Of course, Hitler was a con man and a liar, and within a year Chamberlain looked like a fool. The world was thrown into a lengthy war that left as many as 85 million people, most of them civilians, dead. It was, the historians say, proof that appeasing a dictator doesn’t work.
Fast forward to today, where Neville Chamberlain and Mark Carney have been linked together in the same sentence. Not by some anonymous ranter on social media, but by a distinguished professor and co-chair of a Canada-US relations organization. His name is Fen Osler Hampson at Carleton University.
Carney is reaching yet another deadline in negotiating with Donald Trump, a known con man and liar with a history of breaking deals, but really, is this Chamberlain-like appeasement?
The Globe and Mail printed the Professor’s opinion piece the other day:
🔒 Concession Carney faces his Neville Chamberlain moment
Of course, any time you sit down to negotiate means trade-offs.
So, does Carney have a choice but to talk concessions? Campbell Clark, also in the Globe, has thoughts on that:
🔒 Making concessions to get a trade deal when the public’s in a fighting mood
As readers likely know, I enjoy telling Stratford stories as it’s home for me when I’m in Canada.
Well, Stratford has a list of distinguished mayors through its decades of history, many giving us lessons in community leadership any current leader can learn from. Like the mayor at the turn of the last century who refused to come home from an out-of-country vacation when the banks of the Avon River flooded during torrential rain, and settled in the basements of dozens, some say hundreds, of homes. It was a disaster that cost millions, not to mention the mayor her job. The lesson: board the first flight home.
Interesting that no major chorus of similar concern has developed about Mark Carney vacationing in Italy while parts of British Columbia are burning to the ground. Instead, another week of polls from a number of different organizations shows the Carney Liberal lead continuing to hold significant numbers. Canadians, it appears, like the PM and his leadership and at least for now, why change anything?
With Liberals up by 19 nationally - the by election mood is more "steady on" than "listen up".
Of course, not everyone agrees with Bruce.
Take Rob Breakenridge writing in the National Post, who has a very different take on Carney this week:
Rob Breakenridge: Mark Carney's (foolish) summer vacation in Italy
Okay, here’s the flipside to the vacation argument, and it comes from Matt Gurney in the Toronto Star:
🔒 Opinion | Of course Mark Carney wants to vacation in Italy. Wouldn’t you?
Tick, tick, tick.
The clock is ticking toward Donald Trump’s latest tariff-threat day, and that’s making Canada’s talks with the U.S. all the more consequential. As usual, depending on who you listen to, those talks just may (underline “may”) be starting to see some progress. Or not. Here’s the way CBC is looking at the talks:
Canada, U.S. not yet ready to make tariff deal, Canada unsatisfied with latest U.S. offer: sources
Meanwhile, poor old Pierre Poilievre.
Can the guy ever get a positive write-up? Check this out in the Winnipeg Free Press this week:
Poilievre’s lips moving, but Canadians aren’t interested in what he’s saying
Is there a deal in the works on the Ottawa, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador hydro agreement?
Vassy Kapelos thinks so, and when Vassy smells a deal, then there’s probably a deal. This is a really important story and will say a lot about how the country works. Here’s the way her network, CTV, is reporting things:
Ottawa, Quebec and N.L. to announce new Churchill Falls deal next week: sources
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Where’s the story about Donald Trump’s flying arrangements?
Here you go. First, you must admit, there’s something funny about Trump rushed off Air Force One, crammed into a catering compartment with all those peanuts and day-old sandwiches, his Diet Coke valet and his young, blonde, much-gossiped-about executive assistant. All so he and those clearly very important pals of his could dodge possible incoming missiles. But what about the travelling press corps and key cabinet secretaries like Secretary of State Marco Rubio? No, they were just patsies hurtling through the air on Air Force One as decoys after the President had been smuggled out through a catering tray to a different plane.
Now think about that for a moment. Say there really had been a missile targeting the aircraft, say it hit, causing the death of all inside, while Trump was safely hidden away, sipping his Diet Coke with his EA nearby, on his escape aircraft. What lie would he try to explain that away with then? Or would he tell the truth about his reasoning: “My life was more important than theirs, so I used them as cover while I escaped. Too bad they were all killed.” So Trump.
This story is like a bad movie script except it's true. Those dastardly Iranians wanting to kill Donald Trump - how could they? Maybe because he’d just killed their leader, his daughter, his son-in-law, and his grandson. Maybe they believe in retribution too.
Here’s the latest on all this - apparently the CIA had doubts about the threats even as Trump was being ushered into the canteen truck:
🔒 CIA had ‘low confidence’ in Iranian threat before Trump switched planes in Turkey
In January 2017, just hours after Trump’s inauguration and his claim that more people attended the ceremony than ever in history, I tweeted that he was lying.
It wasn’t his first lie, but it was his first as President. At that time, no one was using the “L” word, and I took some heat, including from the CBC, for doing so. Not so anymore. Trump lies as he breathes, and everyone knows it. The lies used to work for him, but do they still? Great piece from Dan Rather on his Substack this week:
The Pinocchio Presidency
How smart is your dog?
“Smarter than you think” can often be the answer. Like this story, a nice one to end The Buzz with this week:
