Today’s headlines were interesting. Conservatives using the RCMP as their political goon squad to turf people out of events and pre-screen them. But Harper’s said he’s sorry and, I’m sure, has promised to never do it again. This is a good little quote from the Toronto Star though:
Category: Canada and Empire
On Canadian foreign policy and its subordination to the needs of the Empire, including the “Five Eyes”.
Harper’s Foreign Policy
Lawrence Martin’s “Harperland” discusses Harper’s foreign policy. It isn’t really distinguishable from Liberal foreign policy, except that it is a little more paranoid and secretive.
Throughout the West, there is fairly unconditional support for Israel. Some explain this with lobbies, etc. For the Harper people, Israel is a principle, above all others – certainly above human rights, equality, or fairness, anything Israel does is correct, whether it is starting a war of aggression, massacring civilians, or torturing children.
Stephen Harper, Bruce Carson, and the Environment
The quote of the day is definitely from Stephen Harper about Bruce Carson’s fraud convictions: “I did not know about these revelations that we’re finding out today. I don’t know why I did not know.”
Anyone who doubts Carson’s importance in Harper’s team should definitely read Lawrence Martin’s “Harperland”. He’s all over the book.
In this light, I think Harper’s quote about Brian Mulroney might be of interest (pg. 73 of Harperland):
Continue reading “Stephen Harper, Bruce Carson, and the Environment”
Harper and the Press
In Harperland, Lawrence Martin points out how Harper hates the press (you can see it in this campaign, with the 19th century schoolmaster’s Five Questions policy).
In a chapter on Harper’s press policy, called “the Control Fixation”, Martin relates this story (pg. 65):
Incrementalism
Calgary academic and Harper advisor Tom Flanagan has more influence on Canadian politics than most people in this country realize. He was an important informant in Lawrence Martin’s imporant book, “Harperland”.
A good quote from Flanagan, on pg. 47 of Harperland:
Blogging the Canadian election
To go with Canadian election season, I am reading books about Stephen Harper, his party, and his movement. I have got Lawrence Martin’s “Harperland”, Marci McDonald’s “The Armageddon Factor”, and I have ordered Christian Nadeau’s “Rogue in Power”.
I thought I might put some of the interesting quotes out on this blog as I encounter them.
I started with Harperland by Lawrence Martin.
A great quote from Harper on pg. 29:
Canadian democracy – procedural tricks to kill the planet
Canada’s weak climate change bill was killed by the Senate today (see the star article for example).
The Harper people’s vision for the country isn’t compatible with trying to stop climate change. This is known, and unsurprising. What is interesting to me is the procedural trick used to make this change. The Star story: “A snap vote in the Senate on Tuesday caught Liberals in the Upper House off guard, and not enough Grits showed up to save the bill from losing by a margin of 43-32.”
Continue reading “Canadian democracy – procedural tricks to kill the planet”
Na’eem Jinnah on the Ontario Legislature’s condemnation of Israeli Apartheid Week 2010
The crack reporter and the mystery phone
“And yet, for all my fulminating, one fact is uncontested: I am writing about Naomi Klein. She isn’t writing about me.”
–Jonathan Kay, September 12, 2007
I have to admit I stay away from Jonathan Kay’s writing as much as I can (a stomach can only take so much, even though I’ve had two doses of Ducoral now). I can honestly say that I have never encountered a piece of writing of Kay’s that doesn’t mention Naomi. It’s vaguely creepy for me as a reader, and I can only imagine how creepy it must be for her.
The Canadian FARC cell that never left Colombia
Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe Velez, actually presented a dossier from his intelligence agencies when he visited Canada. The intelligence agencies were claiming, based on a magic laptop, that there were FARC guerrilla cells operating in Canada, masterminded by the cousin of the assassinated guerrilla leader Raul Reyes.
Continue reading “The Canadian FARC cell that never left Colombia”