Mark Steyn’s column is the one reason why I look forward to my Macleans subscription arriving every week.
This week’s issue is not yet available online as far as I know, but it will be worth watching for. Poor Lorrie Goldstein is Steyn’s target this week. You may remember Lorrie’s column Tamil Tempest from last week, followed closely by Racism Column Hits a Nerve. And boy did it.
Steyn’s piece in the Macleans June 1st edition is titled “Tamil questions that can’t be asked”. (Subtitle: That’s because professional ethnic grievance mongers cry ‘Racist!’ at the drop of a turban.)
This is classic Steyn. Here’s a sample:
…”Well, if Mr. Goldstein feels Canadians are Tamilphobic, many Sinhalese feel that Western opinion is profoundly Sinhalphobic.
Hey, but who care? What happens in Lanka stays in Lanks, right? Er, no...
And:
“Like the revelation during the 2006 war with Israel that half the population of Lebanon hold Canadain passports, the Tamil protests were one those rare moments when the veil lifts and Canadians glimpse the sheer scale of societal transformation…
…The largest Tamil city in Sri Lanka is Jaffna, population 85,000. Is Toronto now the largest Tamil city in the world [at 200,000]? And, if so, why?
Whoops, sorry. that’s racist….
Well, that’s Mark Steyn in all his irreverent glory. Be sure to read it before the HRC gets wind of it or the PC Police remove all the copies from the newsstands.
To be fair to Lorrie, I’m sure he had a good reason for writing his column. But for someone who usually views things fairly objectively (or as Mark Steyn describes him, ‘one of the least soft-headed of Canadian columnists’), you just have to wonder if he wasn’t auditioning for a stint with the Toronto Star.
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Sunday Update: Lorrie Goldstein explains explains a few things – Why Tamils are Canadians:
…I’ve attended two galas held by the CTC, lectured to their young people at university on dealing with the media and, co-incidentally, have Tamil Canadian relatives in my own family through marriage.
I can tell you Tamil Canadians place a high value on education and hard work, that any room full of them is likely to have a disproportionate number of doctors, lawyers, academics and successful business people, that their musicians and dancers are enthusiastically fusing traditional Tamil culture with our own and the youth I’ve met are generally respectful, well-mannered and smart…
* * * *
Monday Update: Reader Bruce gets a H/T from SDA!
Off topic from Macleans;
http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/05/22/exclusive-the-liberal-plan-to-respond-to-the-harper-ads/
Bruce said;
What colour is the sky on the planet that you live on?
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Estelle says:
May 22, 2009 at 4:52 pm
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The same colour apparently as yours, care to give us the source, of that scripted mythical statement supposedly from Ignatieff. Or are you truly on a different planet. Go back to You Tube and see what class looks like.
BTW, Are you hackers paid by the word, or the number of responses, & what else do you do all day?.
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Bruce says:
May 22, 2009 at 5:11 pm
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From the Harvard Crimson;
Ignatieff’s future with the Kennedy School remains dependent on whether he is elected.
“If I am not elected, I imagine that I will ask Harvard to let me back,” Ignatieff said. “I love teaching here, and I hope I’ll be back in some shape or form.”
Canadian members of Parliament can serve for up to five years, but standard leaves of absence from the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) are limited to two years. Exceptions to the KSG policy may be made under “extenuating circumstances,” KSG communications director Melodie Jackson said in September.
“He is still affiliated with the Carr Center and will remain so,” said Executive Director Fernande Raine. “We hope he will come back at some point depending on how long this run in politics actually takes.”
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510196
Don’t you just love it when Liberals ask for a source and then they get it right between the eyes? Zing!!!!
HA HA, Bruce @#1…..but the bigger question Bruce, how much are YOU PAID as a ‘hack’? lol
Ahh, just like the rest of us, shoot off a zinger to the ‘Estelle’s’ of the world.
No payment required, priceless!
Thank you Bruce. I have been looking for the source of that quote for some time.
Like I said before, it pays to visit Blue Like You!
Thank you Bruce. I have been looking for the source of that quote for some time.
Me too! I had found lots of references to that one, but never the original source.
Awesome sleuthing, Bruce.
Like I said before, it pays to visit Blue Like You!
Sure does.
The best part is that it was published in the Haaaarvaaaard Crimson. Heh.
Hey Joanne. I think Taber saw your post about her faulty math. She actually corrected herself today.
#6 – Seriously? Was it on Power Play? I recorded it, but haven’t watched yet.
She corrected the numbers in attendance of Harper’s speech in Montreal to 2300.
Then in typical Taber fashion, she bumped Iggy’s number to 1000 and said the tickets cost more than the PM’s, so do the math.
Ohhh, it looks like Steyn really gives it to Lorrie.
Lorrie is a great writter tho, just don’t agree with him on this issue…
I have been trying to boycott Macleans, but then they bring back Steyn. Ken Whyte is one of the best in the media game.
Bruce,
Thanks for the source of that Iggyism. But WTF, if PM Harper said half the stuff iggy said, errr just imagine what the MSM would be saying…
Very impressive Bruce!! All that negative info about Iggy that the MSM is ignoring.
I couldn’t believe it when Tom Clark asked Jane Taber for a reality check on Stephen Harper in Montreal. Maybe Tom Clark does read his emails once in a while.It was a nice change to witness Jane Taber correct the record.
Fay @#10
But she always manages her trademark cattiness. I simply cannot imagine any female, other than a ‘certain element’ of the Chardonnay and Latte crowd, taking her seriously.
Her type, is why I left female dominated industries.
Her type, makes us all look stupid and shallow.
While it was a nice change to see Jane Taber correct her understated turnout for the Stephen Harper dinner last week in Montreal it was a disappointment to have not one of the three veteran news reporters present discuss the numbers that he was able to pull in. 2007 as opposed to 500.
That’s quite a difference and certainly worth a brief discussion on why the Prime Minister was able to generate that amount of ticket sales in an area where support for the Conservatives has supposedly never been lower.
Ah, but Jane what colour are Iggy’s shoes?
Paul knows!
Just because,
Michael Ignatieff
Then:
Why I support a coalition government
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iILxBcUAFRM
Michael Ignatieff
Now:
MONTREAL — If the proposed coalition of opposition parties had come to power last year it would have deeply and enduringly divided Canadians, says Michael Ignatieff.
“There was also a question concerning the legitimacy of the coalition that troubled me.”
“I felt it was very difficult to guarantee the necessary political stability during a time of crisis with three partners in a formal coalition,” he said.
“That was my first doubt. I couldn’t guarantee the long-term stability of the coalition under the circumstances.”
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1121418.html
I couldn’t believe it when Tom Clark asked Jane Taber for a reality check on Stephen Harper in Montreal. Maybe Tom Clark does read his emails once in a while.It was a nice change to witness Jane Taber correct the record.
I finally got around to reviewing the show. Yes, I wonder if Jane volunteered or if Tom Clark insisted? Very nice to see some kind of accountability, in any case.
I think Goldstein is getting a bit of a bad rap.
He is one of the best columnists in Canada today.
[...] Update: Jane Taber corrected the attendence numbers on Tom Clark’s May 22 Power Play. (H/T to Fay and several other BLY [...]
Stan @#16 – I agree that he is one of the best.
Wilson that’s a good example of Iggy the fish, he flips, he flops, he’s out his depth, he’s a cold fish on the beach.
Harvard can have him.
Is support for the Conservatives REALLY down? Who says? Liberal pollsters? Liberal leaning media who keep repeating it ad nauseum until they hope it becomes self fulfilling.
I have relatives in Sherbrooke and even the words “Federal Liberal” are considered a form of swearing. To call someone that in Quebec is like saying they are lying, cheating thieves.
I will never believe a poll unless it is peer reviewed and done by an arm’s length organization from a media outlet, political party or interest group.
O/T – Calgary Grit has got Iggy’s rebuttal to the CPC ads.
Notice the attempt at pulling out of the gutter of doom and gloom.
It has a nice beat, but we can’t dance to it.
Iggy’s rebuttal grading:
it’s too long, too long-winded, his tie’s on crooked, his eyes are shadowed(I’m thinking Iggy’s people need to consult a stage make-up artist to find out how to use the light with those problematic eyes and brows)
about three-quarters of the way into the rebuttal
appears: Michael Ignatieff
Leader of the Liberal Party
which tells me that even those responsible for the video admit that Canadians still will not recognize Mr. Ignatieff as the LPOC leader.
Also: Iggy’s playing defense, not offense in the bit reading all kinds of inuendo and claims of Harper getting personal.
Well, yeah, the CPC ad is personal because it’s actually Iggy and Iggy’s words. I do believe that Iggy’s personally responsible for those words isn’t he…not Harper or the CPC.
Consider this a clear Ignatieff BLINK.
Wilson, great post!!
Iggy, what a hypocrite. As everyone has said, Iggy keep talking!!
Joanne,
I like both Steyn and Goldstein. This way I get both at once. Kind of like a Reese Peanut Butter Cup.
Did you see Steyn’s latest on the Vermont newspaper government stimulus jobs? As usual, funny and with more than a grain of truth.
Kind of like a Reese Peanut Butter Cup.
That’s funny, Tomm. Heh.
I like them both too. I take what they both say very seriously, as opposed to someone like Travers whom I usually don’t even bother reading anymore because I know exactly what he’s going to say and how biased he will be.
And who wants to read free Liberal propaganda anyway?
Mikey Iggy’s buddies do Fire Dance.
The natural end result of Liberal PET’s multiculturalism: no pavilions at folk-fest torched.
More “exotic” restaurants, more arson.
…-
“Envoy blames Tamils for Ontario fire
BRAMPTON — A suspicious overnight fire that gutted a Sri Lankan restaurant is evidence that the Tamil Tigers are “on the rampage in Toronto,” charged Sri Lanka’s consul general, who said the Sinhalese eatery had been previously targeted and harassed by Tiger flag-waving motorists.
Consul General Bandula Jayasekara claimed that last week’s firebombing of a Scarborough Sri Lankan Buddhist temple and yesterday’s 2:45 a.m. restaurant fire in Brampton make it clear that Tamil Tiger-style violent extremism is a reality in Toronto.
“People here are under threat,” Jayasekara said. “It’s really about what the Tamil Tigers are up to. They’re on the rampage here in Toronto.”"
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/05/23/9546361-sun.html
Here is an excellent article about ads. Quite good actually. A must read.
Score one for the Tories with attack ads
http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/third_page/story.html?id=26fad6bc-5837-45a7-b3d0-7dc8f111e75c
Lorraine @ #20
Lorraine, I agree with you 100%.
The Quebecois have very good memories and the Liberals are bad memories. Chretien? Likewise.
Polls are highly suspect at the best. I do not take seriously the polls that we hear about these days, especially when polls appear at “opportune” moments for a particular party (Liberal).
We are not in election mode, the Liberals have done “nothing”, and polls suggest the Liberals are doing good — give me a break!!
There just might be a breakthrough for the Conservatives in Montreal. I see the Conservatives holding their 10 seats in the rest of the province and adding from there.
We received another Bloc bulletin in the mail. Although attacking the Conservatives, they hit the Liberals as well saying that Iggy and the Liberals propose nothing, that since Jan.26/09, out of 39 votes, the Liberals voted with the Conservatives 32 times.
At election time, the Bloc will hammer the Conservatives and the Liberals. The people will see that the Conservatives have acted and the Liberals have done nothing. I’d say the Conservative chances in Quebec are positive plus.
frmgrl @ 27
frmgrl, fantastic article you listed!!
Now, I feel vindicated. LOL
The Liberals say these Conservative ads indicate “meanness of spirit”. Speaking of the truth, nothing could be further from the truth than to imply “meanness of spirit” to these Conservative ads!! They “bloody well” tell the truth, that’s all. Where’s the meanness of spirit in telling the truth?? It’s like your child being told he is not being honest and your child responds that you’re exhibiting meanness of spirit!!
frmgrl, the article you listed gives the Conservatives loads of ammunition for the days, months, and years to come, a brilliant article!!
[...] reaction at Calgary Grit’s place to Iggy’s rebuttal video (H/T CC): “He looks like he’s on the set of Antiques Road Show.” – Jason Bo Green [...]
Frmgrl @ #27 – Great link. Thanks. I added it at the end of the next post.
That looks like a good article. I have no idea why so many expats are living in Toronto. Somebody surely fell asleep one night at the border.
[...] wonder what Mark Steyn will [...]
Matt, your comment about U of W Tamil students is fascinating, but I’m reluctant to publish it due to concerns about libel, etc.
Perhaps you’d like to try leaving it on a blog whose owner is a bit less timid than I am, or at least has a team of lawyers.
That’s fair.
I too started to question whether it was a good idea to comment about someone in on-going criminal proceedings.
Matt, I appreciate that.
[...] Thank you Bruce! [...]