For the ‘Best Country in the World’: Noblesse Oblige
TORONTO – The Middle East’s Arab News Agency, Al Jazeera, was among the earliest – if not the first – to report on the death of Saif Gaddaffi. Saif was the son of President Muammar Gaddafi, former President of Lybia. It appears that four black-hooded assassins made their way into his quarters and saluted his fate to embark towards the afterlife with a hail of bullets.
The Western Press and Media barely took notice. In Canada, the news was all about loyalty to allies and economic strategy in the wake of a Canada-China “Auto Pact”. It was/is the week when the USA Justice Department released millions of pages of the “scandal of the century” – the Epstein files. The latter had enough material to satiate the most prurient interest of any and all whose curiosity concerning the sexual norms, habits of the rich and famous apparently knows no boundaries. Conspiracy theories are flowing like the cascades of Niagara.
The Middle Eastern Media Counterparts seemed to focus on the social-political habits of what the Chinese used to call the princelings, entitled children (male, more often than not). No polite, politically correct vocabulary necessary: the term most often used referenced “a life of debauchery”. They could have added, “and depravity”.
Sounded remarkably similar to the descriptives applied to the American ruling and economic class and the King of Enablers, Jeffrey Epstein. The children of real British Monarchs, Ambassadors, “Captains of Industry”, the Mega Giants of the tech industries, former Presidents… the list goes on. No children or women were safe from their corruption and/or predation.
Unfortunately, there is a Canadian connection, even if Canadian Law is severe with companies and individuals who transgress the Law anywhere around the globe. The Gaddafi family ran a country whose known Petroleum reserves placed it among the top five in lands bordering the Mediterranean basin. Engineering firms like Canada’s (former) SNC Lavalin evidently felt they could benefit by close contact with the ruling family, if they could influence outcomes, Canadian “ethics and laws be damned”. Until they “get caught”. It is not a partisan issue, merely a function of a cultural ethical construct.
During the Stephen Harper Administration, SNC Lavalin hired one of Gaddafi’s sons a Vice-President in charge of Government Relations responsible for securing “engineering projects” in Lybia and North Africa. He was allegedly also instrumental in convincing the Harper Administration to engage in the War ensuing Barack Obama’s “Arab Spring” – revenge for Lybia’s responsibilities in the downing of an American aircraft over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The Canadian military adventure to protect “Canadian assets” (SNC oil pipeline infrastructure apparently) cost an estimated $26 million and finished at over $100 million (in 2008 dollar values). SNC Lavalin pursued available infrastructure projects everywhere in the “third world”, where local governments fought valiantly to expunge the sordid practice of buying votes and decisions for commercially lucrative government contracts. Its activities attracted much negative attention and led to investigations and punishing consequences.
For example, conviction in international jurisdictions could mean disqualification from Canadian domestic projects. When it appeared that SNC would be subject to such disqualification as a result of its perceived role in the $3.1 USD billion Padna Bridge Project in Bangladesh. The company implored then PM Justin Trudeau to intervene with the Justice Minister. She resisted. The PM insisted, saying that SNC is a [Montreal Quebec] company and he is elected from Montreal. A political crisis developed. Corruption and lack of respect for Parliamentary processes became the themes of the day. Two Ministers resigned to protest what they considered undue pressure to abandon parliamentary privilege and duty. Trudeau survived.
Coincidently, shortly after the matter quieted, a Judge of the Bangladeshi Supreme Court, on visit to North America, came to the Corriere hoping to share his experiences and express his views that the wrong people were forced to resign.
He agree that “noblesse oblige”.
