Canada to David Wilkins: Fuck off. (619 hits)
Category: RomanceRating: -0.27 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by dodahdave (View user info) at 2005-12-14 20:25:37 EST
As 5 of you may know Canada is in the midst of an election campaign. The troubled Liberals (oh! how the Americans must cringe at the thought of having a political party named the Liberals!) are attempting to fend off the Conservatives and maintain power, albeit in a minority government.
For anyone who's interested, a particular website dedicated to predicting outcomes by following trends in polling numbers predicts a Conservative minority of 112 seats.
http://www.trendlines.ca
Last week, at the Montreal meeting of the UN Climate Change Conference, Paul Martin made a swipe at the position of the Bush administration. It was pretty blatent in diplomatic terms: Pauly-Boy told the delegates (actually the US) that "there is such as thing as a global conscience."
This, combined with a speech by Bubba stating that the Bush administration is "flat-out wrong" on climate change, served to create a tone that was seen in the US as pretty anti-Bush administration. Or at least that's the sense I get from the US media.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-warm10dec10,0,3709382.story?coll=la-story-footer&track=morenews
Apparently unable to help himself, US ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, chose to enter the fray. Wilkins has made statements in the past regarding the softwood lumber and mad cow trade problems that were seen in Canada as fairly inflammatory. It seems that most Canadians view his position as identicle to that of the Bush administration: he's seen more as a mouthpiece for the White House than as the ambassador for the government of the United States.
Wilkins has "scolded" Paul Martin for making Canada-US relations an election issue. The problem here is that Paul Martin's comments, while pretty strong in diplomatic terms, were not directly related to the election. He was speaking as the head of government of the host country of the UN Climate Change Conference. By responding in a childish fashion like he did, Mr Wilkins has made the Bush White House a Canadian election issue.
Martin responded very strongly to the comments made by Mr Wilkins, saying he (Martin) won't be "dictated to" by the ambassador. Most interestingly, Stephen Harper has come out against the comments of the ambassador, saying that Wilkins should "stay out of the election."
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canadavotes2006/national/2005/12/14/harper-wilkins051214.html
I usually cannot stand Stephen Harper, and this comment doesn't make me want to vote for him, but at least it's a reasonable thing to say. I know full well that it's driven out of politics: anti-Americanism is a popular theme in Canadian politics. Nonetheless, it's the right thing to say. Wilkins should stay out of Canadian politics and stick to representing his native government to the Canadian government.
David Wilkins comes out of this looking like a toolbag. He's widely seen in this country as a goon, and these comments have further cemented that perception.
User Reviews
Submitted by Canadarocks (user info) at 2006-02-13 02:06:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Dave who? Since when do we care what an American ambassador has to say?
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-12-15 19:23:52 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
VOTE PRESTON MANNING
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2005-12-15 10:17:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I like seeing that not only are American's dumb enough to put people into a pro-Bush or anti-Bush catagories, but other countries are stupid enough to do it as well. I fear for the human race.
Submitted by el_em_en_oh (user info) at 2005-12-15 07:59:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by williamson (user info) at 2005-12-14 21:38:52 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Phate (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:37:29 (#)
Ranking: 0
Solid 0 - Worth reading
Submitted by ScottPeterson (user info) at 2005-12-14 22:58:17 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:34:52 (#)
Ranking: -1
I don't know if this is really interesting.
Submitted by Call911 (user info) at 2005-12-14 22:18:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Lets just say both our countries are wrong... eh?
Submitted by williamson (user info) at 2005-12-14 21:38:52 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Phate (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:37:29 (#)
Ranking: 0
Solid 0 - Worth reading
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2005-12-14 21:34:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I must agree with the guy who said, "Fuck the U.S., don't tell
me what to say."
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:44:12 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Your post should have been.
Canada to david Wilkins, "You are right, but we don't like other countries to point it out"
It is always an ambassadors job to try and improve relations between nations. Look at Wilkins actual comments they weren't abrasive or offensive at all. We heard stronger language from the french ambassador in the US when the whole freedom fries BS was going around.
And just a side note on greenhouse gasses, I am pretty sure that the US has done more to decrease them in the US then Canada has in the last five years. And it was CLinton who first rejected the kyoto accord (which I stilll agree with).
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:39:29 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
I usually cannot stand Stephen Harper, and this comment doesn't make me want to vote for him, but at least it's a reasonable thing to say. I know full well that it's driven out of politics: anti-Americanism is a popular theme in Canadian politics. Nonetheless, it's the right thing to say. Wilkins should stay out of Canadian politics and stick to representing his native government to the Canadian government.
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Ok have you read Wilkin's comments, because you don't link to them in your post.
Also the story that you have here
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canadavotes2006/national/2005/12/14/harper-wilkins051214.html
it says
"Harper compared Martin to a sneaky schoolboy.
"I always remember when you had the kid who was always name-calling from a safe distance. There really wasn't much risk of a fight, and Mr. Martin reminds me of that kid."
"Mr. Martin. He's the kid name-calling from a safe distance. He couldn't throw a punch to save his llfe.
NDP Leader Jack Layton also said Martin was posturing.
"The fact is, he's electioneering," Layton said at a Vancouver-area high school Wednesday. "He'll say anything to get elected. And whipping up the rhetoric against George Bush is very easy to do. The problem is, he hasn't delivered the goods."
"He thinks he can stand up and wag his finger at George Bush and somehow impress somebody," Layton added. "It's time he started delivering results. That would allow Canadians to be able to speak to the world."
"Canadians have known that the Liberals will say anything in an election to get elected. I think now the ambassador has discovered the same thing." "
Which was, in not nearly as polite terms, saying exactly what Wilkins said. The only comment Harper had about Wilkins was that his comments were innapropriate from an ambassador (even though he agreed with them). The main thrust of the article was that Wilkins was right, but that canadians don't want to hear it from an ambassador. We will be sure to stop commenting on the politics of other countries right after other countries stop commenting on ours.
Submitted by Phate (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:37:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Solid 0 - Worth reading
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:34:52 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
I don't know if this is really interesting.
Submitted by jagmcmanus (user info) at 2005-12-14 20:29:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
i don't know if this is really romance