Ezra Levant and the "Western Standard"
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/02/15/western-standard-060215.html
This guy, is not my kind of guy.
Ezra Levant and the "Western Standard" are representative of the worst in Canadian public life - namely, the tendency of some to identify with American civic values rather than with Canadian civic values - in the interests of trying to edge us closer and closer to that republic.
If these types love America so much, then why the f**k don't they just move there?
Levant could not be more of an American neoconservative if he tried. Unless he changed his name to David Frum, that is. The fact is, I support Israel as a bulwark of civilisation and democracy in the Middle-East, so I cannot be accused of anything remotely anti-Semitic, but I have to say that he is not really helping the just Israeli cause in being so radical. And of course that is what he is - a radical.
And let me tell you something friends, you cannot be a conservative and a radical at the same time. If you're radical, fine - just don't call yourself conservative.
I am really quite sick of these neocons high-jacking the name of a political tradition that has existed in England and Canada since the late 17th Century.
My point at the end-of-the-day is not that Ezra Levant does not have the right to publish what he wants, or should live in fear of publishing what he feels he needs to. That is not my issue here at all. Freedom of the Press is just that, and it is more than valuable. It is essential.
What I object to is how tasteless this man and his agenda appear to be.
The fact is, even if some people say such things about Colleen Klein (and I am no fan of Ralph, believe me ...), then just explain this to me:
HOW and WHY is this Considered "NEWS?"
The short answer is merely this: It is not News. It is not meant to be news.
At best, it is merely muckraking; at worst - yellow journalism. It has no redeeming value.
Like his recent publication of the "Allah cartoons" from the Jutland Post, there is no point here - other than to tick people off. Well, I should really reconsider that statement for a second, because I do feel that while he has the right to reproduce the Jutland Post cartoons, he did not do so as an expression of his freedom of speech - but rather more in the interests of fanning the fires of conflict between Judaism and Islam in order to further his neoconservative agenda.
In my opinion, he is a tasteless boor.
posted by Aeneas the Younger @ 7:29 pm
6 Comments
6 Comments:
I read about it in the Canadian Jewish News. He claims it was to stir debate, and show that for the most part, they aren't that offensive.
From what I've read elsewhere, they aren't that offenseive, and I personally find the "we have no more virgins" to be a funny comment on some ridiculous propaganda (suicide bombers are promised 72 virgins in paradise).
In addition, if memory serves, he did publish other cartoons along with it, including things Muslims have printed about Jews drinking children's blood and all that nonsense. I recall that from the CJN article.
HOWEVER, I think that for all the plausible deniability of it, this was a publicity stunt, like you said. Had he published the cartoons minus the turban/bomb one, I'd say he was in the clear.
Caveat emptor: I have only seen the bomb/turban cartoon, and vaguely recall the censorship/see no evil one, with women in burqas and Muhammad with his eyes covered (which is, again, clever).
Lastly, I agree with you that publishing this sort of thing deepens the divide between Jews and Muslims.
Oh, I forgot to mention that if you want to read a bit more about it, I've posted a few things about it myself. These include a response to a Daniel Pipes essay on the topic, and a photo essay depicting the irony of Muslims being violent to protest cartoons stereotyping them as violent.
Thank you for all the informations you provided on Ezra Levant. I only heard about him and the Western Standard last week for the first time...
I think that it is a good thing to publish the Danish cartoons in Canada!
I am a cartoonist myself and I really don't like the way and the reasons the Canadian medias gave cowardly to not republish them. At last, one did!
I am usually a very moderated person, but now, I think the Freedom of speech needs to be defended in this country against the intolerance of a religion in which the majority of people in Canada don't believe...
The cartoons were not very offensive and nowhere in the Quran it is written not to depict Muhammed the prophet.
Even moderated Muslims in Europe blame the American and Canadian medias that refused to reprint the cartoons!!!
Well done!
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