Oh wow, Canadaians need to check this out

[lordlundar]

This is funny if it wasn't so pathetic (follow up here)

A "human rights" group called Avaaz is looking to send a petition to block the creation of a new Canadian News channel called Sun TV News (for the track record, no affiliation to the UK tabloid rag The Sun), citing it will bring “American-style hate media onto our airwaves.” (for the track record, if a Canadian news channel tried even half the stuff that Fox gets away with, it would be shut down. The press is not protected from hate speech laws north of the border)

Here's what makes it so funny:

1. It's an American Lobbyist group, located in Manhattan, with no Canadian offices, so it has no bearing on Canadian internal affairs.

2. The "petition" is signed almost entirely by Americans or fraudulent signatories (Bobba Fett and Snuffaluffagus are listed), which means that even if it was brought to Canada, would be ignored outright for not enough Canadian signatories. (It never even hit most notice in Canada until Author Margaret Atwood signed it)

3. They claim it's going to be "Fox News North" despite Fox or it's parent company not having any involvement, and the companies actually involved (TVA and Sun Media, both Canadian exclusive companies) have a particular dislike for Fox and Newscorp.

4. They mislabeled (and I think still have it wrong) Sun Media as Suncorp, which is a Canadian energy company.

5. They claim the channel is seeking mandatory carriage, while they're actually seeking mandatory access. (the difference is mandatory carriage is that is has to be distributed to every home, whether they want it or not, while mandatory access is if someone wants it, they have to be able to get it)

While I will admit that Sun Media is more conservative in their opinion pieces and editorials, they are no where NEAR the levels of extreme leaning that American "news" stations are.

So there you have it, a pack of misinformation and outright lies from an American country's leftist lobbyist group in a vain attempt to inflict their beliefs on another country. You may begin laughing now.

[Rapscallion]

I thought something was up when I saw what they were apparently doing. I know of Avaaz, since I get their newsletters. Did some digging.

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepol...ory-maybe.html

That's more of the tale.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/canada_campaign_response is Avaaz's initial response to this.

Now, I'm happy to say that I joined Avaaz a while back when there was a really good cause. I can't remember what that cause was. I've only signed that one petition. Why? I'm concerned with how the group has the potential to go. It's a bit like Amnesty on speed. It's also trying to shove middle-class western values down everyone's throats. It's created demagogues of the organisers, people who just tell the masses what to do without them having the chance to discuss things.

What does interest me about this case, though, is not just that they may have been slammed by signatures attempting to discredit them. I'm more concerned that they're probably right on this occasion.

See, I've got no problem with independently owned media having political bias. That's life.

When it's sponsored or set up by the state to give a certain political perspective, that's a state propoganda machine. The BBC has to tread a very careful line over political impartiality, and for the most part it does a good job of that. This thing looks like the party in power attempting to use the state apparatus to convince voters to vote for them again. I've not read enough about it to confirm that suspicion, but it seems that way from the little I've seen so far.

Rapscallion

[lordlundar]

Raps, Sun Media and TVA are private companies and are not seeking government funds. Avaaz is misinterpreting the "mandatory access" request which simply means that all cable companies must have it as an option, and is not eligible for government funding. (to be eligible for it, the government must have a controlling share in the company, if not an exclusive ownership)

And once again, in their public reply, they keep labeling Sun Media as "radical right" and "Fox News North" despite, by their own admission "do not yet have all the facts" (which traditionally translates to "it hurts our cause so we ignore it", a tactic that Fox News employs all to often)

Here's Avaaz's page on the Sun TV petition. There seems to be something very important missing on this matter, now what could it be? Oh yeah, proof of their claims. To date, they have made some very poisonous remarks on the situation and anyone disagreeing with their claims, but have not provided a single shred of proof.

[Rapscallion]

Interesting - thanks for the extra information.

Rapscallion