Bullies Who Us?

So both Don Newman and Mike Duffy had talking heads from American Think Tanks on their shows this afternoon, commenting on the lamentable breakdown in Canada US relations and U.S. Amb-ass-ador Wilkins comments. Both were right wing apologists, you can tell by how they dressed and by the insititutes they spoke for.

Newmans guest stated that he was surprised at Harpers sudden about face on the US after he had been handed a "creem puff on a silver platter by the Cato Insititute' editorial in the Washington Times. Yep Harper did a St. Peter and denied his lord.U.S. ambassador should stay out of election: Harper

Wilkins was directed to criticize Martin and Canada from no less than the Darth Vader of the Empire; Dick Cheney.

But the stupidest comment came from the commentator on Mike Duffy's show who claimed, and this is not the first time I have heard this, we were 'bullying' the U.S. Yep little old us, the polite Canadians, those mousy folks up north,with the less population than California, and No Guns. Bullies! Kicking the shins of Uncle Sam to get his attention obviously got his attention, and we are bullies. Yep guess we aren't going to be invited to the lighting of the White House Holiday Tree.

Michael Ignatieff the Gentle Imperialist

It's the syncronicity of cyberspace research. While researching on the internet for material for an article I come across something interesting, a quote, an article, a reference that pops out and while not directly related to what I may be writing I clip to use later. This is one of those.......

In the face of this attempt to extend what can only be called the American Empire, intellectuals and political figures are not only returning to the idea of imperialism, but also to the view of it propounded by its earlier nineteenth century proponents as constituting a grand civilizing mission. Comparisons of the United States to Imperial Rome and Imperial Britain are now common within the mainstream press. All that is needed to make it completely serviceable is to rid the concept of its old Marxist associations of economic hierarchy and exploitation—not to mention racism.

According to Michael Ignatieff, Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, writing in the New York Times Magazine (July 28, 2002), “[I]mperialism used to be the white man’s burden. This gave it a bad reputation. But imperialism doesn’t stop being necessary because it is politically incorrect.” In referring to U.S. war operations in Afghanistan he writes: “Yet the Special Forces aren’t social workers. They are an imperial detachment, advancing American power and interests in Central Asia. Call it peacekeeping or nation-building, call it what you like, imperial policing is what is going on in Mazar. In fact, Americaentire war on terror is an exercise in imperialism. This may come as a shock to Americans, who don’t like to think of their country as an empire. But what else can you call America’s legions of soldiers, spooks and Special Forces straddling the globe?” The Rediscovery of Imperialism by John Bellamy Foster

Also See Ignatieff

WTO Who Cares?

The WTO is meeting in its long anticipated Hong Kong round to talk about agribusiness subsidies. But despite the long anticipated meeting it is going nowhere. Nor can it. Despite the anti-WTO protests, despite last summers G8 meeting pledging Trade Not Aid, despite Bono and Geldoff, the very fabric of capitalism is the industrialization of agriculture, and this is the contradiction that belies this round of trade talks. Capitalism developed out of large scale farming production with the end of the commons in England.

Today the modern form of agribusiness destroys the family farm here in the industrialized world as much as it has declared war on subsistence farming in the developing world. The subsidies given out to Agribusiness are being equated with cooperatives and producer marketing boards. Hence the attack on the Canadian Wheat Board and the Quebec Dairy boards by Americans and by our own comprador farmers from the Reform/Alliance/Conservative party. And they are no more equivalent than the subsidies given to Agribusinesses that market bananas from Ecuador, like Dole, and the farm cooperatives that grow the bananas and are paid below market price by Dole.

Ever since the GATT Uruguay talks ended, more and more subsistence farming in the Third world and the newly Industrialized nations has been replaced by large scale export farming controlled by Agribusiness Giants like ADM,Cargill, Nestles, etc..

And where export products such as sugar, rice, soya, and dairy products, are in competition with the G8 they have no fair trade market. Even in their particular unique export markets such as bananas and cocoa and coffee, the internecine trade zones between the EU and the USA punitively punish these producing countries, and do not pay a fair price for their products.

Nor are the farmers encouraged to develop subsistence farming, some for export with varied crops for their own survival. When agribusiness gets involved, farmers in the developing world become wage slaves on large scale corporate plantations.

The village farming cooperatives are a real market alternative to rapacious capitalism and its agribusiness operations, but these folks are forgotten at the WTO. They have neither local representatives nor state representatives. Nor has the Libertarian movement taken up their cause with few exceptions such as those of us on the Libertarian Left; Kevin Carson, Larry Gambone, and the Knappster, voices in the wilderness on this issue.

Think of the power that these small villages would have if rich American Libertarians who have oodles of cash were to champion their cause. But it won't happen because they aren't really Libertarians, just Republican hanger ons, more interested in privatizing public services than supporting real free markets in the real world. Because these markets are run by cooperatives and collectives, which runs counter to their individualist consumerist ideology.

The WTO talks stalled again today, and will not get anywhere because the issue to agribusiness is not the issue of sustainable farming, but of transforming the world into its supermarket as ADM brags.

And until we have fair trade that promotes open markets to farmer cooperatives in the developing world, Africa in particular, we will continue to have to feed them, and fund them, as they suffer the famines of Imperialism.

The Free Market In Children

Forget the beer and popcorn, here is a real example the right of parents to choose whats best for their children. Here is the reality of having a free market where parents can choose and the nanny state doesn't exist. Here is an example of having no state regulations, no state enforcement, and real freedom of choice. I can hear the conservatives cheering until they choke on this.....

UN highlights children's plight

One in 13 children in the developing world have lost a parent, it said

Hundreds of millions of children suffer discrimination and exploitation but are invisible to the world, the UN agency for children says in its annual report.

It said new laws are required to ensure that births are officially registered, and it also urged governments to do more to stop "abuse and exploitation".

Trafficking risk

The report said nearly two million children had entered the sex trade, 5.7 million were sold into slavery and 1.2 million were trafficked each year

The report said over half of the births in the developing world - apart from China - are not registered, meaning they are not recognised as citizens.

Without registered identity, they are unable to receive education, decent health care and other services. If they do not officially exist, it also means traffickers can make them "disappear" without fear of retribution.

The State of the World's Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible said exploited children were often overlooked in public debate or news stories.

Yep you can say that again.

How the NDP Blows it

The polls released on CPAC last night shows a serious decline in support for the NDP in Ontario and B.C. the hot spots that they are supposed to be fighting to win.

Now speculation has it that the significant, nope make that huge drop in the support for the NDP in Ontario is either the Buzz factor, or the Liberal Gun Ban.

Well folks its neither. It's the perennial problem of the liberal-Left and the NDP in particular, its called politeness. Yep they are to damn polite in debates.

So when debating a big mouth rightwhinger like say Ezra Le-Rant they sit quietly and try and score points by being reasonable, sounding reasonable, and not getting in your face. While Ezra or any other rightwhinger gets in your face and says the most outragous generalities about liberals and the left, and the spokesperson for the left sits there and takes it. Calmly they reply and get bulldozed over by the rightwhinger.

Its my pet peeve about liberal leftists in debates. The problem is that liberal leftists think that politics is the bloody Oxford debating society. That you score points by being clever. Well you actually have to open your mouth and say something to score points. And one of the failures of the NDP is that they don't.

Take for example last night on Mike Duffy's Countdown. We have Anne McLellan, Peter MacKay and Bill Blaikie debating. And Bill, Mr. Parlimentarian, sits there with this blank look on his face (you could almost see the cartoon squiggles of steam coming out of his ears) and doesn't butt in on the debate between Anne and Peter.

He waits. And waits. Finally the Duff asks him to speak, Bill starts and Duff asks him a question and he blows his cool and attacks Duff for interupting him. Opps faux pas, you don't criticize the moderator you attack your opponents.

Then Anne and Peter go at it hammer and tongs and on the screen between them is Bill staring out at us blank faced, and never ever said a word again. He just looked pissed off. Yep he just let them debate. The result,well here's what my pal Reg said;

I never thought....
Putting the a in smart
2005-12-13 20:49:47
I would ever feel sorry for Anne McLellan but if you just watched the absolute asskicking Peter MacKay just gave her over defense spending on Duffy's Countdown tonight, you know why I do.

Bill who? you ask, exactly. So what the hell is the NDP position on defense spending? Don't know cause Bill thought this was Oxford or the House of Commons. Where debate is regulated.

And he is not the only one. Its a major problem with the NDP communications (sic) team of Brad Lavigne and Jamey Heath. Whenever they are debating their counterparts on Don Newmans show, or the Duffs, they let the debate go between the Liberals and Tory's. They sit back politely and wait their turn. Though on CPAC the other night Brad did flip out and attacked, and attacked, with political pugilism.Atta boy Brad. Someone must have put an espresso in his Starbucks before the show.

But overall the NDP is never in the debates. They have a fear of luquacious interruptis. It's a historic problem with the NDP its why Ed Broadbent lost the debate and the election in 1988 when he sat back and let Mulroney and Turner punch it out over Free Trade. The issue was the NDP's and it was stolen by Turner. And all Ed did in the debate was sit on the sidelines slack jawed.

If the NDP wants to make any gains, let alone set the agenda of this election as they did in the spring sitting of parliment, its time to take the gloves off. Look into the camera and open your mouth and say something.


Other NDP Stories

Can't Get No Respect

The Face of the Evil Empire. Come to the dark side Canada.

Would you trust this man with your lumber?

The 'elephant next door' has heard the mouse that roared. US Amb-ass-ador Wilkins slaps Canada upside the head for his boss the War President.

Wilkins' wide-ranging speech covered just about every issue of contention between the U.S. and Canada.

The problem is if you watch his speech you need subtitles to understand what he is saying. Either it's his strong southern good old boy accent or the fact he had his bubba foot in his mouth.

And if he thinks he has chastised the Liberals well that was a tactical error of the highest order, especially during an election. Congratulations stupid you just influenced the election, more than the Washington Times could with their editorial supporting the Harper.

In a speech to the Canadian Club at Ottawa's historic Chateau Laurier Hotel, U.S. President George Bush's envoy to Canada accused Martin of trying to score cheap political points by bashing America. "Just think about this. What if one of our best friends criticized you directly and incorrectly almost relentlessly? What if that friend's agenda was to highlight your perceived flaws while avoiding mentioning your successes? What if that friend demanded respect but offered little in return?" Wilkins asked. Ok let me mention a success - Wal-Mart- 'nough said?!

Me thinks he doth protest too much....let's see he is speaking for an Administration that lied in order to conduct an illegal invasion of another country.

An Adminstration that continues to defy trade agreements with Canada.

An Administration that declared war on terror and invaded Afghanistan four years ago only to result in a city state surrounded by war lords, a 260% increase in opium production and left the countries defense to Canadian and NATO troops.

Are these incorrect or just flaws?

Now this Amb-ass-ador of the evil empire is well connected to the very lumber lobby that is screwing us. And as a good old southern bubba, with the confederate flag tattoed on his brain, of course he could still be smarting about the fact that the underground railroad to Canada was a success.

America owes us a lot, because without us they wouldn't be singing the Star Spangled Banner. We weren't always friends. So don't piss us off.

CTV Poll

Nope not one about the political parties but about us, about where Canadians get their election news. Blogs are behind radio, well shucks. But web sites almost match TV for being accessed for information in computer rich Canada. Mind you the fact this is a web site poll even if it for a TV network, sort of biases that anwser doesn't it. Quick vote now and vote often and blogs can beat out newspapers.

Where are you going first to follow the election campaign?

Newspapers		1060 votes	(11 %)
Television		4359 votes	(46 %)
Radio		345 votes	(4 %)
Websites		3262 votes	(34 %)
Blogs		533 votes	(6 %)
Total Votes: 9559

Taken for Granted

So it appears that none of the national party Leaders will be visiting Alberta soon.
Albertans frustrated by lack of attention. That's what happens when you are a Blue province, in a Red Country. If you pardon the American analogy.

It also reflects the cynicism of our national poltical party's over their chances of gaining a seat in the land of the democratic deficit. We have the only one party state in North America under King Ralph. And with the exception of two seats in Edmonton, fedrally we suffer the same indignity, being almost all Tory blue.

But is that any reason not to expect the national party leaders to visit here. There are some ridings in contention here, as I have mentioned before. But it appears that the Liberal strategy for Alberta is to sit this election out, except for Landslide Anne's Edmonton Centre riding, as I reported here the other day.

A Liberal spokesperson said leader Paul Martin is committed to travelling Canada as completely as possible and that he hopes to make Alberta part of that tour. Oh do. I hope you do plan to visit, perhaps by then you will have updated all your candidates pages on your web site so you know who you are visiting.

The NDP stands a good chance in a couple of Redmonton ridings that the Liberals have abandoned. Edmonton Strathcona and Edmonton East. While the Liberals are serious contenders in Mill Woods Beaumont.

An NDP spokesperson said Jack Layton's time is better spent in areas where the party holds some seats, but the leader hopes to make a stop in Alberta next week. Good that will be the first national leader to visit since the Green Party leader Jim Harris whistle stop last weekend.

But you know its bad when the National Party Leaders are more cynical about their chances here than the electorate. And abandoning Alberta is a dumb political move for the future.

Even the Harper is taking Alberta for granted. Sort of like he took his constiuency nomination, and later when he ran for the Alliance and refused to debate. His arrogance is showing now on the national stage. "Stephen Harper best serves the party by being in Ontario and Quebec because, at the end of the day, being in Alberta is not going to win us the government, and that's what this is about," said Stephen Carter, spokesperson for the Conservative party in Alberta. That is particualarly galling and a good reason to NOT vote Conservative. We Albertans are good at teaching lessons that way. We don't like to be taken for granted, specially by the one that brung ya to the dance.

The Return of Firewall Alberta

In a long rambling quote I heard on the radio yesterday, BQ leader Gilles Duceppe claimed that Alberta had more in common with Mexico than Quebec. Ok I said to myself, what the hell does that mean? He was talking about trade and trade links and mad cow. Uh huh right. So? And then he said this;Duceppe said Liberal Leader Paul Martin has refused to entertain the creation of trade zone "fire walls." He added these trade-zone fire walls would have shielded Quebec and other provinces from the fallout of mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Implying that Alberta was to blame for the BSE crisis, and the closing of the markets to safe healthy independeniste Quebecois cattle. But he said Firewall. He meant it to be around Alberta, not Quebec. Now the last guy to say that was Stephen Harper, and he said it about Alberta too, when he was President of the NCC, but he meant it as a form of psuedo-seperation.

Dr. Duceppe meant it as a way to quarantine Alberta phsyically as well as economically from the rest of the country during the BSE crisis. True the BSE crisis was centred in Alberta as a result of deregulation and privatization. However it did also occur in other provinces and in the US after they closed their border to us. Dr. Duceppe is implying that Alberta had been an economic Typhoid Mary.

Or perhaps he was just agreeing with the Old Harper. Nope read that quote again, it implies quarantine. Duceppe has just insulted every Albertan, and Canadian with that remark. Now this is certainly as big a gaffe as Beer and Popcorn. It was a throw away remark, a cheap shot at Alberta's expense. And a frightening one at that by its implications.

Wonder what the New Harper has to say about this, or the Alberta Conservative MP's or the ex-Reform Party Alberta MLA's like Firewall co-signor Ted Morton, or even King Ralph.

Harper Republican Lite

During the NFATA debate in Canada the Economist magazine on their front page refered to the Mulroney Government as Bleeding Heart Tory's, saying they were to the left of even the Democrats in the U.S. Todays Conservative party is nowhere close to the party of Mulroney, having been created as a right wing opposition to his bleeding heart conservatism. Harper's reply shows that his election focused Conservative party remains Republican Lite, ala John McCain.

Harper responds to Washington Times endorsement

Conservative leader Stephen Harper has responded to an opinion piece in the Washington Times in which Harper was called "the most pro-American leader in the Western world. Free-market economist Stephen Harper, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, is pro-free trade, pro-Iraq war, anti-Kyoto, and socially conservative."