Today’s Moron: Steven Rheault-Kihara
November 5, 2009
As all you smart-type people know, the first rule of international diplomacy is this: Always have a tuxedo close at hand for last-minute gala receptions. I know this from watching spy movies.
The second rule is this: If you’re going to bad-mouth your boss on Facebook, don’t leave your account set to “Public.” I know this because it just happened.
Steven Rheault-Kihara is the guy who broke the second rule. The 46-year-old Canadian, who handles political and economic relations and public affairs at the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok, was just outed as a serial bad-mouther when, for some reason, his Facebook Wall stopped being For Your Eyes Only.
People around the world got a look inside Rheault-Kihara’s private life in a big way, reading as he lambasted the Thai government — not something you want to do when you’re a PR guy in their country — and described his need to party. This wasn’t confined to his friends. Everybody could read it. And when they did, they found things like this:
- On his boss, Prime Minister Stephen Harper: “As much as I think he’s a terrible leader, I thought that Stephen Harper gave a good show last night.” (Harper had just performed on an Ottawa stage with Yo-Yo Ma.)
- On Harper and his then-rival, the leader of the Liberal Party: “If you put a gun to my head and forced me to choose between (Stephen) Harper or (Stephane) Dion as PM, my answer is simple: Pull the trigger, please.” (Canada was facing the possibility of a snap election.)
- On the media: “Quoting from an audit report is the laziest form of journalism, but then again, no-one ever accused Greg Weston of being a journalist.” (He’s wrong; everyone knows this crap I do is the laziest form of journalism. Sheesh.)
- On sports: “I think the Leafs’ll take the Cup this year, and when they do, I’m getting a tattoo of their logo.” (This proves he’s delusional, or maybe I just made that one up. Yeah, I think I did.)
When are people going to learn how to control their online presence? They mouth off about their employer, they get fired. They post boobie photos, their moms see them. This kind of thing happens to people all the time, but rarely with this level of political WTFness. This is a guy criticizing his boss, but in this case, his boss is the most powerful person in the country. Not smart.
There has been no word from Harper’s people as to what he thinks of all this, but our PM does not suffer fools gladly; I suspect Rheault-Kihara might be looking for work tomorrow. Well, at least he has a tux.
Rheault-Kihara has yet to acknowledge what has happened, and I expect there will be something along the lines of “My Facebook represents my private life, not my public life, yada yada yada.” That doesn’t wash here. If you want privacy, if you want to be able to express your opinions about politics and politicians, fine. Don’t go into public service. And if you do, keep your trap shut. This is a lesson he has learned far too late.
In related news, I just sent my C.V. to the Canadian Embassy in Thailand.
Only thing I can say no matter what kind of mistake he did he’s STILL entitled to his opinion. And on the one who hacked his account.
Ok, I used to actually know Steve. Let me tell you, he’s not a jerk or inconsiderate in anyway. He is a very nice guy, a wonderful Father, a loyal Husband AND, yes, he has probably learned his lesson…even Barack Obama warned him for goodness sake (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8243909.stm).
Steve, you probably should not have been so trustworthy with your “options” or “privacy settings” in Facebook. However, yet again, I am stunned at how registered users of Facebook honestly believe we have a genuine interest in their personal lives. MySpace, and Twitter are no different. There’s something to be said about how precious an email is OR how a phone call reaches out, but how is it a complete stranger’s interest in matters of the mindless drivel are worth it? I wonder how Alexander Graham Bell was in his first phone call and how he called out “Watson, come here! I want to see you!” I am sure Watson was thinking, “Jesus man I’m kinda busy here!” Moreover, how precious communication is to those YOU KNOW. Its not for public consumption, unless you’re inventing the phone, a public figure whose drivel is mindFUL, or you’re informing your colleagues of your whereabouts, “In the copy room.”
Steve, you’ll weather this one in flying colors. At the end of the day, we don’t really care AND Greg Weston is a slimeball for using your folley as fodder for his own gain…you are ten times the journalist AND human being he’ll ever be.
P.S. The real Moron is the author of this story on Weather Station for lambasting a Canadian Attache, who’s career is on the rise. Moron Station Alpha perhaps. Out.
This guy thought he was writing on a social website for family and friends. Okay, maybe he should have been a little more internet-savvy, and he probably wouldn’t have written what he did if he’d known a weasel like Greg Weston was going to read it and write an article about it. But hey, diplomats are human beings, too.
At least Rheault-Kihara has a career. As for Weston, why does anybody bother paying the guy any more?
BTW, how many times do you suppose Weston failed the foreign service exam?
It’s a shame Greg Weston wastes his time being an internet Peeping Tom when he can do better like get a real job.
This was an important report no matter who covered it.
Maybe you all should take some time off and listen to some Beattles records.
People seem to be ignoring the story and focusing on Greg Weston, or distorting the facts of the case to defend Rheault-Kihara. That’s weird. I think what he did was stupid. People get fired for slamming their bosses on Facebook all the time, and they should. If it’s public, it’s public. Whether you work in a call centre or an embassy, you should watch what you say.
I don’t know what people have against Greg Weston but I thought he wrote a good story about real news.
P.S. The real Moron is the author of this story on Weather Station for lambasting a Canadian Attache, who’s career is on the rise. Moron Station Alpha perhaps. Out.
Are you seriously implying that government officials are not fair targets for journalism? Nice guy or not the gentleman in question did a foolish thing. There have been numerous reports of teenagers and office workers doing a similar thing and losing their jobs over it. All Weathereye did was tell the story in an amusing manner. Everyone, but most especially public figures, should be careful about what they put on line. It’s nice that you want to defend your former acquaintance, but attacking the author of this post for posting it is just, well, moronic.
For the people defending Greg Weston. It’s highly unlikely any of you would appreciate having your Facebook comments exploited by a tabloid hack.