How to lose friends and alienate countries

[crazy canuck]

However, it's important to note that Rick Mercer isn't even a little bit funny.

Some of his political satire is laugh out loud funny.

[Ed Anger]

Funny show, worth watching if you're up at 3 am. More farce than satire though.

I'm watching Girls Gone Wild infomercials at that hour.

[Malthus]

Funny show, worth watching if you're up at 3 am. More farce than satire though.

So, who is the *other* viewer? 

[Neil]

He went out with Belinda Stronach
She left him, She crossed to the lib.
She's richer then him.

I didn't think that you were talking about Stronach, seeing as they didn't date very long.

At any rate, MacKay actually has his own accomplishments, whereas Stronach's are ther product of her being the bored daughter of a billionaire.  He's not the great Canadian statesman, but he's far more substantial than she is.

[Neil]

However, it's important to note that Rick Mercer isn't even a little bit funny.

Some of his political satire is laugh out loud funny.

That's an unfortunate opinion.

[FunkMonk]

Funny show, worth watching if you're up at 3 am. More farce than satire though.

Yeah. It's basically just a few people shooting the breeze with a camera trained on them. They just say whatever off the top of their heads.

[Martinus]

No matter how stupid the humour, I find the concept of a government intervening in relation to a private media outlet's programme silly at best and disturbing at worst.

[Faeelin]

Why shouldn't Canada complain when a news organization taunts one of the few countries whose troops in Iraq engage in combat missions?

[Martinus]

Why shouldn't Canada complain when a news organization taunts one of the few countries whose troops in Iraq engage in combat missions?

From a practical perspective, any government trying to fight with comedians usually ends up looking even more silly (and makes the satirical attack, however originally silly, somehow justified and vindicated).

From a broader perspective, even if it just a verbal spat (with no legal action being brought), any government engaging its political apparatus (and, thus, tax payers' money) in a dispute with media risks unwittingly curbing freedom of speech.

[Neil]

Why shouldn't Canada complain when a news organization taunts one of the few countries whose troops in Iraq engage in combat missions?

Because that's what news organizations do, especially late-night talk shows from American news organizations.

And that's Afghanistan.

[Neil]

From a broader perspective, even if it just a verbal spat (with no legal action being brought), any government engaging its political apparatus (and, thus, tax payers' money) in a dispute with media risks unwittingly curbing freedom of speech.

Foreign governments have no obligation to respect the freedom of Americans to speak.

[garbon]

Because that's what news organizations do, especially late-night talk shows from American news organizations.

It's sort of like how the White House looked silly when it moved against Limbaugh.

[Barrister]

From a broader perspective, even if it just a verbal spat (with no legal action being brought), any government engaging its political apparatus (and, thus, tax payers' money) in a dispute with media risks unwittingly curbing freedom of speech.

How can the Canadian government curc an American news network's freedom of speech?

What seems like what happened is that the Canadian government asked for an pology on behalf of the Canadian troops.  They didn't demand or threaten anything, but stated they thought the comments were insensitive.

I agree it's making a mountain out of a molehill (I'd never heard of this program before) it was generating some press attention in Canada after it hit youtube, so I guess I understand why the government said something.

[Admiral Yi]

Why shouldn't Canada complain when a news organization taunts one of the few countries whose troops in Iraq engage in combat missions?

You complain when you want someone else to fix the problem for you or when you're issuing a threat.  What's Canada going to do, jam Fox's signal in Canada?

Dude should have followed Obama's lead following the RACISS monkey cartoon: express contempt.

[Neil]

Because that's what news organizations do, especially late-night talk shows from American news organizations.

It's sort of like how the White House looked silly when it moved against Limbaugh.

I would imagine that's how Congress will look when they legislate him off the air.