Prime Time Crime
(Published in the Similkameen Spotlight week of Oct. 4, 2004)
No Terrorists or Kickbacks Here
By
John Martin
Despite the rising number of people who get their information from the Internet and other sources only made possible by recent advances in technology, many still rely on the traditional news outlets to stay informed.
And as is becoming increasingly obvious, they do so at their own peril. South of the border, we now have irrevocable proof that CBS knowingly used forged documents in a treasonous attempt to topple a sitting President.
Canadians though, should hardly think they’re above the fray that has thrown big media’s credibility for a potentially fatal loop.
There is only one major source of media in this country, The National Post, which has the journalistic integrity to call a terrorist a terrorist. The rest of the crew; CBC, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, etc., have adopted politically correct policies and stipulations prohibiting their reporters from using the word, “terrorist”, if the subject matter is of Middle Eastern descent.
What that means is that the people who kill kids in schools, blow up civilians waiting for buses, and slaughter university students in cafeterias, are not terrorists. They are insurgents, resisters, freedom fighters, martyrs or any one of a number of other whitewashed examples of literary and journalistic denial.
Media in this country have decided it would be insensitive and culturally improper to use the “T” word. So madmen who dream and scheme of killing trainloads of Jews, mothers who’s greatest source of joy in the world is to have her son blow himself up and take a couple of Israelis with him, and wealthy oil tycoons who send their kids to America’s universities while sending other people kids to certain death as suicide bombers, are not allowed, in Canadian media, to be referred to as terrorists.
But it’s not just this sanitization of the mass slaughter of innocents that shows media in this country has failed. Consider the manner in which they continue to treat corruption by the federal government
Documents clearly show that millions of dollars was given in illegal, un-tendered contracts to advertising agencies run by Liberal cronies. These agencies had absolutely no history or track record of running advertising campaigns.
Although no advertising work was ever undertaken by these companies, the government continued to pay out millions. We also know that these companies, in turn, donated millions of dollars back to the Liberal Party of Canada.
That folks, is what we call a “kickback.” It is not an “irregularity”. It is not a “lack of accountability”. Nor is it a “mistake.” It is a “KICKBACK”.
But you won’t find the CBC, The Globe and Mail or the Toronto Star using the word “kickback”. All of these media sources openly endorsed and more or less campaigned for the Liberals in the last election.
Remember Spiro Agnew? The disgraced Vice-President in the most disgraced U.S. administration ever, resigned his position more than thirty years ago. Do you remember why?
He resigned because he got caught accepting kickbacks. While he was Governor of Maryland he directed government contracts to a handful of contractors who in turn kick backed a portion of the funds to Mr. Agnew.
This level of corruption brought down a Vice President and was a precursor to the fall of the Nixon Presidency.
And here we have Canada’s major media trying to pretend that Adscam is anything less than kickbacks and corruption of the worst kind.
The American media, even conservative outlets, never tried to deny or sanitize the disgusting level of cronyism and corruption that characterized the Nixon administration. His administration was on the take and the media did their job and said just that.
It’s curious then, that Canada’s media, despite being overwhelmingly liberal and adoring of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, still can’t bring themselves to stating the obvious: their favourite political party is corrupt and has been orchestrating kickbacks from illegal contracts.
When the media in this country tries to deny terrorism, even as school kids are being tortured and slaughtered; when the media refuses to acknowledge the level of rot, corruption and criminality that permeates the federal government – it’s time to turn elsewhere for one’s news and information.
John Martin is a Criminologist at the University College of the Fraser Valley and can be contacted at John.Martin@ucfv.ca