Next: Hiring Quotas for HarperCons

Also known as Affirmative Action for RightWingers.

Radio-Canada and other media have raised some interesting questions and uncovered some fascinating information about the recent appointment of Tom Pentefountas to the CRTC. From here:

A Commons committee has voted to bring the newly appointed vice-chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission before them to answer some pointed questions about his qualifications and his vision for the role.

Opposition MPs have accused the government of making a partisan appointment in former Montreal lawyer Tom Pentefountas, hired to the senior-ranking CRTC position earlier this month. Critics have said that Pentefountas, who is the former president of the Action democratique du Quebec, a political party with ties to the Conservatives, does not have the credentials for the job.

At a Commons heritage meeting Wednesday, MPs agreed to call on Pentefountas along with officials from Canadian Heritage, the Privy Council and the Prime Minister's Office to describe the hiring process, from the criteria used in vetting applications to timelines for interviews.

The position involves a number of complex responsibilities, and applicants for the position are in principal, required to demonstrate that they have the knowledge, the experience and the skills needed to accomplish the job.

But never fear! The PMO, aka Stevie's Politburo, was directly involved in the vetting process. Furthermore Michel Arpin, who previously held the position, was hired to "coach" Pentefountas in all the areas in which he is deficient.

Egypt in Wisconsin?

Some Merkins seem to be clueing in to the deep deep ugliness that is Teabagging, and in particular, its loathing for unionized workers. Well, except for firefighters.

Wisconsin is leading the way.

In all, Republicans now hold five of seven governorships in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Last year, they held two.

The story is the same for legislatures in those seven states. Republicans now hold power in six of the seven lower chambers of the legislature (called the House in some states and the Assembly in others) – up from one last year. They also hold five of the seven state Senates. Only Illinois has bucked the trend, with Democrats controlling the General Assembly and the Senate and Democrat Pat Quinn the governor.

Walker [Wisconsin's governer] was the first of the Midwest’s four new Republican governors to push for weakening collective bargaining. But Ohio and Michigan already have bills targeting unions in the works, too.

. . .

In a time when large and tense demonstrations have become increasingly rare in America, the Wisconsin protests could provide an Egypt-like moment, says Norman Ornstein, a fellow at the nonpartisan American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

"If there's a big tea party demonstration in Madison, we may see a direct clash, just as we had in the streets of Cairo," he says.

One protester's sign at the capitol said, "Impeach Scott Mubarak" – a direct reference to protests that led Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign last week.

As it gains momentum, the union protest movement is likely to draw in young social-justice activists, Obama supporters, and even religious groups who fight for the dispossessed, says Bruno.

Last night, in Madison, the state capital, there was a huge demonstration. The place went nuts when off-duty firefighters marched in support -- complete with bagpipes! Note that firefighters, along with police and state patrol, were specifically exempted from the legislation.

Solidarity!



For another innovative ploy, the state's Democratic senators have fled the state to deny the legislature the necessary quorum to pass the bill. Creative.

Cue the Fetus Fetishist Crowing

US House of Representatives votes to defund Planned Parenthood. Some Dems voted for it, some Rethugs voted against. Final vote: 240-185.

Have a look at this awesome defence of planned parenthood by Rep. Gwen Moore.



The Bill is said to be 'very unlikely' to pass in the Senate. Fingers crossed, though.

Should Oda go blonde?

This photograph of the Minister for International Bullying Cooperation, hiding behind her cloud of tobacco smoke (Rona Ambrose was busy elsewhere) went viral after the Odascam/Negate debacle broke in Canadian political news.

Many have noted the eerie ressemblance to Roy Orbison.

My advice to Bev Oda: lose the jet-black hair-dye. If you let it go, eventually you'll turn into a blonde because the fumes from the cigarettes you're chain-smoking will stain your hair yellow. (Ever visited a heavy smoker's den and noticed the patina of nicotine tar clinging to the walls and ceiling?) And Lord knows Stevie's HarperCons could use another diversion in the House of Commons.

Is there anyone proficient with Photoshop out there willing to show us what a blonde Oda might look like?

NOThing done about freezing Ben Ali clan assets.

The former dictator lies comatose in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, abandoned by family members who are no doubt scurrying about, secreting whatever's available of the MASSIVE fortune Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his thugs stole from the Tunisian people.

On Monday and Tuesday, BQ MP Jean Dorion tried in vain to secure from Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon a clear and straight answer about the assets held in Canada by the Ben Ali cabal. For two days running, Cannon supplied Con-voluted baffle-gab in response to pointed questions from Dorion.



Then the Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson took up the empty rhetoric refrain: "Our government is prepared to assist the Government of Tunisia in any manner while respecting our laws. We will continue to work with representatives of Tunisia on this file. Obviously, we all have a stake in ensuring that justice is done for the people of Tunisia."

Yesterday BQ leader Gilles Duceppe met the Tunisian ambassador - who says he has NOT received any communication whatsoever from Cannon or Nicholson.

At the end of January, Tunisian officials asked Canada to freeze assets held by the former President Ben Ali and his family, including illegal transfers of funds abroad. Ben Ali's family owns a house in Westmount valued at over $ 2 million.

[...] in an interview with The Associated Press the Ambassador of Tunisia in Ottawa Mouldi Sakri said the minister, Lawrence Cannon, has yet to respond to the request of Tunisia [...]

Belhassen Trabelsi, brother-in-law of the deposed president, fled to Canada following the uprising in Tunisia. He has permanent resident status, but the immigration department has taken steps to withdraw his status.

Cannon has invoked Canadian laws on privacy to justify his silence on this issue while Mr. Sakri has received no communication from Canadian officials.

"The Ben Ali must be frozen before they are squandered. The Ministry of Justice in Tunisia presented two requests to the Canadian government," he said.

[...] Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, who met yesterday with the Ambassador of Tunisia in his office on Parliament Hill, said the Harper government cannot shirk its responsibilities. [...]

"The ambassador hoped for a speedy response to his requests and at the very least a temporary freeze of assets, pending a final decision. Ben Ali family members are experts in fiscal evasion. Now they've been given plenty of time to move money to off-shore havens [...]" said Duceppe.

If the HarperCons had acted efficiently and competently, they would have bragged about it. Their evasive tactics in Question Period means neither Cannon nor Nicholson have done anything except procrastinate and put off Tunisian officials.

As fern hill said yesterday, Stevie and his bullies respect the power of money. In addition, they appear to feel ideologically synchronized with oligarchies that undermine the democratic process.

Cannon and his Teensy Tunisian Obfuscations

This has been quite the week for Con-generated Convolution in the House of Commons, and it's not over yet.


On Monday, BQ MP Jean Dorion presented a clear query regarding the assets held by the Ben Ali family in Canada, here:

Mr Speaker, it took less than 24 hours for Switzerland to freeze Mubarak's assets. Europe and Switzerland also dealt quickly with the assets of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali and his entourage. Members of the Ben Ali family have been in Canada for weeks now and we still do not know whether Canada has frozen their assets.

Is anyone in this government able to tell us whether or not Canada has frozen the assets of members of the Ben Ali entourage?

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon uttered the standard HarperCon ring-around-the-rosy reply:

Mr Speaker there is a condition that needs to be met, as I have told my colleague many times: the request has to come from the Tunisian government. For example, in the case of Egypt, the request was made to the various countries my colleague mentioned. However, before we can take action, this request has to come from the Tunisian government. We have worked and continue to work closely with government authorities. My colleague, the Minister of Justice, is weighing all the options, and we will pursue this matter with the same intention I have already identified.

Those sentences contain subjects and verbs and yet offer no concrete information in response to a straight question. This is the Minister who puffed himself up 18 months ago and huffed that he would have some strong words for Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. And last year, he lectured survivors of the Haïtian earthquake about transparence and accountability.

Yes or no. Were the Ben Ali family assets frozen? On Tuesday, this was the exchange in the House. MP Dorion tried again:

Mr. Speaker, here we have another example of misinformation from this government. The Minister of Foreign Affairs led the House to believe that he had not received any requests from the Tunisian authorities for Canada to freeze the assets of former dictator Ben Ali or members of his family. That is not true. How can the minister deny the many requests made to the Canadian government urging it to take the necessary steps to freeze the assets of Ben Ali?

Cannon said:

Mr. Speaker, I have always answered my colleague's question clearly. The Tunisian authorities have taken steps. We have encouraged the Tunisian authorities to take steps to allow us to work with them on developing options to freeze the assets of those who are not welcome in Canada.

Dorion:

Mr. Speaker, how could the minister, yesterday, still maintain his story that he did not receive any request, when a press release from the Tunisian embassy, dated January 26, confirmed that: “the Embassy has taken the necessary steps with the Canadian authorities...to freeze and protect assets...that might be held by ousted President Ben Ali, his wife, and members of their families”? What more is the minister waiting for to freeze the assets of the Ben Ali family?

Cannon:

Mr. Speaker, if my hon. colleague reviews yesterday's transcript, he will see that he began his question by talking about Egypt. With regard to Egypt, I told him that we still had not received such a request. However, I continued by specifying once again that we are fully prepared to work with the Tunisian authorities on freezing the assets of those who are not welcome in Canada.

So you have it. Cannon was confused because Dorion mentioned Egypt. The fact is, Mubarak has no family in Canada, and it is the Tunisian embassy that issued a formal request, not Egypt. Cannon is doing what all the other PMO-coached Ministers do: leading the opposition up the garden path.

On Wednesday, the Tunisian ambassador issued a statement:

Canada must be on the side of the Tunisian people and not on the side of criminals, "said Ambassador Mouldi Sakri, in an interview with The Associated Press.

He claims not to have received a formal response from Ottawa despite a request from the end of January of the freezing of assets to countries of the former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family, including accused of illegal transfers of funds abroad. [...]

"Our hope is that the Canadian government to take urgent measures to safeguard the property until justice is done," pleaded Mr. Sakr.

And if the former Tunisian president and members of his family are not found guilty, their property will be returned, he explains.

Two other requests were made to the Canadian government formally by the Ministry of Justice in Tunisia," he said. One is an international arrest warrant against Belhassen Trabelsi - the brother of former president - now on Canadian soil.

Despite claims that date back more than three weeks, Cannon - when pressed for action - simply answers questions from MPs in the House of Commons that the Canadian government is "evaluating options" with Tunisia.

HarperCon ministers are so well trained in the tactics of NOT giving direct answers. They fill the air with volumes of truthy gabble-fab. They don't appear to answer their mail, either.

#laralogan & forcible penetration.

Was the brutal physical assault inflicted upon CBS reporter Lara Logan actual, *real* rape-rape? Were any of her body orifices penetrated with a weapon?

A penis can be a weapon when deliberately used with force and hatred, though many rapists are impotent and have tortured women with a variety of implements. Prurient minds need to know.

Even in the absence of the crudest of details, the shrieeeking hordes of gynophes (aka women-haters), islamophes (aka moslem-haters) and racists are yapping non-stop, spewing their ignorance over Twitter and the blogosphere.

Never mind it was a group of Egyptian women and men (soldiers) that rescued Logan from what some people consider a 'fate worse than death', right?

Of course, those same people seemingly have no time to consider the fate of women in the Congo. By the way, KAIROS and Rights & Democray, the organizations maligned and de-funded by HarperCons supported programs that provide assistance to women and girls who have survived vicious, vile sexual violence.

It's also important to remember the thousands of women in the US armed forces who were sexually assaulted by their male colleagues - not by the enemy - because, like Lara Logan, they were doing a *man's job*.

We Won't Go Back

Great new PSA, featuring Lisa Edelstein.

Choice: the gift of life and love.

Blob Blogging Wingnut probably believes Kristine Casey's gift was an abomination - SHE has produced shrieeeking diatribes about assisted reproduction in the past, so it's unlikely that HER so-called *pro-life* ideology includes Casey's choice.

Kristine Casey accepted to become impregnated with, and carry her daughter's fetus to term.

From here:

Almost 39 weeks ago, Kristine Casey set out on an unusual journey to help her daughter and answer a spiritual calling. Her goal was achieved late Wednesday when she gave birth to her own grandson at age 61.

Casey, possibly the oldest woman to give birth in Illinois, served as a surrogate for her daughter, Sara Connell, who had been trying for years to have a baby. Connell and her husband, Bill, are the biological parents of the child Casey carried, which grew from an embryo created from the Chicago couple's egg and sperm. [...]

The Connells decided in 2004 to try to have a baby, but Sara, now 35, soon discovered she wasn't ovulating. After undergoing infertility treatment at the Reproductive Medicine Institute in Evanston, she got pregnant but delivered stillborn twins, and later she suffered a miscarriage.

Kristine Casey chose to provide the physical, emotional and spiritual environment that her daughter and son-in-law's fetus needed to develop to term, and to give life to her grandchild. Modern medical science can be astounding - but not as amazing as a gestating woman extending the range of her procreative power.

Unfortunately, this event occurred in a country that may give religious zealots permission to murder doctors who provide medical care for women who need to terminate a pregnancy.