Weekly Report, February 29, 2008
Submitted by mckelveyf on 1 March, 2008 - 12:44.
Party Leaders and their Facebook Supporters for 29 February 2008: Source: Infoscape and Facebook.com
BlogBuzz
Bloggers—the watchdogs of the Internet.
This week the buzz in blogosphere centred around two posts made by Jason Cherniak on his website. In one entry, he reported that a Conservative staff member made derogatory comments on Facebook about the Baltic Nations. Cherniak’s information was based on a screen capture of the staffer’s account. The authenticity of this post was called into question by bloggers who noticed inconsistencies in the image. The entry was later exposed as a fake, leading Cherniak to retract his comments and post an apology. In another entry, Cherniak, posted a Conservative ad which featured the picture of a young woman whose image was also found on a adult entertainment site. The spin Cherniak gave the story called into question the appropriateness of Conservatives using a porn star in their advertisements. Bloggers were quick to discredit his claim, however, by pointing out that the image most likely originated from a stock photography site. The lesson here is that if you’re going to post controversial claims online, you’d better get your facts straight first or run the risk of embarrassment as nothing slips by the watchful eyes of the blogging community.
Speculations also ran high early in week over how Stéphane Dion should respond to the Conservative budget. When the Liberal decision to not force a federal election in the spring was announced, bloggers debated whether Dion’s alignment with the Harper minority government represented a sound political strategy.
Another hot topic focused on Ezra Levant, a long-time Conservative columnist and lawyer. Levant, a co-founder of the Western Standard, found himself in hot water last February when his publication reprinted the highly controversial Danish cartoons of Mohammed. The decision to run these images led to a human rights complaint being filed against Levant that was later dropped. In the latest installment of this saga, Levant contends that he is now being threatened by Richard Warman, a former member of the Human Rights Commission, with a defamation law suit for expressing his opinions online about Warman. Dubbed by some as a ‘freedom fighter,’ Levant has received considerable support online from Conservative bloggers regarding the issue of censorship and freedom of speech.
Finally, the top news story that bloggers linked to this week focused on the Chuck Cadman affair. In 2005, the late independent MP from British Columbia was allegedly offered a one million dollar life insurance policy by two unidentified Conservatives for his vote in the House of Commons to help force an early election. Although Stephen Harper denied that any such offer was made, an interview that he gave at the time seems to suggest otherwise. The allegation came to light as a result of information that Cadman’s wife provided for a biography on her late husband.
Top Blog Posts
- Ezra Levant - I've been threatened with another law suit
- Mike Brock Online - Jason Cherniak Posts Fabricated Evidence on Conservative Staffer
- A BCer in Toronto - Dear Liberals: It's time to lead
- Jason Cherniak - Conservative Pornography
- Far and Wide - Breaking: Harper Wins Majority
Top Linked News Stories
- CBC News - Conservatives made million-dollar offer to MP Cadman: Book
- The Globe and Mail - 'No truth' to Cadman allegations: Harper
- The Globe and Mail - Dion says no election over budget
- CBC News - Tape suggests PM knew of alleged Cadman offer
- The Globe and Mail - Tories offered 'bribe' to dying MP, widow alleges
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