… was just on John Gormley Live a moment ago, stringing words together in virtually incoherent sentences.
(For example – he attempted to draw a link between the G7 and the Rwanda massacres, later bringing in BSE border closures.)
He was in the studio to promote his book The Collapse of Globalism.
Even though it’s radio, you can tell when Gormley opened his mouth – Saul’s cadence speeds up and his voice rises in an attempt to prevent interruption (and possible contradiction?). After a while, I stopped listening to what he was attempting to say, to concentrate on his word inflections.
(Question – how much public money has been invested in this twit’s writing career? I was tempted to call in and ask….)
“Not really defined” obviously means to Karl Rove.
Stop worrying about being wrong. It’s not about accuracy, it’s not about always being right. That’s what updates and corrections and commentors are for. Blogging is a conversation. Sometimes, in conversations, you blurt out things that offend someone or miss the mark. That’s normal.
(Question – how much public money has been invested in this twit’s writing career? I was tempted to call in and ask….)
Why worry about being right or worng Kate? Just make up a number, if you are off the mark or are completely wrong, its normal, especially for you.
JRS is “great canadian” writer (pull tongue out of cheek)….look he has never really had to work for a living. Or if so only in privele
Saw him lecture once on the Voltaire’s bastards tour. He actually slams traditional liberalism, where “profesionals” can become so enamoured by process and forget objectives…you’ll never get him to talk about current politics, because it applies a great deal.
But Yes he twaddles on. If I remeber correctly his major ducking point is to say he is an author so he asks questions not provide answers….
Smart man….wrong headed about quite a bit….proof of his own thesis….that process, logic and reason, when disconnected from objective anchors and proper data can lead to twisted conclusions….
Let’s see your blog anon. Or are you so anal retentive about making a mistake that all you can do is criticize others?
BTW, I actually liked Saul’s book The Doubter’s Companion. At least he is not afraid of his convictions. Moreover, it does not hurt to test your own convictions against opposing views once in a while.
The irony is this: globalization has one fundamental flaw that may, and probably will, send the entire system crashing down.
Namely, we were damn fool enough to let Communist China into the hen house.
The effects of prison labor on international wage rates, their continuous manipulation of international bodies on transnational cooperation, and their support of anti-American terrorists on the world at large are only now coming into the field of vision of some of the elected leaders of the world.
I would like to contact the author of an article entitled “The Tipping Point” which may have been on the scandal.coldwave.net/ site. It was written by Walsingham. This is a powerful piece of work and deserves wide promulation. Can anyone help me find this author?
Helen Sikora
Actually Saul’s first book, “The Birds of Prey” (1977), is a brilliant thriller about the anti-Gaullist OAS terrorists. It’s a pity he did not stick with thrillers.
Mark
Ottawa
The Collapse of Globalism was ripped to shreds in a good review in this weekend’s Ottawa Citizen. Facts all wrong, reasoning tendentious. I liked The Doubter’s Companion too, but I think you are spot on Kate – he’s a prize twit these days.
I am now at a loss as to which leftie to believe: JRS that globalism is going to collapse; or Tom Friedman whose ‘flat earth’ lauds globalism as permanent and beneficial.
Stint
If I blurt out things that offend someone or miss the mark. That’s normal. Why should I have worry about being right or wrong, its lowering the bar of the conversion that is important, right Kate?
Oh gee now I have to have a blog to qualify to corerect Kate’s stupidity, gee I thought that was what commentors were for, right Kate? Oh dear me.
This anon blogging is great fun, and I owe it all to those brave CPC anon harper-bot posters who exercise this right regularly on other peoples blogs. Pot, kettle and the shoe is on the other foot. 😉 Ok, I’ll piss of now.
I’ll give Kate this one credit, she at least stands in the open and doesn’t hide her identity (like myself) and many bloggers. She is at least willing to stand behind her statements, even when they are wrong and stupid. Sorry Kate, best I can do. 😉
Helen, Walsingham is a regular contributor to The Monarchist, a tremendous blog which fully deserves regular reading by all Canadians concerned about the fate of their country. The Tipping Point originally appeared there, along with a second part. From what I’ve seen, both Walsingham and the Monarchist respond to comments quite quickly. The address is:
http://themonarchist.blogspot.com/
anon sounds/looks like norm.
(Not Cheers’s norm)
The collapse of globalism???
pfffffffffttttt bwa ha ha ha ha….I just love the way the pundits of the shallow Canadian literary gene pool will pronounce Saul’s wordy errant hypothesis to be the works of Canada’s renaisance man or comparisons to a “Liberal” William Buckley or some other such inaine fawning blather. I suppose he was due for a book to down play his image as Queen Adrian’s poodle boy…see…he’s not a useless remittance drone, he kin write real pretty-like too! 😉
After the specular, meandering literary mastrubation in “Voltaire’s Bastards”, I kind of put Saul down as a insulated priviledged class putz who just loves to hear himself talk….even if it is a self gratifying circular argument.
Anon:
Instead of just saying “Kate is always wrong and stupid,” why don’t you try to add substance to the conversation, and attempt to counter her posts with your own opinion.
I don’t think Kate minds when people disagree with her. But don’t come trolling with your “she’s just wrong” tripe and nothing to back it up.
If CPC supporters troll on liberal blogs the way that you’re doing here, then they are just as wrong. If they go there to present some balance and logic to the Martini cheerleading, then good for them.
Actually Saul earned a lot of money from his novels. “Birds of Prey” alone sold over two million copies in France (he wrote it in French, had it published in France, and then translated it into English himself).
Now some meat for the conspiracy theorists; note the close connection to Maurice Strong.
http://www.nwpassages.com/bios/saul.asp
“After completing his PhD he stayed on in Paris, running a subsidiary of a British investment firm and beginning work on his first novel. Saul returned to Canada in 1975 and was able to complete his book — published first in France as Mort d’un G�n�ral (1977) and then in Canada as Birds of Prey (1977) — while working in Calgary for Petro-Canada as the assistant to Maurice Strong, the firm’s founder. Leaving Calgary and Petro-Canada in 1978, he went on to hold a number of other positions, including that of Secretary for the Canada-Chinese Trade Council.”
He may be an egghead (his head, literally) but he also has practical business experience. His father was an army officer, and Saul himself spent time in guerrilla war zones in North Africa and Burma to get material for novels.
Mark
Ottawa
Shabbadoo,
I have added to it, I correct her like she told me to. Anyways it is far easier to follow her examine and advice.
“If CPC supporters troll on liberal blogs the way that you’re doing here, then they are just as wrong”
IF??? LOL, heck, they do far far worse. If I was to truly follow their example I should be name calling, swearing and generally posting absolute BS. Should I sink further down to their level. Na, I’ll just follow Kate’s advice and not worry about being right or wrong, or whether I offend people, I’ll just click the save button. 😉
Impressive accomplishments for an over rated poodle boy Mark. 😉
Oh and thanks for adding another “friend” to the Powercor collection of Political who’s who.
Anon:
Why don’t you take our fearless leader Martin’s advice (following what he says, not what he does) and take the high road, bringing back a level of civility to the blogosphere?
If some are hurling insults at Liberal blogs, does it help anything to call Kate stupid? You have said that she cares nothing for truth, based on her advice to newbie bloggers to just go for it and take risks.
As for your contributing to the conversation, you do nothing of the sort. You twist her words, and say nothing about her post regarding JRS. If you think Saul is such a wise author worthy of praise, please, tell us why, so we can all acknowledge and worship Canada’s royal couple.
Governor General of Canada
Governor GeneralJohn Ralston SaulHonoursHeraldryMediaVisit us
John Ralston Saul
His Excellency John Ralston Saul
His Excellency John Ralston SaulHis Excellency John Ralston Saul participates in many activities of the Governor General. He also has a number of his own official initiatives which are designed to encourage national debate among Canadians of all ages on issues such as bilingual education and the future of Canadian democracy.
In addition, he continues his private work as an essayist and novelist. He is the first member of a Vice-Regal couple to have won a Governor General Literary Award (some years before coming to Rideau Hall).
Since 1998, John Ralston Saul has been bringing together French immersion and francophone students across the country for the annual French for the Future/Fran�ais pour l�avenir conference. The conference has grown from a one-community event in 1997 to a cross-country forum, in 2003 linking students in twelve different cities from Vancouver to St. John�s. Through video satellite technology, students are able to interact with other French immersion and francophone students from across the country to share their experiences and thoughts on being bilingual in today�s society.
Through the annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Conference, John Ralston Saul encourages Canadians to come together in a national debate on the future of Canada�s civic culture. By looking back at the historical context of our democratic roots, we are in a better position as a society to discuss the way we imagine ourselves and our evolving democracy.
John Ralston Saul has also taken a lead role in promoting Canadian wines. The Rideau Hall cellar is now stocked with 100% Canadian VQA wine and every year, John Ralston Saul leads delegations of industry representatives, ambassadors from wine-producing countries and potential exporters at the annual Cuv�e in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario and the Okanagan Wine Festival in British Columbia. Not only do these events expose the group to outstanding Canadian wines, they also encourage the pursuit of excellence among vintners in Canada�s two primary wine producing regions.
* Biography
* Speeches and Articles by His Excellency John Ralston Saul
* French for the Future / Fran�ais pour l�avenir
* LaFontaine-Baldwin Conference
* Cuv�e Niagara
* Okanagan Wine Festival
Important Notices
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Guess who is on the menu at gg’s house?
http://www.gg.ca/menu_e.asp
Your tax dollars at work.
National Socialism at work for His Excellency.
Primus inter pares.
“How much public money has been invested in this twit’s writing career?”
The real question is ‘how much effort did Mr. Saul actually invest into his writing?’ From what I’ve seen so far, the answer is ‘not much’. If the guy’s writing sucked any harsher I could use it to vacuum my carpet.
I recently attended a talk given by His Excellency at the local high school. He had a speaking manner of cultivated snobbery. Which became more irritating when he tried to shut it off.
You’ve got to hand to him though, when it comes to nuance, John Kerry is a mere dabbler.
We seem to have a Tsetse fly buzzing around again today. That’s not surprising around small dead animals.
I suggest that they be ignored. We are immune and the more time they buzz around here, the less time that they have to spread their muck to the weak and vulnerable.
Giving them an occasional swat might help us to focus on the goal, though.
Exiled American:
I agree with you that the only problem with globalization is that we allow unfree countries to participate in a free globalized market. China is a good example, along with Burma and others.
Although who would decide which countries were ‘free’ enough to participate? Would Canada meet the benchmarks?
I have a question for all the Ayn Rand fans. Which Canadian reminds you most of the Fountainhead character of Elsworth Toohey? Maurice Strong or John Raulston Saul?
Sean: whatever one may think of Saul, and in particular his non-fiction writing, he earned a lot of money from his (thriller, sort of in the school of Eric Ambler or Graham Greene) novels. Capitalism worked for him, and he obviously worked on the novels. Remember, novels don’t sell if people don’t buy them. And they were written before he became publicly, at least in Canada, celebrated as a deep-thinking intellectual.
I honestly suggest you read “Birds of Prey”. As I said earlier it is a brilliant thriller, and in this case the two million French who bought it were not wrong.
Mark
Ottawa
John who?
Didn’t this guy invent dry dog food?
Mark, I’ve only ever read his non-fiction. I’ll see if the library carries any of the work you mentioned. If not, I’ll have to pass, because I’ll be damned if I throw any of my own money in that insufferable twit’s direction.
Sean: Obviously go for “Birds of Prey” (think of “Day of the Jackal”). Other novels are:
Baraka
The Next Best Thing
The Paradise Eater
I’d go for “Next Best Thing” (note the maps of Burma).
Insufferable Saul may be, but he is not stupid. Maybe mis-directed and of late self-important.
Michael Ignatieff makes a better “world-class” Canadian intellectual. On the other hand he hasn’t written good thrillers.
Mark
Ottawa
June 07, 2005
By the numbers
What Canadians think of the country’s political situation
After this recent period of intense activity in Ottawa, what do Canadians think of the country’s political situation? The results of the latest Maclean’s/Roger’s Media poll:
Are you relieved or disappointed that there will not be a spring election?
Relieved 58%
Disappointed 20%
Don’t know/refused 23
Do you think the opposition parties should again attempt to bring down the government, or wait to see what comes out of the Gomery inquiry?
Wait 75%
Attempt another vote 12%
Don’t know/refused 14%
Do you believe Prime Minister Paul Martin will keep his promise to call an election after the Gomery inquiry is completed?
Yes 55%
No 29%
Don’t know/refused 16%
Which of the following politicians has the most work ahead of them to improve their public image?
Paul Martin 33%
Stephen Harper 28%
Belinda Stronach 14%
Jack Layton 4%
Peter MacKay 2%
Don’t know/refused/other 20%
How has Belinda Stronach’s decision to cross over to the Liberals affected her chances of ever becoming prime minister?
Helped 18%%
Hurt 33%
No impact 33%
Don’t now/refused 1%
macleans.ca
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Surveyer was Paul Wells.
The Surveyee was Paul Wells.
After the survey, he wrote the above article for free.
All hail Paul Wells/Macleans; sycophants, klingons.
I also listened to the JRS interview and actually made through the whole interview without A) vomiting; B) phoning in just to say “JR, your an idiot; and C) throwing something at the radio. I do not know if you noticed that everything bad came about through Republican governments. i.e Nixon being elected and the end of Keynesian economics etc… I wish people like that had to account for their lies.
JRS the vice regal pimp to the regal whore foisted on TRC by da Cretin was one of his better acts of revenge against dose h’anglos eh.