John Chuckman

COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN CBC NEWS

 

“How Pierre Trudeau survived a minority government – and how Justin Trudeau can do the same”

 

I’m sorry but that is a superficial parallel that does not take account of major differences.

Pierre Trudeau was a highly intelligent, tough, and independent-minded leader with something real to offer Canada.

His final list of accomplishments is impressive and historic. One of our greatest, for sure.

Justin has, in my view, not only embarrassed us, both at home and abroad, but he has no real substantial accomplishments. None.

He has demonstrated no real force of mind or spirit. He not only broke important promises, the whole tone of his government resembled something from an insipid television sitcom. Millennialist mush with no solid thought or dedication.

His frequent appearance in rolled-up sleeves of an expensive, well-pressed dress shirt almost perfectly symbolize the emptiness of his government for me.

That is, when his government is not dealing with the really serious matter of American Neocon policies abroad, ugly stuff which he and his foreign minister have completely embraced.

Justin Trudeau was a truly failed prime minister who did not deserve to be re-elected.

But the other parties didn’t do their jobs and offered weak alternatives, and good old “first past the post” voting – something Trudeau had strongly promised to reform but failed to act on – gave him back a government even with fewer votes than his main opponent. Shabby.

John Chuckman

EXPANSION OF A COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN THE INDEPENDENT

 

“Trump threatens Iran after Saudi attack: ‘I don’t want war but US is more prepared than any country’

“Iran denies being behind attacks and vows to defend itself”

 

“The US has claimed the rebels could not have carried out the attacks, and US officials have briefed selected media outlets that it believed Iran was responsible.”

 

How can you “brief” anyone about something for which you have no evidence? You can tell them a story, but you can’t “brief” them.

The words make no sense, but then how much coming from Washington these days does make sense?

Trump and Pompeo keep talking angrily about Iran’s responsibility, but they have backed their inflammatory words with absolutely no proof.

Pompeo, after recent accusations, said he would be supplying definitive proof, effectively an admission that he had no proof for what he had just been saying.

Indeed, in a report today, the Saudis are said to have told a major news source that no definite proof of responsibility has emerged from investigations.

Remember, these people, Trump and Pompeo, have demonstrated unrelenting hostility towards Iran for many months. That suggests motives for their assertions going way beyond any effort to understand truth.

American officials, also, are likely quite embarrassed at what the Houthi have achieved, and when you embarrass the very powerful, you make them very angry.

Their embarrassment would be compounded by the Houthi claim that they had inside help from Saudi Arabia. The strikes absolutely display an understanding of a huge and very complicated industrial facility. They understood exactly what parts to target for good effect.

The Houthi achievement suggests an important change emerging. Monster states in future are likely to have a harder time bullying smaller ones who are equipped with such new, effective, and not overly-costly military technologies as drones.

That is actually some good news coming out of these events. Good news, of course, the United States does not welcome.

There is yet a further source of embarrassment here for the United States. The air-defense systems Saudi Arabia bought from them, and very much had in place, utterly failed to defend anything.

Meanwhile, Trump blows on and on about how no one is better prepared for war than America.

An ugly child stomping his feet and making threats.

John Chuckman

COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN CHECKPOINT ASIA

 

“Tulsi Crushes the First Democrat Debate, The Most Googled Candidate, Landslide Winner in a Bunch of Polls

“The fool who dared go against her was scorched, isn’t even on the radar”

 

https://www.checkpointasia.net/tulsi-crushes-the-first-democrat-debate-the-most-googled-candidate-landslide-winner-in-a-bunch-of-polls/

 

I don’t watch television, so I didn’t see the debate.

But I know Tulsi Gabbard can be impressive.

That, of course, is precisely why she gets so little mainstream press coverage or mention by other politicians.

Indeed, she is treated as something of a pariah by many, as other past genuine independent American voices have been, from Ralph Nader to Ron Paul.

She is the only candidate saying at least some of the truths going to the heart of America’s serious problems.

Since her truths touch on empire and the use of force to keep it going, hers is not a welcome voice.

The costly, violent commitments America insists upon abroad terribly affect matters back home, too. American society suffers from many ugly and damaging problems because imperial/military efforts literally chew up resources and rivet the attention of politicians. It’s a serious systematic social disease, if you will.

Virtually all politicians in both parties embrace the empire and the military as part of the natural environment of the country.

Kind of a geopolitical natural environment, not to be messed with or fouled.

After all, they all profit from it, either in career paths and benefits or in money.

The graphs of public response to Tulsi’s words, words the debate format kept extremely limited, strikingly demonstrate that large numbers do respond when they get to hear her.

It is, of course, just part of the way America is ruled that all genuine maverick political voices are quietly and effectively muffled. It is treatment the exact opposite of that extended to a John McCain kind of maverick, someone who actually shilled full-time for empire and establishment while pretending to be independent. McCain served as a domestic version of the mercenaries the United States employs in places like Syria, mercenaries disguised as jihadi types.

Unfortunately, the polling results may provide a spur to even greater efforts at keeping her isolated.

That’s just how it is in America’s great “democracy,” which produces leadership like Trump, Bolton, Pompeo, and Haspel and forges unbreakable bonds of friendship with the bloody likes of the Saudi Crown Prince and Netanyahu.

 

Readers may enjoy:

https://chuckmanwordsincomments.wordpress.com/2018/07/22/john-chuckman-comment-how-american-politics-really-work-why-there-are-terrible-candidates-and-constant-wars-and-peoples-problems-are-ignored-why-heroes-like-julian-assange-are-persecuted-and-r/

 

https://chuckmanwordsincomments.wordpress.com/2019/02/09/john-chuckman-comment-honest-tulsi-gabbard-and-americas-vicious-establishment-press-for-the-role-of-2020-woman-outsider-candidate-they-have-kamala-harris-obama-redux-a-pleasantly-smiling-say/

 

https://chuckmanwordsincomments.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/john-chuckman-comment-tulsi-gabbard-is-the-most-appealing-american-politician-in-a-long-time-the-realities-awaiting-her-should-she-ever-manage-to-get-elected-elizabeth-warren-and-p-t-barnum/