Fall 2007 Federal Election Debate Coverage...

"When All Other Means Have Failed, It Is But Righteous To Raise The Sword..." And with those words Canada's "Natural Governing Party" decides to go to war to defend Canadian interests.

Stephen Harper wants the fight - he wants it badly. It was so obvious with his move to "prime time" for the throne speech. He wanted all Canadians to watch a gentle lady deliver his "toned down" throne speech. Can anyone recall the last time a throne speech was delivered in "prime time"? Mr. Harper wants us all to think we're listening to a "State of The Nation Address" South of our (still divided) border. Mr. Harper, we still do things the Canadian way up here!

Dion to Harper should sound like this: "Mr. Harper - you wanted this election so badly, you rolled out your platform planks in a throne speech delivered unnaturally during prime time - JUST so the largest number of Canadians could hear it. Please be honest with Canadians and admit this election was YOUR choice."

China Beckons...

With the US economy tanking, it's time for us Canadians to look elsewhere as our key trading partner (something this blogger has believed firmly for a long time). Conservatives would love to see us "embed" ourselves further into the US. One can recall the calls to adopt the US currency, and further merge our economies.

Chile recently saw a jump in 140% in it's exports by signing a free trade pact with China - the first nation in the Americas to do so. China has now replaced (get this) the US as Chile's top trading partner.

Times are a-changin'... Time for us to change with them. The next great step in the Canadian experience has to be to rise above the region-specificity we learned from bodies like NATO, and truly become a "world nation". We are loved and respected by the whole world. There is much to gain from expanding that relationship. Closer ties to the Far East, South Asia, and the EU should be key planks in any Liberal foreign policy platform.

Bernier Asks for UN Assistance???

What??? The very same Conservatives who endlessly bashed the United Nations; who did everything they could to ridicule the body and call it ineffective; who attacked the body at every turn during the Gulf War (II) and the lead-up to it... These very same Cons are now sucking up to the UN... Why? To ask for a "special envoy" to Afghanistan... Remember that "special envoys" to Iraq who they listened to so well? They wouldn't even listen to the majority of UN states when they opposed the illegal invasion of a sovereign state (Iraq).

Nice to see Conservatives finding some use for the UN - even if it is just to help justify a presence of Canadian troops in that country. Why can't NATO finish the job? Is NATO that weak, indecisive, incapable? Is NATO a watered-down body that's lost it's bite? Oh wait - am I using adjectives for NATO that some right wing individuals used to describe the UN a few years ago? My how times have changed...