Canadian Outlook at the World Affairs

[Jaga]

I was prepared that Canada is not that much for the war with Iraq and also in its unilateral support of Israel as the US but... I am suprised to what degree.

The CBC news in Canada are openly anti-war with Iraq and they critize Israel a lot. They do not defend Hezbollah but they are not happy that the US does not want to negotiate the piece,

I do not have too much time to watch TV at all but even today when I came home they were just talking about diminished role of the US in the world since the Bush jr. administration.

They are so open in their critique like no any station in the US including CNN or MCNBC or even CBS.

I am quite surprised how different the world is seen from Canadian perspective.

[pieter]

admin said:

I was prepared that Canada is not that much for the war with Iraq and also in its unilateral support of Israel as the US but... I am suprised to what degree.

The CBC news in Canada are openly anti-war with Iraq and they critize Israel a lot. They do not defend Hezbollah but they are not happy that the US does not want to negotiate the piece,

I do not have too much time to watch TV at all but even today when I came home they were just talking about diminished role of the US in the world since the Bush jr. administration.

They are so open in their critique like no any station in the US including CNN or MCNBC or even CBS.

I am quite surprised how different the world is seen from Canadian perspective.

Jaga,

It seems Canada looks more European than America. Because as you metioned
the CBC is critical to Israel, and opposes the Iraq war.
I just saw the speech of the Iraqi prime-minister for congress and an American
women protesting the war by shouting loud slogans. She was taken away by
security emediately, and the Iraqi P.M. continued his speech.
By the way I found the CNN fairly critical to Israel too, when I heard their
Pakistani commentator attacking the Israeli Public relations guy, he was
clearly on the Lebanese side, and CNN did not sensor him.

Pieter

[pieter]

It seems to me that in the present situation Israel stands strong, because it has the silent support of the USA, EU,
G8, UN and the Moderate Arab states, who fear the Iranian influence in the region.
It looks like a very complicated play of chess, with human lives attached to each peace of the play.

Pieter

[Jaga]

Pieter,

thanks for your response. I guess, in Holland even not all official media take just one side of the issue, right?

+++I just saw the speech of the Iraqi prime-minister for congress and an American
women protesting the war by shouting loud slogans.+++

I did not see that. This may be quite interesting

[piwo]

I was prepared that Canada is not that much for the war with Iraq and also in its unilateral support of Israel as the US but... I am surprised to what degree.

This surprises me in the least. Many Canadians suffer from "small neighbor" syndrome and find it therapeutic to lash out at the evil USA just below them. The tempo and rancor grew after a USA pilot killed 4 Canadians in Afghanistan, and the pilot was cleared of criminal wrong doing by the USA military. They wanted blood or prison, even if it was an accident. And in war, accidents do happen. In Gulf War 1, more Americans were killed by friendly fire then by enemy fire. Bad stuff happens in military actions.

It's more about anti- Americanism then not supporting the war. When the two pilots were cleared of criminal wrongdoing, the backlash in the Canadian press was substantial. To demonstrate it's not the policies they are upset with, at a "pee-wee" hockey tournament last winter, a team of 10 year old Americans we're forced off the ice by jeering, profanity yelling, trash throwing spectators, because they were American kids. Nothing to do with Iraq, war, or politics. There were American children to humiliate and hurt, and of course, that made it "OK"...

[pieter]

piwo said:

I was prepared that Canada is not that much for the war with Iraq and also in its unilateral support of Israel as the US but... I am surprised to what degree.

This surprises me in the least. Many Canadians suffer from "small neighbor" syndrome and find it therapeutic to lash out at the evil USA just below them. The tempo and rancor grew after a USA pilot killed 4 Canadians in Afghanistan, and the pilot was cleared of criminal wrong doing by the USA military. They wanted blood or prison, even if it was an accident. And in war, accidents do happen. In Gulf War 1, more Americans were killed by friendly fire then by enemy fire. Bad stuff happens in military actions.

It's more about anti- Americanism then not supporting the war. When the two pilots were cleared of criminal wrongdoing, the backlash in the Canadian press was substantial. To demonstrate it's not the policies they are upset with, at a "pee-wee" hockey tournament last winter, a team of 10 year old Americans we're forced off the ice by jeering, profanity yelling, trash throwing spectators, because they were American kids. Nothing to do with Iraq, war, or politics. There were American children to humiliate and hurt, and of course, that made it "OK"...

Piwo,

I had a Canadian (girl) friend, whom I met in France in 1990 during a summer course,
we were spending much time together day and night. When she came in my room on the Campus, she asked me, why do you have an American flag hanging in your room.
I was very Pro-America back then, and I liked "your" flag back then out of historical and esthetical reasons. It is a symbol for optimism for me.
I found out that she was a real Canadian patriot, and that there was a destinct differance between Canada and America. Beofre that I just saw a Northern-American continent,
and could not see the differance between an American and Canadian, because they speak the same language, have the same kind of culture and cars.
I was wrong, there is a differance, and Canadians are very eager to teach you about that
where-ever you meet them. When I asked my friend, Michelle if the Canadians would like to be united witht the Americans in one North-American Federal state she replied;
there had been a poll about that under Americans and Canadians.
The outcome was that a majority of the Americans said yes, and a majority of the Canadians said no. That's clear.
As for me, I like most English speaking people, so like both Americans and Canadians,
but also the Brits, the English South-Africans (my S.A. Family in Cape Town),
Australia, New Sealand and Ireland.

Pieter

[pieter]

In the same month in that hot summer of 1990 in Montpellier France, I met some other folks from the USA and Canada, and an American Hungarian and a Canadian woodcutter where the best friends, a sort of duo (buddies). So I hang out with this North-American people there, drinking sweet Southern-French desert wine, enjoying the company of Danish, German and Spanish girls and my Canadian friend. It was true international solidarity.
I remember with great joy the communication between the Yanks and the loud Spanish grils and guys, with their loud latin culture of speaking loud in a dark (bass) tembre, the yelling with high voices and the guitar music (the Spanish were the majority). The Americans shouted; Shut the f**k up!
My sister who was also there, hated the loud Spaniards, but I liked their cheerful Catalonian (Barcelona) temperament, and International atmosphere. After that I kept writing with the Canadians, Americans, Danish girls and some Germans and an Austrian. Language courses are the best way to spend your holiday.

It looks to me if the rivalry between Canada and America is like the schism between North and South in the USA, only the scale is differant, a midget against a gigant.

Pieter

[piwo]

pieter said:

It looks to me if the rivalry between Canada and America is like the schism between North and South in the USA, only the scale is different, a midget against a gigant.
Pieter

An astute observation. During the American Revolution, British Torrie's fled to Canada, and Canada was firmly held by the British. Those Torrie's went back and forth between Canada and the American colonies fighting with Colonial forces. The American Revolution had several distinct phases in it's history, and one was that of civil war. The battle of Kings Mountain is a perfect example: Colonial Militia, Torry militia, with no regular army forces for either side except the Torrie's were led by a British officer. It was a brutal battle, which ended in reprisal slaughter from the Colonial side.

Then Arnold's siege of Quebec. Though failed, he came withing a few hours or a few hundred men from taking the British purse, and effectively ending the conflict. When combined with the French ouster from the colonies during the French Indian War and their subsequent migration to Quebec province, it's not hard to see the issue. The seeds of discontent between these two nations was sown early on and as neighbors with a chip on their shoulder (at least from the Canadian side) the results are predictable. Still, say what you want, but Americans treat foreigners far better then they are treated away from home. You can use all the excuses of politics you want, but the underlying reason is just petty BS.

Well, thank God for Bob Hope.......