Braid: Stampede parade was a classic — and a great message to U.S. visitors
Can't help it, sorry, but over three decades of watching the Calgary Stampede Parade I've not just been entertained every year, but often deeply moved.
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It's so purely, utterly, sweetly, cornily Canadian.
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That means more than ever in this first Stampede of the Donald Trump era.
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All Canada was on proud display Friday — First Nations, dozens of ethnic Canadian groups, the Flames, the military, the veterans — together in one long, serpentine display of pride and goodwill.
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I loved the Peruvians in their Inca rigs. The Japanese-Canadian kids and their graceful dances were delightful. I was especially tickled by the Heritage Park guy wearing the famous train around his waist, with his hat as the smokestack.
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Many of the displays by ethnic groups (if that's even the right word anymore) carried messages of strength in diversity.
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The real world isn't always like that, obviously. But the Canadian dream endures. We do believe that people of many origins can co-exist and thrive in one nation.
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Many Americans are now reading about some of it in Rick Atkinson's book, The Fate of the Day, the second volume in his majestic series on the Revolutionary War, the great conflict with Britain over U.S. Independence.
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The new American nation and Canada (such as it was in the late 1770s) were bitter enemies.
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The Americans attacked Quebec and were driven off. The loathed British force plaguing the American rebels from the north was called the Canadian Army.
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That war was an orgy of slaughter, burned cities and devastated countryside. The ancient guns and cannons may look quaint in this age of military drones, but they were viciously effective. Few wars were more deadly until the Americans' own Civil War in the 1860s.
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It's very admirable, therefore, that we've long since become two great and very large nations sharing a continent in relative harmony, and always in peace.
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I don't believe Donald Trump will ever pose a serious threat to our democracy, however much he talks about the 51st state.
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UNITED NATIONS — The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution Monday over U.S. objections calling on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to reverse their worsening oppression of women and girls and eliminate all terrorist organizations. Article content The 11-page resolution also emphasizes 'the importance of creating opportunities for economic recovery, development and prosperity in Afghanistan,' and urges donors to address the country's dire humanitarian and economic crisis. Article content Article content Article content The resolution is not legally binding but is seen as a reflection of world opinion. The vote was 116 in favour, with two — the United States and close ally Israel — opposed and 12 abstentions, including Russia, China, India and Iran. Article content Article content Since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures, banning women from public places and girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade. Last week, Russia became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban's government. Article content Germany's UN Ambassador Antje Leendertse, whose country sponsored the resolution, told the assembly before the vote that her country and many others remain gravely concerned about the dire human rights situation in Afghanistan, especially the Taliban's 'near-total erasure' of the rights of women and girls. Article content The core message of the resolution, she said, is to tell Afghan mothers holding sick and underfed children or mourning victims of terrorist attacks, as well as the millions of Afghan women and girls locked up at home, that they have not been forgotten. Article content Article content U.S. representative Jonathan Shrier was critical of the resolution, which he said rewards 'the Taliban's failure with more engagement and more resources.' He said the Trump administration doubts they will ever pursue policies 'in accordance with the expectations of the international community.' Article content 'For decades we shouldered the burden of supporting the Afghan people with time, money and, most important, American lives,' he said. 'It is the time for the Taliban to step up. The United States will no longer enable their heinous behaviour.' Article content Last month, the Trump administration banned Afghans hoping to resettle in the U.S. permanently and those seeking to come temporarily, with exceptions. Article content The resolution expresses appreciation to governments hosting Afghan refugees, singling out the two countries that have taken the most: Iran and Pakistan. Shrier also objected to this, accusing Iran of executing Afghans 'at an alarming rate without due process' and forcibly conscripting Afghans into its militias.
