Just looking at the world today, it is clear that Americans never learn their lesson when it comes to 'excursions' into other countries, all of which have proven disastrous for the world. It is the essence of their hubris.
The only American to have understood this is Bernie Sanders who, in 2010, had this to offer:
10 years ago, Bernie Sanders warned America of the unintended consequences that could emerge from a regime change war with Iran. Watch
I can't find the psychic energy these days to write anything meaningful, so I offer you this, sent by a friend. It is, in its own way, topical:
As a resident of Ontario, I confess to being disenchanted these days. After Doug Ford has won three successive elections with very substantial majorities, he seems untethered, his megalomaniac plans substituting for competent governance.
There is, of course, his preposterous plan to build a tunnel under Highway 401, but there are also other ideas that merit ridicule, not sober consideration, such as building an artificial island upon which to build construct a new convention centre for Toronto; he is also keen on extending the local airport (Billy Bishop) to accommodate jets, despite the fact it is a plan widely opposed by those living downtown.
Ford is also considering opening the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes to solo drivers in 'off peak hours' (whenever that might be in perennially-congested Southern Ontario). As well, citing fiscal constraints,(after eliminating a multitude to revenue sources), he has abruptly cut OSAP aid for university students. Especially worrying for those who value transparency in government, the premier is now in the process of crippling freedom of information requests by excluding cabinet records and government 'business' conducted on personal cell phones. And, of course, there is the long-standing RCMP criminal probe (eight years and counting, I believe) into the Greenbelt scandal. Of his lengthy recesses of the legislature I will not even speak.
I have been wondering of late whether or not people are tiring of his populist poses. If letters to the editor are any measure, there is a sliver of hope that people are beginning to understand that bluster and wild schemes are not a substitute for proper government:
The Conservative Ford Government has plans to exempt the premier and cabinet from freedom-of-information (FOI) requests which would deny the public access to documents held by the office, and signatures upon agreements relating to economic, financial and corporate contracts. The EV agreements the public would love to review will certainly never be made public. With the legalities carried out within the Legislatures and NDAs, much has been agreed upon and held deep within the shadows of conservative backrooms and corporate parlors.
Ontario is truly for sale folks, and we will never know who the new owners are, what agreements were signed and if financial largess has passed into political party hands.
Steven Kaszab, Bradford, ON
Once again, Doug Ford is moving Ontario towards autocracy and non-accountability. A premier who fears Freedom of Information is a premier with something to hide. Here is the litmus test: is this a power you would want every party to have? How would Ford have responded if former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne had made this proposition? Something dirty is afoot. And blaming the Chinese government is just a tactic to avoid accountability. People should be horrified by this.
Elaine Jackson, Mount Albert, ON
Premier Doug Ford has stated his government should be exempt from releasing documents, government records, etc., under the Freedom of Information Act. Amongst his arguments for is the fact he receives 1,000 calls per day about very personal problems and says he feels like a psychologist trying to solve everyone’s personal issues. Therefore, he will not release personal information about people’s lives. Ford should make use of an official government phone and use his personal phone only when engaged in the role of “psychologist.”
Mary Morrison, Mississauga, ON
Until the creators/supporters of HOV lanes presents conclusive evidence that the majority of vehicles using HOV lanes are doing so as legitimate ride-sharers the concept of HOV lanes should be considered a sham and a waste of valuable pavement.
Robert Woodcock, North York, ON
While the machinations of Ontario politics may be of little interest to those living elsewhere in Canada, the province surely offers an object lesson for all whenever their next provincial elections may be.
We live in a world where major events offer the average person little influence. Wars, rumours of wars, starvation, mass displacements of population, all are part of a daily menu of woes that reminds us of our impotence. It is enough to make many shun news and current events and embrace ignorance.
Some, I believe, try to counter that impotence through what is often called performative politics. Essentially empty gestures, they allow practitioners to delude both themselves and others into thinking what they do really matters. That flattering balm undoubtedly assuages the egos of some, but at bottom, in my view, it means little or nothing.
We all know there are positions people are loathe to publically take for fear of rebuke. Instead of calling Israel genocidal, for example, we say the opposite - it has a right to defend itself, as if one has anything to do with the other. Thus we are spared the inaccurate but damning label of anti-semite. Lest we want to be cast with the right wing rabble, we say nothing or little to question the wisdom of allowing children to begin gender reassignment. Transphobe is not a term we relish if it is applied to us.
Neither of the above examples is to suggest that I have become some kind of reactionary. What I have become however, is appalled by the fact that honest discussions and disagreements have been become weaponized to the point of suppression. Group think is demanded; non-compliance with a putative truth is met with punishment, usually in the form of stigmatization.
The story that set me off is the resignation of Niagara Regional Chair Bob Gale. Gale most recently drew attention to himself by trying to open discussions on amalgamation of a number of local governments in a search for efficiency and cost-saving. In doing so, it would appear that he is paying an unanticipated cost.
Niagara Regional Chair Bob Gale has abruptly resigned, just hours after anti-racism groups in Niagara demanded he apologize for owning a signed copy of Adolf Hitler's infamous manifesto, Mein Kampf.
The Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association (NRARA) and Justice 4 Black Lives Niagara said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they condemned Gale for purchasing and owning the book signed by Hitler, the leader of the German Nazi Party and architect of the Holocaust, in which six million Jewish people were systematically murdered along with millions of Roma, 2SLGBTQ+ and other victims.
"[We] demand a public explanation and apology," the groups said.
I am troubled by this for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Gale describes himself as one who collects historical documents. His collection consists of acquisitions from across the political/historical spectrum:
"[M]y collection includes an 1859 letter from anti-slavery advocate John Brown, a letter from George Washington, a letter from Winston Churchill and Vatican archives."
By this measure, Gale is not a crypto fascist extolling the Third Reich, but in these fraught and performative times, that apparently does not matter.
That reality is perhaps best exemplified by the NRARA's Saleh Wazzirudin:
"Bob Gale needs to explain himself publicly and apologize for owning one of the most notorious pieces of antisemitic hate.”
Sherri Darlene, founder of Justice 4 Black Lives Niagara, said in the joint statement that it's no secret that racism has been a problem in the region for a long time.
“It’s shocking but not surprising that Niagara’s highest elected municipal official owns hate literature," she said.
Joining in that group-think pile-on are Niagara NDP MP Wayne Gates and Premier Doug Ford, both of whom approve of Gale's decision to resign, which just shows that political courage is absent across the spectrum.
The times in which we live leave little room, even among progressives, for nuanced, subtle thinking or reasoned discussion. It is almost as if we have grown allergic to anything possessing shades of gray. And that is something, unfortunately we have in common with the reactionaries we claim to oppose.
During his recent, celebrated speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged that “the story of the rules-based international order was partially false” because the rules tended to be upheld or ignored depending on which state was violating them. He also stated that Canada would aim to be “both principled and pragmatic. Principled in our commitment to fundamental values, sovereignty, territorial integrity, the prohibition of the use of force except when consistent with the UN Charter and respect for human rights.”
In hindsight, it would be generous to describe the prime minister’s statement as “partially false,” given Carney’s immediate show of support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks on the territorial integrity of Venezuela and now Iran — attacks carried out in violation of both the United Nations Charter and, for that matter, United States law. Six weeks after Carney’s speech in Davos, it’s clear that the rules-based international order remains dead, while hypocrisy is alive and well.
Bart Hawkins Kreps, Bowmanville, Ont.
Lloyd Axworthy, the former minister of foreign affairs, is right to criticize Carney for his decision to back the U.S. and Israel’s bombing of Iran. By supporting “Operation Epic Fury,” as America is calling the campaign, Canada is only helping to further dismantle the international rules-based order that the prime minister invoked in his speech in Davos. Using military force against a sovereign state absent a clearly articulated justification or objective, and without having given diplomacy a fair chance or come to a collective decision with the UN Security Council, constitutes a clear abandonment of international laws and norms. At the World Economic Forum, Carney emphasized Canada’s commitments to the values of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to avoiding the use of military force except when consistent with the UN Charter. How are Canadians to believe his words now? The prime minister’s endorsement of this war is unnecessary and reckless.
Pamela Mulligan, Grimsby, Ont.
I commend Axworthy for his sternly reproachful op-ed, as well as Justin Ling for his piece published the same day. Carney seems blinkered by trade concerns. How else to account for his misguided, weak-kneed public statements about Trump’s war in Iran? As Axworthy and Ling both correctly assert, taking concrete actions to help free Iranians from their country’s oppressive regime is desirable, but it must be done within the bounds of international law.
Trump leaves me so incandescent with rage that I can’t bear to hear him without shouting at whatever screen he appears on. His haughty contemptuousness and delusional self-assurance would be comical if the stakes weren’t so high for the world. By rights, the president should be arrested, hauled off and convicted for his assorted crimes, and then put unceremoniously behind bars. Instead, serious people like Carney are compelled to hold their tongues and behave with deference. It’s all so farcical, yet it’s a farce without laughs.
Oliver Lenhardt, Toronto
I guess Carney has decided Canada needs to put its sign back up in the window: his recent statement on the U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran marks a sad and cowardly retreat from the views he expressed in Davos. There, he argued that the world’s middle powers had to stick together in defence of certain fundamental principles, including “the prohibition of the use of force except when consistent with the UN Charter.” We now see what all that amounts to when the rubber hits the road — and when 350,000 Iranian Canadians march up Yonge Street. Center-left voters have been cutting Carney a lot of slack on climate change and Indigenous rights, but I no longer trust his allegedly good intentions.
Jerry Ginsburg, Markham, Ont.
Trust lost is very difficult to regain. I predict tumultuous times ahead in Mr. Carney's relationship with Canadians.
Forgive me for frequently quoting from Hamlet, but Shakespeare's words seem most relevant today, thanks to Theo Moudakis:
Prime Minister Mark Carney would not rule out military involvement in the spiralling Middle East war, stressing the possible need to defend Canadians and allies as the deadly conflict threatens to widen.
Carney also appeared Thursday to harden his stance when he declined to call for an immediate ceasefire, saying the stated war aims of the United States and Israel — to eliminate Iran’s capacity to build nuclear weapons and sponsor terrorism — had not been achieved.
“While we want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities,” including with the participation of other countries impacted by the violence, Carney said, “we recognize and stress that that cannot be achieved unless we’re in a position where Iran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon … and to export terrorism is ended.”
[Sigh] Davos seems so long ago, doesn't it?
