Saudis launch assault on Canadian media

[sooperphreek]

ummmm are people here really so naive that they think the media in western culture is free? really??? also, i wish that the money from oil went directly into the coffers of our government. rather than the pockets of greedy companies and that get bailed out with public money because they are too big to let collapse.

[The Green Barbarian]

ummmm are people here really so naive that they think the media in western culture is free? really??? also, i wish that the money from oil went directly into the coffers of our government. rather than the pockets of greedy companies and that get bailed out with public money because they are too big to let collapse.

Please tell me how many oil companies were given bail outs? I think it was zero. Also - the whole "putting oil money directly in the pockets of government" has been done before - see Petro Canada. Also see the state oil companies of Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil etc. All you end up with when you "put oil money directly in the pockets of government" is sloth and waste, as government can't run business, they suck at it. Everyone knows this. Why there are still people pounding the socialist pulpit despite all of the evidence showing that their ideas are dead is just beyond me.

[The Green Barbarian]

Regardless of what you think of Ezra Levant or Ethical Oil the Saudi Arabia Government has no business attempting to use the Canadian Court System to silence its critics. Saudi Arabia may not have free speech but here in Canada we do and we must remember that our society was built on the principle of defending the rights of others to voice their views even if we disagree with them.

Thank you for understanding the real issue here. Too many people are either blinded by Ezra's hyperbole and reputation and refuse to read any further, or get hung up on the oilsands and then refuse to see the bigger picture. Here's a link to the Globe and Mail article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... le2173999/

A pro-industry group that promotes Canada’s “ethical” oil sands has sparked an international row with a television ad attacking Saudi Arabia’s record on women’s rights.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney on Tuesday slammed the Saudi embassy’s apparent effort to kill a 30-second advocacy ad that argues U.S. reliance on Canada’s oil-sands production is more “ethical” than buying oil from the undemocratic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The offending ad ran on the Oprah Winfrey Network in Canada, and is now appearing on SUN TV, but a planned run on CTV’s Newsnet was cancelled due to legal concerns after a lawyer for the Saudis wrote a letter of complaint.

The ad was produced by EthicalOil.org, an advocacy group that was the brainchild of Conservative activist Ezra Levant and was founded by Alykhan Velshi, a former aide to Mr. Kenney.

And while you may be saying "Well of course the Conservatives are backing Ezra, blah blah blah"...here's what the NDP critic had to say: "I think the Saudis probably should stick to regulating their own affairs," New Democrat foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said. "It's not for them to decide what's on our airwaves."

So even the NDP is on board here with Ezra. It's too bad once again the CBC, that bastion of journalistic integrity, is letting their personal issues with Ezra Levant dictate what is news and what isn't news. So sad, yet what else is new with those bozos.

[Loed]

Barring Ezra and all that political crap it's disgusting that the Saudi's think(and can) affect what we should be allowed to publish.

I understand the stations breaking under pressure, even if there is no case it is very expensive and time intensive to attend court proceedings.