Duncan Cameron

Populism and faux feminism: Marine Le Pen, Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau

rabble staff — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 14:16:04 +0000

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Justin Trudeau is worried about extremism entering Canada through the electoral system.

If like Canada, France had a first-past-the-post electoral system, Marine Le Pen of the extreme-right National Front would be well placed to be the next president of France. She has led the polls for months.

Instead, because France has two rounds of voting, with the second round limited to the top two finishers in the first round, Le Pen has next to no chance of winning (regardless if she finishes first or second in the first round).

Justin Trudeau arrived in Washington on Monday with a plan to help Trump polish his image with women, even though Canadian women are still waiting for action on public child care from our feminist PM.

Spring political follies: Three Canadian leadership races

rabble staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 13:28:04 +0000

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

On Sunday, when a respected Quebec politician declared for the leadership of the Bloc Québécois, it should have been welcome news for Quebec sovereignists. Instead it provoked controversy.

A one-time Hydro-Québec engineer, former Minister of Natural Resources in the government of Pauline Marois, and two-time candidate for the Parti Québécois leadership, Martine Ouellet is a PQ member of the Quebec National Assembly.

If elected Bloc leader, as appears likely, Ouellet will leave the PQ caucus, but continue to perform her duties as an independent MNA (Member of the National Assembly). She intends to stay in office until the 2108 Quebec election, and then contest the federal election expected in 2019.

In Canadian politics a winning candidate is currently defined as one that can take on Justin Trudeau and make him look weak. Runners in three leadership races will have to measure up.

Making nice with Washington is not a foreign policy

rabble staff — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 13:53:28 +0000

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Canada ended the Second World War as the third-ranking world power.

Though greatly eclipsed by the United States (and the Soviet Union), Canada was positioned ahead of the traditional great powers, France, Germany, the U.K. and China. Weakened by war, none were able to play a substantial role on the world scene.

At the crucial juncture when postwar direction was set and the Bretton Woods institutions, the UN and NATO established, policies championed by the U.S. dominated the world.

Enjoying a brief period of enhanced stature because of its strong (centrally planned) wartime economy, Canada developed a "quiet diplomacy" approach to the world hegemonic power.

The idea was to use close relations with the U.S. to exert influence on the world scene.

There has been no indication from Team Trudeau that it wants to add value to world politics, only that it wants to protect the status quo in relations with the U.S.

Trumponomics unsettles Trudeau with threats to Canada-U.S. trade

rabble staff — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 14:19:16 +0000

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Only one country in the world issues a currency that is held and recognized in every country in the world. The U.S. dollar has been de facto the world currency since the Bretton Woods accords of 1944.

Having your money accepted for payment in other countries means the U.S. does not have to earn foreign currency abroad or borrow in other currencies.

Other countries try to earn U.S. dollars by selling more than they buy from the rest of the world. When not earning U.S. dollars, countries have to borrow dollars.

Borrowed U.S. dollars have to be repaid in newly earned dollars. Such U.S. dollar-denominated debt is a real constraint on governments the world over.

With the advent of Donald Trump, international trade has taken centre stage in U.S. politics. Trumponomics suggests that the rest of the world has been cheating the U.S. out of jobs and wealth.

Rosa Luxemburg: A revolutionary for our times

rabble staff — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 14:27:56 +0000

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

On the second Sunday in January, activists and admirers visit the gravesite of Rosa Luxemburg in Berlin, a tradition begun after the Nazi era in the former East Germany.

Jailed for her opposition to the First World War, Luxemburg had been released after the signing of the armistice.

A Social Democratic (SPD) government had taken charge in postwar Germany, and it was busy quelling a Spartacus League workers' uprising in Berlin. Luxemburg (formerly with Spartacus League) supported the uprising after it took place, but did not favour it beforehand.

Rosa Luxemburg was by now a founder of the German Communist Party; she called for a postwar revolution to rid Germany of capitalist imperialism.

Her scholarly work identified the links between capitalism, imperialism and militarism, but she expected more than recognition as a thinker. Rosa Luxemburg wanted to change the course of history.

As U.S. protectionism surges, Canada implores Washington: But we're friends!

rabble staff — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 14:25:09 +0000

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

In the 1980 U.S. presidential election Republican Ronald Reagan campaigned in Michigan promising to protect autoworker jobs.

A strong U.S. dollar provoked measures to protect U.S. production of autos, steel and textiles against foreign competitors who profited from domestic currency weakness through increased exports to the U.S.

In 1981 Reagan imposed "voluntary" export restraint agreements on Japanese carmakers, who were required to limit their exports to the U.S.

Higher American interest rates will push the U.S. dollar up and lower the already weak Canadian dollar further. Expect the Trump administration to target Canada for currency manipulation.

It's been 150 years of Canadian politics. What comes next?

rabble staff — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 12:56:38 +0000

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Canada acquired its identity as a federal state 150 years ago. A series of constitutional talks in the 1860s brought agreement to create a Canadian Confederation from politicians representing the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; though not immediately from those of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.

Though 2017 is unlikely to rival the centenary year of 1967 for celebration, this new year will include local initiatives and public events designed to promote Canada to Canadians; and, yes, allow the Liberal government to shine.

Whatever the public relations designs for marking this 150th year, it should also allow for extended critical reflection on what history has to suggest for Canadian politics today.

Whatever the public relations designs for marking this 150th year for Canada, it should also allow for extended critical reflection on what history has to suggest for Canadian politics today.

A Hard Rain: The CIA proxy war with Russia

rabble staff — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 13:41:16 +0000

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Patti Smith rocked the Nobel Prize gala in Sweden singing "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," a Bob Dylan classic from the 1960s era of the civil rights struggle and protest against the Vietnam war.

As noted by James Warren in Vanity Fair, Nobel Prize honouree Dylan revealed the meaning of that song 50 years ago in a recorded conversation with Studs Terkel, the oral historian of the American working class.

"A Hard Rain" is about the poison coming from the establishment and carried by the media, explained Dylan: how do we protect our brains from it?

The climate of Cold War fear-mongering now prevailing in the U.S. is reminiscent of the 1960s, a decade when big issues were made intelligible by songs composed by Bob Dylan.

Instead of following Trump's money, Canada can choose a better path

rabble staff — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 14:19:41 +0000

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Asked about Donald Trump, former prime minister Brian Mulroney responded, "he is a real gentleman." For Mulroney, a lifelong friend of everything American, Trump will be good for Canada. He thinks the U.S. president and Justin Trudeau will develop a productive friendship.

Mulroney is merely the opening act in what will be a major Canadian media campaign to "normalize" the president-elect and showcase his program. Canadians will be expected to discount what Trump has said about women, Mexicans, Muslims or immigrants, as has Brian Mulroney, and another Trump Florida neighbour, Conrad Black. Big business voices will want citizens to focus on what President Trump and Canada can accomplish together.

The election of Donald Trump creates a new opportunity for Canada to distance itself from advocates of U.S.-style capitalism as the way ahead for the world.

Trudeau government woefully miscalculates support for Kinder Morgan pipeline

rabble staff — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 13:32:30 +0000

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Justin Trudeau should not expect to see a lot of $99 Liberal Party of Canada toques or $199 scarves being worn in metro Vancouver this winter.

Last week, the Trudeau government approved doubling the Kinder Morgan pipeline from Alberta. The Trans Mountain expansion proposes a 700 per cent increase in ocean tanker traffic through the port of Vancouver and an expanded diluted bitumen (dilbit) storage facility (tank farm) in the city of Burnaby, both in Tsleil-Waututh territory at Burrard Inlet.

The Trudeau cabinet has judged that Canada-wide backing for increased exports from the Alberta bitumen sands overshadows B.C. opposition to shipping dilbit via pipeline to Metro Vancouver.

Cash for access to Justin Trudeau and Liberal cabinet ministers

rabble staff — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 14:11:16 +0000

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Looking for a job? The Liberal Party of Canada is hiring. You could be "co-ordinator riding fundraising support and victory fund" or "funding co-ordinator Laurier Club events."

The Laurier Club was set up in 1986. John Turner was Liberal leader. The party had been in power from 1963 until 1984. In that election the Mulroney Conservatives had reduced them to 43 seats.

Finding a way back to power included bringing together business and community leaders with senior MPs, providing lapel pins, and giving members access to "an established network of Laurier Club contacts," as the donation form puts it.

"Pay to play": that is what businesses looking for contracts or friendly legislation are told by insiders paid to know how to make things happen in Canada.

To trump Trump, the Democrats need a new game plan

rabble staff — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 14:12:27 +0000

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Donald Trump represents such a threat to what reasonable people hold dear, it's hard not to get unhinged just thinking about his presidency. For a start, his election sets back world efforts to address climate change for four years minimum.

Women who fought for reproductive rights fear his power to nominate anti-choice Supreme Court justices. The LGBTQ community feel the beginnings of renewed persecution. Undocumented workers and their families now live in terror of discovery and deportation.

Seldom if ever has an American presidential candidate been as ill prepared for office or carried on in such a personally offensive manner as Donald Trump. Calling him out for his xenophobia, sexism, bigotry and Mussolini potential is not good enough, however.

For Dr. Martin Luther King, the first step in preparing nonviolent resistance was "collection of the facts." This is what the U.S. Democratic Party needs to be doing in response to Donald Trump.

Trudeau Liberals offer Shangri-La to private finance

rabble staff — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 13:24:49 +0000

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Most Canadians have never heard of Larry Fink. An American, he is the biggest money manager in the world. His firm, BlackRock, has over $4 trillion it directs on behalf of clients.

Fink is famous in the financial world. For one thing, he was a key figure in the development of mortgage-backed securities, sometimes called CDOs or collateralized debt obligations.

These were the instruments that in 2007 all of a sudden no one wanted to buy, so no one could sell. Portfolios full of worthless CDOs led to a break down in the world financial system, creating the crash of 2007-08, which was followed by the great recession.

How is the Canadian public interest served by bringing in private financiers to make money operating and owning what rightfully belongs to Canadian citizens?

Did Hillary Clinton even have a chance?

rabble staff — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 13:47:43 +0000

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 U.S. presidential election to upstart candidate Donald Trump. The outcome is a major disappointment to the many people around the world looking forward to celebrating a woman elected U.S. president.

Her narrow defeat came as a shock to Wall St., major backers of the Democratic candidate. Stock markets tumbled as the Trump march to victory became apparent Tuesday night, winning North Carolina, Florida, and coming close in Virginia.

Trump won a race he was supposed to lose in the U.S. rust belt. The Democratic states of Wisconsin and Michigan gave him narrow victories; and like every other Republican president, he carried Ohio.

The outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election is a major disappointment to the many people around the world looking forward to celebrating a woman elected U.S. president.

Trudeau, Obama and neighbourly love

rabble staff — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 13:08:37 +0000

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

Hannah Arendt wrote her doctoral dissertation on Saint Augustine and Love. She was taken by his concept of neighbourly love, a third category next to love as desire, and love of God.

Neighbourly love was on display when U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the Canadian Parliament last week. But where is it in the international trade agreements the U.S. is selling?