Comments on: The readable Ignatieff

By: Mars

Mars — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:55:40 +0000

over education –doesn't mean U have it!!! It means the know how– to govern & run the gauntlet! It takes experience –being able 2 read people—find a commom ground 4 all–not just yourself–also deal with financial affairs– & not talk with "forked tongue"

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:40:04 +0000

How about a list of Harper's writings ….?

By: Em.

Em. — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:45:22 +0000

It boggles my mind that someone with such a great career would want to go into politics. How is he not loosing his mind?

By: siamdave

siamdave — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:17:43 +0000

Noone who believes the nonsenses Ignatieff professes to believe, such as Bush et al 'fightng for Democracy!!!' in Iraq or Afghanistan (or ay of the dozens of other countries they have invaded in the last hunder+ years) or that we bombed Yugoslavia for 76 days to 'prevent genocide', has any business calling themselves an 'intellectual'. The man is intelligent, no doubt, and writes well, no doubt - but an 'intellectual' needs to have some courage and honesty as well as intelligence, courage and honesty to challenge power, rather than sell out to it. Those who believe such people are 'intellectuals' would be in the same boat. Like everything else in Capitalistland, illusion and lies are being substituted for reality, as the citizens allow their brains to be mushified rather than challenge the Emperor's edicts. (website is http://www.rudemacedon.ca/greenisland.html , which the automatic machine does not like and will not allow for some reason, if anyone is interested in a bit more truthful intellectualism such as we engage in on Green island ...)

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:46:29 +0000

You certainly flushed a lot before posting your comment.

By: craigola

craigola — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:20:20 +0000

Because I genuinely need to know, 1 – how exactly do you measure it to know for sure, and 2 – how much sense does it make to flush common sense down the toilet?

By: Garry

Garry — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:26:39 +0000

I flush more common sense down the toilet every day than this idiot has realised in his entire life.

By: Pauline

Pauline — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:48:15 +0000

I've just finished reading a novel by Ignatieff … "Scar Tissue" – not bad stuff, but didn't see it on your list …

By: Felix

Felix — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:12:08 +0000

Wasn't it Wiliam Pitt (the Elder) that first uttered those words?

By: OntarioTown

OntarioTown — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:58:05 +0000

LOL – after he crossed the floor back and forth. Actually, the first part doesn't make sense when the Conservatives refer to Liberals as bleeding hearts – contradiction or what.

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
- Winston Churchill

By: Felix

Felix — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:39:54 +0000

Thanks a lot, Aaron. great compilation.

Now let's watch the cons plumb every article for attack ad fodder.

By: Dakota

Dakota — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:21:13 +0000

“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

Winston Churchill

By: Linda

Linda — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:11:46 +0000

Just shows how our journalists in Canada rate with the rest of the world. Stories coming back to Canada from our great media – did Harper go the bathroom? Why was he is that bathroom so long? Was there any other leader in the bathroom too? Did he see any other leader in the bathroom? Did Harper talk to anyone while he was in the bathroom? Did he wash his hands with soap or just splash water on them? Did he flush? To conclude – what a bunch of crap.

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:59:22 +0000

If that ever happens, I'll be absolutely delighted! I've always had a secret desire to become a trivial (yet entertaining) footnote in Canadian history.

(btw, thanks for your kind comments about the blog. I'll pass them along.)

By: Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:45:15 +0000

Hey, that's a terrific blog by Andrew Leung, I hope he keeps it up now that he's back in Canada. (How great that he's at St. Basil's, btw, that's a beautiful church.)

I do hope someone writes a thorough historical article about Wafergate, with the appropriate footnote. ("3. The term 'Wafergate' can be traced to a comment made some hours after the video was released, by a Maclean's commenter known only as 'Critical Reasoning,' which quickly caught on; there is some evidence that it was initally used ironically, though it was soon being used without irony . . ." etc.)

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:55:46 +0000

Speaking of dinner, I just got back from dinner with my old high school buddy Andrew Leung, the Roman Catholic priest who was interviewed by the Globe and Mail for their article entitled: "How to avoid a Wafergate" . I told him my little "Wafergate" anecdote. I'm not sure whether he really believed me (it must seem far-fetched).

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:28:39 +0000

Still, couldn't he at least give us a hint? He's been in politics for three whole years now and nobody seems to know where he stands on most issues. Sure, everyone knows that Iggy is pro-oilsands, pro-stimulus, pro-America, and pro-nine week EI qualification, but nobody seems to know where he stands on the other stuff. His political speeches consist mostly of useless platitudes, and he's languishing in the polls. That's why so many Canadian journalists have criticized him about this.

By: Harbles

Harbles — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:02:02 +0000

Ok, lets all post a quote.

From ETHICS AND THE NEW WAR
by Dr. Michael Ignatieff

Editor’s Note: This is the text of the 2001 Young
Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. Ignatieff at Royal
Military College on 25 October 2001.

…"One of the most difficult aspects of understanding the force of ethical imperatives in the use of military violence is to drop that idea of ethics as a set of handcuffs and to begin to think of ethics as a force enabler — to think of ethics not in a negative sense but in a positive sense, as a force multiplier.
The Canadian Forces, because of their long peacekeeping tradition, know that ethical behaviour in the field is a powerful force multiplier — precisely because we don’t have that much force anyway."…

Thanks Aaron.
Thanks Google Scholar.

By: SisyphusThis

SisyphusThis — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:53:46 +0000

It does warm the cockles to see the frog so squirmy and floppy and giggly. Thanks, Aaron.

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:33:38 +0000

Fortunately, I'm a lot younger than you, and therefore I have better bladder control. ;-)

By: James Connors

James Connors — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:26:47 +0000

Because: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:26:21 +0000

Hear, hear. Michael Ignatieff is a very impressive guy, and he deserves respect for his highly accomplished pre-political career. He's also an excellent writer, and as I browse through the links that Aaron helpfully provided, I find that I agree with at least some of what he has written.

By: catherine

catherine — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:39:06 +0000

Obviously, all these quotes people (including Harper) are pulling out have context, but "cheap shot artists" (as Daniel Veniez recently put it) aren't interested context. If you're interested in context, read the works in their entirety.

Blues Clair's point was clear to me.

By: Blues Clair

Blues Clair — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:31:51 +0000

I joke
to poke
fun
at the
excited
one

By: Ed_Sweeney

Ed_Sweeney — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:11:44 +0000

and figuring there must be context, I found it complements of the link above:

The Times sent several reporters to Amman to ask the Americans who remained how they
felt about their security now that an American had been gunned down in a
terrorist attack. At least one American, an academic on leave, teaching in
Amman, said what he did about his security dilemma: when he got into a taxi and
they asked him where he came from, he said “I’m from Canada,” but the taxi
driver, a Jordanian, turned around and said, “where from?” and the guy began to
make it up and said, “well, I’m from Montreal,” and the taxi driver said, “I was
10 years in Montreal myself” and the American, now in big trouble, figuring that
a display of local knowledge was called for, said “those Expos are a great team,
eh?” Which was, of course, the giveaway, because if you have got local
knowledge, it has got to be the right local knowledge, and as Canadians know,
there are many things true about the Expos, but a good team is not one of them.

People, do we really have to be so petty?

By: Ed_Sweeney

Ed_Sweeney — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:11:20 +0000

and figuring there must be context, I found it complements of the link above:

The Times
sent several reporters to Amman to ask the Americans who remained how they
felt about their security now that an American had been gunned down in a
terrorist attack. At least one American, an academic on leave, teaching in
Amman, said what he did about his security dilemma: when he got into a taxi and
they asked him where he came from, he said “I’m from Canada,” but the taxi
driver, a Jordanian, turned around and said, “where from?” and the guy began to
make it up and said, “well, I’m from Montreal,” and the taxi driver said, “I was
10 years in Montreal myself” and the American, now in big trouble, figuring that
a display of local knowledge was called for, said “those Expos are a great team,
eh?” Which was, of course, the giveaway, because if you have got local
knowledge, it has got to be the right local knowledge, and as Canadians know,
there are many things true about the Expos, but a good team is not one of them.

People, do we really have to be so petty?

By: Ed_Sweeney

Ed_Sweeney — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:03:40 +0000

Its impossible to believe there is no context to that quote.

By: Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:42:20 +0000

Ah, but you are on fire, and I am obliged to cook dinner tonight : )

By: Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:42:01 +0000

Ah, but you are on fire, and I am obliged to cook dinner tonight : (

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:39:05 +0000

Dammit, you just caught up!

By: catherine

catherine — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:34:35 +0000

It is probably about as much international publicity that Harper has received for anything. A quick google search turns up Harper in the loo or toilet stories from the BBC, Guardian, Independent, CNN, Huffington Post, NYT, Scotsman, ABC, etc. in the first few pages. That's just searching in English – I recall France and China picked it up too, likely others.

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:27:14 +0000

Only temporarily, I'm sure! :)

By: Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:24:10 +0000

Dammit, you have surpassed me in your commenting score.

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:22:09 +0000

Hear, hear. Michael Ignatieff has been hiding his mitts for far too long. Bring on the mitts, bring on the symbolism, bring on the identity. It's time for Iggy to emerge from his shell.

By: Ed_Sweeney

Ed_Sweeney — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:11:27 +0000

Because in so doing, he would make himself indistinguishable from a Conservative.

By: Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:03:46 +0000

Harper is therefore absolved of being an international laughing-stock and restored to obscurity. Not that one blames him for that, he's just a very domestic guy and that's fine; but the fact remains that Iggy, the journalist, has more brand-name recognition internationally than Harper, the Prime Minister.

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:00:20 +0000

I completely agree with your last point about the "Liberal backroom boys". I think they've hijacked his brain. There's such a huge disconnect between Michael Ignatieff, the intellectual who fearlessly expounded on every issue ("it's time to abandon the fantasy of the Royal Family"), and Iggy the Canadian politician, who seems to be muted and cowed by his political masters and advisors.

As we speak, the Liberal platform is (finally!) being crafted, and it's questionable how much input Ignatieff has added to the process. It makes me wonder who's really in charge of the party.

By: Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:59:25 +0000

Indeed. Bring on the Liberal mitts.

By: Dot

Dot — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:50:22 +0000

Depends.

By: jarrid

jarrid — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:45:42 +0000

HI folks! as promised, here's Iggy in his own words in "The Russian Album" p. 11 Picador USA softcover edition:

"And to this day [my father] is a much more patriotic and sentimental Canadian than I am. For him Canada was the country that gave him a new start. For me, being a Canadian was just one of those privileges I took for granted."

The back cover of the book describes the author, Mr. Ignatieff and indicates that "He lives in London and Cambridge, Massachusetts."

Why does this man want to lead us? Where does he want to take this country policy-wise?

I'll venture an answer on both: 1) Because the Liberal backroom boys convinced him and 2) where the Liberal backroom boys tell him to.

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:40:23 +0000

Agreed. Definitely not enough. Aside from a few bored reporters, nobody outside of Canada seemed to notice it or care about it. Of course, here in Canada, the usual shrieking harpies were wringing their hands with fake embarrassment. It was all quite theatrical.

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:30:42 +0000

The day after 9/11, France's "Le Monde" ran its famous banner headline proclaiming "WE ARE ALL AMERICANS".

I guess Michael Ignatieff took that message to heart. And then some.

By: Ted

Ted — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:29:11 +0000

Technically, it did receive international attention because I remember distinctly two foreign written stories about it plus some online wire service story pick-ups.

But I would say not enough to call it an "international story".

By: Crit_Reasoning

Crit_Reasoning — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:23:47 +0000

Thanks!

By: OntarioTown

OntarioTown — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:21:13 +0000

Okay – Crit Reasoning has to have the last word – so you have it.

You don't know how old I am and I don't know or care how old you are.

But, I will let you have this as your last word to keep you happy.