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Saturday April 1, 2017

March 31, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 1, 2017

Swedish, Norwegian newspapers to ditch April Fools’ stories amid ‘fake news’ concerns

As scheming jokesters across the globe prepare their April Fools’ pranks, Swedish and Norwegian newspapers have announced they won’t be taking part in the fun, over fears that silly stories might be spread as “fake news.”

January 24, 2017

Swedish newspapers Dalarnas Tidningar, Hallpressen, Vasterbottens-Kuriren, Smalandsposten, and Jonkopings-Posten are among the publications which say they’re going to suppress their inner trickster this year.

“Historically, we’ve had super successful April Fools jokes. But because of debates and discussions about the media’s credibility being connected to fake news, we didn’t want to do it this year,” Ingvar Naslund, editor-in-chief at Vasterbottens-Kuriren, told TT news agency.

Smalandsposten’s editor-in-chief, Magnus Karlsson, also said he doesn’t want the newspaper’s good name to be “spread with a potentially viral and erroneous story.”

“We work with real news. Even on April 1st,” he said.

March 1, 2017

Erik Berger, editor-in-chief at Jonkopings-Posten, said his paper will be publishing an article on April Fools’ Day as to why it isn’t participating in the international day of pranks.

Media outlets in neighboring Norway have expressed similar sentiments, including public broadcaster NRK, Aftenposten, VG, and Dagbladet.

NRK also reported that local newspapers would follow suit.

One of those local papers is Bergens Tidende, whose editor Oyulf Hjertenes told NRK that it would be a “mistake on our part” to publish jokes on April 1, considering the current climate in which “false news is spreading.”

Meanwhile, the publishing editor of local paper Drammens Tidende said that “what is written in Drammens Tidende must be true,” AFP reported.

“Fake news” has become a household term since gaining the spotlight in the 2016 US Presidential election, with some claiming it helped propel President Donald Trump to victory. (Source: RT)

Thursday June 9, 2016

June 8, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 9, 2016

Paul Ryan stresses party unity in GOP meeting

House Speaker Paul Ryan reiterated his support Wednesday for Donald Trump at a closed door meeting with House Republicans and asked his colleagues to unite behind the presumptive Republican nominee, according to several members who attended the session.

Ryan’s backing of Trump comes a day after he blasted the businessman’s remarks about a federal judge as a “textbook definition of a racist comment.”

June 4, 2016

Trumps comments have sparked a fury on Capitol Hill where many Republicans worry that Trump’s racially tinged criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel could ultimately hurt down-ballot GOP candidates competing in congressional races this year.

Though Ryan didn’t back away from his endorsement, he said he would continue to speak out when he believed the billionaire businessman makes inappropriate statements.

Ryan spokesman said the speaker did not “urge” the party to fall in line behind Trump but stressed the importance of unity.

Ryan “just reaffirmed his disagreement with the comment, respecting that the people have elected Donald Trump as our Republican nominee and what we’re going to do is we’re going to use our position in a positive way to help America out,” said Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y.

Trump tried to quell some of the outrage on Tuesday, releasing a statement saying his past remarks had been misconstrued, and Trump avoided the topic all together during a speech he gave later that evening.

Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative group in Congress, said Trump needs to “quit spending time bashing judges.” He will vote for Trump, he said, but, “I don’t endorse people that bash judges — based on his ethnic heritage.” (Source: CNN)

Friday, November 16, 2011

November 16, 2011 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, November 16, 2011

MPs can’t run from right-to-die debate forever

Parliamentarians can run from the resurging right-to-die debate all they want but the past suggests that they will not be able to hide forever.

Once in every political generation, a societal issue creeps up unto MPs’ radar despite the strenuous efforts by a majority of the country’s legislators to look the other way.

Successive Parliaments spent the best part of the ’80s trying to ignore the abortion debate and the ruling Liberals supported Reform/Alliance efforts to keep the door to same-sex marriage firmly shut for most of the ’90s.

But even by the reactive standards of those episodes, it seems that calls to decriminalize assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia are falling on even more deaf parliamentary ears than usual.

In the current House of Commons, the right-to-die-with-dignity issue is essentially an orphan.

In the dying days of the last Parliament, a private member’s bill sponsored by veteran Bloc Québécois MP Francine Lalonde was defeated 228 votes to 59.

Lalonde has since retired and the vast majority of those who supported her bill are no longer in the House.

Whoever takes up this cause will essentially be starting from scratch without the active backing of his or her party.

In the past the NDP could be counted on to man the barricades of social change.

But today’s empowered New Democrats are apparently no longer as keen to take the risks associated with being on the leading edge of a rights debate. (Continued: Toronto Star)