Sunday, January 26, 2020

Obama Praises Canada - "A Country Where Facts Still Matter."


Obama addressed 6,000 young people from across the GTA last week. He urged them to embrace creative skills.
“Anything that’s replicable, anything that’s repeatable, some machine is going to do better,” the 44th president of the United States told the audience.

Obama said young people need to think about things that have not been done before, and skills that include interacting with other human beings. Creativity, analytical thinking and team building are the types of skills that will continue to be vital in a future full of job automation, he said.
...
Young people need to emulate Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg who “speaks to a generation that’s going to deal with this mess,” Obama said. 
Obama had some praise for Canada, saying Canadians are “reasonable” people and, while there may be some political divisions here, at least it’s a country where “facts still matter.” 
“You should preserve that,” he said.

7 comments:

Northern PoV said...

Obama was/is part of the problem.

Obama was elected with a democratic congress and strong anti-capitalist sentiment on the heels of the 2008 crash. He bailed out bankers and screwed home owners. He surrounded himself with the likes of Clinton, Biden, Kerry and shut down Occupy-Wall-Street instead of using it to push left. He continued the long war. He is now part of the cabal plotting against Bernie.

The Disaffected Lib said...

That's one take on Obama, NPoV.

Anonymous said...

Facts still matter in Canada, eh? Obama should spend some time examining kenney's version of BS and the War Room, or Ontario, where Ford is more bent on revenge on real and perceived enemies to reinforce his prejudices, and not on facts.

Obama was a neocon and war hawk and allowed the CIA to pull off a revolution in Ukraine, after Killary's cackling over the destrution of Libya, so I agree with NPoV's take. No angel he, but he bamboozled the progressives for years, didn't he? Surprised there isn't a movement to make him a Saint. And his remark as headlined just shows the typical American's lack of any knowledge of Canada whatsoever.

So what am I supposed to do, bask in the warm glow of his presumably well-meant ignorance? Or what?

BM

the salamander said...

.. its very interesting, and in fairness, quite astute when considered in context to 'education' as espoused by provincial Governments.. or should I say Political Parties such as Alberta and Ontario's under their respective genius Premiers.

Susan On Her Soapbox (via Progressive Bloggers) as well as David Climenhaga ( AlbertaPolitics.ca ) have posted excellent breakdowns of the new Harper School of Thoughlessness as embraced by Jason Kenney and his Ph D Laden Education Minister. Doug Ford PhD (Pile It Higher & Deeper) with his Education Minister Stephen Lecce are currently bogged down trying to bully and get a chokehold on Ontario Secondary Educators & curriculum (Lecce of course is the bright evangel lad, saving his virginity for the right gal like Kenney is & following in the exact footsteps of the genius Ray Novak, Harper's cabin boy, straight into PMO, ZERO credibility aside from U Wester Ontario student council president & young Conservative Club.. both of those creeps, identical path ! And the same no real job ever, as with Kenney and Harper)

So look again at Obama and his message to students of diverse heritage, a black man who became a lawyer and President VERSUS the business model message of old stock partisan white egofreak jackasses like Kenney, Harper, Ford and their Party's that are stocked full of similar thugs, political evangelical dullards and dirtbag opportunists.. hell n damnation.. they want to shape education that hews more closely to the Alabama and Mississippi models.. I kid you not !

The Disaffected Lib said...

Okay, I get it - Obama was a horrible president. Qualifier - compared to what? Compared to Bush/Cheney or compared to his successor? Those who find it so facile to blast Obama usually overlook the tightrope he had to walk with Congressional Republicans. Remember John Boehner and the McConnell 'tag team'?

I know, I know - Bernie should have had the nomination, not Hillary, and all would have been sweetness and light. Really?

Remember how the Repug meat grinder turned John Kerry from a decorated Vietnam hero into a Swift Boat coward? They would have made mincemeat out of Sanders' socialist ass. He would have had all the Repugs against him plus a good many socialism-hating Dems joining them. I'm not sure Congress would have coughed up the money to keep the lights on in the White House.

Boo hoo.

Northern PoV said...

Better than the other guys? Sure, but that doesn't get Trudeau a pass on your blog.

As for predicting the future, which is hard to do cause nobody knows what's going to happen, or weirdly replaying the past

"It's now possible that the three post-9/11 US presidents will be:

1. Barack Hussein Obama
2. Donald Trump
3. Bernie Sanders

We should probably stop listening to the pundits who claim to understand who is and isn't "electable."

... Jon Schwarz on Twitter

The Disaffected Lib said...

NPoV, this isn't about Trudeau. If you remember, Trudeau was elected in 2015 with a solid majority. That would be like Obama working with a solid Dem majority in both houses.

Trudeau won a substantial majority and, but for his screw-ups, would have held that at least into his second term. Ergo, your remark about my position is facetious.