Nero

Friday May 5, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 5, 2023

Chong’s Family Targeted by Chinese Operative: Trudeau Government Plays Dumb

April 15, 2023

April 15, 2023

In ancient Rome, Nero famously fiddled while the city burned. In modern-day Canada, it seems that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is similarly preoccupied with distractions while a critical issue simmers. Specifically, the issue of foreign interference from China has been bubbling up for months, and yet the Trudeau government has repeatedly failed to act decisively.

The latest scandal involves the targeting of MP Michael Chong’s family by a Chinese operative, allegedly in retaliation for Chong’s vote in support of deeming China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority as a genocide. This behavior is repugnant and underscores the need for Canada to take a strong stand against foreign interference.

News: Joly weighs Chinese retaliation  

February 25, 2023

What is truly shocking, however, is that the Trudeau government failed to pass on this critical information to Chong or even the Prime Minister himself. The fact that the Chinese operative remained accredited in the Toronto consulate for two years after being identified as the source of the threat is downright inexplicable.

Trudeau’s response to the situation has been lackluster, with his statements contradicting those of his chief of staff and failing to take decisive action. It was only after the scandal hit the headlines that the government announced it would summon China’s ambassador to Canada to protest the alleged intimidation of Chong and his family.

Expelling a diplomat is not a decision to be taken lightly, but the Trudeau government’s ongoing failure to address the issue of foreign interference suggests that stronger action is needed. The fact that the two Michaels were being held as political prisoners in Beijing when this scandal came to light underscores the severity of the issue.

March 9, 2023

MP Chong has every right to be upset and is calling for the operative to be declared persona non grata immediately. It is time for the Trudeau government to stop deflecting, downplaying, and obfuscating and take a strong stand against foreign interference.

David Johnston’s upcoming report on the need for a public inquiry into foreign interference is a step in the right direction, but it is increasingly clear that action needs to be taken now. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but Canada cannot afford to do the same. It’s time for the Trudeau government to wake up and take action to protect our democracy. (AI)

 

Wednesday April 29, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Unpublished Wednesday April 29, 2020

US a Washed-up Empire

April 23, 2020

There was a time when the slick American propaganda held the world in thrall as if it were true. Many nations once gullibly looked to the US for leadership. Not any more.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed presumed US global power as a hollowed-out caricature. America’s response to the disease is abysmal. It is the world’s leader in the numbers of deaths and infections, unable to cope because of the woeful lack of an organized, functioning public health system. How damning is that?

April 18 2020

Another factor in why the US has been hit so badly by the pandemic is due to the parlous conditions for tens of millions of its workers who live on the brink of poverty with little social safety net. That speaks to the real undemocratic nature of American society as opposed to all the arrogant delusions of “exceptionalism”.

This appalling disaster is against a backdrop of Washington spending trillions of dollars on nuclear weapons and maintaining hundreds of thousands of troops in military bases all around the world backed up by legions of warships and warplanes.

April 7, 2020

US presidential historian Douglas Brinkley is quoted by Politico as saying: “The United States was once known for its can-do culture. We built the Panama Canal and we put a man on the moon. And now we can’t get a swab or a face mask or a gown and we have no real chain of command.”

March 26, 2020

Brinkley added: “We are not leading in the pandemic response, we are trailing other countries by a long shot. This is a crippling blow to America’s prestige around the world.”

China, South Korea, Germany, Russia and other nations, even US-sanctioned Iran and Cuba, have been much more effective in managing the COVID-19 crisis than the US. Why? Well, simply because they are not broke like the US is from its monstrous militarism and imperial overstretch. (Merely printing money is no solution.)

The calamity of the disease unfolding in the US is proof that its presumed global empire is all washed-up. Fitting the end of era mood, the country is being “led” by a president who thinks that injecting household bleach into the human body could be a cure for the virus. Trump increasingly sounds like mad Roman emperors Nero or Caligula.

American economist Joseph Stiglitz says the real state of US society is akin to a “third world country”. (Continued: Sputniknews.com) 

This cartoon is featured in the online version of the Washington Post on July 6, 2020 in a gallery of art work created during the 2020 Pandemic. Image is in a slideshow presented near the bottom of the page.