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Afghan mission, homeless, women
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March 11, 2008
Vote on Canada’s Afghan mission
Counting the homeless
Study tracks plight of B.C. women
Vote on Canada’s Afghan mission
The federal government plans to vote March 13 on extending Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until July 2011. SFU political scientist Doug Ross says the vote is misguided since it will be taken “ with very little in the way of serious strategic thought being put into the mission.” He adds, “The poorly conceived Manley panel was not equipped to think seriously about issues of strategy, lacking any members with significant military background.”
Ross says at least 400,000 troops would be needed to have a good shot at winning the counter-insurgency struggle against the Taliban. “The Afghan National Army is quite ineffective and tiny. 'Afganization' is not a credible option any time soon.
“The U.S. and NATO have no economic plan for dealing with the heroin trade constructively. Karzai's government is corrupt and out of touch with most Afghans. The border is totally porous for the Taliban and al Qaeda movements and resupply. Pakistan's very survival is at risk and some of its 60 odd atomic weapons may soon become available to radical Islamic forces, or to sympathizers.”
Ross also says there is no visible concept or strategy that could lead to anything remotely definable as victory. “Sadly, scandalously, Canada's Afghan policy-making seems utterly bereft of any realistic conceptual foundation, beyond showing 'moral support' for the American 'long war' on terrorism. The Canadian Forces and Canadians deserve much better.”
Public policy professor Doug McArthur and military strategist Andre Gerolymatos can also provide reaction to the vote.
Doug Ross, 778.782.4782; douglasr@sfu.ca
Doug McArthur, 604.786.0016 (cell), doug_mcarthur@sfu.ca
Andre Gerolymatos, 778.782.5597; andre_gerolymatos@sfu.ca
Counting the homeless
SFU health sciences researcher and psychologist Michelle Patterson is one of 400 volunteers scouring the streets of Vancouver in search of homeless people during today’s 2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count. It's a 24-hour period during which the city uses volunteers to update its homeless count to identify new trends and better design programs and policies to help the homeless. However, as the co-author of a new report produced through SFU's Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health Addiction (CARMHA), Patterson has found that these 24-hour homeless counts produce figures that are up to three times lower than the real homeless count in Vancouver. Patterson is available to talk about the study that she co-authored with SFU health sciences professor Julian Somers and a team of researchers, and her involvement in today's homeless count. For the complete study, Housing and Support for Adults with Severe Addictions and/or Mental Illness in British Columbia, see http://www.carmha.ca/publications/index.cfm?contentID=29
Michelle Patterson, 778.782.5279, michelle_patterson@sfu.ca
Study tracks plight of B.C. women
A province-wide study on the difficulties women face in their home communities underscores the “significant and negative impact” of unpaid care-giving on women’s employability and health. Interviews with 60 women in four different B.C. communities, including rural, reserve, Northern and urban South Asian communities, also revealed that nearly a third had past and direct experiences with violence, and the majority continue to be concerned about safety. In the Northern resource community the study found that women earned an average 41 per cent less than men and “are not benefiting equally from the strong economy that is fuelled primarily by the exploration and extraction of natural resources. In fact, they are being seriously hurt by it.” The study was led by Dr. Colleen Reid while she was a post-doctoral researcher in SFU’s department of health sciences. Reid is currently a co-research director of the Women’s Health Research Network (www.whrn.ca) and can be reached to talk about the study.
Colleen Reid, 604.707.6377; cjreid@sfu.ca
Counting the homeless
Study tracks plight of B.C. women
Vote on Canada’s Afghan mission
The federal government plans to vote March 13 on extending Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until July 2011. SFU political scientist Doug Ross says the vote is misguided since it will be taken “ with very little in the way of serious strategic thought being put into the mission.” He adds, “The poorly conceived Manley panel was not equipped to think seriously about issues of strategy, lacking any members with significant military background.”
Ross says at least 400,000 troops would be needed to have a good shot at winning the counter-insurgency struggle against the Taliban. “The Afghan National Army is quite ineffective and tiny. 'Afganization' is not a credible option any time soon.
“The U.S. and NATO have no economic plan for dealing with the heroin trade constructively. Karzai's government is corrupt and out of touch with most Afghans. The border is totally porous for the Taliban and al Qaeda movements and resupply. Pakistan's very survival is at risk and some of its 60 odd atomic weapons may soon become available to radical Islamic forces, or to sympathizers.”
Ross also says there is no visible concept or strategy that could lead to anything remotely definable as victory. “Sadly, scandalously, Canada's Afghan policy-making seems utterly bereft of any realistic conceptual foundation, beyond showing 'moral support' for the American 'long war' on terrorism. The Canadian Forces and Canadians deserve much better.”
Public policy professor Doug McArthur and military strategist Andre Gerolymatos can also provide reaction to the vote.
Doug Ross, 778.782.4782; douglasr@sfu.ca
Doug McArthur, 604.786.0016 (cell), doug_mcarthur@sfu.ca
Andre Gerolymatos, 778.782.5597; andre_gerolymatos@sfu.ca
Counting the homeless
SFU health sciences researcher and psychologist Michelle Patterson is one of 400 volunteers scouring the streets of Vancouver in search of homeless people during today’s 2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count. It's a 24-hour period during which the city uses volunteers to update its homeless count to identify new trends and better design programs and policies to help the homeless. However, as the co-author of a new report produced through SFU's Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health Addiction (CARMHA), Patterson has found that these 24-hour homeless counts produce figures that are up to three times lower than the real homeless count in Vancouver. Patterson is available to talk about the study that she co-authored with SFU health sciences professor Julian Somers and a team of researchers, and her involvement in today's homeless count. For the complete study, Housing and Support for Adults with Severe Addictions and/or Mental Illness in British Columbia, see http://www.carmha.ca/publications/index.cfm?contentID=29
Michelle Patterson, 778.782.5279, michelle_patterson@sfu.ca
Study tracks plight of B.C. women
A province-wide study on the difficulties women face in their home communities underscores the “significant and negative impact” of unpaid care-giving on women’s employability and health. Interviews with 60 women in four different B.C. communities, including rural, reserve, Northern and urban South Asian communities, also revealed that nearly a third had past and direct experiences with violence, and the majority continue to be concerned about safety. In the Northern resource community the study found that women earned an average 41 per cent less than men and “are not benefiting equally from the strong economy that is fuelled primarily by the exploration and extraction of natural resources. In fact, they are being seriously hurt by it.” The study was led by Dr. Colleen Reid while she was a post-doctoral researcher in SFU’s department of health sciences. Reid is currently a co-research director of the Women’s Health Research Network (www.whrn.ca) and can be reached to talk about the study.
Colleen Reid, 604.707.6377; cjreid@sfu.ca