posted on April 30, 2004 03:49:07 PM new
I don't know who all the Canadians are here, except you and kiara? I beieve kiara said she is in Canada. Suppect skylite, but that one doesn't acknowledge anything.
Tell me, you've never put your 'democrat' or 'liberal' views on threads about the Patriot act? homosexuality controversy in the U.S., and comments on Bush (besides the Iraq war) our taxes, ........??
__________________________________
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."- Carl Sagan
posted on April 30, 2004 04:01:01 PM new
Near, the attempts to "even the score" because the 3 of us are knowledgable about American politics, is transparent. If conservatives have to resort to topics such as why Canadians are "banned" from watching Fox News or Rush Limbach, then we're obviously on the right track.
posted on April 30, 2004 04:09:43 PM new
This is interesting...from the report..
Misperceptions According to Level of Attention to News
"While it would seem that misperceptions
are derived from a failure to pay
attention to the news, overall, those who
pay greater attention to the news are no
less likely to have misperceptions. Among
those who primarily watch Fox, those
who pay more attention are more likely to
have misperceptions. Only those who
mostly get their news from print media,
and to some extent those who primarily
watch CNN, have fewer misperceptions as
they pay more attention."
posted on April 30, 2004 04:10:31 PM new
You already said it Near. You said Linda was all upset over this because me and Kiara talk about American issues. What do you call that?
posted on April 30, 2004 04:13:38 PM new
I think I've mentioned here before that Canada and the US are closely linked but the US is obviously the more dominant country and almost everything they do affects Canada, whether it is the economy or the war.
Since there are only a few Canadians that post on these threads why would a topic on Canada interest anyone? All I've seen in the years I've posted here is lot of Canada bashing as well as a lot of ignorance. At least Canadians are willing to learn about their neighbor and they learn about the US when they are very young.
Americans that are well-travelled have a very different perspective of Canada and a great respect for the country as do most people worldwide. Fortunately I meet them in RL almost daily.
And, anyone with internet access can be knowledgeable in about just any subject there is.
Yes, they can be knowledgeable. The knowledge is there but some only choose to read what they immediately find. Witness this thread for example.
posted on April 30, 2004 04:22:54 PM new
I'm sorry. I don't goooooogle everything. It feels like 'cheatin' or something. But I do of course when it warrants
kiara, I didn't say I didn't have respect for Canadians
Hang on, 'well traveled Americans'
Well dang I've traveled, alot too, but sometimes not well!
It began with a simple question. Why can't Canada get Fox news. And it went off topic, like #*!@ does here ya know
The topic of this thread, what does it say?
Canadian Bill attempts to stifle free speech.
We do know that Canada is socialist for the majority, at least its gov't is.
And America is what? A republic with a democracy.
__________________________________
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."- Carl Sagan
posted on April 30, 2004 04:32:02 PM new
oh I got a song in text before I conk out
I really like this, got rhapsody playing it
American Girls and American Guys
We’ll always stand up and salute
We’ll always recognize
When we see Old Glory Flying
There’s a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night
When we lay down our head
My daddy served in the army
Where he lost his right eye
But he flew a flag out in our yard
Until the day that he died
He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me
To grow up and live happy
In the land of the free.
Now this nation that I love
Has fallen under attack
A mighty sucker punch came flyin’ in
From somewhere in the back
Soon as we could see clearly
Through our big black eye
Man, we lit up your world
Like the 4th of July
Hey Uncle Sam
Put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty
Started shakin’ her fist
And the eagle will fly
Man, it’s gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom
Start ringin’ her bell
And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue
Justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
And you’ll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
`Cause we`ll put a boot in your ass
It`s the American way
Hey Uncle Sam
Put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty
Started shakin’ her fist
And the eagle will fly
Man, it’s gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom
Start ringin’ her bell
And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue
copy paste
__________________________________
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."- Carl Sagan
posted on April 30, 2004 04:38:06 PM new
NTS, I didn't say that you had no respect for Canadians and nowhere did I mean to infer that. Sorry if you got that impression.
BTW, there was a song called "American Woman" and it was written by Canucks.
Take care and I hope your pain goes away.
Thanks Helen and Kraft for your balanced views as usual.
posted on April 30, 2004 04:58:17 PM new
KD - After reviewing a few Canadian sites on this subject....this is how I take what's being said.
First of all one site poster says: A year in jail for LEGALLY purchasing satellite channels from the Americans?! That's completely ridiculous.
There was much talk about your government limiting what is 'allowed' to be show on your tv. And how many don't like that they have no choice of what they can and can't watch.
So....that turned millions of Canadians on to the 'gray' market. Buying satellite dishes so they could watch what they want. Some paid for this service some didn't.
But in my next post I'm going to post just one websites [there are many, many more] where there is the same uproar about this 'iron curtain' your country imposes on it's citizens and what they are allowed to watch.
So...all in all it doesn't sound like there are only a few Canadians who are upset they can't get the programming they want....and it's not limited to Fox News.
posted on April 30, 2004 05:12:47 PM new
I understand your point Linda. I used to feel the same way about programming, until I understood why it's the way it is, which is to protect Canadian interests. It's a difficult situation when you live next door to the most powerful nation in the world. Canadians want what Americans have but don't understand that by illegally chipping their boards, or buying Direct TV, the Canadian companies lose revenue that could be used to purchase more satellites and future programming. If there were no laws like this in place, Canada would become the U.S.
posted on April 30, 2004 05:25:06 PM new
YOUR SPACE:
Buying U.S. satellite TV service a crime under proposed bill
CBC News Viewpoint | February 2004
Buying satellite access to your favourite TV show may soon be a crime, if you pay your money to a foreign satellite television service. Critics of the proposed legislation say the burden will fall most heavily on immigrant communities.
Under Bill C-2, anyone who subscribes to a foreign satellite television service could face criminal penalties, including the possibility of a year in prison. The legislation is aimed at obliging viewers to buy their satellite service from Canadian companies. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters estimates it loses $400 million a year to when people buy from American satellite TV providers.
Critics of the legislation say the bill makes no distinction between people who take Canadian satellite signals without paying and those who pay U.S. providers for channels the Canadian industry isn't willing to offer.
YOUR LETTERS:
It is just another case of the CRTC dictating what they want us to watch! Sure they want to preserve Canadian content, but there are other ways to do so.
It is just too much making it illegal for people to have access to foreign satellites that carry the channels they want.
Sure, there may not be enough of a demand for the Canadian operators to carry it but if people can get it elsewhere, they should NOT be penalized to get their speciality channels (such as RDP -Portuguese, RAI -Italian, Telemundo for Latin, Arab, Jewish, etc).
David B. Balanca |
For too long have the government and CRTC dictated what we, the Canadian public, want to watch.
For a long time I thought is was simple protectionism from competition to the Canadian broadcast and cable industries - which of course, is the worst way to support development of anything. Imagine trying to raise a healthy and socially competent child by locking him/her away in a closet. But what seems to be the truth is that these representative bodies pander to - and are possibly controlled by - a few media moguls who have not the interest of the Canadian public at heart, but rather their own bank accounts.
Witness the development of the many innocuous cable channels designed only to add a few more pennies to as many cable bills as possible and push aside the channels with the widest interest.
Most of these channels have poor production qualities and/or depend on programs that have already run their course. I question just how many people view these channels, and at what cost.
I agree that there's no accounting for taste but it should be our choice. If we live in a free country and a free market society, shouldn't we be allowing the individual viewer to dictate his/her own broadcast wants and not be confined to watching only those programs and channels selected for us?
Brian Lampert | Milton, ON
I am extremely angry that my freedom is being sold out. I cannot even remotely begin to explain the hatred I have for a country that is trying to constrict my freedom.
Who in the hell should tell me what I watch on TV. I travel around the world a lot and have never seen anything worse than the Canadian government trying to control the technology behind what I see do or think.
Paul Spalding
This proposed legislation is outrageous and aimed to prohibit the freedom of information, one of the basic human rights.
There were countries like this in the past - former USSR, East Europe, North Korea still doing this, and Canada is about to join the Club? I can't believe this is serious.
Sergei Zavgorodni | Victoria
That this bill is even being considered is ridiculous. "The Canadian Association of Broadcasters estimates it loses $400 million a year to when people buy from American satellite TV providers."
The above statement makes no sense. Stop and think about it for a moment. If the Canadian Association of Broadcasters isn't showing what people want to see, then such customers would not pay the CAB for satellite. If however they find another service they are willing to pay for, that does not reflect on their willingness to pay the CAB for the same service.
This is just another desperate attempt by an inferior service to survive - the only reason it's getting recognition is that it's hiding under the guise of being somehow (falsely) patriotic.
The CRTC already has far too much of a strangle hold on media in Canada, and further restricting Canadian choices only goes to hurt our claims of cultural tolerance.
Andrew Butcher
This smacks of Nazi-ism and big brother. The government should mind its own bloody business and not tell people what to watch.
If we want to watch signals from American satellite systems, then there is no reason why we should not be able to. The Canadian companies should compete on their own two feet and not rely on the 'Thought Police' to force us to watch what the government thinks we should watch.
Also stop using that lame argument that people watching signals from U.S. providers are costing Canadian providers money. It is a NON-ISSUE. They are in business and should offer a product that people want to buy.
William Rosmus | Toronto
I don't have a satellite dish of any sort but I think the government is way over the line on this and will lose when the U.S. brings up the Free Trade issue.
It is no ones business what I buy as a consumer. I can buy anything I want from any where I want so why do they think they can opt out on TV signals, particularly if the customer has a Canadian dish as well.
This smacks of the beginnings of a police state. This legislation should be fought as it is draconian.
Bob Pope
This is exactly the kind of thing we should be watching out for in a free and democratic country. I personally am not a satellite subscriber, but news of this sort makes me really angry.
It is clear the politicians in this country (not just the liberals) are only interested in taking money from corporations and thinking nothing of trampling all over the rights of Canadians.
What they're saying is, they don't provide these channels as part of their service. But if you buy them from someone else, it's illegal? Doesn't that sound like censorship?
A year in jail for LEGALLY purchasing satellite channels from the Americans?! That's completely ridiculous. If the Canadian Association of Broadcasters is losing $400 million a year because people are buying from Americans, do you think perhaps there's a good reason for it?
If the CAB can't compete on the world markets, then they need to get out of the business and stop telling us what satellite signals we can and cannot spend our hard-earned money on.
Josh Koury
This is the closest thing to 1984's Big Brother that I can imagine. Now we have to see what Big Brother (in this case the broadcasting, cable and satellite industry in Canada) wants us to see. I could believe it from Cuba, a communist country, where the government forbade the people to have antennas that could get the American TV. But Canada is a free country. Aren't there laws against monopoly and unfair competition in Canada?
That's not to say that satellite signal stealing should be permitted. I'm talking about legally buying the signal from Direct TV or other American companies. It's like forbidding me to import computers or other products because it affects Canadian manufacturers.
I hope for Canada's sake that it doesn't pass, or what will be next, a Berlin wall?
Rafael Chanivecky | Maple Ridge, BC
I would like anybody to try and stop me from legally buyingsatellitee signals in the United States and legally buying the hardware to access those signals.
If the Liberal Party stops me from doing that it then grossly tramples on my constitutional right tacquirere information where and how I want.
There is absolutely no democratic reason for doing that. The only motivation for them to do that is that they have been bought by the corporate TV lobby.
Francois Botha
If the canadian companies can't and won't provide the channels and content thaviewersrs want to see theviewersrs should be able to subscribe twhateverer service they want, period.
These rules regarding tv, radio and "canadian content" have gone way too far. I should be able to watch whatever I feel like watching, that is my freedom of choice and freedom of expression.
Now the government wants to throw me in jail fosubscriptionng to and watching U.S. TV??? Give your head a shake. That'ridiculousus.
posted on April 30, 2004 05:30:09 PM new
So why do you care so much about this, Linda?
No one here seems to be bothered about it at all, certainly not me or Kraft. Perhaps you should go to one of those forums you found and express your outrage there.
posted on April 30, 2004 05:33:07 PM new
KD - I do appreciate your explanations...really.
I just don't agree that your government should be regulating what information come in to your citizens. [only liberal views] And I don't see a problem with your citizens legally purchasing and legally paying for dish service to see what they want to see. I do agree with the illegal [non-payment for services to the dish companies though.
I see your government not allowing all information to flow to its citizens as censorship. As it appears from many different sites.....so do many of your citizens.
posted on April 30, 2004 05:48:05 PM new
You're right Linda. It's a "form" of censorship, but in the same way as this... I can't get Heath bars here in Canada but I can get Skor bars, which are made by Hershey Canada, an American company.
posted on April 30, 2004 06:04:48 PM new
Oh but KD - censoring information is so much more important than limiting what candy bar you can choose from.
You're focusing on the sale of the dishes, I'm focusing on your governments control of what will be shown on your TV stations. You're only given the liberal view points. You're being sheltered, imho.
I question what your government fears by not allowing all news information in...so your citizens can make informed decisions.
Just like on another site [I'll post the link if you want] it spoke to the issue of the ME problems....but Canada is considering allowing aljeezera media programing but not the American views.
To me that creates a 'mind set' that grows because one doesn't have all the facts....the different views/opinions. They can't make informed decisions when they don't have both/all sides to any issue.
You're only getting the view your government wants you to have of what's going on in the whole world.
posted on April 30, 2004 06:11:24 PM new
Linda, not at all. Most of Canadian programming is American, yet there are many other cultures in Canada that deserve their own programming. Because of a limited budget of satellite space, the CRTC can only allow so many programs. It has nothing to do with censorship, as my chocolate bar post pointed out.
posted on April 30, 2004 06:20:18 PM new
There's always an excuse to be found to keep information from people....whether it be the CA government channels losing money...not enough capacity...wanted to only have views they approve of available to the public...etc.
But it all boils down to the fact that satellite dishes are available if your government can't handle the 'load'. But they've made that illegal now. That is government censorship..
As bunni posted long ago....
We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -- John F. Kennedy
posted on April 30, 2004 06:21:06 PM new
Those pesky government types should butt out of what people want to watch. I think that after Iraq, Iran and Syria we're going to have to liberate those hockey puck Canadians.
Murdock who has now moved to the US always seems to have a problem with any government so the guy is kind of a slimeball no matter where he goes so I wouldn't trust Fox News as far as I could throw it. I find it somewhat slanted.
I prefer mainstream news that just gives the facts and is more unbiased.
before I conk out