Toronto Star: 'Perhaps Toronto 17 Not Terrorists At All'

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
WELCOME BACK NICK!

GOOD TO SEE YOU, YOU MISSED SOME FUN WITH BRIE

HOPE ALL IS WELL

Uhuhuhuhuh!! I think I need a link and a back story...

[Full Bug]

Originally posted by FORD
In Canada? The CBC used to be good.

Yeah, real good, this is a network that to be politically correct refuses to call terrorists for what they are, and instead calls them 'militants', wouldnt want to offend the terrorists I guess.....
A funny columm making fun of those idiots at the CBC, I'm so glad my tax dollars go to this stellar network.....


Terror at the CBC

What would happen if our national broadcaster was ever taken over by ... er ... 'militants'?

With news last week that the CBC may have been the planned target of a possible terrorist attack ...

---

"Hello, I'm Lorrie Goldstein of the Toronto Sun, reporting live for Sun TV, Torontosun.com and Canoe.ca, outside Toronto CBC headquarters at 250 Front St. W., where terrorists have just taken over the building, demanding that the CBC refer to them as ... uh ... terrorists.

"Wait, here's one of them now ... why, it's Osama bin Laden himself ... Mr. bin Laden, could we have a word with you please?"

"Of course, unwitting dupe of the illegal Zionist entity."

"Thank you. Mr. bin Laden, I'm sure our audience is wondering why you have taken over the CBC and are threatening to blow it up unless your demands are met."

"Well, duplicitous crusader, we are deeply hurt and offended by the CBC's continuing refusal to describe us as 'terrorists.' Instead, they keep calling us 'militants,' 'extremists,' 'attackers' and 'bombers.' I mean, it's bloody demeaning. Just think of it. I, Osama bin Laden, a 'militant'? Geez Louise, spoiled little rich kids from Rosedale wasting their parents' tuition money on poli-sci courses at university join some obscure Marxist group and start calling themselves 'militants' these days. But I, Osama bin Laden, am a 'terrorist.' I mean, that's certainly what the CIA thinks ... now, anyway."

"I see, Mr. bin Laden. Wait a minute, I've just been handed a bulletin from Sun Media. Mr. bin Laden, it appears the CBC bureau in Ottawa is asking whether you have any women in your group of gun-toting ... uh ... terrorists."

"Why does the CBC want to know this, oh evil defiler of the Muslim holy lands?"

"Apparently, their news staff have been advised by their editor-in-chief that they may substitute the word 'gunmen' for ... uh ... terrorists when describing your group, as long as they can first ascertain that there are no women in your group."

"I see. Tell me something, oh two-faced Rotary Club member plotting to take over the world -- is the CBC insane?"

"A lot of people in this country think so, Mr. bin Laden."

"I see, evil spawn of Satan. So, let me get this straight. We storm the CBC's headquarters, overpower their security staff and are now holding hundreds of their employees hostage and threatening to blow up their building and all these infidels care about is whether there are any women in our group, so they will not be politically incorrect if they refer to us as 'gunmen'?"

"Uh, yes, Mr. bin Laden. That about sums it up."

"I see, scum of the earth. Well, I would have thought it was pretty self-evident that I have no women in my group, since, as even the CBC may have noticed when Afghanistan was under the Taliban, we are not exactly a liberated bunch of guys in touch with our feminine side, who believe in the total equality of women. So yes, you may inform the CBC that there are no women in our group and that they may refer to us as 'gunmen' ... and that when they do, we will blow up their headquarters and kill all the hostages for not describing us as terrorists."

"Thank you Mr. bin Laden, and just to be clear, all the CBC has to do is to start referring to you and your group as 'terrorists' in its newscasts and you'll end this siege and go away?"

"Yes ... well, that and burn every last copy of Hockeyville. I mean, have you seen that show? Boy, and they call me cruel."

"Thank you, Mr. bin Laden."

"Think nothing of it, defiler of Palestine."

[Full Bug]

Memo distributed to CBC staff on use of the word 'terrorism.

What follows is a memo distributed to CBC staff describing the CBC policy on use of the word 'terrorism.'

'Terrorist' and 'terrorism': Exercise extreme caution before using either word.

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."

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
Uhuhuhuhuh!! I think I need a link and a back story...

Here's a good place to start:D

http://www.rotharmy.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36711

Loungemachine is a Gutless, editing pussy?:D

[Romeo Delight]

I fear that Harper is trying to kiss Bush's ass a little too much.

No way to know what exactly the RCMP knew.

One thing I know is in BC, it is not uncommon at all for Muslims to be involved in agriculture.

I would aslo imagine that there is alot of macho posturing by young Muslims, given that they are under attack the world over.

I don't think these are terrorists, just idiots.

[WACF]

Idiots who wanted to kill innocents...call them what you will...

They all had one thing in common...something we are not supposed to point out because that makes us bad people then.

[Full Bug]

Originally posted by DavidFlamma

I don't think these are terrorists, just idiots.

Just idiots with three tons of an explosive fertilizer.....

[Angel]

Originally posted by Full Bug
Yeah, real good, this is a network that to be politically correct refuses to call terrorists for what they are, and instead calls them 'militants', wouldnt want to offend the terrorists I guess.....
A funny columm making fun of those idiots at the CBC, I'm so glad my tax dollars go to this stellar network.....

BUG, it was a couple of years ago that they stopped using the term terrorist. The reason being was that it was being overused by ALL media, especially those south of the border, and it was felt that the term was being used strictly as a scare tactic.

They HAVE been calling those arrested "alleged terrorists", which is correct, they ARE alleged until proven otherwise in a court of law.

Do you ever WATCH the CBC? If so, you would know that they have reporters on both sides of the fence politically.