'Reporting' today is simply a note-perfect parrot-squawk of State-approved storylines
An editor-in-chief infamous for, shall we say, whimsy once decreed no opening sentence of any news story could exceed 21 words. The impromptu commandment unleashed a newsroom tizzy equivalent to what might have erupted if an exotic dancer had walked in bearing a burlap bag full of ferrets and released them during her performance. The…
A growing number of Cubans are beginning to see through their government's lies. Why don't Canadians?
Canadians have travelled to Cuba as a vacation spot for decades. I doubt most of them ever considered that these excursions have aided its communist government in political and economic terms. CBC News senior reporter Evan Dyer recently pointed out this disturbing fact. “Cuban-Canadian activists say many Canadians are not aware of the extent to…
Is it ethical to frighten people for the 'greater good'?
Long before David Attenborough brought his soothing voice to the explication of animal behaviour for the BBC Life series, the North American television public had been introduced to the majesty and oddities of the natural world through Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. I remember lying on my stomach in my grandparent’s living room watching programs…
There is a growing comfort in institutional journalism to follow rather than question
Warning lights should always flash before our eyes whenever journalists mix raw numbers and percolating percentages in the same paragraph. Numbers clearly state actuality. Percentages are the ups and downs of context. Regardless of the axiom attributed to Stalin that one death is a tragedy and a million is a statistic, if two people die,…
What we need is well-informed, critical and rational thought, combined with a healthy skepticism of politicians and mainstream media
Coronaphobia may not have entered our official vocabulary but it deserves to. Virus fears have affected public policy and our daily lives. The condition is held by a great number of people. It’s understandable why the elderly and immunosuppressed are worried. What is less understandable, and more ironic, is how many coronaphobics are on the…
China is effectively playing the victim card
If there’s one thing we’ve learned throughout this pandemic, it’s how the science related to the virus can be constantly politicized. And to change COVID-19’s origin story, that’s exactly what China is doing. Many are talking about vaccine nationalism, with concerns that some nations are racing to access as many vaccines as possible. It’s disappointing,…
The methods of a former KGB operative remain applicable in the modern era, leading to disinformation and outright lies
“I cannot but wonder why are people pushing for socialism and communism?” an elderly friend wrote on Facebook. “Are they that misinformed and believing it?” If we concede the answer is “Yes,” the next question is “Why?” The late Yuri Bezmenov, a former KGB operative with the RIA Novosti press agency, had some answers. One…
Roosevelt was much sicker than anyone let on during the election campaign. In fact, he died just a few months into his new term
A few days ago, a Toronto radio newscaster used the word “unprecedented” while describing the drama around U.S. President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis. And it’s true. No previous election had such a story just weeks before going to the polls. That’s because 2020 is a more transparent world. In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt – the…
Unfortunately, some Canadians have come to believe some of the false claims coming out of China
As the number of COVID-19 cases reach new heights, China is jubilant. In the country where the pandemic began less than a year ago, there have been 91,000 cases of COVID-19 recorded, with about 4,800 deaths. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) also tells us that China has conducted more than 160 million tests,…
He’s become the Rodney Dangerfield of Canadian politics: no respect at all
Picture this imaginary scene. In a dark corner of dank Rideau Cottage sits Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He’s resting comfortably in an old armchair, thinking about his future – and what he might wear to his next costume party, one assumes. His political honeymoon ended what seems like several lifetimes ago. His role as a…