Just Right… with Bob Metz and Robert Vaughan

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

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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 »

503 – Sexual tensions—Political climax

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May 042017

Feminist claims that women in North America are suffering at the hands of a patriarchy amount to little more than propaganda. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we live in a matriarchy under which the suffering are men.

Laws in Canada, the United States, and other jurisdictions in the Western world have become alarmingly gender unbalanced – giving women far more legal rights than men. From prostitution laws to family and child custody issues, discriminating against men has become the ruling principle.

However, this is but one narrow manifestation of the politics of sex, which is no different in principle than the politics of race, gender, language, or ethnicity. In addition to the traditional sexual tensions between men and women, we now have the added complication of other politically recognized genders.

There is no doubt that sexuality plays a critical role in shaping human identity, behavior, and personal values. But sex and sexual identity have become a key political weapon in the continual war of political correctness. Continue reading »

502 – Gods of the machinations

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Apr 272017

ECONOMICS – In One Uneasy Lesson: It is often difficult to reconcile the stark contrast between reports that the economy is improving and/or performing well, and those suggesting that the growing condition of poverty is reaching a crisis stage.

Some explain the contrast using the “one per cent” theory. They argue that the economy is doing well for the one percent, but not for the rest. There’s a grain of truth to that statistic, but not in the sense intended. Once understood, it is simply not a cause for concern.

For many attempting to keep from becoming part of the poverty statistics, it is the intricacies and challenges of finding a job, establishing a career, or embarking upon a new financial venture that is the real concern. These concerns simply cannot be reflected in economic/political statistics or theories – no matter how accurate or valid.

The theoretically accurate principles of economics can be taught in one simple lesson, as Henry Hazlitt demonstrated in his 1946 economic masterpiece, Economics in One Lesson, a lesson that was easily expressed in two to three pages. Continue reading »

501 – subUrbane planning—From transit to transect

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Apr 202017

With a major public meeting about the City of London’s plan to build a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system slated for Wednesday May 3 at Budweiser Gardens, now would be a good time to reflect upon the city’s larger urban plan and vision for the future.

The political push for this unnecessary and unpopular project is itself a symptom of a greater problem, one common to municipalities everywhere.

Freedom Party’s Ted Harlson, an active participant against a similar proposal in Brampton, has offered hope for those opposed to the London proposal; he says you CAN beat city hall:

“A prolonged and growing revolt climaxed with a municipal meeting of council and citizens. This was proof that the proposal was failing. The rail initiative was rightfully voted down. Citizens for a Better Brampton with freedom of information requests continuously questioned the lack of preparation regarding the subway plans.

“Brampton citizens won, shooting down their massive $1.6 billion white elephant. But this was not the end. After the costly subway push had failed, Brampton citizens voted out most of the former council members and the mayor. With organization, your city can do the same.” Continue reading »

500 – Shift disturbers | Amir Farahi

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Apr 132017

Thanks to a growing public outcry against the concept, residents of London Ontario have been given a brief political reprieve to “Down Shift” the speed of the city’s planned “Shift” to “Bus Rapid Transit” (BRT).

The city has cooperated in a ploy to give its opposition more time to accept the “facts” about the city’s own plans – while making it appear that some sort of democratic process is taking place.

Instead of allowing such a process, Londoners have been told that “Shift happens,” and the meaning behind the twist in that expression is clear: Neither the electorate’s consent or consensus is a factor to “Shift”.

As a result, more and more Londoners are objecting to BRT.

Willfully blind to the nature of the objections, the city and BRT supporters have offered a “crocodile apology” to Londoners (without any tears) – citing a “poor job of communicating” their plans to the general public. Continue reading »

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

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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 »

498 – Venezuela’s incredible dread machine / His story – Marc Emery, The Prince of Pot

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Mar 302017

Turns out there’s little difference between a country “going to pot,” and one not allowing free market sales of pot. To prove the point, two seemingly unrelated recent events in two different parts of the world have demonstrated that when it comes to crony politics, state monopolies, and greedy politicians, every country has its share.

In Venezuela, people lined the streets to buy bread from their local private bakeries. Now the bread lines are gone because the bakeries are gone, declared illegal by Venezuela’s socialist government that has chosen to distribute the bread via its state monopoly.

In Canada, people lined the streets to buy cannabis at private dispensaries. Now the lines are gone because the dispensaries are gone, declared illegal by Canada’s crony-influenced government that has chosen to restrict and monopolize cannabis distribution.

To most, Canada’s current “pot sales crisis” naturally pales when compared to Venezuela’s “bread sales crisis.” After all, a shortage of food merits far greater urgency than does a restricted market in cannabis, especially when runaway inflation is part of the crisis. Continue reading »