Canadian PM Harper Sees Press Corps Walkout

Luckily, it is a rare occasion when a Canadian Primier's press conference unearths any real news, largely because of the largely left tilt of the national media, which no longer reflects political reality at the top.

So the Press Corps in Ottawa is in a snit about ground rules with Stephen Harper and walked out today, which was covered on American cable just as a 10-second tape without much explanation. I guess by that standard, Helen Thomas and Gregory and the other WH newsies are paragons of decorum in comparison.

But remember that Canada does not have a First Amendment, so as Stephan Taylor's blog describes, a liberal Canadian pol named Volpe just shut down a satirical website he didn't like.

I guess in Canada, these things aren't that important if it is a Liberal pol being covered by the liberal press. The very liberal Toronto Globe and Mail barely stifles a yawn as it comments on what would be a five-alarm fire in the American media---unless, again, it was a Republican website shut down by a Dem, but then it would still set off alarm bells and a federal case would be made of a Freedom of Speech issue.

Thank goodness the Canadians are beginning to awaken, but they are still a very sleepy complacent smug little backwater with a condescending attitude towards world affairs---as practiced by their neighbor to the south which protects them with its armed forces, enabling them to pay almost nothing for defense.