The Shotgun Blog
« Taliban Jack gets snubbed | Main | Jack Layton gets snubbed and then has his petty revenge »
Friday, September 22, 2006
Welcome to the table
When the new Conservative government took power, I hoped for many things in its foreign policy; the overwhelming majority of those hopes have been fulfilled. One exception had been regarding Northeast Asia - in particular Stalinist North Korea's nuclear ambitions and Communist China's willingness to give Kim Jong-il diplomatic cover.
Well, the increasingly frsutrated U.S. invited Canada to join the discussion, and the Harper government did not disappoint (the Communists, naturally, did disappoint) - one more reason we Americans have to thank the Canadian people for their wisdom on January 23.
Posted by D.J. McGuire on September 22, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515b5d69e200d834b4a6d853ef
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Welcome to the table:
Comments
Talking about East of the Middle East, and South of China, has anyone seen the following?
---------
Walk this day in peace and in the warmth of the sun.
September 18, 2006 7:27 PM
Subject: To Kill an American or an Canadian
To Kill an American or an Canadian
Written by an Australian Dentist...
To Kill an American or an Canadian
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was
actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a
newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American or
Canadian, any American or Canadian.
So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to
let everyone know what an American or Canadian is,
so they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!! )
An American or Canadian is English, or French, or Italian, Irish,
German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be
Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,
Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.
An American or Canadian may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage,
Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes
known as native Americans or Canadians.
An American or Canadian is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or
Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America or
Canada than in Afghanistan . The only difference is that in America
they are free to worship as each of them chooses.
An American or Canadian is also free to believe in no religion.
For that he will answer only to God, not to the government,
or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government
and for God.
An American or Canadian lives in the most prosperous land in the
history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in
the Declaration of Independence (or in Canada, the Bill of
Rights), which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of
happiness.
An American or Canadian is generous. Americans or Canadians have
helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time
of need, never asking a thing in return.
When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago,
Americans and Canadians came with arms and supplies to enable the
people to win back their country!
As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than
any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.
Americans and Canadians welcome the best of everything, the best
products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best
services. But they also welcome the least. The national symbol of
America, the Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor,
the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest
tossed. These in fact are the people who built America .
Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of
September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their
families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were
from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first
languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.
So you can try to kill an American or Canadian if you must.
Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and
other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you
would just be killing yourself. Because Americans and Canadians
are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the
embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds
to that spirit, everywhere, is an American or a Canadian
Posted by: Lady | 2006-09-22 11:44:32 AM
Lady,
Next time could you please give a short excerpt and a link to the rest?
Thank you, in advance.
Posted by: Speller | 2006-09-22 11:49:51 AM
It looks a little different here:
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-ferrara092501.shtml
Posted by: Mike S | 2006-09-22 12:58:40 PM
the Australian dentist may have borrowed the substance of the article (or the other way round) but either version look pretty good to me.
And thanks to Lady for posting it. I can't always get the links to work, and they shunt me off instead of opening in another window. I'm not a computer geek, I gave birth to one, but he is a grownup now and off in another city.
So thanks for the post, and the quotes both.
Posted by: Canadian freedoms fan | 2006-09-22 1:17:37 PM
Excellent article Lady. Thank you.
Posted by: Alain | 2006-09-22 2:40:51 PM
If all these 'groups' are Cdn, why are the fatalities in Afghanistan overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon? Where's the equality of sacrifice?
http://icasualties.org/OEF/byNationality.aspx?hndQry=Canada
Posted by: DJ | 2006-09-22 3:04:07 PM
Thank you Lady; that was a refreshing change of pace.
Posted by: Democrat | 2006-09-22 3:10:31 PM
DJ; thanks for the link.
Posted by: Democrat | 2006-09-22 3:19:20 PM
Uh oh, looks like I just caught "Lady" fibbin' again. From snopes.com urban legend page:
Claim: A piece defining "What is an American?" was penned by an Australian dentist.
Status: False.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2001]
"An American
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So I just thought I would write to let them know what an American is, so they would know when they found one.
An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.
..."
Origins: As the reaction to pieces from a Canadian broadcaster and a Romanian journalist demonstrate, Americans take great delight in encomiums to America and Americans authored by citizens of other nations.
This piece isn't such a case. The "What is an American?" article quoted above was not penned by an Australian (or a dentist), but by Peter Ferrara, an associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law in Northern Virginia. Mr. Ferrara's commentary was originally published in the National Review on 25 September 2001.
http://www.snopes.com/rumors/america2.htm
Posted by: Fizz | 2006-09-22 3:50:08 PM
Fizz; Thanks for the link - found another good story there:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/sinclair.asp
Posted by: Democrat | 2006-09-22 4:18:27 PM
Canada blocks the punt from the Islamists.
Canada has recovered the ball on its foreign policy.
Yeah, Harper team. ...-
CP | Canada blocks bid by Arab countries for vote Israel’s nuclear capabilities
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - More than a dozen Arab countries were blocked by a Canadian motion in their bid to have a vote on a resolution labelling Israel’s nuclear capabilities a threat on the final day of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s annual meeting. ...-
via Jack's Newswatch
Posted by: maz2 | 2006-09-23 10:24:09 AM
As I said before, who cares HOW it was written, in part or in whole, the peice itself has merit.
Posted by: Canadian freedoms fan | 2006-09-23 10:42:39 AM
Fizz,
An honest mistake is not fibbin'. Assuming she made an honest mistake. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.
Regardless, it is a thoughtful piece.
Posted by: h2o273kk9 | 2006-09-23 10:49:10 AM
The newswire this morning is saying Osama BL may be dead of typhoid.
Anybody care to launch a thread on that? Seems that the info is a bit sketchy. I suspect it's Osama's camp trying to take the heat off the chase for a bit. Let the west think he is dead.
Which means our forces in Afghanistan are even more effective than the enemy cares to admit.
Posted by: Canadian freedoms fan | 2006-09-23 11:18:27 AM
Wow, OBL is a plague. Who knew?
Posted by: h2o273kk9 | 2006-09-23 11:21:51 AM
Bottom line is, its nice after all these years of milk toast wimps for prime ministers, that we finally have a pm that stands up for the right things and not necessarily the most popular. Of course I'm sure jack layton will now be whining, that he will go talk to the korean nutbar.
Posted by: john a. | 2006-09-23 7:12:38 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.