Churchill: A Great Leader, Reader & Writer Photo Credit: John Stodder Blog

More books are sold in Canada during the winter months than any other time of the year. It probably has to do with the frequent gift-giving occasions during that time of the year. Stumped for a gift idea, we will often resort to buying books. Most books, however, are probably read during the spring and summer months rather than the winter months. During winter, we are probably too busy trying to keep warm to read too many books.

It is around this time of year that I occasionally reread Winston Churchill’s second volume of his world War II memoirs, “Their Finest Hour”, which after some 55 years after its publication remains an inspiring narrative, composed by one of history’s greatest leaders. Despite the enormous trauma of war, he still found the time to read widely and write eloquent and copious memoranda on a daily basis.

We should follow his lead and try to write or read daily , despite the stress of daily life or the unpleasant cold of winter months. If one is interested in updating their reading lists, I have a few suggestions. In addition to Churchill’s memoirs, history and political junkies will enjoy “Vietnam, If Kennedy Had Lived” by James Blight et al, which was mentioned in an earlier blog posting. Another good book on JFK is Herbert Parmet’s biography “Jack: The Struggles Of John F. Kennedy”. History buffs will also enjoy “Napoleon & Wellington” by Andrew Roberts. This is a unique biography and is not strictly speaking a ‘joint’ biography. Unlike other books that have looked at the showdown between these two military geniuses, it focuses on what each General thought, wrote and said about the other.
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Well, I woke up this morning, confident in the Canadian Mosaic of misinformation, misrepresentation, and general “hug thy neighbor” because they are “new” philosophies, and what happens while I’m asleep at the wheel with a half full Kokanee between my leg?

Those damn Tories went and whisked away my general feeling of political incorrectness by going and informing the teaming mass’ piling up at the gates of Heaven (you know, Custom’s and Immigration Canada) that we Canuckians aren’t perfect, we don’t always get it right, this isn’t necessarily the best place to live, and oh, by the way, we do occasionally put the Beaver hunting aside and go target practicing for terrorists when we are not consuming huge quantities of pork and beer after our little dip in the icy water.

Imagine my surprise to wake up to the newly released “Discover Canada” guide.
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Should polygamy be legal in Canada?

It was our first prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald who told Mormon settlers that their polygamous lifestyle would not be welcome in this country. In fact, until the 1950’s Mormons were mentioned specifically in Canada’s anti-polygamy law. Today a much more generalized version can be found in Section 293 of the criminal code. For the last 60 years or so not a single prosecution had been made but suddenly members of a polygamist Mormon sect in Bountiful, B.C. are being targeted and brought before the court. British Columbia’s attorney general, Wally Oppal, decided that perhaps, before prosecuting these two gentlemen, we should ask the supreme court whether Section 293 (from now on referred to as the anti-polygamy law) is even constitutional.

Now, I did a little research and from what I can tell the anti-polygamy law pretty clearly violates section’s 2. ( a ) and 2. ( d ) of the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms.( a ) Being the freedom of conscience and religion and ( d ) being the freedom of association. Why ( d ) you might ask. Well, under section 293 it states that if you celebrate a polygamous marriage ceremony you’re a criminal.
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Some erroneously regard Populism and Democracy as virtually indistinguishable. Why shouldn’t they? Populism is the political philosophy of catering to the interests of the people, (although not necessarily in the interest of the people). Populism is not good in itself – it is, however, an excellent way of keeping the people pacified and a government in power. Democracy, on the other hand, is at least in theory; rule by the people and for the people. It is good in itself because it provides the means for the people to exercise their free will in deciding how and by whom they are being governed, for better or worse. As such, Populism is central to the functioning of democracy through its influence in drawing the people. Conversely, democracy is not necessary to the functioning of populism. Were it so, the spectacular reigns of Imperial Rome and gang would never have been.

It is important to have a solid understanding of the two and how they function together, particularly for politicians, or they may be stuck learning them on the fly. In the media age, it is not a good idea to be caught floundering. This is a lesson the current government of Canada is learning. Although Prime Minister Stephen Harper was elected democratically, his popularity since then has been consistently floundering. Speculation regarding our reserved PM has ranged from frustration at his lack of warmth to claims that he may actually be a robot. In especial comparison with neighbouring, personable and wildly popular American president, Barrack Obama, Harper was looking mighty… stiff.
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One thing that seems to come up when the spotlight shines is the question of how one wants to be seen. The spotlight is only a few short months from shining on Vancouver during arguably the most impressive show of athleticism in the world. The pressure of hosting the Olympics comes from a need to showcase the country’s personality and promise. But what is the image that Canada has chosen, and more importantly who has defined it?

The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) has been guided through the process by 20 individuals nominated by the Federal Government, the Province of Vancouver, the City of Vancouver, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paraolympic Committee and the local First Nations. The Chair of VANOC is Jack Poole, a prominent Vancouver businessman who is involved in everything from marinas to golf courses, malls and car dealerships. The remaining members of the board of directors are in business, finance, politics and athletics. Our elected politicians have entrusted these people to make decisions that will determine how the world views this country.

VANOC has set its values as Team, Trust, Excellence, Sustainability and Creativity. This reads like a list of most corporate values, values which one cannot help but wonder what would happen if the choice came between making a profit or having environmental sustainability – a look at Alberta’s oil and gas industry would seem to indicate a clear answer.

VANOC has chosen to showcase the multiculturalism that Canada has been famous for. Canadian musicians, dancers and artists have been slated to perform their various acts at locations around the city during the Olympics. From rappers, to Ugandan Dance troops to Jazz musicians – Canada is hoping to prove that they can offer a lot to the international artist community.
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The National Battlefields Commission created a major controversy by canceling a scheduled re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. While many commentators felt that the Battlefields Commission yielded to the demands of sovereigntists, the truth is that both Francophones and Anglophones opposed the venture. As Don Macpherson of the Montreal Gazette wrote,

You don’t need insight to see that recalling the defeat of the French in North America with a sort of Heritage-Minutes Plainsfest in the capital of the descendants of the losing side wasn’t a good idea.

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