Um, I dunno about that. There are worse. Yet Keith Olbermann thinks REF takes the gateau.

The U.S. television personality and political pundit mocked Mr. Ford on the “Worst Person in the World” feature of his CurrentTV show, which aired Oct. 28.

“The new conservative executive [of Toronto] has had a rough start, but never was it rougher than Monday,” Mr. Olbermann said.

But in the WORLD?

Maybe in Toronto. Or in Ontario. Or even Canada when Harper and his Cabinet are out of the country…

Naw, what about Robert Effing Mugabe? Kim Effing Jong-Il? Mahmoud Effing Ahmadinejad? Glenn Effing Beck? Sarah Effing Palin?

They’re worse, I’d wager. REF might be in the top ten though…

Here’s the vid:

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… so Levant and the rest of those pseudo-journos should shut their hypocritical traps about the CBC.

Nice to see the MotherCorp fight back.

Get The Facts

October 19, 2011

What Quebecor won’t tell you about its attacks on the public broadcaster

For more than three years, Quebecor has been using its newspapers, and more recently, its SunNews Network TV license to pursue a campaign against CBC/Radio-Canada. But there are some things Quebecor won’t tell you:

• Quebecor has received more than half a billion dollars in direct and indirect subsidies and benefits from Canadian taxpayers over the past three years, yet it is not accountable to them.
• Quebecor uses this public subsidy and its dominant position in protected industries to make record profits yet complains that its TVA television network “competes” against Radio-Canada.
• Quebecor boss Pierre Karl Péladeau has sent over a dozen letters to the Prime Minister and others in government to complain that Radio-Canada does not spend enough money advertising in his newspapers.

Quebecor says we’re not accountable. They’re wrong.

• We report to Parliament through our Corporate Plan, Annual Report and Committee appearances.
• We report to the CRTC through regulatory filings and license renewals;
• We report to the Auditor General of Canada who reviews our books every year and who conducts a special audit every five to ten years;
• We report to the Board of Directors, which is appointed by government to ensure that the Corporation manages its resources effectively.
• We report to Canadians through the posting on our website of the cost of meals, flights, and hotels. We also post details of audits, Board meetings, quarterly financial reports, and over 27,000 pages of information released under ATI. See for yourself here.

Quebecor says we shouldn’t go to court to protect journalistic sources or program strategies. Why?

• We, and the Information Commissioner, are trying to clarify the rules which protect “journalistic, programming, and creative activities”. This is the proper thing to do.
• In fact, government departments and Ministers have gone to court more than 180 times with the Information Commissioner to clarify Access to Information issues.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Why is it that when things are a little quiet on the political front, the extreme rightists feel the need to string up the CBC like a piñata and wail away on it like a sugared-up 7-year-old? Are they really that angry??? Have they nothing more deserving toward which to direct their fury?

Seriously, this manhandling of the poor old MotherCorp pops up every few weeks or so in the Twitterverse and the right-wing blogoverse. They won the election, right? They and the talking yabs on the Hill can pretty much do what they want to the CBC – and they likely will in order to throw a proverbial bone to their base. So why the constant abuse?

Me, I think there’s a bit of broadcaster envy going down here. The über right has seen the best that they can do with the Ezra and Spun News thing and are a tad embarrassed. So what better response than a good swing of the stick with an awesome follow through, eh? It’s the CPC Way!

==================================================================================

High level baseball back to Ottawa? This story has been brewing for a while now, so it may have some truth behind it…

An Ottawa Councillor has been actively trying to get a Double A baseball franchise relocated to the stadium on Coventry Road.

I hope it works but a part of me wonders why bother? Ottawa couldn’t support a Triple A franchise (The Lynx) and they left town, so what’s different this time???

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

When you piss me off, I’ll tend to ignore you. Been like that since I was a kid and haven’t changed much. This applies to social media like Twitter, Facebook or my this blog. There are lines in the sand that, if crossed, will cause me to send you to an electronic Elba.

If you insist on tossing f-bombs and personal attacks at me, I’ll block you / unfriend you.  If you throw out an incredibly stupid statement and I come back at ya and call you on it… but hear nothing back.. *poof* *gone*. Say anything racist or hateful… gonzo…

I mention this as I have had to block a few folks on Twitter lately. I have no problem with you having issues with what I say, re-Tweet, etc., but be prepared to be civil. K?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Holy chemical-laden bus interior, Batman! That’s twice this month when someone has plunked down close to me smelling of mothballs! I KNOW peeps are pulling out winter woolies, but can’t ya wash ‘em before wearing ‘em? I don’t walk around covered in Round-up, so YOU shouldn’t be prancing your pesticides around wither!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sooo… it looks as though the world isn’t going to end anytime soon... at least not as a result of being hit by that “Doomsday” comet that some folks have been fretting about…

One theory claimed Elenin would set off havoc on Earth after aligning with other heavenly bodies, spurring massive earthquakes and tsunamis. Another held that Elenin was not a comet at all, but in fact a rogue planet called Nibiru that would bring about the end times on Earth. After all, the comet’s name could be taken as a spooky acronym: “Extinction-Level Event: Nibiru Is Nigh.”

Those ideas were pure nonsense, Yeomans said.

“Elenin was a second-rate, wimpy little comet that never should have been noted for anything, really,” he told SPACE.com. “It was not even a bright one.”

Wimpy comet! Go home to your Momma!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Wow. They’re lined up at the Rideau Centre for the new iPhone. And have been all night, it seems.

Um. Why? Nothing better to do? I have a garage that needs cleaning, if you have some time? I mean, c’mon people! I want to upgrade from my 3s to the new 4s too! But I sure as hell am NOT gonna line up for it overnight! It’s not like Springsteen or U2 tickets are at stake! Sheesh!

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

The Heritage robot, James Moore, has said that the CBC isn’t immune to Strategic and Operating Review cuts – and this has the Twittersphere et al squawking mightily.

While I do strongly support the MotherCorp, I don’t see any reason why it should be immune from the same review that my and all government Departments are going through right now. The Harperites are going to put everyone through mucho pain as they fight the deficit that they created on the back of the Public Service… just like Paul Martin did.

I do fear, however, that these cuts to the CBC will be the thin edge of the wedge. The Cons have no love for Canada’s public broadcaster and if they see a opportunity to slash and burn something that in their small minds is a socialist mouthpiece, they will do so.  Though, after Mansbridge’s lob-ball “interview” with Our Dear Leader during the last election, I have no idea why they still think the CBC is full of pinkos!

But still,  should the Corp be exempt from any cuts? No way.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

The CBC license approval has been delayed by the CRTC.

My spin, for what it’s worth: this gives the Cons some time to spin the benefits of privatizing / gutting the MotherCorp. Mark my words.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… or at least Ottawa Morning. The banal banter is becoming too much to take at 5:30ish.

And you know what has been bugging me most of all lately? Each day, The topic du jour seems to have something to do with pets…dogs in particular.

Alert! If you a “dog-lover”, then this is fair warning that you will not like anything that I write from this point onward!

Anyone who knows me at all will know that I’m not really a pet-lover, in general, and am especially not fond of dogs. I have a thousand reasons why and I’m not going to go into it here. Trying to explain my feelings about dogs to dog lovers is akin to explaining my feelings about Catholicism to a believer. It is just a frustrating experience for all involved.

Anyways…

So the folks on CBC have been going on and on over the past several months about how super-duper it is to be a dog owner. What kind of training is best. Advice on how to choose a dog from the pound. There was even much fawning over someone who owns a spa for canines. Yes. A spa. Guess P. T. Barnum was dead on, eh?

But one thing that irks me most about dogs are not the critters themselves, but their owners. Yeah, the dogs smell like hell, leave their excrement hither and yon, deposit their hair wherever they please, cost a fortune in vet bills, track mud into the house, slobber, try to get up close and personal with any human leg they can find, cause my allergies to flare up and face it – most of them are as dumb as a post.

But the owners? Especially those who think that everyone in the world loves their beast as much as they do? Well, they take the proverbial gateau!

Case in point. I’m walking to my bus stop yesterday when dude with dog approaches me on the sidewalk. As they approach said dog starts doing the hokey-pokey as if it’s glad to see me.  We meet and the guy and his dog actually stop as if I am supposed to bend down and pet the damned thing.

Of course, I just keep walking. And from behind me I hear this “Harummph! Well, I still love you Pooky” (or some equally inane name). The guy was really put out that I didn’t stop, scratch the flea-bitten beast behind its ears while uttering inanities like “oooo.. aren’t you the cute one…”

Blech.

Look. I get that some otherwise normal peeps dig dogs. And some dogs are really useful – like guide dogs, canine cops and farm dogs.  They are also a source of comfort for the ill, the elderly and those with mental illness. I’m not dissing the whole species and I most certainly would never ever harm one of the slobbering, sniffing fools.

But if you see me on the street, and you’re walking you pet, don’t expect me to pet it.

And Ottawa Morning? Stop the fluffy chatter about dogs! You’re turning this listener off! And you’re starting to sound like these kooks!

Gimme people any day. Even conservatives. At least they don’t pant and drool and sometimes have something to contribute to society…

Well, most of them… but…. not all of them…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

One of the few TV shows I’ll watch if I happen to be parked in front of the idiot box and it happens to be on is Dragons Den. Dunno why, but I find it entertaining. But news emerged yesterday that my fave Dragon, Brett Wilson, won’t be returning next season. Seems that the MotherCorp and Mr. Wilson are at odds over something. Probably money.  Too bad – he was the compassionate and understanding one on the show. Who will they replace him with? Maybe this guy:

The Toronto Maple Leafs – playoff bound. Deal with it. Great win over the hated Habs last night.  But that was apparently not due to a game well-played but attributable to due to my Hab-loving brother-in-law forgetting to read the Montreal-win-guaranteeing bedtime story to my niece last night. Thanks Steve!

Gas prices. They suck, don’t they. A buck 20 here in Ottawa. This time the excuse is the unrest in Libya. But really, can’t anything be twisted by the oil companies to justify higher prices? Just for fun, I’ve listed a few more high price justifications that Big Oil might want to add to their list for future use.

• Rabid bats swoop in on the National Cheesemakers Association annual picnic.
• 15% increase in taxi fares in Bogota
• A whooping crane is sighted in Parry Sound
• Vladimir Putin is photographed riding a horse while bare-chested
• Muammar Ghadaffi gets a haircut
• John Baird shows signs of civility

Speaking of Ghadaffi, I wonder how long he’ll be able to hold on to power. Anyone want to start a pool?

Looks like the ReformCons might be paying a wee bit for the whole lying thing. Then again, maybe not. I’m starting to lose complete faith in the judgement of many of my fellow Canadians.

OC Transpo? ATU? Don’t you dare!

Private property rights to be enshrined in the Constiution? You betcha, if two Con pols have their way. But really, isn’t this just a little publicity stunt? It is certainly something that Randy “stay of my land, gub-er-ment… oh wait, I AM gub-er-ment now” Hillier is familiar with.

But what the hell, why not? And why you’re add it boys, why not add an amendment that allows for the elimination of Ontario’s separate school system! Now THAT would be progress!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…and the MotherCorp should come to grips with the fact that Grapes should be shown the gate to the bench.

I know this won’t make me popular with the Timmies crowd out there (no insult intended to those of you who like that swill, but you can’t help having poor taste in coffee!), but really, can anyone even follow what he spouts on about anymore? He is so fricking right wing that he makes Glenn Beck look like Bill Moyers.

C’mon folks, he is a blowhard, racist, fascist who knows precious little about hockey – the subject of which he is supposed to be an expert on! To make up for this lack of understanding of the modern game, and to cover up his increasing dementia, he uses his rant to bitch about Europeans, lefties, politicos and whomever else doesn’t agree with ol’ Grapes!

Now, I have not always been “anti-Don”. Coaches Corner was once a good segment that focussed on HOCKEY and had guests who talked about HOCKEY –  but it has devolved into a wandering bitch-fest about whatever is up Don’s butt that night… with an obligatory weekly gush and cry about the military.

He appeals to the lowest common denominator and that is the only reason the CBC puts up with him. He sells ad space.

But he has to go, and now is the time time. Right now.

The season is over (Congrats Hawks!) and the Canadian mindset will soon tune to summer mode. Hockey gets pushed to the back burner for a few months so the timing is right.

But they can’t simply show him the way to the gate with boxes in his arms! Noooo… imagine the hue and cry! And Grapes himself would happily stoke those flames until the CBC backed down for fear of a boycott and the loss of advertising bucks. So here’s what you do.

First, offer him a very generous buy-out package – much more than he is worth.  But more importantly, they have to be sure to stroke his huge ego by arranging for him a “speaking tour” – complete with PR hacks and a small entourage of cooing followers. And pick up the tab for the whole shot. Cherry would agree to this, I think, as he would still be able to utter all that swill about how the politicos are ruining everything and if important decision were left up to him and his beloved military, then Canada would go back to being that down-home redneck-friendly place that he once imagined it to be!

Yes, he would still have an audience, but it would be much smaller and thus less damaging than the millions who tune in to him every week during the hockey season. The folks in the Legion halls, old folks homes and middle-of-nowhere community centres and hockey rinks (read – places where the ridings are held by the CPC) are already ardent admirers of the jerk, so no further damage would be done.

Better yet, ship him overseas to entertain the troops! Kind of a USO thing like they do in the States! Man, that might be just the weapon our troops need to crush the Taliban! Put his blathering, meandering rants on loud speakers and blare it at full volume wherever it is believed there may be Taliban hiding… THAT would be better than any other ammo you can imagine!

Trashy – doing his part to help the mission overseas!

PS – If the Hawks can win the Cup 49 long years, then the Leafs will be next! Woo-hoo! I’m reserving my spot on the parade route now!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

The Harperite social conservatives are crowing with glee over the Con’s refusal to recognize that access to inexpensive and safe abortions are key factors in maternal health. And so is the American anti-choice lobby.

“Under President Bush, we had the Mexico City policy, which prohibited exporting abortion. As you know, with President (Barack) Obama, he repealed that policy,” Janet Morana, founder of a pro-life group called Silent No More, told reporters in Ottawa on Thursday morning.

“And so we’re very pleased to see that Canada is taking that pro-life stance, meaning they’re not going to export dollars overseas for abortion.”

Stevo must be grinning from ear to ear with the news that the U.S. christian fundamentalists are in his corner!

Despite this, support for the DeceptiCons is staying rather stable according to the new EKOS poll.

What I can’t figger is WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEEPS??? I mean, who are those idiots are are saying to the pollsters that they would actually VOTE for Harper or one of his robot minions! I just don’t “get” that!

In other news, Cons are saying that the big bad ol’ MotherCorp is waging what they call a “faith war” against the ReformCons.

In a memo to supporters, the backroom operatives note that this is just the next step in the CBC’s “ongoing campaign against the Conservative Party.” At issue is a story about the rise of the right-wing religious groups and their connections to the Stephen Harper’s government that ran on The National last night.

The piece – which, as Tories armed with stopwatches note, ran “a full eight minutes in length” – was inspired by the release of a new book, The Armageddon Factor by journalist Marci McDonald, in which she investigates the right-wing religious movement in Canada and its ties to Stephen Harper and his government.

*Snicker* – “backroom operatives” I love that term. I wonder what they look like?

Yeah. Something like that, I would imagine. ‘Cept he needs to be wearing a crucifix and holding a stopwatch…

Anyhow, isn’t the CBC just stating the painfully obvious?

Of course the Reformatories are in bed with the religious right! Fundamentalists believe that an old guy with a beard lives in the clouds – ready to judge and smite all of we infidels! And really, does anyone with an IQ over 100 think that most of the Con caucus has the elementary intelligence to understand that believing in such things is about as legitimate as believing in leprechauns?

Of course not.

Stop the anti-CBC rants, Cons… outside of your wacko base of support in the west, you’re not going to gain much support because, well, most folks LIKE the CBC!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…if they expect unimportant and seldom listened to scribblers like myself pay a monthly subscription fee to quote their articles.

This is a taxpayer funded organization fer gawd’s sake! And likely the one and only almost unbiased traditional news source in the country!

Give your heads a shake CBC Execs! Revisit this and quick! We bloggers et al link to your articles because they ARE fairly unbiased, well-written and relevant to our nation’s discussions.

One cannot help but think that this is again another example of the politicization of our country’s national media. This is what bugs me the most:

the licensee must “agree not to criticize the CBC, the subject of the article, or its author.”

Huh? No frickin’ way!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario