Sunday, July 21, 2002

Buttheads Are Everywhere
The Great White North apparently has its share of the violently PC crowd. According to the Toronto Sun:
A Liberal MP blew his top at Pearson Airport early this month, berating customs agents for their lengthy questioning of two Middle Eastern men, airport sources have told Sun Media.

Scarborough-Agincourt MP Jim Karygiannis reportedly tore a strip off the officers July 1 in front of airport staff and passengers disembarking an Olympic flight from Greece.

Witnesses say Karygiannis accused customs agents of "racial profiling" for questioning the Middle Eastern men, who were brandishing U.S. passports, more extensively than other people.

"He started yelling at the officers," said a source. "He was belligerent... He's using words like racial profiling."

Customs referred the two men to the immigration office because they felt the duo weren't clear as to their place of residence or why they were in Canada, an airport source said.

A background check found a rap sheet for both men, which included convictions for drug possession.
Karygiannis has quite a checkered history including threatening political opponents and being voted "Laziest MP" by parliamentary staffers. He apparently feels he is Canada's immigration poster boy:
Jim Karygiannis, M.P., born, Athens, Greece, immigrated to Canada as a teenager with his family in 1966, settling in Toronto, Ontario. Graduating in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto, he worked in the family business until 1988 at which time he ran for political office, winning a seat in the House of Commons as a Liberal Member of Parliament. Representing one of the most ethnically diverse federal ridings in Canada – Scarborough-Agincourt – Mr. Karygiannis has been an effective voice for small business, immigration, and multicultural matters in the House of Commons.
My advice to the customs agents is that when you see Jimbo, break out the shoulder length examination gloves.



And some really tall boots might be good too.