This reminds me of The Province editorial this week in which the esteemed editorial board sees fit to suddenly wag its knobby finger at us dumb Canooks, Bill Clinton-style, and warn us not to impulsively fall for all that so-called man-made global warming stuff, since “it is clear the debate about global warming is far from over—and we must all keep an open mind about it,” ummm and never mind all that crap we’ve been
peddling
beating over your heads in the liberal media generally for years… the issue is far from settled, God save the Queen!
The members of the sensible set replied with Whaaaat? Now you’re on our side? And you make out like you always were? Oh man! Now I trust you more than ever! (Snarf!)
It is in fact what you call a hideous journalistic sleight of hand. Just like changing the name from “man-made global warming” to “climate change” when it’s particularly chilly outside.
Today, the Ottawa Citizen appears to have listened to the state-owned, state-run CBC… for the first time ever! And it has apparently had the usual effect: it’s made them dumber.
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2008A CBC radio interviewer asks Gerald Caplan, a Canadian expert on Africa, about a Chinese shipment of arms to Robert Mugabe’s government. Mr. Caplan answers by talking about western imperialism in Africa, and becomes so upset he can’t continue.
That moment illuminates one of the obstacles to effective Canadian action in the world. According to many Canadians, it isn’t enough to learn from history. We must flagellate ourselves with guilt until we are overcome. Like Mr. Caplan, we should be unable to speak. …
The “moment” illuminates a lot more than just that, actually, but welcome to a totally normal day at the state-owned CBC and one of its radio divisions, Ottawa Citizen editorial board! My question: Where the hell have you been for the past 20 or more years? Caplan is a fool; now why not focus on the medium through which he advocated his typical leftist “blame Canada (and America, and all the western capitalist nations, if possible) first” policy. It’s the liberal-left’s very own state-owned CBC. And moreover, why not note how the CBC host responded, as I will, below? That’s “the moment” I care about. Leftists like Caplan are a dime a dozen in this country, as you folks note yourselves.
The editorial goes on:
…And as for hypocrisy: if the United States were trying to send Robert Mugabe a shipment of bullets and explosives, leftists like Mr. Caplan would be enraged. Why can’t they muster any rage when China does it?
It’s official: the Citizen has been in a self-induced (or perhaps liberal-leftist and its CBC-induced?) coma for decades.
Going on, the Ottawa Citizen editorial board then seems to awaken from their coma, if slightly, as they answer their own question about the left (“leftists”) being incapable of mustering rage against China when they find it easy as pie to rage against the U.S., right here:
…China is, theoretically, a communist government.
(We could end it right there (!) but they went on:)
More significantly, it is a rival power to the United States. Western activists who hate the U.S. find it difficult to criticize China.
The same kind of anti-Americanism and historic guilt often gets in the way of a full analysis of security and human rights in Islamic countries. Any line of argument that doesn’t conclude with a ringing condemnation of the U.S. is a line some North American analysts won’t pursue.
Ding ding! Coming out of the coma! Nurses please attend! (Oh crap —there aren’t any available? LAYTON!!!!)
But again, the Citizen acts not unlike the CBC itself whose host, Anna Maria Tremonti, deftly challenged Caplan’s abject and oh so emotional failure to answer the simple question, and his failure to even conjure up the intellectual balls to continue his thought (Caplan on CBC radio: ”…It gets me… it gets me… I can’t go on. Sorry…”), by thanking him for his time, and then promptly moving onto the next delicious subject. For its part, the Ottawa Citizen fails to take this excellent opportunity to challenge the state-owned media and its host for once again absolutely dropping the ball, leaving Caplan’s remarks (or failure to complete, thereof) utterly unchallenged, as usual, and thus feeding fuel to the very fire which the Citizen seeks to swat out with big fluffy pillows. If they truly seek to put out that fire, they ought to aim their considerable (and free enterprise) extinguishers at the source, and attack with vigor. That’s what I’d do. Oh hang on, that’s exactly what I do. I’m on Canada’s side.
The problem is only half the Gerald Caplans of the world; the CBC and its liberal-leftist apologists have bred whole generations of little leftist useful idiots exactly like the socialist Gerald Caplan. They’ve done this not only by hosting him and every other leftist they could find, over and over for decades, but by asking them fluffball questions and letting them get away with minutes-long answers that are wholly nuts. Or letting them spout off and advocate their purely leftist ideology, unchallenged (on purpose). (And by using their state regulatory division to ban Fox News Channel until only recently and only after enormous public pressure…)
“According to many Canadians,” the Citizen wrote above, “it isn’t enough to learn from history.” Yes. Hello? Count down from ten backwards.
“Any line of argument that doesn’t conclude with a ringing condemnation of the U.S. is a line some North American analysts won’t pursue,” they add, above.
Well now that includes not just the CBC, but the Ottawa Citizen too.
(Hat tip to John E. for pointing out the editorial)
My mantra: State-owned and state-run media should be banned in this country, and that notion should be enshrined in our constitution.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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