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Palestine/Muslim/Arab/I hate America faction:
1. Such hypocrites. When someone questions you, you cry "attack on free speech",
but you were all too quick to shut down Netnyahu at cross-town Concordia.
Too bad some of the rooftop
israeli
snipers didn't fire a few shots in your
directon.
Yeah, there were Israeli snipers up on the roofs around
concordia.
Canadians, what do you think about that?
2. Such bravery over here, yelling at people and spewing your garbage propaganda. Go to Iran if you want to pull that garbage. Better yet, want try that Holocaust day stunt next to an IDF base? Didn't think so.
3. Whenever you claim that the American/Zionist group is opressing the arabs, pull your head of your ass and look at the truth. Your own leaders are the causing most of the pain and suffering. The Iran-iraq war killed millions more than Israel will ever kill, most of which are in self defence. If you want to see how bad you have it here and America, just look at how good the christians and jews have it in the Arab world. All those religious freedoms, constitutional rights and so..... Not like Christians were slaves to the Muslims in Sudan THIS FUCKING DECADE or anything....
by
kev@tao.ca 6:26am Tue Sep 10 '02
(Modified on 11:03pm Mon Sep 16 '02)
kev@tao.ca
What happens when a media mogul bankrolls a controversial event and sends his journalist minions to cover it?
Media Monopoly and the Netanyahu affair at Concordia
What happens when a media mogul bankrolls a controversial event and sends his journalist minions to cover it?
Yesterday at Concordia we witnessed a clear example of media concentration and its ramifications for free speech. Izzy Asper, the owner of CanWest? Global, provided thousands of dollars for former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at Concordia University. Meanwhile, around a dozen CanWest? Global journalists roamed the streets.
What kind of coverage can we expect from CanWest?'s 15 major Canadian newspapers in this situation?
At least two journalists from the National Post were prevented from accessing the site after they stupidly chose to reveal their corporate identity to a chain of humans barricading Bishop Street outside Concordia University. Why should they try to report on an event paid for by their own boss? Why not just just ask Izzy directly for a press release?
It can be surmised that any reporting critical of Netanyahu, the police handling of the event, or the University's hypocritical approach to dealing with student concerns about the Middle East would result in punitive action.
Since Asper gained control of the Montreal Gazette from Conrad Black, he has fired a number of editors and veteran journalists for their positions on a host of issues. Many others, including publisher Micheal Goldbloom, resigned in protest, and the journalists from the Montreal Gazette led a movement that spread to other CanWest? newspapers to withhold their bylines in their articles.
In addition to the Montreal Gazette, CanWest? now owns the National Post, 14 large city dailies, 120 smaller dailies and weeklies, and the Global TV network, Canada’s second-largest private broadcaster. The company also has private TV networks in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
Some commentators suggest that free speech was not respected by protestors at Concordia yesterday. But the "marketplace of ideas" if it exists at all, is by no means a fair one, given current levels of media concentration.
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Speech by
Benjamin Netanyahu at
Montreal university cancelled
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Hundreds of people met in front of
the Ritz-Carlton hotel and the
Concordia
university to protest against the policy of the Israeli government. A
scheduled speech by Benjamin
Netanyahu
at Concordia
University was cancelled Monday as police used pepper spray and tear gas in
a clash with demonstrators who wanted to thwart the former Israeli prime
minister's visit to Montreal.
Concordia
University allows
Netanyahu's
security detail to place
snipers
on roofs along with scores of tactical riot policemans.
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Just as the warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest was ignored, so were the risk assessments made by Concordia’s head of security. Rector Frederick Lowy and his cabinet made a hefty choice that day, sacrificing the safety of the students, faculty and staff for the sake of Netanyahu’s "free" speech.
The speech was for an exclusive "bring your Israeli flags" audience, absent of any question period. It required the deployment of hundreds of riot police on campus, bomb-sniffing dogs and snipers. All but one exit to the Hall Building was locked, rendering the building a fire hazard-as was clearly shown later when students attempted to evacuate.
The job of
Concordia
administrators is not as easy as that of a pharmaceutical lobbyist on Capitol
Hill. They know that no matter what decision is made, there's going to be
political unrest outside of their doors. Do students have to react this way,
though? Let's look at past examples where controversial free speech was allowed.
There's the
Netanyahu
incident, where shattered glass and student injuries were preceded by the setup
of snipers
atop area
Last year Palestinian solidarity groups were refused use of a
University-owned park two blocks from the main campus for day of tabling and
information exchange, because of a supposed "security risk" it would pose." Ya
handing out hate literature demonizing Israelis & Jews is a security risk.
"snipers on the roof" I guess in
light of the riot the extra security would have been needed... and yet no one
got shot
Netanyahu wants Shin Beth to kill agitators
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