Big Steve Harper has got some notice in Russia thanks to his hard line on Russian membership in the G7. Mr. Harper opined the other day that Russia doesn't belong in the G7 "under Putin" because Mr. Putin is a nasty dude. Or something.
Sounds like Big Steve is advocating for regime change in Russia.
The Kremlin response to Mr. Harper's ruminations was remarkably level-headed. What with the recent findings of genocide against the native population in Canada by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Russians could have gone off on all manner of finger-pointing and name-calling tangents.
Instead, they merely regret Canada's unfortunate lapse into Cold War rhetoric.
The G7 was once comprised of the seven biggest economies in the world. Canada has long left that fold. The influence of the G7 over global economic policies remains formidable but is fading fast. We still belong in the G20, but certainly not the G7.
As far as Russia is concerned, under Putin they have a lower unemployment rate than Canada, a bigger economy than Canada, and a far better debt to GDP ratio than Canada, in spite of the spurious sanctions imposed since that so-called "annexation" of Crimea.
I have a hunch that the history books a hundred years from now will feature several chapters on the leadership of Vladimir Putin.
Harper is unlikely to be much more than a footnote.
Showing posts with label Canada Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Victimology 101
Sam Sidlofsky used to toodle around town in his Mercedes 450SL, sporting the licence plate "IAMSAM."
Sam wasn't shy about being a Jew driving a German car.
I'm thinking about Sam because I went to witness the burial of my dear Tante Gisela this afternoon. Sam passed away a few years ago, but his wife Shirley shares a page with my aunt at the McIntyre and Wilkie Funeral Home's website.
Condolences to Shirley's (and Sam's) family.
And to Steve and Inge and Tom and Linda. And especially to my uncle Horst.
But this is not about them. And it's not really about Sam either.
Sam was a Sociology prof I encountered in my journey through higher education. I liked him, and even though I was a student who completely failed to internalize the prevailing certitudes of the time, I got great marks in Professor Sidlofsky's classes, so at some level he must have liked me too.
Page A13 of today's Globe and Mail, the national newspaper of record, offers up two divergent takes on the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I would love to hear Sam's take on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
As a Jew, he'd be well acquainted with the legacy of victimization.
As a Jew who drove an up-market German car, he was obviously a guy who wasn't going to let that legacy get between him and driving that Mercedes.
In my newspaper I've got Ry Morgan, Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, spelling out why Indians can't "get over" the injustices inflicted on them by the invaders, the conquerors... the White folks.
On the same page, we've got Jeffrey Simpson, a Globe and Mail bigshot, warning of the dangers of wallowing in the legacy of victimhood.
Morgan and Simpson are both right. And they're both wrong.
First of all, the European conquest of North America is long done. It's over. That's not to say that an inferior culture was displaced by a superior one. Far from it. In fact, the more we know about native collectivism the more we can learn from it. But it does mean that the interlopers had the guns, germs, and steel on their side, and they triumphed.
That's a fact.
It's also a fact that many native Canadians are prospering today. Unfortunately, it's only "news" when they don't. That's why we hear lots and lots of sad stories about substance abuse and poverty and failure. That's the nature of the news business.
We don't hear much about the many Indians who are successfully integrated throughout the social spectrum, nor do we hear about the many successful native communities that prosper without wholesale integration. They're out there; we just don't hear about them because it's not part of the news business to report good news.
The news business is based on maximizing the disaster stories. That's why missing aboriginal women and gas-sniffing ten year olds are such big items in the news.
To be sure, the stats on poverty, suicide, homelessness, unemployment and so forth should snap every Canadian, native and non-native, to attention. There is certainly much to be done.
But that's not the whole story.
Sam wasn't shy about being a Jew driving a German car.
I'm thinking about Sam because I went to witness the burial of my dear Tante Gisela this afternoon. Sam passed away a few years ago, but his wife Shirley shares a page with my aunt at the McIntyre and Wilkie Funeral Home's website.
Condolences to Shirley's (and Sam's) family.
And to Steve and Inge and Tom and Linda. And especially to my uncle Horst.
But this is not about them. And it's not really about Sam either.
Sam was a Sociology prof I encountered in my journey through higher education. I liked him, and even though I was a student who completely failed to internalize the prevailing certitudes of the time, I got great marks in Professor Sidlofsky's classes, so at some level he must have liked me too.
Page A13 of today's Globe and Mail, the national newspaper of record, offers up two divergent takes on the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I would love to hear Sam's take on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
As a Jew, he'd be well acquainted with the legacy of victimization.
As a Jew who drove an up-market German car, he was obviously a guy who wasn't going to let that legacy get between him and driving that Mercedes.
In my newspaper I've got Ry Morgan, Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, spelling out why Indians can't "get over" the injustices inflicted on them by the invaders, the conquerors... the White folks.
On the same page, we've got Jeffrey Simpson, a Globe and Mail bigshot, warning of the dangers of wallowing in the legacy of victimhood.
Morgan and Simpson are both right. And they're both wrong.
First of all, the European conquest of North America is long done. It's over. That's not to say that an inferior culture was displaced by a superior one. Far from it. In fact, the more we know about native collectivism the more we can learn from it. But it does mean that the interlopers had the guns, germs, and steel on their side, and they triumphed.
That's a fact.
It's also a fact that many native Canadians are prospering today. Unfortunately, it's only "news" when they don't. That's why we hear lots and lots of sad stories about substance abuse and poverty and failure. That's the nature of the news business.
We don't hear much about the many Indians who are successfully integrated throughout the social spectrum, nor do we hear about the many successful native communities that prosper without wholesale integration. They're out there; we just don't hear about them because it's not part of the news business to report good news.
The news business is based on maximizing the disaster stories. That's why missing aboriginal women and gas-sniffing ten year olds are such big items in the news.
To be sure, the stats on poverty, suicide, homelessness, unemployment and so forth should snap every Canadian, native and non-native, to attention. There is certainly much to be done.
But that's not the whole story.
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