Three Cheers For Pandas!

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's trade mission to China has been a roaring success. Not only did he secure Canada billions of dollars in trade agreements, but he scored Toronto and Calgary a pair of pandas. Nice touch! Granted, there are some people who don't want us to sell resources to China or accept their pandas. Rather what we should be doing is boycotting trade until they change their foreign and domestic policy to something that's more agreeable with Canadian values. Evidently making public statements disagreeing with Chinese policy is insufficient, we should cut off trade altogether until they change (because doing so will surely make them change course).

The poll question today on the CBC's Rosemary Barton Show was; is Canada putting trade with China ahead of human rights? 83% said yes. It's ridiculous that Soloman has started naming his polls "the ballot box question", when most of his loaded questions are completely irrelevant to how people vote. I'd like to see Rosemary permanently take over for Evan. The better question is; should Canada halt trade with China until they adopt more agreeable foreign and domestic policies?

Canada's Relationship With China

Once upon a time when Stephen Harper criticized China for human rights abuses, the Liberals went bananas saying that it jeopardized our valuable trade relationship. Now that Harper is in China on a trade mission, Bob Rae is on the CBC saying that the PM should speak out against human rights abuses when Evan Solo asked him how he should deal with China. I believe Bob's exact words were that the Harper government must "become a more robust proponent" on human rights. Meanwhile the PM has gone so far in the past as to boycott the Beijing Olympics, which won him support in the Canadian Asian community.

Now Mark Holland is on criticizing the Prime Minister for once doing too much and now not doing enough. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Either way, China has a lot of money and we have a lot of resources to sell. Though 63% of Evan's audience does not think that we should "boost ties" with China while they support Syria. My poll question: how much trade should we seek with China? More, less, or the same?

The Soloman Show has a neat new feature that if you Tweet something with the hash tag #PnP during the show, it will pop up on the screen during the broadcast. Obviously there is a filter. I went 2 for 3 today. My Tweet asking if Mark Holland gets paid for panel appearances (and if so how much) did not make it to air. It was a surprise to see my Tweet "Anytime anyone even loosely affiliated with the Tories mentions abortion, Soloman has to dedicate half his show to it. #PnP" pop up on my television. Solo has really been pumping the Twitter hard.

What To Do With Tory MP Who Sent Amorous E-Mails?

Today's poll question; what should happen to the Tory MP who sent amorous e-mails to a Chinese state journalist? Should he be removed from his Parliamentary Secretary role? Should he be expelled from caucus? We have yet to learn all of the details about this story, but what we do know doesn't look good for Mr. Dechert. At the very least he showed poor judgement, and at worst he could have shared sensitive information. We did not expel Maxime Bernier from caucus when he left cabinet files at his girlfriend's apartment, and I don't think we should toss Dechert from the Party. That being said, he should be removed from his Parliamentary Secretary role, even if only temporarily while a formal investigation takes place.

Given the symbiotic relationship between the Chinese spy agency and the Chinese news agency, an investigation as to what information might have been shared is warranted. Was this just e-mails, or was there also a physical relationship? Was the journalist proactive in this relationship, or did this MP just get horny for a woman who did not reciprocate? I'm sure it is not impossible that the Chinese government would send attractive females to foreign countries with the purpose of extracting information from horny male politicians. Knowing which of the two initiated these flirtatious exchanges could affect my opinion on this story, but either way Mr. Dechert showed poor judgement.

At least one Blogging Tory is defending Mr. Dechert, but the Phantom Observer appears to be alone on this one at this early stage in the story.

Canada Needs More Asians

We are in the process of a substantive demographic shift that is going to see us lose a very important chunk of our labour force to retirement in the next decade. Unless Canadians start producing more children, we have to start making up the difference elsewhere. Europe has the same problem, and I doubt we could count on another significant influx of European immigration anytime soon. To be honest, I would much rather have more Asians than more Europeans. I have worked with many people in Vancouver who were born in Asia (mostly China), and they are great people and hard workers. If we are to continue aborting a significant proportion of our future labour force, then lets import more Asians because we really need them.

I remember the Liberals attacking Harper for boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics in protest of human rights abuses, then a few months later a large chunk of the Asian Canadian population in British Columbia shifted to the Tories. The riding with the largest Asian population is Richmond, which shifted from Liberal to Tory in 2008 (including West Vancouver, North Vancouver, among others with a large Asian population), and a narrowing of the gap in virtually all greater Vancouver ridings. I would guess 75% of the people living in Canada who were born in China are opposed to the current ruling regime in their motherland. I want more Asians in my Canada. I really like those people.

Why do you think that the Prime Minister appointed one of his most talented ministers to the immigration portfolio? It wasn't to bury him.

A Tale Of Two Koreas

When I see North Korea launch a major artillery attack on South Korea with a building pattern of aggression, my first thought is what the hell are they thinking? They can't possibly want to re-ignite the Korean war, which is technically still a war (cease fire, no peace agreement). Yet at the same time the leadership there is borderline insane, and I doubt it would take more than a puppet show to convince them that they could win another major conflict against an Asian Tiger (supported militarily by the USA).

It would seem that the most likely scenario is that North Korea is using a show of force in an attempt to scare the international community into a better extortion deal. The question is, how much more should South Korea be expected to endure in order to secure a "golden parachute" for Kim Jong Ill?

What's China saying? Only Beijing has sway over Pyongyang.

Currency Wars

Do you think that trade with China is fair? I ask because there seems to be the rising probability of a currency war with the Chinese, who make it their policy to devalue their currency to maximize exports. China is the #1 exporter of cheap manufactured goods, but the catch is that they buy almost no manufactured goods from other countries. They have the largest labour force on the planet which they are able to manipulate. It is a capitalist version of communism with almost no regard for human rights. I have met a whole lot of Asian people in my life, and I have a strong respect for them. Most people that I have talked to in Greater Vancouver who have lived in China hate the Chinese government. Otherwise, they would still be living in China. One of my best friends fled from Hong Kong in 1999.

I remember when Prime Minister Stephen Harper boycotted the Chinese Olympics in the summer of 2008.  In the election of the fall of 2008, the Chinese-Canadian vote shifted strongly Conservative. Just look at Richmond BC. I remember when Harper was critical of the Chinese regime the Liberals slammed him, and yet Asian-Canadians strongly agreed with the Prime Minister. You don't have to play nice with the Chinese government to win Chinese votes in Canada. It is like, should I support Robert Mugabe to win the support of Zimbabwean refugees? Not at all, if they liked Mugabe and the state of their country, they never would have left.

China Infiltrating Canada?

I just finished listening to Rosemary Barton interview Tory MP Rob Anders who had some interesting things to say about China potentially bribing Canadian politicians in an attempt to gain political favour. Granted this is coming from the same politician who voted against honourary citizenship for Nelson Mandela because he believes Nelson to be a communist and a terrorist. These allegations also come on the heels of the CSIS boss claiming that China has infiltrated our political class, remarks that caused a firestorm of controversy.

If Rob has directly witnessed any Canadian politician (Liberal or Conservative) accepting favours from the Chinese presumably in exchange for votes in the Commons, then he should report that to the appropriate officials. That is not the kind of information that you discuss for the first time with Rosie. He said that he had not talked to the Prime Minister about his allegations, but it is okay to talk about them with Rosie on the CBC? He should be talking to the police, not an amateur like Rosemary Barton.

Where's Waldo? Ignatieff Gone Again

As quickly as he arrived back in Canada from his European vacation, he is now back abroad. Where in the world is Mike Ignatieff now? He's visiting China. I for one look forward to reading Donolo's press releases to see how they try to spin the visit as it unfolds. Someone should forward a message the Chinese media that Iggy has the worst personal approval ratings of any Canadian federal leader and is unlikely to ever be elected Prime Minister. People in glass houses shouldn't throw snake oil, right? If Rasputin tries that Jedi mind trick where he attempts to convince you that one day he will ascend to our highest office, pay no attention to the Czarist behind the curtain.

Remember, during the summer of 2008 (Beijing Olympics) Stephen Harper took a hard stance on Chinese government human rights abuses? The Libs tried to scream foul, and a couple of months later the Tories significantly increased their vote totals in polling districts with large Asian populations (prime case study, Richmond). Evidently, the people who decided to leave China and are now in Canada don't have a lot of nice things to say about the Chinese government. In fact, the government is a big reason that many of them left their homeland in the first place. Kissing the rear end of the Chinese government may not be the best way for Iggy to breakthrough with Canada’s Asian community.

A wise philosopher once said "don't count your chickens before they come home to roost."

Korean War Games

Now we know what South Korea and the United States will do in response to the North Korean sinking of a South Korean Navy vessel; they are going to hold war games to show off their military capabilities to Kim Jong Il. In addition they will toughen already tough sanctions, to try and serve some sort of punishment in addition to the military show deterrent. Will it make any difference? I have absolutely no idea how that nut will respond to this strategy. Part of what makes that little person so dangerous in this big world is that he is pathologically insane and completely unpredictable.

For Canada's part, we really don't engage in any trade with North Korea, so we don't really have anything to pull from the table. The best we can do is publicly support South Korea and condemn the actions. I did some recent polling on this matter, but I did not include war games as an option. There are a lot of nerves over a potential North Korean full scale attack on the South if there is a military retaliation. Perhaps the concerns are justified and this strategy will work, I just can't predict a rational response from an unpredictable despot.

What is the most appropriate response to North Korea sinking a South Korean navy ship?

Military Strike (64%)
Tougher Sanctions (20%)
Tough Diplomacy (9%)
Pretend it Never Happened (5%)

North Korean Act Of War?

If what the news is reporting is true and a North Korean submarine sank a South Korean navy ship, then that is an act of war. The question is will anybody even do anything about this? I would be shocked if Barak Obama responds with any action more forceful than a stern speech. I don't think anyone (other than maybe a few North Korean Generals) wants to see the resumption of war in the Korean peninsula, but how do you respond to acts of war with anything other than war? Are further sanctions beyond the ones already in place going to deter this kind of unprovoked violence? Is a really stern speech going to scare Kim Jong Ill?

I would like to see a military response, because frankly the tough diplomacy route has been tried in the past, sanctions have been tried in the past, and we still have North Korea attacking the South Korean navy! What else is there? Is there a bright idea out there that I haven't thought of yet?

The Year of the Tiger

Happy Chinese New Year! Tis the year of the Tiger, ironically enough, as we look ahead to what is sure to be a compelling PGA season. "Show 'em you're a Tiger, show 'em what you can do! The taste of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, brings out the Tiger in you!" It is a strange coincidence that the year of the Tiger is being celebrated by the Chinese the same year that millions, if not billions of eye balls across the planet will be closely watching the most famous Tiger of them all...

Canada was already a preferred destination for Chinese refugees

For years Canada has been a top destination for thousands of Chinese people, those who were fleeing an oppressive regime; a country where someone like Heather Mallick is thrown in jail for having an opinion. Living in Vancouver, I have personally met many Chinese people who emigrated from China. They love Canada, and surprisingly enough don't have many nice things to say about the government that they fled. To read Bob Rae's quote today is quite enlightening...

"We've paid a price, the fact is we've paid a price for four years of not just living on the margins but actually deliberately disregarding china. This was not benign neglect. This was a deliberate decision on [Mr. Harper's] part to ignore the relationship and to assert that it had no particular importance for him."

China has now placed Canada on its list of preferred tourist destinations; so now the Liberals are outraged that Stephen Harper accomplished in 4 years what they were unable to do in 12 years? Does that make any sense? This is almost as absurd as Torturegate, where the Liberals are furious that the Tories did not clean up the Liberal mess fast enough. Conservatives cleaned up after the Liberals signed a Torture Transfer Agreement, and Conservatives got a preferred destination deal that the Liberals were unable to get. It is a strange sensation when someone gets angry at you because they screwed up.

This benign neglect that Rae speaks of, is this the same "neglect" as when the Prime Minister discussed boycotting the Beijing Olympics in protest of China's human rights record? Did this outrage Canada's Chinese community? No, in fact Richmond, which has the highest proportion of Asian voters in the country, flipped from the Liberal caucus to the Tory caucus by a substantial number of votes. The Conservatives won this previously Liberal seat by roughly 20% of the popular vote. Oh the humanity!

I am a big fan of the Asian peoples. Many of my best friends are Asians. They are hard working, very polite, and make a fantastic contribution to Canadian society. I welcome more of them! Come on in! These people understand better than any the folly of the far left wing governments, and they are shifting to the right in significant blocks. People who have actually lived under Communist governments are the most likely to vote Conservative? Interesting. Canadian lefties read in a text book that communism is wonderful and flock to the Liberals, but people who actually lived the horror of the far left vote Conservative. Read what this asshole had to say...

Are you paying attention Mr. Rae?

I Remember the Rape of Nanking

I would like to take a moment to remember the fallen victims of the Japanese invasion and subjugation of the Chinese city of Nanking in December of 1937. After capturing the city, the Japanese sought to pacify hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians by killing them. They were not shipped off secretly to forced labour camps, although I am sure some were. The majority of the victims were shot dead in the streets or on the shore of the Yangtze river. While the Germans took mass genocide to a new level of efficiency, the Japanese did their genocide with swords and bullets. Thousands of women were raped in what can only be described as one of the most horrifying episodes that any major city has ever experienced.

In University I read the book the Rape of Nanking. Reading a book like that is disturbing, but at the same time it does serve to remind you that there are evil people in the world, and that sometimes it is necessary to send our brave soldiers into war to fight them. It is just a shame that Mao usurped power so soon after the end of the war and embarked on several missions to expand Chinese Communist influence into South Asia, Tibet, and Korea.

To Chinese-Canadians who had relatives die in the Rape of Nanking, I remember.

I Remember Dien Bien Phu

I would like to take a moment to remember the fallen from one of the most disastrous military decisions of modern history. After WWII France set out to ambitiously reassert control of its former colonies, among them Vietnam. Their leadership determined that it would be tactically advantageous to disrupt enemy supply lines into French friendly Laos, by landing thousands of French troops into a remote airfield deep in the Vietnamese jungle surrounded by mountains. The objective was to seize the airfield base, and secure it indefinitely. What could possibly go wrong?

The French commanders were not aware that the Vietcong had both artillery and anti-aircraft guns and could drag them through difficult terrain. The French seized the airfield and set up a base and defensive perimeter with approximately 16,000 troops. General Vo Nguyen Giap began his counter offensive almost immediately after the French landed, and re-directed all Vietcong military force at his disposal to engulf the French position. The French dug trenches in the Valley, with the Vietcong bearing down from the mountains.

Once the artillery reached Dien Bien Phu, this combat operation quickly descended into catastrophe. It became impossible to even land a plane on the airfield, let alone engage in an orderly retreat should that order come. By the time it was apparent that the force would be completely overrun, retreat was impossible. Virtually the entire force of 16,000 French were either killed or taken to a Vietnamese POW camp (like the one in Rambo II). Vietnamese prison camps could be considered a fate worse than death. Gitmo is like a tropical paradise compared to Vietnamese prison camps. 11,000 Frenchmen were taken prisoner when the position was overrun. Only 3,000 of those men would survive the next four months.

This tragedy soured French foreign policy for the next 50 years.

To my countrymen who had relatives massacred at Dien Bien Phu, I remember.

My Introduction to the Dalai Lama

The first time in my adolescent life that I was ever exposed to the knowledge of the existence of the right honourable Dalai Lama was from this fantastic scene from Caddyshack. I love Bill Murray. If you both golf and follow the World, you have to love this...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWJLWERyvkk

Obama snubs Dalai Lama

I have to credit Dennis Miller for tipping me to this story of Obama snubbing the Dalai Lama. I recommend IPod users download the Dennis Miller podcast on I-Tunes. Here we have the global personification of peace and love visiting Washington, and he can't even get a "meet and greet" with Obama? Why is Obama snubbing one of the most respectable human beings on the planet? He doesn't want to upset the Chinese! Really? That's why you have to snub the Dalai Lama?

Which gets me back to Ignatieff bombarding the PM with allegations of his "negative" image abroad and how he upsets the Chinese market Canadian businesses covet. So is Mike upset that the PM has embraced the worldwide symbol of peace and love at the risk of upsetting a totalitarian government that violently squashes decent and exploits cheap labour? I'm just trying to figure out how Harper's Asian policy has risked Canada's image abroad, despite the fact that BC's Asian Community overwhelmingly supported the Conservatives in the 2008 election in the immediate aftermath of the Olympic boycott.

Would Michael Ignatieff recommend that the PM snub the Dalai Lama, just as Obama's insiders recommended the Messiah do?

North Korea

Here we go again; North Korea is testing its long range missiles. In 2006 the Taepodong missile that they tested blew apart seconds after launch. This time it reached far into sky and several thousand miles past Japan before crashing into the Pacific Ocean. When I see something like this happen, my immediate reaction is why do it, and what do they have to gain? Clearly the N.K leadership can’t wipe its own ass without say so from Beijing, so evidently China calculated that it had something to gain by testing the resolve of the United States, Japan, and South Korea. It is as Joe Biden predicted, that enemies of the United States would “test his mettle” in the first year of his administration.

But to what end? I don’t think that anyone would deny that China hates Japan (read the book the Rape of Nanking), and that it fears the thriving democracy in South Korea. While North Korea is by every standard of measure a failed state, and evidence of the folly of a communist dictatorship; if that regime were to collapse and be absorbed by South Korea, that would be a domestic public relations nightmare for communist China. They cannot use their proxy in Pyongyang to invade South Korea, because the 50,000 or so American troops stationed at the DMZ would drag America into the war. I seriously doubt that China wants another fight with the United States.

So again the question must be asked, what is there to gain by firing rockets over Japan? The downside is that it scares Japan enough to encourage the re-militarization of an old rival. China does not want Japan to have a military again, especially now that it is closely allied with the United States. Japan clearly has the most to lose from a trigger happy N.K regime. If one of those missiles flames out and strikes Japanese sovereign territory, all bets are off. These rockets are hardly technological marvels, and when they are shot up into the sky the N.K military brass should clearly have their fingers crossed that they do not mistakenly strike Japan. Perhaps these tests could serve to scare South Korea, which I am quite certain has no intention of ever invading the North unless N.K troops cross the DMZ and invade South Korea. It is possible that they are motivated by scaring South Korea into increasing aid, but how likely that is to happen I do not know.

I think the answer to the motive lies in Ockham’s Razor; that after eliminating the most complicated hypotheses, the simplest explanation is most often right. With the hope and change anti-war President now in the Whitehouse, it is unlikely that North Korea wanted to flex its muscles to deter an invasion. Obama would never invade North Korea, unless of course that N.K invaded South Korea. It is possible that with the potential perceived weakness of the possible death or illness of the insane Kim Jong Ill, the goal was to frighten their own population and deter a potential civilian uprising. It is also plausible that the goal is to test the new President of the World Police. Will he respond to provocative threatening actions with toughness, or will he wither into appeasement? If Obama responds to threats of violence with appeasement, I strongly believe that will open a Pandora’s Box similar to what Neville Chamberlain did with Nazi Germany. If he responds by being as tough as he possibly can without actually declaring open war, I would hypothesize that it would send the appropriate message to insane dictators around the world.

It is now up to the President to decide how to respond.

Put A Little Love In Your Heart...

During the final months and years of the Bush Administration, I recall many pundits and comedians on the left decrying that the destructive foreign policy of Bush and Cheney has bred a global environment of hatred against America. Sure Al Qaeda declared war on America halfway through the Clinton Presidency, but that spicy little slice of life is often overlooked by American Liberals. Popular culture on the left wing enjoys blaming all of the world’s turmoil on rich Republicans stealing from the world’s poor. During the campaign they pleaded and hoped for a candidate who could change global public opinion, put a little love in their hearts, and that the world would be a better place. Obama was elected, and the response across the Globe was that of jubilation and excitement.

For those who have been too consumed with events inside America to look out the window and see what has been happening around the world since President Obama was elected and need to be updated on just how much better the world is since that inspiring victory, here goes…

1) Islamic militants launched co-ordinated attacks at several crowded locations across India's financial capital, killing over 100 people and terrorizing a city with a prolonged hostage crisis at the Taj Mahal.

2) Thousands protest the government of Pakistan, which has signed a treaty of surrender against pro-Taliban elements in the North, giving them self government, and losing control of a valuable piece of real estate roughly 100 miles from the capitol city of Islamabad.

3) Iran is demanding a public apology from Obama and announced that it is escalating its nuclear program.

4) The leader of the Sudan, now charged with war crimes by the International Court, has basically told the UN to go fuck themselves and expelled aid workers from Darfur.

5) The Chinese navy has been aggressively harassing American cargo ships in International waters; starting days after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the country.

6) North Korea is mobilizing its military to the border with South Korea as it prepares to test long range missiles, threatening to invade their neighbor if anyone tries to stop them.

7) Comrade Hugo Chavez has forced through a mandate for life referendum, and has used his military to seize control of an American based food producer who failed to meet his unsustainably low price controls due to inflation caused by massive spending amidst declining revenues devaluing the Venezuelan currency.

8) Bolivia has expelled a senior American Diplomat

9) Civil war is once again escalating in Somalia, though personally I blame that cluster-fuck on Bill Clinton pulling out American troops after Blackhawk Down.

10) Mexico continues to be in a state violent warfare as the government continues its crackdown on drug cartels. Over 1000 police officers and troops were killed in the fighting over the past year, and the fighting is only getting worse.

Today’s Blog post was brought to you by Al Green and Annie Lennox, and their song “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” As a satirical juxtaposition for the change that Obama’s audacious hope has brought to the world…is the world a better place?

If you want the world to know
We won't let hatred grow
Put a little love in your heart

And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place
For you and me
You just wait and see
Wait and see

Take a good look around
And if you're lookin' down
Put a little love in your heart

I hope when you decide
Kindness will be your guide
Put a little love in your heart

And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place
For you and me
You just wait and see

Put a little love in your heart
Put a little love in your heart
Put a little love in your heart
Put a little love in your heart
Put a little love in -
Put a little love in your heart...