Face it, Mr. Harper's just trying to make lives easier for us Canadians. He knows full well that we don't want answers to "snooty" questions most of us don't understand and that so many reporters keep asking; questions like, "How did giving the US everything it wanted really settle the softwood lumber issue?" or "How is it serving Canada's interest or honoring our troops to send them off to die in Afghanistan, fighting to prop up a regime even more evil than the one it replaces?" or, the nastiest question of all, "How does the continuation of the Martin Liberals' policy of deeper integration with US corporate interests serve to distinguish the Conservatives from the corrupt Liberal government they replaced?"
Mr. Harper knows that Canadians want answers to the HARD questions that he fields so well; questions like, "What is the Prime Minister's favorite colour?" or the even more controversial "What sort of steaks do you like to barbecue on Sundays?"
To those who would suggest that our PM has his nose buried deep in the posterior region of our much beloved neighbor to the south, I would say "Oh yeah; then where is that telltale patch of brown on his nose? Do you really think he'd spend half the day washing it off?" Some leftists are asserting that Mr. Harper is nothing short of an American fascist, cast in the same mould as George Bush. We, as Canadians should have none of that, and should do what we can to dispel this vicious, ugly and inflammatory rumor. Any Canadian can clearly see that Mr. Harper (with a little help from the Australian prime minister) is trying to create his own, uniquely Canadian brand of North American fascism. To suggest otherwise would be unpatriotic to say the least.
* In the time it took to write this, the poll results changed. Most Canadians now disagree with our PM. Gee, we're a fickle bunch!
The Story:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060524.wmedia0524/BNStory/National/home
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on May 26, 2006]
Note: http://www.theglobeandm...
http://www.theglobeandm...
Is The Media Picking On Our Prime Minister?
Posted on Thursday, May 25 at 08:26 by The Old PoopContributed By
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<br />
(Prov 27:2 KJV) Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.<br />
<br />
"Let's give Harper an easier job May 25, 2006. 01:00 AM Journalists stage boycott of PM's press conference May 24. No wonder the voting public distrusts politicians in general and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in particular. Without a managed and cowtowing media how would these "leaders" of our nation disseminate the propaganda? The person responsible for making decisions that affect the lives of 32 million Canadians won't answer reporters' questions because they might be too tough. Let's give him an easier job. Apparently, Wal-Mart is looking for greeters. And he'd get to <br />
wear the Tory blue. The response by the press gallery was totally appropriate and the Star should have joined them. David Matoc, "<br />
<br />
Canada Today <br />
<a href="http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday3">http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday3</a> <br />
or go to <a href="http://pkbulow.tripod.com/Canada.today.htm">http://pkbulow.tripod.com/Canada.today.htm</a>
Oh I know I hate the media more than the Harper at the moment...
world comes to us via the media. Wars have been stopped because of
the media ... WWI took a drastic change after Rupert Murdoch's father
began reporting from the mud and filth of the battlefields in France. Viet
Nam, remember?
It's too damn easy to say "I hate the media," so ask: what would we do
without it?
Most important: when you see something amiss, write to (a) the
newspaper, and (b) the journalist. Do it when you see something well
done too. Because we're all in this together: a good news media is the
foundation of a just society.
____________________________________________________
My pickled onions are better than your pickled onions.
- Great Sage of the Rocky Mountains, circa 1889.
_____________________________________________________
foundation of a just society...
Amen Sister!! That's probably why Harper would like to have nothing to do with it!
It's no wonder He hates the media; they have an unfortunate tendency to quote the stupid things he says, which leaves him looking like an idiot.
and while there is true of fact in BCM's Hosannas has only presented one facet.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lookingglassnews.org/index.php?topic=16">http://www.lookingglassnews.org/index.php?topic=16</a> <br />
<br />
Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Corporate Media<br />
<br />
Mistrust of the media is not without foundation.<br />
Does the phrase "yellow journalism" sound familiar?<p>---<br>The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.... : Albert Einstein
---
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.... : Albert Einstein
---
Expect little from life and get more from it.
The question with Harper is whether his confrontation with the press gallery and the media in general is not part of an overall strategy. He must have known the reaction he would get when he adopted the Bush policy of controlling who in the media would get access. The Canadian media were certain to react negatively when he tried to manipulate the media here as Bush did in the months after 9/11 and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
For whatever reason he is intentionally using a dislike of the national media for his own purposes and it appears to be working. We will eventually understand what is behind the strategy.
---
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.... : Albert Einstein
I agree with BC Mary that a just society needs a free press. However, the job of "free press" has been vacated by our bought & paid for corporate media. To preserve at least some justice in our society, it now falls on us to fill it.
<br />
Dictatorship is the clear opposite of Democracy and general incompetent, immoral leaders resort to a dictatorial managerial style,<br />
<br />
We all do love to watch the news, to be informed, it is a part of life. Face it the news media is an essential part of life if they are doing us a public service of telling us the truth as to what is happening and free speech is the corner stone, a foundational basis of any democracy too. Deny anyone their right of free speech, or try to suppress it, bully it, you yourself are doing undeinable and unfathomable amount of wrongs firstly. Public exposure and prosecution of the guilty serves everyone's best interest still too. Most every bad guy who set out to do something awful wanted to do it in secret and keep it secret so he or she unlawfully could keep their false gains too. <br />
The citizens have a right to be informed about government actions, and nothing should be done in secret, because they do eventually concern the citizens and it is the citizens that will affected the most negatively or positively by the actions of the governments anyway. We the citizens should be allowed to know about all things that could harm our health, well being and our tax money too. Especially since these days it seems half of the politicians tend to be liars, immoral persons. Too many officials in Ottawa, and the other governments,, Civil and public services still do things that they don't want the citizens to know about. They do things they know are wrong. If our elected officials feel it is a too heavy burden for the citizens to know how they conduct business, they clearly do now need to find another career. Clearly the Citizens respect and trust of our elected leaders still relies on an open government. Secrecy moves us all down the path of distrust. Openness enables the public to trust that government and their agents, agencies are really doing the best they can now for all of the taxpayers, each and every citizen.<br />
<br />
Openness! All elected officials should want this and all voters should and do demand openness. Sadly these days the rightful transparency in government is clouded by the false increasing Conservative government secrecy. Secrecy not only covers up mistakes, it obstructs accountability. "It is only by shining a bright light into those dark corners where the secret deals are made that the public can be assured of honest, forthright representation". Any Politicians tend to get into more trouble when they go behind closed doors to do their work. They rather sometimes do mischief. Too often when politicians cite privacy issues, they simply want to avoid embarrassment to themselves.<br />
<br />
<br />
Too much secrecy also is rather an obstruction, and is also a challenge to fair and honest justice now as well<br />
<br />
Most Canadian Citizens do rightfully now want, demand in our democracy even a wider window to the open government and freedom of information, both in our nation’s capital and around Canada even at all of the federal, provincial and municipal levels too especially related to the citizens good welfare and their tax payers money being used, spent. Their desire for a fully accountiable democracy is now again being clouded by the false increasing Canadian Conservative government secrecy, but nevertheless all of the citizens and it' elected officials should still purse always, continually the unhindered goal to have and to provide, to achieve even a greater access to public records and meetings, a free flow of information,full transparency in government issues and efforts. <br />
<br />
"Information empowers and energizes a democracy. <br />
<br />
" Political leaders have wanted to control the message and hog-tie the messenger ever since modern media first mixed with politics.. Now Stephen Harper, who campaigned on open and accountable government, is trying his hand at media control. As prime minister and chief bully of the sitting government, Mr. Harper wants to muzzle and manipulate the national news media, all to protect his infant minority from even the mildest criticism... Mr. Harper really wants to rein in the hyenas in the national press corps because they keep pointing out that his government seems as ethically challenged as the Liberal mob it displaced. ... Someone should tell Mr. Harper that manipulation won’t work because Canadians see through it. Remind the man that open, decentralized government can’t co-exist with secrecy and concentration of power. Point out that he promised transparent government and sadly, what he offers now is just the opposite." Dan Leger is assistant managing editor of The Chronicle Herald. Newsroom: email or Letters to Editor Write to: letters@herald.ca <br />
<br />
I rarely get a Conservative to write back to me but one did today on this issue cause he knows it is a troublesome and a damaging one for the Conservatives.As far as how this media exposure conflict next plays out undeniably Harper has already lost.. he Harper showed us what a despotic dictator he really is, how immature and incompetent to lead as well, and so is his party now too, his cabinet ministers who mostly now as we can see are just puppets on a string.. and for anything Harper next tries to do against the news reporters and for any of his supposedly justifications two wrongs never made one wrong as well and Canada is a peace loving nation that does not support such immoral, aggressive, unkind unlovijng behavior of a professing evangelical Christian on topodf all this Mr. S Harper is contrary the being a Christians? and what happened to Christ teaching about turning your other cheek? and not seeking revenge<br />
<br />
Here are 6 undeniable and unacceptable facts still even about the Conservative politcal parties in Canada<br />
<br />
1: The Federal Conservatives are now even really worse overall even in comparison to the previous Liberals we had in power, for they the Conservatives are more pretentious and more more inadequate in governing even as well. They do have a hidden agenda they are pursuing firstly.<br />
<br />
2 The Conservatives in Ottawa under Stephen Harper and those Conservatives in Alberta as well under Ralph Klein are unacceptably too now are not looking after the equal, good well being of all Canadians Canada wide, but only the minority few Canadians that hopefully will reelect them. keep them in power, and even thus their false hidden agenda is a self serving one. Many Liberals had warned us of this too and they were right.<br />
<br />
3: The Conservatives clearly really do not care to implement or maintain a total adequate universal and fully functional health care system Canada wide as well otherwise they would have implemented real positive needed changes here already too.<br />
<br />
4: Even the federal Conservatives for certainty now cannot be trusted to keep their election promises. We continually and unacceptably in Canada seem to elect liars as leaders, people who break their campaign promises, Premiers and prime Ministers in Canada now too. Our new PM had prime minister campaigned on a promise of open government and an accountable one. He already has failed to live up too it and it did not even take him too long to do it too.<br />
<br />
5 We have all now also seen that the wrongful, false suppression of democracy, the practice of dictatorship now is a classical Conservative philosophy, approach of too many bad Canadian Conservative leaders. <br />
<br />
6 More Openess in the government, and Public exposure and prosecution of the guilty serves everyone's best interest still too. <br />
<br />
Most every bad guy who set out to do something awful wanted to do it in secret and keep it secret so he or she unlawfully could keep their false gains too. Most of the bad power hungry dictators started out pretending to serve the good welfare of the all of people now too. <br />
<br />
Clearly the Citizens respect and trust of our elected leaders still relies on an open government. Secrecy moves us all down the path of distrust. Openness enables the public to trust that government and their agents, agencies are really doing the best they can now for all of the taxpayers, each and every citizen. Openness! All elected officials should want this and all voters should and do demand openness. Sadly these days the rightful transparency in government is clouded by the false increasing Conservative government secrecy. Secrecy not only covers up mistakes, it obstructs accountability. "It is only by shining a bright light into those dark corners where the secret deals are made that the public can be assured of honest, forthright representation". Any Politicians tend to get into more trouble when they go behind closed doors to do their work. They rather sometimes do mischief. Too often when politicians cite privacy issues, they simply want to avoid embarrassment to themselves. Too much secrecy also is rather an obstruction, and is also a challenge also to accountabiluty, to a fair and honest justice now as well.<br />
<br />
The citizens always have a right to be informed about all government actions, and to even complain anout them oenly and freely and nothing should be done be done by the fovernemtns now in secret, even because all decisons tend to eventually concern the citizens .and it is the citizens that will affected the most negatively or positively by the actions of the governments anyway. We the citizens have be allowed to know about all things that could harm our health, well being and even our tax money too. If our elected officials feel it is a too heavy burden for the citizens to know how they conduct business, they clearly do now need to find another career. Especially since these days it seems at least half of the politicians tend to be liars, immoral persons as we all tend to agree. <br />
<br />
Too many officials in Ottawa, and the other governments, civil and public services still do things that they don't want the citizens to know about. They do things they know are wrong. Most Canadian Citizens do rightfully now want, demand in our democracy even a wider window to the open government and freedom of information, both in our nation’s capital and around Canada even at all of the federal, provincial and municipal levels too especially related to the citizens good welfare and their tax payers money being used, spent. Their desire for a fully accountiable democracy is now again being clouded by the false increasing Canadian Conservative government secrecy, but nevertheless all of the citizens and it' elected officials should still purse always, continually the unhindered goal to have and to provide, to achieve even a greater access to public records and meetings, a free flow of information,full transparency in government issues and efforts. <br />
<br />
One of the chief functions of government is to serve the people and one way to do is is to is to keep them fully informed, then it is a simple one. Aside from matters of national security, I can’t think offhand of too many instances where the state/local government shouldn’t keep the public informed of decisions and actions by elected officials. In the past I think that in most, if not all cases, where secrecy has prevailed it is for reasons that had nothing to do with protecting the public but rather to protect an individual/government body from criticism and/or embarrassment, should the public learn of it and this usually occurs when they (the officials) feel they can’t properly justify their actions. <br />
<br />
All Public officials whether they now like it or not are always, continually thus answerable to the public and how can the public now even really judge performance if they are not privy to the decisions by made their elected officials. Whether the actions/decisions in our opinion were ultimately right or wrong depends on our rightful access to all of the facts too that would help us the citizens to make better informed decisions now next too as to what elected leaders, parties are acceptable even. Open Government is an essential part of any democratic government and allof the citizen's right to know as well. "Openness both preserves democracy and saves money," The Citizens can use the governments 's liberal public-records laws to uncover secret documents, or keep officials from falsely meeting in secret, and doing wrongs. The secret exemptions all have one thing in common: They wrongfully do shut the public out of the public's business. Keeping the sun shining on government should be a priority of us all."The reason for open government is to prevent the consolidation of power by an entrenched few, and to prevent the abuses that inevitably follow. The reason the entrenched few want to work in secrecy is so that no one knows what they are doing, which allows them to continue abusing power. If their abuses were made known, they would likely lose power and/or have to stop the abuses and/or make restitution for what was improperly accumulated. The human temptation to abuse such unmitigated power is irresistible. Only Christ has not been tempted. So we must know what is going on, to keep the checks and balances system working properly." <br />
<br />
The rightful transparency in our federal government now as well is clouded by the false increasing Conservative government secrecy, and a dictatorship approach. Is now "Muzzling the media, Harper style any more acceptable by him also now, next muzzling the citizens as well? No, Never. It really is the same thing. <br />
<br />
7 It does not take a rocket scientist to know, to confirm these facts. One can easily tell who they are by what they do, have done so far. "18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7 KJV) <br />
<br />
And being an useless, ineffective, wasteful elected or career official is also the same wrong doing as being secretive and there is no such thing as little bit pregnant, or a little bit acceptable abuses of democracy, freedom, human rights.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday3">http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday3</a>..<br />
the same cool analytical approach as we do when we read books or <br />
make a new friend. Sometimes, as you say, in the end it is up to us. <br />
<br />
The important matter of the police raid on the B.C. Legislature has not <br />
been explained to the public; and so, with the silence of the major news <br />
sources in Vancouver and Victoria, I have set up a blogspot to try to <br />
cover the trials of the accused ... if and when they take place (it's been <br />
29 months and counting). So I really don't think I need to sit still for any <br />
rocks thrown by Diogenes. <br />
<br />
My blogspot is <a href="http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/">http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/</a> and visitors are <br />
welcome. Help is welcome, too, because it will take a group of <br />
volunteers to give up their time for taking notes in the court rooms, <br />
once these lengthy trials get under way. <br />
<br />
There is, in fact, the trial of Ravinder Dosanjh under way at this time. At <br />
least, it was for 3 days. But there's been no news report on it since May <br />
17, so I don't know if it's been stayed, recessed, postponed, or <br />
concluded ... which shows that the MSM is failing the public in B.C., and <br />
yes, Old Poop, it's why it's up to us to do something to correct that.