BushCo Slams Canadian PM over "Global Conscience" on Global Warming

Well, I declare. Nevah has the Bush White House been SO "slighted"... well, not since Gerhard Schroeder anyway.

I hope above all hope that the Big Dawg shows some balls when he speaks this afternoon as a Sierra Club-invited "side-event" in Montreal.

The USA should have a "global conscience"? What a horrible insult. Stomp that cricket, Preznit Pinocchio.

From cbc.ca

The White House has officially complained about Prime Minister Paul Martin's comments this week at the climate change conference in Montreal.

A senior official in the Bush administration has told Canadian Ambassador Frank McKenna that Martin's comments are the worst slight against the president since Germany's Gerhard Schroeder suggested President George W. Bush's stance against the Kyoto Protocol was responsible for hurricane Katrina.

"There is such as thing as a global conscience," Martin said Wednesday at the UN Conference on Climate Change.

"Now is the time to listen to it. Now's the time to join with others in our global community. Now is the time for resolve, for commitment and leadership and, above all, now is the time for action. Because only by coming together can we make real and lasting progress."

In October, outgoing chancellor Schroeder said: "I can think of a recent disaster that shows what happens when a country neglects its duties of state towards its people .... My post as chancellor, which I still hold, does not allow me to name that country, but you all know that I am talking about America."

Later today, Martin will be meeting with former U.S. president Bill Clinton at the conference.

•  The Big Dog Screwed the Pooch

  ....on the global conscience deal already when he torpedoed chances for US ratification of the Kyoto Protocols, failed to act in Rwanda, and allowed over 500,000 Iraqi children to die as a direct result of sanctions.

  There's only one ex-president who has any moral standing on the issue of global conscience, and his name is Jimmy Carter.

  by greenskeeper on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:11:39 AM PDT

  •  Tell me how Clinton Torpedoed Kyoto?

    Or was it a Republican Congress?

    Rwanda whole different ball game after Somalia, unfortunatly so but Clinto didn't act in time.

    by Mikecan1978 on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:31:23 AM PDT

    •  See Below n/t

      by greenskeeper on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 12:24:28 PM PDT

  •  That's misleading

    You're right that he had a role and he abdicated it for the most part.

    But let's not forget that even staunch support for those things would not have got them passed on Capitol Hill in those days. It's quite likely that the only fact which persuaded people to support intervention in Bosnia was the absolute moral failure of Rwanda. But it wasn't Clinton's alone.

    And unlike chimpy, Clinton was not swimming against the global tide at every opportunity, and urging the world to fuck itself.

    by thingamabob on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:52:03 AM PDT

    •  He Didn't Even Try

      He made no effort to use any of his political capital either to win on any of these issues, or to make any of these issues matters of principle to rally the base and redefine the party.

      Therein lies Clinton's greatest failure: whenever given a choice between doing the right thing or pandering to the right wing, he did the latter.

      Where he does get some points, as you point out, is that however firmly I may believe that his environmental, trade, and human rights policies were all deeply regressive, he was charming enough that nobody felt he was "urging the world to go fuck itself," even when he was doing just that.

      And style does matter a great deal in diplomacy.

      by greenskeeper on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 12:23:22 PM PDT

•  Throw them out, impeach them, do the necessary

  
  The Bush admin might shrink at the word "conscience" but all the Americans I know and love have one.

  Gotta go to work now.

  by howth of murph on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:14:25 AM PDT

  •  Well at least we know who runs D.C.

    It's interesting that the early stories, based on word getting back to folks actually at Montreal, was that Cheney was pissed and had instructed the delegation to engage in a (literal?) scorched Earth policy.

    Now Augustus Shrub comes along and has his aides publicly (privately?) rebuke Martin. Which came first, or better yet, who gets to act first--Shrub or the Dark Fat Lord?

    by thingamabob on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:58:24 AM PDT

•  Global Conscience?

  George W. Bush doesn't even have an American Conscience.  In fact, Bush seems to only have a Rich Texan Conscience.

  by guyermo on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:15:23 AM PDT

  •  I dispute that

    Where's the evidence he has a conscience, even a rich texas conscience?

    by thingamabob on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:48:51 AM PDT

    •  Good point. That part belongs

      To Cheney and Halliburton

      by guyermo on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:56:41 AM PDT

•  asdf

  As was mentioned in the earlier diary, this is a brilliant bit of campaign strategery by Martin.  Harper has to choose between Martin's side (which, I think, most Canadians would agree with) or choose to cozy up to BushCo.  

  What's it going to be, Stevie?  

  by sharkbite on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:16:08 AM PDT

  •  More campaign strategery

    Here's the new Christmas-themed NDP campaign ad - Quicktime or Windows. (The QT version seems to work better.) Enjoy!

    by Alien Abductee on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:42:38 AM PDT

  •  Same as the handgun ban...

    ...Martin's strategy is going to be to take stands that Harper can't agree with, because he would lose his wingnut base, and can't disagree with, because he would then kiss goodbye to peeling off enough of the center to achieve even a minority government.

    Sort of like nailing one of Harper's feet to the dock and the other to the deck of a departing ferry. I'm going to enjoy watching him slowly rip up the middle, and I hope the Conservative Party rips with him. We could use a return of the old Progressive Conservatives, at least for political balance, but it won't happen until the nutzoid Deformed Party remnants are isolated and tagged as loonies.

    by sagesource on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 12:47:14 PM PDT

•  Good for Canada!!! great catch

  but I must have more.  Links?

  I love absurdity of a global conscience being called to Bush's attention, and he complains.  Officially.  Dudley Dursley is our president.  

  The title obscures how great this diary is, IMO.  Canada introduces Bush to the Concept of a Global Conscience, maybe?
  

  by soyinkafan on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:16:54 AM PDT

  •  cbc.ca is the current link...

    
    should be all over Canadian news pages in a little while. I'm a bit of a linkage-luddite, so any further developing links would be appreciated.

    by howth of murph on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:19:40 AM PDT

•  This pissed them off!!

  www.cbc.ca

  Frontpage baby.

  Okay what the fuck is the US thinking, what did Martin say that was so bad....that we need to work togethr to fight Global Warming....I believe this is a back asswards attempt to influence Canadian politics.

  "There is such a thing as a global conscience," Martin said Wednesday at the UN Conference on Climate Change.

      * INDEPTH: Hurricane Katrina

  "Now is the time to listen to it. Now's the time to join with others in our global community. Now is the time for resolve, for commitment and leadership and, above all, now is the time for action. Because only by coming together can we make real and lasting progress."

  by Mikecan1978 on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:26:14 AM PDT

•  If I have to whore myself, by God I will!

  Since no one else has provided the link to my diary earlier, here it is. Leave this one up by all means--there's good stuff here, and I hope this link will help folks find more info on what is an important story.

  by thingamabob on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:37:18 AM PDT

  •  I was going to, honest.

    I made mention of it in my post above, albeit only in passing.  I couldn't remember whether you were thingamabob or thingamajig and, being very lazy today, decided my best approach was to use the "earlier diary" copout.  

    Thanks for linking.  Read thingamabob's diary, people.

    by sharkbite on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:44:50 AM PDT

  •  Good diary

    I'd missed it. Thanks for posting the link.

    by Alien Abductee on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:53:32 AM PDT

    •  A couple more recommends

      And it might make it to the list...

      Not that I'm trolling for favours, or anything.

      by thingamabob on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 11:02:39 AM PDT

      •  Okey dokey

        I did. But once it slides down off that magic front-page 50 it's kind of a lost cause, isn't it?

        Now, time to get off the street, you trollop!

        by Alien Abductee on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 11:24:21 AM PDT

      •  thingamabob...

        
        My apologies. I should've linked your diary with all praise and credit; I was actually in your diary when CBC Newsworld broke the "official" WHouse censure story on TV, and then I was refreshing like hell at cbc.ca  to get some text before I had to leave for the office.

        Essentially, this was the WH getting formal on all the week's muffled threats that thingamabob's diary covered... so yeah, go read it!

        Pace Sharkbite and those who believe this is an electioneering move by Martin; the language of this "slight" is so reasonable, general and soft that it hardly seems like a deliberate provocation. Seems like more of an attempt by BushCo to set up another Canadian strawman for wingers to spit at.
        

        by howth of murph on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 11:35:19 AM PDT

        •  No biggie

          It wasn't a criticism. Just thought that the Star and Guardian pieces added some interesting insights.

          And I was hoping one diary would get recommended--either one, since I think this is an important story which (gasp!) the US media is really not covering.

          Thanks for the support. I recommended yours, too.

          by thingamabob on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 11:38:34 AM PDT

•  A tad testy, our little chimpy?

  I mean, I didn't hear a single word against Dubya in all the speechifyin'. Not ONE.

  Ain't it neat how urging the US to join the rest of the world is a personal slight?

  by thingamabob on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 10:53:44 AM PDT

•  Oh Canada!

  I think Climate Change is even more potent in creating anti-US sentiment than US hegemony/Iraq. And thus noble Paul Martin, standing in front of the revered chruch-like backdrop of official Canada, his sharp words visible in the frosted cold of a stone stairwell, shifts his hand to his hip inside a sensible liberal cloth cloak, and with the weary weight of large uninhabited provinces to consider, takes aim with the burly knurled knob of a Canadian winter's contemplation--as did the titans of Hudson's Bay--and dares to challenge the Cyclops to the South to a sit down, reasonable-like, at any number of convenient micro-breweries for a near-beer. All decent men, and all Americans, must applaud his effort-but fear he'll be left with the tab.

  by Gabby1984 on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 11:03:03 AM PDT

•  From a BBC story

  But US lead negotiator Harlan Watson is reported to have told the Canadians "If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck - it's a duck" before walking out of the overnight talks.

  In other words, our correspondent says, they feel they are being lured into negotiations on future commitments and they want nothing to do with it.
  

  Link

  Afraid of entering negotiations on future agreements?  Are they afraid they're going to be tricked into agreeing to something?

  by sharkbite on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 11:14:37 AM PDT

•  The US walked into this key talks with very ....

  simple instructions.....just say no....to everything,

  by Mikecan1978 on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 11:34:51 AM PDT

•  US "watching" Canadian election campaign

  How about this cute excerpt?

  CBC News correspondent Neil MacDonald said he has been told that the Americans are watching the election campaign, and if there is too much anti-U.S. rhetoric, that it would an impair progress on sensitive political issues between the countries.

  .. like progress is really great as it is?
  

  by tribe34 on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 12:22:08 PM PDT

•  I thought the US WAS the global conscience ;) n/t

  by salvia on Sun Dec 11, 2005 at 05:40:09 PM PDT