February 2017 – Page 2 – Ted Campbell's Point of View … an old soldier's thoughts on shoes and ships and sealing wax and many other things. I self describe as a classical liberal ~ which means, in 21st century Canada, that I’m a Conservative. I believe in four fundamental rights for each and every individual: Life, Liberty and Property, as described by John Locke in 17th century England, and Privacy, as defined by Brandeis and Warren in 19th century America. Your comments are welcome, but my views (and obvious biases) are pretty well established after 75+ years.

Swimming against the current

BZ (that’s the naval flag hoist used to signal “well done”) to Team Trudeau, especially to Foreign Minister (formerly Trade Minister) Chrystia Freeland because, against the odds, the Globe and Mail reports, the European Parliament in Strasbourg has approved the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and “Phase-in of the vast majority of the deal’s benefits,…… Continue reading Swimming against the current

Border Security (3)

A couple of weeks ago I suggested that Canada should be a lot more like Australia when it comes to border security, including stating, in law, that one is not “in Canada” and subject to all the rights available under our Charter just because one’s feet are on Canadian soil. To be “in Canada,” I…… Continue reading Border Security (3)

Making a right choice

A few days ago I commented on the exit of Michael Flynn from his briefly held post of US National Security Advisor. I’m belabouring this issue because: The post is important to the whole world, especially to the US led West and, therefore, important to Canada; and The prospect of making a bad choice is…… Continue reading Making a right choice

The Trump Effect (2)

I have, for the past few weeks, speculated about the Trump Effect, especially that part related to military burden sharing. It was all very well for NATO’s Secretary General (its allied civilian leader) Jens Stoltenberg to remind President Trump about how readily Europe rallied to America after 9/11 but that was 15+ years ago and…… Continue reading The Trump Effect (2)

The progressive reaction

Take a moment, please, to feel just a small a pang of pity for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: he went to Washington, into the very belly of the beast, and, by all accounts, acquitted himself very credibly. He did not, of course, commit any social gaffes, he didn’t, by even the slightest glance or gesture,…… Continue reading The progressive reaction

He’s right

I hold no brief for or against any particular religion; I think that many (most?) offer some good lessons in values and some wonderful insights about human nature that can help us to all be better people and to build better societies … … and all, probably, have some “teachings” that most of us, in…… Continue reading He’s right

No great loss

The Financial Times (and the rest of the world’s media) reports, just a bit gleefully, that “Michael Flynn has resigned as US national security adviser over a scandal involving his contacts with Russia, in a major blow to President Donald Trump and his fledgling administration … [and] … His resignation marked the shortest tenure of a…… Continue reading No great loss

Right thing, wrong reason

This, just below, from the Government’s own propaganda machine, is nice, it’s actually a good thing, the right thing to be doing … but when you read the whole “blurb” you begin to see that this government is doing the right thing but for all the wrong reasons: The purpose of the defence budget should be…… Continue reading Right thing, wrong reason

Prime Minister Erin O’Toole

Even now, almost 20 years after I retired, I still self-identify as a soldier; it is, after all, what, what I did for most (nearly 37 years) of my adult life. As a soldier I am well aware of the principles of war and we consider the first, “Selection and Maintenance of the Aim,” to…… Continue reading Prime Minister Erin O’Toole

Values, again … but briefly

Perhaps I am a bit “hung up” on the values issue. I have said before that we have to “live” our values and teach them to all Canadians, newcomers and old stock, alike, not just screen immigrants for them. Confucius, of course, managed to say it all in just a few words: It’s really fairly…… Continue reading Values, again … but briefly