speech

Saturday September 29, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday September 29, 2012

Stephen Harper accepts World Statesman of the Year award

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in New York City Thursday night to receive an impressively named award — the World Statesman of the Year — bestowed by a U.S.-based inter-faith group.

In a speech salted with reminders about Canada’s partnership with the United States and other “like-minded” nations, Harper told a black-tie crowd he was accepting the honour not for his own qualities, but “on behalf of the unique and magnificent country I have the privilege of leading.”

But while Harper was being honoured in the U.S., he was facing criticism at home. Opposition politicians say if Harper truly was a statesman, he’d make time during his trip to New York to speak at the United Nations.

World leaders have been addressing the UN General Assembly this week. Everyone from U.S. President Barack Obama to Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has taken the podium to address the world. But when Canada’s turn to speak comes up, Harper won’t be there.

The job of representing Canada will fall to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

The prime minister has only spoken to the General Assembly twice since taking office in 2006. To the opposition, it’s a clear sign the prime minister simply doesn’t like the UN.

“He’s going to New York to receive an award. That’s nice. I’m happy for him,” said NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar.

“But his responsibility as a prime minister — one of his responsibilities — is to go to the UN to explain what our foreign policy is. Particularly now. We have no shortage of issues to deal with.” (Source: CBC News)

Letter to the Editor:

Cartoonist Graeme MacKay missed the mark with his caricature of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The biggest joke of the opening session of UN General Assembly was the “red-line” speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the Wile E. Coyote-style cartoon of a grenade with a wick. The Israeli leader, whose country has a nuclear arsenal and who hasn”t signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, is accusing the Iranian leader, who has signed the NNPT and declares he has no intention of making a bomb, of being a threat to the world.

As for the words “hate, hate, hate” coming out of Ahmadinejad’s mouth, The Spectator has a duty to its readers to provide accurate translations from the original Farsi of the statements made by the Iranian leader, rather than self-serving, twisted simulations manufactured in the US and Israel. Demonstrations will take place across Canada, the U.S. and the UK on Oct. 6 because ordinary people worry we are being led down the warpath against Iran based on the same falsehoods which led to war in Iraq.

D. Rennie
Stoney Creek
Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War

Thursday September 13, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday September 13, 2012

Attacks On US Free Speech: US Responds – Analysis

The killing of three consulate officials and US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the burnt down US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the burning of the US flag by protestors at the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, have created the mixture of anger, fear, and politics.

Some analysts have suggested that at least some of the instigators were al Qaeda and that the attacks were staged and not random reactions to the film, “The Innocence of Muslims” which discredits and disgraces the Prophet Muhammad. Viewing footage of the protests in Cairo, it is more likely that they are disgruntled Muslim Egyptians than terrorists.

This official Cairo Embassy Statement as released on their site September 11, 2012:

“The Ambassador and staff of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo condemn the burning a copy of the Koran that occurred several days ago in the state of Florida by a small group of individuals who represent no one but themselves. Since the founding of our nation, the United States has upheld the principles of tolerance and respect for religious freedom. Millions of Muslim-Americans practice their faith freely throughout the United States and enjoy the full rights guaranteed to them by our laws and constitution. Public condemnation of this event has come from a variety of organizations representing the diverse religious traditions that flourish in the United States.”

Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News that the official US “apology” to the protestors is “disgraceful”—an “embarrassment.” Freedom of speech is “our sacred right” and the message to the protestors should be, “Go to Hell.” (Source: Eurasia Review) 

 

Wednesday January 20, 1999

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 20, 1999

Clinton lays out raft of initiatives: Paves the way for Gore in 2000

He may be facing removal from office, he may be unable to get his legislation through Congress, and he may be only two years away from the end of his term in any case, but President Bill

Clinton last night gave notice that he has not given up.

In the State of the Union address that Clinton delivered to both houses of Congress, he laid out a vast array of policy projects. But behind the facade, much of what Clinton announced had less to do with his own ambitions than the presidential aspirations of Vice-President Al Gore.

The policy details seem designed to set out an agenda for Gore, and to guard his weaker flanks against attack from the Republicans. It is a manifesto for the baby-boom generation at the century’s end.

The mainstay of the speech was the growing budget surplus, expected to be a cumulative $2.7 trillion over the next 15 years. There is no consensus in Washington about what to do with the windfall — spend it, save it or use for tax cuts.

Clinton said last night that he wants the vast majority of the surpluses — about 62 per cent — to be devoted to bolstering social security, the American pension system. Of this, between a fifth and a quarter would be invested through the stock market. The U.S. population is aging, and the baby boom generation fears that there will not be enough paid into it to keep their pensions. The initiative would keep the pension system solvent until 2055.

Another 15 per cent would go to preserving the Medicare system for the elderly, and 11 per cent would be used for new “universal savings accounts” for individuals to invest for their retirement

The Republicans preferred to devote the surplus to tax cuts, but Clinton’s proposals — which have overtones of careful economy, while reassuring people in their 30s and 40s that there will be a pension waiting for them — will command considerable political support, especially among the less well-off.

The rest of the surplus,  Clinton proposed spending. Firstly, he called for considerable investment in education, reinforcing discipline and scho ol standards. Clinton also proposed using some of the cash to boost military spending, part of a multi-year package that would devote an extra $112 billion to the Pentagon. This is the first increase in spending since the 1991 Gulf War. Clinton and Gore are both vulnerable on defence, where the administration is regarded as weak.

A new round of global trade talks, to reform the World Trade Organization and reduce trade barriers, was another of Clinton’s proposals. This will appeal to the free-trade constituencies, unions and environmental groups.

By putting down markers in so many areas, and in particular by appealing to the middle-of-the-road, middle-aged and middle class, Clinton has given a boost to Gore’s early prospects. (Hamilton Spectator, B2, 1/20/1999)