Rahim Jaffer's web site dead but still twitching
Who pulled the plug on former MP Rahim Jaffer's web site?
The site was in the news last week after the Conservative Party demanded he remove the party logo from the site. The site included photos of Jaffer with various Conservative notables, including Prime Minister Harper.
Then there followed allegations that Jaffer was using an email address and office space assigned to his wife, former federal cabinet minister Helena Guergis, and now claims that he also made use of her ministerial limo for his personal business affairs.
Then the site went dead.
So who pulled the plug on the site? The most likely answer is: the site owner. And that's where this one gets fairly convoluted.
The domain name in question is rahimjaffer.com
The registrant - domain-name speak for 'licensee' - is listed as:
Office of Rahim Jaffer, MP House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 CA
Jaffer lost his seat in Parliament in 2008. The domain is licensed to August 19, 2011, which means the domain is paid up until that expiry date.
There are two emails listed in the domain name registration:
jaffer0@parl.gc.ca and rahim.jaffer@rogers.com
So does Jaffer own the site? Or is the owner the House of Commons and, therefore, the people of Canada?
If it's the HOC, then it's entirely possible that the self-promotional site that included his business initiatives, photos, and bio was being paid for by taxpayer dollars.
Update:
Jaffer, of course, is the same ex-MP who was charged with impaired driving and cocaine possession but got what the judge called 'a break': a $500 fine in return for a guilty plea on a careless driving charge.
Digging around in the dusty annals of the Internet, you can find archived versions of the site from August 2000 to June 2008, about four months before he lost his seat in Canada's 40th general election.
Included in the archive is a post about the Conversative's new tough, anti-crime initiatives, that wraps up with:
"While the Liberals continue to earn their soft on crime reputation, Canada’s New Government is tackling crime, protecting our streets and communities and building a stronger, safer, better Canada."The Liberals, meanwhile, are still taking punches for the Adscam debacle that cost them the 2006 general election, while the Quebec provincial wing of the party is currently fending off claims that moneyed supporters in the construction industry influenced judicial appointments, a charge the Quebec premier vehemently denies.
Back on the Conservative side of the fence, the Gates Foundation just withdrew funding for an anti-smoking initiative in Africa after learning that former federal cabinet minister Barbara McDougall, the chair of the International Development Research Centre which was managing the initiative, was at the same time sitting as a member of the board of who was appointed by then-foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier (he of the girlfriend with alleged Hell's Angel's connections)
-g
