What's in Our Cabinet?

Peter MacKay, our Minister of National Defense like his predecessor, is not taking responsibility for the transfer of prisoners in Afghanistan. In spite of reports alleging torture, (from his department), he continues to state that all is well.

Yesterday we learned that some of these transfers include children. Children are being incarcerated in the very same prisons where the allegations of torture are being made. Apparently MacKay is just fine with this. He sees no problem because the children are kept away from the general population of the prison. Huh? First of all, that doesn't answer the question but isn't that even more of a concern?

Apparently not. In fact, he once again accused the opposition of being overly concerned with the very Taliban that have the blood of our soldiers on their hands.

What a disgusting political ploy given the events of the past week. What a petty, incompetent man. The Minister of Defense fails to realise the impact of not abiding by International conventions, on our troops.

How about we insist on or better yet, assist with, developing a youth detention centre that educates these youth and dispels the lies they are being told by the Taliban, (or whatever group)? It seems to me that such a move would go much further in promoting whatever vision the current Afghan government wants to see for the country. It would also support what we are supposedly doing there.

Oh, I forgot, our current government isn't into rehabilitation. It's all black and white. Bad guys = punishment. That's it, that's all. No vision here, NONE, move along.

Maxime Bernier, our Minister of Foreign Affairs appears to be equally as incompetent as his predecessor, Peter MacKay. This appears to be a man more concerned with photo op's than solid foreign policy. Apparently the Minister is going to give an upcoming meeting of over 50 countries to decide the fate of Pakistan, (with respect to the Commonwealth) a pass. Instead Bernier will be in Laos for a francophone summit. He's sending Guergis in his stead.

Yes that's right. Pakistan is not enough of a priority for this Minister. Where is one of the most troubling situations on the planet right now? Does Pakistan, with a suspended constitution, under emergency rule having recently thrown thousands of innocents in jail not to mention the fact that they are a nuclear power, stand out? I guess not. I haven't heard of any major problems in the world's francophone community, but hey maybe I'm missing something.

Perhaps I just don't understand his priorities. After all, his biggest moment in Afghanistan was handing out Jos Louis' to the troops. The press ate it up so it must have been important. He also announced that everything was improving in Afghanistan on a day that a major report came out telling us that attacks were on an upsurge.

In fact he seems to get quite a few things wrong. He stated that Aristide was leading Haiti even though he's met with Preval. He also said that Canada had not changed it's position with respect to citizen's facing the death penalty outside the county, only to be contradicted by his party.

I know his press has been good. They call him a star and a potential future leader of the party but personally, I've always seen him as a contained form of vacuity and vanity, contained only by his fashionable wardrobe.

Flash does not equal a sound Foreign Policy. Harper appointed him to that position for two reasons. He's from Quebec and he looks good.

A fine way to run a country don't you think?

This man, Stockwell Day, the Minister of Public Safety, probably makes me the most nervous, (outside of Harper) as it relates to the Cabinet.

He's a man focused on retribution, imo. His type of retribution seems to lie in the Old Testament view of the world. It's no secret that this retrograde minister does not believe in evolution. He seems to believe that there are only two kinds of people: good or evil and he alone holds the only definition of evil. If you fall into the evil category...no mercy. Think about that for a minute. This guy is supposed to be looking out for our safety, Canadians safety, all Canadians. Is he?

There is a Canadian who is due to be killed in the US, on death row. Day's response to that is this government will not import murders to this country.

In other words, you do not fit my view of a member of a good tribe, so you deserve to die. Canadians should really take this new stance very seriously. There is no question in my mind now, that with a majority they would try to bring back the death penalty.

Day does not see Canadians, he sees Canadians that he accepts and those he does not. Khadr is another example.

On the recent tasering tragedy in BC, Day was so cavalier that it made my skin crawl. I think in large part, most Canadians support the RCMP, but this event and others deserve an non bias, serious enquiry. It also deserves some national consideration in terms of how tasers are used. Day won't entertain the thought though. He hides behind "separation" between government and the RCMP. Nonsense. National regulations are called for here and the government has the power to impose that.

His recent idiotic comment tells you who this man really is. It's not just apples and oranges, it is a typical conservative feint tactic. It shows an inability to maintain two concepts simultaneously or at the very least, a willingness to suggest to the public that that is not possible. It also shows just how little he cares about what is right.

His comment:

"Quite rightly, the whole nation is aghast.... One person was killed who didn't have to be killed," said Day, MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla.

But he says drunk-driving accidents also claim the lives of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and other loved ones, "and where's the shock and horror?"

What on earth, (even if it is 2000 years old, according to him), relates those two comments? Nothing. What a linear, unevolved, high school argument. Proportional outrage seems to be the order of the day.

This is the man who is supposed to protect us. He only seems willing to do that however, if you agree with him.

His twitching during QP is telling. This is a very scary man. He knows his point of view is not popular yet he delights in throwing out the most outrageous, disgusting comments and he delights in the fact that this government is giving him cover. Of course they are, that is their forte after all. Being tough and nasty is quickly becoming their trademark.

This is a long post and I know that is not popular. Here's the thing though. The media has forgotten or neglected to tell us who these people are and what their motive may be. They have manufactured the current arguments between the parties into a false scenario, one that keeps them content. They tend to mute what is salient, the background that would place positions in context. That's not important apparently, headlines seem to rule.

Thanks to Scotian's input in the last post, it's clear what is happening vis a vis some media.

I bring these MP's up because I find it astonishing that these people are running the country. Harper I suppose is really doing that and of course he is the worse offender. Today he delighted in charging Dion with accusing our good men and women of the military of committing war crimes. That's not a verbatim quote, but you know the drill. He grinned as he made the comments, checking the gallery to be sure he had the desired impact. He's a vile man.

Oh, did I mention that the parents of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers were in the gallery?

It seems to me that the Cabinet is empty. Empty of decency, sound policy and respect for Canadians. Perhaps in time this will become clearer to the nation, but as it stands now, there is no attempt by media to put these people in context.