Friday Post

Just before the week-end...


$10,000 was paid to delete e-mails relating to cancelled gas plants. It gets better, and by better I mean worse:

As the Liberals battled to contain the fallout from the gas-plant scandal, the top adviser to then-premier Dalton McGuinty sent a detailed memo to senior aides on how to delete e-mails and ensure they could not be retrieved.

Later, the government billed taxpayers $10,000 to pay the husband of a top party official to wipe computer hard drives in Mr. McGuinty’s office.

I'll reiterate:

Later, the government billed taxpayers $10,000 to pay the husband of a top party official to wipe computer hard drives in Mr. McGuinty’s office.

This is the government that Ontario Liberal voters wanted. It was no secret before the election that not only did Ontario Liberal cancel gas plants at great cost but also had any evidence deleted. Now that it has been established that taxpayer money was used for this fraud, it makes the crime and its shocking lack of consequences all the more galling.


To make things clear, nothing changes for the Cuban people:

The U.S. bailout of the Castro regime could not come at a better time. Venezuelan oil becomes cheaper by the day and the future of the Maduro regime less certain. With a more organized pro-democracy opposition in Cuba, the Castros also need more resources to continue their record setting number of political arrests. Opening up to U.S. business and travel is also more secure than ever for the Castro regime after having mastered the art of profit and repression without threatening their grip on power.

Since it remains illegal in Cuba for foreigners to do business with anyone other than its state-owned monopolies, we should not expect Americans to be doing business with everyday Cubans anytime soon. Unfortunately that is one in a long list of concessions President Obama forgot to discuss with dictator Raul Castro.

This plot thickens even more than any Hollywood contrivance:

A previous report by Bloomberg said Sony execs altered the gory finale of The Interview, toning down the extent to which Kim Jong Un's head is exploded and set aflame. But the movie faced more problems than just Supreme Leader's immolation scene—Sony executives and distribution partners around the world were worried that the movie was too offensive, "desperately unfunny," and worst of all, starred James Franco.

Emails sent from UK Sony Pictures exec Peter Taylor to president of Sony Pictures Releasing International Steven O'Dell are particularly harsh, describing the comedy as a "misfire," "unfunny and repetitive," with "a level of realistic violence that would be shocking in a horror movie." Taylor holds one of the film's co-stars in particularly low regard: "James Franco proves once again that irritation is his strong suit which is a shame because the character could have been appealing and funny out of his hands."

At this point in the story (whatever it is at this stage), one points out freedom of speech, standing up to bullies, the unlikelihood that North Korea has a vast network of suicide-bombers, telling Obama to cram it (just do that anyway), it was alright to make movies about killing Bush, why not Kim Jong-Un? and so forth.

I say sit back and watch this comedy unfold. This farce could not have been written better.

(Paws up)