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Each week, Kyle Muzyka sifts through what our PM has been up to in this column, The Radical Adventures of Stephen Harper, for your personal enjoyment.

 

With the recent resurgence of violence in the Middle East, our Prime Minister has been right in the thick of things, travelling around and attending meetings related to the issues at hand.

24SEVEN begins by notifying us of the distribution of ammunition and other military equipment to assist Iraq in combatting ISIS. They loaded up a single Royal Canadian Air Force Aircraft, which is likely the entire amount of military equipment Canada had in its possession.

Next, we sit as spectators while our fearless leader channels his competitive and winning spirit in what he knows best: a quality game of cribbage. Our eyes wander down to the table, where, in plain sight, we see Harper’s Macbook nestled up to his right arm. There is a sticker of his family on it. Is that sweet of him, or just weird?

He also spoke about the recent killings of Steven Sotloff and James Foley, and how they are a representation of the much larger problem ISIS is causing. These journalists are “just the tip of the iceberg” in the senseless killings by this extremist group.

24SEVEN even shows Harper meeting in Wales for the two-day NATO get-together! What’s weird is that, after the initial propaganda ceases, the image cuts to a desolate, sandy landscape. It pans over to an Iraqi soldier, who promptly looks at the camera. The video ends.

 

Maybe a racial quota?Prime Minister of Canada

Maybe a racial quota?
Prime Minister of Canada

 

It was almost as if they needed to hit their weekly diversity quota, and that the final clip in the video put them at the most correct ratio.

Of course, in real life, those meetings in Wales actually took place, and Harper has since been criticized for his actions. NATO has called on member states to help combat ISIS and, though our Prime Minister is willing, he has a penny-pinching, cheap uncle-type attitude.

NATO members promise that they will each spend two per cent of their GDP on military defense. As of 2013, only the U.S. and the U.K. have exceeded this goal.

Canada, in its seemingly never-ending quest to make promises it is unable to keep, has not used two per cent of its GDP on military spending in recent history. In fact, even during the height of the Cold War, Canada still didn’t get over the two per cent hump.

And now, with the military budget sitting at just one per cent, it’s even less than what we spent in 2007, according to the Conference of Defence Associations.  If Harper is spending so little on military equipment, how is he such a gangster on the world stage right now, especially against Russia? He sure does talk the talk. I suppose this would be the time where I would ask, “but can he walk the walk?”

We know the answer is a definitive “no.”

But never fear, Canada! As per usual, the international community is willing to “compromise” with NATO member states, that is to say, to appease those who don’t necessarily abide by goals and regulations. The U.S. has publicly stated that there is a bit of “wiggle room” when it comes to whether NATO countries have to abide by the two per cent rule.

Maybe his lack of military spending is one of the main motivations behind Harper’s recent nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. That’s right! A Canadian Jewish organization is planning to nominate our fearless leader for the prize. I could poke fun here, but I’ll let the petition with 26,000 signatures against Harper receiving the Nobel Peace Prize speak for itself.

 

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

 

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the 7th annual Vanilla Ice Appreciation Conference. Stop, collaborate, listen.”Mathieu Belanger, Reuters

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the 7th annual Vanilla Ice Appreciation Conference. Stop, collaborate, listen.”
Mathieu Belanger, Reuters