Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Politics


Dictionary.com offers several definitions of 'politics.'

Here are a couple:

6. use of intrigue or strategy in obtaining any position of power or control, as in business, university, etc.
7. (initial capital letter, italics) a treatise (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle, dealing with the structure, organization, and administration of the state, esp. the city-state as known in ancient Greece.

This morning we have two glaring examples of how whatever politics may be, it/they sure know how to cloud the issues. Perhaps the definitions could have used some more qualifiers, like 'self-serving, above all....'

1. The Harper government has apparently sent out a flyer coloring the Liberals as anti-semitic.
That resulted in a letter signed by many asking the Prime Minister to withdraw the offending document.

“We find it highly disturbing that any party or parliamentarian would attempt to use Israel as a wedge to divide the Jewish community and, indeed, Canadians, for partisan gain,” the letter says.

“Support for Israel should not be portrayed as exclusive to one party. The Liberal Party has a history of support for Israel, working co-operatively and effectively with the Canadian-Jewish community and speaking and acting against terrorism.”

What across-the-board- bumph.

2. On Friday, I posted an item herein on how Richard Colvin had testified at a Parliamentary inquiry that all prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers and handed over to Afghan authorities in 2006/7 were tortured - and that many were innocent.

Government backbenchers and others rushed to denounce Colvin.

Now, the government wants David Mulroney, currently Canada's ambassador to China, to return post haste to Ottawa to refute Colvin.

The opposition dogs are screaming blue murder that Mulroney shouldn't be allowed to testify -basically denounce Colvin and his testimony - until they can see more documents.

Simple question.

How is the Canadian public to learn anything approaching the truth with all parties involved huffing and puffing like crazy?

The answer, of course, is painfully obvious.

The very point of all this noise is to obfuscate and obliterate.

Politics.

How helpful.

Lagging Behind


Yesterday I posted an item about child poverty on Canada.

Today, Ed Broadbent offers his thoughts on the subject in an op ed piece in the Globe.

The NDP needs someone of Broadbent's calibre.