May 2015 Provincial Election Thread v2

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by chemgear

In the spectrum of freedom of the press, arbitrary government revocation of journalist accreditation seems like one of the most obvious red flags from first world dictatorships and crappy countries.

Obviously not lumping the NDP with that but it shows how utterly stupid this is.

Except its not like it was a revocation of accreditation, for the gallery stuff no acceditation was needed, but the Premiere's office changed the rules to target one organization. That's really bad optics.

It looks even worse when they let someone in to a press gathering, and then toss them out after they've been vetted through the door. that basically implies that they looked at the list of entrants and then found someone that they didn't like or who was in opposition to her government and threw them out.

Notley is looking really ridiculous right now.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Why would she pick this fight?! What an idiot.

she's been pretty underwhelming as the leader of this province, and she's come across as pretty arrogant so far.

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

she's been pretty underwhelming as the leader of this province, and she's come across as pretty arrogant so far.

Sounds familiar...

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Except its not like it was a revocation of accreditation, for the gallery stuff no acceditation was needed, but the Premiere's office changed the rules to target one organization. That's really bad optics.

It looks even worse when they let someone in to a press gathering, and then toss them out after they've been vetted through the door. that basically implies that they looked at the list of entrants and then found someone that they didn't like or who was in opposition to her government and threw them out.

Notley is looking really ridiculous right now.

Yeah, you're right. It is worse. And pretty blatant. You gotta wonder what else they're trying to do on the down low.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Yeah its more symbolic then anything else.

Reading further into this, Levant has posted a letter from his lawyer to the director of communications, and it really looks like the whole Accreditation thing is pretty shakey at best.

Basically therebel asked the press galley president what they needed to work the legislature, and he replied that they didn't need accreditation, and the person needed to be a working journalist, when she showed up at the legislature she was denied by direction of the premiers office because of a lack of accreditation. In other words Notley blackballed the organization with a dishonest reason.

Levant is going to take this as far as he can, and when you look at his twitter he's getting a lot of play and support from mainstream media members.

Hate the website name, but the link includes the legal letter

http://www.therebel.media/notleyisabully

That link is a fine example of how the right picture can really set the tone for what you want the public to think about a person. Ezra couldn't have made it more obvious without drawing devil horns on her head.

Will be curious to see how Notley responds to this.

[transplant99]

So just to put to bed the lame claim that Levant or any of the rebel gang are not journalists, I just looked up 3 different sites for a proper definition:

Merriam Webster

1. 1 a : a person engaged in journalism; especially : a writer or editor for a news mediumb : a writer who aims at a mass audience
2. 2 : a person who keeps a journal

Dictionary.com

1.
a person who practices the occupation or profession of journalism.
2. a person who keeps a journal, diary, or other record of daily events.

Oxford

A person who writes for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or prepares news to be broadcast:

Now tell me how Levant or anyone from rebel doesn't fit the category of a journalist?

[Fuzz]

I'd be interested to know the outcome of that court case where he argued he wasn't a journalist. Did the court buy it?

[CaptainCrunch]

Looks like the Globe and Mail has come out against Notley's actions

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opini...ticle28775443/

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I'd be interested to know the outcome of that court case where he argued he wasn't a journalist. Did the court buy it?

He's irrelevant he wasn't the one tossed, and denied.

AS soon as they were told that accreditation wasn't needed for access to the gallery, and then Notley changed the rules to deny a specific organization, she lost.

[Fuzz]

Oh, not arguing that at all. I was just curious, as they both seam to have fought the point that he is not a journalist.

[2Stonedbirds]

When did Joseph Goebbels start working for the NDP?

What a bunch of twats.

[Resolute 14]

^ A twat is someone who Godwins a discussion thread.

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Oh, not arguing that at all. I was just curious, as they both seam to have fought the point that he is not a journalist.

Even so, the CEO of Postmedia isn't a journalist either, but his staffers are. And given Alberta pretty much has exactly one traditional media outlet left, it becomes more important to allow online media in.

[chemgear]

I can't stand Ezra and his rants myself. I'm aware of his site but have maybe only visited it once or twice via links that show up on this forum.

But #### the NDP and this disgusting behavior. This is not some backwards first world ####hole of a country. You don't do this #### in Alberta. You don't do this #### Canada.

#### you.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Looks like the Globe and Mail has come out against Notley's actions

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opini...ticle28775443/

This is beyond deplorable. It is not the place of a government to decide what constitutes a journalist or a media outlet. This is not Russia, not Egypt, not Iran – countries where government controls the media through bogus licensing regimes or outright censorship.

Its reporters cover the news, criticize the government, and comment on society. You can like it or despise it, think it amateurish or low-budget, but that’s irrelevant.

Premier Rachel Notley is showing contempt for the media, and more importantly Albertans, by banning The Rebel. Since taking power, the NDP government has often been more Stephen Harper than Justin Trudeau, curtailing reporters’ access and ending press conferences when it didn’t like what was being asked. What began as petty has evolved into something far worse.

[2Stonedbirds]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

^ A twat is someone who Godwins a discussion thread.

Lighten up Billy, it was a joke.

[Fuzz]

Sigh. Yes. Fine! I am in no way trying to defend or provide some weaselly excuse for this. I was just curious how a court of law saw his assertion that he wasn't a journalist.

You people...

[Minnie]

Aside from everything else, I think it's hilarious.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by chemgear

I can't stand Ezra and his rants myself. I'm aware of his site but have maybe only visited it once or twice via links that show up on this forum.

But #### the NDP and this disgusting behavior. This is not some backwards first world ####hole of a country. You don't do this #### in Alberta. You don't do this #### Canada.

#### you.

This was pretty much my first reaction as well. I also despise single-issue politics, but they may have pressed the one button I see as non-negotiable.

My second thought was, do they make a constitutional case out of it? It's a bit nuanced. No one's stopping them from printing what they like, but they're being walled off from participating in the political reporting process. It's also clearly retributive government behaviour for past speech, which also shouldn't be allowed.

[killer_carlson]

I think that the Notley government is really managing the deflection game well.

Whenever the heat starts up on the economy David Eggen starts talking about bathrooms in schools again. Now this stunt will have the right wing railing on for a week or so. It will occupy the headlines - just like the bathroom discussion stunts do as well.

In the mean time, no one is talking about the economy, or jobs, or failing to advocate for Alberta. It buys them another week to try and come up with a plan or respond with something tangible.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

I think that the Notley government is really managing the deflection game well.

Whenever the heat starts up on the economy David Eggen starts talking about bathrooms in schools again. Now this stunt will have the right wing railing on for a week or so. It will occupy the headlines - just like the bathroom discussion stunts do as well.

In the mean time, no one is talking about the economy, or jobs, or failing to advocate for Alberta. It buys them another week to try and come up with a plan or respond with something tangible.

That's an interesting thought but I'm going to go with Hanlon's razor here.

[Resolute 14]

The "right wing" is fully capable of focusing on Notley's multiple failings at the same time, Killer.


Incidentally, and rather obviously given the NDP are sitting third in the polls, a united right would utterly crush the NDP if an election were held today.