Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Former PM's sure got balls

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Former PM's sure got balls

    Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has his share of critics and his share of followers, but one thing they all agree on is that he's got a lot of balls, for better of for worse. One recent example is his testimony in front of a commision yesterday. Many people outside Canada (and for that matter, probably many Canadians as well) don't know about the whole AdScam scandal that's been plaguing our Liberal government, so before I get to the story, here's a brief recap of the back story.

    In 1995, the province of Quebec had a referendum on the issue of seperation which resulted in a slim majority against it. As a result, the Liberal government decided to fund a campaign to promote nationalism in the province, a fund that has totalled about $250 million. The problem though was that a lot of that money is alleged to have been misappropriated, wasted, laundered, or used to encourage contributions for the Liberal party. An example would be the production of trinkets like 1200 golf balls with the Prime Minister's signature to be used as gifts.

    Right now, an inquiry is being held, chaired by Justice John Gomery to determine the extent of any wrongdoing, including any implications to the former and current Prime Ministers, both of whom are to testify. Gomery recently made a flippant remark saying: "that's really small-town cheap, you know, free golf balls" to criticize the government spending on cheap trinkets.

    Apparently the golf ball comment annoyed the former PM so during his session in front of the inquiry, he responded with his usual ballsy attitude to show how "small-town cheap" giving away golf balls was. the following is an actual transcript from the inquiry:

    Lawyer David Scott: You said you got golf balls from others. Who did you get them from? And do you have examples?

    Chretien: Yes, yes. (Takes out weathered brown briefcase) I have a ball here with the seal of the president of the United States, and signed by a Texan by the name of George Bush. All right. What others? I have one here signed by a gentleman from Tennessee, Al Gore. With Capital Hill on the ball.

    Scott: I'm just stopping you there if I might.

    Chretien: No, no, no, no. It's too much fun. I have one ball here that was given to me, these balls here were given to me - a very nice presentation, Mr President - by a small town guy from Hope, Arkansas. Look at the nice box. His name, the seal, his balls, nice box, in the box you open and there is a ball signed again by a small town guy of Hope, Tennessee (sic), signed Bill Clinton, and the seal.

    Scott: What seal?

    Chretien: The seal of presidency of the United States. Here I have one from another guy from Texas, from small town Crawford, Texas, George W. Bush, with the seal of the presidency and his name signed. Here I have one from a small town guy, I guess, from Manila, Philippines, President Ramos, plus the flag of his country. And it's very common. I have one here from a very well-known group. Ogilvy Renault. You know them? Bernard Roy, Mr Mulroney, Mademoiselle Gomery are all members of that firm. You cannot call them small town, and to call them Westmount cheap, it would be an oxymoron.

    Scott: All right Mr Chretien. Did you receive those golf balls from the persons you've identified?

    Chretien: Yes. Only one was sent to me by others, it's from George W. Bush. The others I received from them.

    Scott: And did you give them golf balls with the maple leaf and your signature on it?

    Chretien: Yes. And I gave them to their bodyguards or their partners who were playing golf with us.

    Scott: Thank you very much.
    Just to give some more explanation of how biting the testimony was, the names mentioned from the Ogilvy Renault law firm of Westmount, an upscale neighbourhood of Montreal, were Bernard Roy, a co-council of this inquiry, Brian Mulroney, former PM and Conservative party leader, and Ms Sally Gomery, Justice Gomery's own daughter.


    I thought I'd just share this story because it's funny, and also because Canadian politics often gets overlooked. Like him or not, you'd have to admit Jean Chretien has a lot of balls.

  • #2
    Lol he surely has a lot of balls :groovy: !!
    A kiss is a rosy dot over the 'i' of loving.

    Cyrano de Bergerac

    Comment


    • #3
      Wow didn't that just prove that the money had nothing to do with separatism then if he's giving the balls away to other countries? I mean as minor as it is and all.
      Epinephrine's History of Trench Wars:
      www.geocities.com/epinephrine.rm

      My anime blog:
      www.animeslice.com

      Comment


      • #4
        Technically, the money wasn't tabbed just to counter separatism but rather to promote nationalism. There's a fine difference between the two and this would be an example of such a difference.

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks, that was a hillarious story.

          "I have one here from a very well-known group. Ogilvy Renault. You know them? Bernard Roy, Mr Mulroney, Mademoiselle Gomery are all members of that firm. You cannot call them small town, and to call them Westmount cheap, it would be an oxymoron."

          LMFAO...

          Comment


          • #6
            Does this situation effect your view of the liberals TK? would it stop you from voting for them in the future?

            Comment


            • #7
              It didn't affect me in the last elections. Part of it is that I don't like the Conservatives' policies. I know the Liberals lost a lot of voters because of a lack of trust, but when it came down to the issues the Grits still represented most of my own views.

              Comment


              • #8
                I voted for Chretien in 2000, and I'd vote for him again if he ran. Chretien rocks!

                Okay well technically I voted for someone else, but it was Liberal so the net effect was the same
                Epinephrine's History of Trench Wars:
                www.geocities.com/epinephrine.rm

                My anime blog:
                www.animeslice.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  EDIT: I removed all this as it was basically explaing our parties, which wasn't really neccesary.



                  You all missed the funnest canadian party moment though. Years ago there was a party called the Reform Party (our republicans i guess) who changed there name to the Canadian Reform Alliance Political Party. They did this official before anybody thoguht to notice that it spells out CRAPP. SO the crap party changed there name to the Canadian Alliance (they later merged with the conservatives in an effort to dethrow the liberals, which failed)

                  THe crapp party, pure brilliance.
                  The only TWO TIME TWLJ All-Star and TWLB All-Star who never played a game.

                  Originally posted by Richard Creager
                  All space detectives come armed with tcp/ip persona blasting pistols, it's required for their line of duty. Silly of both maisoul and goddess to not know this before hand, they get what they deserved, fucking zapped, bitches.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    and it looks like we're all liberals. THe Liberal in my riding is Bonnie Brown who has been doing an excellent job for my town since before I was born. THe only way she'll ever lose is to not run. That being said I'd still vote liberal.
                    The only TWO TIME TWLJ All-Star and TWLB All-Star who never played a game.

                    Originally posted by Richard Creager
                    All space detectives come armed with tcp/ip persona blasting pistols, it's required for their line of duty. Silly of both maisoul and goddess to not know this before hand, they get what they deserved, fucking zapped, bitches.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      interesting stuff i enjoyed the thorough read
                      NOSTALGIA IN THE WORST FASHION

                      internet de la jerome

                      because the internet | hazardous

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        What's going to be interesting is what current PM Paul Martin will say later in the inquiry. He and Chretien were bitter rivals and while Chretien never mentioned Martin by name during his testimony he did imply that Martin was at least as aware of what was going on as Chretien was. Many Liberal MPs said they thought Chretien's overall testimony reflected well on the party, though it placed Martin a little closer to the action than he might like to let on. With the house set up the way it is right now, what Martin says will have many implications on the future of the government.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          at first i was lying but now i am interested

                          canada

                          edit`

                          it's 12:20 am so can i have some simplification? like use terms an american would understand.
                          NOSTALGIA IN THE WORST FASHION

                          internet de la jerome

                          because the internet | hazardous

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Chretien retired last year and the party elected Martin as his replacement. The two had been rivals for the Liberal party leadership since 1993, and though Martin worked as Chretien's finance minister for a couple of terms, they often clashed politically. Chretien retired at just about the time that the AdScam scandal went public and the backlash from AdScam affected the results of the recent elections. The result was a minority Liberal government.

                            To explain it to an American, I'd first have to explain that our Prime Minister is the leader of the party that receives the most seats in the house. In American terms, that would be like if the President was chosen as the leader of the party with the most elected representatives in the house. Before AdScam, the Liberals held a clear majority, with about 57% of the seats. After AdScam, the Liberals held just 44% of the seats, but kept control because they still have the larger percentage, just not more than half. Because they hold less than half, there is a chance of a new election being declared if the other parties ganged up and outvoted the Liberals. The parties have been hesitant to do so as yet because a) they used up a lot of their funds for the last election, b) they have no guarentee that they would be better off, and c) they want to see how things will go now. If the testimonies of Martin and Chretien result in the Liberals looking weak and public opinion turns against them, they could be ripe for an upset if a new election were to be held.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Nickname
                              EDIT: I removed all this as it was basically explaing our parties, which wasn't really neccesary.



                              You all missed the funnest canadian party moment though. Years ago there was a party called the Reform Party (our republicans i guess) who changed there name to the Canadian Reform Alliance Political Party. They did this official before anybody thoguht to notice that it spells out CRAPP. SO the crap party changed there name to the Canadian Alliance (they later merged with the conservatives in an effort to dethrow the liberals, which failed)

                              THe crapp party, pure brilliance.
                              Omfg, that is so funny. That reminds me of Grand Theft Auto III, when Lazlow is taking calls on the radio show, K-CHAT, and he gets a call from a member of an anti-phone organization called: Citizens Raging Against Phones.

                              Then Lazlow says, "CRAP?! Your organization is called CRAP?"

                              I can't believe nobody noticed it. It must have been a stunt to get media attention, or something.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X