Latest news with #SecondWorldWar
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Philip Cross: Carney's stellar CV does not guarantee success
This week's opening of Parliament allows Canadians to begin to assess whether Prime Minister Mark Carney's government will measure up to the considerable challenges it faces, the two most daunting being redefining Canada's economic and strategic relations with the United States and reviving our moribund productivity growth. At the same time, Carney must address inter-regional tensions that are as old as Confederation, and despair among young people that is as new as social media. It will be months before we can judge how Carney is doing. History shows how hard it is to predict whether a leader will succeed based solely on their qualifications. Some who seem to have all the prerequisites flop once in office. Others apparently lacking in competence or temperament end up exceeding all expectations. In 1928 Herbert Hoover appeared to have a near-ideal skill set to be a successful president, having excelled in both the private and public sectors. He had parlayed his knowledge as an engineer into a fortune as head of a mining company. He then oversaw efforts to help Europe in 1917 as head of the American Relief Administration, before becoming secretary of commerce in the cabinets of presidents Harding and Coolidge. But despite these impressive credentials, Hoover proved incapable of leading his nation out of the Great Depression or even grasping the human toll of the slowly unfolding economic catastrophe. Here in Canada, Paul Martin also seemed perfectly positioned to handle power in 2003. During almost a decade as finance minister he successfully managed Canada's fiscal crisis of the mid-1990s, giving him ample opportunity to study how to govern effectively. Instead, he proved incapable of the decisiveness required of any prime minister, leading The Economist to label him 'Mr. Dithers.' Conversely, some leaders have been surprisingly effective despite appearing to lack the requisite qualities. Franklin Roosevelt, who trounced Hoover in the 1932 election, was dismissed by The New Yorker as a 'grown up Boy Scout.' Walter Lippmann, the leading American political commentator of the day, called Roosevelt 'a pleasant man … without any important qualifications for the office.' But FDR re-made American society with his New Deal and then shepherded the U.S. through the Second World War. After FDR died in office in April 1945, expectations for Harry Truman were abysmal. Many regarded Truman lightly because of his lack of education — though a lifelong reader of history he was the last president not to have attended college — and how he was kept in the dark by FDR's White House from key deliberations about the war's evolution. But Truman quickly grew into the job, authorizing use of the atomic bomb to dramatically shorten the war, thus saving hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides, and identifying the shift of the Soviet Union from wartime ally to principal postwar rival. Truman enacted the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and enforced a policy of containing communist aggression. Mark Carney's qualifications for leading Canada rest largely on his years running the Bank of Canada and then the Bank of England. He is also an economist, which means two of Canada's past three prime ministers, Carney and Harper, have been economists — which must be a world record. On the other hand, Carney's halting performance during the election campaign was a reminder that leading a central bank and governing a country require quite different skills. And Carney has already created problems for himself by not yet choosing a permanent chief of staff. A skilled traffic cop is crucial to a leader's ability to be properly informed and then to ensure the civil service implements the decisions taken. William Watson: Carney's throne speech ventriloquism was a little too obvious Diane Francis: Carney must listen to Alberta As this week's OECD survey of Canada observed, Carney has the difficult task of 'balancing short-term macro-economic support to mitigate the impact of tariffs with medium-term debt reduction.' The Liberals' electoral platform of deficit-financed tax cuts and balancing the so-called operating budget by excluding capital spending suggests that, despite much brave talk, he does not fully grasp the difficulty of transforming an economy while balancing competing interests. Canadians can only hope he grows into his new job quickly. Philip Cross is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Belfast Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Protests over ‘please walk on me' flag artwork prompt its removal from gallery
The Suter Art Gallery in the city of Nelson said it had taken down the work by Maori artist Diane Prince due to escalating tensions and safety fears. The episode mirrored an Auckland gallery's removal of the work amid a public backlash in 1995. This time, the flag was meant to remain on display for five months. Instead, it lasted just 19 days, reigniting long-running debates in New Zealand over artistic expression, national symbols and the country's colonial history. Police told the Associated Press that officers were investigating 'several' complaints about the exhibition. The piece, titled Flagging The Future, is a cloth New Zealand flag displayed on the floor with the words 'please walk on me' stencilled across it. The work was part of an exhibition, Diane Prince: Activist Artist, and was meant to provoke reflection on the Maori experience since New Zealand's colonisation by Britain in the 19th century. Ms Prince created the piece in 1995 in response to a government policy that limited compensation to Maori tribes for historical land theft. 'I have no attachment to the New Zealand flag,' she told Radio New Zealand in 2024. 'I don't call myself a New Zealander. I call myself a Maori.' New Zealand's reckoning with its colonial past has gathered pace in recent decades. But there has been little appetite among successive governments to sever the country's remaining constitutional ties to Britain or change the flag's design. New Zealand is among countries where desecrating the national flag is considered taboo and prohibited by law. Damaging a flag in public with intent to dishonour it is punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 New Zealand dollars, but prosecutions are fleetingly rare. As in the United States and elsewhere, the country's flag is synonymous for some with military service. But for others, particularly some Maori, it is a reminder of land dispossession, and loss of culture and identity. Protests against the artwork in the city of Nelson, which has a population 55,000, included videos posted to social media by a local woman, Ruth Tipu, whose grandfather served in the army's Maori Battalion during the Second World War. In one clip, she is seen lifting the flag from the floor and draping it over another artwork, an action Ms Tipu said she would repeat daily. A veterans' group also denounced the piece as 'shameful' and 'offensive'. City council member Tim Skinner said he was 'horrified' by the work's inclusion. But others welcomed it. Nelson's deputy mayor, Rohan O'Neill-Stevens, posted on social media 'in strong defence of artistic expression and the right for us all to be challenged and confronted by art'. The work was perhaps expected to provoke controversy and in the exhibition's opening days, the Suter Gallery defended its inclusion. But a statement on its Facebook page late Thursday said a 'sharp escalation in the tone and nature of the discourse, moving well beyond the bounds of respectful debate' had prompted the flag's removal. 'This should not be interpreted as a judgment on the artwork or the artist's intent,' the statement said.
North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Protests over ‘please walk on me' flag artwork prompt its removal from gallery
The Suter Art Gallery in the city of Nelson said it had taken down the work by Maori artist Diane Prince due to escalating tensions and safety fears. The episode mirrored an Auckland gallery's removal of the work amid a public backlash in 1995. This time, the flag was meant to remain on display for five months. Instead, it lasted just 19 days, reigniting long-running debates in New Zealand over artistic expression, national symbols and the country's colonial history. Police told the Associated Press that officers were investigating 'several' complaints about the exhibition. The piece, titled Flagging The Future, is a cloth New Zealand flag displayed on the floor with the words 'please walk on me' stencilled across it. The work was part of an exhibition, Diane Prince: Activist Artist, and was meant to provoke reflection on the Maori experience since New Zealand's colonisation by Britain in the 19th century. Ms Prince created the piece in 1995 in response to a government policy that limited compensation to Maori tribes for historical land theft. 'I have no attachment to the New Zealand flag,' she told Radio New Zealand in 2024. 'I don't call myself a New Zealander. I call myself a Maori.' New Zealand's reckoning with its colonial past has gathered pace in recent decades. But there has been little appetite among successive governments to sever the country's remaining constitutional ties to Britain or change the flag's design. New Zealand is among countries where desecrating the national flag is considered taboo and prohibited by law. Damaging a flag in public with intent to dishonour it is punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 New Zealand dollars, but prosecutions are fleetingly rare. As in the United States and elsewhere, the country's flag is synonymous for some with military service. But for others, particularly some Maori, it is a reminder of land dispossession, and loss of culture and identity. Protests against the artwork in the city of Nelson, which has a population 55,000, included videos posted to social media by a local woman, Ruth Tipu, whose grandfather served in the army's Maori Battalion during the Second World War. In one clip, she is seen lifting the flag from the floor and draping it over another artwork, an action Ms Tipu said she would repeat daily. A veterans' group also denounced the piece as 'shameful' and 'offensive'. City council member Tim Skinner said he was 'horrified' by the work's inclusion. But others welcomed it. Nelson's deputy mayor, Rohan O'Neill-Stevens, posted on social media 'in strong defence of artistic expression and the right for us all to be challenged and confronted by art'. The work was perhaps expected to provoke controversy and in the exhibition's opening days, the Suter Gallery defended its inclusion. But a statement on its Facebook page late Thursday said a 'sharp escalation in the tone and nature of the discourse, moving well beyond the bounds of respectful debate' had prompted the flag's removal. 'This should not be interpreted as a judgment on the artwork or the artist's intent,' the statement said.
Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Protests over ‘please walk on me' flag artwork prompt its removal from gallery
A New Zealand flag printed with the words 'please walk on me' and placed on the floor of an art gallery has once again been packed away following a public outcry, 30 years after protests forced the removal of the same artwork. The Suter Art Gallery in the city of Nelson said it had taken down the work by Maori artist Diane Prince due to escalating tensions and safety fears. The episode mirrored an Auckland gallery's removal of the work amid a public backlash in 1995. This time, the flag was meant to remain on display for five months. Instead, it lasted just 19 days, reigniting long-running debates in New Zealand over artistic expression, national symbols and the country's colonial history. Police told the Associated Press that officers were investigating 'several' complaints about the exhibition. The piece, titled Flagging The Future, is a cloth New Zealand flag displayed on the floor with the words 'please walk on me' stencilled across it. The work was part of an exhibition, Diane Prince: Activist Artist, and was meant to provoke reflection on the Maori experience since New Zealand's colonisation by Britain in the 19th century. Ms Prince created the piece in 1995 in response to a government policy that limited compensation to Maori tribes for historical land theft. 'I have no attachment to the New Zealand flag,' she told Radio New Zealand in 2024. 'I don't call myself a New Zealander. I call myself a Maori.' New Zealand's reckoning with its colonial past has gathered pace in recent decades. But there has been little appetite among successive governments to sever the country's remaining constitutional ties to Britain or change the flag's design. New Zealand is among countries where desecrating the national flag is considered taboo and prohibited by law. Damaging a flag in public with intent to dishonour it is punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 New Zealand dollars, but prosecutions are fleetingly rare. As in the United States and elsewhere, the country's flag is synonymous for some with military service. But for others, particularly some Maori, it is a reminder of land dispossession, and loss of culture and identity. Protests against the artwork in the city of Nelson, which has a population 55,000, included videos posted to social media by a local woman, Ruth Tipu, whose grandfather served in the army's Maori Battalion during the Second World War. In one clip, she is seen lifting the flag from the floor and draping it over another artwork, an action Ms Tipu said she would repeat daily. A veterans' group also denounced the piece as 'shameful' and 'offensive'. City council member Tim Skinner said he was 'horrified' by the work's inclusion. But others welcomed it. Nelson's deputy mayor, Rohan O'Neill-Stevens, posted on social media 'in strong defence of artistic expression and the right for us all to be challenged and confronted by art'. The work was perhaps expected to provoke controversy and in the exhibition's opening days, the Suter Gallery defended its inclusion. But a statement on its Facebook page late Thursday said a 'sharp escalation in the tone and nature of the discourse, moving well beyond the bounds of respectful debate' had prompted the flag's removal. 'This should not be interpreted as a judgment on the artwork or the artist's intent,' the statement said.
Western Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
Protests over ‘please walk on me' flag artwork prompt its removal from gallery
The Suter Art Gallery in the city of Nelson said it had taken down the work by Maori artist Diane Prince due to escalating tensions and safety fears. The episode mirrored an Auckland gallery's removal of the work amid a public backlash in 1995. This time, the flag was meant to remain on display for five months. Instead, it lasted just 19 days, reigniting long-running debates in New Zealand over artistic expression, national symbols and the country's colonial history. Police told the Associated Press that officers were investigating 'several' complaints about the exhibition. The piece, titled Flagging The Future, is a cloth New Zealand flag displayed on the floor with the words 'please walk on me' stencilled across it. The work was part of an exhibition, Diane Prince: Activist Artist, and was meant to provoke reflection on the Maori experience since New Zealand's colonisation by Britain in the 19th century. Ms Prince created the piece in 1995 in response to a government policy that limited compensation to Maori tribes for historical land theft. 'I have no attachment to the New Zealand flag,' she told Radio New Zealand in 2024. 'I don't call myself a New Zealander. I call myself a Maori.' New Zealand's reckoning with its colonial past has gathered pace in recent decades. But there has been little appetite among successive governments to sever the country's remaining constitutional ties to Britain or change the flag's design. New Zealand is among countries where desecrating the national flag is considered taboo and prohibited by law. Damaging a flag in public with intent to dishonour it is punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 New Zealand dollars, but prosecutions are fleetingly rare. As in the United States and elsewhere, the country's flag is synonymous for some with military service. But for others, particularly some Maori, it is a reminder of land dispossession, and loss of culture and identity. Protests against the artwork in the city of Nelson, which has a population 55,000, included videos posted to social media by a local woman, Ruth Tipu, whose grandfather served in the army's Maori Battalion during the Second World War. In one clip, she is seen lifting the flag from the floor and draping it over another artwork, an action Ms Tipu said she would repeat daily. A veterans' group also denounced the piece as 'shameful' and 'offensive'. City council member Tim Skinner said he was 'horrified' by the work's inclusion. But others welcomed it. Nelson's deputy mayor, Rohan O'Neill-Stevens, posted on social media 'in strong defence of artistic expression and the right for us all to be challenged and confronted by art'. The work was perhaps expected to provoke controversy and in the exhibition's opening days, the Suter Gallery defended its inclusion. But a statement on its Facebook page late Thursday said a 'sharp escalation in the tone and nature of the discourse, moving well beyond the bounds of respectful debate' had prompted the flag's removal. 'This should not be interpreted as a judgment on the artwork or the artist's intent,' the statement said.
