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Monday, January 08, 2007
CBC vs. Alberta
So Calgary's CBC branch plant holds a contest for a new bumper sticker. Surprise! The winner is an anti-Alberta, anti-oil patch slogan. Who would have thunk it?
Here's my Sun column, and here's a scan of the sticker that was tagged to my truck:
UPDATE: The CBC's Alberta director apologizes -- sort of. But it's not credible. The entire theme of the CBC contest was environmental activism. Here's their new contest -- fearmongering about Alberta's water resources. The CBC website that described the anti-oil campaign has been, coincidentally, deleted.
I'm going to copy the CBC apology below, because the Sun link above will expire tomorrow. What was telling to me was that the bulk of the "opposition" to my column, on the within comment thread and elsewhere in the blogosphere, was a weird conspiracy theory that I hadn't actually had the bumper sticker stuck to my car, but that I had made the whole thing up. That was pretty lame, and I think it was because a politically active, politically campaigning CBC is indefensible, and even the CBC's kool-aid drinkers couldn't spin that one, so they preferred to simply deny it. Now that the CBC's Alberta boss has admitted the bumper sticker was his, and apologized, perhaps the CBC's zombies will do the same.
Here's the letter. My favourite whopper in it is the description of the CBC series as a show that "celebrated Alberta's economic good fortune". It's actually a hard-core anti-capitalist, anti-oil-patch show, but so few people actually listened to it, Orchard's fib will likely fly. My second-favourite whopper is the claim that a mass-produced bumper sticker, designed to make car owners look stupid, greedy and anti-environmental, could be done in good faith, and that its illegal attachment to the very vehicles being demonized on the show was an unexpected consequence. Shocking that happened!
LETTER OF THE DAY
I was alarmed to learn somebody would use a CBC promotional bumper sticker to vandalize a person's personal property. ("Stick to reporting," Ezra Levant, Jan. 9.)
In no way did CBC Alberta envision such a misuse of our promotional material when the bumper sticker was created as part of a contest to support CBC Radio programming. This was in no way meant to advocate a position on cars or Alberta's oil boom, but simply recognize the high cost of gasoline -- the topic of discussion in Alberta last summer. I apologize to Levant and anyone else who may have been the victim of inappropriate action. I'd also like to provide some context on how the bumper sticker was created and used during Blueprint Alberta's programming initiative -- a series which explored and celebrated Alberta's economic good fortune.
A radio listener contributed the bumper sticker slogan to CBC as part of an on-air contest. That slogan and others were selected from hundreds submitted.
The bumper sticker was made available for listeners to pick up and affix to their own vehicles or office stalls. This contribution was selected because it captured a moment in time, one of prosperity in Alberta and record gasoline prices.
The intent of the sticker was humourous -- in no way was it intended to be disrespectful or address any circumstances influencing the global cost of oil or to attach accountability.
Blueprint Alberta and CBC's overall editorial policy are not influenced by special- interest groups and are not in support of any particular organization's interests or tactics. There is no correlation of CBC policy or programming and the event described.
Don Orchard
Regional Director, CBC Alberta
Posted by Ezra Levant on January 8, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
This is wonderful proof of our tax dollars at work. Well, I'm not sure if we can say the CBC actually works for anyone or anything...except itself.
Disband the CBC now!
My dream: march into the CBC HQ with the army, force everyone to leave, then blow up the building to the strains of the 1812 Overture. Do the same to other CBC facilities - no mercy, no negotiations, no explanation. Just end it once and for all.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-01-08 1:29:19 PM
Sucker!!!
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 2:01:14 PM
That's a good argument, if you're six years old.
How is complaining about high oil prices being anti-Albertan?
Don't be such a ninny. Not everything you don't happen to agree with is anti-Albertan.
Posted by: What would Jesus Drive? | 2007-01-08 2:08:07 PM
If it was needed, this is another good argument to sell away CBC. But we cannot do it now because of politics. Let's work for a CPC majority next election.
It is also a symptom of the serious problems Canada is facing now. Many people are like those air heads of CBC. We need a serious organization, in addition of this serious information outpost.
We will have to fight first to reclaim Canada for its citizens and according to the values implied by our constitution.
Posted by: Rémi Houle | 2007-01-08 2:20:07 PM
The only serious problem around here is Remi's continuing struggle with grammer.
It hurts me to read this:
"... in addition of this serious information outpost"
Yeah. This is a real serious source of news.
If you don't want people to get upset with for aiding Islamic terrorism, maybe you should stop driving an SUV. Wind-power will defeat Bin Laden.
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 2:29:08 PM
Hey, that's exactly why the Assholes in the CBC are working to ensure the Conservatives do not get re-elected, let alone get a majority.
They know bloody well they'll make some severe adjustments to the rotten, partisan cesspool it's become.
This is a Democracy, we do not need a Pravda-like
Government owned Broadcaster.
Posted by: Liz J | 2007-01-08 2:35:58 PM
God in your own mind:
Before criticizing another person's grammar, make certain your own spelling of the word is correct.
Even Petro Canada and its inhabitants of Calgary's Red Square have stickers on their pumps showing most of the price of a litre of gas is taxation ... and most of that is taken by the feds.
Just drive across the border to the US and do the math. Gas, like everything else, IS cheaper in the States and that's a direct result of overtaxation of the Canadian populace.
What part can't you understand, oh, self-declared all-seeing one?
Posted by: Set you free | 2007-01-08 3:06:40 PM
In Heaven 'grammer' is spelt with an 'e'.
Sucker!!!
Listen, you want to help Allah then drive an SUV. You want to be on my side, try driving something which doesn't shout 'dickhead'.
Or is that being anti-Albertan?
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 3:17:24 PM
Can you explain, o self-annointed and all knowing, why NASA measurements on Mars have show an increasing rise in temperature?
I will offer three options ... feel free to add your own theories on that FACT in your response.
1) Too many Martians are driving SUV's.
2) Solar activity has played a major role in increasing surface planetary temperatures on both the Earth and Mars.
3) It was all a spelling or grammar mistake anyway, so who actually believes they can do anything about it anyway, other than a smug, self-satisfied arrogant jerk who would like to impose his ideas on everybody else? That certainly is not what Jesus would do.
Posted by: Set you free | 2007-01-08 3:25:33 PM
Perhaps the CBC should revise their bumper stickers:
"We rake in a fortune in taxes ... but we spend it all in hot air"
Posted by: Rob Huck | 2007-01-08 3:27:23 PM
I find it offensive for a person to take the name of the Lord Jesus as a blogname, or God@yahoo.ca behind which he hides. Could we please be respectful and sensitive as to other people's convictions?
Grammar errors bother me as well and they are plentiful, but they can be dealt with in a less offensive manner, like contacting the person directly. I understand that Remi's first language is French so I think he's doing very well from all the blogs I've read of him.
Posted by: Herman | 2007-01-08 3:30:12 PM
I thought we were discussing how SUVs are helping Allah best my followers?
Wasn't this about how anyone who works in an office and still insists on driving an SUV has serious personality problems?
I guess not.
Here's the goods:
Blaming solar activity for the earth's warming is the latest bit of flat earth wingnuttery that is making guys like you resemble those dudes who burned witches. (Which I never approved of, by the way). You're just embarrassing yourself.
You should leave the wingnut ghetto.
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 3:34:41 PM
Are you doubting I'm the son of God?
Careful there my boy.
You don't want to commit the sin of blasphemy.
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 3:36:53 PM
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:4-8;&version=49;
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:23-25;&version=49;
Posted by: Brent Weston | 2007-01-08 3:40:47 PM
So, NASA's reports back from their Mars probe is now akin to flat-earth theory?
Yeah, whatever, son of a dog.
Have you no faith in science?
Science without religion is lame.
Religion without science is blind.
– Albert Einstien.
You have much to learn, son of a maggot.
Posted by: Set you free | 2007-01-08 3:42:11 PM
Stop touching yourself Brent.
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 3:42:51 PM
I'm with Herman. I don't offend easily, but calling yourself "Jesus" and using the term "dickhead" is pushing the limits.
Also, "Jesus," Remi's first language, as Herman points out, is French. He actually communicates very well in English. Only s/he who is without a linguistic handicap in a language other than his/her mother tongue, should throw the first stone.
Otherwise, "Jesus," I'd shut up if I were you. Or write your next comment in French so Remi can pick it apart and criticize your grammar.
Remi is a kinder, more gentlemanly, and far more respectful person than you are, however, so it's unlikely he would lower himself to make any comments.
But, just for fun, post in French next time.
Posted by: 'been around the block | 2007-01-08 3:43:16 PM
is this the same cbc, that with taxpayers money has come up with a cheezy ripoff of corner gas. except with true cbc fashion it is about little mosque in the prairies, where from the commercials i have seen, everyone in the west is a white, very stupid bigot, with bad teeth.
Posted by: john a. | 2007-01-08 3:44:42 PM
My first language is aramaic. French is for sissies. Everybody knows that.
Remi isn't French. He's a fat guy in Halifax who breeds dogs and lives by the ocean.
What's wrong with ‘dickhead’? In many cases it is an anatomically correct term. The archangels use it all the time.
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 3:53:01 PM
Is it true that the surface temperatures are increasing on Mars? If so, please post a link or the like for all to see.
I haven't seen that Al Gore movie, but I have seen some data and trending on global warming. The data seems to support the existence of a spike, but I'm unconvinced that man is wholly to blame. Any reasonable person will admit that the toxins we send into the enviroment each day from our tail pipes are not good, but I am skepticle of each end of the political spectrum on this. I seem to recall a scare regarding global cooling; what happened there? What about the CFC/ Ozone thing? Is the Ozone hole not the same size still? Has it become smaller, or is global warming the "soup du jour"?
Posted by: Hoser | 2007-01-08 3:54:20 PM
heyzeus said
"If you don't want people to get upset with for aiding Islamic terrorism, maybe you should stop driving an SUV. Wind-power will defeat Bin Laden."
"Listen, you want to help Allah then drive an SUV. "
"I thought we were discussing how SUVs are helping Allah best my followers? "
If I may paraphrase:
If you drive an SUV you deserve whatever the terrorists do to you.
Is this about right? How do you feel about women not wearing burqas? Rape's just fine, right?
Posted by: h2o273kk9 | 2007-01-08 3:54:53 PM
You stop touching yourself as well. Pervert.
Posted by: Jesus | 2007-01-08 4:00:58 PM
Well this thread went straight to Toronto.
Still, it's better than anything ever put out by the CBC.
Note to stupid CBC worshippers: contrary to the claims made in "The Valor and the Horror": the Nazis were the bad guys.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-01-08 4:19:41 PM
Folks, folks... engaging these lunatic trolls is unbecoming.
Posted by: deepblue | 2007-01-08 4:28:42 PM
Hoser:
Just follow the NASA websites unless you want to continue to be spoonfed like you have been since your childhood.
The FACT, as NASA has found out in its Mars Explorer, is surface temperatures on Mars are rising.
So, we now have the fact that temperatures are rising on both Mars and the Earth.
Increased solar activity would help explain some of the WHY in a purely scientific manner.
Yet, Mars is also different from earth and the NASA websites also state there was water on Mars at some point in its history.
That would suggest Mars was much warmer than it is now and like Earth, is also emerging from an Ice Age.
One huge difference, of course, would be the earth's oceans.
Geothermal activity explains phenomenon such as El Nino. Since underwater volcanoes heat up the water, combined with increased solar activity would cause more water vapour.
You can see the effects of this in Denver and all the way into B.C., which has had a higher-than average rainfall this winter. I can personally attest the interior of B.C. has had a higher snowfall.
I was in Castlegar during Christmas break and there was a half-meter of snow during my week-long stay.
I am not into the collective guilt of humanity concept, which is a tactical wedge which has been used by Marxists for over a century now.
That particular philosophy in the blink-of-an-eye of human history has proven, without a shadow of a doubt, to be an abject failure. It's unfortunate there are still those who practise the politics of envy, at least when it comes to their jealously of those successfull people who can acutally afford and SUV.
I never would drive an SUV, but quite frankly it's none of my business if somebody else does.
Posted by: Set you free | 2007-01-08 4:29:19 PM
"You stop touching yourself as well. Pervert."
Why? It's a natural human expression. Does our sexuality frighten you? Please explain.
Posted by: h2o273kk9 | 2007-01-08 4:56:50 PM
Gee . What a surprise!!! Alberta tax money from its citizens going to the CBC to demonize us with brown arrows of their own mental waste.
You would think since most of the money they get comes from here, they would be a little grateful. Nothing like Alberta bashing, though for socialist Eastern Canadian neurotics.
For a station so compromised by collectivism, even Pravda would shrink back. From there unrelenting bigotry plus lies dolled out on a contumelious basis…
Posted by: Revnant Dream | 2007-01-08 6:23:20 PM
Aramaic ? Sorry, not official in Canada.
Posted by: Marc | 2007-01-08 6:30:35 PM
Drive whatever you want. Enjoy life while you can. We don't know how long before the Leftists manage to shut it all down to the gray dullness of a Soviet Union. You don't need gas if you have no where to go.
Meanwhile let's get rid of all the oil as soon as possible so the Arabs can get back to chasing locust invasions and milking their goats.
Posted by: Duke | 2007-01-08 6:37:25 PM
Jesus would drive an SUV so that all of the apostles could fit in it....:-)
About the sticker. If the CBC actually used its resources to look for high quality writers and talent for its entertainment programming, rather than spending it on stickers, maybe people would watch the station.
If the CBC listened to people's complaints about its broadcasting, then one could say that they represent the Canadian population.
Other than Hockey Night in Canada, and the odd documentary, what is the use of this station???
Posted by: anonymous | 2007-01-08 7:01:02 PM
That's really appalling. The CBC continues to use taxpayer money to churn out partisan propaganda. That little lefty bumper-sticker is just a ramping-up. Absolutely atrocious, and completely unacceptable.
Posted by: EBD | 2007-01-08 7:16:53 PM
Simple solution to end the wasteful drain of tax dollars to the CBC; pull the plug! What exactly does it take to understand what a total waste of tax money this is?
There is no justification whatsoever to fund this outfit. Let them be forced to earn their keep like all other private networks, and we shall see if they sink or swim.
Posted by: Alain | 2007-01-08 7:32:54 PM
Well-said, EBD.
Did anyone catch CBC's Carol Whats-her-name (who's teamed up with Evan Soloman) interviewing Environment Minister John Baird last night? Boy, was she looking like a thundercloud and in high and (laughable) self-righteous dander, glaring at him, breathing fire: I guess his just being a Conservative Cabinet Minister was enough for her to just about blow a gasket.
Then, when she defended Stephane Dion's record as Environment Minister, saying that HIS reason for being able to do so little about greenhouse gases was the Alberta oil sands, I wanted to throw something at the TV.
It really is high time for someone to do SOMETHING about the CBC. It's a national disgrace. Alberta and the rest of Canada have far better things to spend their tax dollars on than this washed-up dishrag of a broadcaster. It's become nothing but a mouthpiece for corrupt and bankrupt leftist rubbish, a cheerleader for the "natural ruling Party of Canada."
It's time for them to go.
Posted by: 'been around the block | 2007-01-08 7:36:23 PM
Ah HA ! Now we know why Levant is so anti-Kyoto - he was crazy enough to spend tens of K on a Hummer. Now that folks are getting that you have to clean up after yourself won't be long before we see carbon tax and guzzler tax..... and the resale value of that baby ? Why everyday PM Harper says "we're taking the environment seriously" the value drops another couple a hundred bucks. No wonder the sticker stings so much -in this case it'll likely prove true.
So some enviro-nut commits mischief to Levant's ride - he doesn't deserve that and the CBC , as we all, should denounce such conduct but to try and make the CBC complicit in it and suggest an anti-western bias ? Why you might as well rename the blog "persecution complex 'r us ".
A little context please !
CBC Calgary, who btw have the top ratings in both morning and afternoon drive slots, have been running contests over the last year or so to update bumper stickers from the 70's and 80's. For example, they take the old slogan " save water - shower with a friend " and ask listeners to suggest a new slogan to replace it. ( winner: without water the future is just a mirage ).
In this case they took the old, self depreciating, " please Lord send another boom - I promise not to piss it all away this time" that was seen on many cars around here in the mid-80's and the winner was the " fortune in oil spent on gas" thing. You've really got to be a paranoid to spin that into anti -Alberta /anti-Oil.
If it's a dig at anything it's a dig at the Cnd. Government because most of what we pay for gas goes to them. The irony being that we own and refine the stuff right in our own yard and yet wind up giving Ottawa everything we make off it. If the National Citizens Coalition had put out that sticker with it's logo rather than the CBC Levant would have them plastered all over the Hummer .
As for the value of the CBC ? Well I guess all the self-loathing Calgarians that make CBC radio #1 in the city would rather hear about such droll topics as; whether there are too many playground zones , whether there are too few taxis and if the plan to merge Black Diamond and Turner Valley is a good or bad thing over such vital need to know info like Britney and Paris were they or were they not wearing panties last night?
Posted by: Nbob | 2007-01-08 8:40:59 PM
Hmm. Some very, how shall I put this, *unusual* attitudes on display here.
Geez, where to begin?
First, I'd like it if someone could prove to me that the CBC made this sticker. I could make a sticker and put the CBC's name on it. That's not difficult. For all I know, Ezra made it himself. I'm not saying he did, I'm just saying that having the CBC's name on it is not proof that they are responsible. If Ezra bothered to check this out, he doesn't make any mention of it, but then, he doesn't strike me as the fact-checking type.
Second, the sticker works perfectly well as something to put on your own car, as an ironic statement about how nobody really wins in the current wasteful energy dynamic. There is no logical reason whatsoever for him to think that it was made, by the CBC or anyone else, for the purpose of vandalism. I could vandalise his car with any number of bumper stickers bought over the counter at a junk store. None of them would have been produced for this purpose. It would just be the way I decided to use it. The manufacturers are not at fault for how I misuse their products. Ezra seems a little too anxious to invent reasons to hate the CBC, and it appears he's not the only one.
Now for some wacky quotes. How do people like this become columnists, anyhow?
"It's no surprise it is being disseminated from the CBC in Calgary, an outpost of Eastern thinking. They want to re-educate us. They are morally better than us, they're smarter than us and they need to save us from ourselves. But they'll take our money."
To think he accuses others of rhetoric. This is the kind of demogougery that is more appropriate to kool-aid drinking wingnuts. "Eastern" thinking? What the heck is that supposed to mean? "They" are all against us. Fear those who are different than "us". These kind of attitudes disturb me to no end. When people talk to me about "those Albertans" I tell them to STFU. Albertans are just like everyone else. Some are bad, some are good. Some are stupid, some are smart. I'm sure Ezra would agree. But when the topic is "easterners" then he has no problem lumping them all into a pile of snooty fascists. I would say that these kind of opinions could only be held by someone who didn't know any better, but I'm sure Ezra has met real Ontarians before, so I'm at a loss to explain his small-minded bigotry in writing off half the population of Canada. But then, judging by this next quote, I guess he just believes whatever he feels like believing, regardless of pesky facts and logic.
"Second, the sticker is economically wrong -- probably on purpose. The price of oil isn't the function of greedy Albertan oilmen. It's the function of world commodities markets, of demand in China and India and problems with supply in Venezuela, Nigeria and the unstable Middle East."
This is patently false. Neither the global supply of or demand for oil has changed at all in the last few years. The trends are perfectly in line with the decade as a whole. So clearly the recent spike in prices that is driving us all to the poorhouse is simple, old-fashioned price-gouging. They have a few scapegoats they can point to (the ones Ezra has obviously fallen for) and are using this as an excuse to rob us all blind. Of course, indications are that the oil supply is going to run thin in the near future, so that might explain it. However, the oil companies deny this, so if this really is their reasoning, it would mean they're lying to us all, now wouldn't it?
"It demonizes the oilpatch, implying oil companies make too much money, and they charge too much at the pumps."
It's not demonising my neighbour to accuse him of stealing my newspaper if he actually is stealing my newspaper. Oil companies DO make too much money, because they DO charge too much at the pumps. Exxon alone made a 10.7 billion dollar profit in just one quarter during 2005. Their full profit for the year was over 36 billion. As I said, supply and demand have not changed but their profits have been shooting upward. There is no balance here. They are bilking us plain and simple.
And trying to blame it on taxes doesn't even make any sense. You may believe gas is overtaxed (though considering the billions that the government spends on road upkeep every year I'm hesitant to believe it. This money has to come from somewhere) but the fact that gas prices have shot upward has nothing to do with the tax that is levied on it. It is the oil companies who raised their prices, not Ottawa who raised their taxes. Gas taxes are the same as before the recent price surge.
And finally, the hatred towards the CBC is woefully misguided, I think. I agree that it is often a Liberal party shill, and regretfully so, but this is an argument for reform, not abolition. If we don't have the CBC, then all our media will be corporate-run and hence, only be displaying a pro-corporate mindset. Do we want all our media to be exactly the same? Is that a good recipe for freedom of information or a healthy democracy? I don't believe in unbiased media. I think the very notion is pathetically naive. Rather than chasing a myth of objectivity, we should be encouraging diversity instead. A multiplicity of media organs that wear their biases on their sleeves for all to see. So yeah, the CBC has biases, and the MSN has different biases. These biases are a direct result of how they are funded. Corporate media by corporate advertising, government media by government funds. All the better! I want to see more different kinds of media outlets that are supported by different kinds of funding that display different kinds of biases. The only real objectivity we can hope to attain is what we deduce for ourselves through a broad range of competing narratives. When you try to eliminate one manner of media altogether, you are eliminating a certain viewpoint from the public arena, and then, in my opinion, you are the one that has become the fascist.
Posted by: Jacob Two-Two | 2007-01-08 9:42:20 PM
Jacob Two-Two, you say about the CBC, "I agree that it is often a Liberal party shill, and regretfully so, but this is an argument for reform, not abolition."
So, who do you propose is going to "reform" the CBC?
The CBC's being a Liberal party shill has skewed public opinion and the way Canadians vote for a very long time.
The CBC's being a Liberal party shill has seriously compromised and corrupted our democratic system in Canada.
The CBC's being a Liberal party shill, using taxpayers' dollars, is unfair, unethical, and indefensible.
When you say, "So yeah, the CBC has biases...and [t]hese biases are a direct result of how [it is] funded," are you suggesting that government funding of the CBC justifies its Liberal bias, seeing as the Liberals have been in power for a disproportionate period of time?
It's simply unconscionable that the CBC uses its media clout to be a shill, to be an unrepentant and vociferous cheerleader for one political party in Canada, when all Canadians pay its way. It has set itself up as an arbiter of democracy in Canada by its explicit support of Liberal social and econonomic policies, which tend to the socialist left, and by its continual contempt for both the CPC and its members. One example: Did you see Carol MacNeal's interview--more like an enemy interrogation--of Environment Minister John Baird last night, J T-T? Absolutely unacceptable if professionalism in journalism means anything anymore.
Your accusing critics of the CBC of being fascists is ridiculous and contemptable. Please suggest, Jacob Two-Two, how the CBC is to be reformed and how it can be persuaded--and by whom--to cease and desist from its one-sided biases which are mean-spirited and anti-everything/everyone who is not l/Liberal.
Reform, by all means. But how?
Otherwise, abolition is the only way to go, it's the only way to ensure that "Canada's National Broadcaster" (sic) doesn't hijack the political agenda of Canada, which it's been doing for too long a time at the expense of all Canadians, millions of whom do not in any way support or agree with their viewpoint/biases.
Posted by: 'been around the block | 2007-01-08 10:17:00 PM
"...They are morally better than us, they're smarter than us and they need to save us from ourselves. But they'll take our money..."
Doesn't that sound like the way Americans see smug, self-sanctimonious Canadians after the past 15 years.
Perhaps Canadians have turned inwards, upon themselves...
Posted by: smug | 2007-01-08 10:20:17 PM
Hard to say which is funnier: the state of high dudgeon Ezra and the rest of you twits have worked yourselves into over a simple little bumper sticker or the thought of Ezra tooling around town in a Hummer.
Or maybe it's the whining that ensues anytime someone asks a Conservative a hard question. Nah, actually, that's not funny, it's pathetic. For folks who feel comfortable flinging invective like mud -- Libranos, Lieberals, moonbat -- you lot sure have paper-thin skin.
Posted by: truewest | 2007-01-08 10:36:58 PM
At the very least, this is an act of vandalism.
At its worst, this is the action of an unaccountable government agency deliberately stirring up people against certain elements of society.
It is truly pathetic, and the CBC should be disbanded for this and other actions.
Note to CBC listeners: the Holocaust happened. Don't believe your buddy Ernst Zundel or that nut in Iran. It happened. Get used to it.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-01-08 11:03:21 PM
> or the thought of Ezra tooling around town in a Hummer.
I'm thinking it's got a bunch a big ol' Western Standard logos plastered all over it along with a little Stockwell Day bobble head on the dash
Posted by: Nbob | 2007-01-08 11:04:06 PM
Oh man.
Subtlety was never the strong suit of our stockaholic friend.
The bumpersticker is intended to be ironic.
You know, the same old theme as all of the other "I owe my soul to the company store" songs and sayings.
Gee, I'm making a fortune down in these coal mines; but I can't seem to pay off my company cafeteria debt", etc.
Substitute beer for oil and perhaps you can see the source of the humour: "I made a fortune in the brewery; but I spent it all on beer"
It's funny.
But I guess when your mission in life is to document anti-Alberta sentiment you tend to see it everywhere -- even in places it doesn't exist.
Posted by: altacan | 2007-01-09 1:02:32 AM
The CBC should be criminally liable for defacing Mr. Levant's car. They encouraged and enabled people to put these stickers on someone else's property without their permission.
Ezra: you're a lawyer. Can this be done?
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-01-09 1:44:18 AM
"So, who do you propose is going to "reform" the CBC?"
Another party, presumably. If Canadians can bring themselves to vote in a government that's not Liberal every once and a while, that will end the Liberal-heavy makeup of the organisation.
"The CBC's being a Liberal party shill has skewed public opinion and the way Canadians vote for a very long time."
To an extent. But then the National Post skews public opinion for the Conservatives. I doubt you're complaining about that. People aren't as dumb as you seem to think. Yes, everyone is influenced by these things, but they are not brainwashed. In the end people make their own choices, and the choice they keep making is for Liberal governments. I don't like it any more than you do but I still respect the will of the people. There is plenty of media in Canada critical of the Liberals. The people who ignore it do so because they don't care to know. As we've seen in the last two elections, a large chunk of Canadians will keep voting Liberal no matter how obvious their corruption is. Blaming this on the CBC is just grasping at straws. People vote for what they're used to, plain and simple, and the Liberal-heavy make-up of the CBC is just a reflection of this. It's more accurate to say that public opinion and the way people vote has skewed the nature of the CBC.
"When you say, "So yeah, the CBC has biases...and [t]hese biases are a direct result of how [it is] funded," are you suggesting that government funding of the CBC justifies its Liberal bias,"
No, I'm suggesting that government funding of the CBC creates a pro-government bias. That this also translates to being a pro-Liberal bias is only the fault of the Canadian voters who have kept the Liberals in government for so long.
"It's simply unconscionable that the CBC uses its media clout to be a shill, to be an unrepentant and vociferous cheerleader for one political party in Canada, when all Canadians pay its way. It has set itself up as an arbiter of democracy in Canada by its explicit support of Liberal social and econonomic policies, which tend to the socialist left, and by its continual contempt for both the CPC and its members."
Once again, the CBC is just a reflection of the governments that have overseen it, which are themselves a reflection of the will of the majority (a poor reflection, 'cause our voting system sucks, but a reflection nonetheless). Your problem is not with the CBC, your problem is with Canada and its people, too many of whom do not share the values you and your party defend. Using the CBC as your punching bag is just misplaced aggression.
The question is not about the merits of this particular instance of a government media outlet, but the intrinsic value of the concept of a government media. By seeking to abolish it, you would create a situation where all media in the country was corporate owned. All with the same biases singing the same tune. I don't that's healthy for democracy. Liberal bias or not, it's good to have a different perspective in the public arena. people can compare the pro-government and anti-government stories, which frequently become the pro-Liberal and anti-Liberal stories, and come to their own conclusions. All you can do is trust them to do that.
"Your accusing critics of the CBC of being fascists is ridiculous and contemptable."
Like I said, it's about diversity. If you are saying, "this kind of media is not allowed", then you are cutting out a certain viewpoint from the public debate and limiting people's freedom of information. You only want them to hear the things you agree with, but they don't have to answer to you. If people don't want to hear the government-funded news they can turn it off, just like I do with corporate news. I don't like the biases it has, but that doesn't mean I think it shouldn't exist. There are still a majority of Canadians that want to hear the pro-government perspective as one facet of their decision making process, so you'll just have to live with it.
Posted by: Jacob Two-Two | 2007-01-09 4:05:45 AM
I don't know where to begin with Jacob Two-Two's bizarre statements.
This is the kind of demogougery that is more appropriate to kool-aid drinking wingnuts.
Start off with an insult, and then...
"Eastern" thinking? What the heck is that supposed to mean? "They" are all against us.
I think it was obvious to everybody, except apparently you, that Ezra was generalizing. Overall, Eastern Canadians - specifically Ontario and Quebec - do think differently than Western Canadians. Quit nitpicking by suggesting he meant every single Eastern Canadian.
Neither the global supply of or demand for oil has changed at all in the last few years.
This is a flatout lie. With the instability in the Mid East the last few years, and China and India raising their standard of living (2.4 billion ppl), the demand for oil has increased. Economics 101: Supply and Demand.
Exxon alone made a 10.7 billion dollar profit in just one quarter during 2005. Their full profit for the year was over 36 billion.
Big numbered profits look bad, until you look at what dollar amount of sales those profits came from. The fact is that oil companies make about 10% net profit--hardly gouging. They've had numerous investigations into "oil gounging" in the US and not once has this been proven. It's the same crap the lefties pull with WalMart.
"WalMart made $11 billion profit!"--while ignoring the $11 billion profit was from $338 billion of revenue. Besides us regular folk who invest in these and other companies want them to make a profit. Get it?
I agree that it is often a Liberal party shill...
What gave you that idea? The fact that the last 2 Governor Generals were handpicked from the CBC? How in the hell can someone from the CBC take a critical look at the Liberal Party when it could cost them their chance at being Governor General of Canada?
If we don't have the CBC, then all our media will be corporate-run and hence, only be displaying a pro-corporate mindset.
Corporate media. Leftist code for rightwing. Yes, all that rightwing media in Canada like the CBC, CTV, Globe & Mail, Toronto Star. The only major ones who offer both sides are the centrist National Post (used to be conservative but now owned by the Liberal Asper family) and the centre-left Global News. And the US? Are you trying to tell us that CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, NY Times, WaPo, LA Times, PBS, NPR, etc are shills for corporations? Who you trying to zoom?
Once again, the CBC is just a reflection of the governments that have overseen it
So now that the CPC is in power, the CBC has become shills for the CPC? Get real! They are outrageously leftwing, almost Marxist in tone. Why in the hell do they continuously play Bowling for Columbine over and over on CBC Newsworld? Is teh discredited Michael Moore a credible person in their worldview? It appears so. I resent being FORCED to pay for the CBC's far-left views. If they were private, I wouldn't care; I would just "protest" by not watching them. If their message is so valued by the public, then they should have no problem making it on their own--just like every other channel in Canada and the US--or go the PBS route.
Also, your claim that we need high gas taxes to maintain our roads is nonsense. Take a trip to the US and check out the condition of their roads.
Posted by: Toontown Kid | 2007-01-09 5:35:06 AM
ExxonMobil is, by global standards, a small oil company, not even among the top ten biggest oil companies in the world. The owners of ExxonMobil, the shareholders, have absolutely zero influence on the price of oil.
That the corporation is able to operate efficiently and show a precisely defined large profit in its open books is a wonderful thing for those ordinary people who have invested their savings in ExxonMobil stock.
Barking mad lefties looking for someone to blame for the price of oil are advised to look elsewhere. I'd suggest starting with all the really big, secretive, very corrupt, state-owned or state-controlled oil companies in foreign countries.
Posted by: anonymous | 2007-01-09 6:28:15 AM
The Environmental "experts" are coming on fast and furious since the Conservatives got elected. They're now at a fever pitch, demanding action after allowing the Libranos to sit on Kyoto for some ten years. They were all about signing a paper and nothing about action.
We even have Al Gore, failed US Presidential candidate,taking up the cause du jour. When did take his PHD in Environmental Science?
There may be something more sinister afoot. The Libranos know the Alberta Oil Patch would have to be hit hard to follow harsh Environmental guidelines imposed by any Government. If Conservatives go for such measures they may lose Alberta votes. Could their pea brains come up with such a plot?
Baird should get on the Green Bandwagon, get the ear of the people, and explain the options.
Curtailing industry and putting commodity prices into the stratosphere and people in bread lines could be one scenario to paint.
He could also open a training school to train the under-employed as Environmental Cowboys to go to the rural areas and equip the cows with fart and belch catchers.
However, there are some TRUE experts out there and he better start selling their message.
Let's separate hoax and reality.
Posted by: Liz J | 2007-01-09 6:49:19 AM
Let's turn the CBC into a PBS style, donation funded network. If the CBC supporters truly think it is that great, it will likely end up having an even larger budget. Think of all the Michael Moore documentaries they could run. Or the interviews with the Dixie Chicks. They would have billions of donated dollars to send dozens of employees to events that other networks only send two or three people to.
We're just holding them back by having them government funded, so let's cut them loose and let them spread their wings and be free.
And I would get to keep my tax dollars and spend them on a satellite dish that picks up Fox News.
Posted by: Stan | 2007-01-09 7:28:23 AM
Where did Ezra get that image, anyway? It's not a photograph of the sticker on his SUV. It's an image created on a computer. Did he find that on a website somewhere? Or make it himself?
Posted by: john | 2007-01-09 7:54:00 AM
A "scan" of the sticker? Did you remove the sticker from your SUV and put it under the scanner? Nice job removing it intact. And with nary a wrinkle. Why not a photograph?
Posted by: john | 2007-01-09 7:55:22 AM
What a bunch of fools. I just went down to the parking lot and Ezra doesn't have a sticker or anything on his truck. There isn't even a mark.
He made the whole thing up.
How predictable you suckers fell for it.
Stay angry!
Posted by: Articling Sucks | 2007-01-09 8:04:18 AM
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