A horse in the race

Let's be clear -- Saudi Arabia is awful. Like many other countries around the world, they deserve to be called out, again and again and again on any number of human rights issues. And yet . . .


Here's the thing - Harper called out Russia on Ukraine over Twitter and I have no issue with that. We had no horse in the race. We as a free nation, believed that Russia was in the wrong by annexing a sovereign nation. We called them on it. That's a good thing.


We, as Canadians believe that bloggers and women's rights activists should not be imprisoned for their writing and protests. Why is it different to call out Saudi Arabia on this, on social media? Individual lives are at stake. By publically trying to shame the Saudi regime for its heavy handed treatment of protesters, we have endangered the very people whose captivity we're protesting.


Saudi Arabia is not a rational, thoughtful country, prone to reconsider its actions when chastised on the world stage by a low to middling world power -- they are the sort of nation that feels the need to flex its muscles when challenged. Trudeau and Freeland don't know this? Weakness does not go over well in the Arab world. They laugh at it. They exploit it. They will not capitulate when condemned for wrongful actions -- they will double down. They will retaliate. How do our leaders not understand this? Have they not watched world events in their lifetimes?


You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that publically singling out bad behaviour by a supposedly friendly government is bad form. To do it about a situation where you have a vested interest, and where outcomes are far from certain, is pure idiocy.


Do Trudeau and his diplomatic team think they've made captivity better for the blogger, his sister and the other rights activists? Can they not envision that they might have actually made things worse?


This has never been about calling out the Saudis on human rights abuses. That is an ongoing issue. Nothing has changed from last week, a year ago, three years ago. The difference right now is that the very people Trudeau's team was meant to be advocating for, are now in more danger and less likely to be released due to the constant need for public displays of piety by our government.


Our allies are not backing off on this because they disagree with the sentiments expressed in the tweets, or because we are now suddenly the only virtuous, liberal democracy left -- they are dumbfounded by the stupidity of our leaders. They aren't afraid of standing up to tyrants -- they just know that diplomacy requires tact and subtlety, not grandstanding and praise-seeking. It is quiet, in the background and leaves all parties with their dignity in tact -- regardless of whether they deserve that.


No impassioned Tweet was ever going to gain the release of these imprisoned activists. If the Trudeau government didn't realize that already, it's frightening just how very immature they are.


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Sticking to script

If you're on Twitter at all, you know that particularly since the Danforth shooting, people have been calling out Justin Trudeau for not responding to the tragedy urgently enough. He tweeted, but waited a week and a day before visiting the city, attending the funeral of one of the girls but missing out on the vigil and the sense of devastation in the days after.

He's been AWOL on NAFTA too. Too busy surfing.

Now this weekend, the Saudis have frozen trade, expelled our ambassador and withdrawn scholarships for 16,000 Saudi students attending university here. Not a peep. Managed to get to the Pride Parade in B.C. though, and today he went to a picnic.

What I've realized about Trudeau through this summer is that, he can't deviate from plan. He cannot respond to a crisis, because there is no script. You can plan to go to Pride, or attend a picnic, but how does someone who can't think on their feet respond to tragedy or someone else going off script?

Poorly.

That's why after the G-7 summit, after Trump had indicated that he was willing to make concessions, Trudeau stuck to his pre-summit plan. He hadn't anticipated a conciliatory attitude from Trump, so the minute Trump got on the plane, Trudeau kept to plan and threw shade.

Here are the links to the videos, thanks to @JohnToryWatch

CBC News re: Trump agreeing to waive the sunset clause

Trump at a presser indicating he expected a deal

Justin Trudeau's press conference where he says we won't be pushed around

Trudeau responding to a second question re: sunset clause

Trump after hearing what Trudeau had said

Trudeau answering questions on sunset in the Commons

All of this indicates that when something deviates from plan, Justin can't keep up. He follows the script, regardless of deviations and then, instead of being able to react on the fly, change plans or mend fences, he doubles down.

The ability to respond to the situation at hand, as it unfolds, is crucial for an adult human being. Justin Trudeau does not have that ability. When Trump went against type and responded positively on sunset, Justin was unable to switch gears and welcome the gesture graciously. He stuck to script... he was amped to swagger which, had Trump been true to form, might have been genuinely brave, but as things stood, his attitude is what has soured Canada/US trade relations ... he's counting on the fact that people will hate Trump enough not to notice.

It isn't his fault really. He lacks the maturity to have the forethought to anticipate and react to fast-changing situations -- which is why, when he planned to surf, he surfed -- it wasn't disrespect for Toronto or the dead and wounded here -- it was the single-mindedness of child who has been told that now he gets to play. Nothing -- nothing is going to stand in his way.

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