Magna Carta - 800 years old today.

Part One (of five) by Daniel Hannan - The Magna Carta — the text that makes us who we are:

We are about to mark the 800th anniversary of the greatest bargain ever struck: Magna Carta, sealed on June 15, 1215, the first document ever to raise the rules over the ruler.

Update: John Robson's excellent column

"The miraculous tale of the charter that made our free and prosperous society possible"

 

 

Justin Trudeau on war with ISIS "the signature of an unserious mind"

Rex Murphy on Justin Trudeau's juvenile "joke" about going to war with ISIS:

Is this how an adult, a possible PM, talks? With its mixture of puerile condescension, its smug assurance that any vulgar reference to the Conservatives will “go over” with everyone, it’s an obiter dictum for the age.

... It wasn’t a slip of the tongue. ...  It was the signature of an unserious mind, not to mention a mindless hit on the pilots of Canada’s military ...

Andrew Coyne on the Trudeau/Liberal position:

... The closest he has come to justifying this utterly discreditable position is to suggest that in fact, the best contribution we could make to the fight was to stay out of it ... As the prime minister put it, “being a free rider means you are not taken seriously.”

Anyone who has followed Trudeau's litany of stupid, juvenile comments has long known that he is absolutely unsuited for the job he is seeking.  Most of the media has, up to now, (Sun News excepted)  been playing the role of "Justin's number one fan".  Is it possible that this could mark a turning point in the media's coverage (and cover-up) of Trudeau?  I can dream, can't I?

John Robson (closing with a dismal prediction):


I tend to disagree with Robson's implication that the state of Canada's military readiness is Harper's doing.  Our military has been chronically underfunded since the 1960's.  We, like the Europeans and other allies have been free-riders largely on American strength, which allowed us to spend mightily on such things as our "world class" universal healthcare. While still low in relation to our GDP, military spending rose substantially under Harper and important capabilities like, for example, the CC-177 Globemaster, have been added.

The small minded battle for (and against) Scottish independance

As someone with Scottish heritage (my middle name is Fyfe) I appreciate John Robson's take:



Jimmy McGinnes, on the other hand, does a great job of playing the stereotypical Scottish numbskull:)



And here are James Delingpole's ten reasons he hopes the Scots vote 'Yes'. Sounds close to the way many of us feel about a Quebec referendum should there be another one.

Robson's excellent overview of the Earth's climate

John Robson isn't a climate scientist, nor does he claim to be.  But he's a very smart, reasonable guy.  On Friday's Byline show he presented a layman's overview of the history of the Earth's climate in relation to CO2 and the chaotic nature of the climate system.



To summarize, John's main points were:

(1) historically, temperature is completely uncorrelated with atmospheric CO2 levels
(2) atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have been far above today's level for most of the planet's history (more than 20 times higher at one point)
(3) today's CO2 concentrations are near historic lows
(4) the earth's average global temperature today is well below historic averages
(5) the climate system is chaotic, sometimes unstable and generally unpredictable
(6) UN "Climate Change Convention Executive Secretary", Christiana Figueres (channeling Justin Trudeau's admiration of China), is a dope.

Bottom line takeaways:

(1) Is there global warming? Robson didn't discuss it.  From recent data, apparently a little.
(2) Should we be alarmed by it? Hardly.
(3) Can we trust UN climate change policy? No frackin' way!

In Flanders Fields - importance of the poppy

John Robson explains:

Fun and games with diversity

Brought to you courtesy of "BlackBerry"

Part One: Lefty academic Thomas Homer-Dixon spreads more hooey against the oil sands

... Mr. Homer-Dixon peddles “global governance” at the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
... You will also remember the name Balsillie. He’s the guy who co-ran, then co-screwed up, RIM (now BlackBerry). ...

Part Two: Homer-Dixon’s one-way ­conversation

... The lefty lecturer’s accusation that the Canadian “conversation” is being suppressed by a “coercive climate” was rendered even more ludicrous this week by the fact that he was instantly invited onto two major CBC programs...

The irresponsible rhetoric of Manitoba Grand Chief Derek ("Big Mouth") Nepinak

Further to yesterday's post on this, here's John Robson with Ezra Levant:

John Robson on equalization fraud

Make It Go Away:

Equalization makes us poorer, encourages bad policy and fosters bitterness. Unfortunately we can’t just take it out behind the barn and kill it with an axe. ...

Not to mention that it's fraudulent:

Satirist P.J. O’Rourke says, “Beyond a certain point complexity is fraud … when someone creates a system in which you can’t tell whether or not you’re being fooled, you’re being fooled.” So take Canada’s multi-billion-dollar equalization program … please. It’s so complicated even experts have trouble with it, and regular citizens are excluded completely.

... equalization is arbitrary. Devised with theologian Soren Kierkegaard's "covetous eye on the outcome," it provides dense technical cover for political shenanigans involving billions of dollars.

This much complexity is fraud, plain and simple.

Justin Trudeau's brain

Today with Ezra Levant:



Yesterday in the Ottawa Sun - Justin Trudeau’s brains an inch deep:

... poor Justin is just artlessly parroting assumptions so pervasive among the smart set they’re never examined.  Including the feeling that Tories are not merely partisan adversaries or politically mistaken, they are illegitimate.

... Perhaps we need a House Un-Canadian Affairs Committee, to pursue Tories but welcome Bloquists.

See also:

Attawapiskat - John Robson's fearless take

Robson's rant in writing.

Our 800 years of British inheritance

We owe our liberty, legal system and democracy to 800+ years of British legal inheritance dating back to Magna Carta in 1225 (first edition 1215). While "we" encompasses principally nations that were once part of the British Empire, it also includes those whose politics and laws have been heavily influenced by British notions of liberty and democracy (eg. France, Germany, Japan) - in other words it’s pretty much everyone on the planet who currently lives in a functioning free and democratic society.

A couple of books

The British struggle was enormous and it was not by any means a sure thing that it would be successful. To get a feel for the magnitude and significance of that struggle John Robson recommended two books:

"The Magna Carta: A Brief History of" by Geoffrey Hindley sets the scene with descriptions of British society circa 1200, the system of governance (mainly feudal tyranny) and the main players (the king and the barony) leading to Magna Carta in which the King John I recognized, in writing, the natural rights of the barons (and all freemen) and limitations on the royal prerogative.

"The Lion and the Throne" by Catherine Drinker Bowen. Magna Carta being just the documented beginning, there was inevitable push-back by subsequent monarchs. This book picks up the story 400 years later and covers the life and times of Edward Coke during the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I. Along with his perilous run-ins with the monarchy (once imprisoned on charges of treason) fighting to keep hard won liberties, Coke is famous for the 1628 Petition of Right (reaffirming and updating rights recognized by the Magna Carta) and for his meticulous documentation of case-law (he was the most cited source for another 200 years). It’s a fascinating story including tales of Francis Bacon (a Coke rival and foe), Walter Raleigh (beheaded) and Guy Fawkes (his gunpowder plot, trial and gruesome execution).

Both books together drive home the significance of the monumental, centuries long effort to achieve the liberties we enjoy today. It’s history that should be a mandatory part of high school curriculum - but probably isn't. My recollection of my own high school ‘education’ on this subject is that it consisted of a few short sentences about Magna Carta from a text on British history; and, the answer to the exam question, if there were one, would have been the name of the event and its date.

Who cares?

The British contribution to liberty is appreciated to varying degrees around the world. Based on explicitly and publicly expressed reverence for it the list would run, in order of appreciation: Great Britain (though it has apparently slipped in recent decades), America followed by a few Commonwealth countries.

Of the 17 copies of the Magna Carta surviving from the 13^th century only two are held outside England - one in Washington DC and one in Canberra, Australia. British concepts of liberty figure prominently in the creation of American constitution and legal system and Americans readily acknowledge and honour their significance (eg. the American Bar Association erected The Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede, England).

Canada ... not so much. Except perhaps in the legal profession there seems to be little more than lip-service paid to the origins of our liberties. We got ours in 1982, from Pierre Trudeau, in his Charter of Rights and Freedoms, didn’t you know?