I'm sure everyone of you has had a neighbor at one time or
another that was not quite to your liking. You know the kind;
noisy, obnoxious, makes a mess and doesn't clean it up. The
kind that lets his kids run rough-shod around the neighborhood
bullying the smaller kids, especially those of a different ethnicity.
and when you say something to him about it, you get bullied in
return. Say hello to Canada.
Canada, our closest neighbor to the north, you know, the nice
people. They feel they are being put upon by the United States,
and this administration in particular. And they are beginning to
say so, not vociferously, by quietly, like nice polite people often
do. There have been opinion pieces in the Globe and Mail,
Toronto's daily newspaper, that are questioning the actions of
the President of the United States. And the Prime Minister,
Justin Trudeau, has been speaking up also. In an interview with
Global News, Trudeau opined as to why the US did not give
Canada some advanced notice of the impending strike against
the Iranian leader, Soleimani. After the drone strike, Iran brought
down a Ukrainian jet liner killing over one hundred people with
ties to Canada, many who were Canadian citizens, fifty-seven to
be exact. In the interview Trudeau said, "I think if there were no
escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be, right
now, home with their families. This is something that happens when
you have conflict and war. Innocents bear the brunt of it."
Trudeau's implicit suggestion that the United States was partly
responsible for the downing of Flight 752, was in his, and his
countrymen's, opinion, a reasonable assumption. This assumption
invited the wrath of Trump's bullies, one of which, the overly
imperious blow-hard, Rush Limbaugh, castigated Canada and
belittled its Prime Minister in particular, calling him 'Blackface
Trudeau'. Limbaugh pontificated and sneered at Canada, and
well he might. For Donald J. Trump is hardly 'Mr. Popularity'
with our neighbors to the north.
In a poll, soon to be released by Ekos, it shows the president's
disapproval rate among Canadians to be at an astonishing 86
percent. It is fair to say that is below most of the despicable
characters in the past, present and surely the future. Contrast
that with President Obama's disapproval rating of 20 percent
when he left office. This latest outburst of temper tantrum by
Trump has only added to his poor ratings. And yet, Trump's
talking heads and sycophants cannot understand why Canadians
feel that the escalation in Iran has caused collateral damage to
their country. Yes, Iran is the obvious culprit in the downing
of the jet liner, and Mr. Trudeau understands that, he knows
Iran is the one who should bear the brunt of Canada's ire. But
this is just one, and the latest, of Trump's actions that have
impacted our neighbors.
Canadian and Chinese relations have been strained since Canada
arrested an executive of Huawei on a US extradition request. The
outcome of that was Canadians being detained in China, and a
significant reduction of trade between the two countries and
relations between them in tatters. Trump washed his hands of
that deal, saying he has no direct responsibility for those actions.
Then there is the matter of the damage done by the NAFTA
negotiations, Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum and the
total destabilizing of the relationship between the two countries
for three years. Again, Canada was the recipient of Trump's
bullying. And then there is the matter of the administration's
calling climate change a 'hoax'. Where the two countries should
be working together to reduce carbon emissions, the Trump
administration is looking at doing away with the regulations
affecting automotive emissions. There is no wall to keep the
fires in the west from crossing the boarder into Canada.
But all this pales in the face of the loss of life in the current
Iranian escalation. The CEO of Canadian Maple Leaf Foods,
Michael McCain, angry over this last Trumpian tirade, has
called out the US President as a dangerous irresponsible
narcissist saying, '...his ill-conceived plan to divert attention
from his political woes..." has brought this pain down on the
Canadian people. He notes had there been a verifiable imminent
threat to the US, there would be far less bitterness toward America.
But that claim has been debunked.
Trump's final claim that "...it really doesn't matter" whether there
was an imminent threat or not, has the Canadians wondering whether
they should follow this president into another endless conflict, or should
they do like Prime Minister Jean Chretien did with President Bush,
and reject going to war with the bellicose Americans.
I'm just sayin'.
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Weep for the Middle East...
A strange title in this time of turmoil, but most of the unrest is
not of the Middle-East's making. For the past one hundred years,
since the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, which at one time spanned
over 877,000 square miles, the artificial countries established by the Allied
Powers, have suffered from interference from outside forces, forces
interested in only one thing; the oil that lay beneath their sands.
The defeat of the Ottoman Empire, after WWI was caused mainly
by debts incurred from it's many wars, which were taken on to
hold the untenable territories in far-flung lands. The Crimean War
was the last straw, and the empire declared bankruptcy in 1875. But
it took until 1918 before the empire was dissolved.
The Ottoman Empire was carved into nations, for example such as Iraq
from three provinces with completely different ideological beliefs.
Palestine was a forced division of Syria. All this was done to insure
infighting, thus necessitating control and oversight by Western
Colonial Powers. Lets look at one country in particular...
Once upon a time, there was a great nation called Iraq. Iraq was
carved out of the Ottoman Empire and was know as Mesopotamia,
the 'land between the rivers'. The rivers are the Tigris and the
Euphrates, and many biblical scholars believe the area was the
location of the garden of Eden, such was the beauty of Iraq.
This land, Iraq, was settled in 5000 BCE and was a cultural center
for centuries. In 4000 BCE, the people were building temples and
large powerful cities. At one point, Iraq was one of the wealthiest
and most promising countries in the developing world. What is it
that caused this transformation?
In the 1910s, American oil companies began looking for oil in
Iraqi territory, and by 1928 they owned one quarter of the Iraq
Petroleum Company (IPC). And in less than ten years, a massive
oil reserve was discovered near Kirkuk, and the IPC began building
wells, pipe lines and refineries, bringing hundreds of thousands
of dollars into Iraq.
However after WWI, Iraq was under the control of Great Britain
until 1932, when it gained its independence and became the
Kingdom of Iraq. A period of political instability followed with
no fewer than five coups. In 1941, fearing Iraq was aligning
itself with the Nazis, the US and Great Britain restored the
monarchy. Interference number one. After WWII, the US was
afraid Iraq was going to become part of the communist countries
allied with the USSR. So in the late 40s and through the 1950s
the US began supplying the Hashemite monarchy with economic
and military aid, keeping Iraq pro-western. But in 1958, the
military overthrew the king and the new regime was anti-
western again. Revolutions in 1958, '63, '68, and 1979 kept
Iraq in a state of persistent political strife, with clashes between
the Northern Kurds and the Arabs, just as was designed.
In 1963, a CIA-backed coup brought in forty-years of brutal
authoritarian rule, and US and Iraqi relations declined.
Interference number two. Iraq severed diplomatic relations
with the US in 1967 due to US support of Israel, and in early
1970s, Iraq nationalized US petroleum operations and partnered
with the Soviet Union to further develop Iraq's petroleum
installations.
Then in 1979, Saddam Hussein seized power, bringing with him
internal stability in Iraq's government. Hussein was against the
Islamic fundamentalism in Iran, and he invaded Iran in 1980.
President Reagan supported Iraq in the war, and provided Iraq
with military and economic aid, restored diplomatic relations,
and shared intelligence with Iraqi military. In 1988 Reagan sent
US Navy warships to the Persian Gulf which hastened the end
of the war. And Iraq and Iran signed a ceasefire in July of 1988.
Interference number three. However, in 1989, Iraq invaded
Kuwait, Forcing President G. H. W. Bush to take action
against Iraq. Interference number four.
Between 1980 and 2003, Iraq suffered three destructive wars
and years of crippling sanctions. Then in 2003, the US invasion
completed the physical destruction of the country and totally
eliminated Iraq's system of government, and in its stead,
set-up a patchwork of sectarian-based ruling parties that
were warring constantly. Interference number five. This
unrest left Iraq open to Iranian political and economic
influence that we see today.
Of late, there has emerged a movement from what is left of
Iraqi resolute, and in October of 2019, demonstrations broke
out in Tahrir Square, calling for better jobs and more services
for the workers. Then the demands took a political turn,
advocating for the overhaul of the government itself. There
have been over 500 protesters killed and tens of thousands
wounded, and many more arrested or 'disappeared'. And still
the protests continued The Iranian government sent in militias
and assassinations squads to bolster the Iraqi government, to
no avail. The protests continued, the demonstrators demanding
a country that was for all Iraqis.
And in one night all of this was destroyed when a US drone missile
killed a prominent Iranian official at the Iraqi airport. And once again
Iraq is in the center of a killing war. People across the region are
taking sides with Iran and against the United States and the protestors
are being cut down. And though they are condemning the United
States, Iran is demanding an end to the demonstrations. And so,
President Trump, for purely personal reasons, has unleashed a
hornet's nest in Iran and Iraq, and the United States has once again
destroyed the most promising freedom movement Iraq has seen in
decades. Interference number six. When will it end?
Democratic transitions demand political stability! Threats of war and
violence, assassinations and economic sanctions which impoverish
millions, merely embolden the most reactionary elements in a society,
while destroying pro-democracy movements.
I'm just sayin'.
not of the Middle-East's making. For the past one hundred years,
since the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, which at one time spanned
over 877,000 square miles, the artificial countries established by the Allied
Powers, have suffered from interference from outside forces, forces
interested in only one thing; the oil that lay beneath their sands.
The defeat of the Ottoman Empire, after WWI was caused mainly
by debts incurred from it's many wars, which were taken on to
hold the untenable territories in far-flung lands. The Crimean War
was the last straw, and the empire declared bankruptcy in 1875. But
it took until 1918 before the empire was dissolved.
The Ottoman Empire was carved into nations, for example such as Iraq
from three provinces with completely different ideological beliefs.
Palestine was a forced division of Syria. All this was done to insure
infighting, thus necessitating control and oversight by Western
Colonial Powers. Lets look at one country in particular...
Once upon a time, there was a great nation called Iraq. Iraq was
carved out of the Ottoman Empire and was know as Mesopotamia,
the 'land between the rivers'. The rivers are the Tigris and the
Euphrates, and many biblical scholars believe the area was the
location of the garden of Eden, such was the beauty of Iraq.
This land, Iraq, was settled in 5000 BCE and was a cultural center
for centuries. In 4000 BCE, the people were building temples and
large powerful cities. At one point, Iraq was one of the wealthiest
and most promising countries in the developing world. What is it
that caused this transformation?
In the 1910s, American oil companies began looking for oil in
Iraqi territory, and by 1928 they owned one quarter of the Iraq
Petroleum Company (IPC). And in less than ten years, a massive
oil reserve was discovered near Kirkuk, and the IPC began building
wells, pipe lines and refineries, bringing hundreds of thousands
of dollars into Iraq.
However after WWI, Iraq was under the control of Great Britain
until 1932, when it gained its independence and became the
Kingdom of Iraq. A period of political instability followed with
no fewer than five coups. In 1941, fearing Iraq was aligning
itself with the Nazis, the US and Great Britain restored the
monarchy. Interference number one. After WWII, the US was
afraid Iraq was going to become part of the communist countries
allied with the USSR. So in the late 40s and through the 1950s
the US began supplying the Hashemite monarchy with economic
and military aid, keeping Iraq pro-western. But in 1958, the
military overthrew the king and the new regime was anti-
western again. Revolutions in 1958, '63, '68, and 1979 kept
Iraq in a state of persistent political strife, with clashes between
the Northern Kurds and the Arabs, just as was designed.
In 1963, a CIA-backed coup brought in forty-years of brutal
authoritarian rule, and US and Iraqi relations declined.
Interference number two. Iraq severed diplomatic relations
with the US in 1967 due to US support of Israel, and in early
1970s, Iraq nationalized US petroleum operations and partnered
with the Soviet Union to further develop Iraq's petroleum
installations.
Then in 1979, Saddam Hussein seized power, bringing with him
internal stability in Iraq's government. Hussein was against the
Islamic fundamentalism in Iran, and he invaded Iran in 1980.
President Reagan supported Iraq in the war, and provided Iraq
with military and economic aid, restored diplomatic relations,
and shared intelligence with Iraqi military. In 1988 Reagan sent
US Navy warships to the Persian Gulf which hastened the end
of the war. And Iraq and Iran signed a ceasefire in July of 1988.
Interference number three. However, in 1989, Iraq invaded
Kuwait, Forcing President G. H. W. Bush to take action
against Iraq. Interference number four.
Between 1980 and 2003, Iraq suffered three destructive wars
and years of crippling sanctions. Then in 2003, the US invasion
completed the physical destruction of the country and totally
eliminated Iraq's system of government, and in its stead,
set-up a patchwork of sectarian-based ruling parties that
were warring constantly. Interference number five. This
unrest left Iraq open to Iranian political and economic
influence that we see today.
Of late, there has emerged a movement from what is left of
Iraqi resolute, and in October of 2019, demonstrations broke
out in Tahrir Square, calling for better jobs and more services
for the workers. Then the demands took a political turn,
advocating for the overhaul of the government itself. There
have been over 500 protesters killed and tens of thousands
wounded, and many more arrested or 'disappeared'. And still
the protests continued The Iranian government sent in militias
and assassinations squads to bolster the Iraqi government, to
no avail. The protests continued, the demonstrators demanding
a country that was for all Iraqis.
And in one night all of this was destroyed when a US drone missile
killed a prominent Iranian official at the Iraqi airport. And once again
Iraq is in the center of a killing war. People across the region are
taking sides with Iran and against the United States and the protestors
are being cut down. And though they are condemning the United
States, Iran is demanding an end to the demonstrations. And so,
President Trump, for purely personal reasons, has unleashed a
hornet's nest in Iran and Iraq, and the United States has once again
destroyed the most promising freedom movement Iraq has seen in
decades. Interference number six. When will it end?
Democratic transitions demand political stability! Threats of war and
violence, assassinations and economic sanctions which impoverish
millions, merely embolden the most reactionary elements in a society,
while destroying pro-democracy movements.
I'm just sayin'.
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