Friday 17 December 2010

Motherhood Steve: Now Boss of Maternal Health $$$



Could there possibly be a more perfect appointment to the job of co-chair of the maternal health panel than Motherhood Steve?

Motherhood Steve, who while trumpeting his maternal health initiative couldn't be bothered to show up at an international conference on women timed to bolster those very efforts. Not only did he not attend as invited with his (poor) wife, he didn't even bother to reply to the invitation.

Motherhood Steve, who initially excluded family planning from said vaunted initiative (and of course excluded abortion too), after a shit-storm of scathing punditry was forced to walk it back a little to show the world he wasn't a total and complete asshole.

Motherhood Steve, who hates all women except for REAL RIGHTWING ones.

Motherhood Steve, whose religion is perceived to be something of a tiny problemo by Third-World, non-Xian women.
The former head of Canada’s aid program in Afghanistan has expressed concern that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s religious beliefs are hampering humanitarian efforts.

Speaking to the Straight from Kabul, Nipa Banerjee noted that Harper is a born-again Christian, and she argued that his religious beliefs could be adversely affecting the Canadian International Development Agency’s efforts to help Afghan women.

“It has been said that reproductive health would not be a part of the government and CIDA’s aid programs,” said Banerjee, who led CIDA’s mission in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2006. “And the reproductive-health issue is a major problem in the context of Afghanistan because the maternal mortality rate is very high.”

I could go on about what a fucking great friend of women Stevie Peevie is. But we could just ask his wife about that.

Oh. They aren't living together? Odd.


h/t to 900-ft Jesus.

ADDED: Commenter double nickel called me out on the not living together part. I admit that was lazy not to look harder for a link to the rumours. Here's one.

ADDED AGAIN: ADDED: RH Reality Check takes note: In the Category Of "They Must Be Kidding," the United Nations Puts Stephen Harper in Charge of Accountability of Women's Health.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is anti-choice, tried to eliminate family planning from Canada's international funding for maternal health programs, and generally speaking has adopted global health policies that will further marginalize women and girls.

For some reason, the United Nations took this to mean he would be a great candidate to co-chair a high-level commission to hold countries accountable for spending $40 billion pledged in September to improve women's health.

10 comments:

double nickel said...

They aren't?

fern hill said...

That was lazy of me. But aren't there persistent rumours that they're on the verge of a break-up, that for a while at least Laureen was living at some fancy-schmancy hotel, rumours of a very attractive female RCMP guard?

Allrightallright, I'll try to find a source.

fern hill said...

Here you go: Rumours. I'll add it to the post and thanks for keeping me (sorta) honest, double nickel.

double nickel said...

Well,it would be irresponsible not to speculate :)

Antonia Z said...

Oy, enough with the rumours. Old news already.

Do you not think that, if there was any truth to them, the papers would be all over them? I can assure you The Star would be. Imagine how many papers we'd sell.

fern hill said...

OK, OK. That's me slapped. ;)

The rumours persist because no half-way sentient being can believe that anybody, let alone somebody apparently normal like Laureen, could tolerate his company let alone. . . no, I can't go there. . .

Beijing York said...

From what I understand, Laureen refused to travel down Motherhood Steve's road to salvation. She did not join his weirdo, evangelical church.

As for his cred on motherhood, you forgot one of his first moves as PM - cutting back funding for the Status of Women and changing their mandate to expunge the word "equality".

fern hill said...

BY: I certainly didn't forget THAT. I just didn't have a handy link for it.

JJ said...

The plot thickens.
I guess we won't know if the Laureen rumour is true until the Rolling Stones show up to play a gig in Ottawa...

Apart from rumour and innuendo, how exactly did Harper qualify for this UN appointment? It just seems a little... odd...

Alison said...

I had heard the rumour about Harpie and Laureen quite a while ago, but didn't pay much attention. However, last night at a dinner party it was confirmed by a federal civil servant, that that is indeed the buzz around Ottawa, including that she is staying in a hotel. Her defense of the Iranian woman (sorry I have forgotten her name) was certainly not something that Harpie would promote which did make me wonder if the rumours are true.

Letting him within a thousand miles of any organization ostensibly for women's rights is a monumental cock-up.

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