Politics aside, Helena

Hoping all goes well.

What Canadians want

While it’s nice to see the CONs have post their brief lead  - if it was real at all - I wish the drop had been attributed to something other than the Guergis-Jaffer story.  While it does have to be pursued because corruption, influence peddling, and political interference are serious issues, I would much rather Canadians had been reacting to the two other big stories: the government’s cover-up and manipulation of information, and the torture of detainees.

I doubt even the Guergis-Jaffer thing would be getting much attention if sex and drugs weren’t mentioned.

This does not reflect well on our media, nor on the public.

Murder, war crimes, contracting out torture linked to our military?  The government taking measures so outrageous to cover this up and prevent witnesses from talking that the approach has been called Kafkaesque?

There was a time I would have thought - no way!  Not in my Canada!

But it is happening, here in this country we have been so proud of because Canadians, so it goes, just don’t tolerate that crap.

Well, we are tolerating it, and it isn’t crap.  Through our apathy, through our weakness for flashy headlines screaming of sex and drugs, and the private and public lives of public figures, we fail to support the demand for serious, thorough, independent investigation into the allegations of murder, torture and cover-up.

Without the public’s pressure demanding the truth come out without interference, the government will keep hiding any wrongdoing on their part, and the abuses will continue.

If they are allowed to get away with it in this very serious, international issue, we are truly screwed.  The public will show government that it need not be held accountable, that the public does not have the right to be informed.

What follows is a snowball effect.  We get used to less and less info and become more apathetic.  Government becomes more confident that it can violate the will of the people by deceiving them and counting on that apathy, and it becomes more corrupt.  A handful of special interest groups with lots of money hold the real power because they are the only ones lobbying, and they push for legislation that favours them, while the rest of us are no more than cattle - low wage earners and mindless consumers.

If we start to get fed up, we’ll just be tossed another Guergis-Jaffer story to distract us, or we’ll be shown infomercials to stir up blind patriotism, or we’ll be told of how severe measures are necessary because the world is a scary place full of criminals and terrorists who are out to get us and destroy our democracy.

Meanwhile, our democracy is being destroyed by three things: the very government we elected to protect it, the powerful, wealthy self-interest groups pulling the government’s reins, and out our pathetic apathy.

Yes, let us demand answers to the Guergis-Jaffer thing, but only as it relates to wrongdoing that affects our country.  Any corruption needs to be addressed and stopped.  But we cannot pick and choose what we will take interest in based on its entertainment value.  Keep the government’s heels to the flame on accountability, openness, and the respect of all laws - international as well as domestic.

Canadians should care about whether or not our military and government is complicit in murder, torture, and cover-ups.  Isn’t that what we so proudly say we oppose?

She was probably doing research

The central allegation Snowdy presented is that Gillani, an accused fraudster, claimed to Snowdy that three offshore companies in Belize B a tax haven B had been "reserved" to hold cash for Guergis and Jaffer. Snowdy said he also told the Tory lawyer that Gillani boasted that he had cellphone pictures of Jaffer and Guergis partying with high-class escorts when cocaine was being snorted.

You know, as Minister for Status of Women...examining how prostitution in Canada affects women...

This is a little harder to explain, though:

At a meeting in the Spice Trader restaurant on Queen St. W. in July 2009, Snowdy said Gillani showed him a series of companies, and claimed that Jaffer and "his wife" had three companies reserved for them, all in Belize. Further, Gillani claimed Guergis had "a contact in Belize that set everything up."

Snowdy checked and with a simple review of government press releases saw that Guergis had visited Belize in July 2008. Guergis was Secretary of Trade for Foreign Affairs and International Trade at the time.

If she indeed was meeting a contact to set up an offshore account for shady deals, and doing so while acting in her capacity as Secretary of Trade, then she used her position for personal gain and to engage in something that does not appear entirely legal.

So far, these are allegations which Guergis denies, but her credibility has taken a big hit. 

Howard Rubel, hired to represent Guergis, said early Wednesday afternoon that even after speaking with RCMP investigators two days ago, he and his client are in the dark about what he said were unspecified allegations about her conduct.

"The prime minister's office is not providing any information," Rubel said. "She is ready to respond and co-operate but it's important that she not respond until she knows what the allegations are."
 
But Soudas suggested Rubel had been misinformed. "The Conservative party lawyer last Friday -- the day that Ms. Guergis resigned -- spoke with Ms. Guergis and informed her of the allegations the Prime Minister's Office referred to (the) ethics commissioner and the RCMP," Soudas said.

And in case anyone is saying the lawyer put words in Guergis’ mouth:

Earlier on Wednesday, Guergis spoke out against a CTV report which said the third-party allegations against her are related to blackmail and drug use.

The former junior Conservative cabinet minister said she was shocked by the story. "This is completely ridiculous and an example of rumours gone amok," Guergis wrote in an email to The Canadian Press Wednesday.

It is important to note as well that Jaffer was still an MP and Chair of the Conservative caucus at the time Guergis may have visited her contact in Belize.  In fact, he accompanied her on that trip.

That means that two MPs Harper handpicked for high profile positions may have been busy abusing their posts and breaking laws while being paid more than the average MP, all on taxpayers dollars.

This goes beyond the affront of abusing public funds and an inflated sense of privilege.  As private investigator Snowdy (and self-proclaimed “committed member” of the Conservative party) claims, such actions by Jaffer and Guergis makes them great targets for blackmail.  As members of Parliament who Stevo entrusted with special portfolios, the squeeze would not only affect the couple personally, but would put Canadians at risk should a blackmailer decide to push them to further abuse their positions.

Again, the story here is not the sex and drugs, as entertaining as they are, but that Harper had not only failed to identify Jaffer and Guergis as highly unfit for office, he even gave them elevated positions in his caucus and kept defending Guergis up until Thursday night when the threat of compromising photos reached him.

And we know how Steve feels about the power of the perfect photo.

Exceedingly bad judgement on his part, and near inability to admit to a mistake all enforcing his massive efforts at covering up the slightest whisper of wrongdoing rather than being open and addressing it in the interests of Canada and Canadians.

The hilarity that is Hunter

They (leftie women) prefer swingers clubs to a stable family life.

Well, sure.

Guergis just isn't all that important

Can’t say I feel bad for Guergis.  I’m glad she won’t be doing the boggle-head thing behind Harper in the House anymore.  Her smirking and poor imitation of a person with a conscience was massively distracting and offensive.

That personal pique aside, the Guergis issue should be addressed by opposition for two reasons: if, as the CONs are so fond of saying, she did the crime, then she should do the time.  We need to hold our parliamentarians accountable for their actions.

The second reason to bring up the issue is that it must be shown how seriously flawed Harper’s judgement is.  Guergis is just the latest (and not likely the last) in a long list of monumental fuckwads personally appointed by The Master Strategist.

The issue, however, should not dominate talks in the House.  As embarrassing as events surrounding Guergis are to Mr. Petulant, they also offer a diversion from far more serious issues such as detainee torture, lack of environmental protection, the selling off of Canada piece by piece, to name a few.





Even if it comes out that Guergis was involved in corrupt activities, unless they can be directly linked to Stevie - which is unlikely - The Arrogant One will claim high moral ground since he not only ousted her from his caucus, but ordered an investigation as well.  He will most likely control the investigation and any info that comes from it, but he'll still look like Mr. Clean (but fatter).  The opposition will risk looking petty and vicious.

So they should keep comments concerning Guergis focused on the investigation process itself, and on Harper's propensity for selecting idiots for Ministers.


Throughout all of that, hammer away at the big policy issues.

Big Daddy tells his minions: do as I say, not as I do.

Guergis has “one of the worst meltdowns a staff member of Charlottetown Airport says he's ever seen,”  then four days later, Jean-Pierre Blackburn nearly had the cops called on him when he took “strong issue with security guards at the Ottawa airport who refused to let him on a plane with a bottle of tequila,” prompting negative press indicating that gee whiz, Canadians really don’t like paying wages to people who feel they are above the law, after which Steve realizes Canadians aren’t completely asleep and decides that he needs to save his own miserable ass by having the PMO say he “will issue an edict to his ministers, reminding them that they're not above the law.”   H/t CC

Impolitical points out that Steve the Arrogant really needs a lesson in respecting the law himself.

Mr. Prorogation who breaks parliamentary convention with ease, Mr. Not-So-Fixed-Election-Date Law, Mr. Defy-Parliamentary-Order-on-Document-Production, Mr. PMO-Instructs-Ministries-to-Disobey-Access-to-Information-Laws...Mr. all of these things is going to issue an edict to his ministers reminding them that they're not above the law. Uh huh. What is it they say, the fish rots from the head. Or do as I say, not as I do?

But really.  We were all kids, once, and we know that eventually, all the do not rules mean nothing if the parent pushing them violates the rules themselves.

Air transport security?  Let’s look back to 2006 and see what example Big Daddy set for his MPs:

... on a recent trip, the Prime Minister was asked by a flight attendant to turn off his cellphone and BlackBerry. Mr. Harper declined. The pilot then made a request, saying it was for safety purposes. The PM relented. But, at the end of the journey, one of his staffers gave the pilot some news: His services would no longer be required on prime ministerial trips.

I guess respecting the law doesn’t apply to egocentric sociopaths who think the rest of the universe is full of shit and destined to be ruled by said sociopath.

Because Big Daddy knows best.  And he is, afterall, Big Daddy.

There's a word for that...

...oh yeah...

Friday night tunes for our own Helena

Hall and Oats



Elton John

Happy fucking birthday indeed, Helena

You delicate flower.

The tautologically-challenged Helena Guergis issued a written statement Thursday saying she was "rushing to catch a flight" last week and "spoke emotionally" to airport staff.

Let’s help her with the truth, shall we?  (emphasis mine) According to a letter (and obviously supported since Guergis saw the need to do what few CONs do: issue an apology) -

...Guergis and an aide were at the Air Canada ticket counter five minutes before the flight was to depart and they were "being so difficult and rude" they were almost denied permission to board.  They berated (the ticket agent) loudly and treated him in a most condescending manner after he told them some of their excessive bags were too large to be carry-on and should be checked.

At security screening...Guergis initially refused to remove her boots, which set off the metal detector. She then "huffily" removed her boots, "slammed" them into a bin and groused to the security screener: "Happy f**king birthday to me. I guess I'm stuck on this hell hole. (P.E.I.)"

Guergis is correct in stating her behaviour was inappropriate.  If you or I tried that at an airport, we would at the very least be removed from the airport to find another way home.  This behaviour is especially horrendous coming from a Minister.  It is abusive, and shows contempt for the Atlantic province.

Guergis’ show of contempt did not stop there, either.  She goes on to show contempt for people who are simply trying to do their job.

Told at one point that she should have checked in at least two hours before her flight's departure time, the writer says Guergis shouted: "I don't need to be lectured about flight time by you. I've been down here working my ass off for you people."

The very day that Baird announced Canadians will have to pay a higher airport security tax to make us all safer, Guergis helps him out by showing all of Canada how unstable people can become disruptive and violate security at airports.

Once she cleared security, Guergis allegedly tried to force open a locked door from the pre-boarding area on to the tarmac, where her plane was waiting. Told to wait for an Air Canada representative, Guergis and her aide instead began "screaming and hammering on the soundproof tinted glass that separates pre-board from airside," apparently hoping to catch the attention of an airline representative.

In the world of the CONs, it seems, laws are only meant for those people the members work their asses off for in various hell holes around the country.

Simple solution to your frustration with Canadians, Helena.  If you resent the work so much and have such contempt for people you claim to work for, just quit.  It’s not like we’d miss you.

A long history of discrimination + Cuts to the social safety net + Failure to provide basic services like legal aid, affordable housing and childcare + lack of investment in sectors of the economy employing any significant number of women + bargaining away fundamental rights like pay equity = women highly vulnerable to violence and poverty, rendered invisible and voiceless.

And the PMO’s reaction?  Predictable:

When contacted by CBC News, the Prime Minister's Office said it was "satisfied" with her apology, and that it "closes the matter."

Well, the matter is hardly closed for all Canadians.  Guergis, like other elected politicians, is supposed to work for the people of Canada.  Guergis did not, as she is trying now to say speak emotionally.  She was verbally abusive to people who were trying to do their job, and she violated security procedures at an airport.  An apology doesn’t cut it.  Such behaviour is not written off for anyone else at airports because we are all expected to respect the rights of others and follow security procedures.  An MP who has so little control over their own actions should not be instrumental in shaping laws for others.