I didn't think it was possible that John Baird could shame this country further. Make us look more like stooges, oddballs, or just plain weird eh?But somehow he managed. Read more »
Continue readingTag: John Baird
LeDaro: What is Wrong With Baird?
The United States is not recalling diplomats, why Canada? What does Baird have against Palestinians? Even neutral Switzerland voted in favour of the UN resolution recognizing Palestine as a non-member observer state. The vote at the UN was a historic o…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Cons and the Gaza Horror
It was the bloodiest day so far in the living nightmare that is Gaza.More rockets, more bombs, more horrifying violence.First there were six ambulances, one after the other, unloading the bodies of men identified as militants, at least two of them…
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: LGBT human rights in Uganda, and John Baird’s dilemma.
Recent attention from both ends of the political spectrum has focused on the efforts of the Harper government to safeguard the safety and human rights of lesbian and gay people around the world. I’ve commended Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird for taking the lead on this before, and without prompting. But what has been 
Accidental Deliberations: On contrasting treatment
BigCityLib comments on the Cons’ hasty backtracking over Helen MacMurchy. But I find it particularly interesting to note the contrast between their treatment of MacMurchy and their handling of John A. MacDonald. Remember that MacDonald’s fervent commitment to an “Aryan Canada” and racial purity was publicly noted just as the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: NATO Went to War for America, Why Not Turkey?
Like the United States, Turkey is a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Article 5 of the NATO charter obliges all members to come to the aid of any other member under attack. For the second day running, Turkey has received artillery barrages fired by Syrian government forces.
Continue readingFive of Five: John Bolton + Brian Lilley
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Ambassador John Bolton’s is one of America’s leading minds in foreign relations. His experience has earned him numerous accolades. President George W. Bush called Bolton "a stalwart defender of freedom and peace." Senator Jesse Helms (then chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee) referred to Bolton as "the kind of man with whom I would want to stand at Armageddon." We
Continue readingFive of Five: John Bolton + Brian Lilley
via Facebook ads: Ambassador John Bolton’s is one of America’s leading minds in foreign relations. His experience has earned him numerous accolades. President George W. Bush called Bolton “a stalwart defender of freedom and peace.” Senator Jesse Helms (then chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee) referred to Bolton as “the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: About Stephen Harper’s ambassadorial timeshare: maybe he missed the lesson on the Statute of Westminster!
Canadian and British Joint-Embassy diplomats work out their timeshare arrangements. Below: The young Stephen Harper on the day he missed his history lecture after lingering too long over Atlas Shrugged; Perfesser Dave feeds lines to Opposition leader Tom Mulcair last weekend; Mr. Harper at the NCC. Like Sir John A.
Continue readingLeDaro: “Ottawa to open joint U.K.-Canadian diplomatic missions abroad” CBC
Foreign Secretary William Hague and Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will sign an agreement to open joint U.K.-Canadian diplomatic missions abroad in Ottawa on Monday, CBC News has learned. What happened to our sovereignty? How will Quebec react to
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Harper’s wish for war with Iran: an ill Tory wind that blows no good for Canada
Unlike Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Doge of the Most Serene Republic of Venice was prepared to receive the ambassadors of Persia. Below: Igor Gouzenko, Dr. Samuel Johnson and Winston Churchill. When Igor Gouzenko came in from the cold 67 years ago last Wednesday, Canada had an extremely serious and
Continue readingImpolitical: Today in monument naming
The Harper guys are doing important bidness this summer. In addition to all the expensive and very relevant 1812 war pageantry that ministers far and wide are glorifying in this time of supposed careful fiscal management, they’re off renaming an Ottawa thoroughfare today. The Ottawa River Parkway gets re-named…and after
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Does Bizarre Bethune brouhaha signal ideological rift within Harper Conservatives?
Communist physician Norman Bethune, left, and a comrade from the Red Chinese Army speak with Canadian Treasury Board President Tony Clement, right, in a vignette as imagined by Sun News Network. Below: Dr. Bethune, looking weirdly contemporary with a fashionable goatee; far-right ideologue Rob Anders; the real Mr. Clement. Is
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Heroic Struggle of Kevin Page
It's an inspiring sight, and a chilling one. Kevin Page, the parliamentary budget officer standing up for the right to know the truth, in a country where the Big Lie rules. As the Cons try to smear him and muzzle him as they have so many others. They have attacked
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Tory Revenge on Page
Well, that didn’t take long. Recommend this Post
Continue readingTrashy's World: Courtesy of…
@StephenLautens. LMAO! (9) Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Trish Hennessy assembles a handy set of ideas to deal with income inequality. – No, there isn’t much new in the Cons’ familiar pattern of deceiving the public, covering it up, then lying by about the cover-up by blaming civil servants who
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Dean Del Mastro and the Ghastly Cons
Uh oh. I KNEW it was a mistake to make Dean Del Mastro, the Con point man on the robocall scandal. One moment he was leading the charge, bellowing like a bull, claiming da Liberals did it, and that the Cons didn't do dirty stuff like that. The next moment
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Sunday reading. – It’s undoubtedly an embarrassment for John Baird to have leapt at a thoroughly implausible bit of anti-UN spin. But I’d think there’s more reason for hope than concern in the long run: if a year into their majority mandate the Cons are still
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your long weekend reading. – While some of us may recognize that there’s little reason to lend much credence to the talking points spewed out by any Con spokespuppet, others have tried to give the benefit of the doubt as long as possible. But Lawrence Martin notes
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