Wednesday, March 7, 2007

BlackBerries, Liberals and global socialism

Peter Foster on successful Canadian businessmen dabbling in anti-capitalism.

Interesting! I didn’t know that, courtesy of Paul Martin Jr, Canadian taxpayers donated $30,000,000 towards the promotion of global socialism. BlackBerry maker RIM co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazardis did the same.

Peter Foster follows this trail in his National Post column this morning. The donations went to the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) on whose board sat the shadowy Maurice Strong who is linked to Paul Martin through Paul Desmarais’ Power Corp. Mr. Foster reminds us that Mo Strong is associated with the following lovely ideas:

... economic growth is a "disease"
...[Strong’s] "Earth Charter" .... a "shared positive vision ... for anti-capitalism"

Sounds like Mo subscribes to the Suzuki school of economics. Or is it the other way around?

Louise Frechette, former U.N. deputy secretary-general, was also recruited by CIGI. Frechette, along with Strong, is linked to the U.N. oil-for-food kickback scandal. Mr. Foster notes:

She [Frechette] was described by the Wall Street Journal as "incompetent [at best]."

Yet another prominent Canadian joining CIGI is Liberal "roader" Paul Heinbecker:

....former U.N. ambassador, whose claims to fame include a leading role in negotiating Canada’s disastrous Kyoto commitments.>

Mr. Foster provides some skinny on CIGI via its IGLOO Project website which included documents covering:

... a series of lectures on Marxism.

..."the injustices of global capitalism."

..."Harnessing Globalization"

...a speech by Fidel Castro

Apparently Jim Balsillie is quite enamored by CIGI’s megalomaniacal visions of global governance. Which is not just a little ironic given that he has just been forced to step down as RIM CEO because he failed to comprehend corporate regulations governing stock options.

Peter Foster is rightly disillusioned by the fact that so many businessmen (capitalists in practice) like Balsillie seem to hold a fascination for seriously anti-capitalistic thinking:

...you probaly couldn’t find a businessman to support capitalism. Most
prefer ....to be "educated by their enemies."
Interesting ....and depressing.

3 comments:

WE Speak said...

The Liberals have been doing this with tax dollars for years. The worst example is the $125 million for the Trudeau Foundation. Take a look at the vision of the foundation - "What is Right? What is Just?
What is for the Public Good?"

Take a look at the Board of Directors - a who's who of Liberals. If you really want to make yourself ill, take a look at all the arms-length foundations created by the Liberals. Unaccountable (till now) foundations with billions of tax dollars. I can't wait for the first look at these foundations by the Auditor General. It should be an eye-opener.

Anonymous said...

I always love people like Foster, who know about capitalism only by watching it, continue to rail at people who have actually INVOLVED themselves in capitalism by creating companies and creating wealth, including the likes of Strong, Martin, Balsillie etc...

Ideologue neocons like Foster (and his ideological soulmates like Harper, Colby Cosh, David Warren - you name em) talk the talk, but have NEVER EVER walked the walk.

Why our newspapers give ink to non-achievers like this fossil Foster is the cause of much wonderment on the part of many. It is to laugh.

Anonymous said...

So, anonymous, that means you think its just fine for successful capitalists to court anti-capitalist, global socialist ideas? On what grounds - that they've got theirs, to hell with everyone else?