Margaret Wente Plagiarism Allegations: Globe Responds To Criticism (TWITTER)

Margaret Wente Plagiarism Allegations: Globe Responds To Criticism (TWITTER):

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Whoever did the twitter slideshow is an evil genius. When you're done guffawing, go read Jymn.

Is it just me, or does the Globe totally suck at damage control?

Did anybody see where Margaret Wente?

Yeah, well.

Not like any of this is new or anything, but for some reason it's suddenly getting traction. An overview:

First, some serious acknowledgement to the heroic Media Culpa, who is, evidently single-handedly, doing more quality control for Canadian journalism than the entire corporate media sector combined. No point in going through it all again. Read Media Culpa (and keep your Gravol within reach).

What to do about Wente? In a way, she does the same thing as Blatchford: create controversy, be contrarian, pose as the great crusading sacred-cow-attacker with the courage to say what everyone else is thinking, masquerade as the purveyor of "common sense," take a perverse pride in being "politically incorrect," and so on. There are a lot of people on that gig, of course, but Wente's been riding it so successfully for so long that she must be up to her ass in frequent-flyer miles.

But where Blatchford was all about visceral gut reaction and stoking the lynch mob, Wente's shtick is more insidious — and, just maybe, more fundamental to the Globe and its mission. She is the stinking, unrepentant, unreflective id of the smug entitled boomer demographic — people whose biggest complaint, apparently, is that they can't fit enough cases of wine into the SUV for the cottage. And uppity waiters, baristas and service staff, and why the hell are my taxes so high when these overprivileged brats don't want to learn marketable skills because they're being indoctrinated by entitled leftist tenured academics?

You know them. The generation who had it all their own way, and are insisting on keeping it that way. The ones who ran up such a giant fucking tab economically, environmentally and socially that the planet just won't be able to carry the interest, and can't be bothered to give a shit because they'll be gone when the bill arrives, and shut up and quit your whining, you pampered kids don't know how good you have it compared to what we went through …

Self-awareness and critical thought aren't part of the equation for the Wentes of the world and their milieu. They've never had to practice it  themselves. They don't want their privilege or worldview challenged, and they especially don't want the kids for whom they're leaving such a giant mess  questioning any of the assumptions underlying the generational and social structures sustaining that privilege. (Which is part of why you see such condescending contempt for the Occupy movement, but that's another essay.)

As for the alleged instances of plagiarism / manufactured quotes / fabricated sources / sloppy or non-existent attribution, well, no point in going through that when MC's done such a comprehensive job listing and documenting it. Why does the Globe allow it? God knows. Maybe they've made a strategic decision that that suppurating pile of aging biomass is their core demographic, and Wente, predictable and lazy as she may be, is their entree to that market. It's not about informing them, it's about reinforcing their prejudices and ensuring that their eyeballs can be reliably delivered, en masse, to advertisers.

I could be wrong, of course. But it's worth asking ourselves whether this is what we have in mind when we talk about "journalism."

See also:

Saskboy and Jymn rub The Globe's nose in #RoboCon | #cdnpoli
Media culpa catches Wente being sloppy again | #journalism
How The Globe channels the 1 per cent | #Occupy #classwarfare
The Sun's effect on our national conversation is obvious, but what about the Globe?
Media culpa: George Monbiot’s unedited letter to the Globe and Mail

Mayor Stupid on the Danzig shootings

First on video ...



And then audio ...



He's unbelievable. A fucking multimedia fountain of stupid. Not only is he ignorant, he fucking revels in it.

Related posts:

• The downtown/suburban divide and its fetid offshoots
• Tiny Tim and Brother Dumbfuck? That's a marriage made in ... um ...
• Rob Ford's mayoral trajectory | #TOpoli

The downtown/suburban divide and its fetid offshoots

Doug Holyday gets grumpy about families downtown, Ed Keenan responds with facts | OpenFile:

"On a darker note, it also explains the laissez-faire attitude that so many suburban conservatives had towards the abuses of the G20, as if living downtown was itself incriminating enough to deserve the suspension of our civil liberties. After the G20 weekend, Rob Ford told his AM radio listeners "Personally, if you didn't want to be down there, then you shouldn't have been down there." "Down there," in this case, included a part of the city where tens of thousands of people live."

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It's been a fun couple of days, mostly related to Holyday's Grandpa Simpson act and conviction that downtown Toronto is no place for kids. Next thing you know, little Ginny's not just playing in traffic -- she's doing crack in the alley behind the meth lab.

But this piece also draws the connection between putative suburban suspicion and resentment of downtown and the smug you-had-it-coming, you-shouldn't-have-been-there reaction to the mass arrests, police brutality and wholesale violations of civil and human rights during the G20. Remember Mayor Stupid suggesting the cops were too nice and didn't go far enough?

Related posts:

• Two years later, no accountability for #policebrutality at the #G20
• @thekeenanwire and the police / government / society we deserve
• Toronto's brutal cops and their shit-for-brains enablers

Tell us again how the police are our friends ...

Why I’m an Actorvist now… (or, to hell and back.) « The Life of an Actor:

"Being arrested and charged is NOT the end of the world – they just want you to feel like it is. So much of police and court process is about intimidation, which is why sometimes people get physically beaten when they are not talking and giving police the answers they want to hear."

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From Emily Scholey, who was apparently arrested for trying to report domestic abuse.

OpenFile's got more.

Two years later, no accountability for #policebrutality at the #G20

A compelling argument from The Real News, calling for criminal charges. Not holding my breath, but still.

And a rocking video.




Where are we with that? Two assholes charged so far?

Related posts:

• Toronto News: Protester sues ‘This ain’t Canada’ cop after York police board refuses to charge him - thestar.com
• Another opportunity for the healing power of public scorn | @TorontoPolice #G20
• Couple more guys who are a real credit to the badge | @TorontoPolice #G20
• DiManno: Why won’t Chief Bill Blair say sorry for police actions during G20? - thestar.com

Facts About The “Nazi” Salute and a Double Standard « Sister Sage's Musings

Facts About The “Nazi” Salute and a Double Standard « Sister Sage's Musings:

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Sister Sage has the most comprehensive smackdown yet to the pearl-clutchers of the B'nai Brith getting their gutkes in a twist over Montreal demonstrators Sieg Heiling the cops.

Fascism is fascism, boychiks. The folks getting their heads beaten in get to call it as they see it, whether it offends you or not. Quit fardraying us a kopf.

Related posts:

• We have witnessed extraordinary ongoing police violence and abuse of authority in Quebec during the past few weeks ...
• When a government has abused its powers as regularly and as grotesquely as this one, it forfeits the benefit of the doubt.
• Violence and red squares – Artists outraged by minister St-Pierre (Le Devoir)
• My trip to jail for reading 1984 on the metro (First-Hand Account)