Inexperienced PM spoke too soon
TheGup @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:05 am
The evacuation is actually going quite well, considering Canada has the largest population to be evacuated by thousands of people, and how far away we are. And Sheila Copps is not exactly a great example of unbiased reporting.
Wullu @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:17 am
Apparently most Canadians disagree with her. Nothing new there.
$1:
66% of Canadians approve of handling of evacuation
The Ipsos Reid survey of 1,023 people, conducted on Thursday night on the Internet for CanWest News Service and Global National, found 66% of respondents were satisfied when asked about the government's response to "the largest evacuation of Canadian citizens in Canada's history."
"I think Canadians are looking at this and saying, 'This is a war zone,' " said John Wright, senior vice-president of Ipsos Reid.
"This is not a situation where the Princess Cruise Line is coming into Lebanon to pick up people. This is a desperate situation with shelling, and there's going to be chaos and lack of organization."
Only 34% felt the government response was "slow and unacceptable," with the strongest criticism coming from Quebec, where 50% of respondents were unhappy.
The Ipsos Reid survey of 1,023 people, conducted on Thursday night on the Internet for CanWest News Service and Global National, found 66% of respondents were satisfied when asked about the government's response to "the largest evacuation of Canadian citizens in Canada's history."
"I think Canadians are looking at this and saying, 'This is a war zone,' " said John Wright, senior vice-president of Ipsos Reid.
"This is not a situation where the Princess Cruise Line is coming into Lebanon to pick up people. This is a desperate situation with shelling, and there's going to be chaos and lack of organization."
Only 34% felt the government response was "slow and unacceptable," with the strongest criticism coming from Quebec, where 50% of respondents were unhappy.
Thanks to EyeBrock for that info.
In less than a week, the gov't got an evacuation plan in place and operating to move 40 to 50 thousand people. Mr. Dithers would still be looking at poll numbers at this point.
Donny_Brasco @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:45 am
I find it odd that Harper would tell the Israelis that he supports their actions while it costs Canadians lives and tens of millions of dollars.
Should he not be looking after Canadian interests by telling Israel to hold off till we get our people out, or better yet let the people who want to evacuate flee on their own before bombing the shit out of everything?
What Canadian interests are served at all for this unconditional support of Israel and the expense of having to save our citizens because of them????
bootlegga @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:36 am
Avro Avro:
No surprise that Cons on this site can't recognize that the evacuation effort has been less than perfect but I would assume the same response from Liberals if they were in power but that is not really what stood out for me in this article.
I agree that the evacuation has been less than perfect, but even the Brits didn't evacuate Dunkirk overnight. Canada is thousands of miles away and has no assets in the region to speed things up.
Harper definitely deserves criticism if this drags out, much like the Cons bashed the Libs for taking two weeks to get DART to Sri Lanka in 2004/05. The fact that several of the ships we chartered were snapped up by other nations after we let our option expire doesn't look good, that's for sure. My guess is that Canadians will get pissed off if this isn't resolved shortly, or one of the boats get attacked or civvies die waiting for transport.
Avro Avro:
Is Sheila biased? No doubt about that as most columnists are with a few exceptions but given the rift she had with the Liberals under Martin it does give her some political credibility.
Well, based on this quote from her article, it sounds like she is still smarting from not getting a shot at being PM...
$1:
Just as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's poll numbers are climbing, he lands smack in the middle of an international crisis and is found sadly lacking.
She might have more credibility than a lot of reporters, but her column mixes almost personal attacks with her opinion (she's not as objective as she could be). I don't think Harper is 'sadly lacking' on this issue, but he has made mistakes. Whether or not he'll be able to fix them is yet to be seen.
fatbasturd @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:38 am
Donny_Brasco Donny_Brasco:
I find it odd that Harper would tell the Israelis that he supports their actions while it costs Canadians lives and tens of millions of dollars.
Should he not be looking after Canadian interests by telling Israel to hold off till we get our people out, or better yet let the people who want to evacuate flee on their own before bombing the shit out of everything?
What Canadian interests are served at all for this unconditional support of Israel and the expense of having to save our citizens because of them????
It gets him another brown spot from the US.
Should he not be looking after Canadian interests by telling Israel to hold off till we get our people out, or better yet let the people who want to evacuate flee on their own before bombing the shit out of everything?
What Canadian interests are served at all for this unconditional support of Israel and the expense of having to save our citizens because of them????
Maggiemygosh @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:12 am
Sheila Copps doesn't know what she is atalking about. Never has and never will. Her father Vic turns over in his grave everytime she opens up her mouth or posts stupidity.
Stephen Harper is the first Prime Minister in decades who has gonads, knows what he is doing and keeps his party's promises. The fiberals never ever did that . He speaks truth and supports factual situations.
Israel is the only country in the middle east that is democratic. They have the absolute right to defend themselves. They have been attacked for decades which is masterminded by Iran and Syria.
These so called civilians who were accidentally killed by Israel , are they really civilians or Hezbollah wearing civilian clothes ?
Hezbollah forced this armed conflict to occur by murdering 8 Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two and the UN and the Government of Lebanon are a complete joke. What are 1,700 UN Troops doing in southern Lebanon? They have been there for years.
Only Israel can put an end to this and they will by wiping out Hezbollah entirely.
Wullu @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:01 am
Ahhhh, welcome to the instant gratification era. It needs to be done right now! Well here is a news flash. The real world don't work like that. Especially if that real world involves the Mid-East. The fact that a country 7 time zones away had people moving out of country in less than a week is beyond amazing. 40 to 50 thousand? No other country is dealing with even half that number, and most of them are right around the corner.
If Copps had half a clue she would be the front runner in the Liberal leadership campaign, instead of a sidelined and bitter columnist for a news organization that does not even agree with her own politics.
jerem @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:27 am
Hezbollah kills two soldiers,kidnaps one.Isreal bomb the shit out of hundreds of civi's with no clear target. Isupport Isreals right to exist "Gods People" and all that. But I can't see the remedy balence the justification.But I guess there are no profits in deplomacy.
Praise God
Help us Jesus
PluggyRug @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:06 am
jerem jerem:
Hezbollah kills two soldiers,kidnaps one.Isreal bomb the shit out of hundreds of civi's with no clear target. Isupport Isreals right to exist "Gods People" and all that. But I can't see the remedy balence the justification.But I guess there are no profits in deplomacy.
Praise God
Help us Jesus
Praise God
Help us Jesus
Praise God for what?
I don't need help.
You was doing ok until the end.
ridenrain @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:19 am
Sheila Copps!
You might as well drag out Joe Clark or Kim Campbell.
You definately cannot erase the failure of the Dart team Tsunami relief, and the dithering of the huricane relief with this unpresidented evacuation. Moving a team and equipment from Canada is simple compaired to moving thousands from a conflict zone, half a world away.
Alta_redneck @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:21 am
You people that agree with Sheila Copps opinion, need to make some time and take a trip across Canada though the editorial pages and the letters to the editors and see what the average Canadian thinks. Copps mentions that "It is sometimes wiser to do nothing than to do something in politics"
Well you people are use to that option after 12 years of a Liberal government.
Hey jerem ! you seem to be forgetting the 100+ rockets that’s raining down on Israel everyday. And for everyone that thinks all the causalities are caused by Israel’s indiscriminate shelling and bombing, they need to pay more attention to your favorite news reports from the CBC, just before their report on Lebanon they flash images of a Hezbollah anti aircraft gun blasting away surrounded by apartment buildings, that is the reason there is civi’s being killed.
Patrick_Ross @ Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:55 am
Personally, I like Sheila Copps. But every now and then, she has a tendency to say something that is utterly silly.
Sheila Copps Sheila Copps:
It is sometimes wiser to do nothing than to do something in politics. By jumping ahead of the G8 in his public statements, the PM has damaged Canada's capacity to be a balanced broker. Harper is right to believe there is no balance in the current conflict. Israel must protect her borders from an enemy who does not even acknowledge her right to exist.
This isn't one of them... mostly (it's always better to do something rather than nothing). I can't help but agree with this. Most of the following is OK, too. But then...
Shiela Copps Shiela Copps:
However, the unrelenting "pinpoint" response by the Israeli military smacks of literal overkill. Babies and children dead, infrastructure bombed, Canadians stranded. If one picture is worth a thousands words, those images belie Israel's position as the aggrieved and portray her as the aggressor, with Lebanon caught between two political imperatives.
At a time like this, our politicians have more important things to do than worry about "image management". However, we should be less concerned about taking sides, and more concerned with doing what we can to try to foster peace in the region.
Donny Brasco Donny Brasco:
Should he not be looking after Canadian interests by telling Israel to hold off till we get our people out, or better yet let the people who want to evacuate flee on their own before bombing the shit out of everything?
Well, Peter MacKay contacted the Israeli ambassador after that false report about an Israeli attack on a ship carrying Canadian evacuees. While the media reports were fairly detailed, I'd bet that he asked them to scale it back so foreign nationals can be evacuated.
Do you think Isarel is about to listen to that? I doubt it.
Bootlegga Bootlegga:
She might have more credibility than a lot of reporters, but her column mixes almost personal attacks with her opinion (she's not as objective as she could be). I don't think Harper is 'sadly lacking' on this issue, but he has made mistakes. Whether or not he'll be able to fix them is yet to be seen.
As a published opinion writer, I can tell you that the opinion writer's perogative is to express their viewpoint. Opinion writing is very different from news writing, because it isn't actually supposed to be objective.
However, I have always been of the opinion that a good opinion writer gives those who would be so inclined to disagree with them the tools (necessary information) to do so. Otherwise, it's strictly demagoguery.