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| Great White North | |
| Jean Chretien is out, Paul Martin is in | |
| 2003-12-12 | |
| Canada has a new Prime Minister. OK that’s the news. But I thought you’d get a kick out of this: French President Jacques Chirac praised retiring Prime Minister Jean Chrétien as a "prestigious statesman" at a full state dinner in his honour Tuesday. In an opening toast at the Paris dinner, Chirac said Chrétien, who is on the final leg of his last Yeah. Anyway... The comments followed earlier speeches by both leaders at the opening of an museum exhibit on the history of relations between Canada and France. Starting with the battle of the Plains of Abraham perhaps? In that speech Chirac repeatedly referred to Chrétien as " "Mon cher Jean" "Oui, mon cher Jacques?" "Je t’aime!" "Moi aussi, Jacques!" Chirac spoke of how Canada and France agree on the role of the United Nations. Both countries refused to participate in the U.S. led war on Iraq because it was not sanctioned by the UN. Uh no. That’s not why. But that’s another story, and another post. Chrétien said in an era of globalization, a nation’s influence is no longer determined by the number of cannons or missiles in its possession. Maybe not, but it helps. "They are measured by the civility and tolerance the nation demonstrates toward its international partners and its openness to dialogue with them."
He said he wasn’t directing his comments at any country in particular. Good Lord, does he think people are this stupid? Chrétien said he and Chirac discussed Iraq during a 45-minute meeting, but talked more about Afghanistan, where both countries have troops. "It is getting more complicated and we know that in seven or eight months we have to go and NATO has an obligation and so we discussed who is willing to come," he said. Chrétien said Canada was not having trouble finding another NATO country to send troops to replace its soldiers in Afghanistan. | |
| Posted by:Rafael |
| #5 mjh, Jean's daughter is married to Paul Demarais Jr. Paul Jr. is Chairman and Co-CEO of the Power Corperation, based in Montreal. Power is a financial conglomerate of Insurance and Mutual Fund Investment Companies. Apparently Power is TotalFina's largest single shareholder. Nope, no connection, just another Cheney and Haliburton. Other Power directors include: Jean Peyrelevade Chairman of the Board, Crédit Lyonnais Michel François-Poncet Vice-Chairman, BNP Paribas Crédit Lyonnais, hmmm, something reminds me about a court case and ties to Chirac? worth Googling all these names to get an idea where they are tied to energy development. I would suspect both French companies have large exposure in Iraq, non? |
| Posted by: john 2003-12-12 10:56:46 AM |
| #4 "Chrétien said in an era of globalization, a nation’s influence is no longer determined by the number of cannons or missiles in its possession. They are measured by the civility and tolerance the nation demonstrates toward its international partners and its openness to dialogue with them." -the fact that the strongest nation in the history of the planet is our number 1 trading partner, lives on our southern border and is essentially our guardian & protector, has nothing to do with it either. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-12-12 10:39:13 AM |
| #3 I read somewhere (will try to add a link to the comments) that Chretien's daughter is married to some bigwig at Totalfina Elf...and that Jacques and Jean are skimming from the same bowl of cream. |
| Posted by: mjh 2003-12-12 9:04:29 AM |
| #2 IIRC in 7 or 8 months time their will be elections in Afghanistan, introducing a new government to replace the interim government of Hamid Karzai, which is when the UN mandate for the country will end. The same thing happened in East Timor. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2003-12-12 5:18:36 AM |
| #1 Chrétien said he and Chirac discussed Iraq during a 45-minute meeting, but talked more about Afghanistan, where both countries have troops. "It is getting more complicated and we know that in seven or eight months we have to go and NATO has an obligation and so we discussed who is willing to come," he said. Chrétien said Canada was not having trouble finding another NATO country to send troops to replace its soldiers in Afghanistan. Uh... So Chretien is saying that Canada intends to pull out of Afghanistan in "seven or eight months"-- "we have to go", he sez, because "it is getting more complictated"-- i.e., bloody?-- and they "have to go" regardless of the situation there at that time-- I guess because Canuckia can then say it has kept up its end of some "international" bargain or other. Feh. And for that kind of half-hearted participation in Afghanistan-- plus a piddling $120 mil in Iraq reconstruction money-- the canucks gripe 'cuz Santa Wolfie left 'em off of his "naughty and nice" list. Cry me a river, Canuckia. Meanwhile, I'll be wiping my eyes from the tears of laughter at Chretien's claim that "Canada was not having trouble finding another NATO country to send troops to replace its soldiers in Afghanistan". Strange he didn't name any such country... But true enough: if and when the Canuckians crawl back into their comfy shell, we Amis and the Brits-- or maybe Aussies or Spaniards or Polacks or etc. -- will fill the very small void the Canucks leave behind, 'cuz we, unlike them, are responsible adults who take our responsibilities seriously. |
| Posted by: TPF 2003-12-12 5:06:43 AM |