Saturday, November 10, 2007

Weekend Musings

I know it's been done to death on countless Liblogs, but I feel I would be remiss not to mention my delight at watching Harpo twist and turn and eventually call an "independent review" on his old buddy Lyin' Brian Mulroney. Pressure from the opposition? An attempt to deflect attention away from Dion's poverty plan? Worry about his own name being linked to Karlheinz Schreiber and his sordid dealings? Who knows. But it's funny that an exercise that was just last week dismissed as "dangerous" is now crucial to "protect the office of the Prime Minister". When the spineless turn on the shameless, it's always good for a few laughs.

And does anyone actually believe the latest steaming pile of crap to come out of the Perv's mouth? According to an article in the G&M, "Pakistan Will End Emergency Rule In One Month". Uh huh. And if you buy that, I have a bridge in New York I'd like to sell you. The tinpot Pakistani dictator-in-chief suspended all pretense of democracy (which has never actually existed) in his country last week on the grounds that he wanted to round up Islamic terrorists. So far, the only people he's tossed in jail have been Supreme Court justices, lawyers, political opponents and human rights activists. And yet, the US taps continue to flow to the tune of billions of dollars a year. Spreading democracy, one brutal dictatorship at a time.
UPDATE: Anyone still interested in that bridge in New York? The Perv has confirmed that martial law will not end in one month, as announced yesterday. Apparently, the poor man found himself between a rock and a "hard surface".

13 comments:

MD said...

Brian Mulroney was arguably the worst Prime Minister in modern Canadian history. His bizarre tax-evading behavour and apparently documented attempt to have Shreiber lie in a signed affidavit suggest he is also kind of a schmuck as a person as well. The last time Harper tried to initiate an "independent" review, however, he appointed a separatist to review Liberal polling contracts which the auditor general had already investigated. I suspect this review will ultimately find fault with Liberal governemnt which settled with Mulroney in the 90s.

Red Canuck said...

MD - His bizarre tax-evading behavour and apparently documented attempt to have Shreiber lie in a signed affidavit suggest he is also kind of a schmuck as a person as well.

Well, these are just the latest things to suggest his general schmuckitude. Reading a couple of the BT blogs today, it seems that even some conservatives would be happy to rid themselves of this jackass once and for all.

As to the utility of the inquiry, I agree that it will likely come to nothing. He'll probably appoint Luc Lavoie to run the show. ;)

Anyways, Brian's been lyin' his whole damn life, and there's nothing to stop him from continuing to do so. Part of the problem is that the accusations against him are coming from a guy who is equally as dirty (Schreiber) and has his own personal agenda (avoiding extradition). Unless somebody gives up some solid evidence of malfeasance under subpoeana or sworn testimony, this (like Muldoon's reputation) will all swirl down the drain in time.

wilson said...

'Unless somebody gives up some solid evidence of malfeasance under subpoeana or sworn testimony,'

The Gomery Inquiry turned up some very damning evidence, and Chretien was implicated too, and nothing happened.

Stolen taxpayers money distributed, in untraceable cash, to Liberal candidates, and nothing happened.

During the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal:

''...Cote (a man Dion wants back in the Liberal fold) testified that he received $120,000 in $100 bills from the executive director of the party's Quebec wing. He distributed that money to 12 Liberal candidates in the 1997 federal election...'

Raging Ranter said...

To add to Wilson's comment, the Gomery inquiry was also very narrow in its focus. It was not allowed to probe internal Liberal Party matters. Judge Gomery himself frequently had to cut witnesses testimony short when they strayed into matters of internal party transactions. Bloody good thing for them too, because more than a few witnesses indicated that "that's just the way things were done in Quebec". So many avenues just weren't pursued.

Karen said...

I have no idea whether or not the enquiry will bring out anything new.

I agree with you though RC, given that Mulroney's accuser is Shreiber, well, it's the stuff of movies really.

It is interesting that Harper had this information 7 months ago though, or at least the PMO did. I'm not quite sure what to make of that. Did Harper know? Did his staff shield him? If so, why?

As to the con comments and Gomery...get over it. It's done and no one in office was implicated, except in the rich fantasy life you seem to live.

As for Pakistan, I'm at a complete loss to understand the US strategy. The fact that Harper is following suit isn't particulary surprising, but it is disturbing.

Red Canuck said...

Well, the most I can say about the Gomery inquiry is that it did what everyone pretty much expected it would. i.e. it exposed problems, but didn't amount to much else. And I should point out that it happened at the behest and urging of the same guy (Harper) that was just last week calling such things "dangerous".

There's no reason to expect anything more of the Mulroney probe. Schreiber can sign all the affidavits he likes, but if Lyin' Brian and the PMO deny his allegations, then it's just one scoundrel's word against another's. KNB, I do have a hard time believing that the PMO could have kept such a letter from Harper 7 months ago, especially considering the nature of the allegations. It's almost inconceivable isn't it?

And the Pakistan issue really bothers me. Bushco have painted themselves into a corner and don't have the balls to admit it. They are nakedly supporting a brutal dictator under the guise of fighting the war on terror...how can they say these things with a straight face?

MD said...

I don't think the US government has "painted themselves into a corner." Domestic pressure has never been strong enough to mitigate US support for brutal, violent dictators around the world, so long as they are perceived to be supporting US interests. The only exception I can think of was the temporary withdrawal of support for the Samoza regime in Nicaragua (and this was again reversed by Reagan during the Iran-Contra affair).

What surprises me is how the adminstration hasn't yet calculated that these interventions, in the long term, work against American interests. Haroon Siddiqui's column today neatly summarizes how the US supported all of the military dicators in Pakastani history for different reasons, and how those decisions have come back to haunt them.

Red Canuck said...

MD - I will grant that US foreign policy has long included supporting various tinpot dictators to further short-term regional interests.

But who in their right mind believes that supporting Musharraf is in the US interest?? Believe me, I'm not endorsing Bhutto or anyone else (she and her family are as corrupt as they come), but everyone in the world knows that the Perv has done nothing in this crackdown to curtail Islamic terrorists. In fact he cut a deal to release several of them in exchange for captured Pakistani soldiers. And he has jailed anyone who opposes him on any political level.

So when the Perv claims to be fighting terrorism and Bush agrees with him, who in the USA is buying this horseshit? And why?

Bowler said...

Speaking of third world dictators, why was Lyin' Bryan receiving envelopes of cash from Schreiber whilst Muldoon was still the Prime Minister? That in and of itself bothers me, even apart from the issue of when he reported it as taxable income.

Red Canuck said...

Bowler,

Yeah no kidding. At one point, he claimed it was part of some sort of bizzaro business deal to help Schreiber set up a pasta business. Even if one was to believe such an incredulous story, did a man like Brian Mulroney actually feel that accepting cash under tables in unmarked envelopes was an appropriate way to conduct legitimate business?? (I mean, surely that's how you collect legal fees from your clients, isn't it?) It beggars belief...

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