By KORY TENEYCKE, QMI Agency
Earlier this week, Avaaz, an American special interest group funded by U.S. billionaire George Soros, circulated a petition opposing the television licence for Sun TV News — Quebecor’s proposed all-news channel for English Canada
Canadian author Atwood pushing petition challenging 'FOX North'
Last Updated: September 2, 2010 6:53pm
Margaret Atwood believes in freedom of speech for her own works.
But she doesn’t seem as enthusiastic about the concept for others espousing views she apparently doesn’t like.
Has the legendary Canadian author, famous for such novels as The Edible Woman, become The Censorship Woman?
The Giller Prize winning author and our most prestigious writer lent her signature to a U.S-based petition to stop a new Sun Media all-news network may be one of the most ironic, hypocritical plays in Canadian history.
“Prime Minister Harper is trying to push American-style hate media onto our air waves, and make us all pay for it,” says the petition with 45,000 signatures on Avaaz.org. “His plan is to create a ‘Fox News North’ to mimic the kind of hate-filled propaganda with which Fox News has poisoned U.S. politics.”
Despite being vitriolic and inaccurate, the recipient of the Governor General Award Tweeted Wednesday “we shouldn’t B Forced to Pay for it, & CRTC chair should be arms’ length, not Harper tool. Fox free 2 set itself up.”
Pretty rich talk about a free market from someone who comes from the Canada Council grant culture. It’s especially shocking coming from a Companion of the Order of Canada who I have yet to see at a pro-troops rally or along the Highway of Heroes.
Her freedoms were fought for and won by Canadian soldiers.
Her ravings match those of the elitist left that were terrified about Conrad Black controlling so much of the Canadian media, but were not at all vocal when Liberal-backers later bought the same newspaper chain.
It’s selective censorship coming from the 70-year-old literary icon who once threatened to boycott a book tour in Dubai because of the banning of a book which featured a gay character.
The book wasn’t banned, and nor will this new TV network, no matter how many signatures they get for the petition.
As Atwood knows, Canada covets, cherishes and practices freedom of the press.
“I don’t remember seeing her launching a campaign against Al Jazeera when it filed for a license from CRTC,” noted Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation. “Pushing the petition against SUN TV demonstrates her opposition to free speech. Currently taxpayers are forced to pay $1.1 billion a year for the CBC and now Atwood and her ilk want to deprive Canadians of even having the choice to view SUN TV.”
It’s astonishing, especially for someone famous for her 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, a story about the perils of a totalitarian regime.
“So disappointing you’d put your name to anti-free speech movement,” Sun Media’s Ottawa Bureau Chief David Akin poignantly wrote in a return Tweet.
Atwood fired back: “Free speech does not mean under-the-carpet deals that would force people to pay for Fox out of cable fees.”
She did not return my request for an interview but she wasn’t backing down Thursday, telling the Globe and Mail “some people signing the petition object to the expected content. I object to the process. It’s the pressure on yet another civil servant that bothers me.”
And yet the petition does not talk about the process, but instead viciously and erroneously states Harper is trying to “push American-style hate media onto our air waves” which is clearly unfair and arguably libellous.
She tried to weasel out by telling the Globe “of course Fox & Co. can set up a channel. . .if it’s legal” but “it shouldn’t happen this way,” calling the approach “part of the ‘I make the rules around here,’ Harper-is-a-king thing.”
But it’s disingenuous because you either support the petition or you don’t.
She certainly feels entitled to the right to express her opinion but has no problem assisting a movement trying muzzle those of others.
Wonder if she will object so obstreperously if asked to come on the network to promote a new book?
Maybe that one will be called The Hypocrisy Woman?
Atwood’s U.S. sellout
 Teneycke: Icon’s ignorant attack confirms just why Canada needs Sun TV News. Earlier this week, Avaaz, an American special interest group funded by U.S. billionaire George Soros, circulated a petition opposing the television licence for Sun TV News.. MORE... |
Selley: 'Not about content, 4 me; about process, & a commercial station exacting forced fees. CBC was set up as a service, not a biz." The most accomplished CanLit expert might struggle to recognize the prose, but that's none other than Margaret Atwood..
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Soros trying to keep conservative Canadian TV channel off the air
My new post at David Horowitz's NewsReal blog looks at the unprincipled (and
error filled) petition being circulated by a George Soros-funded leftist group to keep Sun TV News off the Canadian airwaves.
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