UPDATE BELOW
I have a special place in my heart for Canada. And this report only makes my affection for our neighbors to the north even stronger:
Fox News' Lies Keep Them Out of Canada By Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Reader Supported News
As America's middle class battles for its survival on the Wisconsin barricades - against various Koch Oil surrogates and the corporate toadies at Fox News - fans of enlightenment, democracy and justice can take comfort from a significant victory north of the Wisconsin border. Fox News will not be moving into Canada after all! The reason: Canadian regulators announced last week they would reject efforts by Canada's right-wing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, to repeal a law that forbids lying on broadcast news.
Canada's Radio Act requires that "a licenser may not broadcast ... any false or misleading news." The provision has kept Fox News and right-wing talk radio out of Canada and helped make Canada a model for liberal democracy and freedom. As a result of that law, Canadians enjoy high quality news coverage, including the kind of foreign affairs and investigative journalism that flourished in this country before Ronald Reagan abolished the "Fairness Doctrine" in 1987. Political dialogue in Canada is marked by civility, modesty, honesty, collegiality, and idealism that have pretty much disappeared on the US airwaves. When Stephen Harper moved to abolish the anti-lying provision of the Radio Act, Canadians rose up to oppose him fearing that their tradition of honest non-partisan news would be replaced by the toxic, overtly partisan, biased and dishonest news coverage familiar to American citizens who listen to Fox News and talk radio. Harper's proposal was timed to facilitate the launch of a new right-wing network, "Sun TV News" which Canadians call "Fox News North."
Harper, often referred to as "George W. Bush's Mini Me," is known for having mounted a Bush-like war on government scientists, data collectors, transparency, and enlightenment in general. He is a wizard of all the familiar tools of demagoguery; false patriotism, bigotry, fear, selfishness and belligerent religiosity.
Harper's attempts to make lying legal on Canadian television are a stark admission that right-wing political ideology can only dominate national debate through dishonest propaganda. Since corporate profit-taking is not an attractive vessel for populism, a political party or broadcast network that makes itself the tool of corporate and financial elites must lie to make its agenda popular with the public. In the Unites States, Fox News and talk radio, the sock puppets of billionaires and corporate robber barons, have become the masters of propaganda and distortion on the public airwaves. Fox News' notoriously biased and dishonest coverage of the Wisconsin's protests is a prime example of the brand of news coverage Canada has smartly avoided.
If only we were as kind to our citizens as Canada is to hers.
HERE IS A VIDEO THAT DOCUMENTS THE LIES AND DISTORTIONS OF FAUX NOOZ:
UPDATE:
FAUX NOOZ's Bill O'Reilly in an interview with Mike Tobin, a reporter for FAUX NOOZ, talked about union violence and the protests in Wisconsin while FAUX NOOZ ran a tape of unruly and violent protesters. But get this: O'Reilly and Tobin are talking about Wisconsin demonstrators while FAUX roles a tape showing disruptive demonstrators WITH PALM TREES IN THE BACKGROUND AND PEOPLE IN SHIRT SLEEVES!
More deception and misrepresentation from FAUX NOOZ!
Watch it here.
h/t FOK News Channel
And speaking of FAUX NOOZ, be sure to check out Keith Olbermann's new not-for-profit blog:
23 comments:
I have some dear friends in Canada, what a great place to live. How mature of them, way to go CANADA!
I've always favored an approach that shared ideas and let the people decide after considering the facts and viewpoints of the various proponents, in a civil, honest manner.
One should ask how anyone could argue against a law that prohibits lying in political discussion.
Maybe Linda or Lisa can explain that.
Oh wait, I am sure the explanation will be something like this...
Since the liberals are controlling the media in Canada, they are also the ones deciding what is true and what is a lie, so anything a conservative says, will be branded a lie, because the liberal media is biased.
Is that about right Linda and Lisa? And yes, I am talking about the same Lisa who once said she publishes a mixture of both true and false facts...
I would refer Lisa and Linda to these factual news stories to show how often FAUX NOOZ lies and misleads:
Here
Here
And how our laws ALLOW FAUX NOOZ to get away with LYING.
Don't count on them following any of those leads Shaw...
People in general do not want to read things that challenge their already self validated world views...
And yes Linda, and Lisa, I am aware that liberals are often guilty of this too... but not this time!
Imagine the sheer gall it must take for a head of state to call for legislation that legalizes lying on public airwaves.
It doesn't happen in Canada, but in this country the Florida Supreme court granted Fox News First Amendment rights to lie in its news broadcasting.
Only in America is lying to the American people a dearly held right.
And this nation has sunk into the abyss as a result of it.
If anyone has visited Pirate Satellite recently, you will notice that the "Kid" is being harassed by Malcontent and Darth Bacon (the same dude who posted obscene material that was recently reported to Blogger). The predatory attacks on the "Kid" are despicable, racist and sick in the extreme.
A plea and words of advice: Give them NO audience whatsoever and DELETE them on sight. Report them to Blogger and law enforcement as necessary. Linda and Lisa should be treated similarly ... as stalkers. If you fail to adopt a ZERO TOLERANCE attitude towards Internet predators, these unwelcome assaults will continue. Don't encourage them by engaging them in conversation; get rid of them! You have a responsibility to your readers. Don't let them into your blogs.
"Congress shall make no law ..."
Thus begin the opening words of the first amendment. The Constitution protects freedom of speech but only from restriction by the Congress (and, by virtue of the 14th Amendment, by state legislatures, too). It means government may not suppress speech but there are plenty of places where speech is suppressed.
Freedom of speech is often restricted in the workplace. Employers can restrict your right to speak at work on politics, religion, legal issues, as examples. Defamation and slander and intentional malice are examples of speech that can invite a civil lawsuit. Try screaming fire in the theater, or inciting insurrection or advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. See how far these get you!
While the government may not restrict speech, the free and open marketplace offers citizens many options. You can, for instance, boycott anyone who offends you. You can vote with your purchasing decisions through boycotts. While the government may not restrict the sale of newspapers, any newsstand can refuse to sell a newspaper if the content offends the owner of the newsstand.
So the next time a right winger accuses you of restricting free speech when you tell them to get lost, remember this: You are not bound by the same rules as the government and may restrict anyone you want. So tell a right winger to take a flying leap the next time they throw this at you.
(O)CT(O), the right wingers I've come into contact with online [not all] don't understand the 1st Amendment. When I delete their childish commnents they're the first to yell "what happened to free speech?"
Most of them haven't the slightest idea about what the 1st Amendment means.
Thanks for educating them.
The Bacon dude came hear and acted like a bully then accused me of not wanting to debate him when I deleted all but one of his comments.
The one comment I left up managed to not be full of taunts and name-calling. Bacon dude just doesn't get it.
As for "tha malcontent," his blog is full of plagiarism, malevolent lies, unsubstantiated rumor, and illiterate writing.
When I delete their childish commnents they're the first to yell "what happened to free speech?"
It's amazing how often they don't get this. It's your blog. Freedom of expression doesn't include a right to require someone else to provide a platform.
What I tell people is this: I have a First Amendment right to put a political bumper sticker on my car. I don't have a right to put that same bumper sticker on your car. Not if you choose not to let me.
As for the Canadian case, I think a law against lying on the news is a bit problematical since it could put the government in the position of deciding what constitutes "false or misleading" news. Don't forget that in the US, the government periodically comes under the control of people who believe that evolution, anthropogenic global warming, and Keynesian economics are "lies".
As long as we have freedom of expression, clear-cut lies can be exposed and countered, and the number of people who believe them can be reduced to a minimum.
Infidel753 wrote: "As long as we have freedom of expression, clear-cut lies can be exposed and countered, and the number of people who believe them can be reduced to a minimum."
Sigh. I wish I were as optimistic as you Infidel.
Read this to see why I'm not.
The American people seem to have a limitless capacity to believe lies and to avoid critical thinking.
How else to explain the continuing popularity of a news-rigging cable news station, despite its having been exposed for lies and deceptions?
FAUX NOOZ host, Mike Huckabee on some radio jock's show recently:
“I would love to know more. What I know is troubling enough. ... If you think about it, his perspective as growing up in Kenya with a Kenyan father and grandfather, their view of the Mau Mau Revolution in Kenya is very different than ours because he probably grew up hearing that the British were a bunch of imperialists who persecuted his grandfather,” - Mike Huckabee.
One of Huckabee's spokespersons later scrambled to say Mr. Huckabee "misspoke" and that Mr. Huckabee meant to say Mr. Obama grew up in "Indonesia."
Really? Then why the reference to Mau Maus? And why did he say Mr. Obama grew up "with his father and grandfather" when it has been reported everywhere that Mr. Obama's father abandoned him?
Huckabee is a worm. He knows exactly what he's doing when he speaks to his base and keeps the idea alive in their minds that Mr. Obama is not a real American.
Cheap, underhanded liar. And he works for FAUX NOOZ.
Octo, can you explain the pirate satellite thing... do you have a link?
thanks
Dave,
On Shaw's blog list (right column in alphabetical order) you will find the link for Pirate Satellite.
Infidel is Spot ON!! (except I don't like bumper stickers and have no car)
but try this hat on for size.... WisKochsinton Republican Legislature wants to "Outlaw" Prank calls to the Goobernor, see, you gotta protect a peenut brain.... Wowzers...!!!
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/03/wisconsin-legislature-introduces-topical-anti-prank-call-legislation.html
Seriously... there is a link to the Badger Herald in the Vanity Fair story..... plus, if anyone has "Prince Albert" in a can.... let him out. Just saying. You just can't make this up!!
Oh & Shaw... I loved the Fox Video in this post and I had to post it as well as Link to you. Hope it's OK
Octo, you have been by to see me about lisa and Linda in the past, lisa I do delete but Linda is a teabagger but not a troll and I let her comments stand. I encountered her first a couple yrs ago on her other blog. Her visits to my blog are my own doing. She is a voice from the right and I don't think all of them should be silenced. Your comments about KID and what he as endured at lisas is sickening, but he should NOT GO THERE. When will these people understand that? I am guilty of doing the same, but one thing I don't do is go back for more after I leave the first comment. It just gives them more traffic, something they crave cuz their blogs are usually dead. Now my question is, when lisa comments and I don't get to it before one of my regulars replies to her then do I delete her anyway letting the friends comments stand alone? I have begged my friends to ignore her til I can delete, because I will delete.
okjimm,
You're welcome to use anything you find interesting on this blog.
Sounds like Gov. Walker is getting desperate. Outlaw prank calls?
You'd think with monikers like Truth 101 and Morally Depraved Liberal I'd get loads of Jesus freaks, perverts and dirty old man republican trolls. I never do. Haven't for over a year.
Damn shame. I changed my name in honor of notorious neocon asshole Donald Douglas' suggestion.
Sue,
The only suggestion I can offer, to forestall exchanges between readers and trolls, is to engage comment moderation. It is only a minor nuisance, but far preferable to letting trolls gain control over you. Remember, you do have a responsibility to your readers to protect them from harassment.
For my part, I will no longer visit blogs, any conservative or any liberal blog, where I am likely to be assailed by sociopaths, any more than I will allow myself to visit dark alleys where I am likely to be mugged. If a blogger wants my patronage, they will have to keep their place tidy.
harper has been governing with a minority for about 6 years so he's been more or less behaving himself. recently he has had a surge in the polls and might just form a majority government and then we'll see the real steve.
on the plus side, his government overruled our provincial liberal government that was going to give mining permits that would have destroyed a lake. our provincial liberal party is actually far more right wing than the federal conservative party.
we might not let the news tell fibs but our politicians have carte blanche when it comes to lying.
Agree with Billy, politics in Canada is drifting right. As Canada's media border is beyond porous, we get Faux and everything else up here, which has fired up our own version of the Stupid Right (low income earners supporting elite-biased politics).
The Sun TV News (Fox North) shutdown is great, and Kennedy's article is on target. But the corporate hijacking of North American media won't stop there.
All threads connect to the same puppet-masters, including the Wisconsin union busting and more. Destruction of the middle class seems to be the game. Keep them dumb, hungry and ready for war, seems to be the general agenda—while corporate stocks, earnings and bonuses soar.
At what point does the population react?
The corporate lock on the Ministry of Truth is complete. Soon Canada will join the US and "Airstrip One" as the glorious nation of Oceania.
Ignorance is strength. Freedom is slavery. War is peace.
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