Friday, January 30, 2009

Canadian Media Regret Their Errors

Canadian Media Regret Their Errors

January 30, 2009

By: Mike Fegelman

Dear HonestReporting Canada subscriber:                                                        

Serge Schmemann, former deputy foreign editor of the New York Times, once wrote:

"There is nothing a journalist fears more than having a correction printed about his story."

A media outlet's willingness to issue a correction and to rectify its error is a fair indicator of a news organization's commitment to media accountability and to its overall integrity.

In January alone, HonestReporting Canada and our members obtained an abundance of corrections and retractions by Canadian news organizations as the conflict between Israel and Hamas carried on. Here is a short list detailing our continued efforts and the latest media developments.

CBC.CA ISSUES CORRECTION AFTER HRC INTERVENTION

After CBC.ca falsely reported on January 22 that Israel had not opened border crossings to the Gaza Strip since the January 18 ceasefire, HonestReporting Canada notified CBC editors that Israel had in fact re-opened key Gaza border crossings (Kerem Shalom, Karni and Nahal Oz terminals) three times to allow for the transfer of humanitarian aid, cooking gas, and diesel fuel into the Gaza Strip.

On January 23, CBC.ca issued the following correction to remedy their error:

CBC "THE NATIONAL" ISSUES ON-AIR CORRECTION

CBC "The National" issued the following on-air correction on January 13 after the network wrongly implied that then president-elect Barack Obama had only expressed concern about the loss of civilian lives in the Gaza Strip, whereas in fact, he had also expressed vocal concern for the loss of civilian life in Israel as well.

To view the original error and the on-air correction online click on the images below.
 

Original Error

 

 On-Air Correction

  • Peter Mansbridge: "We want to set something straight for the record, last week following a story on civilian deaths in the Gaza, we said Barack Obama was concerned about the loss of civilian lives there. He also said that he was concerned about the loss of civilian life in Israel and that should have been mentioned in the story as well."

MONTREAL GAZETTE CORRECTS "OCCUPIED TERRITORY" REFERENCE

In a January 11 report about pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Montreal, a Gazette reporter erroneously described the Gaza Strip as an "occupied territory" a claim which is baseless and without merit given Israel's unilateral withdrawal of its soldiers and 8,500 settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

After bringing our concerns to the attention of Gazette editors, the following correction was issued on January 13:

HRC PROMPTS CANWEST TO ISSUE CORRECTION

The international and Canadian media were quick to castigate Israel after the UN claimed that Israeli tank shells had struck a UN aid vehicle, killing its workers.

Canwest News correspondent Matthew Fisher reported on January 10 that: "Humanitarian aid deliveries had been suspended on Thursday after two truck drivers were killed by what the UN said was an Israeli tank attack."

Contrary to this statement and as this Toronto Star correction confirms, only one UN driver was killed. More importantly, this report failed to indicate that the Israel Defense Forces had denied any responsibility for the death of the aid worker. As the Jerusalem Post reported also on January 10:

"The IDF was not responsible for the death of a Palestinian aid worker contracted to the UN and the wounding of two others on Thursday, the IDF Spokesman said Saturday.
 
An IDF investigation has found that it was not the army who fired on a UN truck at the Erez crossing," the IDF Spokesman's Office said….  in all probability, the aid workers were hit by Hamas gunfire.
 
The foreign press reports were based on UN sources, who later admitted to the Post that they were not sure in which direction the truck was headed when it was hit, and could also not say with certainty that tank shells were responsible."

Given the aforementioned error and serious omission, we asked Canwest News to rectify the false misconception that "two truck drivers were killed" and to update their readers about the new evidence which seems to exonerate any Israeli culpability in the aid worker's death or to at least cast some doubt into the UN's version of events.

On January 13, Canwest News issued the following correction (as seen below in the Montreal Gazette) over its wire service:

TORONTO STAR ISSUES CORRECTION AFTER HRC INTERVENTION

When publishing a letter to the editor, newspapers are responsible for fact checking a letter writer's claim before putting it to print. On January 4, a Toronto Star letter writer shockingly alleged that 950 West Bank Palestinians had been killed by Israeli settlers since 2000. As this allegation was patently false and as the Star and their letter writer could not provide any evidence to support this accusation, we demanded that a formal correction be issued.

On January 9, the Toronto Star did just that:

TORONTO SUN WRONG ON "ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS"

After the Toronto Sun's Peter Worthington had incorrectly described Hamas rocket attacks as being directed at Israeli "settlements," the following letter was submitted by HonestReporting Canada and printed in the January 16 edition to remedy this error:

HonestReporting Canada congratulates its members whose involvement and support have been crucial in keeping the media honest. By sending letters of complaint, you ensured that news organizations acknowledged and corrected their mistakes, and became sensitive to the facts of the Middle East.

 
HonestReporting.ca

To support our continued efforts to hold the Canadian news media accountable for their reporting on Israel, please donate here today. Through your donations, you can help ensure that Canadian journalists are held to the highest standards of "Honest Reporting."

Or send a cheque to:

HonestReporting Canada

P.O. Box 6, Station Q, Toronto, Ontario M4T 2L7

(416) 915-9157

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to fair and accurate
media coverage of Israel and the Middle East

 


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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

IGNATIEFF A NEW LIBERAL?

Hello
I had hopes that the sound defeat of the liberals this last fall would result in a NEW liberal renewal so that there might be two responsible parties as a choice for Canadians. When the snowflake coup was put to rest and Mr. Ignatieff came to be appointed leader, I had new hopes.

Unfortunately after hearing his speech about the budget, it is the same old line which is full of lies and half-truths. The Conservatives have created a Canadian government with a reputation for wisdom which the G8 and Gx members look to for a model of financial stability. They have also in part returned some of the GST to we ordinary senior citizens to make our lives a bit better in combination with tax cuts which benefit all of us. These are real obvious tangible improvements from the OLD LIBERAL scandal-ridden regime. We are tired of big plans which take from fixed-income seniors and give to those who can still earn an income. We are tired of taxes in one form or another being taken without our consent or approval for plans which benefit not the low-income families but those can actually afford to have two cars and two incomes.

I had hoped that instead of politico-speak, we might have honesty and integrity for a change from the Liberal Party. I see that is not to be.

As a senior citizen who knows something about finances, I know the conservatives have made vast improvements and are about to make more. An honest reply would have been to say something like "We cannot agree with all of the measures that Mr. Harper's government has suggested in this budget but we agree that these measures will make a difference to Canada and Canadians. We would like to have seen....."

That would have been an honest statement. It appears that honesty still seems too far a grasp for the Liberal Party of Canada to grasp.

As two senior citizens, my wife and I will spend all of the rest of our lives to ensure that no deceitful, dishonest, politico-speaking party which lacks integrity ever comes to power again.

Shame on you! Get real. Get honest!

-Charles Pedley ==================== Church-Software-Store.com for ChurchPower.com 905-228-2161 =================== Save $20 per Month on High Speed Internet See www.best-canadian-hispeed.com

Monday, January 19, 2009

Toronto Sun Columnist Eric Margolis Must Go

Toronto Sun Columnist Eric Margolis Must Go

January 19, 2009

By: Mike Fegelman

Dear HonestReporting Canada subscriber:

When Sid Ryan, President of CUPE-Ontario, compared Israeli policies in Gaza with the Nazis, the National Post and concerned Canadians at large were right to call for his immediate ousting.

The former Toronto Sun columnist also accused Israel of carrying out a "massacre" in Gaza, while trying to ban all Israeli academics from Canadian campuses "unless they explicitly condemn [Israel's] assault on Gaza."

Recognizing that comments comparing Israel to Nazis was unacceptable, Ryan issued an apology... (or something like that)

But Ryan wasn't the only Canadian to draw comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to the Nazis. Another Toronto Sun columnist, Eric Margolis (pictured), made a similar comparison in a "political commentary" he authored on his website on January 12 entitled "Eradicating Hamas."

According to Margolis' introductory paragraph:

"It now seems clear the last disastrous act of the Bush administration was giving Israel a green light to launch its final solution campaign against the Hamas government in Gaza."

Margolis' "final solution" comment is an unmistakable reference to Nazi Germany's systematic plan to annihilate European Jewry during World War II. Such a vile comparison is odious and contemptible.

To support his linkage of Israeli policy to the Nazis, Margolis alluded to the Holocaust by quoting a "high-ranking Vatican official" who described Gaza as "a concentration camp." And in case any readers still didn't catch on, Margolis drove home the Holocaust comparison a third time by wondering aloud whether "Comparisons with the Warsaw ghetto uprising will inevitably be made" given that "the world will turn further against Israel and see it, as too many critics claim, as a brutal oppressor."

To top it all off, Margolis accused Israel of carrying out "massacres" while labeling Hamas a "democratic revolutionary movement."

Comparing Israeli policy to the Nazis fits the European Union and U.S. State Department's working definition of anti-Semitism. While the Nazi comparison is outrageous when made by ordinary citizens, it is even more outlandish when put forward by a newspaper columnist who is paid for his opinion by reputable news media. So we wonder: should the Toronto Sun employ someone – even for the sake of having a variety of opinions – who uses Nazi terminology in reference to the Jewish state? We think not.

While Margolis has been careful to limit Nazi references to his personal website and to keep them out of his Sun column, the fact that the Sun pays for his opinion implies that it considers his perspective – wherever he states it – to be credible. But with his latest outburst, Margolis has crossed the line and the Sun should acknowledge that by dropping him from its roster of columnists. There are plenty of worthy columnists who could make a far better contribution to the diversity of opinion that appears in the Sun's pages.

HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

Ask the Toronto Sun to reconsider using Eric Margolis as a political pundit given his use of Nazi terminology in reference to Israel. Send POLITE letters to: torsun.editor@sunmedia.ca

 

HonestReporting.ca

To support our continued efforts to hold the Canadian news media accountable for their reporting on Israel, please donate here today. Through your donations, you can help ensure that Canadian journalists are held to the highest standards of "Honest Reporting."

Or send a cheque to:

HonestReporting Canada

P.O. Box 6, Station Q, Toronto, Ontario M4T 2L7

(416) 915-9157

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to fair and accurate
media coverage of Israel and the Middle East

 


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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Robert Fulford on "Disproportionate"

Robert Fulford clarifies the stupidity of using the fantasy-like word "disproportionate" in the National Post

Robert Fulford on the disproportionate criticism of Israel's self-defence Posted: January 17, 2009, 9:30 AM by NP Editor Robert Fulford, Full Comment Canadian politics

The big word in Middle East politics this week is “disproportionate.” Political leaders around the world love it, and no wonder. Applied to the Israel-Hamas struggle, it quietly weakens Israel’s position and displays sympathy for the Palestinians while making those who use it feel both righteous and compassionate.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain says that “to a friend like Israel, you have to tell the truth. And if you think the reaction is disproportionate, you have to say so.” He makes it sound like a favour he’s doing for Israel. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, has criticized “disproportionate use of force.” Louis Michel, aid commissioner of the European Union, calls Israel’s attack on Hamas “totally disproportionate.” Dozens of other politicians have said the same.

The Canadian Press, in a 744-word story on reactions to the Gaza campaign in Canada (total number of anti-Israel words in that story: 744), managed to find a man-in-the-street to utter it during a Vancouver protest — a man who said “extremely disproportionate.”

That word bundles together ambiguity, deception and covert hostility to Israel’s dream of a secure future. It says: “I of course support Israel’s right to defend itself — but not in this way.” We are expected to assume there must be a better way to defeat Israel’s tormentors, a way that will win the world’s respect. No one ever explains this strategy, perhaps because no such strategy exists.

A recent article by Natan Sharansky, who served 10 years as a Cabinet minister in Israel, outlined the historic context of this issue. In June, 2001, the most recent in a series of suicide bombings that had started the previous September killed 21 Israelis at a Tel Aviv discothèque. Several Cabinet ministers wanted to endorse an IDF plan to strike back at the bases of the killers but that idea was dropped when foreign leaders, horrified, predicted that military action would provoke international disapproval. During the next nine months, the bombing of restaurants, hotels and public spaces became a persistent part of life in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Ordinary activity was paralyzed.

The terror reached a climax when more than 130 Israelis were killed in one month, March, 2002. The Cabinet sat all night to discuss Israel’s response. Finally it authorized Operation Defensive Shield, a series of attacks on terrorist centres. Naturally, the UN and many countries condemned Israel. The American secretary of state, Colin Powell, insisted that the operation stop. Pro-Palestinian propagandists damned Israelis as war criminals, spreading an elaborate lie about a massacre at Jenin — and media around the world believed them.

And yet, as Sharansky remembers it, this was a relatively small price to pay for what followed. Terror was crippled. The number of Israelis killed fell to fewer than a dozen during the following year. The Second Intifada was over. Israel’s cities came to life again. And so did the West Bank, where economy grew healthier over the next six years: “If there is hope in the West Bank today, it is because Israel abandoned the ideas of proportionality and diplomacy in handling terror,” Sharansky says.

Israel’s critics demonstrate a meagre grasp of its situation. In thinking and talking about the Middle East, too few in the West show any imagination. Israel faces a relentless, implacable enemy. Diplomacy and “the peace process” will do nothing to stop Hamas or its sponsoring nation, Iran. Hamas doesn’t want a better deal with Israel; it wants Israel to cease existing, as does Iran. To achieve that end they will proudly sacrifice many of their own people, not only warriors but also women, children and the old.

Israeli forces are ordered to avoid harm to civilians wherever possible. So far as we can judge by the reporting from Gaza, this policy is being followed. But so long as Hamas hides behind women and children the results are inevitable: Women and child will in some cases suffer and die.

Given that fact, given that heavy civilian losses are inevitable, should Israel simply decline to fight? Perhaps some nation, somewhere, will take that attitude at some unforeseeable moment in the future. It would be a truly radical idea, lifting Gandhi’s principle of civil disobedience to the level of national policy. We can hardly expect that Israel, which has always lived under the threat of destruction by its Middle East neighbours, will be the first to take that bold and possibly suicidal step. Yet that’s the course implied by those who glibly and piously condemn “disproportionate” warfare. National Post robert.fulford@utoronto.ca

Friday, January 16, 2009

Reporting Racism

Hello
It was reported that Mohammed Boudjenane, Executive Director of the Canadian Arab Federation, stated about the defensive in Gaza, that the issue "is about occupation". If that statement is correct, then I report to him that he is making racist remarks. What did he say about the thousands of rockets fired at innocent Israeli civilians, many of whom are his brother Arabs? What did he say when suicide bombers walked into restaurants and killed innocent Israelis? I do not recall him being outraged or whether he even commented at all. Therefore he is racist. He only directs his negative comments toward Jews.

Now let us talk "occupation". That is a very misleading and incorrect word.
In the area known as Israel, there has only ever been one successful government and that government was Jewish thousands of years ago and now is Jewish in majority, in the present.

If accusations are made about "occupation", then we have to trace back the roots to not just the previous occupiers many of whom were Arabs and some Jews as well but to be fair, we must go back to the occupiers before that and before that. In short, we must go back to the original owners, just to make everything fair.

So let us do a bit of research, in the interests of fairness. Of course I am sure Mohammed Boudjenane would want to be fair would he not? He would not want to be accused of egocentric self-interest would he?

So here is the list of occupiers and owners from the sketchy history of the area. From Wiki on Israel we see the list.

History of Israel [from Wikipedia on Israel]

1. Land of Israel - about 4000 years ago
2. Assyrian,
3. Babylonian,
4. Persian,
5. Greek,
6. Roman,
7. Byzantine,
8. (briefly) Sassanian rule,
9. Omayyads,
10. Abbasids,
11. Crusaders,
12. Kharezmians
13. Mongols,
14. Mamluks (1260-1516)
15. Ottoman Empire in 1517
16. In 1920, Palestine became a League of Nations mandate administered by Britain.
17. Present State of Israel

So if we really want to be fair and give the land back to its owners we must not stop until we find the ORIGINAL owners. As you can see, that would be before the Babylonians, Assyrians, before the Israelites who came back from Egypt, going back to Abraham, the land that God gave to him.

Now if you could find a Cananite, he or she might have some faint claim but other than that the only historical documents which made claim to the land were those of Abraham, the father of the Arabs and the Jews.

Isaac stayed in that land where Ishmael was sent out into the desert. Now that actually turned out very well for the descendents of Ishmael who own one of the largest oil reserves in the world. And the descendents of Isaac? No oil. Just a state the size of New Jersey which unfair, biassed and bigotted people want them to give up for the fantasy of "peace."

Friday, January 9, 2009

Losing the PR War and Young Israeli Support

This was written as an answer to Jeet Heer who writes that Israel is losing the PR war and also the support of young Jews. He seems to be agreeing that Israel's defence of its country is somehow "disproportionate" and "wanton slaugher" while ignoring totally the Hamas use of its fellow citizens as human shields. National Post Friday January 9, 2009.

My Letter in response

RE: Jeet Heer: Losing the PR War and the Diaspora

While I believe Jeet is right about Israel losing face with even young Jews, especially those who live nowhere near any rocket attacks or suicide bombers, I feel he has missed the real point.

There has been an undeclared war going on for years against Israel. It is a peculiar thing that I do not remember any Israeli attacks on Palestinians when there were no rockets or suicide bombers against Israel.

So to suggest that Israel is being disproportionate in its response leads to the the question which nobody has answered, “What is proportionate?” And what war has ever counted the quantity of shells and bullets as a measure of the rightness of winning the war? Can’t you just hear it now. “Hitler has sent only 100 V2 rockets over London, so we have to stop bombing Germany because we have used 200 more bombs than they have. To be fair, we have to wait until they catch up.”

That idea of somehow measuring quantity of armaments used seems to be the domain of Quixotes. In a war, you fight to win. There is and has been an almost continuous war against Israel from its creation with brief lulls usually after Israel has soundly defeated the enemies of its existence.

I would suggest that the PR war can never be won. It is not just young Jews far from the battles who hate Israel. It is the media, the CBC, the intelligentsia, the young of all racial backgrounds. They have not known real war and therefore their fantasies of it are shaped by their contemporaries in the media who have the same experience.

War seems terrible to anyone unless you are in the middle of a battlezone. Then for some reason, the survival instinct overpowers other intellectual meanderings. Those agreeing with Israel’s enemies should spend a month’s vacation in Sderot and then write from the other side of their brain.

Fonthill

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Israel at War - Canadian Media Coverage Deconstructed

Israel at War - Canadian Media Coverage Deconstructed

January 4, 2009

By: Mike Fegelman

Dear HonestReporting Canada subscriber:

Canwest News reporter Matthew Fisher made the following keen observation this week in the Montreal Gazette: "Wars are not only won by armies, but in the court of international opinion."

According to Fisher: "The problem for Israel has been the optics. It has been frustrated that foreign news reports have dwelled on dramatic images of destruction and death caused by its warplanes in Gaza — and the international opprobrium that often comes with it — while often failing to convey how thousands of rocket fired over the past few years from there have terrified tens of thousands of its citizens living in border areas in the Negev Desert."

As Israel's Operation Cast Lead continues in the backdrop of escalating rocket attacks, HonestReporting Canada is on the front lines keeping Canada's media honest. Here is a small selection of items detailing how we are intervening with the media to ensure fair and accurate news coverage of Israel, and how you can add your voice at this critical time.

CTV Source's Anti-Semitic Rant

On December 30, CTV Newsnet interviewed Mohammed Shafiq, CEO of the UK-based Ramadan Foundation. Early in the interview Shafiq accused Israel of carrying out "genocide" against Palestinians, adding "...we totally condemn the aggressive genocide that is being committed by the Nazi-like regime in Israel..."

To view the interview online please click here or on the image below.

                               

Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis – a staple of anti-Israeli rhetoric – fits the European Union's working definition of anti-Semitism. Although CTV host Milczarek termed Mr. Shafiq's statements "pretty strong language," his comments should have come as no surprise to CTV. The lead item on the Ramadan Foundation's website is a press release from Dec. 27 – three days prior to the CTV interview – that declares: "ATTACKS ON GAZA ARE WAR CRIMES, NAZI LIKE REGIME IN ISRAEL CONDEMNED."

We don't doubt that CTV finds these kinds of comments abhorrent, but the broadcaster bears full responsibility for allowing this kind of language into the Canadian discourse. Considering the inflammatory, bigoted and hateful comments from Mr. Shafiq, CTV should not use him or other members of his organization for future segments. Furthermore, the network needs to do a better job of vetting its guests in advance, as the organization's views were clearly posted on its website. We have filed a complaint with CTV executives and are currently awaiting their response.

CBC Misrepresents "Media Analyst"

On December 29, CBC Newsworld host Mohammed Lila interviewed Phyllis Bennis, whom the CBC deceptively described as a "media analyst" for the Institute for Policy Studies commenting on international opinion and the current Middle East conflict.

To view the report online please click here or on the image below.

                            

Ms. Bennis is neither a "media critic" nor an objective commentator on the Mideast conflict, but rather a hard-core critic of Israel affiliated with many far-left and "anti-war" organizations. Furthermore, her "analysis" was almost exclusively dedicated to condemning Israeli policy and actions in a way that had nothing to do with analyzing the media. In her five-minute interview, Ms. Bennis opined about Israel's "collective punishment," lauded former President Jimmy Carter's efforts in describing "Israeli apartheid," alleged that there's a "pro-Israel bias in U.S. media and textbooks," and falsely claimed that "no Israelis were killed by any … [Palestinian] rocket fire" this year.

We appreciate that the CBC has the right to search for a "range of opinions," but presenting Ms. Bennis as a neutral observer, rather than the ardent pro-Palestinian activist she is, was entirely deceptive. It is almost inconceivable that CBC staffers were not familiar with her background, and CBC should have disclosed the facts to its viewing audience.

As the CBC indicated at the conclusion of the interview that it will "check in" again with Ms. Bennis "as the military and public relations fallout continues," we have asked CBC editors to properly divulge her background in future interviews. We are awaiting their reply. To send your considered comments to the CBC, please click here.

Vancouver Sun Falsely Alleges "Israeli Militants Fire Rockets and Mortars" Killing Two Palestinian Girls

In the December 27 edition of the Vancouver Sun, a wire service brief carried a headline which falsely alleged that "Israeli militants fire rockets and mortars" which "killed two Palestinian girls."

                                            

Contrary to this report, the "militants" the original wire report was referring to were Palestinian, not Israeli. A Qassam rocket fired by Palestinians toward Israel fell short of its intended target and landed in Gaza, killing the Palestinian girls, aged 5 and 12.

After we brought this error to the attention of senior editors at the Vancouver Sun, the following "correction" was printed in the January 3 edition of the paper:

                    

While we appreciate the token correction and the Sun's acknowledgement of error, this "setting it straight" notice was unsatisfactory as it didn't properly clarify that Palestinian terrorists had killed these two innocent Palestinian girls. Vancouver Sun readers who read the original story are still left to believe that Israel was responsible for the deaths. To send your considered comments about this dismal correction to the Vancouver Sun, please send emails to Vancouver Sun Senior Editor Nicholas Palmer at: npalmer@vancouversun.com

Toronto Sun's Grossly Inflated Statistics

As various Canadian cities saw pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests, unfounded malicious allegations were promulgated by Israel's enemies and accepted as fact by Canadian reporters.

A Toronto Sun report by Amy Chung on December 29 reported how "tempers flare over Palestinian deaths" at a protest in Toronto. Reporter Chung interviewed pro-Palestinian supporter Maha Elharake who was quoted as saying that:

  • "I was in Beirut in 2006 when 5,000 people died from (airstrikes) ... all we have to defend ourselves there are stones," she said."

Had Ms. Chung or Toronto Sun copy editors actually vetted this statement, they would have recognized that these figures were grossly inflated. In fact, the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 saw fewer than 1,400 casualties resulting from the fighting, the majority of casualties being armed Hezbollah terrorists.

After communicating our concerns to editors at the Toronto Sun, they promptly and professionally set the record straight by issuing the following correction on December 31:

                                               

What You Can Do To Make A Difference:

The above examples are only a small fraction of the media coverage that we have analyzed and responded to over the past week. Stay tuned for additional alerts focusing on specific media for as long as this crisis situation continues.

To help keep the media honest, please use HonestReporting's Primer to help you confront Hamas' disinformation efforts, remembering that the court of international opinion has not yet been adjourned, even though the war on the ground continues unabated.

 

HonestReporting.ca

To support our continued efforts to hold the Canadian news media accountable for their reporting on Israel, please donate here today. Through your donations, you can help ensure that Canadian journalists are held to the highest standards of "Honest Reporting."

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HonestReporting Canada

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Thank you for your ongoing commitment to fair and accurate
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VIDEO:Canada Human Rights

VIDEO of CTV PowerPlay Canada Human? Rights Commission?

Iranian S-Elections?

Evolution / Intelligent Design

Legitimate Questions Should Be Discussed

I am reminded of how established "science" has been wrong many times before such as in the case of Piltdown man. So could it be wrong now? Or has it been perfected? Should not reasonable arguments be considered?

We have become a nation of beggars

Terence Corcoran reports in the National Post on Friday, January 16, 2009 that the STIMULUS everyone is yelling for may only work over a short period and may actually MAKE THE ECONOMY WORSE over longer periods.

[Read the article below for the researchers who studied this phenomenon.]

POINTS

- "What if, as a wide and growing school of economists now suspect, the government spending and stimulus theory is a crock that is shovel-ready to be heaved out into the barnyard of economic waste?"

- Even disciples of Keynes, such as Harvard's Greg Mankiw, recently highlighted economic studies that show government spending binges -- shocks, they are sometimes called -- don't seem to help the economy grow. They might even make it worse.

-One of the studies cited by Mr. Mankiw was by two European economists (Andrew Mountford and Harald Uhlig), titled "What are the Effects of Fiscal Shocks?" It looked at big deficit-financed spending increases and found that they stimulate the economy for the first year, but "only weakly" compared with a deficit financed tax cut. The overriding problem is that the deficits crowd out private investment and, over the long run, may make the economy worse. "The resulting higher debt burdens may have long-term consequences which are far worse than the short-term increase in GDP."

-A paper by two economists, including the current chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, Olivier Blanchard, concluded that increased taxes and "increases in government spending have a strong negative effect on private investment spending."

-Roberto Perotti, an Italian economist with links to Columbia University, in "Estimating the Effects of Fiscal Policy in OECD Countries," found nothing but bad news for Keynesians. Economic growth is little changed after big increases in government spending, but there are signs of weakening private investment.

- What we all might logically intuit to be true -- spend government money, especially borrowed money, and you stimulate growth -- has long been thought to be a fallacy by some economists. That thought is now spreading. British economist William Buiter said the massive Obama fiscal stimulus proposals "are afflicted by the Keynesian fallacy on steroids."

The whole article by Terrance Corcoran follows:

Are you "shovel-ready," poised to hit the ground running, or merely desperate for cheap cash to get through the recession? If so, here's your last chance to apply to Ottawa for a piece of the massive government spending-bailout-infrastructure-stimulus operation now being prepared for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's Jan. 27 budget extravaganza.

To get you going, the National Post has created an all-purpose Stimulus Canada application document. Simply make sure your company/institution fills out the form here to get in on the action.

We're just kidding, of course, or at least we were until our satirical Stimulus Canada General Application Form was mugged by reality, which is rapidly turning out to be funnier than the fanciful idea of a government department called Stimulus Canada. To all intents and purposes, Stimulus Canada already exists.

Government money to flow, the taps are opening, deficits are no problem. The spending, as Stephen Harper said after a meeting with the premiers on Friday, will be "very significant" and there will be "very significant deficits." That could mean new spending of $20-billion and deficits of $40-billion.

Industry groups, corporate opportunists, charities, municipal politicians, arts groups, provincial premiers, tech firms, mining companies, forestry operators, banks, money lenders -- in fact, just about everybody has come forward to get in on Canada's portion of what is turning out to be a mad global government stimulus pandemic.

Each claims to have a plan or an idea that they say would produce jobs, spending, investment and activity that would get Canada through the recession and stimulate the economy.

At some point, though, the clamour of claims and calls becomes absurd, and that point looks to have been crossed the other day in the United States when porn merchant Larry Flint said the U.S. sex industry was falling on hard times, business was down 25%, and it needed a $5-billion slice of the $1.2-billion U.S. stimulus program.

And why not?

Mr. Flint has a point. It is not totally illogical for anyone to think that way. If you spend a dollar somewhere -- whether building a bridge or operating a forest company or buying a car -- it generates activity. And, after all, it's a grand old economic theory, created by John Maynard Keynes, that spending, especially government spending, rolls through the economy on a giant multiplier, piling jobs on jobs, growth on growth.

Except for one problem: What if it's not true? What if, as a wide and growing school of economists now suspect, the government spending and stimulus theory is a crock that is shovel-ready to be heaved out into the barnyard of economic waste?

The Prime Minister, in his comments on Friday, seemed to be riding right into the barnyard. He said the government would be simply "borrowing money that is not being used" and "that business is afraid to invest." By borrowing that money, and turning it over to all the groups and interests looking for part of the stimulus spending, he would be jump-starting activity while the private sector got its legs back.

Even disciples of Keynes, such as Harvard's Greg Mankiw, recently highlighted economic studies that show government spending binges -- shocks, they are sometimes called -- don't seem to help the economy grow. They might even make it worse.

One of the studies cited by Mr. Mankiw was by two European economists (Andrew Mountford and Harald Uhlig), titled "What are the Effects of Fiscal Shocks?" It looked at big deficit-financed spending increases and found that they stimulate the economy for the first year, but "only weakly" compared with a deficit financed tax cut. The overriding problem is that the deficits crowd out private investment and, over the long run, may make the economy worse. "The resulting higher debt burdens may have long-term consequences which are far worse than the short-term increase in GDP."

Two other studies point in the same direction. A paper by two economists, including the current chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, Olivier Blanchard, concluded that increased taxes and "increases in government spending have a strong negative effect on private investment spending."

Roberto Perotti, an Italian economist with links to Columbia University, in "Estimating the Effects of Fiscal Policy in OECD Countries," found nothing but bad news for Keynesians. Economic growth is little changed after big increases in government spending, but there are signs of weakening private investment.

What we all might logically intuit to be true -- spend government money, especially borrowed money, and you stimulate growth -- has long been thought to be a fallacy by some economists. That thought is now spreading. British economist William Buiter said the massive Obama fiscal stimulus proposals "are afflicted by the Keynesian fallacy on steroids."

Over at Stimulus Canada, Mr. Harper's plan looks somewhat more modest and Canada is not in the same fiscal fix as the United States. But Ottawa and the provinces are clearly ready to borrow big wads of money from the future to stimulate the economy today. It's money that is supposedly sitting out there in the timid hands of investors who will be repaid with tax dollars later.

But if that stimulus spending does not generate much fresh economic growth, and the borrowing chews up money that private investors could invest in the future, the shovel-ready brigades who get the cash today will produce only short term gains at the expense of the long term health of the economy.

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