Kafkaesque Kafka-sex

Here’s a question for you. There’s this guy you work with, married, and you both play on the same company sports team. You accept his invitation for a drink back in his hotel room You’re single, he’s not, but he makes a pass at you. You’re not drunk. You don’t say “no.” You don’t leave. Instead, you get on the bed and hand him a condom. We next cut to a scene full of birds and bees.

A clear case of sexual harassment, no? It must be, because the man in question, a Liberal Member of Parliament, who has been kicked out of caucus by the Liberal leader, without the right to defend himself or face his accuser. In a scene out of Kafka, he’s guilty without being able to defend himself.

The accuser, an NDP Member of Parliament, was the one who provided the details above, all the while insisting on her anonymity as well as her victimhood.

The only real victim here is the guy’s wife. And the Liberal “leader’s” judgement.

House of Parliament calls for Fantino to do the honourable thing…resign

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/11/mulcair-tells-fantino-to-do-the-honourable-thing-for-once-in-his-life-and-resign/

Mulcair tells Fantino to do the honourable thing ‘for once in his life’ and resign

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Jake Edmiston | December 11, 2014 | Last Updated: Dec 11 5:00 PM ET
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NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, left, and Minister of Veterans Affairs Julian Fantino.
Adrian Wyld / The Canadian PressNDP Leader Tom Mulcair, left, and Minister of Veterans Affairs Julian Fantino.
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In its strongest terms yet, the opposition demanded the ouster of Veteran Affairs Minster Julian Fantino — with NDP leader Tom Mulcair calling on him to “finally, for once in his life, do the honourable thing and resign.”

Mulcair’s choice of phrase was a particularly loaded one, considering Mr. Fantino’s decades-long career as a police officer and a five-year stint as the Toronto Police chief.

“This person has caused the harm,” Mr. Mulcair shouted. “And he says it’s somebody else’s fault? No, Mr. Speaker, he’s responsible.

“What is he waiting for?”

Mr. Fantino has been dogged by calls for his walking papers in recent weeks — stemming, in part, from an Auditor General’s report on his department. But with the House of Commons winding down ahead of a holiday recess, the NDP seemed determined to land a death blow.

“The minister of veterans affairs is living on another planet,” NDP deputy critic for veterans affairs Sylvain Chicoine said. “It’s more than time for the Prime Minister to give a great gift to veterans and fire this minister.”

With the Prime Minister not in the House Thursday, Mr. Fantino responded directly to calls for his sacking — leaning on his list of “programs and services” available to veterans and noting pro-veteran initiatives the opposition voted against.

“We take no lessons from a party [the NDP] that speaks one thing and does another,” Mr. Fantino said.

We Are Borg…democracy in action … resistance is futile

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/ndp-mp-apologizes-withdraws-unusual-crowdsourcing-perks-1.2018708

A Quebec NDP MP is apologizing on Monday after offering a bizarre perk to anyone who donated $50 to her online fundraising campaign.
Charmaine Borg, who represents the riding of Terrebonne-Blainville in Quebec, came under fire over social media when her crowdsourcing platform came to light over Twitter.
For a $50 donation, she promised to say the name of the campaign donor aloud in the House of Commons.
Borg posted the fundraising campaign on crowdsourcing website FundRazr.com. In it, the NDP critic for Digital Issues asks potential contributors to “Help Charmaine Borg be your voice in the tech era.”
Under the original listing of contribution “perks,” which has since been removed, Borg promised to say the donor’s name in Parliament for every contribution of $50.
For a contribution of $1,000, Borg promised to speak the phrase “Resistance is Futile” in Parliament, in an apparent reference to the catchphrase made popular by the fictional Borg villains on the “Star Trek” TV series.
Some suggested Borg’s offer was an inappropriate use of the powers that elected representatives hold while in public office.

Borg quickly apologized over Twitter, and both “perks” have since been removed from the fundraising webpage. $25, $100 and $500 donation requests remain, with those perks ranging from a handwritten thank-you note to a dinner with Borg.
“So regarding my crowdfunding campaign I apologize for anyone who got offended with the perks. I didn’t see it that way and am changing it,” Borg tweeted.
The crowdsourcing campaign, which had yet to raise any money on Monday afternoon, is scheduled to end on Oct. 22.
But the matter also raised questions about the legitimacy of using a crowdfunding site for apparent election fundraising purposes.
On the fundraiser page, Borg hyped her work on social media and privacy issues, and asks donors to keep her in Parliament.
“Any donation, no matter how big or small, will go a long way to keeping me in Parliament and to keep fighting for what matters most to you in the digital age.”
In an email to CTV News, an NDP caucus spokesperson said the use of crowdfunding websites was cleared for compliance with Elections Canada regulations.
“Ms. Borg, like many others, is exploring the possibilities offered by new social media techniques,” wrote Greta K. Levy. “She removed the potential problems from her fundraising appeal as soon as questions of appropriateness arose. No money has been raised using them and she acted and apologized immediately once she was aware of the problem.”
Borg was first elected to Parliament in 2011.
A federal election is expected to take place in 2015.