But for the ultimate in obsequiousness, check out the newspaper pic of Martin and Bono from Gleneagles last Thursday. They are shaking hands and our main man is literally pawing the rocker’s leather jacket. Fawning describes Martin’s demeanor perfectly. He has on his face a grin so false and fake-hearty it triggered, in me at least, a giant gag reflex.
Maybe it’s his taste in hats.
“So Secretary Rice suggested to Kofi Annan that if he wanted scarier troops she would be more than glad to help him get the French and Canadians.”
Angry is angry.
(Then he nearly spoils it all with an apology.)
A reporter poses as an American tourist in Toronto, and uncovers the “ugly Canadian”.
First, I approached John, sitting on a stoop smoking, a Toronto hat on his head. I asked for a lighter, introduced myself and said I’d noticed anti-Americanism in Toronto. He asked if I was a Republican and I said I was. Then John asked, “Are you a fundamentalist of some kind?”
“This is Kensington Market,” he added. “It’s about the worst place for fellow right- wingers.” After I thanked him for his time and started walking away, he instructed, “Reconsider your views.”
From whence has this change of heart come?
Today I am traveling to Brussels to join representatives of more than 80 governments and institutions in sending a loud and clear message of support for the political transition in Iraq.
A year ago, in Resolution 1546, the U.N. Security Council set out the timetable that Iraq, with the assistance of the United Nations and the international community, was expected to fulfill. The Brussels conference is a chance to reassure the Iraqi people that the international community stands with them in their brave efforts to rebuild their country, and that we recognize how much progress has been made in the face of daunting challenges.
Elections were held in January, on schedule. Three months later the Transitional National Assembly endorsed the transitional government. The dominant parties have begun inclusive negotiations, in which outreach to Sunni Arabs is a major theme. A large number of Sunni groups and parties are now working to make sure that their voices are fully heard in the process of drafting a new constitution, and that they participate fully in the referendum to approve it and the elections slated for December.
Indeed, just last week an agreement was achieved to expand the committee drafting the constitution to ensure full participation by the Sunni Arab community. This agreement, which the United Nations helped to facilitate, should encourage all Iraqis to press ahead with the drafting of the constitution by the Aug. 15 deadline.
As the process moves forward, there will no doubt be frustrating delays and difficult setbacks. But let us not lose sight of the fact that all over Iraq today, Iraqis are debating nearly every aspect of their political future.
[…]
In a media-hungry age, visibility is often regarded as proof of success. But this does not necessarily hold true in Iraq. Even when, as with last week’s agreement, the results of our efforts are easily seen by all, the efforts themselves must be undertaken quietly and away from the cameras.
[…]
The Iraqi people continue to endure a painful and difficult transition, and they still have a long and tough road ahead. The United Nations is privileged and determined to walk it with them. In doing so, we serve not only the people of Iraq, but the peoples of all nations.
From “illegal war” to official declaration of “progress”, albeit progress claimed on behalf of the UN… I wonder if this had something to do with it.
Travelling in the US for a few days makes for a lovely break from blogging, despite the fact that I have so much catching up to do when I get back. It’s not just that there’s no news from Canada – whether the discussion is focused on the economy, foreign affairs, politics – there are no comparisons of America to Canada on any topic at all.
For all intents and purposes, Canada ceases to exist.
Which, all things considered, is about what this insipid little excuse for a country deserves.
Canadians believe U.S. President George W. Bush is almost as great a threat to our national security as Osama bin Laden, according to a government opinion poll obtained by the National Post.
Words fail.
One hundred odd protestors rode bicycles naked through the streets of London to protest the West’s obsession with oil.
Naked cyclists in oil protest ride
A group of naked cyclists took part in a bike ride to protest against oil dependency and to “celebrate the human body.” Crowds gathered as about 100 people set off from Hyde Park corner, London, in the World Naked Bike Ride past some of the capital’s most famous landmarks. Most of them stripped fully naked for the 10km (6.2 miles) cycle past Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, Covent Garden, Oxford Street and the United States Embassy.
Some bikes were decked out with banners reading ‘Oil is not a bare necessity but a crude obsession’ and ‘Support the trade justice movement’. Others have slogans painted on their backs and some were on roller-skates.
One of the organisers, Chad Neilson, 24, from North London, said part of the ride was to celebrate the human body. “It’s a protest against oil dependency and car culture and the overuse of cars for unnecessary reasons. There is too much pollution, it stinks in London, and we use too much fossil fuel. I think people should be a lot more comfortable with their bodies. There is nothing wrong with the naked body.”
I’m guessing that this protest will have negligible impact on our energy dependency and will cause approximately zero people to switch from cars to bicycling, naked or otherwise. Indeed, I would wager that the bicyclists used more oil on their chains than they “saved” with their protest.
via OTB
Isn’t this just lovely:
Reviled by many, defended by few, Canada’s most notorious female inmate won’t even be greeted by her family when she is released in less than a month. But CTV News has learned Karla Homolka does have some support in high places.
Homolka made her first public appearance in more than a decade last week at a court hearing in Joliette, Que. After two days of testimony, a Quebec judge imposed restrictions on Homolka’s movements for a year after her release from prison.
Liberal Senator Michel Biron, 71, was present in the Joliette, Que. courthouse last week. He sat beside Homolka’s lawyer during the hearing in a show of support for the convicted killer.
According to witnesses, Biron exchanged a slight smile with Homolka.
It’s a shame that there were no Senators sitting with the French, Mahaffy, and Doe families to speak out in favour of protecting their constitutional rights. You know, the right to not be drugged, raped, sodomized, beaten, and then murdered. But I guess that’s not as important as making sure that the people who do these things don’t get their widdle feelings hurt.
Ah, whatever. I’ve been following the coffee house conversations about Ms. Teale (what Homolka calls herself now), and the truth is that she’s a goner. There are enough people willing to cross the line and apply a little ‘retroactive justice’ that I don’t expect her to last a year before somebody plants her head first in some farmer’s field.
What Paul Martin said:
“Our purpose is to strengthen our universal public system and to provide timely access to medical services!”
What he really meant:
“We’re going to plug this loophole, and fast, because allowing affordable options for the rabble, er, ordinary Canadians seeking private health care could create waiting time problems for me with my private doctor!”
Democratic nutjob Howard Dean is continuing to make friends wherever he goes:
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, unapologetic in the face of recent criticism that he has been too tough on his political opposition, said in San Francisco this week that Republicans “all behave the same, and they all look the same. … It’s pretty much a white Christian party.”
“You know, the Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people. They’re a pretty monolithic party. Pretty much, they all behave the same, and they all look the same. … It’s pretty much a white Christian party,” the former Vermont governor told a San Francisco roundtable Monday in reaction to a question about the lack of outreach to minority communities by political parties. — SF Gate
How much do you want to bet that Dean keeps a copy of Warren Kinsella’s book Kicking Ass In Canadian Politics on his bedside table? He’s certainly got all of the talking points down…
Angry? (Check!) White? (Check!) Christian/Bible Puncher? (Check!) Mouthbreathers? (Check!) Knuckledraggers? (Check!)
Dean’s approach to politics will look familiar to Canadian Conservatives who have been on the receiving end of the same kind of abuse from the lefties in our country. For all of the left’s talk here in Canada about how ‘different’ we are from the U.S., it just looks like more of the same crap to me.
That’s some difference.
Anarchists from around the world are planning to cause chaos at next month’s G8 summit in Gleneagles as a row broke out last night between Bob Geldof and DJ Andy Kershaw over the absence of black musicians at events staged to benefit Africans.
With police fears mounting over Geldof’s call for one million people to protest at the summit, Kershaw last night condemned the almost exclusively white line-up for the pop concerts to coincide with the summit. “If we are going to change the West’s perception of Africa, events like this are the perfect opportunity to do something for Africa’s self-esteem,” he said. “But the choice of artists for the Live8 concerts will simply reinforce the global perception of Africa’s inferiority.”
Excuse me while I struggle free from this Oprah moment.
So, we need to assist Africa in building “self esteem”. We need to stop reinforcing the perception of Africa’s inferiority.
Well then, why didn’t you say something earlier? That’s an easy one to solve.
Let them start funding their own goddamn aid programs for a change.
Those who follow the blogosphere will remember that in late May, the Harper bashing website that Sinclair Stevens had originally registered under the Royal Commonwealth Society of Toronto was quickly amended to show Freedom International Association as owner after the information became public.
At the time, several commentors speculated that Mr. Stevens was a member of this Freedom International, a society dedicated to “resisting the legal enforcement of morality on a variety of fronts”. They espouse among other things, public nudity and legalization of sexual activity in public places.
Today I recieved an email response from Tony Pitman, whom I had contacted to ask about the Stevens website. He writes;
Thanks for your email. Yes, that would be a very odd affiliation! No, there’s no link between our two groups … fortunately! Just the coincidence of choosing the same name.
One can understand his relief!
Jacques Chirac has named Dominique de Villepin (who is not a woman) as France’s new Prime Minister. One can only conclude that the appointment of the carefully coiffed foreign minister is intended to punish the French for refusing to approve the EU Constitution.
The Auditor General wrote “A weak immigration service is putting Canada in danger because it isn’t weeding out applicants presenting criminal, security, or health risks”. Last year, a high-ranking Canadian diplomat based in China made a million in bribes from immigrants before bolting from his post. The Libranos refuse to add the Tamil Tigers to the list of terrorist organizations…
… but they have lots of enthusiasm for sending the Language Police to spy on their own border agents.
Via Nealenews
At the moment I have CBC radio on – a show featuring Brent Bambury called GO – and they’re playing tape of people phoning in about “What’s Great About Alberta.”
There is banjo music playing in the background.
Dear Canadians from central Canada*: this is what we mean by CBC bigotry towards the west. It’s pervasive and insidious and it’s a major contributor to what you know as “western alienation” and what we are starting to think of as “time to get the hell out”.
Imagine if Foxnews were to play sound effects from a West African whorehouse as background for “man on the street interviews” in downtown Toronto. I bet you’d like that, eh?
(*With the notable exception of my enlightened Ontario readers, of course.)
Kofi Annan is acting suspiciously like a man preoccupied with the hand that is firmly wrapped around the family jewels.
Secretary General Kofi Annan said Thursday that he had decided there were no grounds for disciplining his former chief of staff, Iqbal Riza, who was criticized by the independent committee investigating the oil-for-food program for ordering the shredding of three years of files.
“While those actions were careless, I do not believe they can be construed as deliberate attempts to impede the work of the independent inquiry committee,” Mr. Annan said April 19 in a letter to Mr. Riza that was released Thursday. His reference was to the panel headed by Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman. “I accept your apology and assure you that I still have great faith in your professionalism and well- known integrity,” the letter continued.
I wonder what Riza has on him.
update – Strong World has more evidence.
A petition has been launched by the Dust My Broom blog;
