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.
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.
Belafon
How are Republicans supposed to get more people to the polls if they can’t get people scared over
ebolathe shooting in Ottawa?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.
Trollhattan
You can tell CNN is American because they use bullet points.
I’ll be here all week.
Shirt
@Belafon: That’s how we know Obama was responsible.
Trollhattan
Also, too, did not see this coming.
The Moar You Know
Canada has laws about how their media conduct themselves. Yes, it makes for boring, no drama TV.
We should too.
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.
burnspbesq
@Trollhattan:
The verdict is a little screwy. One guy premeditated, but the other three didnt?
tesslibrarian
On the Media has a Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook on their site.
Tip #4: There is almost never a second gunman.
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.
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.
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.
HR Progressive
Our Failed Media Experiment tag is missing, btw.
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.
Omnes Omnibus
@burnspbesq: The top count for three of them was voluntary manslaughter.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
I don’t know. The second word in that CBC story is “brazen.” That’s awfully over the top.
Trinity
Ugh. CNN is disgusting. Seriously.
I wish they were ashamed.
Villago Delenda Est
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): In the US, it would be. Business as usual in the land of free-dumb. In Canada, where this shit rarely happens, it’s appropriate.
Elizabelle
@beer time somewhere:
When they got to French, I thought “we have two media languages in our country too. English and Wingnut.”
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.
Dennis
TERRIFIED CAPITAL is just the name of the font they used.
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.
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.
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.
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
JDM
The CBC is one of the better sources for US presidential election coverage, too.
SatanicPanic
@Dennis: Lol, well done, well done
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.
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!
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:
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:
Which given the usual credibility factor of that site is virtually a sure-thing bet that nothing will happen….
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.
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.
Elizabelle
NYTimes reader comment, from Petrocelli’s fellow Canadian, a few minutes ago:
Not a Foxbot.
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”.
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.
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.
beltane
In the days of analog TV, I used to get CBC. Their coverage of the Olympics was always wonderful.
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.
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.
JustRuss
@Trollhattan:
For fux sake, can we just call them mercenaries and stop with the damn euphemisms?
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.
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.
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.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I am reminded of Norway’s response to the terrible killing spree where so many children were murdered.
WaterGirl
@JustRuss:
YES! Please.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl:
How is it that the cold countries are so much further advanced?
SiubhanDuinne
Speaking of the CBC coverage vs. CNN, MSNBC, and the like, it’s worth taking a look at this short take from Charlie Pierce.
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!!!
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.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne:
One needs a napkin, or even an adult diaper, to deal with Tweety. He’s a messy sort.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I think it has something to do with sanity, though I do not understand the relationship between sanity and cold weather.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Wisconsin and Minnesota are cold, but we have crazy people.
EthylEster
FPer wrote:
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).
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..
Omnes Omnibus
@Elie: We?
Elie
@Omnes Omnibus:
Collectively – yes – WE… and that is how the outside world sees US. WE
(sad to say — wish it were not so)
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).
...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.