Canada got there early, apparently, if you’re not the CBC or leftist Harper-hating Canadian media.
The state-run media reporter Keith Boag just told the CBC anchor on the Newsworld channel that Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard is hoping that Canada’s seven chartered ships which are already at Lebanon evacuating Canadians—can help the Aussies as well. Oops. That’s a positive for Canada and its effort under the Conservative government.
I imagine Keith Boag will be taking an unscheduled vacation now.
Meanwhile, the state-run people’s web site, the multi-gazzillion-dollar CBC.ca, is right on their message. They report that NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON WAS—OR POSSIBLY COULD BE—GLAD. Glad to see Canada’s massive effort to evacuate them. Aussies are thrilled. It must surely be an impressive sight. But no. Our state-run media “news” article is replete with negatives, and has no end of editorially injected lamentation and grief in their little literary dirge, which features news about the people waiting—because that’s the only negative aspect of this historic enormous evacuation they could find —waiting at the dock to board ships.
The photo on their page is of a couple of women, one crying, with the caption: “Canadians have been waiting for hours for their turn to board the ships out of Beirut”.
Just what was the official CBC expectation, exactly? And after all—isn’t that what really matters here? How the CBC feels about it all?
Last Updated Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:17:08 EDT
CBC NewsHundreds of Canadians gathered Wednesday at the port of Beirut to board ships chartered by the federal government for a way out of strife-torn Lebanon.
Ottawa has arranged for seven ships, six of which are expected to take evacuees to Turkey and one of which is expected to go to Cyprus. None of the ships had left Lebanon as of Wednesday morning, but one ship was reported to be in port.
CBC’s Nahlah Ayed, reporting from the port of Beirut, said the Canadians have been waiting for hours for their turn to board the ships but they have not yet been told by the Canadian embassy in the capital as to when the ships will leave.
“Nobody quite knows how many people will get on the boats. There is no information. People are a little bit confused,” she said.
“People are trying to find shade and wait it out for their turn to come. There are people with their children. Everybody is extremely exhausted. Some are dehydrated.”
Canadians waiting to leave expressed anger Wednesday morning at the lack of information and many are frustrated at the length of time it has taken for the federal government to pull together an evacuation plan, Ayed said.
“It’s very, very hot today and humid. People have been standing for hours,” she said. “Lots of people are crying.”
It’s not clear which ships at the port have been chartered by Ottawa, Ayed said.
[…]
The state-run media news channel “Newsworld” has adopted the same editorial stance and is likewise lamenting and grieving the waiting period to board ships.
The anchor, Harry Forestall, introduces the segment with these words: “Anxiety and frustration at the Port of Beirut where emotions are boiling over for thousands of Canadians stranded in Lebanon stuck in the sweltering heat…. chaos and frustration… “ and is followed by carefully scripted audio clips of the sound of women crying and wailing in the background, over scenes of people waiting and crying—behind barbed-wire chain-link fencing of course! And in case it’s not clear, it’s hot there.
Forestall lobs a softball at the reporter on the scene, Nahlah Ayed:
“When we spoke earlier Nahlah you talked about the anger and frustration that was boiling over—is there any signs that things are calming down there?”
So far today, the state-run CBC leaves me with the impression that they are ashamed to be part of Canada—they’re not at all proud to be Canadian—while I’m feeling as though I’m ashamed that state-run media is even legal in Canada.
UPDATE: The state-run news media Newsworld channel continues in a rapidly repeating cycle the same pictures and sounds of how awful the wait is at the Port. I’ve only been up for a couple of hours, and already I’ve seen it about 80 times.
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