Hmmm, is blocking the strait the newest political dance?
We have been hearing a lot about the Strait of Hormuz lately in relation to the U.S. and Israel war with Iran. In case you have tuned out any Trump-related news, the Strait of Hormuz is a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
At the narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz and its shipping lanes lie entirely within Iran and Oman’s territorial waters. About 20% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. To no one’s surprise, Iran is blocking the Strait to prevent oil tankers from passing through it. It is the one leverage point they have in the war. As a result, oil prices are skyrocketing.
Trump, is his infinite tunnel vision, has asked other major countries to help with keeping the Strait open to keep oil shipments moving. The response has been entirely predictable: You impose tariffs on us to make the U.S. rich at our expense. And now you want us to help you solve the problem you have created? Dream on, Donald. Not going to happen.
Excuse me for this intellectual leap, but I cannot resist comparing this situation to what I am calling the Strait of Doug Ford. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is jamming through legislation to change the rules around Freedom of Information – essentially gutting that fundamental liberty.
The new legislation would exempt the premier and cabinet ministers from Freedom of Information requests and do so retroactively. The rational provided is to modernize cybersecurity and privacy rules to bring them into line with other provinces as well as the federal government. But we all know that is total B.S.
What Ford is really aiming to do is block access to documents and cell phone messages relating to his various scandals: the Greenbelt scandal, the Ontario Place private spa scandal, the Skills Development Fund scandal.
Ford is using his government’s majority status to blatantly and shamelessly block the Strait of Doug Ford – the channel through which information should flow to air his government’s dirty laundry and hold them accountable for their shady dealings.
And in case blocking the Strait is not enough, he is doing everything he can to deflect attention away from his misdeeds.
Easier access to booze has always been one of his lowest common denominator policies to please the populace. His latest smokescreen is expanding alcohol rules to allow people to bring their own drinks to outdoor community events. The rationale: Happily inebriated people are less likely to notice or care about his scandalous activities.
In an even more blatant attempt at misdirection, he has gone public praising a homeowner who shot and injured an alleged home invader. Congratulations for shooting this guy — should have shot him a couple more times as far as I’m concerned. Not exactly the kind of public statement you want to hear coming from the Premier of Ontario!
Trump and the Strait of Hormuz. Ford and the Strait of Doug Ford. There are growing similarities emerging between the actions and attitude of these two politicians. Trump and mini-Trump. There, I said it.
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Tags: Donald Trump · Doug Ford · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Strait of Hormuz · War in IranNo Comments