Thanks Don Newman for your many years in broadcasting

All the best to you, Don, in your retirement. CBC Newsworld's Politics was a great show with you as host. I'm sure Canadians will be seeing you again on the television once in a while.

Thank you, Don.

Skinny Dipper

Canadians should thank the prime minister and the leader of the opposition

Thank you, thank you! You two make Canada great!

Who's more American and less Canadian?

I like this letter to the editor that mentions Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper: Toronto Star.

"This parade ought not to be politicized ... we're disappointed."

Bernie Farber doesn't want Toronto's Pride Parade to be politicized.

From the Toronto Sun:

Jewish groups are outraged that the Toronto Pride Parade could be hijacked by anti-Semitic protesters.

And the Canadian Jewish Congress has asked parade participants to lobby against the colourful and popular event becoming a venue to attack Israel.

Organizers have angered some Jewish groups by letting Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) be among the 164 registered groups in the Sunday, June 28 parade.

Jewish groups say the parade included growing anti-Israeli sentiment in recent years and accuse Toronto lawyer El Farouk Khaki, the 2009 parade marshal, of being anti-Semitic.

He did not return a call to the Sun last night.

But Pride Toronto executive director Tracey Sandilands said Khaki was elected parade marshal in a majority vote -- honoured for "humanitarianism" and helping many gay refugees get into Canada. "We're thrilled to have him."

She said Khaki assured her he won't express political views as parade marshal.

"This parade ought not to be politicized ... we're disappointed," Bernie Farber, Canadian Jewish Congress CEO, said last night.

"It's a pretty sad story that the Pride Parade, a highlight of the summer which invites people to come out and show pride in their identity, includes heavy-duty, very intense political debate," he said.

"It's very sad that even fun has to be political," he said.

The issue of Israel's status in the Middle East has led to "very hostile, vicious kinds of debates, where Jews and Israelis are accused of being racists," he said. "When you suggest Israel is an apartheid state, you're saying they are racists."

Sandilands said QuAIA participated in last year's parade unofficially, registered to join this year's 5-km march, and includes some Jews.

Its website says QuAIA seeks "to reignite Toronto's queer community in the fight" to brand Israel's occupation of Palestine as apartheid, opposing its promotion as "a tolerant, queer-positive democracy."

Instead of legal action, Farber said the congress wants gays to tell parade officials "it is not a political event."

Sandilands said QuAIA's admission was debated by organizers and their lawyer.

Pride Toronto's mandate is to organize a variety of Pride Week events, not exclude anyone except if they break laws, she said.

"We serve a very diverse community ... the last thing we can do is take the side of one group against the other," Sandilands said. "You're entitled to voice your opinions as long as you don't step over the anti-discrimination policy and hate laws."

Parade marshals, whose ranks were increased from 25 to 80, will watch for harassment and unregistered infiltrators, who pose an "insurance liability" risk, she told the Sun. Even anti-gay groups would be permitted, except for "racist, sexist or homophobic" behaviour.

She said a pro-Israeli group expressed concerns, and a worried pro-Israeli team was promised a parade position far from QuAIA.

IAN.ROBERTSON@SUNMEDIA.CA

I could accept that the Pride Parade should not be politicized so long as the Walk for Israel, too, is not politicized in any way.

I went to Desi-fest in Toronto today

I went to downtown Toronto to do some shopping at and near the Eaton Centre. While I took a break from my shopping, I went to the south-east corner of Yonge and Dundas and enjoyed some of the Desi-fest festivities. I saw a children's dance performance, a singer, a McMaster dance group, and 12 drummers drumming. I didn't see 11 pipers piping or ten lords-a-leaping. The McMaster group was really great with their leaping! I didn't count if there were ten performers in their group. Several of the groups that I heard either sang or danced to songs that had a contemporary techno-Indo beat.

I did savour some Tandoori chicken and rice. The chicken tasted great, but not as great as Vijay Sappani's wife's Tandoori chicken that I enjoyed at Vijay and his wife's home at last year's Progressive Bloggers gathering.

Vijay did mention to his friends that he would be attending Desi-fest. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see him. Maybe next year I will.

The weather was great and there were lots of people. I think it was great that many of the attendees came from various South Asian and non-South Asian backgrounds. It was a Toronto event that was enjoyed by those who were there.

Thanks Vijay for informing me about Desi-fest. I had a great day!

CRTC reports and local television: Help me translate into plain everyday English

I am looking at some CRTC reports about the state of television. When I hear about how broadcast companies need help by getting the cable and satellite companies to pay for carriage of local stations, I wonder why. If I interpret some of the information found in the CRTC reports, specialty channels are gaining in revenue while the on-air (terrestrial) stations are stagnating. Local television news is facing a couple of challenges. People, especially young people, are watching less television. Also, the CBC is increasing resources to provide better local news production. Both of these will cut into the revenues that the private stations get from airing the local news.

If someone could help me interpret some of the information found in these reports, that would be great!

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/rp090123.htm

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/PolicyMonitoring/2008/cmr2008.htm

Local television: "It's the plus and plus, if the minuses are played correctly"

CTV and the A-Channels are holding public open houses and community events in order to get the locals to believe that they need to help save local television. I just looked at my Rogers TV guide and noticed with CFTO-TV Toronto and CKCO-TV Kitchener that the only differences in scheduling are the one-hour suppertime news at 6 p.m. and the late evening news at 11:30. That's only one and a half hours of local programming today (Saturday). On the weekdays, there is an extra hour of lunchtime local news. Wow. Local programming is 10.42% of the daily weekday schedule. And it's all news programming.

If you want to see what local programming was like, what this news story about the former Tiny Talent Time show from CHCH-TV Hamilton:



Here's a piece from the 1970's show, WKRP in Cinninatti. I know the content is not exactly related to the so-called fight for local program. However, I do get the feeling that CTV is trying to shift its plusses and minuses in order to maximize the benefits for itself. It's using the campaign to support local television as a way to gain more revenue. Cue to 2:30:



Update: Perhaps we need less local television. See video with station info. at the end:



Another update: If you didn't read my first blog about the local television campaign, click the link.

Another update again: The Tyee has a great blogpost about how the "local" A-Channel in Victoria, BC missed covering the provincial election--especially the local races. Instead, the A-Channel ran American programs.