Somebody point a firehose at his pants!

If you're watching U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address and want to track the obfuscations and the distortions, then follow along here. Think Progress is fact-checking the whole thing live.

Here's just one doozy:

Bush said: “We remain on the offensive against terror networks. We have killed or captured many of their leaders – and for the others, their day will come.”

FACT — GLOBAL TERRORIST THREAT HAS INTENSIFIED: More than four years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still alive, al Qaeda has spawned new terrorist networks, and global terrorism is on the rise. According to the Bush administration’s own statistics, the problem of international terrorism is worse now than it was in 2001. The sum of global terrorist attacks in 2005 was 3,991, up 51% from the previous year’s figure of 2,639. According to State Department data, the number of international terrorist attacks tripled to 650 in 2004. In May 2004, the London-based Institute for Strategic Studies reported that “al-Qaeda’s recruitment and fundraising efforts had been given a major boost by the U.S. invasion of Iraq,” and the Afghan Defence Minister recently claimed that al Qaeda had “increased its activities in Afghanistan.”
[Time, 5/26/04; Reuters, 4/26/05; AP, 11/16/05; tkb.org]

Another night at the computer, another drinking game for your hard-working bloggerista!

There he goes with another whopper. And another. Hic!

I can hardly wait for the post-speech analysis, when the all-too-compliant media will ignore most of these lies.

With glowing hearts

Today's treeware column triggered an avalanche of email, all but one missive positive. (That's a first.) It's about Canada's shameful role in Haiti, and how our media have all but ignored it.

We have much to answer for, starting with that economic strangulation — more politely called the "embargo" — we supported along with the U.S. and France, which was all part of the "resignation" of the democratically elected (with a whopping 91.8 per cent mandate) President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Feb. 29, 2004.

<SNIP>

There appears to be blood all over Canada's hands: first because it was on board for the removal of Aristide and second because it is supporting, both politically and financially, an illegitimate government that appears dead set on violently crushing any opposition.

Canada also has a contingent of some 125 police officers who train the Haitian National Police, who have been accused of massacring civilians.

And yet, the fate of the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, perfectly situated between Fidel Castro's Cuba and Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, sweatshop armpit to Canadian T-shirt manufacturers, the mine pit to Canadian copper companies, is scarcely discussed or covered by Canadian media. (I should note that the Star has been running extensive reports by freelancer Reed Lindsay.)

To my knowledge, but for a Sue Montgomery column in the Montreal Gazette and an op-ed in the Star by Yves Engler, whose slim volume co-written with Anthony Fenton, Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority, is a primer on our shameful presence there, our role was never raised as an issue during the election campaign.

(That said, foreign policy barely registered at all during the campaign, except when critics accused the Liberals of "anti-Americanism.")

Some Haiti-watchers believe that's because no politicians wanted to upset the Haitian diaspora, much of it educated elite, now resident in Montreal.

Readers have pointed out to me that, while the mainstream media have largely been neglectful, the alternative media have not been. Here is where you might find out even more.

All this puts a whole different spin our newish governor-general, I must say.

UPPITY DATE: My column today also plugs the Toronto screening of Aristide and the Endless Revolution, a superb (if grisly) film on the Haitian situation. But it seems that I got the wrong email address off the press release. Writes Kole Kilibarda of the Toronto Haiti Action Committee (THAC)

I just wanted to know if it'd be possible to make one small correction, either on your blog or in future articles about the situation in Haiti. THAC's email address is toronto-haitiaction@riseup.net and nothaitiaction@riseup.net. 

Deck Chairs. Titanic.

Hard on the heels of CBC News' relaunch - which required the reconfiguring of resources and spaces in the Toronto Broadcast Centre - comes a memo signed by TV exec vice-president Richard Stursberg, CBC Radio vice-president Jane Chalmers and ... drum roll ... Michel Cyr, CBC's real estate vice president.

Did you even know they had a real estate v.p.?

They're announcing the hiring of ''international consultancy firm'' DEGW (at what price?) to redesign the CBCers' workspaces so that chunks of the building, in primo downtown real estate, might be leased out.

Some excerpts from their memo to staff:

This new opportunity could potentially be worth several million dollars a year: money that would be used to support our programming. It might require significant reconfiguration of existing workspace, possibly affecting a substantial proportion of the population in the building. This, too, represents an opportunity to fundamentally rethink and improve how we use our space.

<SNIP>

The resulting overall vision and principles for the redesign of our Toronto workspace will be applied first to any changes required to accommodate potential new tenants, and then to other moves as they occur. Part of the revenue earned from the additional rental will be used on a one-time basis to fund whatever building enhancements are identified. Once that’s done, the ongoing flow of income will be reinvested in programming.

We believe the results of all this will be very positive: a more congenial and effective workspace for our employees in Toronto, a more open and welcoming relationship with our community, and significant revenues for the reinvestment in our programming.

As one insider complained:

They just spent thousands of dollars (interesting to know how much) moving people around on the fourth floor for the relaunch.

They're going to squeeze people who actually produce the shows into less space and then hire a consultant at who knows how much money to tell how good it is for us! And spend more money in moving us all about.

In other CBC news, the Canadian Media Guild, whose 5,500 members were locked out for eight weeks last year by management, is seeking input on a proposal on how best to save CBC.

The election of a minority Conservative government in Canada suggests that Ottawa’s approach to the CBC is up for change in the same year the CBC goes before the CRTC to renew its broadcast licenses. We believe it is important that Canadian Media Guild members, as front-line CBC/Radio Canada employees, develop a proposal for the future of public broadcasting in Canada.

<SNIP>

Bev Oda, the party’s culture critic in the previous session of parliament and a top candidate to become Heritage Minister, put a resolution through last fall calling for a task force to review the mandate, role and services of the CBC-SRC. The day after the election, she told CBC radio’s Toronto morning show that “Canada needs a strong public broadcaster and we should review its mandate to make sure that it remains relevant to all Canadians in light of today’s technology and the different ways that people are accessing the news and information – and entertainment.”

Just before the election, Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper told CBC radio’s The House that “we’re going to have to look at the mandate (of English TV) and figure out how to adapt that to a multi-channel universe.”

While we don’t know the shape a CBC mandate review will take, we expect it will be extensive and will put the role of the public broadcaster at the centre of a new national debate. And it’s likely to happen before the CRTC hearings on CBC’s licenses, scheduled for this fall.

The CMG asks that members get involved, before it's too late.

Justin Beach is leading one charge up this rocky, barren hill.

My knees are cut and scraped from scrabbling up it more times than I care to remember. Since I joined the Star as TV columnist almost exactly 17 (!!!) years ago, on January 31, 1989, it seems that the slow death of CBC is the one theme to which I keep returning.

Ragged On

MSNBC's Don Imus in the Morning, and both Rogers and Shaw Cable got their wrists slapped with a regulatory decision last week over some November 2004 comments I wrote about back then.

Morning jock Don Imus, whose syndicated shock-talk radio show is simulcast on MSNBC, was probably just joking when he and his crew made racist, derogatory remarks during coverage of Yasser Arafat's funeral on Nov. 12.

But many Americans, and obviously a few Canadians, weren't laughing when they caught this exchange between Imus, his sports anchor Sid Rosenberg and their producer Bernard McGuirk over images of the crowds mourning the death of the Palestinian leader.

IMUS: They're (Palestinians) eating dirt and that fat pig wife (Suha Arafat) of his is living in Paris.

ROSENBERG: They're all brainwashed, though. That's what it is. And they're stupid to begin with, but they're brainwashed now. Stinking animals. They ought to drop the bomb right there, kill 'em all right now.

McGUIRK: You can just imagine standing there.

ROSENBERG: Oh, the stench.

IMUS: Well, the problem is that we have Andrea (Mitchell, NBC foreign correspondent) there. We don't want anything to happen to her.

ROSENBERG: Oh, she's got to get out. Just warn Andrea, get out, and then drop the bomb, kill everybody.

McGUIRK: It's like the worst Woodstock.

ROSENBERG: Look at this. Look at these animals. Animals!

According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision:

17. The Commission finds that certain comments made during both the 12 November 2004 and 19 November 2004 broadcasts of Imus in the Morning were abusive within the meaning of section 3(b) of the Regulations.

18. More specifically, the Commission is of the view that comments made during the 12 November 2004 broadcast that Palestinian people are "brainwashed," "stupid to begin with," and "stinking animals," and that a bomb should be dropped on them and that they should be "killed right now" were clearly disparaging, insulting and abusive within the meaning of section 3(b) of the Regulations.

<SNIP>

21. "Raghead" generally refers to individuals, primarily male, from Middle Eastern or South Asian cultures who wear turbans or other pieces of clothing on their heads. The term is dismissive and intended to be disparaging, in so far as it groups together people of different cultures in a trivializing and insensitive manner and mocks their choice of cultural, and often religious, attire. "Raghead" is also understood to be an ethnic slur. The phrase "pack of rabid sheep" used to describe the Muslims’ mentality dehumanizes them by evoking images of savage animals with little intellect.

Ultimately, the CRTC ruled that these were isolated incidents and that there should be no sanctions or restrictions placed on MSNBC, the way constraints were placed on the carriage of Al Jazeera in Canada. Fair enough. I am against censorship, especially if it involves prior restraint. But I can't help but wonder why some people can get away with saying things about some groups and not the other way around?

Which reminds me: When the cable operators inevitably apply to carry the new English-language Al Jazeera, which has no history, let alone any history of anti-Semitism, will it be allowed to operate as freely as any other channel?

Get your game on

It's only been a week -- not even -- and I am already sick of the media speculation over the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

The blogosphere is all over it too. The latest excitement is over Frank McKenna dis-tossing the hat he never actually tossed into the ring. Catch some of the noise here and here and here.

I'm thinking of starting a pool. No entry fee. The prize is the glory. But the trick is not to  guess the new leader, it's to name the pundit who made the biggest idiot of himself or herself over this.

Dive right in.

Different strokes for different folks

Catching up with non-Election 2006 news:

You know all this drama about Google going bad and capitulating to the evil Chinese empire?

It took Google Inc. more than a year to make the decision that offering a censored version of its search services in China would be a lesser evil than boycotting business in the country altogether, according to Google Inc. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Schmidt.

“We concluded that although we weren’t wild about the restrictions, it was even worse to not try to serve those users at all,” Schmidt said. “We actually did an evil scale and decided not to serve at all was worse evil,” he said, referring to the company’s famous “don’t be evil” creed.

Puh-leeze. Not-so-goody-goody Google sold out long ago, as this Wired story of 2003 spells out.

The Google strategy appeals to every engineer's sense of The Way It Should Be. Build the best entry in the science fair. Do not tart it up. Do not make it more clever than it needs to be.

But a funny thing is happening on the way to Internet adulthood - Google's awkward teen years. The company's growth spurt has spawned a host of daunting questions that no data-retrieval system can easily answer. Should Google play ball with repressive foreign governments? Refuse to link users to "hate" sites? Punish marketers who artificially inflate site rankings? Fight the Church of Scientology's attempts to silence critics? And what to do about the cache, Google's archive of previously indexed pages? In April, the German national railroad threatened legal action to remove an obsolete site containing sabotage instructions.

Anyway, if you want to see the censored Google in action, click here for a Google image search on ''Tiananmen'' for us in the free world and here for the same search in China.

One more reason why I buy NOTHING with a "Made in China'' label.

Now if only I can bypass Google ...

Hat tip to Tom Popyk!

Party-san Bloggers

Blogging Tory Greg Staples of Political Staples and me.

The partisan blogosphere is not unlike a giant game of Dungeons and Dragons in which people take on roles in a quest to virtually slay their political enemies and monsters. Some of us get real angry, even mean and nasty, jousting with poisoned verbal lances at one another.

And then we get together for a pint or 10 and everybody is, like, really cool. Which is what happened Friday night in downtown Toronto when a group of maybe 60 bloggers -- most of us of the conservative and male persuasion -- gathered at Fiddlers Green Pub.

Among the attendees, Political Staples (with whom I am pictured and he has more photos on his blog), Quotulatiousness (who brought his cellphone cam), Canadian Headhunter, co-hosts Let It Bleed and Cherniak on Politics, the  haberdashered Meat man,  Zorpheous/Wingnuterer, Section 15, Dissonance and Disrespect, the Accordion Guy who brought his accordion, Sinister Thoughts, North American Patriot, Buckets of Grewal (whose work deserves more recognition from the MSM), the Mexican firecracker Naked Knit Girl, Relapsed Catholic (and no we neither spoke nor got into a creamed corn wrassling match), and last but far from least, my popcult hero, with whom I spent the most time, the one, the only, Ghost of a Flea!

In fact, the charming Ghost monopolized the ladies, including myself, and two other mainstream gals who track blogs for their CBC-TV and TVO programs, Leslie Stojsic (The National) and Benita Rowley (Studio 2).

But dazzling the crowd were the two bigtime bloggers who showed up, Warren Kinsella and Andrew Coyne.

One non-blogger who showed was my pal Huge Seagull from this community of crazies and assorted characters, good and bad.

Despite the presence of pool cues and darts in the room, nobody was hurt.

Passing observation: Bloggers are often called the pajamahadeen because they're supposedly working away in their basements wearing their flannies. Friday night, I counted at least six guys wearing plaid shirts. This might mean something. Or not.

The Northern Shrub

Just because it's funny.

Burn in Heil

Further to the post just below...

The fanatical Proud to be Canadian - although it boasts a dozen U.S. flags on its site - is where you'll find that offending (and stupid, stupid, stupid) mistake that CBC's The National made Tuesday when it showed images of Stephen Harper adjacent to the Memories of Hitler ''heil'' word.

But, according to PTBC, CTV is also the evil instrument of the liberal Great Satan.

Which must make me the whore of Babble-on.

Heil to pay

So remember that scary photo of Stephen Harper that the Globe and Mail ran a few weeks ago? (Here's a scanned version on Ouimet's pro-CBC blog.) Well, it scarcely registered in the right-wing blogosphere.

But the other night, CBC's The National screwed up with a graphic and now, all hell is about to break loose.

The CBC has apologized to a viewer who complained that a news graphic appeared to juxtapose the name of the prime minister-designate with the German word "heil" - a salute usually associated with Adolf Hitler.

Watch the video and read the right-wing reaction here.

How could the National's producers have missed this? Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.