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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JEB who wrote (310174)	10/21/2002 7:47:27 PM
From: Mr. Forthright	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

You got that right. Americans are lucky that the Australian Prime Minister has balls, unlike our Canadian Prime Minister who would rather hang out with terrorists and knock Israel at every turn. Please accept my apologies on behalf of our Head of State - sorry, I gotta go vomit....... <<C'est dommage National Post Monday, October 21, 2002 A French journalist was thrown out because he worked for a Jewish magazine. The spiritual leader of Hezbollah -- the terrorist organization par excellence -- sat comfortably in his front-row seat as half a dozen leaders paraded up to the podium to praise "diversity." Prime Minister Jean Chrétien enthusiastically shook the hand of Lebanon's President after he delivered a tirade against Israel, calling its occupation of Palestinian territory the "most perverse" form of terrorism. And a final communiqué was signed by Canada and others that reportedly endorse the "land-for-peace" proposal that came out of the Arab Summit in March -- a Saudi Arabian scheme that would see millions of Palestinians and their descendants sent to Israel's core pre-1967 land mass, effectively destroying the Jewish state from within. Another year, another Francophonie Summit. Democracy is the weak link in the 56 full and observer members of la Francophonie. Member states such as Burundi and Togo, for example, provide Amnesty International with a steady stream of horrifying human rights violations. Despite Canada having little in common (we hope) with this crowd, the yearly assemblage of world-class autocrats and their nasty friends is annually subsidized by Canadian taxpayers to the tune of nearly $50-million. Recall the 1999 Francophonie Summit in Moncton, N.B. Canada, to its shame, granted full diplomatic immunity to the leaders attending the summit to protect some from extradition for crimes against humanity. Having little to fear from Canada or other fellow members, a Congolese official attacked demonstrators with his belt. Our government remained silent. In Beirut over the weekend, where this year's summit was held, Mr. Chrétien's equivocation between Israel's efforts to defend itself from attack and the terrorists who continue to kill Israeli citizens was a disgrace. "The violence on both sides must stop," lectured our Prime Minister when pressed by reporters. "Call violence by one name or another, for me it's violence." Our membership in la Francophonie has always been questionable, given the poor company we keep and the very distant historical ties Canada has to France, which spearheaded the creation of la Francophonie in the 1980s as a reactionary measure to the spread of English and the popularity of American films, music and television programs. The merits of continuing our membership grow all the more tenuous when our Prime Minister begins parroting the sentiments of autocrats and turning a blind eye to their actions. This will do nothing to help Canada's standing in the world, nor the cause of multilateralism to which the Liberal party has pinned much of our foreign policy. Canada's membership in la Francophonie might be justified if we were using our position to promote democracy among member states, and lecturing them about human rights abuses and the rule of law in the same righteous tones we've employed against the current U.S. administration on such issues as land mines and the International Criminal Court. As it stands, the Francophonie is a disgrace, and we should be ashamed to have any part in it. Canada should make it known that it will rescind its membership absent serious reforms. Direct relations and aid to francophone countries where democracy and good governance are taken seriously would be a far preferable policy.>> nationalpost.com{284A5FD9-36B1-448C-9644-8D0C50C5CEBB}