PTBC banner       ProudToBeCanadian

It's a question.

The latest from our COLUMNIST SECTION:

Click here to see more of our columns or use the drop-down menu atop this stack)



PTBC PUSH-BACK

Free-Market Capitalist Consumer Information:
These companies choose to advertise on the
socialism-reliant CBC:
(Links lead to mailing addresses)
• AIG (insur)
• Air Canada
• AOL Travel
• Bank of Montreal ("BMO")
• Best Western
• Canada Protection Plan
• Canada Revenue Agency (!)
• Canadian Tire Fin Serv
• Chip Home Income Plan
• CIBC
• Cold FX
• Desjardins (insurance)
• Directbuy, Inc
• Edward Jones
• General Motors
• Grand and Toy
• Grey Power (insurance)
• H&R Block
• Hilton Hotels
• iContact email marketing
• Infinity (cars)
• Koodoo mobile
• Lens Crafters
• Monster.ca
• National Post
• Neutrogena
• Nutrisystem
• Quicktax
• RBC (Royal bank)
• Rogers Cable
• ScotiaBank
• Shaw Cable
• Texas Travel
• The Co-operators (ins)
• Tim Hortons
• Travelodge
• Vonage
• WeightWatchers
• Westjet
• Working.com
• Zip.ca

Please read more here.


PTBC J-Log

A conservative OPINION blog --with bite. OPINION by Joel Johannesen.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Harper Conservatives “relent”. Liberal media fail to “make sense”

Written by Joel Johannesen on Monday May 01 2006 at 11:21 AM

Just last week the Toronto Star breathlessly reported on the upcoming renewal of the NORAD treaty with the U.S.—as if it were a sort of sneaky secretive conservative hidden agenda government version of the Toronto Star’s favorite Girls Gone Wild video. The ominous headline was this: “Tories quietly expand NORAD”. Then there was a sub-head which ominously stated this: “Signing ceremony kept under wraps”. (Hat tip: conservativegal)

They went on at length about the “secrets” and the “under wraps”, and the “calls… were not returned” and the secret sources revealed that… -type blather.

Apr. 29, 2006. 01:00 AM
BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH
OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA—Stephen Harper’s government has quietly committed Canada to “indefinite” participation in NORAD and agreed to give the military alliance new responsibilities to watch for a terror attack by sea.

Fresh off his softwood lumber truce, Harper’s government yesterday gave another boost to Canada-U.S. relations when it signed off on the renewal of the landmark North American Aerospace Defence Command treaty.

Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor and David Wilkins, the U.S. ambassador in Canada, signed the new pact at a “ceremony in Ottawa,” according to Janelle Hironimus, a spokesperson with the U.S. State Department.

Yet in Ottawa, officials with the Harper government tried to keep word of the renewal under wraps.

There was no notification of any signing ceremony.

Officials at both the foreign affairs department and defence department initially refused to confirm that a deal had been signed.

But after persistent questioning, defence officials finally acknowledged that the two nations had brokered a new defence agreement.

Then they admit this in paragraph 6,855 of the story, as if it’s the Conservatives who are trumpeting anything:

While the Conservatives are sure to trumpet the deal as yet further proof of improving relations with the U.S., negotiations for the renewal were “largely completed” before they took office in February, Hironimus [Janelle Hironimus, a spokesperson with the U.S. State Department] said.

The months since then have been taken up with legal reviews and the internal approval process, she said.

Ah. So the Liberals actually did this “secret” deal “under wraps” for the most part. Why, then, was the headline an implication that the Conservative government had secretly negotiated a deal? Again, the ominous headline was this: “Tories quietly expand NORAD”. Then the sub-head which ominously stated this: “Signing ceremony kept under wraps”

And it seems to me it was the Toronto Star reporter who was the only one trumpeting the Conservatives’ U.S. relationship-building abilities, as he wrote near the start of his story:

Fresh off his softwood lumber truce, Harper’s government yesterday gave another boost to Canada-U.S. relations when it signed off on the renewal of the landmark North American Aerospace Defence Command treaty.



Later in the story, notwithstanding a quote from the Minister in which they reported he’d said this in an email to them:

“As per our campaign promise, the new agreement will be tabled in Parliament for debate,” [Defence Minister O’Connor] said…

...and notwithstanding this quote:

[...] In Canada, opposition politicians will get their own briefing on Monday in advance of a debate on the new pact on Wednesday.

...they see fit to report this:

And the Conservative government has relented and will allow a vote on the agreement on Thursday, Parliament Hill sources say.

“Relented”? My my. They relented to their own campaign promise and Throne Speech commitments and on-the-record statements… to do what they said they would do and never said they wouldn’t?

No matter, they follow that sentence up with this one-sentence paragraph (gives it prominence!)

Calls to Harper’s office were not returned.

I always wonder what phone call they’re referring to.  The one asking for a date?  And why they even remotely expect a return phone call. I also wonder what the message was. And what time they called and how long they gave the person to call back. But hey—it’s ominous-sounding! Secret-ish! “Under wraps”! “No indication…”! Gosh it’s positively hidden agenda-like!  Eureka! 

This makes news more fun for liberals I guess.

In more calm and honest fashion, the top secret hidden agenda Harper-led Conservative Government of Canada relented and allowed this secret news release to be “unwrapped” by “sources” such that all Canadians will find out and know about it even without waiting for a phone call to be returned:

Renewal of NORAD Agreement to be voted on by House of Commons

May 1, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that there will be a debate and vote in the House of Commons in support of the renewal of the North American Aerospace Defence (NORAD) Agreement.

“The Speech from the Throne committed this government to submitting significant international treaties for vote in Parliament,” said the Prime Minister. “For nearly five decades, the NORAD Agreement has represented one of the most fundamental elements of the Canada-U.S. defence relationship. The renewal of the agreement is an important undertaking that should be considered by the House of Commons, and I thank the leaders of the Opposition for agreeing to bring this before the House in a timely way.”

NORAD is a binational military command first established to monitor and defend North American airspace. NORAD now also monitors and tracks man made objects in space and detects, validates and warns of attack against North America by aircraft, missiles or space vehicles, while it continues to provide surveillance and control of Canadian and U.S. airspace. Under the new agreement, NORAD would also provide warning of maritime threats.

The NORAD Agreement was first signed by the governments of Canada and the United States on May 12, 1958, and has been renewed for varying periods since that time.

So you see, thanks to persistent questioning from the liberal media and a crack squad of intrepid reporters from Toronto, the Conservative government has relented and will allow a vote on the agreement on Thursday. Just like they always said they would and never said they wouldn’t.

Posted by Joel Johannesen on   Mon, May 01, 2006 at 11:21:00 AM
• If you think this site is of no value, then don't pay anything for it, and it will fade into the sunset. That's capitalism at work.
• Email this article to a Friend Spread the word! Email this to a friend | • Printer-Friendly | • Permalink
• Category: Unsorted +
ASK Favicon Blogosphere News Favicon del.icio.us Favicon Digg Favicon Facebook Favicon Fark Favicon Google Favicon LinkedIn Favicon Live Favicon Netscape Favicon NewsVine Favicon Reddit Favicon Slashdot Favicon StumbleUpon Favicon Technorati Favicon TwitThis Favicon Upnews Favicon Wikio Favicon YahooMyWeb Favicon

COMMENTS

Comments do not necessarily reflect or in any way represent the opinion of the main blog entry writer or owner of this site, and claims to the contrary are spurious. Distasteful, abusive, hateful, or annoying remarks will likely be deleted; but since this is a relatively open forum, bad comments may accidentally remain on this site. The fact that a comment remains does not indicate an endorsement of the views.
  1. conservativegal's avatar conservativegal says:

    Once again, the Star just can’t handle the fact that their masters, the Liberals, are not in power any more. They just don’t get it.

    It makes me laugh when they speak of secret deals and underhandedness - the Liberals were masters of this game (anyone remember AdScam?) and since they are not at the trough anymore, they get the MSM to do their dirty work for them.

    I can’t wait to hear Bill Graham and Jack Layton’t histrionic rebuttals in this debate.

    Posted by conservativegal  from  Vancouver Island  on  Mon, May 01, 2006 at 1:27:57 PM
    — conservativegal's   s i g n a t u r e:

    “I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind.”

    The Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, House of Commons Debates on the Cdn. Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960

  2. Dacre says:

    Talk about creative writing. These guys are too much. I was on vacation last week and can’t remember the day, but it was CBC news and they were showing journalism students and journalists from Canada helping these people get their media working. A CBC volunteer said that with the program they were teaching these people they could learn how to effect change and shape the future of their country. And here I thought they were just supposed to report the news. Her speech gave you the impression that they would make and shape the news for political reasons. I was shocked to hear this from a CBC reporter.

    Posted by Dacre  from   on  Mon, May 01, 2006 at 2:04:51 PM
  3. Friend of USA's avatar Friend of USA says:

    Calls to Harper’s office were not returned.

    Why would Harper’s office return a call only to have journalists distort everything said in that phonecall ?

    It does not matter that they return the call or that they don’t, the journalists will make Harper and Conservatives look bad anyway…

    How long will it take for journalists to understand that until they are fair and balanced when reporting on Harper and conservatives, they will be kept at a “safe” distance?

    Posted by Friend of USA  from  Montreal region.  on  Mon, May 01, 2006 at 3:00:08 PM
  4. Dacre says:

    Friend said

    How long will it take for journalists to understand that until they are fair and balanced when reporting on Harper and conservatives, they will be kept at a “safe” distance?

    This won’t be happening anytime soon. Journalists tend to be lefties and they believe in making a difference. They are not taught to report they create the news they feel will further their causes and beliefs.

    Posted by Dacre  from   on  Mon, May 01, 2006 at 3:42:24 PM
  5. conservativegal's avatar conservativegal says:

    Joel:

    This thread made ” The Blogging Tories”.

    “Harper Conservatives Sure To Trumpet Secretive NORAD Deal

    Joel Johannesen fisks the habitually disingenuous Toronto Star; [T]he top secret hidden agenda Harper-led Conservative Government of Canada relented and allowed this secret news release to be “unwrapped” by “sources” such that all Canadians will find out and know about…”

    It links back to this thread at SDA.

    You have a fan in the comment section of SDA:

    “Johanneson will remember his words one blogging morning “this is a test, this is a test, this is a test…”—- repeated at least thirty times as blog opening. The Cons leading the cons, how clever.

    You can’t ignore the facts and ‘facts’ are required for informed decisions.

    I can think of a few reports from blogs WITHOUT ANY SOURCES being identified.

    Why don’t you all try focusing on the ‘bread and butter facts’. You’re droning back-stabbing mode is really redundant to say least.

    sp. of Joel Johanneson? Who’s he? People are indeed funny, remember?
    Posted by: anonymous at May 1, 2006 09:05 PM”

    Posted by conservativegal  from  Vancouver Island  on  Mon, May 01, 2006 at 6:23:29 PM
    — conservativegal's   s i g n a t u r e:

    “I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind.”

    The Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, House of Commons Debates on the Cdn. Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960

  6. wuberman says:

    Harper has my full support for gutting the CBC.  I hope thats direct enough for all you professional journalists!

    Posted by wuberman  from   on  Mon, May 01, 2006 at 8:39:26 PM
  7. The Patriot says:

    Turn the CBC building in Toronto into low income housing.

    Posted by The Patriot  from  Winnipeg, Manitoba  on  Tue, May 02, 2006 at 3:26:55 AM
  8. Joel Johannesen's avatar Joel Johannesen says:

    conservativegal—Maybe I’m stoopid but I don’t even remotely understand what that person’s comment means.

    Posted by Joel Johannesen  from  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada  on  Tue, May 02, 2006 at 4:00:46 AM
    — Joel Johannesen's   s i g n a t u r e:

    I could hardly believe “ProudToBeCanadian” was available when I was looking for a web site domain name.  No liberal thought of it?  It took a true blue CONSERVATIVE to think of buying that name and starting a web site built around it?  What does that tell you?  ...  Please remember to support this site.

  9. conservativegal's avatar conservativegal says:

    Joel Johannesen says:
    conservativegal—Maybe I’m stoopid but I don’t even remotely understand what that person’s comment means.

    I didn’t either…..I don’t know what kind of kool-aid he was drinking when he posted that comment.

    Posted by conservativegal  from  Vancouver Island  on  Tue, May 02, 2006 at 4:47:12 AM
    — conservativegal's   s i g n a t u r e:

    “I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind.”

    The Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, House of Commons Debates on the Cdn. Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960

  10. The Patriot says:

    Dacre’s comment #2 about what this CBC volunteer was preaching is shocking.  The fact that the CBC has the guts to broadcast it even more so.  An outright admission that the business plan of Canada’s state funded national broadcaster has little to do about news and alot to do about propoganda should be cause for great concern to the ordinary Canadian.  It appears to have caused nary a ripple.  What gives?  Could it be that probably only about 10 people were watching?  Still, the fact that the CBC is willing to advertise this fact apparently without any fear of being held to account is very disturbing. Just exactly who was this supposed volunteer?  Any journalism school in a democratic country that teaches such clap trap should have its credentials pulled, permanently.  Such conduct cannot be construed as journalism by any stretch of the imagination.

    Posted by The Patriot  from  Winnipeg, Manitoba  on  Tue, May 02, 2006 at 5:44:51 AM
  11. Dacre says:

    Patriot. I recall a couple of years ago listening to Rush talk about journalism students giving their reason for wanting to study journalism. Almost all of the students wanted to go into journalism to change things and make a difference not report news. That’s what struck me when I saw this news report from CBC. The woman from the CBC said almost word for word what Rush had said. That’s why it caught my attention. To them it’s a vehicle to promote socialism which is the prefered belief system and politics of journalists. I think the story may have been from Sudan.

    Posted by Dacre  from   on  Tue, May 02, 2006 at 9:49:58 AM
    12. Page 1 of 1 comment pages
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.