Why did Stephen Harper prevent Canadians from learning about the kidnapping of Mellissa Fung (pictured above) when it actually occured on October 12, 2008? This is not the practice of other nations, as evidenced by this report below.
Can this news embargo willingly engaged in by Canada's press be explained by the fact that we had an election in progress and Harper wanted to bury this news for his own political fortunes? Keep in mind, Harper had stopped taking any questions from the press on October 12, 2008 on any topic? That's Harper's twisted idea of a democracy.
New York Times Reporter Kidnapped Near Kabul
November 11, 2008 6:18 a.m. EST
AHN Staff
Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) - A journalist from the New York Times together with two Afghan colleagues were abducted by unidentified armed men on Monday in Logar province, some 37.2 miles south of the capital Kabul.
Jan Mohammad Khalid, spokesman for the provincial administration said that the New York Times journalist he identified only as David, was forcibly taken by armed men together with his local interpreter Tahir and driver at around 5:00 pm Monday while on their way to Charkh district.
The trio did not coordinate, with the police, their trip to Charkh, he said.
According to Khalid, the New York Times journalist wanted to conduct an interview with local Taliban fighters but failed to inform authorities of their plan.
Logar province police chief Mustafa Mohsino warned that all foreigners, as well as journalists, should coordinate with the police before traveling to Logar province.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
The abduction of the New York Times journalist came after Canadian TV journalist Melissa Fung, a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation were freed Saturday by her abductors in Wardak province.
Fung was abducted by suspected Taliban members on October 12, after her second visit into the country.
She was freed after the local tribal council negotiated with her kidnappers for her quick release.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Evidently, Americans have a right to know, that eludes Canadians under Harper
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9 comments:
Also, it's worth pointing out that Evidently, Afghans have a right to know, that eludes Canadians under Harper:
Why was the news of Mellissa Fung's kidnapping withheld from Canadians by Harrper, the CBC and Canadian news media when it was reported in real time to Afghans? Did Harper consider Canadians the source of Mellissa's danger?
Afghan Islamic Press Online http://www.afghanislamicpress.com/site/home/detail.asp?iData=15318
Canadian journalist abducted in Kabul
KABUL (AIP): Unknown gunmen kidnapped a Canadian female journalist in Kabul yesterday (Oct. 13), sources said Monday. Informed sources told Afghan Islamic Press that the Canadian journalist was capture in Char Rahi Qanbar area, western part of Kabul City after she visited a refugee camp. Security officials are tight lipped over the incident and avoid giving any details to media. The 27-year old female Canadian journalist was working for a Canadian magazine and had also visited the cam several times in the past. There was no word by security officials and armed groups in this regard. Ends Posted @ 06:20 GMT
One has to wonder if the NYTimes reporter would have altered his actions had he known of the kidnapping activity at an earlier date? Has is life been put in jeopardy by the lack of timely disclosure?
RK
RK:
EXACTLY what I was thinking the other day when pondering the question of what the best standard operating procedure should be in the case of political kidnappings, and what the trade offs are. The one you are mentioning is the one I thought becomes determinant. Withholding knowledge of a risk event, only serves to unnecessarily expose others to that risk. Even when a person does their due diligence to assess the risk, they will remain oblivious to the actual risk.
This was a politically motivated suppression of facts. Simply shows how the Canadian media can be corralled. Just yesterday I was saying to my spouse that "do you think the US media would ever do this (suppress the facts)?"
I guess we got the answer to that hypothetical question today. What could be more analogous to a CBC reporter in Afghanistan that a NYT reporter in Afghanistan?
NTK
Makes you wonder what else the media is withholding from the public at Harper's behest.
What news is true, what isn't. Dangerous ground if you ask me.
Interesting sequence of events:
October 12, 2008 Mellissa Fung kidnapped. Canadians are no told after CBC and PMO lobby every domestic and foreign news agency not to report the incident
October 13, 2008 Afghan News announces the kidnapping. Still Canadians aren’t told
October 14, 2008 Canadian election. Lowest turnout ever. Canadians are not engaged in election because of few galvanizing issues
November 9, 2008: Canadians told of kidnapping and release of Mellissa Fung. No details are provided whatsoever on why captors were motivated to release the kidnapped Fung
November 10, 2008: New York Times reporter kidnapped in Afghanistan.
Conclusion: Perhaps these Afghans want more of whatever the Canadians gave to ensure the release of Mellissa Fung so they went for another round certain in the knowledge that it would pay off?
Where is the news media in Canada? Maybe this explains how the news media conspired with Harper to never reveal his total falsehood about tax leakage that was the false argument used to “justify: Canadians losing $35 billion of their savings, or why the media never nailed him on his Cadman bribery? Corruption in the media breeds corruption in our democracy.
When it comes to information Canada is beginning to resemble communist China and other dictatorships!
YF
Please. In such a situation the only consideration can be the safety of the Canadian who has been violently taken hostage. If it were me who was taken, I would absolutely not want media attention or anything else to interfere with the brave people whose work it is to kill the bad guys and bring me home safe.
On today of all days, show some defference to those who made the hard decisions and risked death to bring this person home safe.
Hmmmmmmm.
This whole discussion stems from the fact that the possibility does exist that Harper has shut down the media from time to time.
As his reign began he moved the media from the press gallery to the foyer--he fed them crumbs until they were to the point of starvation for any news political--they began to kow-tow to his every whim because they knew unless they did , they would be back to a starvation diet.
Harper knows better than anyone , that strict media control is a path to success when the policy is suspect--all you have to do is look no further than the late Friday night announcements of the things controversial.
This guy is good--from herding the media to tossing the public a bone disguised as full side of Alberta beef.
Distrust of all things Harper has led us down this path of suspicion.
Dr Mike Popovich.
Just finished watching on a time-delay, here in a far-flung region of Canada, the Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa.
The Canadian press dishonours the Canadians who fought and are fighting for democratic freedoms, including freedom of information. A free society needs free and accurate news and opinion. Or, do they say in Afghanistan “Democrackic” freedom?
The CBC has been cowed. The GlobeCTV, CanWest and Sun organizations have been co-opted to support a government for which only a minority of Canadians voted. How minority? Less than 20% of all Canadians voted for the Harper Tory Party. What is in it for the GlobeCTV, CanWest and Sun owners that they would pervert the independence, objectivity and diversity of the news?
Chretien cowed the CBC. The CBC told some fibs about Jean, who then down-sized them. Moral of the saga: if you're going to slag a powerful politician, get your facts straight.
Straight facts about Harper rarely come from the GlobeCTV, CanWest and Sun. Their Harper news is boosterism of the worse kind. They boost Harper by slagging the Liberals, and ignoring the NDP and Green. For example, the consensus of senior economists and environmentalists is that a carbon tax is the most efficient, effective method with the least paperwork method. The Canadian press did not do any in-depth reporting on the story. Similarly the twenty or so reported listeria deaths; record high opium production behind NATO lines in Afghanistan, failure of private healthcare in the US, and on and on it goes.
A free society needs free and accurate news and opinion. O Canada, for what have you sent many hundreds of thousands of young men and women to war? God save Canada.
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