Category: World Politics

The Pity of Putin.

by Peter Lowry

The other day, we suggested that Vladimir Putin of Russia was following in the footsteps of Adolph Hitler. I take that back. The reason is that Mr. Putin does not do good blitzkrieg. Hitler’s blitzkrieg was based on speed and surprise. He wanted the takeover to be at the least cost in lives for Germany. In the face of Mr. Putin’s multi-pronged attack, the Ukrainians, outnumbered and out-gunned, are giving a good account of themselves.

Mr. Putin does not seem to care about the Russian lives he is wasting and the Ukrainian civilians, he is so carelessly killing. He has no understanding of the number of troops that on-going control in Ukraine will require. He has little understanding of the groundswell in Moscow and other Russian cities against his ambitions.

Mr. Putin not only has to worry about world reaction to his ambitions, but he has to watch his back. The Russians are starting to see him as the problem. They are only now starting to understand that they are ruled by a sociopath.

It is that understanding that keeps the West from openly responding to the Russian leader’s talk of nuclear consequences. A sociopath would resort to nuclear use without understanding that he is signing for the destruction of his own country in the process. And worse still: would he care?

It is the Russian people themselves who now have to end this atrocity. They are the ones who must face Putin down. They had the same taste of democracy as has the Ukrainians. They know the difference that democracy offers.

They know that dictators are a dime a dozen. Good democratic leaders are rare.

Look at this guy Zelenskyy. He is the president of Ukraine. Now that man is a leader! He is not asking any Ukrainian to do anything that he is not willing to do. He is standing tall against the Russian midgets. He is the likely target of too many KGB agents. He will be remembered long after Putin is gone.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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PR for the Royals.

by Peter Lowry

Maybe I was in the public relations business at the wrong time. Retiring at the turn of the century, I missed out on the opportunities. There was no denying that the British royalty had to have a renaissance but it was too late for me to get a share of the lolly. There was money to be made by a smart PR person but Buckingham Palace is a tough house to crack.

A good PR program for the palace needed to be two pronged. The royals had to take part of their strategy from the Hollywood fan mill. It would have made good sense to send one of the junior royals to Tinsel-Town to learn how the movie fan-frenzy works. I guess young Harry would do.

You have to admit, the Hollywood fan mill is a grind but it works. Sure, some of the people being promoted might be embarrassed occasionally but Hollywood fans must be some of the most gullible people in the world. The key is that they are just like the people who think being a royal is something special.

And let’s give a thought to the awful experience of growing up in a drafty old palace with obsequious servants and cold toast for breakfast. And North Americans would be horrified at sending their children off to what the Brits call public schools. Eton might be hard by Windsor Castle but there is little sympathy from a Queen who had to handle her own hard knocks as a princess for sale to the highest bidder.

Let’s face it, the Brit royals have suffered some ups and downs over the years. Thank goodness the Queen is trying to set a record for longevity. Nobody seems to want Charlie on the throne. But the palace is putting it all on King Billy. They have not yet figured out a way to skip a generation.

But the 39-year-old prince is being carefully groomed, just in case. They’ve enshrined his late mother to more than she would ever have wanted. He is rugged and outdoorsy, the ideal husband and father. He uses the latest technologies as though born to high-tech. He has a beautiful wife and the right number of offspring. Maybe when he and Harry get together, they have a laugh at the whole thing.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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The Bundestag teaches little.

by Peter Lowry

It came as a surprise the other day when the Toronto Star’s opinion writer for the new democratic party, Robin Sears, lauded the German government’s electoral system. While the German electoral system does confuse outsiders, it is basically an electoral system known as Mixed Member Proportional. (A similar electoral system was rejected by Ontario voters in a 2007 referendum.) The states in the German federation elect the 299 first-past-the-post members, according to their population and then party lists are used to expand the size of the house according to party vote. (There are 736 members in the current Bundestag.)

What would concern Mr. Sears is recognizing that the Bundestag is a surprisingly conservative organization. It has been under the leadership of either the Christian Democratic or Social Democratic parties for the past 50 years. The fact that no one party has had a majority creates a defferential parliament that caters to economic concerns first.

Instead of complimenting the Bundestag on its progressiveness, Mr. Sears should be aghast that they are only now proposing a minimum wage of the equivalent of $17 per hour. This country of about 80 million has the strongest economy in Europe and $20 per hour or more would be a more realistic level for its minimum wage.

Sears was impressed by the Bundestag version of our throne speech. He thinks the idea of giving all parties copies of the planned government program to study before voting on the specifics makes a lot of sense—and it does.

But what works for another country is not always the ideal solution to our needs. I find the scurrilous name calling and rudeness of our MPs detracts from the respect that our parliament deserves.

But that is a two-way street. I have come to the conclusion that neither Steven Harper nor Justin Trudeau have showed any respect for parliament and that is reflected in how the House behaves. It needs better leadership.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Blah, Blah, Blah.

by Peter Lowry

I have never paid much attention to that young Swedish environmentalist, Greta Thunberg, but she certainly has good writers. The other day there was a clip on the news about her announcing the upcoming world environmental conference in Glasgow. All she said on the clip was: “Blah, blah, blah.” And that will likely be the sum of what is to be said.

And why are we wasting our time? We all know that prime minister Justin Trudeau is a hypocrite. He is going to Glasgow on another holiday. He will hob-nob with his betters among the world’s elite. He has no meaningful contribution to make.

In the meantime, before heading for Scotland, he has to reconstruct his cabinet. And if Trudeau places gender equality ahead of competency again, we will know, he is a damn fool. Canadians would not care if he had an all-female cabinet, as long as it did its job.

Which reminds me. This is a bit off-topic but I would love to know who is the humourist in the prime minister’s office. I was sending some material to the Canadian Radio Television-telecommunications Commission (CRTC) the other day and I looked up the current chair and commissioners to see who I was sending it to. Would you believe that the male chairperson is the typical long-time bureaucrat and all the regional commissioners are women? They are mostly lawyers, of course.

But back to the climate conference. While Mr. Trudeau is in Scotland, might be the right time for cabinet to cancel the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Just think of the tonnes of carbon that would not be sent off-shore to help destroy our planet. By not sending those millions of barrels of Alberta tar sands bitumen around the world, to be turned into ersatz oil and its by-products, our world might have a few more years of life left to it.

Maybe if Greta Thunberg’s writers find out about our prime minister’s pet pipeline project, they might get some people to pay attention. Nobody seems to listen to the usual environmentalists.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Keep Enemies Closer.

by Peter Lowry

A friend was railing against China the other day. His stock broker had suggested that he invest in some Chinese share investment opportunities. He ended up lecturing the poor guy instead of politely saying, ‘no thanks.’ He had some strong words about the extent the Chinese government and its army get involved in common-stock companies.

In North America, the military-industrial complex might be in cahoots but we do it differently. A good example is the $613 million that Canada has contributed to the Lockheed Martin development of the F-35 fighter aircraft over the past 27 years. The rationale for this is that the ongoing investment entitles companies in Canada to participate in bidding on contracts and maintenance needs for the stealth fighter. To-date, these contracts are believed to be worth over $2 billion to companies located in Canada.

While we would get a discounted price, I can think of no logical reason that Canada would ever want any F-35 fighters. This is a single seat, single engine fighter aircraft that could not fly from a major base in Canada such as Cold Lake in Alberta to Nunavut in the Arctic and back without refueling. And why would we need a stealth fighter to patrol our own airspace?

And besides, we would be very wise to stick with smart diplomacy with the Peoples’ Republic of China. We certainly are never going to want to go to war with that country. If Canada was in the middle of a shooting war with China or Russia, all we could do is duck. We could only hope that the Americans had enough anti-missile missiles to shoot down the invading missiles. And we might further hope that the Americans do not shoot down those missiles over our heads.

But it was the stupid Trump government in the United States that helped sour relations for us with the Chinese government. The Chinese neither understand nor care about extradition proceedings. The amount of time that it is taking for the extradition of the Huawei executive is a puzzle to Canadians and an annoyance for the Chinese. Let’s hope they don’t get too annoyed.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Bring out your dead!

by Peter Lowry

During Europe’s bubonic plagues in the Middle Ages, the tumbrils being hauled down cobblestone laneways were accompanied by calling out: Bring out your dead. And if there was anyone still alive—and capable—they did.  It might be the system to bring caution to U.S. states such as Florida.

But stupidity during the 21st century’s covid-19 pandemic is not reserved for Florida. It is evident elsewhere. It is evident in states where vaccines are available and underutilized. It is there for people who think they are immune. It is available to the anti-vaxxer—yes, even the most stupid of all. They think they are immune until they catch a variant of the virus and die.

But that is what is stretching the medical resources in some jurisdictions beyond reason. It probably costs less to capture, inoculate and release than to let this species of sub-human cause more death and destruction. Yet, God forgive us, we do not deny them the human right to die. They can drink themselves to death. They can go play on the freeway. They can refuse a vaccine. They think they can jump from tall buildings at a single bound.

There is no criminal law that denies them the right to be ignorant, to follow their own drummer and to piss into the wind.

We have to face the fact that people like to choose their own leaders so that they have someone to blame for their own stupidity.

If they believe that if there really is a pandemic, they probably believe that it has come to cull the herd and that the vaccines will not give anyone herd immunity. They throw themselves at the feet of their God or Donald Trump, whichever is current, and ask for a blessing.

And it is not just Americans who are jerks. Take that guy, who must cut his own hair, who is running things in the United Kingdom. That guy is standing Canute-like and defying the tides of the pandemic. He might yet get to kill more Brits than that fellow Hitler did in a world war. He is standing on the shores of the English Channel, no mask, no restrictions, defying the deadliest variants of covid to do their utmost. It might be best folks to hunker down for a while longer and reject any foreign travel, until all these braggarts are dead.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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While the World Burns.

by Peter Lowry

It’s a puzzle that there are so many people who do not care or do not recognize the trouble in which our world struggles. To deny that climate change is happening is ludicrous. To not care is even more serious. There might not be an app for that on their cell phones but caring is a critical step towards possibly alleviating the problems.

Wild fires are destroying the west coast of North America. And those trees are not falling just in the forests. The fires are attacking our towns and homes and businesses. We are just starting to realize the costs of protecting our people.

And the pain is moving across the continent. If you are not being burnt, you are being flooded. The tornado season is extending. The hurricane season is reaching. The long-frozen poles of the earth are melting.

And, oh, what fools we mortals be!

Talk to people and learn. A mother of young children shrugs when asked about her children’s future. “That is their problem,” is the answer. A young person, tripping on some mind-altering potion, tells you “Who cares?” A politician tells you that only smaller government and lower taxes can help. The homeless person cuts off your concern with “Great, but have you got any spare change?”

We have not even begun to penetrate the conscience of many. They are too busy putting food on the table for their family. They have a plane to catch to take them to a new adventure. They are heading to another protest. There is free meatloaf tonight over at the mission. They have business meetings to attend. Projects need to be completed. There is a new movie to see. There is a new app to try on their phone.

And are we paying blackmail to cyber thieves? Are we too busy pulling down the statues of the past? Are we digging at the graves of those who have already returned to dust?

And all the time, people are crying out for newer and better leadership. Leaders who can respond to 100-year events. We’ll do better with the next pandemic?

Oh, will we?

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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In the Orthodoxy of the Right.

by Peter Lowry

Have our politicians really dismissed the orthodoxy of the right? Have we realized the dismal future of countries ruled by the cult of American president Ronald Reagan and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher? It comes as a surprise to those of us that lived through the 1980s of Reagan and Thatcher’s reigns that an actor and a chemist could have had the impact they did on economic theory.

Nobody ever accused either leader of deep thinking. Reagan’s departure from the White House was accompanied by his mind dipping deeper into the mists of stages of Alzheimer’s. Thatcher spent her last years as prime minister fending off revolts from within her own political party. And yet their legacies live after them.

Today, Reagan is still an icon for republicans in the U.S.A. They call it Reaganomics. Many still believe that his slashing of taxes while building up the military was the right approach for the times. All he really accomplished was larger deficits

Thatcher was also a militarist but her tax cuts were less effective and she put too much effort in trying to bend U.K. unions to her will.

Where their economics did not work well was in Canada. While their friend Brian Mulroney was prime minister of Canada for the last half of the 1980s, his regime was reviled and decimated in the liberal return under Jean Chrétien in 1993.

But Reaganomics lived on in Canada under Chrétien’s finance minister Paul Martin. Shipping magnate Martin and Chrétien were not friends and the enmity between them sent many mixed messages to Canadians. It was not until Martin got his chance to become prime minister that Canadians could reject him at the polls. It was as though, if you were going to have to conservatives in power, why not opt for the real ones?

Canadians were inflicted with conservative economics for the next twelve years and were offered sunny days again in 2015 by Justin Trudeau and the liberals. They are still waiting for those sunny days to materialize.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can now be sent to:

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Politicizing the Pandemic.

by Peter Lowry

There is nothing political about the Coronavirus and the pandemic. Each country, in its own manner, has had to deal with the spread of the virus, the sickness and the deaths. Yet it was the politicians, the democratically elected and the dictators, the leaders who showed their stuff. The comparisons were dramatic.

Take China for example, the canary state in our coal mine. The world should have paid more attention to the lock downs, the barriers to travel and the terrible lack of information provided from behind the barricades. Think of the difference if we had understood earlier.

Think of the difference in a country that poses as the heart of democracy such as the United States of America. In the time of the Trump, all we got was denial, ignorance, false info and lethargy. It was an invitation for the deaths of millions. With the arrival of the Biden administration, we saw an America-first attitude for the American-made vaccines.

Great Britain also had locally produced vaccines but also ordered large quantities of other brands in case of production or efficacy problems. That elected leader, so desperately in need of a good barber, did a good job of getting every one to queue up for their shots The Brits are famous for their ability to form an orderly queue.

Canadians, not so much. Our problem was that we had let earlier politicians sell off our vaccine producing company. We had no experienced local supplier. We ordered large quantities from the potential winners—and had no control over their delays in production or export permits.

But Israel also lacked production capabilities. It solved the dilemma by bribing the vaccine supplier—doubling the price. It is too bad Israel’s right-wing leader, who might not last as leader much longer, did not share with his neighbours. It would have helped prevent a war.

The time of the pandemic of covid-19 has become a time of tensions, political unrest and discontent. Change is in the air, everywhere.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Do we really understand China?

by Peter Lowry

They are known to most Canadians as ‘the Two Michaels.’ They have been in prison in China since before the pandemic. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman, were arrested in China just days after the RCMP arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, in Vancouver on a warrant from U.S. authorities. Many Canadians think we should get tougher on China but if we do, we might get both of the Michaels executed.

It all comes down to the quaint Oriental custom of saving face. During the 1970s and early 1980s an interesting aspect of my job with a computer company was hosting delegations from countries around the world. These delegations came to better understand the large-scale computers we were manufacturing in Mississauga at the time. Many of them were from the Peoples’ Republic of China.

The Chinese usually came in groups of four or five. It did not take long to figure out who was the party cadre and who were the technical experts. The party person was usually the official interpreter despite some of the technical people being quite fluent in English. When the groups were larger, we would often have an additional interpreter from the Canadian government.

And these visits produced millions of dollars in sales—mainly in support of seismic analysis for China’s oil industry. And there was never any direct selling involved. We treated these visits as information exchanges and no sales pressure was used.

As the sales indicated, the technique worked well with the Chinese. I also found that it led to invitations to functions at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa and when there was an important delegation coming to Toronto.

I remember one time I was at a function in the Royal Bank board room high up in that gold-colored building in downtown Toronto. I was standing looking out a window during a washroom break and the head of the Chinese delegation came over and joined me. He was just as bored with the proceedings as was I. He was quite intrigued as I pointed out the different parts of Toronto around the Hearn Generating Station—with its towering smokestack. He asked about the fact it was not emitting smoke and I explained that it had recently been decommissioned to improve the air quality in the city. He thought that would be a good idea for Beijing. I only mention this because he looked very much like a younger version of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]