GG Shows Support for Seal Hunt....

[The Bread Guy]

....by eating some heart she cut out of a hunted seal herself, according to the Canadian Press:

On the first day of her trip to the Arctic Michaelle Jean gutted a freshly slaughtered seal, pulled out its raw heart, and ate it.

Hundreds of Inuit at a community festival gathered around as the Governor General made a gesture of solidarity with the country's beleagured seal hunters.

Jean knelt above a pair of carcasses and used a traditional blade to slice the meat off the skin.

After repeated, vigorous cuts through the flesh the Queen's representative turned to the woman beside her and asked enthusiastically: "Could I try the heart?"

Afterward Jean grabbed a tissue to wipe clean her blood-soaked fingers, and explained her gesture of solidarity with the region's Inuit hunters.

She expressed her dismay that anyone would call their eons-old, traditional hunting practices inhumane ....

Well done 

 

[chrisf]

Wow. Good on her!

 

[X-mo-1979]

Good looking,bilingual,good job,and cuts the carcass and eats a animals heart.

GG I love you.

 

[OldSolduer]

Good looking,bilingual,good job,and cuts the carcass and eats a animals heart.

GG I love you.

Not only that, she is one of the most gracious people I've ever met. Her husband ain't a bad guy either.
Adrienne Clarkson, Col in Chief of the PPCLI is very gracious as well. Too often people b!tch about the money spent on the office of Governor General. Money well spent I say!

 

[time expired]

After first having read about this on the CTV website I am still
not sure what this is all about.Is it a publicity stunt to support
the Inuit living in their "traditional way" or is it someway to
support the unemployed Newfoundland fisherman`s annual seal
hunt?.
If its the former I can only congratulate the Honerable Lady,
however I feel that the "traditional way" should be lived without
snowmobiles,high powered rifles and huge subsidies by the
Canadian taxpayer,but then again maybe that's just me.Oh and
by the way the heart was usually reserved for the dogs.
If it has something to do with the annual seal hunt I am sure it
will not convince many Europeans to go rushing out to buy a
sealskin hat,it may have the complete opposite effect if and
when the story breaks here in Europe.
So once again I wonder what this is all about?.
                            Regards

 

[The Bread Guy]

...from the Canadian Press:

the intention wasn't to make a political statement.

"I think a person in my position knows exactly what's in the air and I'm aware of the context. I'm aware that now if you eat seal or wear something made of sealskin. . .it says that you recognize this activity."

"But this activity is part of the way of life of thousands of people in our country. In the North, in the Arctic, in the East, also in coastal regions," Jean said.

"It is part of their way of life. It is part of their economy."

"It is well-administrated. It is vital for them."

"It is done in a sustainable way. A very respectful way."

"And I'm certainly not indifferent to that. I respect that."

"People have to accept the diversity of realities."

Jean said people are probably too conditioned by modern life and forget where food comes from.

"When I eat beef, I am totally aware that eating beef is also. . .a once-living thing. Vegetarians make a choice in their life."

"I haven't made this choice. When I eat lamb, I know that I am eating a lamb."

"When I eat veal, I know that I am eating a veal. Those, too, are very cute animals."

She points out that seal is an excellent source of vitamins and nutrients and has sustained the Inuit for centuries.

"It would have been an insult and it's not in my nature to stay at a distance and not participate," she said.

And my personal fave quote:

Rank-and-file sealers hailed her as a hero, while federal cabinet minister Peter MacKay described Jean as "Canada's new Braveheart."

 

[GAP]

On the news tonight they were saying she's also going on a seal hunt in the next day or so....

 

[GAP]

My apologies to Michaelle Jean
John Gormley, The StarPhoenix Published: Friday, May 29, 2009
Article Link

Two words to Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean: I apologize.

As a critic of her 2005 appointment as Governor General, it all looked so wrong at the time -- the perception of tokenism, the lack of national profile and little experience outside the cloistered, politically correct world of French CBC.

And there was the separatist husband who seemed more comfortable strolling down the Champs Elysees than consorting with us mere plebeians.

How wrong I was.

From Her Excellency's inaugural speech where she spoke of "breaking down solitudes" -- later adopting those words as her official motto -- to small and touching gestures of reaching out to show support for many Canadians and their lives, it all culminated this week in Nunavut.

After helping butcher a seal, Jean chatted with elders and hugged them, spoke of tradition and then ate a chunk of raw seal heart. This last gesture -- the bleeding uncooked heart part -- won't soon be found in any vice-regal playbook.

Calling the seal heart "absolutely delicious," the GG said it tasted like sushi and was "very rich in protein."

Then she spoke of how the seal hunt is humane and "these ancient practises are part of a way of life. If you can't understand that, you're completely missing the reality of life here."

When asked if this was a swipe at the European Union -- which voted earlier this month to impose a ban on Canadian seal products because of European opposition to the annual seal hunt -- Her Excellency replied "take from that what you will."

It is common in the movies -- yet so rare in real life -- that a person does one single thing that converts the masses into a cheering and worshipping crowd. Usually, support, loyalty and affection are gradually earned over the course of a journey.

And so it has been with this remarkable Governor General.
More on link

 

[The Bread Guy]

.... from the Foil Hat Brigade:
http://gregoryhartnell.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/portrait-of-madame-michaelle-jean-as-a-death-culture-agent-connect-the-dots-voodoo-morgentaler-unjust-afghan-war-raw-seal-heart-etc/

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...  :