On November 18, I wrote about how mainstream media ignored worldwide protests against a war in Iraq (Thousands protest. No one notices.). Well, if news websites are any indication, this time it appears that at least Canadian politicians are getting the message.
In this quote, Gilles Duceppe hits the nail on the head:
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe was among the Montreal marchers who felt the United States cannot act alone against Iraq.
“The United States defence minister told us last week how it was unfortunate they can’t use chemical weapons, and that the use of atomic weapons was a possibility,” Duceppe said. “My God, it makes no sense for people who are supposedly responsible to use such language. I am very happy the (UN weapons) inspectors showed there’s not enough proof to go to war with Iraq.” *
And Vancouver mayor, Larry Campbell:
“If this conflict continues, they will be coming for your children, for the young people here, to go fight in their war,” he said. “If they drop a nuclear bomb [here] you will be breathing it. This is very much a problem for our city.” *
And finally, PM Jean Chretien in this speech in Chicago on Thursday. Well, it’s about as forthright as the guy’s ever going to get:
The price of being the world’s only superpower is that its motives are sometimes questioned by others. Great strength is not always perceived by others as benign. Not everyone around the world is prepared to take the word of the United States on faith. *
Maybe, eventually, someone in the Whitehouse will start to listen. I can just imagine Dubya’s next speech: “Awww. You people never let us have any fun.”