Category: Foreign Relations | Page 9

526 – U.N.conscionable / Disappointing discovery

Comments Off

Oct 122017

The debut of the latest Star Trek series, Discovery, has certainly produced some highly polarized views. It has even generated some controversies that may have more to do with Donald Trump’s “America First” policies than with Discovery’s story itself.

It’s difficult to deny that the strongest reactions to Discovery have been the negative ones – those from fans disappointed with what they saw in the series’ first three episodes – we included. It’s also difficult to deny that whether or not Star Trek Discovery is great entertainment depends upon the eye of the beholder.

But a greater question has arisen, one concerning the Law of Identity: Does Discovery “pass the Star Trek smell test”? Is it “Star Trek”? Are there any objective ways to decide? Does it even matter? Or is this simply another matter to be settled by the “eye of the beholder”?

As a barometer of the times in which its stories were broadcast, the world of Star Trek itself has become increasingly transformed from one of individual rights and individual identity (the hallmarks of a free society) to one of group rights and group identities, with all of the implications that each suggests. Continue reading »

507 – Trump means business

1 Response »

Jun 012017

Interpret that phrase however you might, but turning words into action has thus far been the hallmark of US president Donald Trump’s administration, and it is applicable to both his business and political style.

To assess the powerfully symbolic impact of Trump’s first presidential visit abroad, Western University’s Associate Professor of Political Science Salim Mansur once again joins us to connect the dots between the events of today and the too-little-remembered history of yesterday.

It was inevitable that “Islam” would become the national and global issue of the day, given the West’s embrace of official multiculturalism.

The ISIS terrorist bombing in Manchester England is but one of the dots connected to Trump’s speech in Saudi Arabia. Another is the history of American and British involvement in having created the conditions in the mid-east that Trump must now confront.

In stark contrast, as Trump fights “Islamization” in America and abroad, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to pursue policies consistent with the political Islamization of Canada. Continue reading »

504 – Trump’s “Big Stick” foreign policy and France surrenders to Macron | Salim Mansur & Amir Farahi

Comments Off

May 112017

Despite the establishment media’s continuing hostility to the president, including attempts to paint him as radical and unpredictable, Trump is far more traditional than were his immediate predecessors. That tradition, simply put, is one of acting in his own country’s interests.

“Speak softly and carry a big stick” reflects the Roosevelt foreign policy. It was described by past US president Theodore Roosevelt as “the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis.”

Amir Farahi of the London Institute and Western University’s Associate Professor of Political Science Salim Mansur join us to share their assessment of what Trump’s early days in office have revealed – both about the president’s foreign policies and about some of the major crisis’ brewing around the globe today.

From America’s actions taken against Assad in Syria, to the bomb dropped in Afghanistan and to movements against North Korea, our conversation connects the dots between what most believe are isolated and unrelated conflicts in distant parts of the globe. Continue reading »

499 – Russian to conclusions—Donald Trump and the Russian affront

Comments Off

Apr 062017

Those falsely attempting to connect Donald Trump‘s electoral victory to Russian influences in the 2016 American election may well find themselves hoisted on their own petard.

Predicting that it will become bigger than the Watergate scandal, today’s in-studio guest Salim Mansur calls the upcoming major American political scandal “Obamagate“. Whatever the public may eventually come to know it as, there is certainly a clear “Obamagateway” straight to Russia – one whose path Salim traces in the wake of now-known facts and events that have come to light.

To deflect from their own Russian connections, the Democrats have launched a Russian affront against president Donald Trump, who has had no such history. The affront consists of the hypocrisy inherent in creating fake news to hide a truth, while simultaneously insulting American voters in the process. Continue reading »

491 – Neil Gorsuch—Here come the judge / Sanctuary cities

Comments Off

Feb 092017

GIVE US SANCTUARY – from Virtue Signalers

“By nominating Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, (U.S. president) Trump selected a person who places the idea of limited government and freedom as the number one issue in his legal philosophy,” notes our guest Salim Mansur on today’s broadcast of Just Right.

As a judge who would keep a president in check, Gorsuch’s appointment to the Supreme Court would make completely foolish any claim that Trump is a “fascist” or some other term describing a totalitarian.

Then there was the “so-called judge,” in Trump’s terms, who inappropriately quashed his executive order to temporarily suspend immigration from seven countries identified as sources of Islamist terrorism. Not only was Trump’s executive order perfectly appropriate and within his legitimate authority, the countries cited under the immigration ban were chosen with good reason, explains Salim.

Six of the seven countries (Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia) that have had their immigration rights suspended are failed states. “In other words,” explains Salim, “they have no institutional governments working.” The seventh country (Iran) has been in a declared state of war with the United States for the past 38 years.

All were identified and well documented as problematic by the previous administration. Trump did not add any new nations to the already established list. The previous administration well knew that it was not possible to verify or identify immigrants from these areas – yet did nothing to prevent them from emigrating to sanctuary jurisdictions. Continue reading »

483 – “Politics”: The theatrical release

Comments Off

Dec 152016

It has often been said that “politics is theatre.” That might explain why many would call politics the theatre of the absurd. But all theatrics aside, theatre in politics simply can’t be pushed aside. The play’s the thing.

If there’s a lesson to be learned from the recent US election, it is that “all the world’s a stage,” and nationalism sets that stage for political theatre. Since most have never experienced good political theatre in recent times, it’s not surprising that, when encountered, few understand the plot – especially those who falsely believe they are writing the script. It’s a lesson that seems to have been forgotten, if ever learned.

Imagine if television had existed during the times of William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli (1800s Britain); would it have been censored by political correctness?

From Gladstone’s narrow escape from being tossed to his potential death out the window of Britain’s new parliament buildings, to Disraeli’s being taunted with pork on a stick while giving his electoral speeches, British politics of the era was pure drama. By comparison, Donald and Hillary’s 21st-century antics would have attracted little more attention than the mildly feuding couple next door. Continue reading »

481 – Trudeaumaniac / Reality check

Comments Off

Dec 012016

With his father Pierre, it was Trudeaumania. With Justin, it’s more like Trudeaumaniac. On the heels of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro‘s death, Canada’s Prime Minister made that extra effort to show the world that he is in serious need of a reality check. Like father, like son?

From the implications of Justin Trudeau’s admiration for dictatorships and dictators, to his penchant for “proportional representation,” these are signals that should alarm any freedom-minded nations and individuals.

Here is the statement by the Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, on the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro issued from Antananarivo, Madagascar, November 26, 2016:

It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President.

“Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation. Continue reading »