US cries like a baby about Canada's taunting

http://news.yahoo.com/...
Basically, the U.S. Ambassador told Canada they better not let their candidates say any mean things about us in their elections, and Canada said "Bite me, eh?"

Canadian Bacon anyone? Oh, wait, Freedom Bacon. Excerpts after the break.

OTTAWA/SURREY, British Columbia (Reuters) - The United States made an unprecedented foray into Canada's election campaign on Tuesday, warning politicians not to bash Washington in their bid to win the January 23 election.

But an unapologetic Liberal
Prime Minister Paul Martin responded immediately by saying "c'est la vie" -- that's life -- if the United States did not like his remarks, and he would not accept anyone telling him he cannot defend his country.

Good stuff right there.

In a hard-hitting speech in Ottawa, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins lamented what he called relentless and incessant criticism of his country, which he speculated might begin to sow doubt about the strength of the binational relationship.

"Canada never has to tear the United States down to build itself up," Wilkins said.

I guess we're now describing "crying like a wee little baby" as a hard-hitting speech.

"It may be smart election politics to thump your chest and constantly criticize your friend and your No. 1 trading partner. But it's a slippery slope and all of us should hope it doesn't have a long-term impact on our relationship."

Translation: Be a whore for us! We know all about chest-thumping, but if you try it on us, we'll take your money away! And we'll go play in a different sandbox! And maybe never be able to leave!

Wilkins did not name the prime minister directly, but he specifically targeted a comment made last week at the Montreal climate change conference in which Martin called on the United States to heed a "global conscience" and join efforts to combat global warming.

That remark -- on top of criticism of U.S. policy on lumber, guns, passports and
Iraq -- appeared to have riled the White House the most, particularly since Canada has a proportionally worse record than the United States on reining in greenhouse gas emissions.

"I would respectfully submit to you that when it comes to a 'global conscience' the United States is walking the walk," Wilkins said, addressing the Canadian Club of Ottawa.

"And when it comes to climate change, we are making significant progress, greater progress than many of those who have been most critical of the U.S."

Of course, Canada also has a lot less people, and they live in inhospitable terrain that requires less efficient vehicles...

Martin refused to back down on Tuesday in Surrey, British Columbia.

"That our friends do not like what we say -- well, c'est la vie. I'm going to defend Canada and I'm right on softwood lumber and I'm right on climate change and I won't let anybody tell me that I should not defend my country," he said.

He also dismissed the idea that he was trying to single out Washington as part of his election campaign.

Lets hope the Canadians stand firm. I need somewhere to get political asylum in when the US passes the point of no return.

•  So odd that the US is trying to...

  ...influence the election so openly. I would have thought they'd be pushing for Harper by funneling money to him, shilling for him on Fox News Canada, and paying journalists to say all the right things about Harper and all the nonsense they can dream up about Martin.

  Look at me! Visit Canada for the first time and I suddenly, I know who these people are! Thank you, Canadians, for patiently informing me!

  by Bensdad on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:00:06 PM PDT

  •  Exactly how is the US

    trying to influence the Canadian election on behalf of Stephen Harper with Wilkins' comments? It would seem that comments like these only help Paul Martin with leftist types (such as yourself) who would otherwise be flirting with the NDP.  

    More leftist votes for Martin's Liberal Party equals fewer votes for the NDP, meaning the Harper Tories can't squeeze by in several close election contests.

    If I were Layton, I'd be pretty furious right now.  Wilikins comments only give credence to the once-absurd notion that Paul Martin is the true anti-Bush candidate in the race right now.

    Who knows, maybe this was all planned between Bush and Martin?

    Because this evening most Canadian leftists (and a good number of US liberals) are very pleased with Martin's response.

    by misterblaine on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:27:32 PM PDT

    •  I always ask....

      ....who does this help? In this case, I also ask, who does the White House think this helps? I believe they think it helps Harper. This country is economically powerful. If our Ambassador says, basically, "Maybe we aren't friends after all" people with economic interests may take notice, and may not wish to alienate us. To avoid alienating us, they vote for the guy who sides with us (Harper). That is my best guess as to what the White House is thinking, to the extent they think at all. They are not into subtlety. If they say don't mess with us, that's what they mean.  

      By the way, I am a progressive, not a "leftist". It's a subtle difference but I get to make the characterization, not you.

      by Bensdad on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 12:44:28 PM PDT

•  Hey!!

  Where have you been?! I've been worried about you since I rarely ever see you here anymore...perhaps our timing is severely off...

  Good to see your back and that you're okay:)

  As for the Canadians...I hope they stay tough too...
  

  by Elise on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:03:46 PM PDT

  •  Now that I click on your name

    I can see you warned everyone you'd be away for a bit...I guess when I searched for you I had your name in caps or something....but I couldn't find you anywhere...I thought you'd been deleted...and perhaps jailed for not being a compliant Christian in the Air Force or something like that....

    by Elise on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:06:26 PM PDT

    •  Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

      they're listening

      by RumsfeldResign on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:07:41 PM PDT

      •  and reading...

        who knows...they could even be POSTING!!!

        Maybe Kos is one of them:)

        I take it you've been reading Bob Johnson's diary? Actually...I KNOW you have;)

        by Elise on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:15:25 PM PDT

        •  Dick?...is that you?

          by RumsfeldResign on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:27:24 PM PDT

    •  Been playing WoW

      I'll get my warrior to 60 sooner or later...

      by jabbausaf on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:32:48 PM PDT

•  Liberal groups in Canada

  are trying to make points for abstaining from entering the Iraq war.  Good for them, it was the right call.

  by omw on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:20:41 PM PDT

•  Shooting The Messenger

  Its painfully obvious that its the usual attack the messenger, in this case the Canadian Prime Minister, and avoid the issue which is George Bush disastrous environmental policies.As Host of the Conference on Kyoto, Mr Martin still is allowed free speech in Canada, even if its a democratic right that Mr Bush would choose that Canadians not have.

   Nine US states are currently taking legal action against their own government over Bush rolling back policies on clean air and water.A minor detail that the US ambassador Mr Wilkins conveniently forgot to mention, or maybe he doesn't read either.

  Mr Wilkins has deep pockets and his large donations to the Bush election campaign warranted his choice of Ambassadorships. The unfortunate circumstances for Canada were that Mr Wilkins seemed most unfamiliar with anything Canadian, so why he chose Canadia is a mystery.

  Attacking Paul Martin in the middle of a Canadian election campaign to benefit the Canadian Conservative party which has close ties to both US fundamental Christians and the many oil companies of Alberta is not missed by most Canadians. Its a sad state of affairs that American interests dont stop at Venezuela. Mr Wilkins should BUTT OUT!

  by ohcanada on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:22:47 PM PDT

  •  How you think

    Wilkins' comments help the Conservative Party is a total and complete mystery to me.

    Being attacked by a Bush-appointed ambassador is probably the best Christmas gift Paul Martin has had in years.  And believe me, the shipping magnate  no doubt has had some great Christmasas in pasy=t years.

    In fact, I hear the Grits were celebrating Wilkins' comments by drinking beer and eating popcorn.

    by misterblaine on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:32:25 PM PDT

    •  Martin should thank Shrub

      For sending such a dunderhead as Ambassador.  The guy obviously hasn't done his homework: only about 12% of Canadians approved of Bush before the last election, a result so noteworthy Maclean's (weekly like Time, only more literate) put his face on the cover with the caption "Hope you lose, eh?"

      Polling had the Liberals headed for another minority government; this might be enough to give them a majority instead.

      by SCFrog on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 12:01:35 AM PDT

  •  Don't worry. Canadians understand the US

    better than Americans understand Canada. We've, um, had to pay attention. We have had issues with certain aspects of the relationship since forever, but we're still extended family. Literally, in a lot of cases... most Canadians have at least one American relative in their family tree.

    Right now, we know you've got problems with your government. We kind of expect Bush's ambassador to try to act like a cheap bully... he is, after all, Bush's ambassador. His behaviour is no different from everything else the Bush administration has done both outside and inside the country. The surprise would be if Bush ever sent us an actual professional diplomat.

    So privately, we're just rolling our eyes and thinking, "Uh-huh. There they go again." It's not going to have much more effect than that.

    But for public consumption, our politicians have to pretend we have higher expectations of you than that, and are shocked, shocked! that an American so-called diplomat could try to tell us what we can and can't say in our elections.

    There's a lot of ritual in Canadian politics... unless you are a Canadian, it's hard to tell which political statements are required and obligatory on pain of not being re-elected, and which are genuine news. Martin's reaction to this falls into the category of, "He had to say that, because if he didn't he'd look like a total wimp."

    by Canadian Reader on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 12:21:56 PM PDT

•  We should not be intervening

  I don't know when it became okay to intervene.  Plus I hate people who have to put down Canada.  As far as I'm concerned, Canada is America's designated driver.  When we metaphorically get drunk and do something stupid, Canada is there to back us up.  Like when we were returning slave runaways back to the south.  Canada refused to do that.

  by SoCalLiberal on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:36:45 PM PDT

  •  I love Canada but...

    they gave us Celine Dion, Ann Murray, Jason Priestly and Corey Hart.

    On the positive side, they gave us Wayne Gretzky, Nickelback, Pamela Anderson and the Weaker-thans.

    by misterblaine on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:39:29 PM PDT

    •  Disagree here

      Celine Dion is amazing.  She is "the best singer in ze world!"  Pamela Anderson is a talentless nothing.  

      by SoCalLiberal on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:44:11 PM PDT

    •  You've got to be kidding.

      You're counting fucking Nickelback as a positive?

      Dude... you've got issues.

      Good Canadian music: Arcade Fire, Weakerthans, Wolf Parade, Stars, Metric, Broken Social Scene, K-Os, etc.

      by HellofaSandwich on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:46:22 PM PDT

      •  I said

        the Weakerthans.

        Yes, Nickelback is a guilty pleasure.

        I didn't know Arcade Fire were Canadian though.

        by misterblaine on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 11:51:08 PM PDT

        •  c'mon now...

          ya can't say The Weakerthans and then have no mention of Propagandhi! :)

          Of course, I haven't been able to stop listening to the latest Propagandhi cd for a couple months now, so I may be a little biased... but both bands are amazing.

          by ragnark on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 05:31:22 AM PDT

          •  Potempkin was a good record.

            It's pretty strong, but a tad heavy and depressing for me to spin it constantly.  Still, there's really nothing to knock about it--unless you don't like have politics screamed at you in your music.  I don't mind that, as long as the people screaming are intelligent. :)

            by HellofaSandwich on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 10:24:28 AM PDT

        •  Arcade Fire's from Montreal.

          I was just agreeing with you on the Weakerthans. :)

          Other good Canadian music: Cadence Weapon, Manitoba/Caribou, Hot Hot Heat, The New Pornographers, Buck 65

          by HellofaSandwich on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 10:22:51 AM PDT

    •  Without Keanu Reeves

      there'd be no Matrix, no Bill and Ted, and no River's Edge (awesome movie).  And that's not the kind of world I want to live in.  My rockin' girlfriend is also Canadian.

      But did you know Peter North is Canadian?  And Shannon Tweed?  Eh, perhaps google searching famous Canadians is both a blessing and a curse to the longsuffering people of the land up there.

      by gogol999 on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 12:04:54 AM PDT

      •  Yeah, but...

        There'd also be no crappy Matrix sequels, no Johnny Pneumonic, among others.  The first Matrix was cool, but not after it was blown completely out of proportion, like everything in this fad-induced culture.  

        by Asak on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 03:40:24 AM PDT

      •  Peter North used to be my neighbour

        Imagine that if you can!

        by MsLibrarian on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 05:04:54 AM PDT

    •  Canada also gave us James Doohan

      My personal hero, an engineer like myself. In fact, "Scotty" is the engineer.

      by jabbausaf on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 03:32:21 AM PDT

      •  <rubs eyes>

        oops, for a second there, I thought that said "James Dobson"

        I was a little worried about you, jabba, but I guess it's just time for me to get new glasses! :-)

        by still small voice on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 09:27:24 AM PDT

    •  You want famous Canadians?

      How about a huge chunk of the comedy industry?
      Lorne Michaels, creator of Saturday Night Live.
      The entire cast of both SCTV & Kids in the Hall. Jim Carrey, Mike Meyers, Howie Mandel...
      Ok, were sorry about Tom Green...

      Actors? Lorne Greene (aka Ben Cartwright on Bonanza), Bill Shatner, Donald & his son Kiefer Sutherland, Raymond (Perry Mason) Burr, Christopher Plummer, Michael J. Fox, Leslie 'Naked Gun; Nielsen etc..

      Actresses? Margot Kidder, the Tilley Sisters, Jill Hennessey, Natasha Hentsride, and there's lots more

      More comedians - Steve 'Red Green' Smith, Dan Ackroyd, Phil Hartman,

      More greta Canadian singers/musicians.. kd lang, Nelly Furtado, Rush, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson & the rest of The Band, Daniel Lanois, Paul Anka, Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Cowboy Junkies, Paul Schaffer, Oscar winner Howard Shore (LOTR),

      Let's not forget NBA MVP Steve Nash, Alex Trebek, teh late Peter Jennings, John Kenneth Galbraith, SPAWN creator Todd McFarlene, directors Norman Jewison, Atom Egoyan, Ivan Reitman, David Cronenberg & James Cameron.

      The beginnings of Hollywood & the movie industry? Sam Goldwyn was Canadian, as were the Warner Brothers, Louis B. Mayer, Mack Sennett (creator of the Keystone Cops), and Mary Pickford (one of the founders of United Artists along with Charlie Chaplin & Douglas Fairbanks.

      Authors Douglas Coupland, Margaret Atwood, Carol Shields, William Gibson & Michael Ondaatje.

      Inventions & discoveries? the telephone & gramophone (both Alexander Graham Bell - he also invented the hydrofoil), Insulin (Drs. Banting & Best), JAVA scripts (James Gosling), basketball (James Naismith), the electric light bulb (no, it wasn't Edison - Henry Woodward invented it in 1874 and sold the patent to Thomas Edison), the ubiquitous green plastic garbage bag? Yep, another Canuck. Kerosone, newsprint, plexiglas, the quartz clock, the zipper & snowblowers -- all Canadian inventions.

      Oddly enough, the Zamboni ice-cleaning machine is NOT Canadian. It's Californian!

      Architect Frank Gehry is a Canuck, too. Oh, and can't forget Marshall McLuhan!

      Basically, we've always been around doing stuff without making too big a fuss about it. All part of our secret stealth plan for Canadian World Domination.

      Although I may have already said too much.

      by FrankFrink on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 12:20:31 PM PDT

•  sometimes i wonder

  if the bush administration isn't secretly trying to usher in liberal to leftist regimes all over the world by intentionally being such jackasses. by the time they roll out of town, saudi arabia will be marrying gays, singapore will be distributing medicinal pot, and china will be run by labor unions in anarchist syndicates.

  by wu ming on Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 12:08:25 AM PDT