Memo to CBC staff;
‘Terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’: Exercise extreme caution before using either word.
More.
Related: “ACLU defends Nazi’s right to burn down ACLU headquarters.”
Avoid labelling any specific bombing or other assault as a “terrorist act” unless it’s attributed (in a TV or Radio clip, or in a direct quote on the Web). For instance, we should refer to the deadly blast at that nightclub in Bali in October 2002 as an “attack,” not as a “terrorist attack.” The same applies to the Madrid train attacks in March 2004, the London bombings in July 2005 and the attacks against the United States in 2001, which the CBC prefers to call “the Sept. 11 attacks” or some similar expression. (The BBC, Reuters and many others follow similar policies.)Terrorism generally implies attacks against unarmed civilians for political, religious or some other ideological reason. But it’s a highly controversial term that can leave journalists taking sides in a conflict.
By restricting ourselves to neutral language, we aren’t faced with the problem of calling one incident a “terrorist act” (e.g., the destruction of the World Trade Center) while classifying another as, say, a mere “bombing” (e.g., the destruction of a crowded shopping mall in the Middle East).
Use specific descriptions. Instead of reaching for a label (“terrorist” or “terrorism”) when news breaks, try describing what happened.
For example, “A suicide bomber blew up a bus full of unarmed civilians early Monday, killing at least two dozen people.” The details of these tragedies give our audience the information they need to form their own conclusions about what type of attack it was.
Rather than calling assailants “terrorists,” we can refer to them as bombers, hijackers, gunmen (if we’re sure no women were in the group), militants, extremists, attackers or some other appropriate noun.
It’s not practical to draft a list of all contexts in which the words “terrorist” and “terrorism” are appropriate in news stories. For instance, we might write that Canada and other countries have passed “anti-terrorism” legislation, or that intelligence agencies have lists of groups that they consider “terrorist” organizations, or that the U.S. government has issued another warning about an increased risk of “terrorist attacks” in the next few weeks, or that certain people have been charged with acts of “terrorism.” Use common sense.
The guiding principle should be that we don’t judge specific acts as “terrorism” or people as “terrorists.” Such labels must be attributed.
As CBC News editor-in-chief Tony Burman has pointed out: “Our preference is to describe the act or individual, and let the viewer or listener or political representatives make their own judgment.”
(Memo courtesy CBC watch)
In this war there is no neutral ground. Islamofascists hate the CBC. Choose your side. You’re either with the CBC or you’re with the terrorists.
Correct me if I’m wrong Phil, but I thought this post was about the CBC’s reluctance to call a terrorist spade a spade. I wasn’t refering to the situation in Ont. at all. As far as your definition of terrorism, I think Reagan/Bush and their proxy contras fit the bill quite nicely.
“So I’ll continue to provide factually accurate information and logical arguments toward that end as deemed necessary.”
To “continue”, wouldn’t you actually, you know, have to start first?
If a band of Western / Conservative / Israel-hating terrorists took over the CBC and started broadcasting their insane bile…. would anyone notice the difference?
Will your argument still be sound bob when they take your head? Oh and i think the same question can be directed to maryjane.(I think she smokes herself to much)
What a bunch of knuckle heads!
If you think Afghanis are happy that you are imposing your gay marriage and feminism and high tax rates and socialism on them – to say nothing about the killing Muslims – you are mistaken, my friend.
Hey, Bob, somewhere between the horror of the Taliban’s stoning of gays/women and western liberties, Afghanistan will arrive at its own cultural norms in its new democratic context.
Presuming that the Afghans, defined by you as childlike entities, imposed upon like zombies, is rather arrogant don’t you think? The Russians got nowhere with them. The Taliban got routed. The seem to have a mind of their own. I doubt they’ll be enslaved to gay marriages, high taxes and western feminazis.
The Russians and Taliban did far more smashing and stealing, Bob, than US or Canadian forces. But, maybe you were unaware of that.
I guess, Bob, in your muddled logic, you are seeking some root cause to fix, some event, that will make the terrorists like us enough to cease and desist the global WOT which effects countries not even affilitated with Afghanistan/Iraq. Russia, France, Indonesia, Sudan with its nasty genocide of Christians are examples. The problem is, Bob, some unthoughful innocent like the Danish cartoonist will enrage the homicidal Islamofascists shifting the blame endlessly for you.
If the CBC were taken over by Islamofascists…would anyone notice?
We don’t call it Al-Jazera North for nothing!
I call it a win for our side to see Anna Maria Tremonti in a Burqa.
It’s going to be hard for the CBC, or anyone, to talk about the charges against the Mississauga 17 without using the words “terrorist” or “terrorism”.
Andy
to the person that posted the comment at 3:33 you look intelligent anyway, but…………you spoke and well that despelled that.
Yeah, I second that. Mary Jane, isn’t the extremist far leftist radical group called MOVEON.ORG? Isn’t there a statute of limitations on past issues? No! OK, I’ll bite. 100 Million murdered by communists in the 20th century…halted by Reagan et al. Nuff said.
Leftist Leper!
Yeah, I second that. Mary Jane, isn’t the extremist far leftist radical group called MOVEON.ORG? Isn’t there a statute of limitations on past issues? No! OK, I’ll bite. 100 Million murdered by communists in the 20th century…halted by Reagan et al. Nuff said.
Leftist Leper!
Bob–
Is Afghanistan unpopular with Canadians? By and large, yes, but certainly not in overwhelming majority territory. A little more communication by Harper on the necessity of it, and we’ll see polls come up (remember how much they did after he went there)?
But besides that, you’re assuming that Canadians will vote on this as the number one issue. In order for the Liberals to regain Parliament, Quebeckers would have to believe that being in Afghanistan is worse than having a Liberal government. Have you seen the polls lately? Are you nuts? Quebeckers hate the Liberals way more than they care about whether or not we’re in Afghanistan. For Pete’s sake, this isn’t Vietnam where there’s a draft. It’s not like people are going to be forced to be there. So while many Canadians may not approve, it doesn’t affect them personally (and there’s no way that people are really going to believe that the only reason there are terrorist attacks in Canada is because we’re in Afghanistan. Come on). Everywhere else is getting terrorist attacks, too. And, as so many left-wingers seem to forget, the U.S. was not in Iraq or Afghanistan on September 11. They had an isolationist, don’t get involved President. But they were attacked anyway, just like these terrorists planned to attack us. Canadians will see that. They are smarter than you make them up to be.
I have a bit of hard news for the Left in this country…if you think for one second that Islamic terrorists distinguish between Canadian and American, French and English speaking, as Judas Priest said ‘you got another thing comin’.
This doesn’t mean we should start some kind of progrom against Muslims. My aunt, for example, is progressive Muslim. She doesn’t follow traditions and certainly isn’t keen on conducting the Hajj. Anyone who didn’t know she was Muslim wouldn’t guess otherwise.
Unfortunately, she is every bit as much a target of these savages, if not more so because she doesn’t follow the traditions, as any other Canadian. Some may wonder why no condemnation…I would urge you to read Earl McRae’s column in Tuesday’s edition of the Ottawa Sun. Reality is: 1) Islamic extremists are everywhere; 2) It isn’t always easy to tell who they are. It is up to the moderate and practicising communities of Islam to identify who would commit such acts. There needs to be an understanding that those who would be actively practising Muslims who would turn a blind eye to grumblings in fellow communities are complicit in actual or attempted atrocities.
As mentioned before, we need to rid ourselves of this lip service multiculturalism. While celebrating the roots and traditions of other cultures is valuable, at the end of the day we need to promote appreciation and patriotism for this fair land that gives so much more opportunity than they would find in their homelands – otherwise, why would they come here?
The natural end result of socialism, multiculturalism, political correctness, tolerance, diversity, feminism, and more:
Muslims threaten insurrection in the UK.
This is not an idle threat. Islam calls for holy jihad: kill the infidels. …
UK Muslims angered by raids
News24 – 11 hours ago
London – The British police were under pressure on Tuesday to clear up the confusion over last week’s massive anti-terror raid or risk seeing angry Muslims “take the law into their own hands,” a Muslim community leader warned. …
Google News
Does anyone else find it incredible that the lawyer for one of the suspcts, A Mr. Batasar, actually said this:
****Batasar took pains to assail the Canadian authorities, as well as the U.S. government and President George W. Bush, for trying to foment fear among the public.
“It appears to me that whether you’re in Ottawa or Toronto or Crawford, Texas, or Washington, D.C., what is wanting to be instilled in the public is fear,” he said. ****
Oh. Sorry, you’ll have to excuse my arrogance for ‘instilling fear’ in the Canadian populace. Just what exactly does this guy think THESE TERRORISTS WERE TRYING TO DO?
Do these people even think before they open their mouths to speak?
“At 23, he denounced Canada’s participation in the war against Adolf Hitler in terms that bordered on treason.”…ummmmmmm….PET and Bob have a lot in common!!!!
Ya mean PET wuz wrong about dis multiculterism,shit?
Jeez,whoda thunk it?
Jiss mine knuckles draggin.
Mine bad.Sorry EC.Never did vote fer him.
SheilaG:
“the U.S. was not in Iraq or Afghanistan on September 11.” I’m blue in the face bringing that argumment to deaf ears.
Remember OBL’s urgent insistence that the US take their boots off the sacred soil of Saudi Arabia? They DID. No change.
Iraq/Afghanistan/Israel-“Palestinian”. They are conflicts of convenience only. Excuses they know the international left will buy. Period.
Shawn:
Do these people even think before they open their mouths to speak?
NO. They EMOTE.
take over the CBC, the infrastructure is in place, just replace all the pinkos, champagne socialist wanna-bees, moonbats, whackos, nutjobs & nutbars with conservative editors, writers, presenters. The tell Canadians the truth, not the socialist, UN, terrorist, Unionist loving crap they spew every day.
Give a big frikkin ulcer to all the lefty whackjobs like stevie d and we’d be happy, happy, happy.
Wonder if we’d find Peter Girly-bridge standing in a foodbank lineup – he couldn’t get a real job expcept maybe as a ticket taker at the Trudeau Museum.
Ahhhhh to dream a wonderful dream.
Two of the best friends I have ever had:
1) a Turk
2) a Pathan.
Muslims, by history. Who drank, smoked (anything) and were from a martial race. Wits, humour, knowledge and inner cores made us friends. But once made such a friend is a friend to save your life.
Jihadism is the antithesis of that–since it excludes personal virtue and value (regardless of religion or absence thereof) from the summing up.
Mark
Ottawa
So let’s see if I’ve got this straight? If a group engages in murder and mayhem, torture, rape and robbery, but serves the interests of Uncle Sam, they’re good guys, freedom fighters, perhaps. If however, Uncle Sam don’t like ’em, they are terrorists. Seems simple enough. Someone should tell Tony Burman.
Just saw a piece on the National where CBC naif and dumb-dumb Mark Kelley goes to Europe to see how countries that have experienced homegrown terror have reacted to their own terror events. Apparently it seems multi-culturalism is being questioned in some of these countries, and Mark is shocked!
The theme of the piece seems to be a question – can Canada remain true to our multi-cultural ideals (our ideals being the same trudeaupian ideals as mark’s of course, don’t we all believe in these things by now) or will we in our weakness fall prey to those who question multi-culturalism (iow the racists).
What’s most irritating is how Mark Kelley portrays his reaction and take on things in Europe as representative of Canadians generally. Then again I guess if you work at the CBC trudeaupian ideas ARE pretty uniform and orthodox, so in that light I can see how you might think you speak for the whole country.
I’m sorry there’s a BIG difference between deliberately targeting civilians as the terrorists do and attack legitimate military targets like western countries do. Let’s call a spade a spade please. Have you seen even ONE crowd of chanting people with guns shooting in the air in the west after an accidental bombing of a shopping mall? No you haven’t. It’s not racist to point out this FACT. Why the hell are we tip toeing around here?
Maryjane:
You are a moron.
If you think your logic through, you should be speaking either German or Japanese now.
Do Mother Gaia, David Suzuki, Jack “Lenin” Layton and AlGore-manbearpig a favor: commit suicide. They’d be proud that you did it for a good cause.
Well, considering the threats made to our Parliamentarians in this case, there is ONE aspect of Sharia Law that SHOULD be introduced into our penal code : beheading of those found guilty of treason and/or terrorism. It would serve the flippin’ b@st@rds right. 🙂
how in the hell by blowing up the cbc can we consider this a terrorist attack. it would be doing us all a favour and we save on dynamite.
You know PMSH had his chance of getting rid of the CBC and moving his agenda along even quicker by allowing these [insert description here] to suceed. Targets were in Toronto… Hello??? We know Toronto is a bastion of conservative support…
Damn…
“Uncle Sam don’t like ’em……neither do the victims of the London, Bali and Madrid bombings, the Moscow theater hostages, the grieving parents in Beslan, the orphans of slaughtered Christians in the Sudan, and all of the other victims of Islamic Murder & Mayham, Inc over the past 30 years starting with the Munich Olympics, maryjane.
Too bad your freedom fighters are garnering such bad press right now; you know, the little jihadi Che wannabes that just got rounded up by the Canadian arm of Bush/Cheney/Rove empire. You really need to stop appearing so bitter, Maryjane. I mean odds of your freedom fighters not trying to attack the US, Canada, Europe or Russia in the future is zilch. The WOT is going to be a long one and you’ll have better times.
Truely,if I had known what fucking idiots inhabit this country, prior to the internet, I would now own all of Ontario and Quebec.
Great tongue of the north,
I just saw the same documentary (note: if any reading this is still in the right time zone, it’s worth watching). I agree that it leaves much to be desired, but it was surprisingly objective for the CBC. They actually used the words “terrorist” and “the enemy” as if these could be appropriate labels for those who want to kill their fellow citizens. And although Mark Kelley portrayed himself as a multiculti Canadian, he implied that it was legitimate to question multiculturalism – which is an astonishing admission to see on cbc that would have been hard to imagine only a few days ago.
I’m guessing much of this was filmed before our terrorist arrests, so I wonder how slanted it would have been without this new fact on the scene. Anyone want to bet how much they were doing some fancy editing to make their interpretation consistent with the stark reality that unfolded right before their very eyes just recently?
… btw, I’m referring to the documentary during the CBC National news. The news starts at 10:00, but the documentary probably starts around 10:30pm.
Maryjane
I notice you are careful not to provide any evidence to support your bald accusations against a great man who is not around to defend himself. I’m curious as to why you equate killing to resist the imposition of communism with killing to prevent the spead of democacy or killing to terrorize democracies?
Are you a marxist or just ignorant about the devastation -physical moral and spiritual wreaked by Marx’s gift to humanity.
Why would you have preferred that Reagan abandon the Nicaraguans to the soviet backed communists. Do you like to see people live in fear and poverty? Isn’t it bad enough that they live in poverty? Must they live without freedom in order to satisfy the warped fantasies of marxists.
Please tell us more.
The terrorists want us out of Afghanistan?
I also understand Hitler was opposed to Russian troops storming Berlin, as was Saddam opposed to U.S. troops in Baghdad.
We took the country away from the terrorists and now they don’t like that.
My concern isn’t that we’re upsetting the Islamofacists. My worry is the day that they become content. I’d hate to see what the world would look like then.
“the U.S. was not in Iraq or Afghanistan on September 11.”
They weren’t in Iraq or Afghanistan in 1993, either.
If only Reagan had not cut and run from Lebanon…
It’s going to be a long and ugly war. The Looney Left and the Liberal Moonbats will insist that padded gloves be used and then only after sensitivity training. All the while without identifying the enemy, other than calling them a “Wide range of …..
The assorted Moonbats that we have in Canada are so hate filled that I don’t put it past them to aid our enemies. They’ve been doing it in the US. When ever an information gathering method is discovered, it’s plastered all over the papers.
Strange brew.
Pat
mjsiebert,
Agreed, it was astonishing to watch Mark Kelley’s twisted expression after a Netherlands minister tells him matter of factly that forceful integration of the country’s muslim population is needed to keep an atmosphere of tolerance towards those muslims. The minister’s short unconditional rejection of Mark’s “multiculturalism works in Canada” appeal must have been shocking to someone so guilded in that mindset.
Curiously, after MSM has done its’ best to ignore the Theo Van Gogh assassination, the CBC now refers to the murder as the Netherland’s 9-11.
Looks like someone’s catching up on some Mark Stein essays. The CBC will have to work a faster in catching up to the real story to avoid looking like they’ve been sleeping with the enemy for the last five years.
I also saw the documentary: Mark was shocked that Holland is going to ban the burka, and anyone wearing one will not get a job etc. Also, he was warned that if Canada doesn’t do something soon, it will be too late. Multiculturism doesn’t work. Holland is tired of subsidizing these muslims. The immigrations minister deported 26000 of them. He also appeared shocked that the majority of the Dutch people supported this crackdown on muslims. Seems the cbc is shocked by the worldwide media frenzy here. Last time we had all the networks was during the FLQ crisis, and Peter Jennings was the only one here for the Quebec referendum. Must be good for the Ont hotels and restaurants, but who will come when they are gone. All US networks use the word terrorists and many play up the danger of the lax border. They also bring up the bomber in BC. Every wart and pimple of our previous governments immigration policy. Of course Bill Graham wants Harper to do something about the bad image Canada is getting in the foreign press. Nothing on the budget being passed today, because of the oppositions inattention. Maybe liberals will start showing up when the HofC is in session. Will Guitte talk to get a lighter jail term.
CBC headline:
Suspect accused of wanting to behead PM, lawyer claims
Attack on CBC HQ my ass. They’re part of it.
Newsflash: Lawyer representing murderous ultra-cult scumbags planning chaotic destruction of Canada appointed mouthpiece of the nation.
Gary Batasar
Owner/Law firm
Phone: 905-866-6464
Call to congratulate him
today.. Canada=Shame
tomorrow.. (Scoll down)
Okay, this is not rocket science but apparently nobody thought of it. Turn off what you don’t like! Are you masochists? If it makes you angry turn it off. I don’t watch Fox news because I think its assinine. I enjoy CBC and BBC and a little CNN and I don’t get angry anymore and want to throw things at the TV. It’s great.
ACLU defends Nazi’s right to burn down ACLU headquarters.”
The ultimate end of the logic train of nihilistic socialism. Cultural & physical suicide defended by there very ideology.
Its a window on the mad mind that accepts no absolutes .Defends the lowest elements of society. At the expense of the vulnerable.
A creed that deifies death as mercy. Criminals as victims. Society as evil, not individuals. I will not weep for the ACLU. They dug there own grave years ago , persecuting real religions & there symbols.
‘Watched The National last night and left my husband to watch the Mark Kelley documentary. ‘Couldn’t stomach his wid-eyed, Gosh, do you really think so, but not in Canada, schtick. He’s young; maybe he’ll grow up in the next little while as Canada’s own 9/11 unfolds.
Peter Mansbridge, on the other hand, looked spooked. A little too close for comfort, Pete? Maybe these “right wing nutbars” were right after all?
I noticed that on an item (sorry, it escapes me at the moment) they had reported on a couple of nights ago, with snide editorial comments about the CPC government, there was no more editorializing about Stephen Harper and his government.
The sooner these Tokyo Roses stop belittling our Prime Minister and his government the better. The CBC is so much part of the problem that they’ve got a lot to answer for.
Petey, do all Canadians a favour for a change: It’s time for you and your crew to begin rowing in the same boat as our government.
Ban burkas? What’s next – banning yarmelkes and crosses?
1. Okay, this is not rocket science but apparently nobody thought of it. Turn off what you don’t like! Are you masochists? If it makes you angry turn it off. steve d
Apparently sd you can’t grasp that we are paying for it; it is our national broadcaster and we want to know what garbage they are spinning across the land. And we want it to end. So in order to defend our country against the advance of leftist moronism we have no choice but to watch this wretched network.
2.I don’t watch Fox news because I think its assinine. I enjoy CBC and BBC and a little CNN …Posted by: steve d.
This explains it all. You get your news from the Canadian far left, the British far far left and from the American left. Now we understand why you are so wretchedly misinformed.
I too saw the Mark Kelly piece, and yes while Kelly was annoying at times – the Canadian multi-cult smugness just can’t be suppressed, I guess – the whole thing was surprisingly closer to fair than anything else I can remember seeing on the CBC.
Kelly didn’t dig deep enough in many places – the murder of van Gogh was not fully described, nor were the murderer’s comments to van Gogh’s mother – but at least he covered most bases.
The obvious question that went unasked was “why just the Muslims?” Europe has immigrant from all parts of the world, but it’s one group in particular that’s a problem. Kelly might have explored that angle, but I guess that’s a no-go for a CBC employee.
Hhhmmm let see.
CBC Pravda Canada
BBC Pravda Britian
CNN The farthest left you can go in the USA
It all comes clear, steve do us all a favor and turn of your tv. Or better yet try just turning off.
Drago
“Ban burkas? What’s next – banning yarmelkes and crosses?”
No Drago don’t worry, the “next” thing is just more dead Canadians.
Nothing for you to worry about.