Showing posts with label pierre poilievre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pierre poilievre. Show all posts

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

UPDATED: Just A Victim Of Circumstances?

Fate can be cruel. It is not unheard of to be going about, minding one's own business, when a person of unknown provenance accosts you and demands a photo with you. Results of such encounters can vary.

There was, one may recall, an incident in 2002 when the Mayor of Toronto shook hands with a member of The Hell's Angels.


Mel faced some criticism for that encounter, but claimed he had no idea that the outlaw biker gang dealt in drugs, guns, and violence.

Just a victim of circumstances.

No serendipity was involved in the disgusting picture of former PM Stephen Harper shaking hands with quasi-dictator Viktor Orban of Hungary. For this, he made no apologies, and at least owned up to the fact that the handshake was intentional as he advocates closer ties with him.



But the case of Pierre Poilievre, or, as I like to call him, PP, is a whole other category. Photographic misfortune stalks him. One remembers the time he posed with Jeremy Mackenzie, founder of the Diagolon group, during the former's leadership campaign.



PP's explanation:

“Over the course of my campaign I have shaken hands with literally tens of thousands of people at public rallies. It is impossible to do a background check on every single person who attends my events,” Poilievre’s campaign team said in response to Global News’ request for comment on Aug. 20.

“As I always have, I denounce racism and anyone who spreads it. I didn’t and don’t know or recognize this particular individual.”

And now that the prime ministerial aspirant has doffed his glasses and donned makeup, his photographic presence is in even greater demand:


But again, poor PP is just a victim of unfortunate circumstances:

A spokesman for Pierre Poilievre said Mondaythe federal Conservative leader does not agree with the message of “straight pride,” after he was photographed with a man wearing a T-shirt bearing those words.

Sebastian Skamski said Poilievre had been posing with “hundreds of people” at the Calgary Stampede on Saturday when he was photographed with an individual “without reading what was written on his shirt.”

The bright green T-shirt featured the symbols for men and women that are often posted to the doors of public restrooms.

It said, “Thank a straight person today for your existence,” in black capital letters, with “straight pride” written at the bottom.

Skamski said that “Poilievre does not agree with the message displayed on the T-shirt,” adding that Conservatives are working to build a country where everyone is free to be themselves, “regardless of their sexual orientation.”

PP's lapses are alarming to some; however, I suspect they are very loud dog whistles to others. 

Circumstances, fate, or character revelation? You decide.

UPDATE: Dean Blundell has his interpretation that aligns with mine. 





 


Monday, April 17, 2023

Ideological Soulmates

 

 

Well, it appears Pierre Poilievre, that would-be master disinformation-trafficker, has found his true soulmate in another man-child, Elon Musk. They have had a meeting of the minds when it comes to the CBC - dearest Elon has agreed to PP's request that the publicly-funded networked be labelled "government-funded media," a tag that used to apply only to propaganda outlets like RT (Russia Today).

"Government-funded media is defined as outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlet's funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content," according to Twitter.

National Public Radio in the U.S. announced earlier this month that it is leaving the platform after Twitter labelled its account as "state-affiliated media," saying that doing so undermines their credibility by "falsely implying that we are not editorially independent."

U.S. public broadcaster PBS followed suit, also leaving Twitter after it received the "government-funded" stamp.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently called on Twitter CEO Elon Musk to add a "government-funded" label to accounts that promote "news-related" content from CBC.

Such a designation will undoubtedly provide sweet succor to the simple  amongst PP's clan of followers (but aren't they all a bit simple?) and will undoubtedly raise his 'street cred' with them. And just in case some of them missed the significance of this label, PP tweeted out that the CBC has been "officially exposed" as "Trudeau propaganda, not news."

The CBC was quick to admonish the thinking behind this assault of the media:

The CBC is a Crown corporation, wholly owned by the state but operated at arm's length from government.

In a statement Sunday night, CBC corporate spokesperson Leon Mar emphasized the government does not influence CBC's editorial content.

The CBC is a Crown corporation, wholly owned by the state but operated at arm's length from government.

Such machinations, of course, only help to illustrate PP's discord-sowing ways that make him manifestly unfit to sit in the prime minister's office; they also, however, demonstrate something else a credulous electorate should bear in mind: his hypocrisy:




Friday, April 14, 2023

Angry Talking Heads

 

When I was a teacher, it used to bother me to no end that it only took one or two ignorant, badly-behaved kids to spoil the atmosphere and discourse in a class. For those who think it should have been a simple matter to silence those voices, well, let's just say they don't understand the reality and the dynamics of teaching.

I feel the same frustration today when I see angry men-children like Elon Musk and his Canadian counterpart, Pierre Poilievre, spreading their mischief to gain either attention or political advantage. Take, for example, Musk's impish decision to label publicly-funded media as government-funded, the implication being that they are merely organs of government propaganda. In the United States, this has led both NPR and PBS to close their Twitter accounts.

Not to be outdone, our own domestic mischief-maker, Pierre Poilievre, wants the same designation for the CBC. This is perhaps not surprising, coming from the man who is trying to exact as much political mileage as possible out of his promise to defund the CBC.

Like the problem students I dealt with, they clearly have too much power to influence the agenda. Unlike the classroom, however, all of us have a role to play in mitigating such madness, as pointed out in the following letter from a Star readers:

Trying too hard to make CBC the enemy, April 13

Bruce Arthur is right to pay attention to Elon Musk and Pierre Poilievre championing the word freedoms in order to destroy it when it comes to the public funding of national media like the CBC. Clearly these two are not reformers but transformers and destroyers of our democracy. As antistatist freedom fighters they appeal to everyone’s sense of liberty while bringing about its end in the media.

Like the typical 1980s neo-con U.S. President Ronald Reagan who identified government as the enemy of the people, Musk and Poilievre regard publicly funded media to express the national will of its people as illegitimate. They demand that the marketplace is the only way to provide free and balanced reporting.

The fact that such free enterprise thinking resulted in Fox News, becoming the lying propaganda media for Republicans only is ignored.

The fact that Musk bought Twitter promising to free it up so that everyone would be heard but turned it into the embodiment of censorship is overlooked. (Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opposition is censored in Indian and Substack notes’ links are censored in the U.S.)

The fact that magical thinking that freedom bestows legitimacy on anything done in its name has proven to do major harm to democracy is ignored.

History has shown that public funding for national media like the CBC is the only democratic economic system that allows individuals to vote for how their money is to be used in the media. They can vote out the government and replace it with a different policy about its funding.

Musk can’t be voted out. Poilievre with such anti-democratic views should not be voted in.

Tony D’Andrea, Toronto

Perhaps a tall order from Mr. D'Andrea, but one that none of us who believe in a healthy democracy can afford to shirk.

 

 

 

Monday, October 10, 2022

We Need To Talk About PP

 

You have probably heard all about PP courting the incels, a profoundly misogynistic conglomeration of sad sacks who hate women because they can't seem to forge a relationship with them. The following is a video I found on Twitter that examines the type of people the would-be PM courts.

“Pierre Pollivere has been caught using a hashtag specifically designed to target anti feminist and hate groups…..” 👇👇👇👇👇




Tuesday, September 27, 2022

UPDATED: The Great Pivot, A.K.A., Refashioning His Image

By now you have probably heard about Pierre Poilievre's outrage over an apparent threat against his wife, Anaida.

The threat, made by Jeremy MacKenzie, is, of course, reprehensible and unacceptable. However, the outrage Poilievre expresses is tinged with a heavy measure of hypocrisy. 

Here is a shot of PP with MacKenzie:

Poilievre had previously sidestepped calls to denounce MacKenzie, including from leadership rival Jean Charest, after the men were photographed together at an event during the Conservative leadership race this summer.

Nick Seebruch wrote on Sept.2,  

Jeremy MacKenzie, the de facto leader of the Diagolon cult... has gone on social media calling for the execution of Canadian Armed Forces personnel. He has encouraged his followers to harass health care professionals, and is facing assault and weapons charges in Sask., and weapons charges in N.S. in an unrelated case as well.

After the photo of MacKenzie shaking hands with Poilievre began circulating on social media, he refused to denounce MacKenzie or Diagolon by name instead stating: “As I always have, I denounce racism and anyone who spreads it,” then deflecting by pointing to what he called “. . .Justin Trudeau’s many racist outbursts . . .”

Then there is the unpleasant participation of PP's wife, Anaida, in inciting hatred, associating Trudeau with pedophiles and terrorist, as I wrote about in a previous post:

That the rage-farmer's wife is all in with Pierre's pursuit of power at any price is evident in a recent Tweet she sent, recommending Canadians visit an extremely right-wing site trafficking in sensational headlines, love of 'freedom' and hatred for Trudeau.'

I could go on and include references to Poilievre's own indifference when members of the media, especially females, have been subjected to terrible abuse and threats, as well as his self-serving response in reaction to Chrystia Freeland's verbal assault when she visited Alberta, but I think you get the picture.

The hands of both PP and his wife are unclean, precisely what happens when flinging mud at others. The fact that Poilievre now posts supreme outrage at the inevitable result of stirring up the baser instincts of people is unseemly and hollow. 

One suspects he is making the "Great Pivot" to appear now as a regular public official, only concerned about his family. 

And who, if they don't know any better, could argue with that?

UPDATE: Our national satirical treasure, The Beaverton, has some acerbic fun with PP. Here is their headline:

Pierre Poilievre asks extremist group to go back to threatening other peoples’ families

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Creepy

Wasn't Socrates executed for corrupting the youth?

Courting a child wearing Minnie Mouse ears sets my 'Spidey sense' tingling.

H/t The Salamander Horde



Wednesday, August 31, 2022

We've Been Warned

With the NDP hinting that their pact supporting the Liberals until 2025 could be under strain, a timely reminder from de Adder about the alternative:





Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Rage Farming And Hypocrisy Come So Easily To Him

While political hypocrisy is hardly rare, in my view Pierre Poilievre 'elevates' it to an entirely new level - new at least in Canadian politics. And while his blind followers will no doubt fail to see this, rational, reflective citizens will.

By now, most people will have heard about or seen the video in which deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland is viciously verbally assaulted by Alberta miscreant Elliott McDavid. If you haven't, I placed it on a previous post. While one cannot draw a direct link between McDavid's disgraceful behaviour and Poilievre, it is clear that the kind of reckless, divisive rhetoric favoured by the soon-to-be-crowned new leader of the CPC emboldens such heinous harassment.

A story in The Tyee  quotes McDavid as saying he is proud of what he did:

“Why did I do that? Because I want the rest of the country to wake up and realize that she is a traitor to the country. She is selling out the country,” Elliot McDavid said in a phone interview Saturday.

 University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley told the Tyee

 he expects aggressive attacks on politicians to increase in Canada as right-wing politicians continue to engage in “rage farming” by advancing false and misleading conspiracy narratives.

But, of course, the most dangerous rage farmer, Mr. Poilievre, refuses to take any responsibility for the current rancourous landscape that he so willfully cultivates and exploits. Indeed, until he was confronted by a reporter about the Freeland incident, he offered no denunciation of it. His 'repudiation' of it, as you can see in the following video, was completely self-serving:


He refers in the above to the online abuse his wife, Anaida, has experienced, so perhaps she deserves some scrutiny. Clearly a fellow traveller and soulmate, she reminds me a bit of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's perfect partner-in-crime:

""But screw your courage to the sticking-place and we'll not fail!"

That the rage-farmer's wife is all in with Pierre's pursuit of power at any price is evident in a recent Tweet she sent, recommending Canadians visit an extremely right-wing site trafficking in sensational headlines, love of 'freedom' and hatred for Trudeau.'

Oh… 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ 7 times Trudeau met with pedophiles, terrorists and extremists | True North

This kind of scurrilous recommendation by the wife of a possible future prime minister is unprecedented in Canadian politics, as far as I know. That she panders like Pierre to an angry and reactive rabble does not bode well for a return to a more civilized discourse, but perhaps helps explain some of the putative reactions she has stoked.

It is said that behind every successful man stands a woman. In this situation, it might be more accurate to say that behind every unscrupulous politician stands an equally unscrupulous wife.

They make quite the power couple, eh?

Saturday, August 27, 2022

In Good Company

Given the unhinged crowd Pierre Poilievre cultivates, it would seem that Patrick Corrigan has pierced the heart of the demagogue's mystery.



And for those who would like a graphic reminder of that crowd, there's this:


 


Wednesday, August 10, 2022

A Timely Reminder


That division exists in our country is undeniable. That there are those amongst us who seek to exploit those divisions is also a fact. Two Star letter-writers remind us to be very wary of such merchants of discord:

Poilievre leads candidates in donations, Aug. 3

Uncivil behaviour, unbridled entitlement, a paranoid stance, leading to demonizing others is not how you build community and it’s certainly not how you build a nation.

Watching two Conservative leadership races play out, I am left wondering how we come together as a united country, with trust, and hope, for a future together.

Are others concerned?

Desmond Pouyat, Toronto

 An emperor with no clothes, Aug. 6

Rosie DiManno aptly describes Alex Jones as “the conspiracy monger most responsible for promoting that web of deceit.” Ex- president Donald Trump said to Jones: “your reputation is amazing.” One man motivated by greed, the other by power.

Both feeding on the ignorance and anger of a largely hateful population.

Is this what our southern neighbours have evolved into?

I wish I could turn my back and ignore their fall into mayhem, but I can’t.

In Canada, we are seeing the same exploitative tactics from politicians, such as Pierre Poilievre, who pander to angry mobs like the so-called freedom convoy.

As his popularity amongst Conservatives seems to rise, it begs the question: Are we falling into the same abyss as the Americans?

Are we going to let hate and ignorance be our guiding beacons?

We need to pay attention to what is happening down south. Or else we are doomed to fall prey to the same fate.

Maurice Sacco, Toronto 









Monday, August 8, 2022

UPDATED: About Freedom

Although I read and write a fair amount, I clearly am not an expert in the affairs of the world. I can merely observe, report and comment on the things that interest, hearten or outrage me. An armchair (or is it keyboard?) pundit am I.

Nonetheless, there are certain realities that seem to me irrefutable, global heating being the most pressing, in my view. And that's why I find Pierre Poilievre's political pontifications about making Canada the freest nation on earth both absurd and disturbing. 

At the heart of  Poilievre's corrupted vision is that personal freedom (the truck convoy being an egregious example) trumps all else, that the mythical and ogre-like 'gatekeepers' are the only impediments to becoming truly actualized individuals. 

Therein lies the sweet lie.

Anyone who believes such an idealized state is possible is clearly deluded; anyone who advocates for it is being disingenuous, manipulative and mendacious.

The reason is fairly straightforward and, I think, obvious. Freedom without responsibility is a recipe for chaos, made worse by the fact that if we to have any chance (admittedly slim) of  avoiding the worst effects of climate change, co-operation, not the rhetoric of absolute freedom, will carry the day. 

Co-operation, the working with others toward common goals, is of course the complete opposite of the reckless rhetoric espoused by Mr. Poilievre, and clearly anathema to his political posturing. His divide-and-conquer strategy is a clear abdication of political leadership, one doubtlessly appealing to those given more to reaction than reflection.

Pierre reminds me of a student I taught many years ago named Jason. A most disruptive and mean-spirited lad, he was a definite taint on the atmosphere of the Grade 10 general level class I was teaching. It was the same year that asbestos was discovered in the west wing of the school where I taught, a discovery that required moving all staff and students to classrooms in the east wing. Imagine my surprise while watching the evening news to see Jason, who professed concern for his fellow students, leading a march on school grounds protesting the 'unsafe conditions' under which they were being instructed. Jason, a most indifferent student, to put it politely, felt that the conditions and asbestos threat were not conducive to learning, and something had to be done about it.

In many ways, Pierre reminds me of Jason. He exploits discontent for his own aggrandizement, the angry and disenchanted amongst us mere props to facilitate his political goals. Sincerity and genuine concern for the country are absent.

Will Poilievre succeed? I guess it depends upon how you define success. He will undoubtedly succeed in nurturing and expanding his constituency of the aggrieved, guaranteeing victory in his leadership quest. I very much doubt he will become Canada's next prime minister. 

Of course, that will ultimately be determined by those who rouse themselves to vote in the next election, won't it?

UPDATE: Moudakis's latest is just too rich and spot-on not to add to this post:



Monday, July 25, 2022

Laceratingly Accurate

Given Mr. Poilievre's refusal to debate his opponents, Michael de Adder's assessment of the putative front-runner in the Conservative leadership race seems spot-on.

 
Some also think Mr. Poilievre bears an uncanny resemblance to this young fellow:










Saturday, July 23, 2022

Freedom's Just Another Word...

 ... for demagoguery, at least if you are Pierre Poilievre. The leading contender for the helm of the Conservative Party of Canada is, of course, making a concerted effort at preaching the virtues of freedom while conspicuously eschewing its yoked counterpart, responsibility. And as he exalts the individual and their pursuit of this 'vision', he is giving the middle finger to any notion of the collective good.


Rick Salutin scrutinizes these notions, writing that even right-wing 'institutes' like the Cato and Frasier give Canada high rankings on their Freedom Index, landing at #8 our of 165,

a mere .36 of a point behind Switzerland, which is surely a statistical tie.

So by Poilievre’s own right-wing standards, Canada’s already ahead of almost everyone — including the U.K. and U.S., ranked 14 and 15. So what’ll he devote his effort to as PM — housing? Climate? Health? No: making us even freester (since we’re already freest). How gloriously pointless.

 It essentially comes down to freedom for me (“personal freedom” à la the indexes) or freedom through commonality, as in ... FDR’s New Deal.

And it is clear that Mr. Poilievre is championing the former while disdaining the latter, as reflected in his embrace of the truckers' convoy that paralyzed Ottawa for three long weeks.

The freedom demanded there was almost all “personal”: snarling traffic, blaring horns till residents felt deranged. And an ultimatum to end COVID mandates — which BTW never forced anyone to get vaxxed, but did prohibit participation in public situations to protect others’ freedom not to get sick.

During the civil rights years in the U.S., there was an anthem called “Oh Freedom!” When the singer sang, Over me, others echoed, Over me — because we were fighting for freedom over us all. 

I feel as if Pierre Poilievre responds, Over you, to calls for freedom, especially from those he favours. He’s a personal freedom kind of guy who doesn’t view freedom as a necessarily shared activity. Nor does he have the excuse of being endearingly nuts. It’s just the way he thinks.

As in the United States, the ideological lines are clearly drawn. And because we still live in a country in which we can engage in that collective, democratic activity known as voting, it falls to all of us to determine what vision ultimately prevails.

 

  

 

 

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

UPDATED: This Left Me Feeling Queasy

I confess, making it to the 3:27 mark was a real effort, one fortified by a pre-dinner libation(s) last evening. However, eventually I steeled myself to watch the remaining minute, the entire video experience leaving me feeling a tad bruised.

The following production is unbelievably cheesy but at the same time somewhat unsettling. For example, Pierre Poilievre's opening in which he lovingly fondles wood inevitably leads one into all kinds of Freudian speculations, but I'll leave those to more learned minds. However, as you will see, his very strained wood metaphor(?) eventually leads into a revisionist, completely false, history of the signing of Magna Carta.

The Great Charter was 

agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.[b] First drafted by Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. 

To hear unlucky Pierre's version, the commoners forced King John to sign the Great Charter, thereby reclaiming their freedom, the central theme and fiction of this risible production. And if you have the intestinal wherewithal to watch the entire video, you will likely note that this historical falsehood is consistent with the false narrative he draws about the awful Liberals, who, he claims, want to take away our few remaining freedoms in a fruitless quest for a socialist utopia.  He astutely reminds his listeners that utopia means no place.

No doubt some will be impressed by Poilievre's apparent respect for the intelligence of his followers and would-be acolytes. By using an extended and laboured metaphor, by seeming to be referring to historical fact, he is trying to flatter their intellectual vanity, while at the same time shamelessly and ruthlessly exploiting their credulity.

But of course, that really is what propaganda is all about, isn't it?


In times of war, it is said that truth is the first casualty. Obviously, the same is true of CPC leadership battles.

UPDATE:  I see I am not the only one who noticed Pierre's relationship with wood. Heather Mallick writes,
Do you like wood? Sure. I like wood as much as the next guy. But not as much as Conservative Party leadership hopeful Pierre Poilievre, who has dropped another unhinged video and it’s all about wood because wood is what this strange man really likes.

Plaid-shirted Poilievre greets us inside his wooden house caressing a vertical exposed wooden beam with his fingertips and enthusing, with theatrical pauses and little bursts.

 Is that erotic? Someone thinks it is.

Twitter certainly did. “Find someone who looks at you the way Pierre Poilievre looks at an antivaxxer or a piece of wood,” it advised. “Poilievre seems to be trying to take a piece of wood on a date.”

She goes on, but I think you get the picture. The unsavoury picture, that is.


 


Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Pick Your Friends Wisely

Clearly, Pierre Poilievre is making a calculated decision here in who and what he associates himself with.



H/t Theo Moudakis


Thursday, May 12, 2022

About That Conservative Leadership Campaign

It would seem that the leading contender for the helm of the federal Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, brings neither credit nor credibility to his party.

H/t de Adder

Bruce Arthur writes about the divisive tactics of this strange man, tactics that seem in many ways reminiscent of the nonsense that goes on in the U.S., where Joe Biden is blamed for inflation, ignoring the fact that it is a worldwide problem caused by a variety of external factors.

The Bank of Canada is a target thanks to the rise of inflation, which is largely due to the war in Ukraine and oil prices, house prices, China and COVID, and maybe some profiteering. People notice pocketbook economics.

In response to this thorny global financial challenge, Poilievre blames domestic spending and Bank bond-buying to support government deficit spending — he has always been against the pandemic financial supports to Canadians — and pitches … Bitcoin?

That would be the same Bitcoin that is down 50 per cent since November.   

His attacks on the Bank of Canada are similarly reckless. He wants the Bank to focus on keeping inflation as low as possible, while knowingly pushing lines of attack that could undermine its ability to do so. Expectations of inflation affect wage expectations, which affect prices, and if the market doesn’t think the Bank of Canada is serious about bringing down inflation, inflation doesn’t slow.

Maybe Poilievre truly doesn’t understand that. More likely, he just doesn’t care.

And his seemingly nonsensical advocacy for crytocurrencies has a sinister implication.

 Jessica Marin Davis is the president of Insight Threat Intelligence, a former senior strategist in Canadian intelligence, and the author of a book on international terrorist financing. She points out that of the money sent to the Ottawa convoy, the vast majority of the million or so via crowdfunding sites was frozen, leaving approximately $30,000. But over $830,000 came in via cryptocurrency.

Davis says, “it's super useful for money laundering, and it's super useful for other forms of illicit financing, and it's somewhat useful for terrorist financing. And I would say it's somewhat useful for other forms, like financing criminal mischief, as we saw in the convoy.”

Really, the simplest throughline to Poilievre’s bit is that if your goal is to hammer freedom to an audience that found wearing masks was an imposition, that vaccines were a conspiracy rather than a collective victory, and that are angry or confused by what’s happening with the world, then Bitcoin is just another aspirational buzzword that signifies the world doesn’t have to work the way you’re told it does. Poilievre has been pumping conspiratorial theories about gatekeepers for much of the pandemic; He’s still doing it. He’ll say just about anything, and that opens the door to all kinds of conspiracies, all kinds of anger, all kinds of extremism. 

Such is the sad state of politics today, powered by people who gleefully exploit and exacerbate societal divisions to feed their own power-seeking venality.

Definitely not the Canada I grew up in, and not the Canada I want to exist after I am gone.

 P.S. For a primer on the real nature and risks of crytocurrencies, click here.