Canadian News Reporter Gets Arrested For Asking Questions To Canada's Deputy Prime Minister

BREAKING: Rebel News reporter David Menzies (@TheMenzoid) was brutally arrested by police after he tried to ask Chrystia Freeland questions.

Visit Rebel News for more on this story: https://t.co/J42ReU1MjY pic.twitter.com/5vgNotnjyy

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 8, 2024

 

Toronto Sun: Cops ripped for arresting reporter trying to ask Chrystia Freeland questions  

He was later released without charges 

A reporter was arrested Monday while trying to ask questions of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in public. 

Freeland, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, were in Richmond Hill to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Iran’s military shooting down Flight PS752 as it was bound for Canada via Ukraine. 

Everyone on board was killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: This incident sadly illustrates the state of freedom of the press in Canada. 

It is clear from the above video that this Police officer overreacted, and if he acted alone he should definitely not be on a security detail. And if he was following orders to stop this news reporter from asking questions .... well .... that should concern everyone. 

But there is actually a bigger story behind this incident. 

Canada's main stream news media is heavily supported and subsidized by the Federal Government. Has this impacted news media coverage of the Trudeau government .... in my opinion it definitely has. I first noticed this change in coverage about 3 to 4 years ago after the Trudeau government announced a massive bailout package for Canada news media .... Journalists question Liberal government's $600M media bailout plan (CBC News). 

Basically .... every main stream reporter in Canada now owes a good chunk of his salary to the generosity of the Trudeau government. And this government support is growing .... Feds could subsidize half of Canadian journalist salaries following Google agreement (True North). 

Fortunately, Canada does have a vibrant and active independent news media presence that is not supported with funds from the Federal government. Rebel News is one of them, and they cover news stories that the main stream media chooses to ignore. 

As for Rebel News reporter David Menzies. His style of asking questions reminds me on how 60 Minutes did their reporting a few decades back, albeit far more milder than how Mike Wallace and what his colleagues did when they went after a story and/or questioned a person with the cameras rolling.

CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Must Have Its Gaza Coverage Cleared By IDF Censors

CNN's Jeremy Diamond points toward Israeli military hardware in a field near Israel's border with Gaza. (Photo: screenshot/CNN) 

The Intercept: CNN Runs Gaza Coverage Past Jerusalem Team Operating Under Shadow of IDF Censor  

The Jerusalem bureau has long reviewed all CNN stories relating to Israel and Palestine. Now, it’s helping shape the network’s coverage of the war.  

Whether reporting from the Middle East, the United States, or anywhere else across the globe, every CNN journalist covering Israel and Palestine must submit their work for review by the news organization’s bureau in Jerusalem prior to publication, under a long-standing CNN policy. While CNN says the policy is meant to ensure accuracy in reporting on a polarizing subject, it means that much of the network’s recent coverage of the war in Gaza — and its reverberations around the world — has been shaped by journalists who operate under the shadow of the country’s military censor. 

Like all foreign news organizations operating in Israel, CNN’s Jerusalem bureau is subject to the rules of the Israel Defense Forces’s censor, which dictates subjects that are off-limits for news organizations to cover, and censors articles it deems unfit or unsafe to print. As The Intercept reported last month, the military censor recently restricted eight subjects, including security cabinet meetings, information about hostages, and reporting on weapons captured by fighters in Gaza. In order to obtain a press pass in Israel, foreign reporters must sign a document agreeing to abide by the dictates of the censor.  

Read more ....  

Update: CNN Admits 'Disturbing' Israel-Palestine Coverage Policy 'Has Been in Place for Years' (Common Dreams)  

WNU Editor: In past conflicts a network would always state if its coverage had to be cleared by censors. CNN is clearly not following that rule, and I suspect that they are not alone.

This Is How Canada's Mainstream Media Covers Those Who Oppose Prime Minister Trudeau

 

WNU Editor: As I had mentioned in a commentary a few days ago. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's support from the main stream media runs deep .... The Next Prime Minister Of Canada? (September 11, 2022). 

Update: Here is a better angle of the main stream media reporter heckling the leader of the opposition (see below):

Here’s the video. @JustinTrudeau’s subsidized media @davidakin going after @PierrePoilievre like a rabid mongoose. https://t.co/8rUOUjb8tg pic.twitter.com/I3ZK4G1qLw

— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) September 15, 2022

Yesterday's Western Media Monster Is Today's Hero

The first 3 images: how @Reuters itself described Azov prior to the Russian invasion: as a dangerous neo-Nazi menace.

The last image: @Reuters today saying that such descriptions (its own) are merely Russian assertions. pic.twitter.com/5O4J0SiDNb

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 20, 2022

Moon Of Alabama: Media Are Now Whitewashing Nazis They Had Previously Condemned 

Recently the New York Times, like many other 'western' outlets, has changed its language when reporting about the fascist Ukrainian Asov Battalion. 

What was once "a Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary organization" which even the FBI said is notorious for its “association with neo-Nazi ideology” was first relabeled as merely "far right" before it became a normal "unit in the Ukrainian military".  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Glen Greenwald's twitter thread that breaks down the media's 180 degree reversal and revisionism to groups like Azov can be read here (link here).

The Top Worst Media Moments Of 2021

Becket Adams, Washington Examiner: The top nine worst media moments of 2021 

It was not a good year for the national press. 

From the Chris Cuomo scandal to corporate journalists inventing stories about violent Border Patrol agents and Republican-led witch hunts, 2021 marked yet another lousy year in media credibility. 

Indeed, if 2021 proved anything, it’s that corporate newsrooms are perfectly content to burp out the same nonsense, make the same mistakes, embrace the same ignorance, overlook the same ethical lapses, and parrot the same partisan talking points that have made them about as distrusted as Congress.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Here are more media lies .... Top Ten Media Lies Of 2021 (Washington Exterminator).

Keeping Track Of The Main Stream Media Is Easy

Victor Davis Hanson, Real Clear Politics: Our Upside-Down Postelection World 

After Nov. 3, the meaning of some words and concepts abruptly changed. 

Have you noticed how new realities have replaced old ones? 

Media cross-examination of the president is now an out-of-date idea. 

The time for gotcha questions has come and gone. 

Why ask a president whether he is a traitor or a crook when you can focus on his favorite flavor of milkshake or compliment him on his socks? 

The old pre-election truth was that new vaccines take years to develop. The new postelection truth is that it's no big deal to bring out new vaccines in nine months. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Yup .... 

  .... To keep track of our brave new American world is easy. 

 Just consider everything said to be bad by the "Animal Farm" media before Nov. 3 as now good. And remember that everything said to be good two months ago is now actually bad.

Media Reports Say President Trump Blamed Gold Star Families For His COVID-19 Infection (But He Did Not)

No, Trump didn’t blame Gold Star families for his blaming COVID. It’s very clear listening to this interview.pic.twitter.com/X9DrYdyOBD

— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) October 8, 2020

Politico: Democrats rip Trump for suggesting Gold Star families could have given him Covid-19

“They come within an inch of my face, sometimes,” the president said of the families of America’s war dead. 

Top congressional Democrats condemned President Donald Trump on Thursday after the commander in chief suggested that he might have contracted Covid-19 from Gold Star family members who were too close to him when telling stories of their loved ones who died in the line of duty. 

Democrats said Trump’s comments, made in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday morning, disrespected military families and shifted blame for his administration’s shortcomings on the coronavirus.

Read more .... 

Update: 'He's the one that is making them sick': Trump's suggestion that he got infected from Gold Star families faces fierce backlash from Democrats (Business Insider) 

WNU Editor: You can listen to the above interview and it is clear that President Trump is not blaming Gold Star families for his Covid-19 infection. He is blaming the fact that he is President, and his job is to meet people where he knew the risk of getting sick was always there. More here .... No, Trump Didn't Blame Gold Star Families for His COVID-19 Infection (PJ Media). This election cycle has produced the worse news media coverage that I have ever seen in an American election. It has come to the point where I say almost all of it is now being manipulated to push a political bias or agenda.

CNN Analyst Says President Trump Is A 'Biological Terrorist'. CBS Anchor Wonders If President Trump Faked His Illness

BTW, I mean that literally. Trump's own AG says that COVID meets the statutory definition of a "biological agent" and that intentionally passing it to others can constitute an act of terrorism https://t.co/UcQwshbUS9

— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) October 6, 2020

Summit News: CNN Analyst Labels President Trump “A Biological Terrorist” 

 “I mean that literally” 

A CNN analyst tweeted Tuesday that President Donald Trump is “a biological terrorist,” later doubling down and adding “I mean that literally”. 

Asha Rangappa made the post after Trump triumphantly returned to the White House on Monday and ripped off his face mask in front of the press, much to their disdain. 

“Trump’s own AG says that COVID meets the statutory definition of a ‘biological agent’ and that intentionally passing it to others can constitute an act of terrorism,” Rangappa whined on Twitter. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Bias in the media. Nah!!!!

CBS News Reporter Says 'I Felt Safer Reporting In North Korea Than In This White House'

For context folks, this is in reference to the COVID-19 outbreak at The White House.

— Ben Tracy (@benstracy) October 5, 2020

Washington Times: CBS News' Ben Tracy: 'I felt safer reporting in North Korea' than in this White House

CBS News White House correspondent Ben Tracy declared Monday that he felt more at ease performing his job in totalitarian North Korea than in President Trump’s White House after multiple people, including the president himself, tested positive for COVID-19. 

“I felt safer reporting in North Korea than I currently do reporting at The White House. This is just crazy,” Mr. Tracy, who reports for “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” and “CBS This Morning,” tweeted to his 12,000 followers. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Is this CBS reporter clueless!?!?!? He has been to North Korea three times .... Ben Tracy, CBS News. He should know what is happening there.

The U.S. News Media Is Broken

When Politico accuses CNN of a softball Interview, you know there’s a problem.

This man might become POTUS, yet still, too many reporters think their role is to help make that happen instead of asking hard Qs.

The media is broken. https://t.co/VOUUJ0KR8D

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 18, 2020

The Hill: Media accused of using kid-gloves on Biden

A CNN town hall event with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, broadcast Thursday evening, is sharpening questions about fairness in news coverage of the 2020 campaign.

The questions Biden faced during the 75-minute event were overwhelmingly sympathetic, and only a single one —from a Republican voter who asked about regulation — could have been considered hostile.

The event’s moderator, Anderson Cooper, was also respectful toward Biden, offering little by way of interrogation of the former vice president.

Read more ....

Update: Biden Gets Softballs, While Trump Gets Balls Busted (Zero Hedge)

WNU Editor: The political news divisions within America's news organizations have been broken for a very long time. They are just not hiding it anymore.

Media Criticizes Trump Supporters For Not Wearing Masks At A North Carolina Rally. But The Photo They Use Says Otherwise!

JUST IN: Trump, supporters gathered without masks in North Carolina despite request from local GOP official https://t.co/jyLFwvoCn2 pic.twitter.com/Hfes3rzsKB

— The Hill (@thehill) September 9, 2020

The Hill: Trump, supporters gather without masks in NC despite request from local GOP official

President Trump and scores of supporters gathered for a rally in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Tuesday without masks, despite the urging of a local Republican official and a state mandate.

Dave Plyler, the GOP chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, told The Winston-Salem Journal that he felt Trump should abide by Gov. Roy Cooper's (D) order for individuals to wear a face covering when unable to socially distance.

"It's been ordered by the governor," Plyler told the news outlet. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in North Carolina, do as the governor says."

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I am sure there were some in the crowd who were not wearing a mask. It was a large crowd after-all, and when I looked at a video of the event I did see a few who were not wearing a mask (see video below). But I think the bigger story is that President Trump is attracting thousands to his rallies, while Joe Biden is only attracting a handful at his events (see photo here), or his Vice-President running mate attracting 45 people here (see video here). Hillary Clinton in 2016 did far better.

AMAZING support for President @realDonaldTrump in Winston-Salem, North Carolina‼️ pic.twitter.com/HKoEof59JX

— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) September 8, 2020

Is The US Mainstream Media Helping To Ferment The Unrest And Violence In The U.S. By Focusing On Certain Stories While Avoiding Others?

The cop said to Friar, who is from nearby Fort Worth: 'Prove to me that the rest of those cards are yours. You've got like ten there'

Nick Wall and his 21-year-old stepdaughter, Laura Anderson. (Photo from Revolver) Suspect Ty Sheem Ha Sheem Walters, III (Courtesy: Georgetown County Detention Center)

WNU Editor: Here are two stories that caught my eye this morning. Both stories are very disturbing, but I also found the media coverage behind both stories to be very revealing on what is happening right now in US news rooms. This story received massive media play in the U.S., Canada, and international media .... EXCLUSIVE: 'Prove to me those credit cards are yours.' Black father-of-six is surrounded by three white armed Texas cops who interrogate him because he had 'too many' credit cards while withdrawing cash from ATM (Daily Mail). Three police officers questioning a black man over his credit cards is not right, and the massive news coverage over that incident (with a heavy focused on the racial component behind it) portrayed it as such. Is this a big story .... no .... but the media treated it as such. The other story is more disturbing, but received no national or international media attention. Only local coverage. A black man executing a white father and his young daughter over a fender bender, and critically wounding a third person who tried to help .... Family remembers Georgetown double homicide victims shot during traffic altercation (News 13). In both instances race appears to be the factor, but no national/international/coverage for one of them. If it was a white man executing a black father and his young daughter would the media coverage be the same? Is there a double standard at play from the media? Is it because police were involved in one story, but not the other? You tell me.

This Is What Media Bias Looks Like In Practice

Here’s what media bias looks like in practice pic.twitter.com/GO69dUSjRT

— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) August 12, 2020

WNU Editor: That's the New York Times for you. Massive glowing front page coverage for Kamala Harris. Small article critical of Mike Pence when he was selected by then candidate Donald Trump to be his running mate.

Poll Says Distrust In The Media Is Growing Among Americans

Knight Foundation: American Views 2020: Trust, Media and Democracy

Overview

There is a widening gulf between American aspirations for and assessments of the news media. With each passing benchmark study, the American people render deeper and increasingly polarized judgments about the news media and how well it is fulfilling its role in our democracy.

In 2018, Gallup and Knight Foundation published the inaugural American Views report as part of their Trust, Media and Democracy research program. This landmark study of Americans’ attitudes toward the news media and its role in our democracy is part of the ongoing Gallup/Knight research effort. The 2018 report found that while Americans valued the role of the news media as an important institution in a free society, they did not believe it was fulfilling its democratic roles well. Political party was the primary determining factor driving Americans’ opinions of and trust in the media.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is a huge Gallup-Knight Foundation poll and study. There is a lot of data in their study, and it makes the case that the mass majority of Americans see an intentional bias in the news that the media is reporting on. Am I surprised by the results of this poll. No. Is anybody in the media listening? I seriously doubt it.

As for WNU. What I try to do on this blog is to present the news from multiple sources. Give my own opinion on a story that interests me. And then let you .... the reader .... make your own judgment.

News The U.S. Media Ignores

WNU Editor: Just some important news I noticed this weekend that the media choose to ignored.

(1) While the number of US Covid-19 coronavirous cases continues to sky-rocket, the number of US deaths from the pandemic continue to drop (see above chart). In fact. US coronavirus deaths are now down to their lowest levels since the beginning of the pandemic.

(2) The coronavirus fatality rate for those under 45 is near zero .... Stanford doctor: Coronavirus fatality rate for people under 45 'almost 0%' (Washington Times).

(3) This is huge economic/business news, but mostly ignored by business news sites .... U.S. manufacturing activity hits 14-month high (Reuters).

There Are Three Glaring Problems With The New York Times Russian Taliban ‘Bounty’ Story

Donald Trump Evan El-Amin/Shutterstock and Vladimir Putin (Kremlin)

Barbara Boland, The American Conservative: Three Glaring Problems with the Russian Taliban ‘Bounty’ Story

There seems to be a lack of sourcing and a big whiff of politics, say former intelligence officers.

A bombshell report published by The New York Times Friday alleges that Russia paid dollar bounties to the Taliban in Afghanistan to kill U.S troops. Obscured by an extremely bungled White House press response, there are at least three serious flaws with the reporting.

The article alleges that GRU, a top-secret unit of Russian military intelligence, offered the bounty in payment for every U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan, and that at least one member of the U.S. military was alleged to have been killed in exchange for the bounties. According to the paper, U.S. intelligence concluded months ago that the Russian unit involved in the bounties was also linked to poisonings, assassination attempts and other covert operations in Europe. The Times reports that United States intelligence officers and Special Operations forces in Afghanistan came to this conclusion about Russian bounties some time in 2019.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Only three glaring problems?!?!?!

Is The New York Times Russian Bounty Story On U.S. Soldiers A Propaganda Hit Piece Ahead Of The November Election?

I want to assure all of our service members that we take seriously any and all potential threats against U.S. military personnel. pic.twitter.com/Tcg3xzkZQ8

— @EsperDoD (@EsperDoD) July 1, 2020

Zero Hedge: WaPo Admits 'Russian Bounties' Info "Deemed Sketchy" After Pentagon Says "No Corroborating Evidence"

Congressional leaders have demanded answers, and those answers have come in the form of multiple US intelligence agencies and chiefs essentially throwing cold water on the NY Times Russian bounties to kill American troops in Afghanistan story, as we've detailed.

We expect this "bombshell" will be very short-lived, perhaps being memory holed by the weekend, akin to the fate of other Russiagate-related 'anonymous sources say' type stories.

The Pentagon is the latest to say that DOD-wide there is currently "no corroborating evidence at this time to validate the recent allegations regarding malight activity by Russian personnel against US forces in Afghanistan," according to a late Tuesday evening statement by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I also noticed earlier today the Washington Post quickly back-tracking on the Russian bounty story. I suspect that the sources the Washington Post uses are telling them that there is no real evidence tying Russia to these allegations. My prediction. This story is going to be buried by Monday for some other outrage. So why did the New York Times post this story a few days ago? As I said in an earlier post. This year is a US Presidential election year. Everything that is being reported today by the US media, or news stories that are ignored, is being done within that context.

Update: Here's Why the 'Russian Bounties' Story Is the New 'Russian Collusion' Hoax (Matt Margolis, PJ Media)

Washington Post Says Trump Is Wrong When He Said 'Most Dangerous Cities In America Are Run By Democrats'. They Then Prove That He Is Right

For tweet embedding purposes, here is the graph cited in The Washington Post's report titled: “Trump keeps claiming that the most dangerous cities in America are all run by Democrats. They aren’t.” pic.twitter.com/FeAskhbnDM

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 27, 2020

Daily Caller: Washington Post ‘Analysis’ Tries To Debunk Trump Claim On Violent Democrat Cities. It Proves Him Right.

An “analysis” in The Washington Post this week apparently sought to discredit a claim by President Donald Trump about violence in Democrat-controlled cities and ended up proving him correct.

The Post noted that Trump has sought to portray Democrats as soft on crime as part of his re-election strategy and pointed out the following quote from Trump on Wednesday: “You hear about certain places like Chicago and you hear about what’s going on in Detroit and other — other cities, all Democrat run. Every one of them is Democrat run. Twenty out of 20. The 20 worst, the 20 most dangerous are Democrat run.”

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The two "independents" in the Washington Post analysis are (1) the mayor of San Antonio Ron Nirenberg, who is regarded as a hard-core progressive. (2) The second independent is the mayor of Las Vegas Carolyn Goodman, a former Democrat. So Trump is wrong as the Washington Post is claiming. It is not 20 out of 20, it is 19 out of 20. But then again, Trump did say "most", and in my book "most" is between 11 to 19.

How Fake Polls Are Destroying Media Credibility

Brad Parscale, Washington Examiner: Fake polls destroy media credibility

The purveyors of fake news at CNN are convinced, just as they were four years ago, that they have this presidential election in the bag. Donald Trump is done, and Joe Biden is headed for a landslide, just like Hillary Clinton was.

At this point, they have zero credibility left.

As before, CNN’s confidence is severely misplaced — and we’re going to prove it. The best evidence they can present are polls that suffer from exactly the same flaws as the ones that indicated a landslide victory for Clinton in 2016.

To the delight of liberals everywhere, the Atlanta-based hub of fake news recently put out a poll showing Biden with a 14-point lead in the race, with 55% of the vote to Trump’s 41%, a larger share than any presidential candidate has received in an actual election since Ronald Reagan garnered 58.8% in his 1984 shellacking of Walter Mondale.

Before they start celebrating, though, Democrats should recall the old adage about things that seem too good to be true. President Trump hired the renowned and respected polling firm John McLaughlin and Associates to analyze the methodology that produced those dubious results, and its assessment was devastating.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Talk about timing. This blog pointed out what was wrong with the CNN poll yesterday .... Is President Trump's Approval At 38%? (June 8, 2020), and this misleading ABC poll .... Do Americans Support Deploying The Military To Control Violent Protests? (June 8, 2020).

Bush Aide: NYT Fabricated Trump Story That President Bush Won’t Support Trump

Former President George W. Bush walks past President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former first lady Hillary Clinton, former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter at the state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

American Spectator: Bush Aide: NYT Fabricated Trump Story

The claim that former President Bush won’t support Trump is “completely made up.”

All presidents have critics within their own parties. Some Republicans, for example, lament President Trump’s occasional lack of decorum. More than a few GOP luminaries fretted over former President George W. Bush’s frequent solecisms. Yet it’s rare for a prominent politician to publicly renounce a sitting president of his own party during an election year. Consequently, it was surprising to see a Saturday New York Times story titled, “Vote for Trump? These Republican Leaders Aren’t on the Bandwagon.” Nor was one’s initial skepticism quelled when the article’s author claimed, “Former President George W. Bush won’t support the re-election of Mr. Trump,” with no supporting quote from Bush.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Bush family are not supporters of President Trump. But they will also not publicly state their dislike for President Trump. A number of Bush family members are in politics, and I can understand why they will not want to alienate the Republican base. So is the New York times stating the obvious, or is it  another example of fake news? You tell me.