Wow. What is it about Canadian Forces officers that they can’t keep their dicks inside their pants? Our senior officer in Haiti is relieved of command because of an inappropriate relationship. And with a woman! It’s prejudice I tells ya. Prejudice. Why aren’t there any gay officers in command and if they are why aren’t they being found with their dicks where they don’t belong? I’m so disappointed.
When I’m wrong, I’m wrong and I’m happy to admit it.
And in the case of Michaëlle Jean, Canada’s 27th Governor General, I was wrong.
When she was appointed by Mr. Dithers(remember him? 
, it seemed that he’d only chosen her because she met politically correct criteria. I remember thinking at the time: CBC journalist? check; black? check; female?check; immigrant? bonus points! The only two things she wasn’t was lesbian and handicapable. But then you can’t have everything, can you? She certainly seemed way too young and lacking in gravitas for the job.
She also got off to a rough start even before she was sworn in. Some thought her a separatist. Then there was the issue of her dual citizenship. Then when she got into the job came the news that she needed some time off because she was ‘tired.’ Needless to say that last issue caused some comment especially when compared to the Queen who at 90 carries out a punishing schedule that would puts anyone to shame. Only later was it revealed that she need to rest under doctor’s orders.
Despite some missteps such as Rideau Hall trying to call her Head of State, Her Excellency has grown into the role. She certainly caught the nation’s attention with her eating seal. She has also done well in her numerous tours both domestically and internationally.
But it for her actions in December 2008 when she granted Prime Minister Harper’s request to prorogue Parliament that she will be remembered for. I think she acted correctly in her handling of the affair but she would have been within her rights to have refused the request. What would have happened then would have been anyone’s guess. I’m sure the historians and political junkies will be waiting with bated breath for the memoirs of the people involved to be written.
The governor general is now in Haiti. Anything she can do to keep the spotlight on the poor benighted country is to the good.
Long story short. While a Governor General serves at Her Majesty’s pleasure, the term of office is usually 5 years +/-, I certainly would not be averse to having Prime Minister Harper advise the Queen to extend her term.
I don’t think it will happen but it would be nice if she had the chance to do so(provided she wants to, of course!)
Schmucks to the left of me, schmucks to the right of me.
These orthopedists from Quebec are a bunch of cheap shmucks.
Quebec orthopedists volunteering with the Haitian relief mission want the province to pay them $704 a day.
Twelve Quebec orthopedic specialists are part of the relief mission in the Caribbean country, where as many as 200,000 people were killed two weeks ago in a massive earthquake.
Five of the doctors have requested payment.
According to a letter signed by Jacques Desnoyers, president of the provincial orthopedists association, the doctors expect to be paid a per diem of $704 from the Quebec medicare plan while working in Haiti.
The money doesn’t diminish their volunteer work but is a concrete way for the Quebec government to recognize their contribution, Desnoyers wrote in the letter addressed to Health Minister Yves Bolduc.
Someone needs to explain to these alledgedly smart people the meaning of the word “volunteer”
Volunteering is the practice of people working on behalf of others or a particular cause without payment for their time and services. Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life.
The letter goes on to whine that other ‘professionals’ such as rescue specialists etc are getting paid. The letter conveniently ignores the fact that those professionals are there because ‘rescue’ is their career.
In light of yesterday’s meeting of Haitian donors in Montreal it would be helpful to take a look at some of the problems Haiti has had to deal with since it was first colonized.
Here’s a link to an excellent essay that helps explain matters. It’s somewhat dated but only in terms of who’s in power and who’s not. The rest of the essay is as on point as when it was first written.
The ultimate causes of Haiti’s misery are human. They are rooted in greed and power. Both the international community and Haiti’s rulers have continuously assured the destruction of Haiti’s colonial wealth and the creation and continuance of her misery.
- The international community’s role.
- French colonial contribution.
- The international boycott of the new nation of 1804.
- The French debt of 1838.
- The United States Occupation, 1915-1934.
- Post World War II United States domination.
- The role of Haiti’s rulers.
- Slave-like labor systems in the early republic.
- The elite’s protection of its wealth.
- Haitian corruption.
- Human rights violations as a tool of oppression.
Haiti needs these jokers like it needs a hole in the head:
Amid the mass of aid agencies piling in to help Haiti quake victims is a batch of Church of Scientology “volunteer ministers”, claiming to use the power of touch to reconnect nervous systems.
Clad in yellow T-shirts emblazoned with the logo of the controversial US-based group, smiling volunteers fan out among the injured lying under makeshift shelters in the courtyard of Port-au-Prince’s General Hospital.
A wealthy private donor provided his airplane to fly in 80 volunteers from Los Angeles, along with 50 Haitian-American-doctors, in a gesture worth 400,000 dollars, said a Parisian volunteer who gave her name as Sylvie.
“We’re trained as volunteer ministers, we use a process called ‘assist’ to follow the nervous system to reconnect the main points, to bring back communication,” she said.
“When you get a sudden shock to a part of your body the energy gets stuck, so we re-establish communication within the body by touching people through their clothes, and asking people to feel the touch.”
The French can act like such disgusting turds at times. Now France is upset because the United States is “occupying Haiti.” The French minister in question also blithered on that the international community should no squabble but instead help Haiti. This was after the minister admitted that he had been involved in a scuffle with a US commander in the airport’s control tower over the flight plan for a French evacuation flight.
As far as I’m concerned France can go fuck itself and keep right on fucking itself until it repays the $22 BILLION indemnity it owes to Haiti.
What a bunch of treacherous, mealy mouth miserable scum.
Here’s a great way to contribute to the Haitian Earthquake Relief Effort and express your opinion while you’re doing it!
Finally! What you’ve all been asking for! A one of a kind, handmade PAT ROBERSTON VOODOO DOLL.
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Ever wanted to cause Pat Robertson a massive headache? give him back pain? jab him in the crotch? Of course you have! Well then BID NOW to own your very own physical representation of the dark, dark soul of Pat Robertson.
Accessories included with the doll are Pat’s very own “HOLY” BIBLE and BAG OF MONEY taken from real Americans! WOW!
Yes, that’s right, folks! You too can buy your very own Pat Robertson voodoo doll on Ebay right now! Proceeds go to Haitian relief.
Go and bid now! It’s for a good cause!
ht: Americablog
Haiti. What a tortured country. In the midst of astonishing beauty, a veritable Eden, there is abject human degradation.
Beauty
Degradation
I knew the general outlines of Haitian history (what can I say, I’m
a history freak and a collector of other useless trivia): slave rebellion,
embargos (French and American), American Occupation, the Duvaliers etc.
but being able to quote facts and events does not mean knowing the country. Not really. I really had not put any effort into understanding the
implications of of that history on the people or on the country.
Normally I think the case for reparations for events long past(ie the stupidty of slave reparations in the US) but in the case of France and Haiti I would be willing to make an exception.
In 1824 in order to get France to recognize its independence (and to get France to stop sending armies to try and reconquer the country) Haiti had to pay an indemnity of 150 million gold French Francs. In other words Haiti had to buy its independence.
The Haitian government of the day(such as it was) had to float loans(in France!) at usurious interest rates in order to raise the cash. Those loans were only repaid in 1947. Needless to say repayment of that debt strangled the country and its economic development.
The Daily Beast has an excellent article on why this earthquake is potentially so embarrassing to France. That 150 million francs would be in excess of $22 Billion today. If that money(aka reparations) was repaid to Haiti it would be a godsend. But it’s doubtful that is going to happen. Read here to find out why.
And don’t forget to donate!
I heard the news of the earthquake (the greatest in the area for over 200 years) in Haiti late yesterday but it is only this morning that the extent of the disaster has become clear. Of all the places where such a thing could happen, it had to be Haiti. That poor bastard step child of the French Revolution must have a figurative bullseye painted on it.
I hope that our government will step up to the plate and do its utmost to aid that poor country. I will post links where donations can made to help once announcements are made.
Of all the countries in the Americas where such a disaster could occur, this is certainly the absolutely worst place that it could happen.
Haiti just can’t catch a break. For nearly five years, the small island nation has made slow but steady progress toward economic development and political stability. But it seems that just as the country is poised to turn a corner, an act of God, like yesterday’s devastating earthquake, sends Haiti reeling back. The epicenter of the 7.0-magnitude quake—the largest recorded in the region in over 200 years—was just Southwest of Port au Prince, leaving the capital city without electricity, countless homes leveled, and the National Palace and headquarters of the United Nations mission destroyed. It’s too soon to tell how many people have died, or to what extent humanitarian efforts in Haiti have been setback. But the costs will be significant.
Presidential Palace in ruins
