| Canada's combat training role could take years
Stephane Lafaut, the outgoing head of the OMLT, said it's impossible to put a timeline on when the Afghan army will be able to stand on its own. "I have almost 25 years of experience and it's hard for me, and even for my bosses who are more experienced than myself, to put a date. So I don't know who can put a date," he said. "We're talking about years. How much time really it is going to take, we're not sure." The Afghan army presence in Kandahar has almost tripled since Canadians began working alongside its soldiers in 2006. There are now two full Kandaks - an Afghan battalion of about 600 men - in operation, plus a third that the military says is well on its way. Eventually, the goal is to have five Kandaks fully operational in the province, about 3,000 soldiers.
Wings unhappy with defensive effort
The last game (4-2 loss in Nashville Tuesday), that first 10 minutes is a pretty good indication of how loose we've been playing in our end. So we got to clean things up defensively," defenseman Chris Chelios said. "We got enough firepower, we've scored enough goals. We got to keep that goals-against down, give our goalie a chance to make some saves and give ourselves a chance to win the games." The Red Wings will try to snap a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) tonight at home against Columbus, and without another top-three defenseman. Already missing Niklas Kronwall with a sprained clavicle, now Brian Rafalski is out a strained groin. General manager Ken Holland said neither Rafalski nor Kronwall is likely to play during the road trip to Dallas (Sunday) and Colorado (Monday).
East or West which is best?
As we wait for the Serbian police to examine our passports, an oil tanker pulls up, travelling the other way. “Where's it from originally?" I ask. “Look at the plates: KS, Kosovo," replies my companion. Just as he's speaking the driver calmly removes the plates in full sight of the police and appears with a new set in his hands. We get our passports back and are waved on to the United Nations checkpoint before I see for sure what he is up to. But I presume he is putting Serbian number plates on. New tricks The driver of the oil tanker is prudently sensitive but will he have to learn new tricks? A lot hangs on how Serbia reacts when Kosovo declares independence, with the favoured date at the moment sometime during the second week of February.
An off-the-wall plan to fund sneakers store
So he kicked around some ideas with friends and decided to open a sneaker store at some yet-to-be-chosen location in Lexington. That's right, sneakers -- canvas tops, rubberish soles, long strings. Sneakers. Martin has "a passion" for the Converse brand, as the Herald-Leader's Mark Story reported in April. But he'll have all sorts of sneakers in his store. "Converse is my favorite sneakers," Martin says, "but I really enjoy all sneakers." All he needs is the loot, the bucks, the clams to make it happen. So he came up with the Name My Walls plan. The name of anyone who contributes $2 will be put on a wall at the store for the world to see forever. "I haven't decided if I will let them come in and sign it or if it will be painted on," Martin says.
Harper to draw the line on Afghanistan
The election, of course, won't be fought over Afghanistan. That is Harper's wish because he knows that the government has shown such incompetence in governing over the past few months that his hawkish stand on Afghanistan maybe the only thing that parts of the population may see as positive. However, it also carries downsides. The handling of the mission by the Harper government has been as loaded with lies as any other part of their agenda and the opposition parties could argue that Harper can't be trusted to be handed a majority and be given a blank cheque on this or any other part of their agenda. It also presents an interesting conundrum. If Harper goes to the electorate with Afghanistan and wins a minority (polls show a Liberal minority right now but let's give him the benefit of the doubt on this), he either has to change his policy on Afghanistan or the Governor-General has to ask the LPC to form the government even if they have less seats.
Don't walk, don't run. Swing!
I had bypass surgery 12 years ago and my doctor recommended I partake in regular exercise. Before that, I was a bit of a couch potato. The competitive side of sport never really appealed to me. That's what I like about the bushwalking. It's social, not competitive." Stone, who lives on Sydney's North Shore, found the Ramblers club via a newspaper ad. Two to three times a week, he would walk up to five hours in the Blue Mountains, Ku-ring-gai Chase or the Royal National Park.
The only equipment he needed was "a good pair of walking shoes, a backpack, a broad-brimmed hat and a packed lunch". He adds, "You can do marvellous walks close to the city. There are 4 million people in Sydney but you wouldn't know it walking near Lane Cove River or Georges River National Park."
Stone, who isn't married, warmed to the social aspect of bushwalking.
|
