Channeling JFK with "little cakes for you"

"John F. Kennedy said to the Americans: 'Don't ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,"' Bernier said.
"Now, today, I'm asking Canadians, 'Don't ask the Afghan government what it can do for us in Canada, but what we Canadians can do for the Afghan people."'

~ Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier addressing Canadian troops on Sunday at one of thirteen photo-ops in Afghanistan.

WTF is he on about now?
Canadians don't need to ask the Afghan government what it is doing for us in Canada.
We already know what the Afghan government is doing for us in Canada.
Without Afghan PM Karzai's little reciprocal staged photo ops, there'd be no opportunity at all for Steve to play Crusader Bunnypants Jr "on the world stage", as he likes to call it.

Bernier was upbeat : "The territory is more secure now today, here in Kandahar than it was a year ago."
The UN was not : "The security situation in Afghanistan is assessed by most analysts as having deteriorated at a constant rate through 2007," stated their August report, adding that their own assessment of a 25% increase in violent attacks is likely to be a conservative one.

The egregious new International Development Minister Bev Oda was also along for the ride, "handing out sweets to soldiers and posing beside military vehicles."
G&M : "Yesterday's tour by the Conservative cabinet ministers included at least 13 photo opportunities. During a trip to a forward base, Ms. Oda stood in front of a concrete building scarred by shrapnel from Taliban mortars and offered a box of chocolate treats to the soldiers.
"Thank you for your work," she said, "and little cakes for you."

Yeah, it's little cakes all round. I think I'm gonna be sick.

Picture Update : Thanks, Zorph! Brilliant!

Cross-posted at Creekside

Bev Oda gives it up for the Wingnuterer

By Zorpheous.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation CPoC Hackery

Buckdog takes a bite out of the ass of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation as a result of this press release:

“Do You Think It’s Easy to Hail a Cab?”
Access to Information documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reveal that Stéphane Dion’s chauffeur billed taxpayers $14,225 for Montreal hotel and travel expenses. In addition, documents show during the 2005 Kyoto conference in Montreal, Mr. Dion opted to lodge at a hotel at a cost of $5,548, even though he maintains a residence in Montreal where he is the Member of Parliament for Saint-Laurent–Cartierville.

I don't know. Is it? Why doesn't the Canadian Taxpayers Federation check with Heritage Minister, Bev Oda? (Michael Savage MP, Dartmouth-Cole Harbour) (Emphasis mine)

Last year Halifax was delighted to host the Juno's. In fact, Nova Scotia is one of the cultural capitals of Canada. We were delighted to have the Juno's for a number of reasons, one of which was the economic boom that it brought to Halifax. Taxpayers, however, were not aware of the extent to which the heritage minister contributed to that economic boom by the use of taxpayers' dollars.

I have the bill for the limo services that were used by the minister while she was in Halifax. It is interesting to note that she arrived on March 31 and left on April 3. On March 31, two different limousines were required. In fact, one was a mini-van and one was a limo. Apparently the mini-van was not good enough and the limo was requested. It took two orders to get her into the Delta Barrington.

Later that day she had another limo from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for three hours. That evening she required a stretch limo from 4:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. It was on standby, meaning it was not even used. It was just sitting there being charged to taxpayers while she was doing other stuff, some of which could have been business, some of which could have been personal.

On April 1 a sedan limo from 9:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. was used for seven hours. Most of that time the limo was on standby. Later that evening, a stretch limo was required from 5:30 p.m. until 11 p.m., with a half hour break, and then another limo from 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. That was hospitality night, and the minister should go to some of those.

The hotel the minister stayed at, the Delta Barrington, is exactly one-tenth of one kilometre from where the Juno's took place. The hospitalities were all in the same general area as well. The Economy Shoe Shop is a great place and one that I would recommend to many members for the artichoke dip. It is a great spot. It is where CTV had the big bash. Did the minister really need 7.5 hours of stretch limo on standby while she was inside the Economy Shoe Shop, which is less than one-tenth of one kilometre from the Metro Centre? The Metro Centre and the hotel also happen to be connected by pedway and underground tunnel. It seems a little excessive.

The next day she used a stretch limo. The day after the Juno's it says here that a stretch limo was on standby from 12 noon until 5:30 p.m. That evening, two sedan limos were required for standby for the red carpet walk event. So even when she walked, she needed limousines. It boggles the mind. After the Juno's a stretch limo was required from 11:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. The next morning a stretch limo took her out to the airport.

The total bill for limousines for the approximately three days that the heritage minister was in Halifax was $5,475, of which she repaid $2,000, leaving $1,000 a day for stretch limos to the taxpayer. [...] Why did the minister break Treasury Board guidelines, try to hide her expenses, and not post them on the website?

I have no problem with tax watchdogs taking a swipe at any politician for sticking their snouts too deep into the trough... provided all politicians are subject to the same scrutiny. If you type Bev Oda's name into a search at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation website it returns absolutely nothing. Zippo. Nada!

As Buckdog points out, Conservative cabinet minister and general slimeball Jason Kenney is the former president and CEO of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a so-called non-partisan group.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation: taking Conservative Party hackery to a whole new level.