PAY ATTENTION AMERICA !

We Canadians, in a manner of smugness with which we're really not accustomed, thought we'd cornered the charisma market in the post Obama years after your bizarro President, Donald Trump, was elected and our sophisticated, charming, debonair, young, image obsessed Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, rose to the world's media attention.

Alas ! When the history of our 23rd Prime Minister is writ...pretty much all that may need mention is "That India Trip" to challenge our preconceived perception and to pinpoint that week in 2018 when the wheels came off the charisma wagon.

We're about to legalize Marijuana in Canada. I am assuming perhaps that it was the celebratory Indian Ganja shared onboard the Prime Minister and his entourage's flight from Ottawa to India a few days back that kiboshed their official mission. And, somehow and in some unimaginable way (For no particular worthwhile reason) allowed our government's leader to parade and blunder his way, family and retinue in tow, in overly inappropriate Indian outfits across a chunk of southern Asia. All of which, to say the least in just about less than 72 hours, turned a really important international sortie into a bad joke and an international embarrassment. What could they possibly have been thinking ?

Pundits have suggested that there had been recent hints that bats were slippin' out of the belfry. One of which was a recent overzealous suggestion that the term 'mankind' should really be changed to 'peoplekind' to reflect gender neutrality - A comment Mr. Trudeau subsequently characterized as a silly joke - Be that as it may, the current India brouhaha has likely left the world's media to revise or downgrade some earlier glossy front page adorable fawning over our photogenic Prime-Minister. Even former advisors to other Liberal Prime Ministers have weighed-in with the opinion that there seemed to be little purpose, and clearly no proper planning to this get together of Canadian official misfits on Indian soil. In a blunt editorial even the 'Toronto Star', certainly not a newspaper unsympathetic to Canada's National Liberal Party, calls the India misadventure "(perhaps) the least successful foray into that country since the repelled Mongol invasions of the 13th century." - Yikes !

Canada's trade mission to India may be one for the books, the bad books. But there has also been little if any progress on the sputtering NAFTA talks with the United-States and Mexico, the Trans-Pacific deal (TPP) though still in talks, minus the USA, is progressing at a snails pace and though concluded,  there's been little if any more mention of the European Free Trade accord. Later in the spring, Prime Minister Trudeau presides over the G-7 Summit of world leaders at La Malbaie, an idyllic resort on Quebec's lower St. Lawrence River. The conclave will involve Donald Trump's first foray into Canada as President of the United-States. The world has a fairly good take on what Mr. Trump is all about. But in the afterglow of this India imbroglio, we may have suddenly been jolted into a revised notion of Mr. Trudeau's competence playing at the world's leadership table. Let's hope it's not too late to reverse the damage suffered, and that the next time our PM comes to play, he shows up as who 'HE IS' and not as a Mr. Dressup - The clown shoes have already been claimed by someone else already.

HAWKS AND DOVES

It's inevitable, the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, will set foot on Canadian soil when Justin Trudeau hosts the 2018  'G-7 Summit of World Leaders' in the spring, on June 8 and 9.

The somewhat unorthodox President will join other world leaders from the United-Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan as Canadians welcome the most powerful politicians on the planet to our land for the 6th time since the inception of the world body in 1976 when Trudeau 'pere' was added. An informal group of world leaders had been created a couple of years earlier for the most part under the tutelage of Treasury Secretary George Schultz a member of Richard Nixon's Cabinet.

The setting for this year's 'tete a tete' is the sumptuous Fairmont Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, on the lower north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec's Charlevoix Region. Mr. Trump should feel right at home: Built in 1899; for most of its first century, the manoir was a summer refuge of rich American patriarchs. Fact of the matter, it was the President of the United-States, William H. Taft (another Republican) who inaugurated the resort's 27 hole championship golf course in 1925. - Lest I digress about the setting, and to Prime Minister Trudeau's credit, at least no 'fake' Muskoka Lake setting will have to be built several miles away to accommodate the world's media as per the case of the 2010 event held (for the most part) secretly in Huntsville, Ontario.

As a sidebar it's none-the-less interesting to note the dynamics of a the 'Hawk / Dove' like relationships between previous Canadian P.M. and the U.S. President each previous time the G-7 has met on Canadian soil - In 1981 at Montebello, Quebec,  Ronald Reagan and Pierre Trudeau met (I sense the excitement). Though it was surely an altogether different atmosphere with the Reagan, Brian Mulroney 'kiss fest' at Quebec City in 1988 - Remember 'Danny Boy' ? ... Clinton faced Chretien at Halifax in 1995, Bush and Harper at Kananaskis, Alberta in 2002,  and as referenced already Obama and Harper in Ontario in 2010.


To the degree that it may be possible, the Americans have launched their own charm offensive to pave the way for their unpredictable President's June visit to the G-7 in Canada. Flanked by the  cannons, bombs and airplanes of Ottawa's War Museum, in just about her only public appearance since arriving in the nation's capital in October 2017,  Mr.Trump's envoy to Canada, U.S. Ambassador, Kelly Craft, told the annual gala of the MacDonald-Laurier Institute last week that "Trump has more in common with (Justin) Trudeau than most people might think" - Her comments were echoed by Texas Republican Congressman Peter Sessions, also in attendance, who was quick to add that it's in America's best interest to "make Canada stronger" ... Oh Dear ! - Lest you ask : Formed in 2010, the MacDonald-Laurier Institute which hosted this bun fest describes itself as a 'Public Policy Think Tank' - ("High Muck a Mucks" my late mother would have called them.) - Last week's $200 a plate dinner to hear Ambassador Craft was a sell-out...Somehow my invite must have been lost in the mail.

NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS IN OTTAWA AFTER 8 PM

The 'Me Too' movement triggered in the USA among Hollywood's 'star elite' really has little comparison in English Canada which does not have an American style Star system to speak of. (Alas ! They've all moved to the United States to become stars).

Lest I digress, French Canadians, primarily in the Province of Quebec, but in some segments  elsewhere as well, DO have a star system of their own, and (sadly) in the past 6 or so months some of their idols have also 'fallen' in the face of accusations of sexual impropriety of one form or another.

But essentially with the English speaking majority of Canadians, it is our politicians whom we cherish and value as 'stars'. - Which may go some distance in explaining the 'selfie' photo phenomenon, here and abroad, of our current Prime Minister. - To be fair, he didn't start it...His father, then bachelor Prime-Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was arguably responsible for the 1960's 'mania' which catapulted Canadian politicians to some unusual (almost un-Canadian) form of star struck 'stardom' -

Trudeau 'pere' in fact hung out with his fair share of Hollywood's elite, Barbara Streisand among those who come to top of mind, to advance the image. - He more than anyone else may be responsible for the notion that 'nothing good happens in Ottawa after 8:PM' - In reality, "Nothing" (at all) happened in the National Capital of Canada after 8:00 PM until Mr. Trudeau and his entourage arrived in the mid-1960's.

The concern and resulting upshot now of course is that Canada's Male, primarily English speaking, politicians are being accused, some perhaps tarred, with the same alleged sexual improprieties that America's Movie and Television icons have suffered since film mogul Harvey Weinstein couldn't keep his ... (whatever) ... zipped-up inside his pants.

As with everything else in life, politics, the movies and reality TV, the pendulum swings far and wide before it is to reach reasonable conclusions. Until then everyone may be vulnerable to allegations of one form or another which are far too frequently anonymous and some surely with little if any merit. Though Alas ! In the age of social media fuelled allegations and fake news as some may allege,  instant judgement is frequently rendered whether the allegations are true or false.  Many of those accused...perhaps too many, choose to abandon the noble notion of public service rather than mount a reasonable defence of their sullied reputation....One can only hope that somehow, someway, someday the pendulum does not swing too far not to return to sensibility.

PEACEKEEPING? NOT ANYMORE

Regardless of ones political affiliations, the conclusion is:  Ours is the country it is today because of the Liberal Party's dominance over both the political landscape and Canada's agenda for nearly 70 years of the last century.

The policies, the legislation, the vision advanced and practiced by the 'natural governing party' of the 20th Century defined Canadians as peace loving, tolerant, multicultural, bilingual, charitable, socially responsible people within a prosperous nation.

So why is the current government of Prime Minister Harper turning us away from our present and our future in what appears to be a truly transformative shift in character and value - A root-and-branch supplanting of one kind of country for another - as someone recently described the apparent transformation?

In a comment this weekend in 'The Globe And Mail,' political activist Gerald Caplan warns to be afraid of the "new" Canada being invented by Mr. Harper and his associates. Perhaps it's worth noting that Mr. Caplan in 1985 was appointed by another Conservative Prime-Minister, Brian Mulroney, to co-chair (with Florian Sauvageau) a Federal Task Force on Canadian Broadcasting Policy which ultimately led to the Broadcasting Act of 1988. (I digress!) - Of the current Conservative leader, Caplan concludes: "It's in the nature of true believers and ideologues to believe that any means to their sacred ends are justified...It's also typical of such people that they're often motivated by unfathomable resentment and anger, a compulsion not just to better but to destroy their adversaries."

From the session of Parliament just ended there's at least anecdotal evidence on several fronts of the government's efforts to create a Conservative mythology as opposed to a Liberal mythology - Instead of peacekeepers, we're now warriors; the "royal" prefix has been restored to the military; Canada's embassies must now feature portraits of The Queen; the list is long and growing but it seems to suggest a very deliberate and calculated attempt to re-shape Canadian symbolism, nationalism and values back to those cherished by the mid-war generation of which John Diefenbaker was a prominent member. And, more importantly to ignore Canada's evolution as an independent country with an identity of its own.

Some critics see the government's crime and justice initiatives, the changes at the Wheat Board and to the Long-Gun registry, our planned massive military spending and other recent legislated initiatives as borrowed elements of the "Tea Party" revolution from the United-States, and the hard right Republican "destroy the enemy politics" now so prevalent as the American Presidential campaign gets under way.

In the 2010 best seller "Harperland," author Lawrence Martin portrays a leader firmly in control of his political agenda, and a man..."who goes to extraordinary lengths to see it implemented." - In a new book due out next spring -"Warrior Nation: Rebranding Canada in a Fearful Age" co-authors Ian McKay and Jamie Swift of Queen's University take the notion several steps further arguing that: "The Harper government is operating very much like a regime mounting and ideological crusade to rebrand the country."  A crusade that Mr. Swift has told the 'National Post' involves the "dismantling" of institutions which interfere with values such as the Puritan work ethic and respect for authority.

Maybe Gerald Caplan is right: "Be very afraid: Stephen Harper is inventing a new Canada" - I don't like it!

....AND THE ROCKET'S RED GLARE

At this juncture it is still difficult to predict how our American friends and neighbours will ultimately react to plans by the Government of Canada to mark, note and celebrate every aspect of the bicentennial of the "War of 1812" which will be getting underway in earnest shortly after the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Day.

Despite the cutbacks and austerity measures which will kick-in in the immediate aftermath of the Federal Government's early spring budget, Mr. Harper's Government has earmarked millions of tax dollars for celebrations and commemoration of the war between the American States and British North American troops, French Canadian compatriots and First Nations' Aboriginals (who sided with the Empire) and fought-off and won against U.S. aggression between 1812 and 1814.

From the iconic Johnny Horton top 40 tune "The Battle of New Orleans" of the early 1960's all the way back to America's cherished national anthem "The Star Spangled Banner," written by poet Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the British/Canadian assault on Fort McHenry in 1814;  the defeat of the Americans in the War of 1812 strikes at the very "being" of the United States.

Perhaps fortunately for us north of the border, the commemorations about to get underway may be overshadowed by the lead-up to, the debates, the conventions, the campaigns and the confrontations of the crucial November 2012 next election of the President of the United States.

Not exactly as illustrated, but you get the idea!

Regardless, unlike tensions rising elsewhere on the planet,  the United-States has little to fear from the Harper Government's somewhat misguided efforts (American style) to encourage Canadian patriotism over the next 5 years leading to Canada's Sesquicentennial of 2017. On the other side of the world matters of far greater and immediate concern, including Vladimir Putin's campaign for the Russian Presidency; tensions with the rogue states of Iran and North Korea; ongoing irritants with Paskistan over the prosecution of the Afghan War; and the country's accumulating massive debt to China (a significant contributor to America's spiralling economic crisis) - and surely many other things in between, will end-up by default on the next President's agenda.

As with the case of the legendary Laura Secord, the Canadian milk maid of the aforementioned War of 1812, through Mata Hari, the Dutch exotic dancer of the Great War, and the U-2 spy-plane flown by Col. Francis Gary Powers which crashed 'intact' in Russia in 1960 - In matters of human conflict;  access to unprocessed, wholesome and relevant strategic information about your enemy is as important as prosecuting an offensive.  Thus, though publicly low-key, in official Washington there has been some consternation over the loss of the on-board secret technology of the pilot less drone spy-plane which crashed (apparently also intact) in Iran on December 4. - In the relentless campaign to unseat President Barack Obama from the White House next year, some Republican candidates are even advocating early military strikes against the Iranians...I digress!

A prototype of the X-37B after an initial test flight in 2010.

But whether it is in flights over its own borders with Canada and Mexico, or in spy-like missions flying over rogue states like Iran and North Korea; like its U-2 predecessor, America's reliance on the low-flying technology of pilot less drone aircraft is probably close to ending anyway. Behold the X-37B space drone...An ultra-secretive shuttle-like vehicle currently orbiting the planet at 17,000 miles per hour. The United-States Air Force confirmed just a few days ago that its initial 9-months "mission" is being extended. Of course the Air Force will not confirm the objective of the X-37B, but most skeptics think that the vehicle's mission is somehow defence and/or spy-related. In fact, amateur astronomers accidentally detected the orbital pattern of a prototype in May 2010. According to their data the X-37B's orbits included flyovers of, you guessed it: North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The manufacturer of the current variant of the X-37B, the Boeing Corporation, confirms that the space plane was launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida last March. Coincidentally just last month, NASA turned-over its "Orbiting Processing Facility No.3" to the Boeing Corporation. It's being described in the local press as a..."first-of-a-kind agreement allowing a private company to take over the government property." - Orbiting Processing Facility No.3 was previously used to ready the Space Shuttle for flight. A government austerity program ended the Space Shuttle program this past summer after more than 20 years.

In the spy business, staying just ahead of the competition is a daunting task. As pretty much everyone expected, but hoped against in the aftermath of the launch of "Sputnik" in October 1957, Space (the final frontier) has incrementally changed from an experimental planetary test laboratory to a giant "eye in our sky". We are no longer alone, indeed!

TURN THE OTHER CHEEK...

Granted our neighbours south may not have quite as much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Holiday long weekend as in the halcyon days of the American economic Juggernaut of decades past. One inalienable aphorism remains: Americans should be thankful for Canada.

The week's cover story in our national news magazine, "Maclean's" aims at the heart of the matter in a thought provoking review of recent concerns and political developments which should occasion reflection on both sides of our shared international border: "The U.S. and Canada: We used to be friends."

The Peace Arch:Children of a common mother

However as Washington State "MarketWatch" contributor Bill Mann writes today..."we Americans should take the occasion of our own Thanksgiving here to be thankful for having such a friendly (and understanding) neighbor(sic) as Canada. We could, but we probably won't. That's because like the vast majority of Americans. I know all too well from personal experience, know very little - and care even less - about Canada. This could have negative repercussions in the future. Bad karma and all that."

Former Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator John McCain told a Canadian television audience last Sunday that he believes it's "legitimate" for Canada to feel snubbed by (recent) moves from south of the border. McCain was commenting specifically about the Obama Administration's decision to postpone approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline beyond next year's Presidential election.  The Senator says: "there's a strong suspicion on my part and many others that this was a political decision rather than one based on facts." - Though his are hardly comforting words from a political "has-been" accused of similar political expediencies during his own failed 2008 Presidential bid; still there is a strong element of truth in his claim: "When we do things that seem to take our Canadian friends for granted and take your allegiance and friendship for granted, there's an understandable reaction in Canada."

On the pipeline, to a limited degree, there may be agreement that an extremely well organized environmental lobby of movie stars and personalities, perhaps financed (in part at least) by wealthy and powerful corporate land owners in Nebraska, backed Obama into a corner as he struggles to re-rail his political career. - There are several other irritants between us which speak of an America indifferent of a best friend, closest neighbour, powerful ally, and the biggest trading and economic relationship on the planet. - The "Buy American" provisions of the jobs bill before Congress; A $5.50 head tax (starting January first) on Canadians flying or sailing into the United-States; the post 9/11 "thickening" of the (once proudly) longest undefended border in the world, including not very neighbourly Predator Drones overflying the Canadian border.

Our neighbours either don't know, or collectively choose to ignore, that Canada (not the Saudis, nor Libya, or Iraq) is the largest supplier of oil to the United-States; that more North-American automobiles are assembled in Ontario than anywhere else in the world; that more trade flows in each direction over ONE SINGLE  BRIDGE  - The "Ambassador Bridge" between Detroit and Windsor - than between all of the United-States and Japan!

This weekend at border crossings into small communities along the 5000 miles from Calais, Maine to Point Roberts, Washington; Canadians will wait in line for hours at security/inspection check-points, fight through American shopping mall crowds, hopefully to score "black Friday" bargains - Dozens of cash strapped U.S. border towns and cities are banking on the strong Canadian dollar for their economic survival...and we'll oblige by being friendly, neighbourly and helpful.

United States "MarketWatch" contributor Bill Mann concludes: "I don't know if Canadians have long memories, but I know they've been long on patience with the U.S. And for that if nothing else Americans should be thankful this holiday. Let's just hope Canada stays as understanding as it always has about Americans' mistreatment of its good neighbors(sic)."  - I'm Canadian - I'll give him the last word. - Happy Thanksgiving!

THE GEORGE BUSH DECADE

Muted commemorations this weekend as the United-States marks the 10th anniversary of the start of hostilities in Afghanistan; a conflict which has cost thousands of lives and more than a trillion dollars. Sadly there is a growing list of experts who fear the country could be sliding back towards the kind of civil war which led to the radical Islamic regime of the Taliban after the Russian pull-out of a similar misadventure signalled the ultimate demise of the Soviet Union two decades ago.

It was all so predictable: In "The Daily Telegraph" of London this weekend Britain's former ambassador to Kabul, Sherard Cowper-Coles, says it's a fantasy to think the war in Afghanistan is being won. He writes that military operations will not cure the underlying disease which has hobbled the region. It's pretty well clear that no one, least of all our American allies, have expectations of remaining for another decade, though that may be the stark reality they face. The 'Telegraph' quotes former United-States Commander in Afghanistan, Retired General Stanley McChrystal, who says that America and its allies are a "little better than" halfway towards their goals in the war. Even the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose despicably corrupt regime has been propped-up for years by the United-States and the NATO allies (including Canada), says the mission has done..."terribly badly in providing security to the Afghan people and this is the greatest shortcoming of our government and of our international partners." No wonder that in Afghanistan this weekend the morbid anniversary is passing without commemoration by neither the government nor NATO and saddest of all, nor by the 140,000 foreign ground troops who are still stationed on the front lines. In a published report, "Jane's" the internationally respected defence publisher notes clearly that the future of Afghanistan will still "hang in the balance" after the planned departure of allied combat forces by the end of 2014. That's in sharp contrast to President Obama who yesterday told a gathering at the Whitehouse that the United-States is "responsibly ending today's wars from a position of strength." He made the remarks while honouring the military who've made the ultimate sacrifice since President George W. Bush launched the war against the Taliban regime after the Al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001.

In Providence, Rhode-Island meantime, researchers at Brown University say at least 33,877 people - foreign and Afghan troops, civilians, insurgents and others have died as a result of the conflict. The American Pentagon puts the cost of its own operations at $323.2 billion exclusive of costs borne by its NATO partners including Canada. Our Department of National Defence claims the cost so far has been $11.3 billion. Others have claimed that it's (in fact) closer to $22 billion. Canada engaged in the Afghan conflict in February 2002. It took on battle operations in August of 2003 with Operation Athena. History will show that it was a simplistic effort by the Liberal Government of Jean Chretien to abate American anger at our decision to stay out of President Bush's "coalition of the willing" in Iraq.

Buoyed by the initial success of the American military in routing the Taliban extremists from government in Afghanistan, the Bush Administration lost interest and quickly changed its focus to Iraq; leaving the hapless NATO allies (including Canada) to "clean-up" the Taliban's mess in Afghanistan. The problem is (and it continues to be): That while America's virtual carpet bombing of Kabul, Kandahar and other strategic targets in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks crumbled the Taliban regime - It scattered its supporters and fighters into the hills bordering Pakistan where in the decade since they've transformed from a rag-tag group of guerrilla fighters into a well disciplined and very patient militia. The irony is: That the United-States surreptitiously financed the Taliban insurgency against the Soviets two decades ago, and it continues to support (to the tune of billions of dollars each year) the Pakistani overlords who now protect them.

OVER A RAINBOW

It has been (sometimes) painfully obvious during  the last 48 hours that players along the investment food chain - big and small, institutional and individual - have clearly been spooked by this worldwide debt debacle and credit rating(s) downgrade.

Of course it isn't just within the United States. The European banks once again are having to rescue yet two more of their own (Spain and Italy) from the near precipice of total financial failure.  Though China is not itself without financial sin, it was a darn rude awakening over last weekend for our American friends to be lectured about their mountain of debt by the Communist government of the country's largest lender. The $14+Trillion hell-hole the United States Federal Government is into is just one component of the macabre imbroglio the folks at S&P and debt holders worldwide had to mull-over and consider to arrive at the credit downgrade which has now shaken confidence in the American "greenback" to the very core.

Individually, each man, woman and child in the United-States owes about $150,000 when their share of the Federal debt is combined with State, Municipal and personal borrowing commitments. That is a $45-Trillion drain on the world's largest economy. Be that as it may, much of it (about 40%) is being borrowed from offshore lenders despite growing anecdotal evidence of America's right-wing political agenda desires, efforts, and tendencies to insulate and isolate itself from the rest of the world.

On the Canadian side of the border where the Federal Government deficit is about $50-Billion and the total national debt roughly $1-Trillion, (though still cautious) politicians are sounding somewhat more smug about the long-term effects on our economy of this debt downfall. Though probably not a lesson for our partners south of the border, there is interesting evidence that Canada's embrace of the spirit of multiculturalism has worked in surprisingly strong terms to favour the economy. It comes in the results of a survey of rich Canadians undertaken by Bank of Montreal (BMO) and the Harris polling organization. The survey which was conducted amongst people who have more than $1-Million in "investable" assets found that about one-third of those investors were "new" Canadians (not born in Canada).  Even more interesting was that pollsters found 96% of those new rich Canadians had no plans to invest outside of the country.

There are about 250,000 immigrants who arrive in Canada each year. Clearly the very vast majority are not wealthy and are simply seeking a better life for themselves and their families. But,  as a
spokesman for BMO told the Financial Post of the survey results: "These findings speak to the spirit of Canadian multiculturalism and how this country fosters an environment that helps individuals to succeed and thrive. Attracting the best and brightest demonstrates the relative prosperity and openness of Canada's economy. This bodes well for long-term wealth generation."

The net result is that although about one-third of rich Canadians weren't born here, most of them are keeping the bulk of their money in their adopted home country. That's a worthwhile lesson learned.

EYES RIGHT! - ON THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

To digress: "The Night Watch Man" philosophy is a largely discredited 19th Century political concept which postulates that the State's only legitimate function is the protection of the liberty of its citizens. Two imperative manifestations of the theory are prison building, and massive military build-up and deployments.

The three-week long "Operation Nanook" which the Canadian Government by way of the Department of National Defence is launching this weekend,  is the largest display yet of Arctic military muscle. In fact it is not just the military: Peter MacKay, the Minister of Defence, calls it a "whole of government approach" which includes the Coast Guard, the RCMP, Transport Canada, Public Safety Canada, Environment Canada as well as Indian and Northern Affairs. It culminates near the end of the month when Stephen Harper travels North to be photographed amongst this silly display doubtless much to the amusement of our allies and foes alike. Ever the supportive good Tory soldier, MacKay descibes Harper as..."very engaged on this file, part of his strong commitment to the Arctic."

One of a couple of  key elements of this mutli-faceted "operation" involves a maritime search and rescue mission in international waters between Greenland and our northeastern Arctic coast. Three Danish Navy ships and a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker will share in the duties. Of course that comes just a couple of weeks after Mr. Harper's Government floated (pardon the pun) a trial balloon about putting the "Search and Rescue" capabilities of Canada's military into private hands, I digress.

In fact, a highlight of this largest ever military deployment in the far north will be the first ever use of  Boeing ScanEagle surveillance drones to aid in (among other things) the Greenland search mission. -  Just like the ones Canada's military was using until recently in Afghanistan these predator drones aren't really ours. The drones flown in Afghanistan and their operators were part of a $95-Million lease from/with west coast based mega-defence contractor MacDonald-Dettwiler (MDA). Guess it's somewhat evident the good folks at competitor Boeing want in on the action. This week Peter MacKay told journalist Matthew Fisher this deployment is "precedent setting (and) a harbinger of things to come." Er, Ah, Ahem...truth be told - Alas, like so many other of Mr. MacKay's pronouncements about the Canadian military, this project is years behind schedule - May not see the light of day.  In this case because the Forces don't have (Can't find - Can't afford) anyone to fly the drones. While they don't carry a pilot, each aircraft still requires operators on the ground to fly the plane on a typical 20-hour mission; experts to down-load and interpret its sophisticated photos data and images, and staff to maintain the equipment and prepare each drone for flight.

Dubbed JUSTAS (Joint un-manned aerial vehicle Surveillance and Target Acquisition System) it was an estimated $1.5 Billion venture scheduled for the government's approval back in 2009. Natch! It's backlogged by the Harper Government's "efficiency and effectiveness" review along with the Close Combat Vehicle program; the Buffalo aircraft replacement program; the Navy shipbuilding program...the list goes on.

Back to Arctic chest-thumping: Commenting on last spring's flurry of secret U.S. documents released via "Wikileaks," Journalist John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail wrote about a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa - "Washington looks on all this with condescending amusement, noting that, though Mr. Harper is forever making announcements - An Arctic deep sea port! Armed patrol vessels! A new icebreaker! - his government rarely actually cuts a cheque."

Ultimately, it seems it's all just politics and photo-ops. I guess we should be grateful.

PUDGY AND THE DONUT DUDE

Just as the planet teeters perched at the abyss of "Debtpocalypse" - Pundits, critics, economists, political scientists and politicians are all adding their own perspectives and interpretations to the $14 + Trillion hell-hole the United States of America has dug itself into.

On the other hand, conspiracy theorists are slightly more pragmatic in their approach to our world's financial mess: They blame the "Bilderberg Group" and its alleged diabolical plot to impose the planned economy of a world government dominated by capitalism.

If one subscribes to the hype the "Bilderbergs" (Who met most recently in St. Moritz, Switzerland on June 9 to 12) are the modern day economic equivalent of the Knights Templar famous for protecting the pilgrim routes during the Crusades of the Middle Ages and the mythical guardians of Jesus' Holy-Grail. In 2001, Denis Healey a former British Chancellor of the Exchequer and a founding member of the Bilderberg Group fueled the controversy telling an interviewer: "To say we were striving for a one-world government is exaggerated, but not wholly unfair. Those of us in Bilderberg felt we couldn't go on forever fighting each other for nothing...so we felt that a single community throughout the world would be a good thing."

There are roughly 130 members in the secretive Bilderberg Group all of whom are people of influence drawn from western Governments, politics, finance, industry, labour, education and communications. If they were public, most names would be quite familiar including (Until just recently at least) I.M.F. Chair, Dominique Strauss-Kahn who has since become pre-occupied with more other personal matters...I digress!

The "Bilderbergs" have met at least once in Canada at the exclusive Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa's deep west end in June of 2006. The Brookstreet and it's private golf-course are owned by Welsh born billionaire (and very private) Terry Mathews a mainstay of the high-tech world of Silicon Valley North located in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata. The presence of Henry Kissinger at the Brookstreet conclave sparked unprecedented attention from south of the Canadian border in the United States. Since that meeting proponents of the aforementioned Bilderberg Conspiracy have included the ultra-right wing John Birch Society, political activists Lyndon Larouche; and past heavy-weight wrestler,former Governor of Minnesota and TV host Jesse Ventura who devoted the entire episode of December 30, 2009 of the television series "Conspiracy Theories" to the Bilderbergs.

Three years after the 1954 founding of the Bilderberg Group, Canadian soil did however play host to the historic Pugwash Conference hosted by another billionaire, Cyrus Eaton, on the northeast coast of Nova Scotia. Shadowed by the unprecedented arms race of the Cold War, the "great-thinkers" at Pugwash promulgated a manifesto opposing nuclear weapons.

If Bilderberg is 20th Century "passe;" virtually a stone's throw from Pugwash, some wannabees and surely many others who are members of the exclusive Bilderberg Group have been meeting now for about a decade behind the gated doors of the exclusive Fox Harb'r Resort in Wallace, Nova Scotia. They are the guests of the former Premier of New Brunswick, Frank McKenna, now Deputy-Chair of TD Bank; and the resort's billionaire owner (yes, another one); Ron Joyce, the brains behind and co-founder of "Tim Hortons'"! What's known of the guest list there is that it has included former British PM, Tony Blair (on Friday last), and former American Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., and George W. Bush. Other notables who have attended include British Prime-Minister John Major, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and hockey superstar Wayne Gretsky.

In addition to his current duties with the Toronto-Dominion Bank Group, Premier McKenna is also a former Canadian Ambassador to Washington. I note that this past weekend as he was hosting Tony Blair and all the other private guests behind the Fox Harb'r Gates, Malcolm Bricklin who played a significant larger than life role in the history of New Brunswick was nearby to see: "Bricklin - The Musical". McKenna succeeded Richard Hatfield as N.B. Premier in 1987. The musical on stage at Fredericton's Playhouse recounts the relationship and much of the myth between Hatfield and Mr. Bricklin. The late Premier was both bedazzled and befuddled by the fast talkin' American entrepreneur and the magic of his gull-winged sports car. The contrasts are striking: Mr. Hatfield, a bon vivant, partied hard with the likes of Andy Warhol and Truman Capote at Regine's and Club 54 through his premiership years. Along with the bright lights of those long forgotten Manhattan discos, the bright orange colours in the Fredericton musical's decor bear witness to significantly different times.

Sadly none of which leaves much of a glimmer of any significant world conspiracies being played-out. We'll just have to find our own way out of the morass.

PASSING THE TORCH? NAH! TORCHING THE PAST.

Florida's tourism officials gathered for a conclave in Destin aren't exactly jumping for joy over the prospects for growth in 2011; even as the worst of America's recession and the BP Oil spill (almost a year old) appear behind them.

Canadians have been amongst the most reliable of Florida's long time visitors, but our Snowbird trips outside of the USA have grown by 109% since 1998. In fact the share of the Snowbird trips captured by the United-States fell to 65% in 2009 from almost 70% in the previous ten years. It's not just as a result of the economic downturn and environmental concerns. The more aggressive targeting of Canadians to destinations such as Cuba, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands as well as Spain and Portugal has been especially effective with younger Snowbirds taking shorter more active trips south during Canada's miserable winter months.

Florida's big draw remains two-fold: You can drive there - And despite the overwhelming gun violence stories many Canadians witness on America's television networks; our perception is that it remains a relatively safe destination. In fact in the last couple of years it is reports of Canadian tourists injured or murdered in Mexico which have dominated our own national headlines.

It's likely a sign of our difficult winters. But for a nation of just about 33-Million people, in 2009 Canadians took more than 52-Million trips abroad; and in just about 300 of those they were unfortunately assaulted or killed on their foreign travel(s).

How safe are Canadians abroad and where don't we want to go? Statistics show that out of every 100,000 Canadians who visit India, 7.5 will be assaulted or killed. Jamaica (3.6); Russia (3.2); and Mexico (2.1) are next along the list. Foreign Affairs and International Trade says the United-States (our most popular travel destination) remains the safest. The chance of being assaulted or killed while visiting south of the 49th parallel is pegged at 3 incidents for every 10-million visits. In real terms; in 2009 that consisted of six assaults and seven deaths.

Spring Break is just now wrapped-up. Fast forward to 2012 and police officials envision gun-slinging party goers free to drink alcohol and to display sidearms (pistols) openly. As early as this July, a bill currently working its way through Florida's State Legislature would allow people with weapons' permits to carry guns openly. If enacted, the "open-carry" law will take effect on July first. There are already more than 1-million licensed permit holders "good to go!"

Besides the abominable image of an idiot in a Speedo packing a six-shooter; the Florida Sheriffs' Association has told the Legislature that..."the image of citizens openly carrying firearms in public places could have a negative impact on tourism and the state's economy." Never mind that "spring break" (in particular) means sand, surf and binge drinking for many young visitors. They carry alcohol to the beach; store liquor in their rented rooms and condos; and pound back shots at bars. And; between fake IDs, older friends, and trips to 18+ drinking zones; everyone imbibes...then someone dies.

Critics proclaim that it's not just that Florida's new "Tea-Party" motivated Republican Administration of Governor Rick Scott is passionate about individual freedoms. They say, it is that the current session of the legislative assembly is going way too far in its zeal to divest of its social responsibilities. Further to the troubling "open-carry" gun issue a second bill supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA) would prevent local authorities from enacting city or county by-laws against the State's new gun law. The NRA maintains that local governments (cities/counties) will continue to..."flout state laws with unwarranted gun restrictions without stiffer penalties."

So their companion piece of legislation working its way through the state government, would fine local officials up to $100,000 for enacting local gun or ammunition restrictions that would run counter to the "open carry" state law. One critic described the legislation as having a "chilling effect" on anyone running for local public office. Yes! And perhaps a double-dose of chill on Canadian tourists pondering a visit to Florida after the first of July. I sure hope that Mickey Mouse doesn't plan on packing a six-gun.

REVENGE OF THE CRADLE

The theory really is not new. Back 80 years ago with the Catholic Church's total dominance over the French speaking province of Quebec, couples were encouraged to grow large families. Lest I digress...a concept not terribly difficult to apply in a province of near perpetual winter; before the advent of television. Six decades ago where I grew up, (near the Quebec border) it was not at all unusual for families of 10-12-15 children.

That emerging population boom eventually conceived Quebec's "Quiet Revolution" which led not only to the language's total domination of the province; but, an officially bilingual Canada, several French speaking Canadian Prime Ministers; and today Quebec's larger than life influence over Canada and Canadian politics.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United-States ensures that every person born in America is a U.S. citizen. In California a first and second generation of Hispanic American citizens, frequently born of illegal immigrant parents, now represent almost a quarter of voters in the state. Their impact became clearly obvious last November when California bucked the national trend in the United-States and elected a left-leaning "Democrat" Governor, Jerry Brown, in a stunning defeat of former eBay executive Meg Whitman that left the Republican party reeling.

As with Quebec's imposing role in Canada's politics; Americans know that their future happens first in California. Just last month the state hit a little noticed milestone that will have implications in politics for years to come. For the first time in California's history Hispanics account for more than half of the students in public schools.

It's widely believed there are at least 12-million illegal immigrants already living in the United States. Obviously the government has urgent and important immigration related issues for its lawmakers to address, including workforce needs, border security and its duty to step-up efforts to stem the inflow of illegal immigrants most particularly along the southern border with Mexico. But; in the now Republican controlled Congress (influenced many say by Tea Party advocates) efforts are well underway to dismantle those very policies which grant automatic citizenship to children who are born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents. And; Republican legislators from Pennsylvania, Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida and other states are introducing bills to restrict "state citizenship" - and the issuance of birth certificates - to children with at least one parent who is a permanent resident of the United States.

Canada may be on the verge of yet another Federal election, one where lingering tensions from Quebec's "revenge of the cradle" will again play a significant role; as they have for the past 60 years. The United States are less than two years away from the next Presidential tilt. There are perhaps lessons to be drawn from Canada's experience and the implications of last November's California gubernatorial election. As America grapples with its difficult debate over immigration the discourse should follow President Obama's admonition last month in the wake of the Tucson shootings to talk..."with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds."

The fervour over the liberties and the freedoms we North Americans already enjoy, which is sweeping across many of the Mideast's autocratic dynasties bears powerful testament to one overarching legacy: The two countries we share on this one continent should never abandon the spirit of inclusiveness that has made us the envy of the planet.

MISSED AFGHANISTAN BY A LONG SHOT!

Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, Algeria - It's been obvious over the past four weeks that people who really want change will find a way (sometimes at great personal danger and cost) to make their wishes or something close to them happen.

On this; Day 3,421 of America's great adventure in Afghanistan, the movement sweeping much of the Muslim world has quite obviously missed inspiring the Afghans by some distant shot. At the very least it seems fair to ask whether North Americans are on their 9th year of involvement in Afghanistan; or perhaps (painfully it seems) just on the same first year for the ninth time?

Much before the onset of this most recent wave of democratic fervor elsewhere in the Muslim world, the annual report of the Berlin based "Transparency International Foundation" last October had already pegged Afghanistan and Iraq among the top four most corrupt countries in the world. (The other two being Somalia and Myanmar.)

I single-out Afghanistan and Iraq in particular as it is painfully obvious that unlike the several other countries recently overtaken by popular internal movements and uprisings favouring the rule of democracy: Those two nations are precisely where our western culture, either driven or encouraged by the United States, has sought to impose "our" notion of democratic rules and principles.

As "Transparency International" noted in its annual report: Corruption itself is an affront to democracy and unacceptable because it allows too many poor and vulnerable people to suffer its consequences.

Shortly after taking office as President more than two years ago, Mr. Obama gave the green light for an American military surge in Afghanistan along with a somewhat cloudy pledge to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from the war zone in July of this year. Canada's own military commitments, though considerably smaller than America's, are pretty much following the same pattern though the Government of Prime-Minister Stephen Harper has been accused of flip-flopping on a previous commitment for Canada's complete unequivocal withdrawal from Afghanistan by this summer. To be fair: It was the Liberal Governments of Jean Chretien, and later Paul Martin who engaged Canada in the Afghan debacle in the first place.

In a speech delivered to the Asia Society in Washington just a few hours ago; American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton claimed her country is about to embark on a follow-up "diplomatic surge" to end the nine year old war. Mrs. Clinton claims the Taliban's only option will be..."to split from Al-Qaida, accept the Afghan constitution and join peaceful dialogue on the country's future". - Well, it's more eloquent (At least not quite as crude) but it sounds a lot like the American commander in Afghanistan's Hellman province quoted earlier this week in the New York Times: "With the (military) surge are we now beating the Taliban, or will we bargain with the Taliban and then decamp like the bowed British and Russians, confused about how the Stone Age socked modernity?" Either way, surely not the George Bush, Dick Cheney neoconservative vision elaborated in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

Ultimately while the American, NATO and western alliance's departure from Afghanistan may not be as painful as that of the Vietnam imbroglio; nor hopefully as long lasting as the still unresolved Korean conflict; it bodes increasingly certain that Afghanistan's historic nickname as the "graveyard of empires" will pretty likely remain intact.

FALSE PROPHETS AND THE DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY

The Egyptian effect is reverberating across the Mideast and into the "Maghreb" along the north Mediterranean coast of Africa. Essentially one revolution ended over the past weekend; and another may soon begin in Egypt as elsewhere: Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, the Emirates, Iran...the circulating list seems just about endless.

With the case of Egypt: In our western world it's uncharted territory and a moment that may prove as decisive to the Middle-East as the Suez conflict in the mid-fifties; the 1967 Arab-Israeli war; or the war between Israel and Egypt in 1979. Little wonder then that the President of the United-States has dispatched the American Joint-Chief Chairman, America's senior military advisor Admiral Michael Mullen, to reassure crucial allies, Jordan and Israel. Mullen is scheduled to meet this week with Israeli President Simon Perez, and later with Jordan's new Prime-Minister Marouf Bakhit. Mr. Bakhit himself is being forced to implement political reforms demanded by protesters who forced King Abdullah to shuffle his ruling cabinet.

In addition to the democratic movement which seems to be sweeping the Middle-East, Admiral Mullen's mission is said to be prompted by a blistering private phone call from the Saudi King last week to President Obama accusing the American administration (in no uncertain terms) of literally abandoning its ally of 30 years, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak's ouster; like America's attitude towards the fall of the Shah of Iran (Reza Pahlavi) on February 11, 1979; is a bitter painful reminder in the "holy land" of the unforgotten and far reaching political, economic and social impacts of the "Great Crusades" of the middle-ages. Impacts which have lasted into contemporary times. As with Germany in the two World Wars, and Japan after 1945; It may be the clear nature of "our" western culture to decide; act; move-on; forget about it and forge new relationships. This is not always (perhaps never) the case in the deeply rooted historic relationships within the Middle-Eastern culture.

Of course there is some delicious irony in our North American rejoicing and hoopla on the triumph of democracy over the autocratic rule of the Egyptian President and whichever ones may follow over the coming weeks. As the thousands celebrate in Cairo one can't help but wonder about the state of our own North American democracies which pundits and critics (far better qualified than I) are wondering out loud are in real and serious danger of becoming democracies in name only.

In my home and native land; Canada's ruling Conservative government is accused of giving tax cuts to fat cat corporations and wasting billions on toys for the military and prisons that turn scared kids into hardened criminals. All the while keeping Parliament and the rest of Canadians in the dark about their true plans. South of the 49th parallel, millions of U.S. citizens struggle with unemployment and the declining North American standards of living, while the true levers of power have been but all completely commandeered by the financial and corporate elite. North Americans (we) may be celebrating the triumphs of democracy in Egypt and the Middle-East; but back here: The wealthy and well connected call the tune - And; the politicians dance.

The four great crusades of the "Middle Ages" from 1095 to 1204 may be ancient history. In the past century, as I was reminded a few days ago - From the Great War at Vimy Ridge, through the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 and frequently in between during some of the planet's darkest moments and perhaps a few times thereafter, Canada developed and nurtured a stellar respected engagement for the promotion of peace, and our willingness to engage constructively (including in the Mideast) with peoples who aspire to keep the planet a place without conflict.

Alas! Now relegated to watch from the very back row as the history of the modern world unfolds: My (our) country has been abandoned to play a marginal role without any say, or any more imminent prospects of influencing the events which shape the destiny of human kind.

SPICE OF LIFE

About 27,000 people have logged-on to this blog site since I posted the very first comment late in 2007. The statistics available through Google's Blogspot confirm that more than 500 have read "The Enigma In Fowler's Mission To Niger", (Feb, 1/2009) about seven times more than the next most popular post.

Canadian Ambassadors Robert Fowler and Louis Guay were kidnapped in the African nation of Niger in December of 2008 by al-Qaeda operatives. They were released several months later, and returned to Canada.

In Africa, perhaps more than anywhere else, it has become a frequent occurrence that foreign travellers, emissaries, and tourists are kidnapped regularly by supporters of AQIM, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - The North African branch of the radical Islamic group which has been operating with impunity in the vast desert area across Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger where it's been carrying-out attacks, trafficking and the kidnapping of westerners...including high profile foreign Ambassadors Fowler and Guay slightly more than two years ago.

And this month just as Wiki-Leaks released secret documents are seeing the light-of-day; special forces from Canada's elite counter-insurgent JTF-2 are being assigned to a U.S. led mission to train and assist soldiers in North Africa fighting against al-Qaeda.

The Wiki-Leaks released secret cables, transmissions and documents make it abundantly clear that our allies were none too happy about Canada's surreptitious payment of a substantial ransom (Reportedly five-million euros) as well as arranging the release of four jailed "mujaheddin" fighters. Of course all of this contradicts statements made by the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, when Fowler and Guay were released after 130 days in April 2009..."but as you know, the government of Canada's position is clear in these things: We do not pay ransom and we do not release prisoners."

Two years hence sending elite forces into the "heart of the matter" as part of an American led effort dubbed Operation Flintlock clearly is the Harper Government's effort to make amends to its allies who (so it's claimed) were somewhat displeased with Canada's decision at the time regarding measures to secure the release of Ambassadors Guay and Fowler. In light of the Wiki-Leaks documents now available it's obvious that major allies: The United-States and the United-Kingdom were not "on-board" with whatever insight led Canada to follow the secretive ransom payments route.

Obviously, it is unclear what fate would have ultimately awaited Robert Fowler and Louis Guay had the kidnappers' demands not been met. Within the same time frame, the British Government still had a hostage in the hands of the AQIM who was subsequently executed.

The problem for Canada, as I explored in what has turned-out to be the popular post of February 2009, is that Robert Fowler wasn't working for us when he fell victim to his al-Qaeda kidnappers in Niger in December of 2008. He was there on a somewhat nebulous mission as a personal emissary of the Secretary-General of the United-Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. A mission that neither Mr. Fowler nor certainly the Head of the United-Nations have ever explained. At the time, while Secretary Ban Ki-Moon professed many pious concerns for the welfare of the kidnapped Ambassadors; he seemed perfectly happy to dump the entire mess on Canadian laps. And - Mr. Harper's government, anxious to secure a Canadian seat in 2010 on the U.N.'s Security Council, seemed only too happy to oblige. Costs be damned!

Mercifully, Rabert Fowler and Louis Guay are now safe on Canadian soil. But: Ban Ki-Moon did not deliver. Canada flamed-out to an embarrassing defeat by Portugal at the Security Council. We're left with making amends for the lingering resentment of our allies for caving-in to ransom demands from al-Qaeda.

Me thinks someone has some 'splainin' to do!

LOOSE ENDS...

Mid-way through the first month of the second decade of the 21st Century: Good enough to tidy-up a few loose ends before embarking unto the remainder of the decade.

I was brought-up in a French speaking household. The expression "tidying-up loose ends" I only learned at University. My STU classmates will recall J.E.P. Butler's sophomore American History course: Dr. Butler, a history scholar and poet, "Jeppy" (we called him, affectionately of course) would walk to the Post office every day carrying a suit-case. Students never quite knew whether he received any mail...but now in my own 7th decade, I'm understanding the daily significance of waiting for the Postman - I digress.

CHEEP - THE NEW CHIC: On both sides of the North American border urban centres have been dealing with the new "chic;" keeping and raising chickens in the yard. In Ottawa last fall, City Council nixed a proposal to allow "coop housing" in private back yards. It's much the same elsewhere including Detroit and Spokane in the United States where issues of noise, odor and abandoned fowls have resulted in significant restrictions. Supporters of the proposal suggest that besides laying the "freshest" eggs, chickens eat bugs and weeds and provide homegrown fertilizer. Chicago, New York, Seattle and Portland (Oregon) are all okay with the idea, and the website Backyardchickens.com claims a membership of 70,000.

HISTORY IN PHOTOS: "La Societe historique du Madawaska;" my home town's historical society has acquired and catalogued a treasure trove of photographs from about 1930 to the early part of the 21st Century. The photos (more than 2000 so far) are being posted on the bilingual website Demelerlespinceaux.ca as the historical society lays the groundwork for hosting the 2014 World Acadian Congress ("Cajuns" to my American friends)in Edmundston, New Brunswick. There's been some controversy about the Congress as many locals, perhaps a majority, (myself included) are not of Acadian descent or extraction. But there's no controversy about the historic value of the photo collection acquired following the demise of "Studio LaPorte." Sidney Laporte, his daughter Charlotte and her husband Larry Coburn, their daughter Louise and her husband Mike Jessop chronicled the history of "La Republique du Madawaska" in photos for more than seven decades.

YOU'LL BE AMAZED BY THE CRUISE RATES: Two gigantic cruise ships sailing out of ports in Florida have significantly depressed the all-inclusive cruise market to the Caribbean so far this winter. In a continually tough American economic market, the Royal Caribbean owned "MS Oasis of the Seas" and the "MS Allure of the Seas" have added an additional 12,000 rooms ("berths" in seagoing terms) to the already crowded weekly sailings from ports in Florida. That accounts for an incredible availability of 90,000 oceangoing "berths" sailing out of Florida every week this winter. Pick your Port: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa or Canaveral and you're good to go - Cheap! As long as you stay away from the shipboard casinos.

NAMED NAMES: A new book out over the next few days, "Remembering My Father" by Ron Reagan, the late American President's youngest son, marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the actor turned politician who died of complications from Alzheimer's in 2004. One thing the book doesn't talk about is the late President's past as a secret FBI informer during the notorious Communist witch-hunt of the early 1950's which was fueled by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover. At that time, the actor Ronald Reagan was President of the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood's most significant trade union. Over the "McCarthyism" period a number of film and (early) television acting careers were destroyed by accusations of subversion and treason without any proper regard for evidence.

Loose ends nicely tied-up. Thanks Jeppy!

TOURIST TRAP OR SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST?

Brand identification is all important in today's instant gratifying social media fueled marketing business. Take television for example; it isn't quite by accident that all TV stations and networks identify themselves permanently with their corporate logo emblazoned in a corner of the screen's image. The cable provider I subscribe to here in central Florida delivers almost 1000 channels. When "clicking" through the channels if a viewer can't identify the channel immediately...it's there...and it's gone. Lest I digress: Apparently "clicking through the channels" at breakneck speed is a "male" thing.

A recent weekend wire service story which received little notice in Canada caught my eye. The New York based "FutureBrand" index moved Canada to the number one position; top o' the list (as it were), in its global survey of countries with the most favorable brand. Heck, this may be the very first time we've topped the list since Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott starred in "Susannah Of The Mounties" in 1939.

The Country Brand Index surveys about 3500 international business and leisure travellers to about 100 countries each year. Canada has been climbing in the survey ranking from 12th place in 2006, to second in 2008 and 2009. The Canadian Tourism Commission takes full credit for the positive showing claiming that's been part of a long-term strategy which was anchored on the success of last winter's Olympic Games in British Columbia.

I suspect the successful "branding effort" can't come soon enough. In reality Canada's tourism business, which ultimately depends on the travel choices and preferences of the vast United States market, has suffered massive decline since Homeland Security imposed its passport rules for returning American citizens in June 2008, at just about the same time the U.S. economy sank into a deep recession from which it hasn't recovered. Less than a quarter of Americans, about 85-million, have a passport. While that is still an impressive number; the stark reality is that cross-border USA visits into Canada have remained flat at 10-million in each of the 3 successive years since the Homeland Security rules came into effect. In contrast, Canada's 35-million residents account for more than 26-million visits to the United States each year, including 4-million to Florida and/or California (blame the rigours of Canada's climate) and close to 6-million to the border states of New York, Michigan and Washington.

The reverse has seen a dramatic decline in visits to Canada's most popular tourist destination Niagara Falls, and other major tourist destinations north of the 49th parallel, including cities like Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Large border community casinos built to attract Americans to Canada's "tax-free" gambling conquests are actually losing money! The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation's (OLG) casinos at Niagara Falls (2) and in Windsor lost money in 2009.

If Canada's effort to reach top status in this global ranking required the Gargantuan effort of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games to succeed, it is a step in the right direction. But, we will need a whole more to stay near (or at) the top; and our North American partner the United-States may need to kick-in a whole lot more into its share than their restrictive security measures on land, sea and in the air currently are willing to allow.

YIN AND YANG IN NEW FRANCE

As with all things in the natural world, contrary forces become frequently interconnected and interdependent. In the concept of yin-yang the complementary opposites often interact within the greater whole.

There is long, sometimes bitter, and much history between France and Canada dating as far back as the 16Th Century with the arrival of the first settlers to the colonies of the new world. More than 500 years later their impact remains in the vibrant North American French language culture firmly anchored in the province of Quebec, and preserved to a degree by the bilingual nature of Canada's national institutions.

Ironically, France's thirty year struggle to solve and come to terms with a terrorist attack on its homeland will reach all the way to Canada's federal capital over the next few days. On Friday, October 3, 1980 a motorcycle bomb blasted a Paris synagogue injuring and killing a total of about 45 people. French authorities believe a Canadian, Hassan Diab, is responsible. Born in Lebanon and educated in Syracuse, New York; Professor Diab taught Sociology at the University of Ottawa until his arrest in 2008. France's demands to extradite Hassan Diad will be adjudicated in a hearing which begins on Monday in an Ottawa court.

From the time of the great wars of the 20Th Century (perhaps before) and certainly through the frequently acerbic, bitter, gut wrenching and sadly occasionally violent struggles of the independence movement in Quebec; relations have sometimes strained between France and Canada. Yin and Yang are often described in the same way: Shadowy places trade with the brightly lit as the sun moves across the sky in the passage of time.

In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ceded all of New France to Britain except for a group of small islands, the Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon about 15 miles off Canada's far eastern coast. The islands are France's only remaining possessions in North America. Now the territory says it survival may depend on much closer cooperation with the Atlantic Provinces, especially with bilingual New Brunswick, in matters of health care, social services and economic development.

It seems as with many other matters about the relationship with France; the territory has often been a thorn in the side of Canadian authorities. In 1992, a maritime boundary dispute over fishing rights had to be settled by binding arbitration. In recent months, France has laid claims to an even larger swath of seabed to gain exploration rights to the energy resources at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Economically, Saint Pierre and Miquelon have suffered dramatically from the collapse of the Cod fishery. It's a far cry from the 13 year economic boom locals still talk about, which was fuelled by the period of "Prohibition" in the United States from 1920 to 1933. That's when the territory was the prominent base for alcohol smuggling through the American northeast from Washington, through New York, Boston and just about everywhere else in between. The issue led to a level of discomfort within the U.S. Administration particularly after Franklin D. Roosevelt became President in 1933. It deepened to lasting distrust in December 1941 when, without the consent of, nor consultation with Canada or the United-States, Free-French forces commanded by Charles de Gaulle took control of the islands and installed a sympathiser as Governor.

Lest I digress: President Roosevelt knew the area well having himself been raised on Campobello Island in the Bay of Fundy off the coast of New Brunswick. Ironically, FDR chose another rum-running haven for his own secret World War II confabs with Winston Churchill a month later in January 1942 at the then notorious "Cap's Place" a beached barge in Hillsboro Inlet, Lighthouse Point, Florida. General de Gaulle was never invited to any of those meetings.

The claim is that time heals most ailments. The centuries long turbulent relationships about the territories of "New France" in all their permutations over the last 500 years may be the exception to the rule.

GOOD; BAD AND HAND ME DOWNS

A story which made the circuit of domestic wire services last weekend caused me to reflect about Canada's shrinking contributions to innovation in technology. The story in question deals with National Defence's desire to buy Presidential helicopter cast-off from the United-States as spare parts for the 14 remaining Search and Rescue 'Cormorant' helicopters.

Our helicopters, bought in 1998 and in-service in 2004, aren't that old. The fleet has however faced a series of problems and currently has a shortage of spare parts. After investing more than $3-Billion on its own fleet of three such helicopters: "Marine One" to ferry the President, the U.S. Administration has cancelled their deal as a cost cutting initiative. That's where Canada wants in: Far too willing we are these days to seemingly accept cast-offs and hand me downs from our allies.

Sixty years ago, In the aftermath of World War II and for decades thereafter Canada was a primary leader in the fields of space technology and aviation development amongst the industrialized nations of the world. Our C-102 passenger jetliner flew in August of 1949, ten years before the Boeing 707. It was built by A.V. Roe Canada of Downsview, Ontario, and that success was followed by the astounding technological advancements of the AVRO Arrow jet fighter capable of sustained Mach 2 flight as early as 1958.

In 1972, Ottawa based Telesat Canada launched Anik A-1, the world's first domestic communications satellite capable of maintaining geostationary orbit. Though Telesat is still the fourth largest space communications company in the world; it is now 64% owned by Loral Space and Communications of Delaware.

Canada's contributions to the U.S. Space Shuttle program, and subsequently to the international orbiting "Space Station," by way of the robotic CanadArm are well known. But; with just two shuttle missions remaining, and no U.S. replacement planned, it seems that we'll be forced to hitchhike with pretty much any one who will have us if Canadians expect to continue contributing to the Space Station for its remaining lifespan until the scheduled phase-out in 2020.

Like his new "Marine One" choppers, President Obama has already killed "Project Constellation," his predecessor's return to the Moon program in advance of a U.S. manned Mars mission. Optimism it seems spring eternal: Late in June Canada's Space Agency called public bids to develop two "Lunar Exploration Light Rover" prototypes to be..."upgradeable for short distance crew transportation for one or potentially two astronauts." Okay! That tender call came just days after the agency gave a $10-Million contract to Space X of California. The company is owned by the founder of E-Bay, Elon Musk, and its cargo space crafts have a roughly $2-Billion contract to re-supply the "Space Station," once the last Shuttle Endeavour mission flies in February. Space X hopes some day to fly humans into space, apparently the Canadian Space Agency is already in the boarding lounge with a $10-Million ticket. I hope that it's "Business Class," the wait could be long.

If we are not already quite there yet; there are good signs and ample evidence that Canada's efforts in space and aviation technologies and development are becoming increasingly marginal. Maybe just as much as has our Military's once storied and iconic "Peace Keeping" role to the world has been marginalized. To say nothing of our status with the United Nations Organization.

NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME

The process of democracy as practiced in North America for the last 200 years implies a symbiotic relationship between the mass media and the politicians. As repeated ad nausea, a free press is the hallmark of democracy.

Over the course of those two centuries snake oil salesmen, film flam artists and schemers of every type and description have predicated the success of their enterprise on manipulating the media. Showman P.T. Barnum and illusionist Harry Houdini among the better practitioners of the first 100 years.

The arrival of the motion picture industry about a century ago, and latterly the phenomenon of television in the 1950's seem to have sparked an embryonic convergence of all three of the elements: Schemers and manipulators, politicians and the public media. It is hard to tell just when it started. Certainly Director Elia Kazan's groundbreaking 1957 motion picture - "A Face In The Crowd" - which explores the power of television in the aftermath of the Arthur Godfrey Show and subsequent scandals, warns of both the dangers of, and the potential for manipulating mass audiences. The same thing Barnum and Houdini understood.

This weekend Prime Minister Stephen Harper took time out from his busy schedule to film a bit part in the Victorian murder television series - "The Murdoch Mysteries" - which shoots in Toronto. Though Mr. Harper is generally described as a timid and diffident person; he is not shy about appearing in television cameos (he's also appeared on the comedy "Corner Gas") nor on the stage of the National Arts Centre to sing a pop tune. There is a certain level of confidence imbued when a script controls the message.

Some may argue with considerable conviction that 1940's - 50's movie star Ronald Reagan staged his best career acting roles as Governor of California for eight years from 1966 to 1974; and much more importantly as President of the United States elected in 1980 and for a subsequent four year term in November 1984. Meantime the jury is probably still out on whether those rascally Californians elected Arnold Schwarzenegger as their Governor to handle their state's moribund finances 8 years ago, because of his on-stage muscle strongman persona, or whether they actually thought he could do something. He couldn't. - Mr. Schwarzenegger leaves office next month - California's financial turmoil is worse than ever. His Austrian birth precludes him from running for the U.S. Presidency.



As Britain's - "The Independent" - cited this week: "The quandary that is Sarah Palin just gets more troublesome...for dedicated Palintologists everywhere, the titillation is unbearable." American neo-conservatives like her values. After all the "Tea Party Movement" to whom she both plays and appeals calls her the "Mama Grizzly".

This convergence of the elements which should be uppermost concern to North Americans is precisely in this ever tightening relationship and the blurring of divisions between show business and politics. In the aftermath of the economic meltdown at the end of the last decade, the seething discontent and anger which persists; and which spawned the "Tea Party Movement," is fertile ground for the accelerated rise of hubris if not outright demigodry...religious or otherwise. It's plausible that it could appear from either The Right or The Left.

Political satirist and observational comedian Jon Stewart, an increasingly harsh and vociferous critic of "The Right," is making the rounds of the American talk-show circuit this week in advance of "The Rally To Restore Sanity" on October 30th in Washington, which he launched from his television pulpit: "The Daily Show". The rally has already won the support of Oprah Winfrey and by inference her millions of fans. President Obama, who's Democratic Party is facing tough mid-term elections next month, endorsed the rally in a speech in Arlington, Virginia. So far Jon Stewart has clearly rejected pressure to jump directly into the political arena.

Such is not necessarily the case with the strident conservative radio and Fox News personality and commentator Glenn Beck. Mr. Beck hosted his own "Restoring Honor Rally" at Washington's Lincoln Memorial at the end of August. Sarah Palin was its main speaker.

One thing is abundantly clear: At our critical time of history when the political discourse on the Continent should be both rational and reasoned; we have allowed it to be adulterated to its lowest shameful denominator. For that: Each one of us bears a level of blame.