Although Canada and Australia share a British imperial past and are members of the Commonwealth, neither country has hitherto put much stock in their bilateral relations. Just how exceptional was the honor the Conservative government accorded Howard is underscored by the fact that he is just the second sitting Australian prime minister to make an official visit to Canada. The previous visit was made by John Curtin more than sixty years ago when Australia and Canada were important, albeit secondary, members of the World War Two Allied coalition.
During the campaign for last January’s federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper sought to downplay his neo-conservative politics and the ties of his party to religious fundamentalists and the US Republican right. The corporate media faithfully parroted Haper’s claims that the Conservatives are a “moderate, mainstream party” and Harper’s scathing dismissals of opposition charges of a “hidden” Conservative agenda as “scare-mongering.”
But last week Harper took off his political mask. On Wednesday his government rammed through Parliament a motion greatly expanding the Canadian Armed Forces’ deployment to Afghanistan (See “In the face of mounting popular opposition—Canada dramatically escalates its military intervention in Afghanistan” ). Then on Thursday, Harper rolled out the red carpet for Howard and led Conservative MPs in enthusiastically applauding an address in which the Australian prime minister unabashedly defended the Bush administration and the right of the US, Canada, Australia and other capitalist powers to mount invasions and occupations in the name of spreading freedom.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/may2006/cana-m23.shtml#top
Note: http://www.wsws.org/art...
Why Canada's Conservative Government Chose To Celebrate Australia's John Howard
Posted on Tuesday, May 23 at 13:06 by BC MaryContributed By
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"Harper welcoming Australia's anti-labour John Howard to Ottawa Canadian and Australian prime ministers share similar pro-corporate and anti-worker economic views. Ottawa (18 May 2006) - Stephen Harper, the only major Canadian leader who has failed to sign the Workers Bill of Rights, welcomes one of the most world's anti-labour leaders to Parliament Hill today. The visitor is Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has used his latest parliamentary majority in Australia to roll back some of the most important labour reforms achieved by working people in more than a century. He will open a three-day official visit to Canada by addressing members of Parliament. Outside, a group of Canadian workers are expected to protest in solidarity with members of the labour movement in Australia, which has fought valiantly against the so-called "reforms" that Howard has used his muscle to ram through his own Parliament. Among the changes brought about by his Orwellian-named WorkChoices program are the following (more details): . Abolition of protection from unfair dismissal for four million workers employed in companies with less than 100 staff."<br />
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That last stated act alone is absurd, and all Canadians now too should have the same legal job protection, unlawful dismissal rights whether a firm is 2 people or more than 100 even. In case you have not been unlawfully, immorally dismissed in your lifetime, that is really an unacceptable negative act that endangers one's personal health as well. It is not just the rich who should have legal protection from unlawful job dismissals and have access to a fair, honest justice system.<br />
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It was no big secret that the Conservative and S Harper's secret agenda was a majority government. Stephen Harper personally had by his won free will accepted the job of being a prime Minister of a minority Government beforehand knowing that it was a minority government and he had said he would work with the oppositions. But it now seems he wanted to be a Prime Minister of a minority government while acting as a Majority government and that is impossible, a sure reason his government will fall and face reelections before the end of his term. The Conservative and S Harper's based mainly also on his recent incompetence, his own unacceptable dictatorial management style, his showing false partiality, his neglecting the poor persons in Canada, as well we all can thank God he and the Conservatives now did not get a majority government for sure. Also I gave said even before the least federal elections no political party will firstly have a majority government really unless it really cares equally about the good welfare of all Canadians, young and old too, equally in all parts of Canada, the rich and the poor ones as well. So far we do not have such a political party and is why we are also in minority governments<br />
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"Miffed, Mr. Harper kills his commission The six opposition MPs on the Commons operations and estimates committee despite Mr. Morgan's insistence that he was colour-blind -- he and his wife "basically love the Caribbean" and "attend their churches" -- the six said he was unsuitable for the post and outvoted the five Conservative MPs. But that's politics. That's life in a minority government. There is no rule that opposition MPs have to rubberstamp the Prime Minister's choices. In fact, the system runs more smoothly if the government sounds out the other parties before making a nomination. But Mr. Harper's reaction was wildly disproportionate. He pulled the plug on his own appointments commission. In a fit of pique, he walked away from a crucial part of his ethics package. He said there was no point in even trying to get the commission up and running until his Conservatives could form a majority government -- when, presumably, he could impose his will without fear of contradiction. Mr. Harper is getting a reputation for peevishness, which in his position has unsettling consequences. Consider yesterday's declaration of an amnesty for Canadians who break the law by refusing to register their rifles and shotguns. Mr. Harper had clearly calculated that opposition MPs would thwart the Conservatives' promise to kill the registry. He therefore eliminated a major part of it in all but name -- by fiat, without the need to deal with those pesky elected representatives of the Canadian people, who won't get a chance to vote on it until later. This inability to negotiate, to seek compromise, sends a disconcerting signal about how far Mr. Harper might go if indeed he did win a majority, once he had even more power to override dissent. That is not a misgiving he should want to plant in the public's mind""<br />
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But as well I too used to be naive, and I felt comments like this, especially by the police were racists, discriminatory.. "Gwyn Morgan, until recently the head of EnCana Corp., he said: "Immigration has a social side as well as an economic one. The social side is all too evident with the runaway violence driven mainly by Jamaican immigrants ... or the all-too-frequent violence between Asian and other ethnic gangs ....." " and that was until I had attended a local black church and a Montreal Jamaican pastor punched me in front of a witness cause I would not do what he demanded of me and I had called the police on him... now I too personaly understand too many Jamaicans are of a different temperament from the rest of us. I also rightfully understand that Asians are undeniably fed much too much on a culture of violence, ( disguised as religion- karate) since I have become a fan of Asian movies. They the Asians in general do need to practice more the shalt love they neighbour as thyself as well as even alll of us too. <br />
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"EDMONTON -- An era in Canadian politics will come to a close this week when the spring sitting of the Alberta legislature ends and Premier Ralph Klein leaves the assembly he has served since 1989. Klein had initially planned to remain in office until early 2008, but soft support in a leadership vote by Progressive Conservative party members in March hastened his retirement to the end of this year. No fall sitting is planned, so Klein's last day in the premier's seat will likely be Thursday, when the legislature is expected to adjourn. A major disappointment for Klein this spring was the derailment of his much-vaunted Third Way plan to reshape Alberta's health-care delivery. Public outcry forced the Tories to back down on elements that would have allowed patients to pay extra for quicker joint surgeries and doctors to practise in both the public and private systems. "The Third Way was a bit of a setback, but someone's going to have to deal with it,'' Klein said Tuesday as he flipped burgers for a charity event on the sun-drenched grounds of the legislature. Prime Minister Stephen Harper also sharply criticized the proposed reforms in a letter to Klein at the end of March -- on the same day as the Tory leadership vote. Liberal Opposition Leader Kevin Taft called it a miserable session for the premier. "Ralph Klein's career as premier started with a bang but has ended with a whimper,'' Taft said. "The energy went right out of this sitting when the premier had the rug pulled out from under him by his own party.'' NDP Leader Brian Mason agreed. "Every political career comes to an end, but this has been a disastrous sitting for Ralph Klein,'' said Mason. "One of the things he's wanted to do for two entire terms is bring in more privatization and set up a two-tiered health-care system.'' There were other bleak moments for Klein this spring, including an outburst from one of his cabinet ministers. Lyle Oberg, one of the contenders for Klein's job, was fired as infrastructure minister after he threatened to reveal "skeletons'' in the government's past. Oberg said later he was angry that Klein had ordered leadership hopefuls to give up their cabinet posts by June, even though he wasn't planning to leave for another year. Ed Stelmach and David Hancock, two other cabinet ministers eyeing Alberta's top job, did step down. That set the stage for a summer of jockeying by at least a half-dozen contenders who will face off in a leadership vote this fall. Former finance minister Jim Dinning is the early front-runner, but the wild card is Reform party founder Preston Manning, who has been assembling staff for a possible run. Klein says he plans to take it easy this summer, playing golf and fishing. He's expected to formally resign in September, then leave public office for good once a new Tory leader is chosen. In one last annoyance for the opposition, Klein's government is expected to pass a bill that puts a five-year blackout on public access to cabinet briefing documents. "There is no way that I'm going to give (the opposition) my briefing book,'' the premier told reporters. "They would use it for purely political purposes.'' But Taft accused the government of having "a walk-in closet of skeletons that they want to keep hidden.'' "They want everything buried as far from the public as they can get.'' The Tories were also sharply criticized by seniors advocates and others for putting no teeth into new standards for nursing homes after an auditor general's report last year found quality of care wanting. Taft said it amounts to a betrayal. "They're not getting the care that they need, and in some cases they're dying from lack of care.'' Klein has at least one more battle to fight in his final months, starting with a possible showdown with Ontario and Quebec over equalization payments to the provinces. He'll be looking for allies at this month's western premiers conference for his position that resource revenues should be left out of equalization calculations. The spring sitting also featured another multibillion-dollar surplus budget and a new endowment fund for cancer research, a pet project for Klein. He will use a trip to France next month to tour cancer research facilities and also plans to visit Ukraine and China on what the opposition parties are calling his farewell tour. " <br />
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Let Klein now use his own money to finance these world wide excursion trips, for he has robbed and abused the poor people of Alberta long enough.<br />
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PS: Fire ASAP my clearly useless MP Paul Martin, he did not even show up for the federal Afghanistan/Taliban parliament gun registry vote. Canadian parliament votes to extend mission in Afghanistan A government motion to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan by two years had narrowly passed by 149 to 145 in the House of Commons on Wednesday<br />
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<a href="http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday3">http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday3</a>
The Australian Prime Minister has seen his government through 4 (I think) elections...no mean feat.
The Australians I have had the opportunity to meet, admittedly not a representative sample, did NOT strike me as dumb or lazy.
H.F. Wolff
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"It is a big idea: a new world order... only the United States has both the moral standing & the means to back it up."
Former President George Bush, USA Jan.
---
"It is a big idea: a new world order... only the United States has both the moral standing & the means to back it up."
Former President George Bush, USA Jan.
than ours. Just like George W. Bush. No "mean feat" to be elected that
way. Just look for his strings, and watch him dance.
All the Australians I know, are loudly out of sync with Howard. For
Harper to set him up in our House of Commons as Mr Wonderful is the
measure of Harper's contempt for all of us.
_____________________________________________________
My pickled onions are better than your pickled onions.
- Great Sage of the Rocky Mountains, circa 1889.
_____________________________________________________
the amazing information (above) including Stephen Harper's church
affiliation, the First Christian & Missionary Alliance Church of Calgary.
(So this is where the old "Alliance Party" got its name??)
This is a U.S.-based evangelical, but there's also an Australian arm.
Wikipedia says:
The Christian and Missionary Alliance was not founded as a
denomination. Dr. A. B. Simpson was a Presbyterian clergyman
motivated by the spiritual needs of the metropolitan multitudes in North
America, as well as by those of the unevangelized peoples in other
lands. He was compelled by a sense of urgency to take this message to
all nations because of Jesus's statement in Matthew 24:14: This gospel
of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come. (NIV translation)
During the beginning of the twentieth century, Simpson became closely
involved with the growing Pentecostal movement, an offshoot of the
Holiness movement. It became common for Pentecostal pastors and
missionaries to receive their training at the Missionary Training Institute
that Simpson founded. Consequently, Simpson and the C&MA had a
great influence on Pentecostalism, in particular the Assemblies of God
and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. This influence
included evangelical emphasis, C&MA doctrine, Simpson's hymns and
books, and the use of the term 'Gospel Tabernacle,' which led to
Pentecostal churches being known as 'Full Gospel Tabernacles.'
Eventually, there developed severe division within the C&MA over issues
surrounding Pentecostalism (such as speaking in tongues and
charismatic worship styles). By 1912, this crisis was a catalyst for the
emergence of the C&MA as an organized denomination, shifting more
authority to the council and becoming more ecclesiastical.
After Simpson's death in 1919, the C&MA distanced itself from
Pentecostalism, rejecting the premise that speaking in tongues
necessarily indicates possession by the Holy Spirit, and instead focused
on the deeper Christian life. By 1930, most local branches of the C&MA
functioned as churches, but still did not view themselves as churches.
By 1965, the churches adopted a denominational function and
established a formal statement of faith. This new mission society soon
became a major evangelical movement. Today it is a growing missionary
denomination committed to evangelism around the world through
church planting.
Simpson's teaching stresses four roles of Christ which are represented
as emblems in the church's logo. It can be summed up as "Christ Our
Savior, Christ Our Sanctifier, Christ Our Healer, and Christ Our Coming
King." (1) The Cross stands for salvation through the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's Son. (2) The Laver represents
sanctification, a daily cleansing from sin and power for service through
the indwelling Christ. (3) The Pitcher speaks of oil, a symbol of divine life
and physical healing that comes from Jesus. (4) The Crown symbolizes
the return to earth of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. This formulation has an affinity with the teachings of John Wesley
and the Holiness movement.
In addition to the four traditional emblems, the C&MA logo has been
updated in recent years to include a globe in the backdrop. The globe
reflects the denomination's longstanding and continuing commitment to
bring the Gospel message to all parts of the world.
Prominent C&MA Members
A. W. Tozer, author and pastor
Ravi Zacharias, author and apologist
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Robert A. Jaffray, missionary to Indonesia
Complete Statement of Faith
1. There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three
persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy
Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for
the unjust, as a substitutional sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are
justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead
according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty
on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His
Kingdom of righteousness and peace.
3. The Holy Spirit is a divine person, sent to indwell, guide, teach and
empower the believer, and to convince the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment.
4. The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were
verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the
salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian
faith and practice.
5. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God. He fell
through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual
death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life
of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The prospect of the impenitent and unbelieving person is
existence forever in conscious torment, and that of the believer in Christ
is everlasting joy and bliss.
6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men, and
those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit,
receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God. As are
the gifts of the Holy Spirit
7. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy
Spirit and be sanctified wholly, being separated from sin and the world
and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy
living and effective service. This is both a crisis and a progressive
experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.
8. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for
the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil
are taught in Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present
age.
9. The Church consists of all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit.
Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, which has been
commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching
the gospels to all nations.
The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together
for the worship of God, edification through the Word of God, prayer,
fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the
ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
10. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for
the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto
judgment.
11. The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be
personal, visible, and Premillennial. This is the believer's hope and is a
vital truth that is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.
C&MA seminaries and colleges
As of 1998, there are two C&MA graduate schools, four C&MA colleges,
and one C&MA seminary accredited by the American Association of
Theological Schools.
In Australia
Alliance College of Australia (formerly the Canberra College of
Theology), in Canberra, capital of Australia
In Canada:
Alliance University College (Canadian Bible College and Canadian
Theological Seminary, both in Calgary, Alberta)
Institut Biblique VIE (French Ministry training for the province of Quebec)
In the United States:
Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, New York
Simpson University and Simpson Graduate School in Redding, California
Toccoa Falls College and Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa, Georgia
Crown College and Crown Graduate School in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota
External links
Alliance World Fellowship website
Official American website
Official Australian website
Official Canadian website
Official Dutch website
Alliance Life Magazine
CAMA Services Website
>This is a U.S.-based evangelical, but there's also an Australian arm.
all the additional Facts do not deny the truths that I had posted.
1 I was personaly there in Calgary in the 1980's when disgruntled Calgary pastors got into politics and helped to form the Reform party, which is illegal under Canadian law as well.I had written to Brian Mulroney the then PM and had told him waht they were doing, but he disregared it.,.. and we know how they repalced his party.
2) Please note the American Christian Missionary Alliance had a histrorical split and one part went to Canada and formed the Pentecostal Assembly of Canada and the other became the Canadian Christian Missioray allaince group these groups are really different now as well..
3) The CMA is still a false reorganization that idolizes, worships men, upholds men, as your exemplary writing indicates, Tozer and Simpson included .
(Jer 17:5 KJV) Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
The CMA uses a secular or old testament pyramidal dictatorial approach too for managing the CHURCH, MISSIONARY business.
As you know the new testament approach is based on a plural and equal church elders, submitting one to another and all of them running all of the churches. The churches were also named by the city it was in. For example it would be the Church of Calgary, and not the pentaostal or the Alliance church too.
4) The Canadian Alliance Church is a pretentious and hypocritical organization, and I can go into much personal detail..
When my local Alliance pastor was fired from his job I volunteered next to have a farewell party for him and I could not help to notice that he was very embarrassed about it too. Years later had found out that the same pastor had been fired from his job because in jealousy of me he had tried to kick me out and instead he got fired. By the way his successor robbed my local church of money next.
Incidentally that has happened three times to me with pastors, even 2 other founding church pastors next were fired for trying to kick me out of their church, for falsely saying things to me like " this is my church and if you do not like it get out" and what a lie, for Jesus is still the head of the church and it is all his church.
A senior Calgary First Alliance Church pastor as I had witnessed used to love to lie and bash others, he would pretend to love and work with the Pentecostals in Calgary but when they had left he would bad mouth them to me and others and to me that was unacceptable. I had told his whole congregation openly what an unacceptable bad and lying pastor he was as well. Most Alliance pastors i met were hirelings, money hungry persons worried about their pensions as well. I also had often met Rev G Whishart the basic Canadian founder, of 72 Alliances churches in Canada, too
The Canadian CMA Alliance church in general and locally really does not understand what real spirtual life is, especially the gifts of the Holy Spirt too, and that was I was often called by the local Alliance church pastor to help in the local minstry.
They are too often made up of the rich who despise the poor people too in Canada.