Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Peak wingnut was a lie.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

Consistently wrong since 2002

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

The Supreme Court is corrupt. Democrats must win in November and force court reform.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

No one could have predicted…

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Sad Day for Canada

Sad Day for Canada

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ottawa-shooting22nw31
A soldier guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier in Ottawa was shot dead today. Then, apparently, the shooter entered the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings and was reportedly shot by this guy, Kevin Vickers, the Sergeant at Arms of the Canadian Parliament. That story is worth a click just to read an impressive bio that embodies the best of Canada, no matter if Vickers was a “hero” today.

I’ve been watching the CBC coverage off and on, and man is it sensible. There’s a bunch of blah blah blah as is usual for any live reporting, but nothing about terrorist conspiracies or any other hysteria. Peter Mansbridge, the CBC anchor, is giving continuous, calm re-caps. The whole event was a shitshow because of concerns about a second gunman, due to the usual bunch of conflicting reports around every unfolding story, but the CBC reporters did their jobs. On CBC, facts are being conveyed. Theories are being discussed, but bullshit is being tamped down. It’s sad but not maudlin. Compare and contrast, CBC then CNN.
reason
hysteria

Reader Interactions

60Comments

  1. 1.

    Epicurus

    You are comparing apples to oranges here. CBC=an actual journalistic organization. CNN=Fox Lite. My sympathies to our Canadian neighbors; it would appear some of our home-grown disease (Gotta Use My Gun) has infected them. I hope they are able to contain the epidemic.

  2. 2.

    Belafon

    How are Republicans supposed to get more people to the polls if they can’t get people scared over ebola the shooting in Ottawa?

  3. 3.

    FlipYrWhig

    The CNN headline is CLEARLY supposed to make you think at first it was the U.S. capital or Capitol. Bunch of gutter-dwelling scum-suckers running that outfit.

  6. 6.

    Trollhattan

    Also, too, did not see this coming.

    A US federal jury has found four Blackwater security guards guilty of killing 14 Iraqis in a square in Baghdad in 2007. One former guard was found guilty of murder with three others guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

    A further 17 Iraqis were injured as the private contractors opened fire to clear the way for a US convoy.

    The shootings sparked international outrage and a debate over the role of defence contractors in warfare. Prosecutors said the Blackwater guards had harboured deep hostility toward Iraqis and boasted of firing their weapons indiscriminately.

    Nicholas Slatten was found guilty of murder while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were found guilty of at least three charges of voluntary manslaughter and also face gun charges.

    –BBC

  7. 7.

    The Moar You Know

    Canada has laws about how their media conduct themselves. Yes, it makes for boring, no drama TV.

    We should too.

  8. 8.

    Russ

    I watch CBC News every morning, Heather Hiscox and the whole team do a great job. CBC is golf overage compared to the pro wrestling at CNN.

  11. 11.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The vile filth of the Village could learn from the CBC’s coverage.

    But they won’t. Which is why my nym.

  12. 12.

    Tree With Water

    Consortium news wrote the following in a story about Gary Webb, a journalist betrayed by his professional peers:

    “In the old days, the journalistic goal was to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” but the new rule appears to be: “any standard of proof works when condemning the weak or the despised but you need unachievable ‘extraordinary proof’ if you’re writing about the strong and the politically popular.”

    America’s corporate media is worse than useless, it is a cancer within our body politic.

  13. 13.

    beer time somewhere

    When the press conference went from English to French with each person, I flipped over to CNN to see how they would handle it.
    Aaaaannnnnnd here comes the talking heads.

  15. 15.

    Felanius Kootea

    @Tree With Water: I saw “Kill the Messenger” last week and it only reinforced for me how dangerous the Washington Post is and how useless the other media outlets can be.

  17. 17.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    I don’t know. The second word in that CBC story is “brazen.” That’s awfully over the top.

  21. 21.

    karen

    Thank G-d for Shepard Smith on Fox (I was watching Judge Judy). He’s explaining what Obama said and stressing that Obama said that they’re not yet sure of what’s been happening in Canada for the past week. And he basically deflated the Ebola overreacting.
    I admit I don’t know everything about Canada but I think this kind of violence is not the norm there. I really hope that it wasn’t a terrorist group like ISIS because if it is, we’ll get more paranoid and Canada might as well.

  23. 23.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @karen: Well, was it some white guy? White guys cannot be terrorists, you know. They’re usually “lone wolves” no matter if they are among the members of some whackaloon wingtard militia with a stated mission of overthrowing ZOG.

    To be a terrorist, you have to be dusky, at the very least, and preferably Muslim as well.

  24. 24.

    Svensker

    Trust me, the wingnut radio stations in Canukistan are going bonkers. A GOOD GUY WITH A GUN!!!! killed the turrist. And, no, they are not waiting to call it a terrorist attack.

    I’m ready for a desert island, no internet.

  25. 25.

    esc

    I used a VPN to watch the CBC Olympic coverage earlier this year since the American coverage is locked down if you aren’t a cable subscriber. It was uniformly wonderful.

  26. 26.

    mai naem mobile

    I know its a little too early for this but is this good news for Canadian Ted Cruz? Also too, the first thought in my head was how this truly was going to be for all the Canadian neocons who seem to infest our media. e.g mort zuckerman and david frum

  29. 29.

    fubar

    CBC is the Canadian national pulic broadcaster. Generally fair, open, and reporting facts / evidence. That is why the current government under Stephen Harper is trying it’s best to get rid of it. Because nothing says good governance like politicians treating the fith estate as the enemy.

  30. 30.

    karen

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    I always wondered what they mean with “dusky.” The sky becomes kind of violet and purply.

    I got it. They hate purple people! Time to get the One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eaters!

  31. 31.

    Elizabelle

    @Felanius Kootea:

    Did any other Balloon Juicers see “Kill the Messenger”? Still in theatres, and a way interesting flick. Spend the bucks and give some love to the filmmakers and star/producer Jeremy Renner (who was excellent in it.)

    Al Giordano of Narco News put up recent links about Gary Webb.

    Hollywood’s Gary Webb Movie and the Message that Big Media Couldn’t Kill

    and, from his most recent blogpost:

    Our late friend and colleague Gary Webb (1955-2004) and his investigative reporting will hit the silver screen in the premier of “Kill the Messenger,” coming to cinemas throughout the US and Canada on Friday and in some places Thursday night. In the coming weeks and months it will go international. Gary was a cofounder and professor of the School of Authentic Journalism and an editor of Narco News before his death. Actor and producer Jeremy Renner portrays Gary’s work in 1996 when his Dark Alliance series exposed US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) complicity with cocaine trafficking from Central America to the streets of the United States. The movie recalls how the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post maliciously and unfairly attacked Gary for doing what journalists are supposed to do: tell the truth.

  32. 32.

    Jay C

    Well, I think I can safely guess that the Ottawa shootings will probably not have much of an impact, or prove (as these things often do) to be way less than meets the eye: Newsmax is showing the blurb:

    Dick Morris: Canada Shooting Will Impact Midterms

    Which given the usual credibility factor of that site is virtually a sure-thing bet that nothing will happen….

  33. 33.

    Petrocelli

    It’s not just CBC, our radio stations up here have been deluged with callers blaming Islamic extremists, calling for martial law, herding all brown people in for questioning, etc. The Radio hosts have been calm and enlightening, countering with clear, level headed remarks. I’m even more proud of being Canadian today.

  34. 34.

    Elizabelle

    @Petrocelli:

    I am proud of you and your fellow Canadians too.

    And how sad the loss of the soldier. I hope he did not suffer. His family and loved ones and countrymen are in my thoughts.

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    NYTimes reader comment, from Petrocelli’s fellow Canadian, a few minutes ago:

    Mike Sumners Toronto, Ontario 2 minutes ago
    To all of the Americans who have posted their best wishes and their sympathy here, I say “thank you”!

    The civilized world will not be intimidated by mentally deranged, morally destitute religious nuts. We will pause to mourn our dead but we will not give in to fear. If we give in to fear, they have won.
    Perhaps the attacks we’ve witnessed can best be addressed through improved mental health care; given the nature of the ideology in question this might be the best path to pursue.

    At any rate, I just want to say thanks to our American cousins!

    Not a Foxbot.

  36. 36.

    Kathleen

    @Felanius Kootea: And the mainslime media still can’t let it go. LA Times, NY Times and WAPO demonized him in their obits. Interestingly enough, an LA Times staffer admitted the paper had piled on Webb and he apologized for his role in that.

    Also, too, I wholeheartedly concur with what everyone else has said about the media.

    A tad OT, but the Today show this morning referred to Bill O’Reilly as its “friend” (he was interviewed by Matt Lauer about a new “book”.

  37. 37.

    Kathleen

    @Elizabelle: Elizabelle I saw the movie also and thought Renner was terrific, A former co-worker of his from the Kentucky Post (Webb worked there for awhile in the 70’s) said Renner’s portrayal was spot on.

  38. 38.

    GregB

    The tabloidization of the mainstream media is complete.

    I noticed yesterday when Ronan Farrow was interviewing Malala Yousefzai and he claimed that Malala “went for the jugular” by criticizing President Obama about drone strikes. Totally hyperbolic, inappropriate and also a likely totally useless metaphor with a 15 year old Afghani girl.

    Enough with being cute and dramatic and enough with the Rupert Murdoch tabloid blood lust.

  39. 39.

    beltane

    In the days of analog TV, I used to get CBC. Their coverage of the Olympics was always wonderful.

  40. 40.

    beltane

    @GregB: It’s a bit of a shock that Malala wasn’t asked for her opinion on Renee Zellweger’s face. I’m sure this oversight will not be repeated.

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    While I was in the car early this afternoon, I listened to a bit of CNN audio and a bit of MSNBC audio.

    The first thing that struck me was how strange it was to hear anything at all whatsoever about Canada on US news channels. Pity it took the day’s tragic events to get them to acknowledge that there’s another North American country.

    But what truly surprised me was that MSNBC was actually worse than CNN, at least during the brief period I was listening. Speculation about the number of shooters, number of injured or dead, and shooter’s (or shooters’) affiliations and motives. Breathless announcement that “NORAD is on heightened alert!!” Equally breathless announcement that “the NYPD has increased its security presence at the Canadian Consulate inNew York!!” CNN was awful, true, but was still better by contrast.

  42. 42.

    JustRuss

    @Trollhattan:

    The shootings sparked international outrage and a debate over the role of defence contractors in warfare

    For fux sake, can we just call them mercenaries and stop with the damn euphemisms?

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    @Kathleen:

    Did not know about the Kentucky Post.

    I liked the portrayal of Webb as a devoted family man who was still “out there” and an iconoclast. Interesting to think of someone supporting a family on a (non-buckraker) reporter’s salary today.

    Made great points about the craven careerism of the media, and this was 20 years ago. So much worse today.

  44. 44.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Peace to you. I know you have many Canadian friends and contacts.

    Somehow, I think our neighbor to the north is smarter than we are and will not draw the wrong lesson from this sad episode.

    I hope so, anyway.

  45. 45.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    Thank you. It was rather surreal watching my Facebook turn into a veritable blizzard of notes from friends in Ottawa just letting their friends and families know that they were safe.

    I normally wear a poppy from November 1st through Remembrance Day. I’m wearing it early this year in remembrance of the two Canadian soldiers who were senselessly killed this week.

  50. 50.

    Elie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I agree MSNBC was actually worse than CNN. Tweety kept saying “We were worried about terra here in the northern hemisphere and now with elections coming up..” LIKE the US and Canada are the same country and our elections are somehow related… Both he and the moron on CNN made wild associations and links between every possible terra episode and today’s events — all wildly speculative of course because they HAVE NO FACTS. Its just a matter of time before Obama is brought into the causality of all this terra.

    I truly hate these people and what they have turned us into — a bunch of whiny scairdy cats always looking for the next boogie man. WE HAVE CELLS HERE IN THE US… THEY ARE COMING OVER HERE WITH EBOLA!!! WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!

  51. 51.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elie:

    I deliberately didn’t listen to Tweety. Even on the best of days he annoys the fuck out of me, and after the emotional wringer of today I just didn’t think I could take him. I judge by your report that I made the right decision :-)

    I think it was Ronan Farrow I heard frothing at the mouth earlier today on MSNBC. (I admit, I do not understand why there is such a thing as Ronan Farrow in the first place. Not him personally — I’m sure he’s a delightful young man — but why his lame program lasted more than about a fortnight.) At the same time on CNN, the host I heard was a woman who is actually Canadian, whose name escapes me, and she brought some actual facts to the discussion.

  55. 55.

    EthylEster

    FPer wrote:

    I’ve been watching the CBC coverage off and on, and man is it sensible.

    Yeah, this is where I got my Sept 11 coverage and where I have watched the last 3 olympics. They do NOT suck. This is one of the best aspects of living in Seattle. COMCAST carries CBC here even in their most basic package. I have also become a hockey fan because of CBC (but still do not like Don Cherry).

  56. 56.

    Elie

    All they say over and over is “how afraid” Americans are– how scary, how vulnerable…

    Really?

    A nation of shaking, fearful and angry people.. we shoot anything that moves (esp if it is brown or black). Most of all, despite all our wishes for barriers and bans, nothing – NOTHING brings us comfort or security.. We have no mercy or kindness left — only the instinct to run and to shoot anything around us that moves..

  59. 59.

    Don K

    Living in the Detroit area, channel 9 CBC Windsor has been an oasis of calm amid the media frenzy since I moved here in 78. Peter Mansbridge is a national treasure for Canada; a Walter Cronkite for our time. CBC Olympic coverage (in the years when they outbid CTV) is much better than NBC, although they spend way too much time on the Canadian ski team.

    Condolences to our neighbors to the south (look at a map of the Detroit area).

  60. 60.

    ...now I try to be amused

    Watching some video taken on Parliament Hill on the CBC website, I was struck by the fact that in this highly stressful situation all the Canadian police officers were polite. “For your own safety, please go to the other side of the street. Thank you.” I’ll bet it was training as much as inclination. If only American cops were more like that.

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