"The House isn’t sitting this week but that doesn’t mean Bev Oda is off the hook.Stay classy guys. Bev Oda did nothing wrong. The opposition is over-doing their tired old crying wolf campaign about "government secrecy", because they certainly can't attack the government on Canada's economic performance (which has been one of the best in the world through this recovery). It will be interesting to see how the opposition and their friends try to keep this non-controversy in the news cycle for the rest of the week. I expect Soloman to talk about it every day.
Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals are planning to keep the story alive with press conferences in Ottawa over the next few days to emphasize what they see as the Harper government’s culture of secrecy and deceit."
Please read this Liberal blog "Dear News Media we need to talk".
What's next for Ignatieff, a photo-op driving a tank?
ReplyDeletePM Harper drove a ATV and the media went crazy, because he might not have had an operator license. I wonder if iggy has a operators certificate for the dozer?
aka_pooch
Good.Im not the only one who notices "opinion" pieces in today's news.This will be virtually the only way to keep politicians feet to the fire so to speak no matter who's in power.
ReplyDeleteJoshua
I don't want opinion words in anything I read or watch UNLESS it clearly defines itself as an editorial. I am no longer a paying customer because of this and would purge my life of CBC and CTV if the systems in this nanny state country would let me. I shouldn't have to support and pay for garbage.
ReplyDeleteThis little ball of fire (mackenzieiam)has been hitting some home runs with her thoughtful analysis and she certainly proves a very important point. She will attract readers such as me BECAUSE she offers balance, regardless of her position. That is all we ask for, FACTS!
Joshua - keeping politicians "feet to the fire" is all fine and good - as long as there is an actual "fire".
ReplyDeleteBut to stretch the facts to create a story is wrong - that is what this whole faux scandal has been.
It is disgraceful and dishonest - however, I have come to expect nothing less from our MSM.
One standard for Conservatives and lesser standard for everyone else.
Did you expect Jane to do her own research and provide something of value or recycle talking points from the opposition war room?
ReplyDeleteSome have suggested the MSM has become lazy or fallen victim to group think.
The Ottawa bubble has at the best of times been merely out of touch with main street. Today they are equivalent to TMZ tabloid sensationalism.
The Liberals sent an email around after Layton met with PM Harper, saying he should be talking MORE about Bev Oda.
ReplyDeleteIn six days the Globe & Mail had 18 articles on Bev Oda...now its past 20 in a week.
Jane Taber is lazy...on purpose. Don't investigate the truth...might get in the way of the CTV smear campaign for their dying, lying Liberano$.
It also makes you wonder if so much of this garbage written/viewed, is done to feed the pariahs that comment at those sites?.
ReplyDeleteIf that is their audience, it explains the bottom feeding level of journalism.
Debate, disagreement, challenge is one thing but threatening attacks are the pathetic norm.
To function only for the hits and advertising $$'s, disgraceful.
Norman Spector, on CKNW, Monday @ 10:19 AM:
ReplyDelete"... There's just SO much mis-information floating around on this issue. So I'm just going to make a prediction: That when the Speaker of the House of Commons, Milliken rules, he will rule that the Minister did NOT lie to Parliament, and there was NO document forgery ...
There's been such a feeding frenzy in the media in Ottawa, I haven't seen anything like this since 1991 ... the Speaker will rule that there is no prima-facie case of contempt of Parliament in this instance"
Calgary Junkie
I see Barbara Yaffe from the Vancouver Sun has her second article on Bev oda this week....what a hateful woman.....on NNW of course.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vancouversun.com/news/debacle+reflection+Harper+government+siege+mentality/4330735/story.html
The extent of Jane Tabers "research" is probably checking out Wikipedia.
ReplyDeletefrom the committee testimony mackenzieiam points out the key to this,
ReplyDeletebureaucrats behaving badly and got caught
(Iceman's first link above)
'...President Biggs acknowledges that she KNEW in advance of her signature on the decision note that the Minister was NOT going to approve the project,
yet decision notes did not, at that time, have a place for the Minister to disagree (even though President Biggs knew that the Minister was not going to agree)....'
At the committee meeting in December, although Oda did not give the name of the staffer who wrote in the "not" on the document in answer to the question - Who inserted the word "not" ? - because she actually was not physically present, when it was done, and therefore was unable to identify by name. At the same time, her machine generated signature was placed on the document. Her testimony has always been that all was done under her direction and recommendation.
ReplyDeleteAt that same December meeting, how could anyone have left the meeting confused, whether it was Oda who made the decision to deny recommendation for approval of the funds for Karios, when the President of CIDA told the committee it was the minister Oda who was responsible. How much clearer could Ms. Beggs be when she spoke the following words to committee members and the media in December.
“I think as the minister said, the agency did recommend the project to the minister. She has indicated that. But it was her decision, after due consideration, to not accept the department’s advice. This is quite normal, and I certainly was aware of her decision. The inclusion of the word “not” is just a simple reflection of what her decision was, and she has been clear. So that’s quite normal,” she told the foreign affairs committee.”
For some members of the media and Liberal party to falsely claim that Oda changed her position in February will not stand up to scrutiny if her words in Hansard are examined where she stated
"I have repeatedly and clearly stated in response to questions in the House and at committee that the funding decision was mine. The “not” was inserted at my direction."
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3&DocId=4959259
How could anyone conclude and write that Oda changed her story or worse yet accuse her of lying? I think some opposition members and media should make a retraction and genuine apology to Ms. Oda, because there is no valid reason for them to be confused, to the extent that they demanded her resignation, and cause her all this anguish.
Fortunately Prime Minister Harper had the good sense to stand behind his persecuted minister, and not let the opposition destroy another female member of his cabinet, with unfounded charges.
Old Liberal party whores like Taber and Yaffe are a disgrace. They deliberately lie and cheat without even a modicum of decency or integrity. You can bet they know that Minister Oda did nothing wrong and they've probably known that from the start of this contrived smear campaign, but their loyalty to the Liberal/Separatist party trumps all levels of decency. This latest co-ordinated smear, Odagate is a part of the LIberal party/media narrative going into the next election with the equally contrived slogan "Culture of secrecy and deceit"... This will be the media Liberal party mantra going into the next election. Whether this narrative is accurate is NOT of any concern for the Liberals or their old whores in the media.
ReplyDeleteJust a mental fantasy: Imagine if the Minister responsible for the CBC and/or CRTC could withhold all Gov. funding (in the case of CBC) and monetarily fine the CTV X-number of thousands of Dollars until they fessed up and apologized for their deceit. News should always be based on provable facts. "Un-named sources" should be forbidden.
ReplyDeleteEditorials, well, who cares, except for libel and defamation. Bias in the media should be grounds for 'contempt of the public'... and not tolerated.