PM diverts his plane to Cyprus to pick up families, Thats Leadership

[George Wallace]

IMO this is Harper taking advantage of the situation for a photo op.  He could care less about the people stranded over there, hence Canada being one of the last governments to organize an evacuation.  Like giving up the room for 50 or so people on his plane is this grand gesture, I wonder who the people will be, likely some prominent or influential members of the Lebanese community so he can score brownie points there too.  PM should have treated them all equally, got flights and ships booked days before he did, and flew himself back home to work on all the million other issues going on in the world right now.  Oh wait, he is too busy crouched beside Bush at the oval office getting scratched behind the ear.

I suppose you should break your comments down and look at them a little more closely:

IMO this is Harper taking advantage of the situation for a photo op.

Pretty hard to do, when he kicked all the Press off the plane in Paris, and would not even allow one Journalist to accompany his party to Cyprus.  On his arrival in Cyprus, he has remained on his plane, as there was no accommodations immediately available to him......Not much of chance for a Photo op there.

He could care less about the people stranded over there, hence Canada being one of the last governments to organize an evacuation.

And you could have done better with all the resources of the US or France, who have 'Resources' in the vicinity......yada....yada....yada.  Can you book me a hotel and transportation for my trip to visit you tonight?  

Like giving up the room for 50 or so people on his plane is this grand gesture, I wonder who the people will be, likely some prominent or influential members of the Lebanese community so he can score brownie points there too.

He has more seats than that on the plane.  There are probably enough seats for 90% of the first load to arrive in Cyprus, while other aircraft are on the way.  I also guess that your Lebanese prominent and influential friends all have names that are first in alphabetical order......and the further back in the alphabet your name starts with, the less prominent or influential you are.  Come on, the first out of Lebanon were the first in alphabetical order.  I am sure that all of them are not in any way 'prominent'.  What brownie points would you give him there?

PM should have treated them all equally, got flights and ships booked days before he did, and flew himself back home to work on all the million other issues going on in the world right now.

I think he is treating them all equally.  Perhaps your friend or relative isn't on the first out, and if that is the case - Get Stuffed.  As for flights and ships, perhaps you should blame the Liberals for not buying those for us ten years ago.   :  

At the start of your tirade, you want him to take action, then you go on to complain he isn't back home working on all the million other issues going on in the world today.  Make up your mind.  Is he the head of the UN, or the Prime Minister of Canada?  

Oh wait, he is too busy crouched beside Bush at the oval office getting scratched behind the ear.

AH!  YES!  THE GRATUITOUS ANTI-AMERICAN RANT.  I guess I wasted my time with your post after all.  

 

[vonGarvin]

(Post is self-deleted in order to keep the trolls hungry.  I am now placing myself in the corner so that I can think about what I did wrong)
:dontpanic:

 

[Fishbone Jones]

       

 

[GAP]

hehehe

 

[Gramps]

IMO this is Harper taking advantage of the situation for a photo op.  He could care less about the people stranded over there, hence Canada being one of the last governments to organize an evacuation.  Like giving up the room for 50 or so people on his plane is this grand gesture, I wonder who the people will be, likely some prominent or influential members of the Lebanese community so he can score brownie points there too.  PM should have treated them all equally, got flights and ships booked days before he did, and flew himself back home to work on all the million other issues going on in the world right now.  Oh wait, he is too busy crouched beside Bush at the oval office getting scratched behind the ear.

Photo op? I doubt it. Good PR for the PM's office? Maybe. Maybe more focus should be put on the fact that they were picked up by the PM and not why he picked them up. I think is says something that he was willing to take the aircraft and pick up people. Would previous PMs have done the same? Maybe, maybe not. In this situation the "why" doesn't really matter. By the way you can fit more than 50 passengers on an airbus, they also cut the crew down to the minimum to free up the extra few seats. Depending on which Airbus it was you can put up to 192 passengers on board and that isn't counting the extra crew seats.

Edit: I am illiterate

 

[chaos75]

Your post is full of excrement.  But this final sentence tops the list.  I suppose you'd rather have Carolyn Parrish snubbing Bush on "This Hour" and thus souring relations with our greatest trading partner?  Hating the US President because he's the President of the United States is prejudicial.

Where did it say I hated Bush.  Was simply stating that Harper is bringing Canada's foreign policy more and more in line with the US every day.  Completely blaming Hezbollah and validating the Israelis is a mistake in my opinion.  But since that's against the status quo right wing, I guess I'm in the wrong there.

I suppose you should break your comments down and look at them a little more closely:
Pretty hard to do, when he kicked all the Press off the plane in Paris, and would not even allow one Journalist to accompany his party to Cyprus.  On his arrival in Cyprus, he has remained on his plane, as there was no accommodations immediately available to him......Not much of chance for a Photo op there.

Just doing hat he has so far is his photo op as it is all over the news.  A actual great gesture would have been for the PM to kick everyone off the plane but the crew including himself, fly home coach at his own expense, and have the airbus make as many trips necessary to evacuate all remaining Canadians.  But hey this way he can fly home with some new prospective votes.

I also guess that your Lebanese prominent and influential friends all have names that are first in alphabetical order......and the further back in the alphabet your name starts with, the less prominent or influential you are.  Come on, the first out of Lebanon were the first in alphabetical order.  I am sure that all of them are not in any way 'prominent'.  What brownie points would you give him there?
I think he is treating them all equally.  Perhaps your friend or relative isn't on the first out, and if that is the case - Get Stuffed.  As for flights and ships, perhaps you should blame the Liberals for not buying those for us ten years ago.  : 

I have no current friends in the present situation, but thanks for your support there.  Maybe you should take some of your own advice (getting stuffed), and take your anti-Liberal rant somewhere else.

At the start of your tirade, you want him to take action, then you go on to complain he isn't back home working on all the million other issues going on in the world today.  Make up your mind.  Is he the head of the UN, or the Prime Minister of Canada? 
AH!  YES!  THE GRATUITOUS ANTI-AMERICAN RANT.  I guess I wasted my time with your post after all. 

Well any issue that affects Canada is a job for the PM, maybe he can take some time off when he gets back after all this drama too recover too.  As for wasting your time on here, judging by the number fo post you make on this site, I would agree with your statement.

I am amazed that someone with that amount of "Anti-EVERYTHING" actually serves or served in our military. My first impression of you is that you are  (thankfully) one of those very few who signed up just because he needed a job.

I'm always amazed that people as narrow minded as you get in the military as well.  But hey I guess free speech and non-right wing thoughts are not allowed here.  Aside from that, any time you wish to discuss my character or dedication to this country, pm me and we can arrange something.

 

[CanadaPhil]

I'm always amazed that people as narrow minded as you get in the military as well.  But hey I guess free speech and non-right wing thoughts are not allowed here.  Aside from that, any time you wish to discuss my character or dedication to this country, pm me and we can arrange something.

I think that it is unbecoming to say the least when a serving member of the military openly impugns the integrity of our serving Prime Minister in such a vile fashion. Especially one who is committed to making our armed forces as professional and prepared as they can be, given our situation.

I doubt the majority of the good people of Gagetown would want to have a beer with you. I would suggest that you replace the pic. of the Leopard with a tiny violin.

 

[George Wallace]

Where did it say I hated Bush.  Was simply stating that Harper is bringing Canada's foreign policy more and more in line with the US every day.  Completely blaming Hezbollah and validating the Israelis is a mistake in my opinion.  But since that's against the status quo right wing, I guess I'm in the wrong there.

Your insinuations were quite obvious.

Just doing hat he has so far is his photo op as it is all over the news.  A actual great gesture would have been for the PM to kick everyone off the plane but the crew including himself, fly home coach at his own expense, and have the airbus make as many trips necessary to evacuate all remaining Canadians.  But hey this way he can fly home with some new prospective votes.

.....Or he could have just flown straight home like previous Prime Ministers...... Oh!  So sorry that I just fell into your 'Anti-Liberal' profile of me.... :

...... and take your anti-Liberal rant somewhere else.

  :

 

[GAP]

hehehe

 

[Gramps]

I have no current friends in the present situation, but thanks for your support there.  Maybe you should take some of your own advice (getting stuffed), and take your anti-Liberal rant somewhere else.

I do happen to know a couple of people that are stranded just outside of Beirut (they were my employers in PEI a few years ago). They were infact checking in for their flight when the runway was bombed. They have not (to my knowledge) been upset with the reaction from the Government for the evacuation and are simply waiting for the call from the embassy. Now granted, I have not personally spoken to them or any of their family but from what I know they too waited for hours in the heat, you cant get much closer to the bombings than they were and walk away but from what I understand they seemed relatively content with the evacuation plan but I will have to ask them next time I see them to get the full story.

Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe the PM's office decided to do this out of good will or a conscience or maybe even to serve the citizens of this country?

 

[FredDaHead]

Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe the PM's office decided to do this out of good will or a conscience or maybe even to serve the citizens of this country?

Good will from a PM's office? A government serving the people? That's unpossible!

Just kidding, I totally agree with you, but the previous governments have jaded me. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

 

[chaos75]

I think that is unbecoming to say the least when a serving member of the military openly impugns the integrity of our serving Prime Minister in such a vile fashion. Especially one who is committed to making our armed forces as professional and prepared as they can be, given our situation.

I doubt the majority of the good people of Gagetown would want to have a beer with you. I would suggest that you replace the pic. of the Leopard with a tiny violin.

As per my previous post, since you continue to insult my integrity, it shows your ignorance to all the readers here.  I know I wouldn't have a beer with you if I was in Gagetown.  As for my icon, I'm pretty sure I've earned the right to use that picture.  Again if you wish to discuss, the pm button is not hard to find.

Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe the PM's office decided to do this out of good will or a conscience or maybe even to serve the citizens of this country?

I would hope so, but I am somewhat of a cynic, and anyone who follows politics, knows theres always an angle to every political action.  In the end Kudos to the PM for at least doing something, no other world leader who was over for the G8 made a similar gesture.  However I agree with George that Canada has no continual assets in that region, but I maintain that they were slow on the draw organizing ships and planes.

 

[paracowboy]

I guess I'm in the wrong there.

yes, you are, but at least you're aware of your short-comings and can now work to improve them. Good luck with that.

 

[George Wallace]

Just kidding, I totally agree with you, but the previous governments have jaded me. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Your putting forward an interesting point.  I haven't heard this Government yet make any comment towards cutting or not funding any program, Defence or other, because it would cut into Medicare.  Perhaps we are going to see results in many areas.  This I think is a sign of what this Government has the potential of doing.

 

[chaos75]

yes, you are, but at least you're aware of your short-comings and can now work to improve them. Good luck with that.

Wouldnt have expected anything else but something like that from you.

 

[Gramps]

I would hope so, but I am somewhat of a cynic, and anyone who follows politics, knows theres always an angle to every political action.  In the end Kudos to the PM for at least doing something, no other world leader who was over for the G8 made a similar gesture.  However I agree with George that Canada has no continual assets in that region, but I maintain that they were slow on the draw organizing ships and planes.

I am about as cynical as they come (just read some of my older posts, you will see) but I just don't get the feeling that this one was for PR alone. Sure the PR the PM will get from this will serve him well, I don't doubt that one bit but I still feel that this may have been done simply just to help out. I agree too that there is always a spin put on almost all political actions by the PM's office, the opposition and the media as well, somewhere buried in all three points of view there may be some actual truth although it is usually hard to find.

 

[Gunnar]

Just doing hat he has so far is his photo op as it is all over the news.  A actual great gesture would have been for the PM to kick everyone off the plane but the crew including himself, fly home coach at his own expense, and have the airbus make as many trips necessary to evacuate all remaining Canadians.  But hey this way he can fly home with some new prospective votes.

If you read the entire thread, and are somewhat familiar with the Prime Minister's position as the head of government, you will realize that Canadian Law does not permit him to take his life into his own hands, i.e., be in a position where the Canadian government can't protect him, such as flying home coach.  He HAS done the closest thing he is permitted to do to offering up his plane in the manner you describe.

Or would you suggest that it is a responsible thing for the man in charge to pretend he's just another ordinary citizen, and fly alone, without security, leaving himself an open target to any crazy who happens to dislike Canada?

 

[paracowboy]

Wouldnt have expected anything else but something like that from you.

oh, good! I do so hate to disappoint!

 

[chaos75]

If you read the entire thread, and are somewhat familiar with the Prime Minister's position as the head of government, you will realize that Canadian Law does not permit him to take his life into his own hands, i.e., be in a position where the Canadian government can't protect him, such as flying home coach.  He HAS done the closest thing he is permitted to do to offering up his plane in the manner you describe.

Or would you suggest that it is a responsible thing for the man in charge to pretend he's just another ordinary citizen, and fly alone, without security, leaving himself an open target to any crazy who happens to dislike Canada?

Im sure they could have arranged alternate transportation for the PM and his family, and kept well within safety regs for VIP travel.  Why did he have to go with them and take up that two extra seats?

 

[George Wallace]

Im sure they could have arranged alternate transportation for the PM and his family, and kept well within safety regs for VIP travel.  Why did he have to go with them and take up that two extra seats?

That would have involved sending another aircraft over for him.  An aircraft that would have had to be converted to take him.  The aircraft he has has a 'secure suite' for him and would have been closed to any of the 'refugees' anyway.  It would have wasted more time, something that you have already complained about.  So if he did as you suggest or did what he did do, there would have been no difference in the amount of seats available for 'refugees'.