Brian Mulroney had plenty of opportunity to send the CBC to private broadcaster land, and didn’t do it.
I suspect he regrets that.
(And while I’m on the topic of politicized, money-sucking, government institutions that deserve to be abandoned in the woods to die — how did Karlheinz Schreiber manage to jump to the front of the Official Gallbladder Surgery Waiting List?)
Yep, the CBC are all over this Mulroney case, but they seem to have failed to notice that the various Liberal prime ministers stole public money faster than we could print it … not to mention freedom of speech … I think the worst thing the CBC ever accused the Liberals of doing was losing an election.
You’re right, Peter; the ongoing extent of the Mulroney coverage — for years and years now — is frankly bizarre when you consider it in the context of more recent and far more serious Liberal malfeasance. Strangely, though, during the “At Issue” discussion on tonight’s National t things were a bit upside down, in terms of what you’d expect: Mansbridge pointed out — quite correctly, and in response to Andrew Coyne — that “We’re dealing in the abstract.” At one point Chantal Hebert subtly tore a strip off of Andrew Coyne for his persistent and somewhat inexplicable overreach — in the context of this specific enquiry, which she helpfully suggested Coyne limit himself to — on the whole Mulroney/Schreiber affair. Coyne, it’s clear, sees somethin’ in the woodshed, somethin’ that pertains in his mind to Airbus, but, as Hebert pointed out, “It’s either wishful thinking or misrepresentation to say that that’s what (the enquiry) is about.”
I often find myself disagreeing with Hebert, but her take was entirely appropriate. It’s not that the $300,000 or whatever it was that Mulroney was paid isn’t a topic for examination or conversation, it’s more that the extent of Coyne’s outrage, and his persistence, is so out of whack as to be suggestive. You’d think, just in the name of consistency and proportion, if nothing else, that if a — *relatively* — small transaction that happened fifteen years ago involving a former PM who was by then out of office merits such extensive hyperventilating from Andrew Coyne and the CBC documentary division etc., then surely other, almost-entirely unexamined (in any ongoing way) issues like the gooning of Francois Beaudoin, and the disappearance of many millions of dollars into some sort of underground illegitimate feedback loop — both instances more recent, and both involving a sitting government, as opposed to an ex PM — would have a whole package of cable channels and newspaper pages devoted exclusively to those unresolved, unexamined “issues.”
I don’t question Andrew Coyne’s integrity in the slightest — I think he’s a moral fellow — but considering that he’s probably devoted ten thousand words to a fifteen-year old, $300,000 transaction that involved an ex-prime minister for every word he’s devoted (in an ongoing way) to these far more serious issues, I almost wonder if he’s not privately frustrated by his own fear of examining, with anything approaching the same level of outrage, far more egregious offenses which are far more concerning to the nature of governmental ethnics in our country, and more to the point, whether he’s maybe just kicking the proverbial dog in frustrated lieu of going after his own internal moral boss.
Any way you slice it, I have to wonder. Does Andrew Coyne *really* believe that ex PM Mulroney’s (relatively) trivial dealings are far, far more important than hundreds of millions, perhaps, involving a sitting government, and the gooning of a public employee for turning down a loan advocated by….you know? It’s like a guy is being robbed by bikers and responds, frustrated, by demonstratively undertaking a courageous campaign against the kids who are stealing his turnips. Because he’s morally outraged.
Like I said, Coyne has integrity. But the imbalance is, over time, borderline bizarre, and impossible to not notice. Somehow, though, it all speaks to his integrity. Or of it. Or it refers to it.
my brother in law had a gallbladder attack in the am and had surgery at 8:30 pm the same day. that was in ottawa two years ago. sometimes our system works other times it doesn’t. mulroney is yesterdays news and only a liberal would try to tie it to the conservatives of today. too bad the rcmp and others couldn’t have spent some time chasing the tens of millions the liberals stole from the taxpayers. ad scam anyone.
“how did Karlheinz Schreiber manage to jump to the front of the Official Gallbladder Surgery Waiting List?)?”
Triage.
That said, we don’t have to like it but that’s the way the system works.
CBC’s obsessions with the whole Schrieber-Mulroney thing is nothing more than a concerted attempt to create a “yes, but see–they all do it” response to Liberal scams through the 90s. I sense the hope is that Mulroney and his government will be as equal in yellow envelopes left on restaurant tables as Chretien and his cronies.
CBC = Communists Bashing Conservatives
EBD,
Coyne’s obsesssion is out of proportion, and disappointing. He raises an appropriate question, the lack of clear explaination at the time for the money that KHS and MBM agree was paid in cash.
One of the things that I like about AC is his occasional bloddymindedness. However, he continues to pick the most bizarre explainations out of the pot and breathlessly amplifies questionable issues.
He has an agenda and that is to get this expanded back into an Airbus investigation.
There was a time that he took a more nuanced view and said there may be bad stuff there, there may not be but perhaps there are abuses of process going on, trial by media etc. He used to believe that. Now he contributes to it.
So disappointing when apparent core beliefs get thrown out the window in the pursuit of service of high moral dudgeon.
None of this by the way speaks to guilt or innocence by MBM. At a minimum, imho he was on a path to hiding $225,000 in income from the feds…but there really is no hard evidence he took money for Airbus, eurocopter or MBB.
As for the smirking chimps in the press galllery. I have no proof they did, I have no doubt that they could have (they are not neutral).
McArthur was a “researcher” for cashore, which involved following Cashore around while he contrued things like PM, BM and Elmer Do. Buchs as proof of guilt. They meant Per Machine, Beth Moores, and Elmer Thursday Booking. Thats just the beginning.
By the way McArthur’s part in being Cashores water boy, researcher, meant he got the print rights to the “investigation”. Trust me, there is more self interest and cash involved with those two, their salaries, expense accounts and book deals dependent on the White Whale of Brian Mulroney than Mulroney ever got Schreiber for whatever reason. Think about that whenever you read either a McArthur story or a Cashore production.
The answers, if there are any, exist in Germany. The germans have the incentive (back taxes) and likely the information (purloined customer databases from the Swiss) to answer whether Airbus commissions made it to a company controlled by MBM or if KHS kept all the money himself.
IF MBM is guilty you will NEVER find that out here. Send KHS to Germany and things will get clearer.
It seems the more you read and hear about the mindset at the Corpse the worse it gets. It’s not just one or two programs either it’s all manner of programs at the Corpse that show this open and hostile tone toward the CPC be it current or former members. This makes it even more imperative that the Corpse be taken down a peg or two by what ever means until they show that they can report the news without a constant leftist slant.
And Cruton laughed at the CBC fools as he orchestrated the Shawinagate deals.
Running interference for Mulroney?
Pathetic.
EBD, Mark excellent points. Mulroney even though he was a Red Tory should have known that Liberals would turn over every stone looking for something to smear him with. If nothing of substance could be found, innuendo or using their pet media like the CBC and Toronto Star would be brought into play to attack his reputation. As his personal advisor told him, be transparent on Schreiber’s payments or it will come back to haunt you. We have seen how Liberals will dig back decades to find a comment or picture to discredit or humiliate possible Conservative candidates let alone a past PM.
We saw at the last federal election how the Liberals got to Schreiber and dragged this crap out to take the focus away from real Liberal stealing of millions and it is still going on at huge expense!
Chretien should have been charged by the RCMP, except they worked for the Liberals, for the Beaudoin crime. How come this thug left office a millionaire and instantly became a lobbyist for the Chinese, where is the media investigation for that?
When can we expect Stevie Cameron to testify? Or will Librano prosecutors simply submit her gossipy book as irrefutable evidence?
Voltaire,
She’ll never make an appearance becasue that would expose her to questions about being Secret Agrent Stevie. Even her fellow ink stained wretches get queasy stomachs over that whole incident. She was acting an agent of the state and the state was using a journalist to do its its investigation.
Deeply troubling on many levels and quite seperate from whatever you think of Mulroney. Cashore and McArthur aren’t much different. Once again, both are highly motivated and incentivized to keep this story on a certain path. And their interests are linked. So when you read a Globe story that quotes the Fifth Estate, read it again as saying, and as proof we quote oursleves.
Isn’t there an outstanding deportation order for KHS? Instead of having his surgery in Ottawa he could have been loaded onto a plane bound for Germany. I’m sure that doctors at some detention medical facility there would have gladly performed gall bladder surgery on him.
Different Bob,
He is under supoena for the moment for the commission. And there was tooing and frooing a week or so ago to ensure that this supoena stayed in place. KHS and his lawyers know that once the commmission testimony is completed then the deportation order is likely to be executed.
IMHO it should be, not to hide him but to get answers. I love the eye brow furrowing that happens when there are members of the German Embassy watching the proceedings. All avenues will have been exhausted, all opportunities to tell stories and provide evidence will have been granted. In the grandest canadian tradition of bening over backwards to accomodate KHS will have had not only three strikes but a few more swings at the bat…the Canadian legal system as 5 year old T-ball, swing till you hit the ball, no matter how long it takes.
By June 30th I suspect KHS will be enjoying prison bratwurst and having long phone calls with Cashore alleging some new and unsubstantiated information to try to come back, or lay blame.
The German secret service purchased Swiss Custoemer Databases 18-24 months ago. There has been much sphincter tightening amongst the users of that system since that happened. Many cut tax deals have been cut since then. It is one of those really interesting but really quiet stories going on.
Remarkable salient posts regarding not only Mulroney / Schreiber but also the Chretien / Beaudoin affair.
My view as stated many times, in various blog posts, over the years, is that Canadian MSM was willfully blind to the malfeasance and corruption of the Chretien / Martin Liberal regime.
And as far as Brian Mulroney goes, hey he didn’t get tagged “lyan Brian” for NO reason.
Too bad in one way that Gomery and Oliphant couldn’t have acess to “Waterboarding” testimony from Chretien, Gagliano, Mulroney and Schreiber.
In retrospect, we have been governed by a whole lot of crooked bastards at the very top, for decades aided by an equally supine corrupt MSM.
Malfeasant bastards, “in trust” governing us.
[quote]Chretien should have been charged by the RCMP, except they worked for the Liberals, for the Beaudoin crime. How come this thug left office a millionaire and instantly became a lobbyist for the Chinese, where is the media investigation for that?[/quote]
Good point Dave,
The CBC needs to die because their date stamp has expired and they are irrelevant. They are now left catering to special interests and guarding an obsolete gate way to Canadians that no longer exists. It would be interesting to follow the everyday money stream within the CBC from the perspective of a “Paid Whore”
I have my own New Jersey litmus test for the MUL dude.. You don’t want to hear it!
I would never defend Mulroney , he is just another quebec slime politician , just because he isnt Pure Laine doesnt make him any less slimey. all he did was orchestrate a few separatists into the cabinet so he could manage the intersection of Bay Street and Sussex Drive.
This isn’t about Mulroney.
This isn’t about Schreiber.
This isn’t about money.
This is about the leftist cabal of media and liberals desperately trying to attach some sort of malfeasance to the Harper Conservatives.
That’s all.
As far as Coyne goes, IMHO he’s jumping on that bandwagon to try to appear to have a “balanced” view, as he often sees things conservatively. Unfortunately, in the long run he’ll likely regret being part of the tempest-in-a-teapot.
The one thing the leftards and other media seem to forget is that as a consequence of Mulroney abandoning conservative principles, his party was reduced to two seats before being put out of existence.
That’s what conservatives do. We hold ourselves accountable.
Liberals, on the other hand, just try to deflect blame and hope the people forget what degenerate wankers they are in the hopes of tricking people into voting for them again so they can get back to the trough.
This exercise should be the perfect embodiment to the difference in accountability between leftards and conservatives.
As for the CBC, putting a stake through the cold black hearts of all involved, burning their evil temple of doom on front street to the ground, shooting their satellite dishes with silver bullets and burying the pieces of their evil empire in the four corners of the nation seems like a good place to start… lol.
Mobtreal Gazette/MSM bladders on re The Nanny Show which stars Ruby, but not her invisible Boss, da Dhalla Nana, aka Iggy, himself.
This is the best line >>> “Whatever anyone may have done wrong in this case, live CBC coverage of parliamentary hearings is sheer partisan witch-hunting on the part of the Conservative government.”
… now, over to the Buttcrack Gong Show, with your host, CBC’s Don Brwaaddcasst …..
…-
“The Ruby Dhalla sideshow was a waste of MPs’ time”
urlm.in/cksu
Harper was browbeat into this “commission” by the Left.
Now it’s underway, we all see there really is nothing there.
Let Muldoon go quietly into the night and send Schrieber to Germany to answer to their legal system.
I’ve always felt that the CBC hates Mulroney because he sided with Reagan and Thatcher and was proven to be right about large-scale issues and questions in which Trudeau, the Liberals after him, and the CBC were shown to be wrong.
That’s hard to swallow and even harder to cover up.
Hence the never-ending drumbeat for Mulroney’s head from the public obfuscator.
Harper’s interests became aligned with the larger Liberal interest in shaping legacy and history for more limited personal reasons (as usual with PMSH).
If every prime minister we had from Pearson to 2009 had been of Mulroney’s calibre, this country would have been better served, and frankly, we probably would not have had the climate change fraud, the free speech assault, and the circus surrounding same sex marriage, that came from the last three long-term prime ministers who followed Mulroney. Of course Kim Campbell never had a chance to show where she belonged in that company.
Basically, this is like accusing a person of terrorism for parking in a no-stop zone. Given all the circumstances, the whole thing is a travesty and one wonders who in our current and recent parliaments would not be equally worthy of intense public scrutiny.
joe at 09:36: “In retrospect, we have been governed by a whole lot of crooked bastards at the very top, for decades aided by an equally supine corrupt MSM.
Malfeasant bastards, “in trust” governing us.”
They all had the same king makers behind them. That’s why the CRTC, as the “Media” protects. Unless the current CPC is elected to majority Government next election with the current cabal of ex-Reformers, the status quo will return. You can bet SH’s replacement is being worked on in Toronto back rooms now. We were supposed to elect Belinda Leader in 2004; remember?
Mulroney decimated the conservative party. He was a bad Prime Minister period. My family suffered immensely under his leadership. He took away deductions for children, doubled income tax overnight. Raised taxes and brought in the GST. His policy cost my family an extra $10,000 a year in taxes. We went from middle class to low income overnight. We are still trying to recuperate. This all occured during our “building years” 25 – 35 years old.
I agree with mad mike – even though Mulroney deserves to be branded a criminal, the timing suggests an attack on the conservative government. Harper is by no means perfect, but he is the best Prime Minister Canada has had in decades.
The Gomery inquiry revealed that 12 Montreal area liberals received stolen tax dollars.I am anxiously awaiting someone to investigate this matter and find out who got my cash.Maybe Newman will take it up once he retires.Also,the Chretiens were gifted a 2MIL. mansion about 6 months after papa Jean left office. Anyone want to look under that rock?
Funny isn’t it? Mulroney who I never really thought was a Conservative is now being interrogated with prejudice, from a voracious press who hates anything labeled Conservative. Yet we have the biggest crooks in our history including several PMs of Liberal hue who wallow in peace with ill gotten gains. Where are they on this? Why not torment Chrétien & his minions?
This is the left & its flatters the press at its lowest in smear tactics by political activism.
JMO
I had watched the coverage of the questioning of Brian Mulroney. My liberal spouse writes it off as “boring”. I bring my National Post down to the local Timmys. There I sit hoping someone will engage in conversation about Mulroney. Perhaps it is a well no one even seems concerned as they get their “fix”.
I am really saddened about all of it. I worked Security Manager at one time at K Mart. The effect of raw cold cash on some persons was electric. (Damn the stuff). I thought of Mr Mulroney only showing that weakness and with his wealth, what a lousy deal he made for himself.
Just like to say without being sycophantic, that the insight here and the flaying of the “nattering nabobs of negativism” was an absolute pleasure for me.
Yes, as I said before Stephen Harper and his boys and girls better watch that CBC. Speak softly and carry a big stick.
P.S. Going to one degree celsius up in Sault Ste Marie tonight. Ah well…..
Brian Mulroney stated he was always an honest man and is an honest man. Those cbc idiots from The Fifth Estate were laughing during his testimony.
Yes, indeed this is a cautionary tale.
Stephen Harper ,while he may, GET RID of the CBC.
The CBC political arm is fighting for it’s very existence, because they know if Harper wins a majority government, they are dead meat.
Harper will/must reduce the CBC into a non-news-gathering network, only broadcasting the news as noon and 10PM … and the rest of it’s broadcasting is devoted to the arts, literature and Canadian family entertainment … nothing more … reducing the CBC into a benign Canadian institution requiring public donations for matching government funds.
No longer will the CBC get it’s Billion$$$$ annual stipend to subsidize each CBC job to the tune of $127,000 each annually .. and subsidizing each CBC user approximately $1500 EACH … just do the math and you too will discover what a total failure the CBC has become…!!!
The CBC political arm is fighting for it’s very existence, because they know if Harper wins a majority government, they are dead meat.
Harper will/must reduce the CBC into a non-news-gathering network, only broadcasting the news as noon and 10PM … and the rest of it’s broadcasting is devoted to the arts, literature and Canadian family entertainment … nothing more … reducing the CBC into a benign Canadian institution requiring public donations for matching government funds.
No longer will the CBC get it’s Billion$$$$ annual stipend to subsidize each CBC job to the tune of $127,000 each annually .. and subsidizing each CBC user approximately $1500 EACH … just do the math and you too will discover what a total failure the CBC has become…!!!