Speaking of which...

Maxime Bernier, whom I spoke of in the previous entry, is gone already. The Church of the Orange Sky has spoken, and the Canadian government has responded!

Actually, in this case, Bernier is supposedly leaving because of "accidentally leaving classified documents in an insecure location," which is interesting for two reasons:

- under the excessively broad security laws imposed after 9/11, I think that might actually qualify as a crime if committed by an underling (I'm not really sure if it is, but I am sure of one thing, which is that either way, Bernier will certainly never be investigated on the subject)

- "accidentally leaving classified documents on the coffee table" is a code phrase for "leaked classified documents to a former girlfriend who is also an airport security contractor with possible ties to the Hell's Angels."

I'm not sure which is more disturbing from Harper's supposed "law and order" national regime - the fact that this corrupts the contracting process, or the fact that the Hell's Angels might have links to airport security. Seriously, what the fuck is going on here? And how can the Conservatives spout this claptrap about trivial accidents that, one the one hand, are not serious enough to warrant a real investigation, but on the other hand, are so serious that they require the immediate resignation of the minister? The contempt shown for the public through such propagandistic posturing is sickening. I hate them for thinking I have an IQ of 45. Even if there is nothing more to it, the slick used-car-sales-man-style delivery by the Prime Minister's Office would still make me suspicious, which is unfortunate for everyone involved, including me. (Paranoia is not cool.)

Media links:

- CBC
- CTV
Ministry of Truth
- Stephen Taylor

Update: Apparently the documents in question related to the Afghan mission and the woman in question refused to read them; they made her "uncomfortable." How nice. I guess our airport security is safe after all. Unfortunately, our foreign affairs aren't - Harper's given the portfolio to David Emerson, the semi-elected turncoat from Vancouver.