Paul Martin's codeword for "who cares"

[Said1]

Paul Martin's codeword for "who cares"
by Arthur Weinreb, Associate Editor,
Friday, April 8, 2005

At the end of March, information that Dr. Shahram Azam had given to the Canadian government about the death of Zahra Kazemi was made public. Kazemi, a dual citizen of Canada and Iran was arrested in Iran two years ago after taking pictures of a student demonstration outside of a Tehran prison. The 54-year-old photojournalist from Montreal died in Iranian custody on July 11, 2003.

The Iranian government insisted that Kazemi died as a result of suffering a stroke. Officials later admitted that she was beaten but after a security agent was tried and acquitted for "quasi-intentional murder", Iran announced that the death of the Canadian citizen was accidental.

Zahra Kazemi’s death caused an outrage in Canada by almost everyone except the Liberal government. Then Foreign Affairs Minister, Bill Graham, was so mad he almost stomped both his feet at the actions of the Iranian government. Canada recalled the ambassador shortly after Kazemi’s murder. But the government ruled out taking any further action.

Azam, a staff physician with the Iranian Defense Ministry left Iran in August 2004 on the pretext of obtaining medical treatment in Finland. He made his way to Sweden and contacted Kazemi’s son, Stephen. The doctor was later interviewed by Canadian officials in Sweden and granted permission to come to Canada as a refugee.

Azam has claimed that he examined Zahra Kazemi four days after her arrest and found that as a result of the beating, she had broken fingers, a broken nose, a fractured skull, and a smashed toe. She had been raped and marks on her legs indicated that she had been flogged.

Link

 

[Wolfe]

Bill Graham and Pierre Pettigrew symbolize the impotence of the Liberal Government.

 

[Said1]

Bill Graham and Pierre Pettigrew symbolize the impotence of the Liberal Government.

Ya think?

 

[Annie]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050422/ap_on_re_ca/canada_embattled_leader

Canadian Leader Apologizes for Corruption

4 minutes ago World - AP Canada


By BETH DUFF-BROWN, Associated Press Writer

TORONTO - Prime Minister Paul Martin apologized to the nation Thursday night for a corruption scandal that has shaken his Liberal Party, delivering a rare televised address aimed at rescuing his minority government.

Acknowledging an "unjustifiable mess" created by the allegations of money laundering and kickbacks, the embattled leader pledged to call an election within a month after an investigation, expected to be completed by Dec. 15.


"Those who are in power are to be held responsible, and that includes me," Martin said of the charges, which have disgusted Canadians and prompted the opposition Conservative Party to threaten a no-confidence vote that could take down the government.


"I was the minister of finance and knowing what I have learned in the past year, I am sorry that I was not more vigilant," Martin said of the allegations that first surfaced in 2002, when he was held that post under then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien.


"Those who have violated the public trust will be identified and will pay the consequences," he said the recorded speech.


Unlike American presidents, who make annual State of the Union addresses or who take to the airwaves for important occasions, it was the first such address by a Canadian leader in a decade.


It was Chretien's national unity program, designed to bring Quebecois back into the national fold, which is at the heart of the current crisis that appears likely to topple Martin's minority Liberal government.


Martin called on the nation to wait until the investigation headed by Justice John Gomery is finished and give his government time to pass critical legislation on such issues as health care reform, gay marriage, improved border security and the federal budget.


"Let Judge Gomery do his work," Martin said in taped speeches in English and French. "If so much as a dollar is found to have made its way into the Liberal Party for ill-gotten gains, it will be repaid to the people of Canada. I want no part of that money."

[...]

 

[Said1]

I read it, I'm disgusted, he's full o' crap. The end.

 

[Said1]

Oh, and I'll take my share in cash. You pay cash, or you die!