HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-04-29, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2004. PAGE 5
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Skulduggery and boneheads
Democracy: the pathetic belief in the
collective wisdom of individual ignorance.
— H.L.Meticken
Like a lot of Canadians of my vintage, I
. have spent far too much of the past half
century with my nose pressed flat
against the windowpane of the 49th parallel
watching The Folks Next Door and not
believing what I was seeing.
Especially the politics. I watched as Richard
Nixon got elected and wondered how .a shifty
little creep so nakedly venal and obviously
second-rate could possibly be chosen
to become the most powerful man on the
planet.
But soon came Ronald Reagan. A
Talking Head with a vacant smile and a genial
voice who did General Electric commercials.
for God's sake! In his most famous movie
role he played second banana to a chimpanzee!
Was there no depth to which the
American electorate would not stoop when it
came to installing a warm body in the Oval
Office?
Apparently not. We now have George Dubya
at the controls.
Credentials? Well, he kind of managed a
baseball team his Daddy bought him. And he
nearly served in the National Guard during the
Vietnam War. And don't forget he was almost
elected legally.
And oh. yes — he's a graduate of Yale
University.
And how the hell did that happen?
Yale is one of the most sacred bastions of
American intelligentsia, right? A cathedral of
erudition, n'est-ce pas? A revered institution
dedicated to the care and grooming of the
Ontario's lieutenant-governors represent
the Queen and are as reluctant to get
embroiled in political disputes as
comment on Prince Charles's marital affairs.
But the current office-holder has felt
compelled to defend himself against one of the
nastiest charges that can be made these days.-
James Bartleman, a former career diplomat,
admired also because he came from a poor
family who once lived in a tent beside a dump,
has responded indignantly to a complaint he is
vehemently anti-Israel.
Bartleman was ambassador to Israel from
1986-90 and has written memoirs recalling his
experiences there.
Norman Spector, ambassador from 1992-5,
wrote in reviewing them Israelis told him
Bartleman was the most hostile Canadian
ambassador they had ever encountered. . •
Spector added that an unnamed female
member of former Liberal premier David
Peterson's government, who visited Jerusalem
during Bartleman's ambassadorship, found
him vehement in his antipathy toward Israel.
The complaints fall short of accusing the
lieutenant-governor of being anti-Semitic, but
some pin this label on any criticism of Israel
and the danger is more acute at this time of
alarm and fear at increased desecration of
Jewish homes here.
Bartleman responded briefly that in light of
the current rise of racism he could not let
Spector's accusation he is anti-Israeli pass.
He argued he served Canadians' interests
and did not align himself with any side in
Israel, unlike Spector. who later became
publisher of The Jerusalem Post. This
newspaper promotes Israel and Spector now
writes and broadcasts avidly supporting Israeli
interests.
Spector supplied few facts to substantiate his
cerebral crème de la creme, is it not?
And Dubya? A guy who once asked a
visiting Welsh politician which 'state' Wales
was in?
Who explained on TV that a tax cut is one of
the 'anecdotes' to coming out of an economic
illness?
Who vowed never to let "terriers" hold his
nation "hostile".
Yale gave this chump a degree???
Well, yes — but Dubya had something special
going for him. He wasn't just a fun-loving,
hard-drinking, coke-snorting. draft-dodging
frat boy with a famous ,Poppa; he was also a
member of the Skull and Bones Society — as
were his father, his grandfather and two great-
uncles.
It is an extremely secret organization,
founded at Yale University more than 150
years ago. Brains aren't a factor in becoming a
member of Skull and Bones but there are three
criteria that must be met: you have to be rich;
you have to be Ivy League Establishment and
you have to be selected.
Dubya got the nod in 1968.
So what exactly is the Skull and Bones
Society? We don't know a whole lot of detail
because Bonesmen are absolutely forbidden to
discuss the Society with outsiders.
claim Bartleman is anti-Israel. He sniffed that
Bartleman brought to his job attitudes widely
prevalent among foreign affairs officers in
Ottawa.
Bartleman had recalled most ,foreign affairs
staff reacted emotionaHy and strongly in
favour of Israel in its first wars, because it was
a small country defeating much bigger nations.
But he added that most Canadians became
puzzled when Israel did not return the
territories it conquered, despite appeals by the
United Nations, and built settlements in them,
which is a view any fair-minded citizen might
share.
Spector may have been offended because
Bartleman repeats the fairly well-known
statistic the United States sent $3 billion in
military aid every year to ensure Israel
maintained the best-equipped armed forces in
the region. An Israeli supporter may feel this
detracts from the image of a David facing
Gol laths.
Spector complained Bartleman showed
Lawrence of Arabia-like sentiments favouring
Palestinians. But Bartleman wrote he invited
Jews and Arabs to dinners trying to bring them
together, but they quickly degenerated into
each side shouting abuse at the other.
Bartleman also criticized Palestinian parents
whom he said applauded as their children
dared Israeli soldiers to shoofthem.
But what we do know is rather unsettling.
The Skull and Bones Society seems to be the
offspring of a shotgun wedding between
renegade Freemasons and a Haitian voodoo
cult.
Inductees are required to 'wrestle' with one
another. Naked.
Legend has it they are also impelled to
stretch out in a candlelit coffin surrounded by
human skulls and deliver a monologue about
their sex lives (if any). To seal the initiation
pact, they must chugalug goblets of simulated
blood while their colleagues flush a number of
toilets simultaneously.
I am not making up any of this. You can read
all about it in a book called Secrets of the
Tomb by Alexandra Robbins.
And what's the payoff?
Well, you get to belong to a clandestine
network of obscenely rich, overpoweringly
influential people for the rest of your life.
People who percolate through all the
uppermost branches of business, politics,
commerce, the CIA, the FBI — and Yale.
People who can twist arms, raise bundles of
money, call in favours, get things done.
But of COURSE Dubya got a degree from
Yale. What are friends for?
Oh well, looking on the bright side, there's
an election coming. American voters will soon
have a chance to pronounce their own
judgment on Dubya the doofus Bonesman of
/968.
Actually, things are not all that bright.
Meet his possible replacement: the
Democratic candidate for president. Senator
John Kerry.
Bonesman of 1966.
Bartleman had praise for some Israeli
leaders including Shimon Peres and Yitzhak
Rabin, whom he said had been hawks until
they encountered the carnage of wars.
Spector may be upset particularly because
Bartleman revealed how little the Israeli
government cared about Canada's views.
He said on orders from Ottawa he visited
Rabin, then defence minister, to complain
about Israeli troops' tactics against
Palestinians in their intifada uprising. He said
Rabin glowered at him, said Canada's
concerns were of no interest to him and
showed him the door.
Bartleman persevered and at a dinner party
asked Rabin how he would describe the state
of Canadian-Israeli relations.
Rabin replied Israeli relations with the U.S.
were superb and could not be better and would
be on the 35th floor of a 35-storey building.
Relations with Central American countries
would be on the 20th floor, because they are
small but did not criticize Israel's handling of
the intifada and bought its weapons, Israel
having become one•of the largest exporters of
arms.
Canada, he said, was on the ground floor,
because its leaders criticized Israel's handling
of the intifada and refused to buy its weapons.
The lieutenant-governor who provides this
information is not anti-Israel, but revealing
facts that help Canadians understand a
complex issue and should not be hushed up.
Final Thought
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or
needs to.
- Mark Twain
Bonnie
Gropp
The short of it
Not going gently
I
t must be our age, but my husband and I do
seem to spend more time discussing our
health these days.
Don't get , me wrong; I know we've got a
long road to travel before the wheels fall off.
But we do seem to be a little puzzled by the
turn things have taken in recent years.
After all, we follow the rules - sort of. We
don't lead a sedentary lifestyle all the time.
We watch what we eat most of the time. We
don't smoke, don't drink too much and shy
away from medications.
For my part, I have found any improved
health I enjoy in comfort. I do deep breathing,
practise a bit of yoga. I get facials and
massages all in the name of de-stressing. And
I have no problem saying enough is enough,
throwing down the dust rag and flopping into
a chair with a good book for a while.
Yet, despite all of this, things are notably
different of late. Lethargy, aches and pains are
more predominant than in the past. I suffer
insomnia. I can't hold a book far enough
away to see the print. My head is muddled, my
thoughts are jumbled. I'm forgetful and
tongue-tied.
So, okay. I can accept that this is all part of
the process. It's part of being a middle-aged
woman. What I can't accept is that it must be
accepted. To paraphrase Dylan Thomas, I will
not go gently into the good night. He suggests
raging in aging and that's exactly what I'm
prepared to do.
I don't want to think that continuous
degeneration is what I have to look forward to
over the next 40 years. Obviously the effects •
of' growing older can't.he stopped or reversed,
unless you live in Hollywood I guess. Even
then, gravity will win, time will tell.
But, I believe that there are healthy options
to improve one's life. I've done my homework
and continue to research new alternatives.
What is left now is in finding someone in the
medical profession who can guide me, who
can deal with the intricacies, unravel the
complexities.
Generally, we put a lot of faith in our
doctors. As a little girl, just having our family
doctor walk in the room was good enough
because I believed he would make me well.
As I got older, I continued to put my trust in
my physician. I heeded his advice. Doctors
are after all, the ones with the knowledge. The
situations they encounter, the decisions they
make elevate them well above the rest of us
mere mortals. But can they know enough?
I like my physician. He has always listened
and done right by me. In recent years,
however. I have become much less agreeable
to some of his prescribed treatments. For
example. I work hard to keep my body
chemical free and medications are only a last
resort. Considering this is often the first resort
for doctors, my GP and I have occasionally hit
an impasse in preferred methods of treatment.
I am fortunate that he is one of the ones who
will listen, though. For instance, when I
balked at heavy-duty painkillers for my
headaches, he prescribed massage therapy,
which has been a workable solution.
But, the changes I'm encountering at this
point in time, are ones too complex to be dealt
with by a GP. I shall soon be planning a visit.
And armed with the information I have
gathered, I will see if he is as forward thinking
as I have thought. If ,not, I will "rave" Mr.
Thomas until he is.
Lieutenant-Governor in rare row