Dan Gardner's Ignorance

Dan Gardner has written several articles that display strong left leanings without actually telling us who he really is.


He wrote an article commenting that Republicans have no ideas, but still the Democrats won. 


He has also written an article comparing President Bush, getting information from terrorists to Mr. Assange. I was not aware that Mr. Assange was fighting any wars, were you?


Both of those articles were answered on Full Comment on the National Post website.


Here is my answer to his ignorance about why war is conducted and why it is NOT pretty, just necessary!


Dan Gardner says
"almost all its leading figures feel the near-drowning of suspects is a valid interrogation technique?"

Again Mr. Gardner expresses his high tolerance of ignorance. 

First: WE ARE at war with a military that is too cowardly to put on a uniform and hides behind women and children. 

Second: Perphaps Dan is not familiar with the concept of war. War is when you send YOUR soldiers out to KILL enemy soldiers. It 's not fun, but it's necessary to prevent being overrun by bullies, and speaking German, Russian or Chinese for the rest of your life

"ALMOST" is NOT DEAD! To save many lives, even if 1 were killed, would it not be worth it? We are not talking about policemen Dan, we are talking ENEMIES who would kill, bomb, shoot, and murder, not talk mean to you or spit in your face!

So yes "near-drowning" of not suspects but terrorists captured in a war zone is mild, and much better than the creation of public beheading videos of innocents broadcast for the world to see.

"Almost" is an interesting word. When you drive on the 401, or QEW, every moment you are ALMOST DEAD, because a slight turn of about 1" [2.54 cm] will kill you, but somehow millions do that every workday and other than high stress levels do NOT die from ALMOST! In fact I doubt that they were even thinking about how dangerous it really is when a slight turn of the wheel or a moment of inattention in heavy traffic can kill you DEAD, not just ALMOST.

So if we look at it from another point of view, would it be better to just allow the terrorists to kill more innocents, bomb more civilians, sacrifice MORE of their children and wives, and the families of others or simply make someone who is vicious enough to shoot you dead on sight, to simply be more comfortable after doing it? 

Sorry but I try to make my guests comfortable and would if necessary kill an enemy who is dedicated to killing me, or even Dan Gardner, not to make them "feel at home".

Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/12/03/dan-gardner-why-should-assange-be-punished-when-bush-goes-free/#ixzz17jrB5YRT

Canadian Media Bark up the Wrong Tree in Lebanon Ambush

Canadian Media Bark up the Wrong Tree in Lebanon Ambush August 4, 2010

View this Article Online and Discuss on Headlines and Deadlines

Dear HonestReporting Canada Subscriber, When it comes to news coverage of Mideast skirmishes and conflicts, sometimes, to quote real estate agents worldwide, the only thing that matters is "Location, Location, Location!" Yesterday's fatal exchange of fire between Lebanese soldiers and the IDF on Israel's northern border, which left one Israeli soldier dead along with four other fatalities on the Lebanese side, raised several questions concerning the integrity and accuracy of the media that covered the events. Lebanese forces admittedly opened fire on IDF soldiers performing routine maintenance work by the security fence near the border. The IDF soldiers were clearing bushes to improve the line of sight over the border and to prevent Hezbollah terrorists from hiding in the undergrowth and carrying out an attack or kidnapping. The routine work had been cleared in advance with UNIFIL, which has recently confirmed that the tree in question was in Israeli territory. It's vital to note that the UN demarcated Blue Line that marks the official border between Israel and Lebanon does not always follow the route of the security fence. While the IDF was operating over the fence, it was still within Israeli territory as seen on the map below.            When Wire Services Get it Wrong, Media Fall Down the Ugly Tree As is so often the case in any incident involving Israel, official Israeli statements were ignored in favour of Lebanese accusations that the IDF had crossed into Lebanese territory, a theme taken up by wire services like the Associated Press which had initially described the crane as being located on the Lebanese side of the border. CTV.ca and CBC.ca were two such Canadian media outlets which succumbed to incorrect captioning by AP. A CTV.ca article yesterday stated that the incident had occurred "on the Lebanese side of theborder in the southern village of Adaisseh." HonestReporting Canada notified CTV executives about this error and commendably the following amendment was immediately issued:                  CBC.ca also recognized this same photo caption error and issued an amendment for the online photo while commissioning the following correction:                It's also worth noting that both CTV.ca and CBC.ca also carried articles today reporting on the UN's claim that this incident had occurred on sovereign Israeli territory. Meanwhile, Toronto Star correspondent Olivia Ward's report was balanced and contextualized in scope, however her statement claiming that Israel was cutting trees in a nebulously-termed "buffer zone" was not: "The Israelis say they were trying to cut trees in the buffer zone along the border area - and had notified the United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL in advance - when Lebanese snipers opened fire, killing Lt.-Col. Dov Harari, and gravely wounding the platoon commander." A buffer zone sounds rather vague and may imply that Lebanon's response was mitigated or evenunderstandable. Interestingly, Ward didn't specifically cite either country's claim to the tree itself. Likewise, the Globe and Mail's account of this incident saw reporter Patrick Martin conducting verbal gymnastics to avoid conceding outright that the incident had occurred on Israeli territory. How and Why Were the Photographers There? An AP report on the incident places Ronith Daher, a Lebanese journalist at the scene. Evidently, someone from Reuters was also at the location. But why were they there in the first place taking photographs before the incident even occurred? After all, pruning foliage is hardly headline news on an ordinary day unless something out of the ordinary was expected. Was this incident a staged and pre-planned ambush as evidenced by the presence of photographers and journalists even before the exchange of fire? Were these journalists there precisely because they had advance notice of a potential flashpoint? Credit goes out to CBC correspondent Irris Makler for filing a report today on "World Report" whichacknowledged that "There was also a large number of Lebanese journalists and Israel claims they must have been alerted ahead of time to be present at this distant border region." Makler also noted that the UN's findings vindicate Israel's position, stating that this "could bolster the Israeli claim that there was a Lebanese sniper unit waiting to attack the Israeli soldiers while they were lopping trees." To listen to this report please click here. Makler also filed a similar report on CBC TV's News Now today which can be accessed here or on the image to the right. Causation Lost in Translation Listeners of last night's broadcast of the CBC Radio program "As It Happens" and readers of today'sOttawa Citizen were given the false impression that Israel had in some way provoked/instigated a Lebanese retaliation. To quote the As It Happens teaser: "When Israeli soldiers cut down trees along the border with Lebanon, tensions flare -- and five people are killed." Likewise, the Citizen featured a report today from Times of London correspondent James Hider stating that the "Latest confrontation (was) spurred by (an) Israeli attempt to cut down a tree." Of course, the reverse chronology of these statements is the truth. Namely that tensions and confrontations were "flared" / "spurred" when a Lebanese Armed Forces sniper instigated aggressive hostilities against Israeli soldiers who were cutting down trees in Israeli territory. Meanwhile, reports aired yesterday by Global National's Stuart Greer (see right) and freelancer Ben Gilbert on two CBC programs (see here andhere), along with the Globe and Mail's report today, got lost in translation for their portrayal of the location of the incident's hostilities and what brought the skirmish to a fore, as simply being boiled down to a matter of "he said/she said" between Israel and Lebanon. A Simple Narrative Ignored by the Media Many media outlets, including the BBC, have given equal or more weight to Lebanese claims surrounding the nature of the incident despite the overwhelming evidence. CNN stated that "Two separate narratives emerged about the incident." Commenting on the media coverage, particularly from the New York Times, Barry Rubin says: "The truth, however, is easy to ascertain--did Israel announce the maintenance, permit the photographers and UN people to watch and then cross deliberately into Lebanon?--but Israel is being portrayed as an aggressor that caused the outbreak of fighting. So millions of people will either believe that Israel was at fault or that the event is in question. The narrative, however, is simple: In an unprovoked attack, Lebanese soldiers fired on Israelis and murdered one soldier." In a similar vein, a staff editorial which will appear in tomorrow's National Post stated that "Not surprisingly, the event is being used as a rallying point to try to unite Lebanese disparate factionsagainst Israel. Even in the West, many of the usual suspects are simply ignoring the UN-stipulated facts and blaming Israel for what we now know was a Lebanese act of murder. From Jenin to Gaza to Lebanon, this pattern is always the same: Never let the truth get in the way of stirring up hate against the Jewish state." How You Can Make A Difference: Watch out for incorrectly captioned photos and inaccurate stories in your local media outlets and take action to secure corrections and amendments. To see how additional Canadian media outlets have reported on this incident, please see the following television, radio, print, and online media reports that have appeared in recent days: TV: CBC National brief report (Aug. 3) CBC News Network brief report (Aug. 3), CTV National Newsreport by Joanne Clancy (Aug. 3), CTV News Channel interview of Andrea Tenenti of UNIFIL, RDIreport by Luc Lapierre (Aug. 3) Radio-Canada report by Luc Lapierre (Aug. 3) Radio: CBC "World at Six" report by Irris Makler (Aug. 3), CBC "World Report" segment by Ben Gilbert (Aug. 3) Radio-Canada Radio report by Laure Stephan (Aug. 4) Print: Hamilton Spectator, Victoria Times Colonist, Calgary Herald, Le Soleil, Le Droit, Montreal Gazette (See here and here), La Presse, 24 Heures (here, and here), Edmonton Journal, Journal de Quebec (here and here), Daily Gleaner, Globe and Mail, Charlottetown Guardian, La Tribune,Kingston Whig Standard, National Post, Prince Albert Daily Herald, Le Devoir (here and here)The Telegram, Toronto/Edmonton Sun,  Moose Jaw Times, Winnipeg Sun, Vancouver Sun,Windsor Star, and the Daily Observer/North Bay Nugget/Sun Times/Recorder Times Online: Radio-Canada, Canoe (here, here, here, here, here, and here) Cyberpresse (here, here,here, here, and here) ____________________________________________________________________________ This communique was adapted fromHonestReporting.com Click on the image to the right to find out more information, to subscribe, and to take action. ____________________________________________________________________________                              View this Article Online and Discuss on Headlines and Deadlines

SLANDEROUS REMARK not appreciated

J Brean whoever you are ...


In your Things to Watch column, you are SO notably biased against evangelicals that you cannot leave out an opportunity to slam us. Who do you think you work for? The CBC?


When you refer to the proposed, rather outrageous Ugandan law to kill homosexuals and insert the phrase "and the apparent support it received from American evangelical groups" you show that IF WE WERE BLACK you would be looking for a lynch mob to hang us. Sorry but your verbal lynchings are also NOT acceptable.


Your inappropriate slanderous remark reflects more on YOUR prejudice than ANY evangelicals.


I could pick individual evangelical groups, some of which are not in favour of ANY KIND of capital punishment to those whose ministries send many individuals and millions of dollars to help people from Haiti and others around the world. More apparently, stats show that the "unevangelicals" apparently keep more of their money tight-fistedly to spend on themselves. I could cite sources if you wish. I read them in the NP as well as elsewhere.


Can you really picture the aging Billy Graham, or even the embarrassingly outspoken Pat Robertson of Operation Blessing and CBN or Rick Warren whose "Purpose-Driven" books sell in the millions around the world or many millions of the less-famous, jumping up and down for glee at the thought of  homosexuals being killed? What ivory tower do you live in? Come out the air is fine!


These American evangelicals are usually the same people who are AGAINST the accepted practice which you probably endorse of killing unborn babies, of course dressed up in harmless words like "fetuses". I have news for you, it isn't just the "feet" that are killed!


No if you picked on any group which has the earmarks of being in favour of such nonsense maybe you should look to the pro-abortionists, who more "apparently" are in favour of the murder of helpless individuals for the convenience of someone else. 


Sincerely
Charles G. Pedley BA MSED [two degrees, both above zero]
Fonthill




www.schoolgenius.com

The damage done - Anti-Vaccine Doctor Bribed by $700, 000 Offer

The damage done

Michael Fumento,  National Post 

The doctor who launched the modern anti-vaccine movement acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly," Britain's General Medical Council has ruled. But fear not. Dr. Andrew Wakefield is still a hero to his many acolytes. And others, with curious credentials, fight on to terrify parents into denying their children vaccines.

In 1998 Wakefield wrote and then vociferously hawked an article in the British medical journal Lancet linking autism to the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella). After the council's decision, Lancet retracted the article on Jan. 28. Among the facts that have come out of the inquiry into Wakefield's research is that two years before his paper appeared, lawyers seeking to sue vaccine-makers paid Wakefield the equivalent of $700,000.

 

Read the rest here
 

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2573624#ixzz0fnrG5CMb
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The H1N1 'HINEY' FIRST POLITICAL Flu

They HINEY FLU whooooppps I mean H1N1 flu has proven to be a tool of the political left in typical communist fashion. What??? The prime directive of communism was always to find a problem and fan it until it burst into flame. Then with the resulting chaos of ideas to solve the problem, the socialists step forth and give THEIR solution, more government control. Eventually as in all areas where communism had ever gained ground, rights are denied, ideas are stifled and contrary opinions are jailable offenses.

Now we have the 'HINEY' flu. Today in the National Post, Dr. Douglas Bradley stated that the REGULAR SEASONAL FLU usually kills about 64,000 people per year in the U.S. which is ONE DEATH per 4800 people. Comparing that to what has just happened as the Brazilian winter flu season has just passed where ONLY ONE DEATH PER 345,000 people occurred. The Doctor points out that these are EXCEEDINGLY LOW RATES of infection and death.

Thus in Brazil, the death rate attributed to HINEY flu was 98.6% LOWER than the normal death rate from flu! It appears that we should be MORE AFRAID EVERY YEAR from the normal seasonal flu then from this media and government-hyped flu.

And yet we have the WHO [World Health Organization - no relationship to the band of the same name] and the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION declaring we are in the middle of a pandemic. Apparently so far that PANDEMIC has NOT PANNED OUT.

Dr. Bradley points out that the irrational pandemic claims have spooked almost as many people as the original "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast. Fear is everywhere fanned by in a large part U.S. Obama administration officials and the obedient press.

Many have pointed out that Mr. Obama is in trouble politically at home, [the world has not caught on yet], by pushing too much, too hastily conceived legislation which has made his approval rates lower than any presidents in the last 60 years. Now if a pandemic is believed, then Mr. Obama can slip his socialist, radical healthcare proposals through into law while the panic ensues. A typical diversion tactic used by socialists everywhere.

Since last year when he HINEY flu was discovered, the Obama administration has been fanning the flames of pandemic panic, seemingly oblivious to the facts that this flu is LESS DEADLY than the NORMAL FLU. Many have said that this serves to obscure Mr. Obama's failing election claims to "change". As I pointed out last year BEFORE the election it is now in evidence that the ONLY CHANGE that Mr. Obama wanted to bring to Washington was him in the White House. Mr. Obama's radical socialist agenda, ignored or not investigated by the leftist liberal media thus is covered up by the fearful H1N1 flu fanned by the flaming faulty foes of truth.

As Dr. Bradley aptly points out, instead of precipitating panic, the WHO, public health officials and the pliant press SHOULD BE reassuring the population that there is LESS TO FEAR from HINEY, H1N1 than from normal seasonal flu.

Toronto Star Columnist Gives Anti-Israel Activist A Soapbox

Toronto Star Columnist Gives Anti-Israel Activist A Soapbox     By: Mike Fegelman, Executive Director   View this Article Online and Discuss on Headlines and Deadlines October 8, 2009   Dear HonestReporting Canada Subscriber, Anti-Israel activist Richard Falk (pictured) recently came to Canada on a speaking tour. Falk, the UN's "special rapporteur" on the Palestinian territories, has been described by the National Post's Jonathan Kay as an "ignorant ideologue" with "shrill opinions" having spent the past two decades building a virulently anti-Israel reputation. In a letter to the Jerusalem Post, UN Watch's Hillel Neuer wrote the following about Falk: "One with the moral compass to argue, as Falk did in 2002, that suicide bombings were the "only means still available by which to inflict sufficient harm on Israel so that the (Palestinian) struggle could go on." One with the political judgment to write, in a 1979 New York Times op-ed, that Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution "may yet provide us with a desperately-needed model of humane governance for a third-world country." One with the good sense to support - as Falk has done openly and repeatedly - conspiracy theories about the September 11, 2001 attacks. In March 2008, he told a radio interviewer that there are "a lot of grounds for suspicion" that the attacks were an inside job. In June, he called for an investigation into whether "some sort of controlled explosion from within' destroyed the Twin Towers. Finally, Falk praised "the patience, the fortitude, the courage, and the intelligence" of conspiracy theorist David Ray Griffin, to whose 2006 book, 9/11 and the American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Falk contributed a chapter." While most Canadian media outlets ignored Falk's visit, not surprisingly, Toronto Star columnist Haroon Siddiqui gave him a soapbox to inject his anti-Israel venom. Siddqui's Sept. 27 column presented Falk as a neutral, objective, and credible source, whereas he should have responsibly provided Star readers with at least some peripheral understanding of Falk's background as a discredited extremist at the UN. Siddiqui went even as far as describing Falk as a "high-profile Jewish public intellectual" and a "prolific author." This from a man who has described Israel as having "genocidal tendencies." But instead, Siddiqui repeated past allegations of Falk's claiming that Israel was committing "collective punishment" and "crimes against humanity", while quoting Falk as saying that Israel's supporters "keep shooting the messenger." Falk also perpetuated the lie that Israel, not Hamas broke the November 4 ceasefire, while endorsing boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns against Israel. In sharp contrast, a CBC TV interview on September 24 between anchor Harry Forestell and Falk on CBC Newsworld saw host Forrestel confronting Falk's baseless rhetoric. Forestell commendably contextualized Israel's security concerns and asked Falk repeatedly challenging questions instead of just giving him a pulpit to mislead Canadians into believing that Israel alone was responsible for impeding efforts to a peaceful resolution with the Palestinians. To view the entire interview click here or on the image below.                                              Here's a short transcript of part of the six-plus minute interview: Forestell: ...fundamentally what is it that is keeping these sides (Israelis/Palestinians) from sitting down and struggling to come to terms with the issues that they need to grapple with? Falk: ... Israel is not prepared to allow the Palestinians to have a viable sovereign state and they're... expanding the settlements, expelling Palestinians from East Jerusalem that make it less and less likely that a two-state solution is anything more than diplomatic rhetoric. Forestell: Surely the concern on Israel's side though is understandable that at any point in the past ten or so years when Israel has yielded some ground, opened up the door to that opportunity, the result has been rocket attacks, it has been attacks against its citizens, bombings in the street. One can understand why the Israelis would be chary of doing that again? Falk: One can understand that up to a point, but I'm afraid that the narrative, on the violence of the two sides has not really been very balanced. Israel I think has never been genuinely committed to negotiations that would produce a real peace solution based on a Palestinian sovereign state, otherwise they wouldn't continue to expand their settlements, they wouldn't have built the separation wall on Palestinian territory, they've done lots of things that are incompatible with finding a solution. Forrestell: As has Hamas, I mean what has Hamas done in the last few years that has indicated any willingness on its part to work with Israel toward mitigating the terrible situation of the people who live in Gaza? Falk: They've done several things. When they were elected in January of 2006 they established a unilateral one-year ceasefire and they maintained that even though Israel did a lot of provocative things such as assassinating several of their leaders. Then they had a temporary ceasefire in 2008 just before the Gaza war which reduced the rocket fire to zero and they've proposed extending that ceasefire for ten years. Israel refused to have any diplomatic connection with the Hamas leadership and so, I think..." Forestell: Well it's difficult to, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it has to be said that it's difficult to negotiate with a party that refuses your very existence as a state. While it's unfortunate that the CBC even gave airtime to Falk given his past statements, efforts, and troubling history, notwithstanding, anchor Harry Forestell exercised the highest standards of professional journalism by asking informed, challenging questions, instead of just giving airtime for activists to spread misinformation and lies. Haroon Siddiqui could learn a thing or two from Harry Forestell. TAKE ACTION NOW: Please send your considered comments to the Toronto Star pointing out Haroon Siddiqui's disingenuous attempt to present a virulent anti-Israel activist as a credible and objective source. Please refer to Siddqui's Sept. 27 column entitled: "Israel keeps shooting the messenger" and send sophisticated, articulate, and non-accusatory letters to: lettertoed@thestar.ca. Please send your letters in your own words and limit them to under 200 words. HRC OP-ED PRINTED IN LE DROIT Bias by omission is one of the most frequent and insidious forms of media bias. By choosing to report certain information over others, the media controls access to information and manipulates public sentiment. This type of bias can occur either within a story, or over a prolonged period of time as a particular news outlet reports one perspective and leaves out another. When it comes to media coverage of Israel, bias by omission often occurs when media outlets neglect to mention the causal factors which lead to the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. A Patrice Gaudreault article (read here in French or English), which appeared in the August 31 edition of the French newspaper Le Droit, attempted to document the observations of BQ MP Richard Nadeau after his trip to the Gaza Strip a few short weeks ago. However, the article was marred by many serious omissions which rendered it incomplete thereby misleading Le Droit readers. Typical charges of "Israeli apartheid" and Gaza being the "world's largest open-air prison" went unchallenged. Nadeau was given a soapbox to attack Israel without challenge and without having any historical context given to the conflict. For example, the article failed to contextualize the reason for both the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip and the crucial background information explaining the cause of Israel's Operation Cast Lead this past January. The resulting effect of these omissions saw the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict presented as if it had occurred in a vacuum, leaving Le Droit readers with the impression that the State of Israel is an unrepentant aggressor seeking the destruction of its Gazan neighbours. After HonestReporting Canada brought our concerns to the attention of senior editors at Le Droit, they agreed to print an op-ed submitted by HRC staff pointing out some of the many deficiencies of this report. To read the op-ed as it was printed in the Sept. 26 edition of Le Droit, please click here to read the French version or click here to read the English translation.                 RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: BUYCOTT ISRAEL Are you fed up with calls to boycott Israeli goods and services like the attempt to stop Mountain Equipment Co-op from using Israeli suppliers, or the campaign against showcasing Tel Aviv at the Toronto International Film Festival? Want to do something about it? Now you can. Sign up for BUYCOTT ALERTS today. Buycott Israel is a joint project under the coordination of the Canada-Israel Committee, which aims to support Israel by encouraging the purchase of products and services from Israel. Purchasing Israeli-made merchandise is a great way to send a positive message. Buycott Israel will also help you to combat boycott and/or divestment campaigns against Israel by alerting you and giving you the necessary tools to fight back against BDS campaigns. HonestReporting Canada encourages you to visit the Buycott Israel website today and sign up to join this important campaign. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________               Toronto Office: P.O. Box 6, Station Q Toronto, Ontario M4T 2L7 Montreal Office: P.O. Box 42508, Succursale Snowdon Montreal, Quebec H3W 3H7 Office: (416) 915-9157 E-mail: info@honestreporting.ca Web: www.honestreporting.ca

John Moore's area of Expertise

[Written to John Moore after he wrote an article in the National Post called "Suzanne Somers: Bimbo MD. ]

John
Usually I find myself disagreeing with your articles in the National Post when they are in the area of climate change especially which does not exactly seem to be in your area of expertise.

However since I criticize, I must also congratulate you on your article about Suzanne Somers Bimbo MD. This is an area which you obviously know something about and it goes a long way to debunk the myth of Hollywood gods and goddesses who know everything. Clearly they live in a world of fantasy and make-believe and often delude themselves into thinking that they know more than the average person which is a hyperbole beyond scope.

Congratulations on the great article. I hope you write more on this area especially as it applies to Whoopie Goldberg, Roman Polanski, Michael Moore and their ilk.

But please John, would you actually READ the National Post articles on climate change before you even think of writing another article on the topic? That is NOT your area of expertise or research, but knowing about celebrities ruses, except for Al Gore and David Suzuki, obviously is.

Keep up the good work [which of course does not apply to 'Gore-ball' warming] (:-)

Sincerely,

Charles G. Pedley
===========================
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