Coalition Fever

The recent coalition formed by Britain’s Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrats and the Tories under James Cameron, has led to wild speculation by the punditry in this country about the possible coalitions that could come out of the next election. Call it coalition fever!

Though, they managed to hammer out an agreement between them, in a remarkably short period of time (6 days!), the newlyweds in this marriage may discover that they have more in common than they realized when they decided to take the plunge. In the process, hopefully, giving the coalition movement in Canada, particularly between the Dippers and Grits, new impetus.

Of course, every marriage, especially one that was as hastily put together as this one, is bound to have some unforeseen troubles. In this case, how to resolve the difference of opinion on the matter of reducing Britain’s massive debt crisis? Lib Dems made it clear that they favoured raising taxes, whereas their Tory counterparts, employing typical thatcherite logic, want to cut public spending and dismantle the social safety net. The solution was an idea that Harper would doubtless need to look up in his dictionary: compromise! As the official document states “the main burden of deficit reduction (will) be borne by reduced spending rather than increased taxes.”

Perhaps most interesting, is the compromise worked out on the issue of electoral reform. The Lib Dems (like the NDP) want to introduce some form of proportional representation in the UK. Whereas, the Tories think every thing is right as rain with the current system. In the end, they both decided that they would hold a referendum on the question, giving the people a chance to decide if they like it and both parties a chance to make their case.

Given that Harper’s Tories are nowhere near majority levels in the polls and haven’t been since the last prorogation in December, I suppose we won’t hear the chattering classes shutting up about this issue anytime soon! Perhaps, we should all be giving the British example some serious thought in Canada.

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To merge or not to merge? That is not the question!

There’s been much speculation of late about the prospects of a unite the left movement in Canada which would result in some sort of merger of the “left wing” parties, in much the same way the Conservative Alliance (formerly Reform Party) and the Progressive Conservatives did back in 2003. Legendary Liberal bag man Warren Kinsella and former PM Chretien, seem to be behind this mischief and have publicly supported it. Although, so far, the Dipper named in most of the rumours as the NDP’s representative, “Honest Ed” Broadbent, is keeping stum regarding the controversy.

Whereas, that marriage seems to have worked out well, at least for the Reformers in the sense that they managed to come to power in 2006, largely because they finally had the numbers to defeat the Big Red Machine (a.k.a the Grits), albeit, just by the skin of their teeth. This would probably be a disaster for the Greens, Grits and Dippers (I exclude the Bloc, as their participation would make things nigh impossible!) in more ways than one.

We may have considered a getting into bed with the Grits after the ’08 elections as a desperate measure in order to give Harper’s government the boot, but that was a very different Grit party we were dealing with. The principled but politically naïve Stéphane Dion would have been a suitable coalition partner because he was progressive enough on most issues (i.e. Green Shift) and weak enough that he would have depended on Jack’s strong communication skills to sell his government’s policies. Not so with Ignatieff! The man has demonstrated that he’s rather to the right of the political spectrum. Further, his massive ego would never allow the NDP to play a prominent role in any new party or coalition government, so long as he was in charge.

Not to mention, a merger/coalition at this point would be extremely premature, to say the least. Surely the constitution of the NDP would require the Party’s membership to be consulted (perhaps by referendum) before a major decision like this could be implemented. And, to put not to fine a point on it, this scheme hasn’t a snowballs chance in hell of being approved! The Liberal party may be a top-down organization, as evidenced by the undemocratic way in which Iggy became leader, but the NDP’s a very different animal.

Moreover, we would not have nearly enough seats between us at the moment, to bring down the government and cause an election or form our own (hence the ill-fated wooing of the separatist BQ, last time around).

But perhaps the best argument against some sort of coalition at this stage or, worse still, a merger of the parties, is the moral one ( I can just imagine Grit spin doctors laughing at such a quaint notion, as I write this). We run the risk of losing our moral compass by making a Faustian bargain with the Grits in some vain attempt to gain power. The Grits simply are no longer the party of social democracy and, apart from a few exceptions, have essentially abandoned Trudeau’s admirable notion of making Canada a “Just Society.” An idea that, former Dipper leaders (including Broadbent), were able to support morally and politically.

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The Politics of the World Cup

I know that, with the World Cup 2010 South Africa, just around the corner, soccer (or football, as it known pretty much every where else) fans the world over are rejoicing. It’s the beautiful game, right? What could possibly go wrong?

Yet, international soccer has been the cause of tremendous frictions between countries in the past and has even led to a bona-fide war, in at least once case ( El Salvador vs. Honduras-1969). So you can forget all that crap about the power of sport to bring different peoples together and elevating humanity, because the World Cup definitely has political implications for the countries that participate, and not all of them are good.

First, there’s the host nation. The “Rainbow nation” hasn’t exactly found the pot of gold yet, if you get my meaning. In fact the country is currently experiencing a fair amount of turmoil due to political events that have nothing to do with the World Cup. 2 in particular seem not to bode well for the chances of smooth sailing at this international sporting event: The death of white supremacist Eugene Terre’blanche, under mysterious circumstances, which reminded everyone of the monsters of the past that still lurk under the bed in that country. More recently, the leader of the ANC( South Africa’s ruling party) youth wing shocking his country and the world with declarations of support for Robert Mugabe and the singing of the racist song “kill the Boer”, which is, apparently, a party standard.

More problematic, is the prospect of the two Koreas meeting at some stage of the tournament. Given the escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula over the sinking of a South Korean warship by a North Korean submarine( how this backward country, can figure out how to operate such sophisticated technology, is beyond me). These two countries are currently on the brink of war and it wouldn’t take much to push them over it. If the Dear Leader’s( Kim Jung il’s official title) beloved Choilima ( the team’s nickname) lose badly to the other side expect one of two outcomes: A) a patriotic war declared against the south to create a rally-around-the-flag effect or, B) massive unrest in the DPRK possibly leading to the toppling of the tyrannical dynasty that’s has ruled that country with an iron fist for too long. Either way, enjoy the game!

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What's it all about Michael?

Why do I love Michael Caine? It’s not strictly about the acting talent. Though that’s a huge part of it. Let’s be honest, the man has dropped more than his fair share of bombs, so to speak, over the years. To hear the critics tell it, his latest movie Harry Brown, which one critic recently called “neo-fascist” in its politics, is one of these.

On the other hand, when has Alfie (the name of one of Cain’s most memorable characters) given monkeys what the chattering classes of the film industry had to say about him or his roles. After all this is a man who famously said, when asked why he did so many bad movies, that “ They pay the same as good movies.” With that kind of cockney guttersnipe humour, frankly, it’s hard to hold any of his cinematic mistakes against the man. It also demonstrates as key point about Caine’s success, that the man has had such a long and storied career, that at this point no single film role will ever be able to define it. The fact is, like all legends, the man has transcended his medium and become a cultural and national treasure.

Caine resume includes roles that have not only ensured his own legacy, but also represent a kind of guide to post-war Britain’s social, cultural and political evolution. Zulu, one of his most beloved films, an action, adventure historical epic with a slightly racists depiction of the natives and a slightly colonial portrayal of the heroic British regiment. In Alfie (please don’t mention the re-make), Caine plays a lovable cockney cad whose womanizing eventually causes his undoing (admittedly, not much of a stretch for Caine!). Get Carter, a brilliant gangster film that is set in the decaying former industrial hub of Newcastle. All these films deal with themes that reflect the zeitgeist and problems that afflicted British society at the time they were made.

For my money, nothing epitomizes the cool Britannia slogan better than Cain. He has been adopted by every generation as symbol of both suave sexuality and iconoclasm (particularly when it comes to challenging the class system in his films), and has been name checked in countless pop songs (e.g. Michael Cain by Madness). Caine’s new movie may be pants but, ultimately, whose going begrudge and old geezer his fun.


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Pots Calling Kettles Black

Grits lie. They lie for any number of reasons. But mostly they lie when they are guilty of having committed the very same sins they claim to be without.

I am alluding to something that many of you, especially those in the federal riding of Outremont, may or may not of heard yet: the slanderous campaign of misinformation and half-truths being waged by the Young Liberals of Canada (YLC) that MP Thomas Mulcair is currently being subjected to.

For those who have missed out on this fucking farce, allow me to edify you with a little lesson in propaganda. Basically, after Liberal pollsters & spin doctors read the data they advised their Leader, a man not known for his dovish tendencies (e.g. supports the war in Afghanistan), to do an about face and call for keeping the status quo on the Gun registry. Only after 8 members of his own Caucus supported gun ho Harper and his gang of shoot-'em-all-and-let-God-Sort-'em-out Tories in their crusade to pass c-391 in Ottawa.

Why the sudden change of heart, you ask??? Simple: The Libs know a wedge issue when they see one. And this may give them a little bit of credibility with the voters who are on the left of the political spectrum in the next election. The same folks who would normally vote for the New Democrats and who, rightly, regard Iggy as more neo-conservative than neo-liberal on most issues.

Now, I grant you Jack had misled his party on this point. We should never be on the right of Iggy, irrespective of the policy being debated. And saying that it's a matter of conscience for each Dipper MP to decide how to vote, is ,frankly, something of a cop out.

That said, Mulcair (whose riding contains Ecole Polytechnique, the scene of the horrific massacre that led to the gun registry being established) has come out strongly in favour of gun control and this law in particular, from the start! A man whose son is a police officer in Quebec, doesn't need any lessons in crime prevention from either the Tories or the Grits! All he can do is try to make his fellow dippers see reason on this point, because it's not his decision to whip the vote or not. To claim that he somehow support the gun nuts in this madness, is an outright lie, and is the worst kind of cheap, unthinking republican style politics. In other words, the Grits have borrowed a play from their arch-enemy's play book on political black-ops.


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Racism has no place in Canada's game

I know that strictly speaking this is not a political issue, and I am ostensibly a political correspondent. But this is such an important issue to anyone who values the kind of multicultural society that we have aspired to create in this country, that I feel it must be seriously addressed by thinking people of all political stripes.

For those who think blatantly racist displays are a thing of the past in our society, I give you exhibit A: two imbeciles who thought it witty to appear at last Thursday’s hockey game between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens, wearing black face paint and afro wigs in a backward attempt to show their support for Hab’s defensemen P.K. Subban, an African Canadian who has been involved in a few games in the NHL this season, but was recently sent down to the minors to play the for the Hamilton Bulldogs again.

I defy any decent person to look at this picture and not be disgusted by the ignorance these two men happily expressed, not only to those in the crowd that night, but to the millions of viewers around the world. To add insult to injury, the two men were given a brief brush with fame by the producers of RDS (the French language TSN), when the camera cut to them during the game, for what felt like an eternity, and the commentators failed to denounce what they saw (perhaps due to their confusion).

Imagine the irrevocable damage this will do to our image as city of ethnic diversity and tolerance, welcoming to all. Is this the message that we want to send new Canadians in this country: you may assimilate. You may even play our national sport. But we reserve the right to mock your physical appearance!

I truly hope that the Montreal Canadians Organization will release a statement addressing this matter and making it clear that these two fools do not, in any, way, shape or form, represent the team or its fans. Perhaps that will get people talking about this troubling situation, at least. Failing that, will somebody arrange sensitivity training for these clowns involving former Hab’s enforcer George Laraque?




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Phillipe Kirsch

International jurist Philippe addressed a small crowd at the University of Quebec in Montreal, on Wednesday.

The topic was one that was close to his heart, the future of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Specifically, what is the purpose of the upcoming conference on reforming the court in Kampala, Uganda?

Kirsch has been a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and is regarded as one of the key architects of the Rome Treaty, which led to the creation of the ICC and, ultimately, its establishment seven years ago in The Hague.

Since that time the Court has come under criticism from various governments and people. Many of whom have pointed out that the Court is something of a paper tiger, a point that Kirsch concedes is valid, to some degree. He mentioned that of the 13 indictments issued by the court only three have been executed, so far. Further, some major international players like the U.S. continue to be leery of submitting to the court’s jurisdiction. While other countries, such as Sudan in the case of President Omar al-Bashir, thumb their noses at the court’s attempts to bring notorious war criminals to justice.

Despite this, Kirsch remains sanguine about the future, citing developments such as President Obama’s pledge to support the court and the ‘preventative effect’ of the court with regards to crimes of war and humanity in terms of legal reforms implemented by many member states.

Judge Kirsch, however, refused to answer a question regarding the preliminary hearings of the ICJ in the matter of alleged crimes committed by both Russia and Georgia in their 2008 war, claiming that it was too ‘political’.




The Future is Unwritten