I just got this dropped in my email by a friend of a friend.
Does it have any validity? Should it be allowed? Is this going to be yet another case of another high-level Ottawa bureaucrat being squeezed out because he's moderate, has common sense, and tries to be responsible?
Let's see, who have we got so far? Just since I've been on this forum, a few weeks, there's been Col. Stogran, ombudsman of veteren affairs and Munir Sheikh of Stats Canada. Is Harper going to be putting CRTC's Konrad von Finckenstein on the chopping block next?
Here's the message:
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Prime Minister Harper is trying to push American-style hate media onto our airwaves, and make us all pay for it.
His plan is to create a "Fox News North" to mimic the kind of hate-filled propaganda with which Fox News has poisoned U.S. politics. The channel will be run by Harper’s former top aide and will be funded with money from our TV license fees!
One man stands in the way of this nightmare -- the Chairman of Canada's Radio and Telecommunications Commission Konrad von Finckenstein. He's rejected the plan as a violation of CRTC policies, so now Harper is trying to force him out. Let's urgently send a massive wave of public support to von Finckenstein, with 100,000 Canadians encouraging him to keep standing up for Canada, and standing firm against Harper's pressure. Sign the petition below and forward this email to everyone -- we'll publish full page ads in Canadian papers when we reach 100,000:
Canada: no taxes to fund hate
Harper hatched his scheme in a secret lunch last year with media-mogul Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News. Harper's aide Kory Teneycke, who will lead "Fox News North" also came to the lunch.
Fox News fuels hate. While claiming to be “fair” and “balanced”, it allows hysterical anchors like Glenn Beck to compare Obama to "Lucifer" and "Hitler" and bully 11 year-old girls. Bill O’Reilly has threatened to boycott Canada, and Anne Coulter says Canada is “lucky the US allows it to exist on the same continent.” The network has calculatingly spawned the tea party movement in the US, a mobilisation of the fringe right which threatens violence upon its opponents and wears guns to political rallies. Even more sinister, every bit of content is calculated to appear 'unbiased' while being deeply manipulative. Objectivity is hard for any journalist, but there is a massive difference between those who try, and those who serve another agenda. Perhaps most tellingly, Fox News regularly labels Canada "communist" and "a country suffering under public health care".
This is a fight for the soul of Canadian democracy. Our media is not perfect, but a ‘news’ network that slavishly serves a radical political agenda and a particular political leader threatens the fabric of our democratic society. In Canadian media, there is no room for manipulation through fear, hatred, deceit and demonisation.
This is Harper's long term strategy to make radical conservatism the political centre in Canada, tearing down the country we love to make us look like the U.S. But first, Harper needs to convince von Finckenstein to step down before the end of his term in 2012. Insiders say he’s already been offered some pretty fancy jobs including an ambassador’s post in Chile. But we can stand up and urge him to stay right where he is -- protecting Canadians from biased news coverage and hateful pundits. Let's raise a massive outcry for Konrad von Finckenstein. Tell him to stand strong, and stay in his job:
Canada: no taxes to fund hate
Harper is attacking Canada’s tradition of fairness and commitment to democracy. He is trying to bully through the protections we have against exactly the kind of government propaganda that is Fox News North. We can answer by exercising our collective voice and showing him and his cronies that Canadians won’t be forced to accept American hate media.
In solidarity,
Ricken, Emma, Iain, and the rest of the Avaaz team
Sources:
Globe and Mail, “Is Harper set to move against the CRTC?”:
Is Stephen Harper set to move against the CRTC? - The Globe and Mail
CBC, “The absolute last thing this country needs”:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/10/f-vp-newman.html#socialcomments#ixzz0r6MC4p46
Globe and Mail, CRTC refuses Sun TV's bid for preferred status on dial:
CRTC refuses Sun TV’s bid for preferred status on dial - The Globe and Mail
The Star, “Harper’s foxy luncheon”:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/851510--mcquaig-harper-s-foxy-luncheon
Mediaite, “Canada and Ann Coulter: a volatile relationship”:
Canada And Ann Coulter: A Volatile Relationship | Mediaite
Media Matters, “Glenn Beck compares Obama to Lucifer”:
Yes, Beck did just compare President Obama to Lucifer | Media Matters for America
Media Matters, “Glenn Beck smears Obama’s 11 year old daughter”:
Glenn Beck smears Obama's 11-year-old daughter | Media Matters for America
The Examiner: “Bill O’Reilly again confuses facts about Canadian health care system”:
Video: Bill O' Reilly again confuses facts about Canadian health care system - National Political Buzz | Examiner.com
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Does it have any validity? Should it be allowed? Is this going to be yet another case of another high-level Ottawa bureaucrat being squeezed out because he's moderate, has common sense, and tries to be responsible?
Let's see, who have we got so far? Just since I've been on this forum, a few weeks, there's been Col. Stogran, ombudsman of veteren affairs and Munir Sheikh of Stats Canada. Is Harper going to be putting CRTC's Konrad von Finckenstein on the chopping block next?
Here's the message:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prime Minister Harper is trying to push American-style hate media onto our airwaves, and make us all pay for it.
His plan is to create a "Fox News North" to mimic the kind of hate-filled propaganda with which Fox News has poisoned U.S. politics. The channel will be run by Harper’s former top aide and will be funded with money from our TV license fees!
One man stands in the way of this nightmare -- the Chairman of Canada's Radio and Telecommunications Commission Konrad von Finckenstein. He's rejected the plan as a violation of CRTC policies, so now Harper is trying to force him out. Let's urgently send a massive wave of public support to von Finckenstein, with 100,000 Canadians encouraging him to keep standing up for Canada, and standing firm against Harper's pressure. Sign the petition below and forward this email to everyone -- we'll publish full page ads in Canadian papers when we reach 100,000:
Canada: no taxes to fund hate
Harper hatched his scheme in a secret lunch last year with media-mogul Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News. Harper's aide Kory Teneycke, who will lead "Fox News North" also came to the lunch.
Fox News fuels hate. While claiming to be “fair” and “balanced”, it allows hysterical anchors like Glenn Beck to compare Obama to "Lucifer" and "Hitler" and bully 11 year-old girls. Bill O’Reilly has threatened to boycott Canada, and Anne Coulter says Canada is “lucky the US allows it to exist on the same continent.” The network has calculatingly spawned the tea party movement in the US, a mobilisation of the fringe right which threatens violence upon its opponents and wears guns to political rallies. Even more sinister, every bit of content is calculated to appear 'unbiased' while being deeply manipulative. Objectivity is hard for any journalist, but there is a massive difference between those who try, and those who serve another agenda. Perhaps most tellingly, Fox News regularly labels Canada "communist" and "a country suffering under public health care".
This is a fight for the soul of Canadian democracy. Our media is not perfect, but a ‘news’ network that slavishly serves a radical political agenda and a particular political leader threatens the fabric of our democratic society. In Canadian media, there is no room for manipulation through fear, hatred, deceit and demonisation.
This is Harper's long term strategy to make radical conservatism the political centre in Canada, tearing down the country we love to make us look like the U.S. But first, Harper needs to convince von Finckenstein to step down before the end of his term in 2012. Insiders say he’s already been offered some pretty fancy jobs including an ambassador’s post in Chile. But we can stand up and urge him to stay right where he is -- protecting Canadians from biased news coverage and hateful pundits. Let's raise a massive outcry for Konrad von Finckenstein. Tell him to stand strong, and stay in his job:
Canada: no taxes to fund hate
Harper is attacking Canada’s tradition of fairness and commitment to democracy. He is trying to bully through the protections we have against exactly the kind of government propaganda that is Fox News North. We can answer by exercising our collective voice and showing him and his cronies that Canadians won’t be forced to accept American hate media.
In solidarity,
Ricken, Emma, Iain, and the rest of the Avaaz team
Sources:
Globe and Mail, “Is Harper set to move against the CRTC?”:
Is Stephen Harper set to move against the CRTC? - The Globe and Mail
CBC, “The absolute last thing this country needs”:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/10/f-vp-newman.html#socialcomments#ixzz0r6MC4p46
Globe and Mail, CRTC refuses Sun TV's bid for preferred status on dial:
CRTC refuses Sun TV’s bid for preferred status on dial - The Globe and Mail
The Star, “Harper’s foxy luncheon”:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/851510--mcquaig-harper-s-foxy-luncheon
Mediaite, “Canada and Ann Coulter: a volatile relationship”:
Canada And Ann Coulter: A Volatile Relationship | Mediaite
Media Matters, “Glenn Beck compares Obama to Lucifer”:
Yes, Beck did just compare President Obama to Lucifer | Media Matters for America
Media Matters, “Glenn Beck smears Obama’s 11 year old daughter”:
Glenn Beck smears Obama's 11-year-old daughter | Media Matters for America
The Examiner: “Bill O’Reilly again confuses facts about Canadian health care system”:
Video: Bill O' Reilly again confuses facts about Canadian health care system - National Political Buzz | Examiner.com
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