The man chided as aloof, elitist, and “unCanadian” wrote a beautiful article that summed up what’s going on in our recession wrecked world, how inequality is continuing to spread even if we rich Canadians don’t see or feel it, and why politics must change. Read for yourself, and tell me
Continue readingTag: michael ignatieff
Politics and its Discontents: Michael Ignatieff on the Politics of Fairness
Many of the worst excesses of the age of greed occurred in markets that were anything but free, anything but transparent. Government must be there to clean up markets riven by fraud, corruption, insider trading and toxic products that made risk systemic. Competition demands that governments are prepared to use
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: pre-election games: progressive conservatives and wildrose spar with new ads.
As the Spring 2012 provincial election approaches, the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose Party have rolled out a series of television ads (on YouTube) delivering their political pitches to Albertans. The Wildrose ads, as David Climenhaga and Graham Thomson have already written, are cast with two faces of leader Danielle Smith.
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Newman vs. Duffy, and a room full of zombies, on the Liberal Party of Canada
Last weekend I watched season 14 of South Park, and in a run of super hero episodes they introduced a character called Captain Hindsight. Basically, he flies in at a time of crisis and tells them what they should have done to avoid it, once it’s already obvious. For some
Continue readingthe reeves report: NDP leadership debate showcases the (many) party hopefuls
NDP leadership candidates in the first leaders debate The first NDP leadership debate was this afternoon, and it would appear from the coverage that the only victor was expediency and those who speak in sound bites. Nine candidate took the stage (Brian Topp, Thomas Mulcair, Paul Dewar, Nathan Cullen, Toronto
Continue readingthe reeves report: Is Bob Rae the Liberals next Keith Davey?
Senator Keith Davey chats with Prime Minister and Pierre Trudeau in this 1976 photo. Peter C. Newman’s latest book When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada was supposed to be the book that chronicled Michael Ignatieff’s rise to political power in Canada. Plucked from the wilderness – question
Continue readingJane Taber and Candy Hoeppner Are Now Into Fiction: Part 1– Diabolical Wedgie Games: The Politics
Yes, Jane Taber is all ga ga giddy, again, for her precious Harpercons and this time it’s over her new girlfriend, Candy getchergun Hoeppner. Boys ‘n’ girls, Janie is all ga ga giddy this time because she is of the belief that Candy getcherguns Hoeppner, and she alone, is responsible for collapsing the . . . → Read More: Jane Taber and Candy Hoeppner Are Now Into Fiction: Part 1– Diabolical Wedgie Games: The Politics
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: The Strange Case of Dr. Morton and Mr. Lee … not to mention that of Mr. Sparrow
Dr. Morton and Mr. Lee. Note that Alberta political aspirants may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Ryan Sparrow with some guy on a plane; the real Freddy Lee.Having been accused of getting up to something with a real government of Alberta email ac…
Continue readingCo2 Art: 9-11-11 Persona Association: Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff,Jack Bauer
OK how about Michael Ignatieff to counter terrorism and Kiefer Sutherland takes over his grandpa’s old job?
“Copy that.”
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: What might have been
Wilf Day offers up one what-might-have-been scenario based on proportional representation. But as one astute observer pointed out at the NDP’s Vancouver convention, there’s another alternate set of possibilities which wouldn’t have required a different…
Continue readingthe reeves report: Out on a Limb: In Defence of the (Political) Moral High Ground
This may be terribly naive of me (and I’m not ruling out that possibility, to be fair), but I am going to go out on a limb and make the following two statements: 1) the (political) moral high-ground is (often) worth defending; and 2) two wrongs do not make a right. I know, I know. … Continue reading »
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Who says you can’t go home?
Some guy named Michael Ignatieff weighs in on the life of Canadians living outside the country:I was away a long time in Britain and the States, it’s true, but I kept coming back, writing for Canadian newspapers, broadcasting on the CBC, summers teac…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: An Eye On The Future
In today’s Globe and Mail, Micheal Ignatieff offers a response to those despicable attack ads that Conservatives ran from the day he became Liberal leader until the day he resigned that post — the ones that ended with the tagline, “he didn’t come back…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Moved to action
It remains to be seen how far the NDP will get in pushing for all parties to engage in meaningful discussion about policy. But if you’re wondering whether there’s already evidence of progress in the first days of the new session of Parliament, look no …
Continue readingthe reeves report: Re-imagining Canada in the World: Start by tackling Tall Poppy Syndrome
The Globe and Mail has been choc-a-bloc lately with guest columnists (academics, NATO ambassadors, think-tank CEO’s) talking about where the debate over Canada’s foreign policy has gone. It was conspicuously absent in the recent federal election campaign, as noted by Jeffrey Simpson back on April 6 when he wrote that “there is plenty to talk … Continue reading »
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: pgib attack gary mar with ad channeling michael ignatieff.
The hyper-conservative Progressive Group for Independent Business is targeting Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Gary Mar with a low-quality online campaign ad. The ad compares Mr. Mar’s four years as Alberta’s representative in Washington DC to former Liberal Party of Canada leader Michael Ignatieff‘s decades living outside of Canada. I am nothing close to a supporter […]
Continue readingThe Equivocator: After a jump to the left, the Liberal Party needs to take a step to the right.
Though I disagree with the notion that under Stephane Dion & Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal Party has moved ideologically to the left, I do believe that both leaders seemed to write-off the idea of appealing to centre-right Canadians. In this post, … Continue reading →
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Success places Harper Conservatives between a rock and a hard place
A young Stephen Harper with the rock in the background. The hard place was yet to come. Below: Pierre Trudeau, Canada’s last truly liberal prime minister.This column appeared in Friday’s edition of the Saint City News.The people of Canada have spok…
Continue readingCanadian Soapbox: Liberals still haven’t figured out what went wrong…So I’ll tell them
Okay Liberal Party of Canada, you obviously haven’t figured out where you went off course, why Canadians snubbed you at the ballot box. Every newspaper I pick up is filled with stories and quotes from Liberal party members and seniors within the par…
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Confessions of an Election Hawk and Red Tory
I’ll confess it. I’ll admit it and put it on my sleeve. I was one of the election hawks in March. I did not get the government I voted for, nor the representative, but I got the men and women I deserve. A right wing neoconservative majority that effectively and
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