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CBC Radio Nerdz IX
February 20, 2011 - 10:03am
posting
Michael Enright lead topic this morning : women in publishing...like, where are the women magazine writers? Also an interview with Brian Deer, the investigative reporter who blew the whistle on the vaccination/autism lies...he had to learn medicine from scratch.
The Lancet was antagonistic and worked with Wakefield to discredit him from Feb. 2004, finallly recanting after British Medical study. Unfortunately, the cranks have entered the controversy, still on Wakefield's side, and still influencing parents.
Just heard that CBC's Fifth Estate did a real number on G8 arrests last week...a fellow with the prosthetic leg, his leg, walking aids and glasses taken away. He is finally offered a ride home after explaining he could not make it to the bus stop. Another fellow arrested in his wheelchair. My daughter was shaken by this, and will show me the program next week.
But we have not heard any discussion about this "out there."
Have I missed discussion about the Fifth Estate program "in here?"
On Sunday Morning, today: "Revolutions then and now," a look back at the American and French revolutions and Europe in 1848.
Rex Murphy didn't allow any pro-Tsunami advocates onto "X-Country Checkup" today.
Any grownups listening?
Gian Ghomeshi sounded as if he were trying to add some gravitas to his opening remarks this morning (Japanese people live just down the street from us on this tiny globe) by refraining from saying "Happy Monday," which is his usual, annoying, greeting.
Sunday morning's Michael Enright introduced Prof. Henry Mintzberg of McGill's management studies who dissed the corporations and their propensity to blackmail countries into lowering the corporate tax rate.
At Mintzberg.org you find this appeal to the electorate:
I have prepared this page because I believe the Canada we know is at risk. Please feel free to circulate it and replicate it on other websites, etc. By the way, I have never been a member of any political party in Canada, although one once listed me mistakenly.
This election is theatre: ignore the campaigns and the promises (which are just attempts to bribe us with our own money.) What matters is what the people who are elected can and will do. And that is best judged by what they have done.
What the Conservatives have done suggests that, with a majority, our most cherished institutions-Medicare [PDF], the CBC [PDF], others-will be threatened. As a prominent minister was overheard just after the 2006 election: "If we get a majority, they won't recognize this country."
Do not necessarily vote Liberal. Or NDP. Or Bloc. Or Green. Or Independent. If the majority of voters split their votes again, the Conservatives will go forward again. So please drop your party preference: this election is about the future of Canada. If you cherish what this country is, vote for whichever candidate in your riding has the greatest chance of beating the Conservative-in other words, the one who is ahead of these others.1 Consult the latest poll in your riding, or else see the results last time [PDF]. (See also www.Catch22campaign.ca. for information on this.)
If enough people do this, we will likely end up with a coalition government, which could well be the best solution. (Recall that cooperation of the NDP with the Liberals gave us Medicare fifty years ago.) This election has to be about the country, not about its personalities. In fact, such a coalition may well prefer as prime minister someone who is not now the leader of any of the parties.
I like how Dr. Mintzberg was allowed to comment on the folly of believing in the neoliberal economic agenda, suggesting that we'd be nuts to let Harper lead us down the path that is currently destroying the USA.
On a lighter note, the Sunday Morning piece on yodelling has inspired a few selections for tonight's show.
"Pame Sti Honolulu" anyone?
http://cfcr.ca/listen
There was no "allowing" him to comment. Enright backed Mintzberg into a corner and forced him to call the corporations' actions blackmail.
Senator Pam Wallin (who once made money pretending to be a journalist) just said on The Current that a Liberal government would "roll back tax relief to corporations."
It was like listening to Preston Manning without the squawk.
'Tax relief' = soup kitchen and bread line imagery on behalf of those impoverished corporations.
The yodelling piece made my day.
The feedback to the yodel tunes I played on my show was pretty positive, too. Yodelling is such a fun sound, like banjo music.
Hmm, well, maybe not all banjo music. Dock Boggs's sound can be rather lowdown and mean.
Pretty Polly
Anyone know what's up with all of the Liberal Party ads on CBC in Toronto recently?
I've only heard Liberal ads on CBC....Maybe Harper figures his voters aren't CBC listeners (duh) but why no NDP ads?
I do have a complaint that I hear the same ad over and over again...In 3 hours I heard the health care ad 3 time..It's a major issue for me in this election, but repeating the same thing is just going to cause people to tune out...at least run different ads in some sort of rotation
Interesting discussion on Wisconsin this morning on The Sunday Edition.
Karen Gordon is better than Jeff Douglas, though Douglas is improving in a Barbara Budd fashion.
I've been listening to CBC Windsor's morning show lately. I've been hearing clips from the Marxist-Leninist party fairly regularly on the newscasts. That's something I do not hear anywhere else. Kind of refreshing.
I once had a lengthy conversation with the then head (co-chair?) of the Ontario Communist party, ahead of the '08 election, Elizabeth Rowley. She was an interesting person. She ran in Windsor.
What does everyone think of CBC radio's election coverage?
k d lang is on Q this morning.
I sense that CBC newsroom spines are stiffening as the polls give new hope of continued life for our public broadcaster, Fp.
You mean they won't be endorsing the Conservatives?
Cross Country Checkup should be very interesting this Sunday.
Caissa, the CBC does not "endorse" anyone...how could it?
We are talking about individuals...and particularly newsrooms ..."tending" to want to preserve their asses.
Rex Murphy was a plant to assuage Conservative opinion...along with a couple or other programs and people. I'll listen to Michael Enright this Sunday morning but manage to miss that bubbling fountain of brain baffling bullshit, Rex, that afternoon.
I was being sarcastic, George. I should have added a smiley.
I'll be listening to Enright as well and the House on Saturday.
I don't care what Rex has to say. I'm interested in how the parties are planning on attacking the air time on CCC.
The House's Ms Petty also leans to the right.
And I take back my favourable review of CBC Radio 1. They are still being wormy.
Enright spoke with Amira Hass this morning. I hope people were listening.
You wouldn't hear that interview on "All hits-C95" now, would you?
I listened to most of it. Hass is intense and it came across well in the chat.
Anyone catch Brian Topp, Barry Weisleder, and Judy Rebick on The Current? I thought it was a well done bit. And I'm simply astounded that rabble isn't promoting Judy's growing presence more on the site.
One thing that Judy repeated several times was the fact that in political debate polemic, me vs you, absolutism, is really not progressive or useful. Both Topp and Weisleder sounded like they were out to score points, where Judy wanted to talk. Big difference.
The best part was when Enright, after putting down his nail file and adjusting his ascot, exhaled,"You know, I was once discussing the affairs of the world with Amos Oz, yes, that Amos Oz, and he told me the problem in Palestine was that the Israelis should man their checkpoints with older soldiers, not their youngest members."
Hass ripped into that one by saying, no, the problem is that there are checkpoints.
Who wrote this? That exchange was a thing of beauty. LOL, putting down his nail file and adjusting his ascot, lolololol!
I think every conservative group/forum, blog and organization has unleashed their braying "privatize" dogs to "freep" the CRTC on-line consultations on CBC Radio and Television licence renewals.
We all know the CBC needs fixing but if Harper takes this on-line feedback as his only measuring stick (ignoring stakeholder submissions and hearings), he will definitely move to sell the CBC and its assets. (Probably sell it for a song to Sun Media.)
Here is the link:
http://www.cbc-consultation.ca/welcome/.
Jian replayed an interview with Clarence Clemons this morning. Enjoyable!
Uh, the guy you quoted?