Political Pop Song

The current leader of the Conservative Party in Canada is Pierre Poilievre. He is a very good 'political' speaker. That doesn't mean he always speaks the truth. He and his conservative party are more anti-China than Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. If he came to power, it wouldn't be good for repairing and improving the already somewhat damaged Canada /China relations. Re-electing Justin Trudeau won't do much better either. So whom should we vote for in the next election? You tell me!  

The current political pop song in Canada is to follow Uncle Sam, anti-China and anti-Russia. Which politician in Canada would refuse to sing this political pop song, do you know? I would like to know. I just couldn't think of any. 

Edi Lee for Peace    ***   Fast Edi Thoughts and Comments 

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Meng Wanzhou

The case of Meng Wanzhou is not over yet. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, made the decision back in December 2018 to yield to the U.S. request for Ms. Meng's extradition. He treated it straightly as a legal case and said there would be no political intervention. But in reality, even from Day One, many people including myself, believe that it is not straightly a legal case. It was / is indeed very political. It is a serious matter which is very much both legal and political. ___________________________________________________ Justin said he had no regrets about Ms. Meng's arrest. This Meng Wanzhou case is a very tough one, but he would not go the easy way out by approving Ms. Meng's release. The Attorney General of Canada does have the legal authority to release her. ___________________________________________________ Canada got caught between two super powers, the U.S. and China. Justine unwisely accepted Uncle Sam's political hot potato. Ms. Meng is not a criminal. Her arrest in Canada is seen by many as a case of political kidnap and her being used as a playing chip of the U.S. against Huawei and China. Politically, Canada would side with the U.S. ___________________________________________________ Justin did the right thing, as he himself looked at the matter, but many people thought he did a stupid thing. He has damaged the many years of good relations between Canada and China.

Kung Fu Fighting in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized in Parliament on Wednesday, after he rushed across the floor to get Conservative opposition whip Gord Brown by his arm, to direct him to his seat. In doing so, he was also accused of elbowing NDP member of parliament Ruth Ellen Brosseau in her chest. The media reported that Justin got into a shouting match with NDP opposition leader Tom Mulcair.

In my opinion, this incident was overly sensationalized by the media: Canada's prime minister manhandled a member of parliament; physical altercation in the Canadian Parliament; prime minister physically assaulted a female member of parliament and so on and on. The opposition party politicians certainly took advantage of Justin's mistake and kept pounding at him even after he had repeatedly apologized.

Justin was impatient to get a procedural vote on an assisted dying legislation, to meet a soon coming June deadline set out by the Supreme Court of Canada. He crossed the floor to get Gord Brown because the opposition party members were playing political games in the house, by blocking Gord from moving. Justin lost his cool. In getting Gord, Justin accidentally elbowed Ruth's chest. It was an accident, not an assault. If such body contact was interpreted to be an assault, then many people on the big cities' crowded transit trains and buses would become both offenders and victims. 

All said, Justin was wrong in crossing the floor to get Gord Brown, but he was right in quickly giving his complete and repeated apology.

This whole thing is a serious matter, but it also makes me laugh. It reminds me of the politicians in other countries who literally fought and got into physical violence. This happened in Taiwan, South Korea, Ukraine and other countries. Compared with these nations, what happened in the Canadian Parliament on Wednesday was something so very mild.  

In South Korea, I learned that the politicians would preplan how to fight, and make sure that they would be captured in the news footage. The purpose was to show their constituents how hard they worked, even willing to literally fight for them in the legislature. In Canada, it is the first time that something like this happened in parliament.

Putting seriousness aside, I now dream of making a funny movie showing such fights in different countries. For the U.S., the politicians would dress up like cowboys and shoot at one another with jumbo guns. For Canada, they would fight with hockey sticks. Needless to say, the theme song for the satirical movie would be 'kung fu fighting'. Ouch Canada! 

Panda For Peace?

In the news, CBC reports that the Toronto Zoo has revealed
the names of the first giant pandas born in Canada. Jia Panpan, meaning Canadian Hope, is the male cub. Hiis twin sister is Jia Yueyue, meaning  Canadian Joy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne were among the guests getting the first glimpse of the cubs.

Panda is the national treasure of China and the darling of the world. There are only 2,400 living pandas, more or less, in the whole world. Besides being cute and adorable, the pandas are very friendly diplomats of the Chinese Government.

Do you want to fight with China? O.K., here is a panda for you. Do you still want to fight? No, thank you! Panda for peace? Yes!  

New Government In Canada

Just finished watching the swearing-in ceremony of Canada's 23rd Prime Minister.

The cabinet chosen by Justin Trudeau, our new Prime Minister, consists of ministers with different backgrounds and attributes: 50 / 50 of men and women, young and old, natives  and minorities, able bodied and physically challenged, experienced and new parliamentarians, Canadians and Canadians. No more Stephen Harper's one-man band ! 

Go Canada Go !  

Canada Election 2015

On March 29, 2015, I wrote about Stephen Harper's Canada. I said " I love Canada, but not Harper's Canada. As said earlier, I don't belong to any political party, but I am hoping that Stephen Harper will not be re-elected in the upcoming election. But there is a good chance that I will be disappointed. He may win again!".

The election yesterday did not disappoint me and many others. The Liberals won a crushing victory. Out of the 338 seats in parliament, they won a majority of 184 seats. On records, these are the numbers of seats won by the other political parties:  Conservatives (99), NDP (44), Parti Quebecois (10) and Green (1). Sorry Tom Mulcair, leader of the NDP, your loss does not prove that you are not good enough to be the Prime Minister of Canada, so please still hold your head high. Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, I'm glad that you haven't lost your seat. You need to keep growing your Green Party. And Good Bye, Stephen Harper. The Canadians have spoken. 'Stop Harper' finally has happened.

Justin Trudeau's win is not only a big win for the Liberal Party across Canada, it is also his special win on a personal level. It would be so much fun for Justin and his family to move back to 24 Sussex Drive where he grew up. However, fun with family is not fun with work. Work is work, not just fun. Let's hope that Justin Trudeau, our next Prime Minister, will do a great job for Canada and its people. Peace !!!  

Chinese Stock Market Crash ?

No, I don't think it was a Chinese stock market crash, but yes, it was a big drop which did affect the economies of the whole world, especially those of the resources-based exporting countries like Australia and Canada.

China's economy is slowing down. It doesn't want to buy your coal and oil, so what you gonna do? Even with the slow down, China's economic growth is still 7% more or less, an envy of many countries.

How well has Canada been doing economically? Not very well, but not very bad either. Election is on, so if you ask the leaders running for the Prime Minister's office, you'll certainly get different political answers. Tom Mulcair of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party (LP) will tell you that Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party (CP) sucks, but of course Stephen Harper will tell you that he's been doing a great job and you should continue to let him be your prime minister. 

The world economy is a big monster. Nobody is able to manage it alone. We should rather focus on our own personal economy, our own finances, to maintain and improve our ' financial health '. 

Shooting in Ottawa

However you thought regarding the shooting on Parliament Hill, that it was a crime, an act of terrorism, a war with ISIS on home soil, a crazy act of religious extremism carried out by a radicalized Zehal-Bisbeau, or whatever, October 22, 2014 was definitely not an ordinary day.  

By now, we know that the fallen soldier was Nathan Cirillo. Condolences to his family and loved ones !  Thanks to Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Canadian Parliament, Zehal-Bisbeau was taken out. Kevin is hailed as a national hero of Canada.

It could have been much worse, as it happened not only outside, but also inside the Parliament of Canada. This tragic incident is a wake up call for Canada, that it is not immune to this kind of crazy shooting, which would and did happen in the U.S. and other countries. New security measures should be discussed and implemented by the Government of Canada, especially to protect the Parliament, which is the heart of Canadian democracy and the central work place of the Canadian Government leaders.

I was impressed by what I saw, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper walked over to shake hands with and embrace the opposition leaders Justin Trudeau and Tom Mulcair. That was so Canadian, so civilized, so ministerial. Thumbs up this time to Harper!        

A Canadian song of the Great Big Sea comes to mind. It is called Ordinary Day. Certainly, as said earlier, October 22, 2014 was definitely not an ordinary day. However, the song lyrics still provide some good advice, which said " At the end of the day, you've just got to say it's all right."  It's all right, Canada. Let's move on ! 

Politicians Came To Town

The politicians came to town yesterday. The Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau and Bob Rae, were here in Whitehorse. The NDP also came. Wonder if it was just a coincidence or an orchestrated appearance. Ah  Canadian Politics !

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada is looking for a new leader. I have been watching the candidates debate on T.V. I watched and listened, and came down to the best three: Justin Trudeau, Marc Garneau and Martha Hall Finlay. ........................................................................................... Sorry, but I have now removed Martha Hall Finlay from my list of top candidates.I don't like the way she attacked Justin Trudeau, implying that he is a rich boy, and that he has no idea what the middle class is all about.Her statement that ALL Canadians want a job is only a political statement, not a true statement of facts. Being a smart lady, why did she make such an absolute,if not stupid,statement? Why didn't she just say "Canadians want jobs, and we must deal with unemployment and work on job creation in Canada" or something like that ? I mean without using the word ALL. ........................................................................................... Is Justin a rich boy ? Certainly he is not poor, but rich ? How rich do you have to be,before you are really rich ? The point is this: everything is relative.In my opinion,having an inheritance or net worth of 1.2 million dollars or so in Canada would not make you really that rich, or rich enough for you to declare comfortably that you are wealthy, but certainly rich enough for you to declare that you are not poor. Just one example can prove my point: if you wish to buy a nice house in a big city like Vancouver or Toronto in Canada, it can easily cost you a million dollars or more. ........................................................................................... Rich Boy Justin gave a very good response to Finlay's attack.He said he was lucky to be born to the Trudeau family, went to very good schools and traveled around the world.With everything that he has received and experienced, as other candidates would also do, he will put it into good use, to serve his community and the country.Rich boy Justin also inherited some brilliant genes from his Dad Pierre, not just the money.Good for him! ...................................................................................... ..... Martha Hall Finlay later issued an apology, admitting that she didn't mean to be personal in her verbal attack of Justin Trudeau.I don't believe Justin is out of touch with the middle class or any class.Canada is a multicultural society made of people of all kinds of different backgrounds, but they are all Canadians. Canadians, especially the young people in Canada, are very open-minded,socially mobile,culturally inclusive,and are well connected . ........................................................................................... As said earlier,Martha Hall Finlay's statement that ALL Canadians want a job is only a political statement,not a statement of facts.Am I kidding you that some Canadians don't want a job? No, I am not joking. So who are the Canadians who don't want a job? For example, some young people want to go to college.They want a free education, a grant, a scholarship, or a low-interest student loan.They don't want to get a job if they don't have to, just to make some money to help pay their expensive education.They want to spend time studying, not working. ............................................................................................. Some old folks don't want to have a job, but due to their lack of money and income, they are forced to work some more years before retirement.They wish they could afford to retire soon.They want to give up their jobs, not to keep them. What they want is not a job but a good pension. ............................................................................................ Then there are the entrepreneurs and business people. They want to have their own business and be their own boss.They don't need the Government's help to create a job for them.What they want from the Government are good policies, low taxes, and support of economic and business growth.These people don't want a job and become an employee.They are the people who create jobs, not looking for a job. ............................................................................................ Also I dare to say that most people work only because they just have to.We are still living in a money-based society.This is the reality in the whole world, and it will be so for quite a while. Until when ? Until we have either ended up in self-destruction, I mean the whole humanity on Planet Earth, or have transformed ourselves and the whole world into a moneyless, but truly civilized and spiritual society with universal love and peace. Well, that is another story. ................................................................................................... Currently, the reality is that if you have no money, then how are you going to get food and shelter? What about transportation,clothing and health care? What about music, sports and entertainment ? What about traveling and visiting family and friends, and all the rest? It made me laugh whenever I heard a person say that if he or she won the lottery, they would still keep their lousy job and not to find something else better to do. ........................................................................................... Do ALL Canadians want a job? No. Should we work on unemployment, the economy and job creation in Canada? Yes. Here is something that Rich Boy Justin could say to Madam Finlay,"Look,it's true,I am not poor.I don't need this job to be the leader of the Liberal Party.No,I don't need the job, but I want it, O.K.? So why am I running for the leadership? It's not about money, Martha. I want to serve my Liberal Party, my community,my fellow Canadians, and my country Canada." Would it be like father like son,Pierre and Justin? Let's wait and see !