That's the verdict of Kenneth Cukier, writing in the prestigious British publication The Economist.
Hey Ken, get over yourself; this is the new Canada, Harper's Canada! That stereotype of a modest and humble people, self-effacing and quietly punching above their weight... that's so Lester Pearson!
In the new, modern, Harperite Canada, we blabber incessantly about our leadership role in this and that, when the reality is something else entirely. John Baird's Dept of Foreign Affairs and International Salvation has told us dozens of times how Canada "leads" the global fight to save women and girls. Pure bupkis!
We are now a nation that brays loudly and carries a very modest stick indeed.
Our leaders crow constantly about punching above our weight when all that means is we're a Me-Too third-rate power dropping bombs on some failed state with no air defences, in some pathetic ploy to curry favour with the big dogs in Brussels and Washington.
Times have changed, Ken... meet the new Canada.
Showing posts with label The Economist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Economist. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2014
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Hollande's halo fading fast
Is it possible that on the same day, Africans in Mali are chanting "merci Papa Hollande," while a couple of borders away in Tunisia, crowds are chanting "France out?"
According to this article from The Economist, the "Mali bounce" in Hollande's poll numbers has been a short-lived phenomenon indeed.
And that's less than 30 days into an occupation that will have to last for years, if not decades, if the goal is to snuff out Islamic insurgency for good.
That of course will never happen unless and until the causes of these so-called "Islamic" insurgencies are addressed, and then we face the fact that "Islamic" insurgencies are at root no different than insurgencies in other contexts.
Insurgents become that because they are fed up with being under the thumb or the boot of whatever power is depriving them of the right to choose their own path in the world.
It is only a matter of time until the crowds in Mali are making the same chants as their African brothers in Tunisia.
According to this article from The Economist, the "Mali bounce" in Hollande's poll numbers has been a short-lived phenomenon indeed.
And that's less than 30 days into an occupation that will have to last for years, if not decades, if the goal is to snuff out Islamic insurgency for good.
That of course will never happen unless and until the causes of these so-called "Islamic" insurgencies are addressed, and then we face the fact that "Islamic" insurgencies are at root no different than insurgencies in other contexts.
Insurgents become that because they are fed up with being under the thumb or the boot of whatever power is depriving them of the right to choose their own path in the world.
It is only a matter of time until the crowds in Mali are making the same chants as their African brothers in Tunisia.
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