to be going but he is looking forward to meeting and living with our troops and getting their stories and impressions of what we are accomplishing
He is looking forward to writing is column about the stories of the Canadian soldiers and what it is we are really doing over there that benefits and serves the future needs and aspirations of the Afghan people.
He promises to blog regularly too. His blog is linked to this site and I hope you visit him often. We need to pay more attention to the end goal there – not just an exit strategy. We are likely committed to be in this country for a generation before the needed changes can become realized.
Good luck Graham and send us back a sense of what Canada is contributing.
He is looking forward to writing is column about the stories of the Canadian soldiers and what it is we are really doing over there that benefits and serves the future needs and aspirations of the Afghan people.
He promises to blog regularly too. His blog is linked to this site and I hope you visit him often. We need to pay more attention to the end goal there – not just an exit strategy. We are likely committed to be in this country for a generation before the needed changes can become realized.
Good luck Graham and send us back a sense of what Canada is contributing.
My family & I would like to wish Mr Thomson a safe trip, as well as a safe and productive visit with our troops in Afghanistan. May whatever powers he might believe in watch over him.
ReplyDeleteWe hope, also, that Mr Thomson will return with a renewed sense of how one class of person's "top priorities" can be another class of person's utopian "icing on the cake". The stark contrast between "average" living conditions there and here - and the differing priorities those conditions generate may drive that lesson home for him. We hope.
I understand your friend Babiak will be filling in somewhat for Thomson in the op-ed department at the Joy-nal. Good luck to him, also.
What an interesting social circle you belong to, Ken!
Speaking of your social circle - I finally came up with a link title for your blog, inspired by that. You are now in our links as: "Alberta Politerati"
ReplyDelete-Roy
Yes I am enriched with a diverse group of friends with a range of opinions to match.
ReplyDeleteBTW - I like the link you came up with "Alberta Politerati"...
ReplyDelete- what site is it linked from?
Sorry if I was a bit cryptic.
ReplyDeleteThe link from Surreality Times:
http://www.surrealitytimes.blogspot.com/
to your blog, here, is listed in our links section as "Alberta Politerati". Many of our links have titles other than the title the blog's creator(s) give their blog. Try the link to "Sanity" sometime - I'm sure you'll enjoy it!
-Roy