Satire

It's Monday, March 5th.

According to a report, three detainees alleged to have been physically abused by Canadian soldiers have disappeared while in Afghan custody.

Currently, it looks like Afghanistan is finally safe enough for Syrian Airways' non-stop service to Kandahar.

This is The Current.

Iraqi Refugees

Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, 3.7 million Iraqis have been forced from their homes. More than half of them have fled the country altogether.

And where are they all going? Well, it's not to the United States. Less than 500 Iraqi refugees have resettled there -- although the State Department says it will fast-track another seven thousand applicants by the end of this year. The vast majority of Iraqi refugees are landing in neighbouring Syria and Jordan. And that's placing a huge burden on two countries that were never exactly rich to begin with.

The Current's producer John Chipman was in Damascus last month. He's prepared a documentary, "Nowhere to Turn" about the flood of Iraqi refugees there and he was in our Toronto studio.

Listen to The Current: Part 1

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 2

Green Taxes – British Backlash

For some, it's an inconvenient truth -- The more politicians and consumers talk about the urgent need to go green … The more likely it is we'll have to find a way to pay for our global warming sins.

Last week the Liberal Party acknowledged that it is considering endorsing a carbon tax on consumers and corporations -- in an effort to encourage people and companies to cut down on CO2 emissions. The admission was met with derision from the governing Conservatives with Environment Minister, John Baird, saying it would amount to nothing more than "the mother of all tax increases."

So, are "green taxes" actually stealth taxes -- a mere money grab on the backs of consumers and corporations? Or are they a moral and responsible way to save the environment? It's a question that's already being asked in Britain, where "green taxes" are slowly being introduced and facing stiff opposition.

Blair Gibbs is the Campaign Director with The Taxpayers' Alliance in London, England.

Green Taxes – Canada

Britain isn't the only place where people are seeing red at the prospect of green taxes.

Terence Corcoran is the Editor of The Financial Post and he was on the phone from Toronto. And Andrew Van Iterson is the Program Manager of the Green Budget Coalition. He was in Ottawa.

Listen to The Current: Part 2

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 3

Ayan Hirsi Ali Feature

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is one of the most controversial figures of the post 9-11 era. A Muslim woman estranged from her family, her country and her religion. A woman who led the charge against what she saw as the growing power of conservative Islam in Europe. And a woman who paid a heavy price for the stand she took.

Two-and-a-half years ago, Dutch film-maker Theo Van Gogh was shot dead -- murdered by a Moroccan extremist over a controversial film he and Ayaan Hirsi Ali had made that was highly critical of Islamic culture. When police found his body, there was a note pinned to his chest with a butcher knife. It was addressed to Ayaan Hirsi Ali and threatened that she would be next.

Ms. Hirsi Ali went into hiding for several months. She later lost her Dutch citizenship and moved to the United States. She's now researching the relationship between Islam and The West at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank. Last month, she published a memoir called Infidel and Ayaan Hirsi Ali was in our Toronto studio.

Last Word – Syria

Before we end the program today, we wanted to return to a story we explored earlier in the program ... a documentary about the estimated one million Iraqi refugees who have fled to neighbouring Syria. Among the many voices we heard were two Syrian women -- Itab Azzam and Ferial Halahel.

They talked about how the influx of Iraqi refugees was making life more difficult for Syrians in Damascus. But they also had some thoughts on who was to blame for the violence in Iraq -- the reason why there are so many refugees fleeing that country in the first place. So we closed the program with their thoughts.

Listen to The Current: Part 3

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

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