As IF Times

Source: Campaign shifts as Harper looks to protect seats in Ontario | Election 2015

The majority of Americans can be forgiven if they are unaware that an important Federal election is being held in the nation just to the north of them.  Given all of the media hoopla surrounding their own votes just over a year away, the activities in Canada likely don’t register on the GAF meter.

Nonetheless, it is important to Canadians and the results will ultimately affect Americans as well.  Anyone paying attention to the candidates will be struck by the stark similarity to the elections held in the U.S. some years ago.  Presently, the resurgent Liberal party is being led by the scion of a former Prime Minister whose party was summarily tossed out for years of irresponsible fiscal policies.  Justin Trudeau has precisely zero experience in managing or running any kind of enterprise.  He has exhibited all the charm of a rhetorical peacock supported by an army of enablers without regard to his obvious lack of tangible vision.  His position in the Liberal Party is solely due to his famous, or infamous last name.

Didn’t the Americans do the hope and change experiment for the last 7 years…with a person also lacking any life experience beyond academia and  wholly disconnected to reality ( as is now more and more evident ) by marshaling an army of ideological supporters?  How is that working out?

Now, this same campaign slogan for “change” is being purloined for Canadian use since it worked so well in the U.S. If you had the unfortunate occasion to listen to any of Justin’s  speeches, you’d swear you were attending a stand up comedy show as he parodies the rhetoric used by campaigners for hundreds of years everywhere.  It’s as if he was reading from the Campaigning 101 textbook of tired clichés.  Change…for the middle class…lower taxes…unite the people…more jobs…zzzzz.  It’s embarrassingly jejune.

But he’s just one guy.  The alarming aspect is that he’s being supported (apparently) by an enormous segment of the Canadian population who identify with his rhetoric.   The fact that Canada has been singularly an island of stability economically, socially and culturally in the world for the past decade is too much for people to take.  Far too dull and too Canadian.  Let’s have racial and religious strife, militant labor discord, soaring debt and a musical chairs style of government as they do in more interesting nations such as Italy or Greece.

With only a week to go before the formal vote, Trudeau has yet to play his big ace card.  Like the American president, he will reveal his true ability to lead by….speaking on Global Warming!

Canadians are being lured by the siren call of change from a position that is the envy of 99% of the world’s nations.  It’s like trading Tom Brady away for a guy with a better signal calling voice.  Maybe Trudeau isn’t the delusional one.

link Freed prisoners who return to te… JPost – Diplomacy & Politics.

I’m sure they’re all shaking in their sandals over the warning by Netanyahu to avoid causing trouble upon their recent release from Israeli prison.  As has been reported in the news, Israel has exchanged 1,027 Palestinian prisoners for the return of just 1 Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit. Talk about a one sided deal! 

Two obvious things pop out here.  First, the stark difference between how both sides of  the Israeli/Palestinian struggle view their citizens are displayed by this action.  Whereas the Israelis respect and honor the sanctity of every human life by striking such a lopsided bargain for even one soldier’s release, the other side cavalierly sends their young boys off to suicide missions as if they were drink coasters to be used as needed.  From the perspective of a westerner, it seems as if the preservation and sanctity of human life is what determines a society’s standing in the civilization scale.   The only instance that I know of in the animal world where creatures willingly commit suicide are lemmings.  That is certainly the exception.  Even rodents and insects try to nurture life.

Ironically for the released prisoners, it may only dawn upon them many days after their release that they were probably better off in Israeli prisons.  The food was likely better than what they were used to; it arrived on a regular basis; they were housed with buddies and most importantly, they were excused from having to go out on rock throwing, suicide missions.  They may all have even gained a pound or two.  For the Israelis’ part, they may have been happy to offload the expense of housing , feeding and clothing the 1,027 prisoners.  Even bread and water costs money. 

The second obvious thing that jumps out from this exchange is that it must be hugely insulting for each of the Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged by the train car load for just one measly Israeli.  Have they no sense of pride?  Using a sports analogy, it’s as if Tom Brady of the New England Patriots were traded away for the entire NFL!  They couldn’t have been of too much use to their own society since they were obviously expendable.  Imagine when they come back home to their families. 

“Oh, Ahmed, it’s you.  Yeah, hey listen, this is a little uncomfortable, but we didn’t expect you to come back.  We’ve replaced you with a coat rack.” 

In any event, there is no dis-incentive  on the part of these released prisoners to resume troublesome activities notwithstanding Netanyahu’s warnings.  What’s the worst that can happen?