Obama, Castro and the American Empire

By GERRY WARNER
Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Jan. 23, 2009
"I personally do not have the slightest doubt about the honesty of Obama when he expresses his ideas."
The speaker? None other than the man who has outlasted 10 American presidents, none of whom ever did him a favour, or his country. That's quite an endorsement! And coming from Fidel Castro it carries even more cred because Castro, along with Ho Chi Minh, is one of the few military leaders that have defeated the U.S. in war. What's the old saying about my enemy's enemy is my friend? Could this be the beginning of a long overdue thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations? In the giddy aftermath to Tuesday's inauguration, anything seems possible.
"But despite noble intentions, there are still many questions to answer," adds Castro, the bearded patriarch of the Cuban revolution. Once again, the revolutionary hero that rode out of the Sierra Maestra Range Jan. 1, 1959 and toppled a heavily-armed U.S. puppet regime, hit the nail on the head. Are good intentions good enough? The expectations hanging over the first African-American U.S. President are ridiculously high. He's not a new messiah. He doesn't walk on water. He gets up in the morning, pulls his pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us. If he has a magic wand, he hasn't shown it to anyone yet. However, having said this, it's still nice to dream and what follows is my dream and best wishes for the charismatic, new president.
Obama, in fact, has already made an important move towards one of the biggest dreams possible. He has ordered an end to the military commissions (trials) occurring at the Guantanamo military base. That concentration camp, and concentration camp is what it is, will undoubtedly go down as one of the darkest blots on the reputation of the U.S. in American history. It fair boggles the mind how an allegedly democratic, liberal and freedom-loving country could steal a page out of the gulags of the Soviet Union and the concentration camps of fascist Germany and Japan after supposedly fighting against those very atrocities in World War II.
Frankly, on the whole, I think the American people are better than that. But over the last eight years, they were conned by, without argument, the worst president in U.S. history, the most powerful and sinister vice president and their own fear and paranoia ignited on that fateful day in September. Yes there are terrorists in the world and they must be subdued. But in the name of fighting terror, U.S. military forces have resorted to the same tactics as the terrorists by indiscriminately killing terrorists, alleged terrorists and civilians in numerous locations around the globe and in the process the U.S. has become the most hated nation on earth. Hopefully Obama can change that. If not, we're all in trouble.
But like the proverbial ocean liner trying to change course, you don't turn the ship of state around overnight. I believe Obama has the intelligence and will to do this, but I believe some of the biggest forces he's going to have to overcome exist right in his own country. Let's face it, the U.S. is an empire now and empires are not known for going gently in the good night. Far too many Americans have grown comfortable with being "masters of the universe" and thinking the "American way" is always the right way. Obama is going to have to overcome this thinking somehow and the country as a whole is going to have to eat a little humble pie. That's a tall order.
But when you consider the world's only super-power is now the most indebted nation on earth with a deficit of more than $1 trillion and a trade deficit just as large, perhaps a little humble pie won't be so hard to take. But if Obama can somehow pull the U.S. out of recession and restore the pride, business savvy and entrepreneurialism Americans are so famous for, the sky is the limit. I'm sure most Americans are hoping for him to do just that, and judging by the world-wide adulation the new president seems to have, the task may not be as impossible as it seems.
The fact that Obama's first foreign visit is to Canada, I confess, gives me a bit of a tingle. Hopefully some of his magic will rub off on our pedestrian politicians here and together maybe we can all say - "yes we can!"
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It's politics, stupid. Not polygamy

By GERRY WARNER
Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Jan. 9, 2009
Quick now! What's God's punishment for polygamy? . . . Having more than one wife. Ladies, it's a joke. Just a joke. Please don't go berserk on me. A little bit of levity before a serious column can't hurt.
A mood of anger mixed with relief was positively palpable Wednesday as the story broke about the "Bishops of Bountiful" - Winston Blackmore and James Oler - being charged with polygamy. Not sexual assault, not sex with a minor, child abuse or some similar charge. But POLYGAMY! The whole enchilada. The very charge that the Crown prosecutor's office in B.C. has been afraid to lay for more than 20 years.
You know what this means, of course. We have barely seen the beginning. This charge, which will automatically bring a challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, will be years in the courts' system and most likely wind its way all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. That's going to be a torturous journey and there's bound to be some unexpected bumps and mishaps along the way.There were some good reasons why the Crown hesitated so long before laying a charge and they go beyond the Charter, which alone could kibosh the case.
Who's going to testify against Blackmore? Police have tried for more than 20 years to get one of his many "celestial" wives to swear a complaint and so far they're batting zero. Has one of the Bountiful women finally come forward? If that's the case, there might be something to this unique legal action. Having covered the courts for many years, I would never underestimate the power of a woman sobbing on the stand. But if no woman has come forward, the Crown might be whistling Dixie.
Will the Crown's case be a typically dry, numbingly boring legal argument that would put any sane person to sleep in 10 minutes? Believe me, I know of what I speak. I covered the court system for more than 20 years, and while I experienced moments of unbelievable drama, tragedy and poignancy the great bulk of what you hear in court could put an insomniac to sleep. It's not Perry Mason.
I'm no lawyer (thank God) but I've been around the courts for a while and I've delved into Martin's Criminal Code on more than one occasion and I can't help but notice the section that Attorney General Wally Oppal quoted in his press conference Wednesday. Oppal said the arrests of Blackmore and Oler were based on "an intensive, seven-month charge assessment review" by special prosecutor Terrence Robertson into allegations the accused "breached section 293 of the Criminal Code by entering into a conjugal relationship with more than one individual at a time." Gee, I wonder if that's ever happened in this country before?. Can you imagine how easily Blackmore's lawyer will shred that weak link in the Criminal Code? Also consider what senior counsel Richard Peck had to say when he was appointed special prosecutor to examine the likelihood of a polygamy conviction. "The legality of polygamy in Canada has for too long been characterized by uncertainty." Pursuing charges related to sex with underage girls would not likely result in convictions based on the "available evidence."
So is there some new "evidence" that Oppal's special prosecutor has this time around that wasn't available to the three previous special prosecutors that examined the issue in B.C.? If there is, Oppal's keeping awfully quiet about it or perhaps no reporter has asked the right question.
And as much as polygamy is regarded with repugnance by most Canadians, polygamy is a fact of life in many parts of Asia and Africa and residents of both of those continents regularly immigrate to Canada and the U.S. and continue their polygamous ways here with numerous "wives" and children. Are they going to prosecute them too?The next time you're in front of your computer, punch polygamy into Google and see what comes up. The web is rife with pro-polygamy sites including ones such as 2Wives.com or sisterwives.com. And what's been one of the most popular sit-coms on TV in recent years? You guessed it, "Big Love,"
the HBO series that's garnered much critical acclaim.
So what's really going on here? Have Wally Oppal and the B.C. government had a "Saul on the Road to Damascus" conversion and launched a noble crusade to rid the province and the world of polygamy? Or might May 12 have something to do with it? May 12? What's that you say. Surely you know the date of the next provincial election in B.C. and wouldn't it look good on Gordon Campbell's government to be finally seen to be doing something about Bountiful."
Just wondering.
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