"Lifestyle challenges" lead Canuck cabinet minister to resign

Meet the Honourable Hunter Tootoo, Member of the Canadian Parliament for Nunavut and Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard... until Monday, when he resigned his cabinet position and from the Liberal caucus to seek treatment for addiction issues, after what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "a very difficult situation".

This is not really big news, not even in the Great White North (shown clearly in the picture). Over the last three decades almost 40 Canuck cabinet ministers have had to resign for personal and/or professional reasons, including controversies and scandals. Often, they weren't gone forever, just sent to purgatory for a while and then rehabilitated. Having been in a similar position himself -- not a cabinet position, just in the position of having to quit to avoid being fired -- Walt wishes Mr Tootoo a speedy recovery.

Mr Tootoo's problem with the evil drink must surely have been exacerbated by the challenging lifestyle of a parliamentarian. As Canada's Global TV news site puts it, "Life on Parliament Hill, with its parade of free meals and wine-soaked networking events, can make it difficult for even the most stout-willed politicians, staffers and journalists to avoid overindulging at the best of times." Yes, that's what it says on the landing page, as the lead for a story headed "Parliament Hill cocktail circuit creates lifestyle challenges for MPs". Walt is bemused by the juxtaposition of that story with the advertisement immediately underneath.

Maybe if the brewers and vintners and distillers stopped advertising the stuff, people wouldn't drink so much? Yeah... right....

Footnote: Non-Canadian readers may think that "Tootoo" is an unusual name. Not so in Nunavut. Lots of Tootoos up there, including one -- Jordin Tootoo -- who now makes his home in New Jersey, where he plays for the NHL's Jersey Devils.

Another footnote: Never heard of Nunavut? You'll hear it described quite accurately in the excellent video embedded in "Advice on moving to Canada (in case Trump wins)", WWW 27/4/16.

Yet another footnote: Did you think "lifestyle challenges" related to gender identity? John Baird is no longer in the cabinet or even in parliament, having resigned suddenly and mysteriously a couple of years ago.

Anonymous threatens to reveal John Baird's "secret"

The group (?) of hackers which styles itself "Anonymous" has members/colleagues/friends in Canada. The Anonymous Canucks are upset because the Mounties shot and killed one of their members a few days back, during a confrontation in Dawson Creek BC. (See? Canadian police shoot unarmed people too!)

The National Post reports today that the hackers are threatening to release decrypted text messages from former Foreign Affairs Minister John "Nancy" Baird which allegedly reveal the real reason why he abruptly left his position [assumed position? Ed.] in early February.

The warning was made in the Twitterverse from an account which the Post says is one that has been operated by activists responsible for previous leaks of confidential information from the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service [sic]. Here's the Tweet.

Whatever could they be talking about?! The Post says the hacktivists presented no evidence to support their claim. Johnboy, of course, declined to comment, as did the buggers at the Department of Foreign Affairs. So, it's up to Walt to poke a hole in their rubbers.

The reason why Mr. Baird, who was one of the highest-profile members of Steve Harper’s cabinet, quit suddenly to join the private sector was revealed right here on WWW in February. See "Canada's Foreign Minister finally comes out of the...errr... cabinet".

That Mr. Baird is as gay as 18 balloons has been an open secret in Ottawa for years. That's why his appointment as Foreign Minister made so much sense. The Department of Foreign Affairs Etc. is home to a large and influential gay mafia, so putting Johnboy on top was, errr, a natural fit.

The only reason that Walt can think of for CSIS to take an interest in the Mr. Baird's "alternative lifestyle" is the possibility that he was risking not just getting AIDS, but blackmail by a jilted lover or even a queer spy.

Such things are not unknown, even in staid old Canada. In 1963, the Associate Minister of National Defence, Pierre Sévigny, was forced to resign when it was disclosed that he had had an affair with Gerda Munsinger, an East German prostitute who lived in Ottawa and worked as a spy for the Soviet Union. M. Sévigny's dalliance with the beautiful Gerda was heterosexual, of course, but that was half a century ago, before homosexuality was made not just acceptable but, in certain circles, mandatory!

@OpAnonDown has not given any timeline for the release of this not-so-hot news flash. Perhaps they won't bother. Or perhaps Mr. Baird will preempt them by outing himself. Remember, you read it hear first. Lifetime pct .976.

Canada's Foreign Minister finally comes out of the...errr... cabinet

The agenda of Canada's LGBT community -- to make being queer not just acceptable but admirable -- will receive a huge blow job [just "blow", surely! Ed.] this morning when John "Nancy" Baird, the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs [sic] will announce his resignation from the federal cabinet. He will say that he does not intend to run again in the election scheduled for October, and wants to give Canada's Dear Leader (Steve Harper) plenty of time to groom [word? Ed.] a successor.

Walt suspects that the real reason for the sudden departure of Canada's leading closet homosexual -- he's the one on the right -- is that he was about to be outed, at last, by the lamestream media. Nancy's gender preference has been an open secret on Parliament Hill for years, and the Gay Pride types were hoping that he would come out on his own, and thus be a credit to the community and a scold to straight white guys. However, Mr. Baird has chosen to keep his mouth shut.

Poletical ("The Gay Word") describes Mr. Baird as "a warrior for the gay and lesbian community. He has consistently avoided voting with many of his fellow Tories against legislation that advances gay rights. It also turns out that John Baird is revered and respected by Ottawa's gay community. Baird not only attends annual gay pride events, he has publicly condemned gay rights abuses in Africa. He has also been known to frequent Byzantium, a Toronto cocktail lounge that prides itself for being 'the grand matriarch of the gay village'."

Mr. Baird is only 45 years old. He is getting off the federal payroll just ahead of a change in the pension rules, so as to be entitled to suck off the taxpayers' teat for decades (and millions of dollars) to come. He is expected to be welcomed into the private sector, where lucrative but undemanding positions await on the boards of such organizations as the Gay Pride Parade, the United Jewish Appeal, and... just possibly... the CBC.

Further reading from Daily Xtra ("Everything gay, every day!")
"Glass Closet"
"Why is the CBC censoring Canadians to protect John Baird?"

Further reading -- same picture though -- on WWW: "Gay Canuck foreign minister condemned by REAL Women"

Finally! Foreign minister admits he's gay!

Canada's Sun newspapers chose this image to accompany their report that Latvia's foreign minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, revealed publicly (in a Tweet yesterday) that he is gay. 

The Vox website says this is significant, because Latvia is one of a handful of EU countries with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Its parliament recently advanced a bill banning sex ed curricula from teaching that same-sex marriages are equal to opposite-sex marriages, and there are plans in the works for a Russia-style bill banning "gay propaganda". So a top official like this coming out like this is a major political statement, or so Vox thinks.

Mr. Rinkēvičs is the one on the right. The other person in the picture is a Canadian, John Baird, who is also... wait for it... a foreign minister.

Canuck cabinet ministers not really up for official bilingualism

A person who speaks many languages is multilingual.
A person who speaks two languages is bilingual.
A person who speaks only one language is... English!

That joke has been around for centuries. Of more recent vintage is the one about the southern Baptist preacher whose argument for having English as the only official language of the USA was "If English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!"

You hear a lot of such talk in Armerica, as the use of Spanish in day-to-day life spreads north and east, buoyed on the wave of immigrants (legal and otherwise) from south of the border. Those who insist that the USA should have only one official language -- English -- point to Canada as an example of the confusion and cost of bilingualism.

For those who don't know [most Americans. Ed.], Canada has two official languages -- English and French. Notice that I didn't say "national languages". That's because the word "national", common to both English and French, has slightly different meanings. The French "national" refers to ethnicity -- Frenchness -- and is thus a heavily loaded word in the multicultural mess that Canada has become.

But never mind. Bilingualism has been a principal policy of the Canadian government for half a century, and has given a certain style to all communication, written and oral, by public bodies and officials. The style is sometimes called "AirCanada-speak", from the days when AirCan was the national -- oops, can't say that -- the state-owned airline. Here's an example. "Veuillez boucler vos ceintures de sécurité, please fasten your seatbelts." -- all said in one breath. Which language would be spoken first depends on whether the closest city is in a French-speaking or English-speaking area. Really.

But that's the law in Canada! And there's even a Commissioner of Official Languages/Commissaire aux langues officielles to make sure that all public pronouncements are made in both languages. Not kidding. Check out his website.

Uttering platitudes in English and French simultaneously is no biggie for Canuck Prime Minister Steve Harpoon, whose dogged determination to learn the language on the other side of the corn flakes box has served him well. But some of his top cabinet minister apparently flunked high school French and can't be arsed to take remedial lessons.

Walt refers to "Johnboy" Baird and "Skinny Tony" Clement, who preside over the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Treasury Board respectively. Messrs Baird and Clement love to demonstrate their coolness and connectedness by Twittering and tweeting about this, that and the other. [Especially "the other", in the case of "Nancy" Baird. Ed.] But they do so mostly in English, since that's the only language in which they are more-or-less fluent. Too bad for them, because the language police are on their case!

Jason Fekete, writing in the Ottawa Citizen, tells us that the Commissioner of Official Languages is trying to determine whether cabinet ministers, on their personal Twitter accounts, have responsibilities under Canada’s language laws when tweeting on government business or posting information for their departments. "The outcome of the investigation, could put a chill on federal ministers’ use of social media and erode the spontaneity of communicating directly, in real time, with the public."

What do the ministers concerned have to say? One of the most government's most prolific tweetie-pies, Michelle Rempel, the Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, told the Citizen, "My dept. is fully compliant (tweets in both languages) – as it should be. Press releases are the same. While my French is coming along nicely, and I have a great desire to be fully proficient in it, English is still my primary language and as such tweets from my personal account reflect the same."

Mr. Clement went a little farther, tweeting, "I think it’s a ridiculous waste of time. I sometimes tweet in French, much in English. If he [the Commissioner] proposes to overlord me [sic], I will quit Twitter." Dare we hope!

Walt's advice to all of them: If you can't write coherently in proper English, don't write at all. As Mark Twain said, "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

Announcing Walt's Gay 90s Theme Park

Walt has another brilliant idea, the latest in a long string. Yes, it's Walt Whiteman's GAY 90s THEME PARK, opening soon [too soon. Ed.] in a neighbourhood near [too near. Ed.] you. Here are just a few of the attractions guaranteed to titillate and delight all members of the LGBTQ community.

Judy Garland Theater - You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll simply swoon when you see shows themed on "Cabaret", "Some Like It Hot" and "Judy's Greatest Hits".

Camp Itup Adventure - Visitors don cute little shorts and Boy Scout hats for a walk in the woods with Big Gay Al. For the big finish, everyone sits in a circle while Al ghost stories that will scare your pants off.

Back Tunnel of Love - [Ed., please get an artist to work up an illustration of the entrance.]

Petting Zoo - Featuring lots of adorable woolly sheep. Are they rams or ewes? Play the guessing game and find out.

Confessional Capers - Priests [actors dressed as priests, surely! Ed.] will help you pour out your guilt. Heavy penance, including self-flagellation, for those who beg for it.

HIV Fantastic Voyage - Ride in a giant HIV virus through the bloodstream and lymphatic system, dodging the dreaded antiretrovirals, until you emerge in the middle of a colourful carcinoma.

Simply Spectacular Pride Parade - The highlight of your gay day! Don't just watch, but march along with our Champions of Diversity and celebrity marshals. [Ed., did Wynne, Baird or Kenney respond to our invitations?] Colourful beads and squirt guns for all marchers (fluids not included); posing pouches available in a rainbow of colours.

Dear gay friends, that's just a sampling! More thrilling attractions are in the pipeline even as I write. To get your FREE brochure just send a picture postcard to Walt at the usual address. It's gonna be so super to see you!

Obama names queers to represent him at Olympics; what will Canada do?

There won't be any Obamas or Bidens at the Sochi Olympics, two months hence. Nosiree! In yet another instance of pandering to the powerful LGBT lobby, the Prez has declared that he finds Russia's laws against promoting homosexuality "offensive". And, in a gesture of being offended, he has decided to poke the bear by sending, in his stead, some gay athletes and athletic supporters.

Billie Jean King -- role model for Ontario's Premier Kathleen Wynne -- has been asked to head the US delegation. She says she is "deeply honoured". Lesbian hockey player Caitlin Cahow is the other openly gay representative to the delegation. She'll attend the closing ceremony. And Janet Napolitano gets to go too.

What, Walt asks, will Canada do? Steve "Stephen" Harper is well known for kissing Obama's ass and telling him it smells like chocolate ice cream. And Canada's foreign minister, John "John" Baird threw a monstrous hissy fit when the Russian laws were announced, accusing the Russkis of homophobia, hate crime, yada yada yada.

Agent 3 suggests that since the US is sending two queers, it would be only fitting for Canada to send Baird and his confirmed bachelor buddy, Jason Kenney. But my sub, Poor Len Canayen, says it won't happen because to do so would be tantamount to admitting that Baird and Kenney are as gay as 18 balloons. As of this morning, they are still not just in the cabinet, but in the closet.

Another win for the gay lobby: Canada to welcome gay refugees from Russia

A previous WWW post reported REAL Women of Canada's rebuke to their country's not-openly gay foreign affairs minister, Johnboy Baird, for the shrillness of his gay rights crusade. We pointed out that Baird is not the only closet queen in the Canadian government. The other confirmed bachelor is Jason Kenney, who was Minister of Immigration until a mini-shuffle this summer saw his well-padded posterior moved to Labour.

Mr. Kenney may have moved, but his LGBT-friendly policies linger on. While running Immigration, he brought in a policy of trying to resettle gay Muslims fleeing from persecution in Iran and Iraq.

In January he said he "cannot think of a more obvious case of persecution". We guess China's Tibetans and Uighurs are less obvious. Or maybe they just don't have the support of the gay lobby in the government and media elites of Canuckistan.

Today comes an announcement by Mr. Kenney's successor, Chris Alexander, that Canada will be bending over to welcome gays fleeing "persecution" in Russia! In referring to the Russian government's new laws prohibiting pro-queer propaganda, Chris the Boy Wonder said "any refugee claims related to this particular issue will of course be looked at very seriously by [Canada's] very generous system." The italics are Len's.

The mind boggles. Are Canadians really that stupid? Do they not realize that their ridiculously "balanced" immigration system is being gamed by the scum of the entire earth? Does Canada really need more bogus refugees to swell the ranks of hairdressers, interior designers and, yes, welfare claimants in Toronto's Church/Wellesley "community".

Readers' comments in the lamestream media on the REAL Women story, the controversy over the Sochi Olympics, and this latest twist are running heavily against Johnboy and Jason's pro-gay stance. There is an evident disconnect between the words and actions of the Canadian government and the majority of Canadians outside of the chattering classes.

One comment appended to the Globe and Mail's article says "It seems that we live in a democratic laboratory where people are just mice. Maybe once in a while referendums should be organized on hot topics, like in Switzerland. In this way people could have a voice directly and misrepresentation would be avoided (and Baird would stand corrected)."

Indeed, Kudos to "Val Kovacs" for saying what so many Canadians are thinking. But will Steve Harper and his gay caballeros listen? Len thinks there are two chances...

See also "Canadian Conservatives' base divided over government's pushing 'gay rights'"
And, for a chuckle [maybe not? Ed.] don't miss the VIDEO "'Brand new leather jacket'"

Gay Canuck foreign minister condemned by REAL Women

John "John" Baird is Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, one of the top three in Steve Harpoon's Conservative cabinet. His bio in Wikipedia says nothing about his wife and kids, for the very good reason that he hasn't got any. Johnboy, you see, is a confirmed bachelor and notorious pillow-biter.

It should have come as no surprise, then, to REAL Women of Canada or anyone else, that Baird should have thrown a hissy-fit over the new Russian laws prohibiting gay propaganda. Anytime the LGBT agenda is being defended -- or crammed down our throats [or some other orifice. Ed.] -- you can bet John will get up off his knees and condemn the terrible "homophobes" who dare to suggest that there's something wrong with being gay.

Today, however, the very straight REAL Women of Canada issued a press release, excoriating Minister Baird for defending gay rights on the world stage, saying his views are at odds with Canadian values and even those of his fellow tories (except perhaps for the Hon. Jason Kenney).

According to REAL Women, Johnboy routinely abuses his cabinet post "to further his own perspective on homosexuality." Their criticism is linked to Baird’s defence of same-sex rights in places like Uganda and Russia. As reported here recently, the Russian government has incurred the wrath of the worldwide gay lobby for a new law that criminalizes the promotion of homosexuality and "gay rights", particularly to minors, and outlaws gay rallies and the use of the media to promote the LGBT agenda.

Baird revealed last week that Canada has been working for months trying to convince Russia not to implement the law. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Baird said the “mean-spirited and hateful law” is an “incitement to intolerance.”

Gwendolyn Landolt, national vice-president of REAL Women of Canada, told a Canadian Press interviewer that Baird was "meddling" when he raised such concerns. "It really is offensive," she said. "The issue is really why is he interfering in a sovereign country’s legislation? He really has no business to do that."

"I don’t want other countries to get what we have here where people’s religious values and traditional values are being pushed aside and giving homosexuals priority," Ms Landolt added. "According to Mr. Baird it’s a protection of human rights but it’s not universally accepted. It’s not a Canadian value."

REAL Women's news release says that "homosexual activists" have become a "tyrannical minority" -- not exactly news but it's refreshing that someone had the guts to say it.

Further reading (and REAL Women please take note): "OPEN SECRET: Conservative cabinet minister John Baird outed"

Wright was wrong! Wright is gone! But WHY?!

The Canadian Senate shitstorm increases in fury! Only yesterday -- in "Bring me the head of Senator Duffy" -- Walt gloated (yes!) over the resignation of Senator Mike Duffy from the Conservative caucus. While I wrote, Tory Senator Pam Wallin announced that she would join him under the bus.

What, Walt wondered, would it take to get the Puffster or the fragrant Ms Wallin -- or Senator Harb (ex-Liberal) or Senator Brazeau (the third ex-Conservative) -- to resign not just from their party's caucus but from the Senate itself?

Of even greater interest was (and still is) the question of why the Tories went to such great lengths to protect only the dishonourable Senator from Kanata. For what reason would Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Harper's Chief of Staff, pay over $90,000, allegedly out of his own pocket, to cover the expenses for which Puffy improperly billed the Canadian taxpayer? Was it party esprit de corps, or an outpouring of the milk of human kindness?

A further question arose as to the future of the incredibly generous Mr. Wright. A spokesthingy for Mr. Harpoon said the PM had "complete confidence" in his Chief of Staff. Was that the kiss of death?

Perhaps so, as sometime between yesterday's post and today's, Mr. Wright bailed. Admitted he was not Wright but Wrong. Tendered his resignation, which the PM quickly (and "regretfully") accepted.

Walt would love to have a man-to-man talk with Nigel Wright, but he seems to be in seclusion. The Puffster is hiding in his sty in PEI, much to the surprise of neighbours who couldn't recall ever having seen him there before.

If I could, I would like to find out what it is that Duffy knows -- and may yet tell -- about Harper, about Wright, and perhaps about others. For instance... Wright has been described as a long-time friend of Duffy's, hence his eagerness to give his old buddy 90 large. And of course Wright is a close friend of the Prime Minister's too. Does Mr. Wright have any other friends? What about John "Nancy" Baird, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs? Is there some connection there? Just asking...

Oil sheikhs will make Canada pay for supporting Israel, America

John Baird is a big, beefy, square-jawed, tough-talking bully boy. At least that's the image he projects. But the word around the world's second-coldest capital is that Johnny boy is as gay as 18 balloons. Still, if you're Prime Minister Harpoon, and you want a poster child for your new get-tough-with-the-Arabs / suck-up-to-the-Jews foreign policy, John's your, errr, man.

Ohhh yeah, Canada's fighting for freedom, right there on the front lines, alongside her erstwhile best friends, the Americans. When it comes to being ready to intervene in sandpits like Afghanistan, Libya and (maybe) Syria, the Canucks will gladly hold the American coat.

As for defending Israel against its numerous enemies, Israel has no better friend than Canada, says Foreign Minister Baird. Hey, Baird and his Bully-in-Chief Harper are even more pro-Israel than the Yanks. Let's not forget that Obama's middle name is "Hussein"!

And then there's the Disunited Nations. Historically Canada has been one of the biggest contributors (proportionally) to the funding of the UN, and involved in every peacekeeping mission from Korea through, errr, Somalia and Rwanda -- and look how successful those little interventions were. But no more.

After decades of toeing the liberal line about the sanctity, value and essential unimpeachability of the UN, the Harper government has finally said -- publicly -- that it's time for the West to stop kidding itself, and recognize the UN for the feckless, wasteful and corrupt talking shop that it really is. As well, the UN is anti-American and anti-Israeli too, therefore anti-Canada because "my friend's enemies are my enemies too".

Harper and Baird are actually quite right to be fed up with the UN, and the majority of Canadians -- outside of the Volvo liberals in Rosedale -- doubtless agree with the new policy. See "Baird's icy UN approach is just what many Canadians have ordered", by Michael Den Tandt in Canada's QMI papers.

But there are bound to be consequences. If you keep yanking the end of the turban, the turban-wearer is bound to notice and seek out a means of reprisal. Like blowing up a bridge linking Canada and the USA. Or something a little more diplomatic.

Which brings us to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN agency which sets international rules for airplane transportation. The ICAO has been headquartered in Montréal since 1947, and is the only United Nations organization to be based in Canada. Now, because of the Canucks' pro-Israel pro-America foreign policy [Is dis a policy? Ed.], the oily sheikhs have offered to build the ICAO a nice shiny new HQ building in... wait for it... Qatar.

Under its "new Harper government", Canada lost its last campaign for one of the non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, which at one time was a sure thing. This year they're not even going to throw the red and white tuque in the ring. And now the ICAO may well take wings towards a sunnier and more neutral (?) site.

Well, that's the price you pay for friendship. If you lie down with dogs, you're bound to get up with fleas.

The coffin of civilization

Readers of a certain age may remember history being taught in schools. Of course there was less of it, then. I rather enjoyed history, and learned from studying it that, to see more clearly where you should be going, you need to look back to see where you've been.

Which brings us to the Middle East, where human history began. Or so we were taught in Ancient History 101. Civilization began, we were told, in the Fertile Crescent, the land between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, stretching from modern-day Turkey down to the Persian Gulf.

Superimpose today's national boundaries on the map, and you'll see that this cradle of civilization takes in five 21st-century states: Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and "the Zionist entity" aka Israel. If you count Palestine, you get six mutually antagonistic nations.

Just to the east lies Iran, historically known as Persia. From 2000 BC to 1000 BC [Dates are approximate, since Walt wasn't actually there. Ed.] Persia was occupied by people known as Medes, whose empire (known as Media -- no kidding) stretched from Cappadocia (eastern Turkey, today) across central Asia to what is now Pakistan. Media was one of the four great powers of the ancient Near East, until 550 BC when it was conquered by Cyrus the Great. Today, one man's Mede is another man's Persian.

The Fertile Crescent has been fought over since Cain and Abel. Visitors say the parched and dusty land seems hardly worth fighting about, but when you add in the competing claims of three religions, you have a recipe for endless warfare. The Semitic peoples -- the term includes Akkasians (Assyrians and Babylonians, Elbaites, Ugarites, Canaanites, Phoenicians (including Carthaginians), Hebrews (Israelites, Judeans and Samaritans), Ahlamu, Arameans, chaldeans, Amorites, Moabites, Edomites, Hyksos, Arabs, Nabateans, Maganites, Shebans, Sutu, Ubarites, Dilmunites, Bahranis, Maltese, Mandaeans, Sabians, Syriancs, Mhallami, Amalekits and Ethiopian Semites -- take great delight in killing each other for any reason (or no reason) whatever.

To come to the point [Thank you! Ed.] Walt predicts that the cradle of civilization is going to become the coffin of civilizatin, sooner rather than later. I won't put my lifetime pct (.989) on the line by giving an exact date for the commencement of the Armageddon, but the signs and portents are there.

On Friday, when the world was thinking TGIF and not paying attention, the Canadian government quietly closed its embassy in Tehran. The announcement was made by the Foreign Affairs Minister, John "Nancy" Baird, who was attending the APEC summit in Vladivostok with his puppet-master, "Call me Steve" Harpoon.

Remarkably, a couple of Canadian journalists were still sober enough to catch the play, and the story was -- even more remarkably -- soon on the international wire services. Read in isolation, the Canucks' decision to close up shop, and send home the Iranian dips in Ottawa, seemed no big deal. The British closed their embassy after an incident a couple of years ago, and the Americans did the same long before that. The Harper government has become notorious for sucking up to Israel, so this latest move would seem to be a logical extension of Canada's so-called policy on the Middle East.

But why now? Why choose a quiet, end-of-summer weekend to decamp? Canada officially declared Iran to be a terrorist state, or at least a sponsor or supporter of terrorism. And, Mr. Beardless said, Iran hadn't stopped work on developing a "nuculer" bomb. Nothing new there. So why now?

Walt thinks the Israelis -- whose prime minister, "Bibi" Netanyahoo, within seconds issued a statement praising the Canadian action -- are getting set to pull the trigger, and gave their Canadian friends a little advance warning so there'll be no smell of cooked back bacon and maple syrup hanging in the air of Tehran.

Would Israel strike first? It wouldn't be the first time. Their own people are expecting it and preparing accordingly. In Jerusalem, gas masks are reportedly selling briskly.

Afghan president welcomes International Women's Day

Today -- or maybe it was yesterday -- was International Women's Day. The whole thing is a Communist propaganda exercise anyway, so who really cares. Well, Afghanistan's democractically elected president (it says here) Ahmed Karzai cares. He chose the occasion to endorse a code of conduct promulgated by the Ulema Council, comprising 150 top Muslim clerics.

Women, the Islamic scholars say, are secondary. Men are fundamental. That's according to the statement, published on Krazai's own website. Walt is taking an informant's word for this, but if you can read Pushtu -- written in Arabic script -- you're welcome to check it out for yourself.

To the wimmin of the world, the statement came as something of a bitter pill -- not unlike Krazai himself. Why, this kind of thinking could dramatically restrict Afghan (and other Muslim) women’s daily lives and threaten a return to the dark days of Taliban rule.

The Prez's endorsement seems aimed at enticing the Taliban into the peace process. Unfortunately, it runs counter to the intentions of the assorted westerners who backed the US invasion of Afghanistan "to advance women’s rights in the land they fought to take back from the extremists".

One of those expressing Serious Concern is Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, a well-known lover of wimmin. [Shome mistake, shurely?! Ed.] "These reports are of serious concern to Canada," said a statement from Joan's press secretary. "We call on the Government of Afghanistan to uphold the provisions of Afghanistan’s constitution, which establishes equal rights for men and women, and to respect its obligations under international law."

If Walt's informant is translating Krazai's web page correctly, it says "No, we won't be doing that."

Footnote: Agent 78 tells me International Women's Day is actually tomorrow. Being an ex-Communist, she should know.

Ban the burqa? Not on Air Canada

Canadian Transport Minister John Baird -- "Call me Steve" Harper's attack poodle -- said in a statement issued today that his department has procedures in place to verify the identity of anyone who has their face covered. He said this approach is "consistent with international standards, regardless of culture or religion".

Well, who am I to call John Baird a liar? A big girl's blouse disguising himself as the schoolyard bully, maybe, but not a liar.

On the other hand, there's this video which appeared recently on YouTube. Posted by a British man, the clip shows two women boarding an Air Canada flight in Montréal recently, without being asked to remove their burqas so their faces could be checked against their passports. The man seen in the video hands over passports for the group, and the women go through without showing their faces.

According to Canadian Press, Baird "called the situation 'deeply disturbing' and said such actions pose 'a serious threat to the security of the air travelling public.'"

So what is Joan doing about it? Errrr... looking into it, don'tcha know. So that's all right then.

Eagerness to please is not a security policy

You have to laugh at Canadian Transport Minister John Baird, the Harper government's trained pit bull. When it comes to dealing with the Americans, he's more like a chihuahua bitch! Reminds me of an old Warner Brothers cartoon in which a little lap dog dances circles around a big brutish bulldog, the little dog just about wetting himself in an effort to please the big one.

Today's Toronto Star has a good editorial on the Canadian overreaction to the American overreaction, about which I wrote this morning. Have a look at "Canada's abrupt rush to scanners" to see how Call Me Steve and his toadies are all but tying themselves in knots to suck up to His Obamaness.