BT Edmonton Blogs

You know you’re stealing your fair share of news headlines when your name trends on Twitter more consistently than Justin Bieber. That’s exactly the case with conservative hate monger pundit Ann Coulter, who shocked millions of Canadians with a recent inflammatory comment directed at a Muslim student at the University of Western Ontario.

Shocking statements from the right-wing provocateur shouldn’t really shock anybody. Coulter’s made a name for herself by attacking a number of ethnic and religious groups under a protective umbrella of “satire.”

Many who take issue with Coulter’s recent remarks on Muslims are equally miffed with the amount of press she’s receiving during her visit to Canada. Her advocates, led by Ezra Levant, have done their best to portray her as a victim – one whose right to free speech is being denied to appease the angry masses. Coulter has gone so far as to suggest she’ll be registering a human rights complaint after her lecture was cancelled at the University of Ottawa.

(Don’t believe everything you read re: who’s responsible for nixing Coulter’s speech. Levant has worked hard to spin the cancellation on Twitter as a mandate from University officials and police. The CBC’s Kady O’Malley is doing an excellent job pursuing details that suggest otherwise.)

Coulter’s subsequent comment that Canadians are now “nothing more than a bunch of girls named Francois” isn’t even her first attack on America’s northerly neighbour. In fact, maybe we shouldn’t even hold her accountable. As you’ll see in this video clip, she’s always had a bit of a problem with accuracy.

Racially-insensitive comments aside, this boils down to an issue of free speech. Radio host Charles Adler wrote an excellent blog suggesting Canadians need not be “protected” from opinionated orators like Coulter regardless of their message. Many University of Ottawa students have protested Tuesday night’s debacle, suggesting a University campus is the last place someone should be intimidated or censored for sharing their opinions.

We wanted to know what you thought. Here’s a sampling of what we received in the BT inbox:

“Absolutely, Anne Coulter should be allowed to speak! There are plenty of street corners for that. What upsets me is that there are those who think she has something valuable enough to say that they would book her on a lecture tour. What happened in Ottawa is simply Canadians speaking out against her particular type of racist fear mongering. The danger in this has become obvious in the U.S. where a relatively small group has managed to split the country in half by spreading lies and jingoistic rhetoric.”  — Derek

“Her obvious impropriety, offensiveness and illegality in her racial commemts disgust me. While free speech may be legal in Canada I believe that racism is not. We should be ashamed to allow her into Canada.”  –Marilynn

“Intolerance from a country that boasts tolerance – unfortunately, Ann Coulter has the guts to say what many people in this country think.”  –Terry

“When freedom of speech crosses the line into inciting hate towards a group, sex or ethnicity, it becomes a crime under Canadian law, as witnessed fairly recently with the charges against David Ahenakew,  former chief of the first nations.  Would some politician PLEASE stand up and remind everyone of this instead of railing on about the rights of individuals to say what ever they want!  You can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theatre – and you can’t publicly speak hateful things about groups of people.”  — Robert

“Regarding the ’so called’ attempts at free speech this individual is promoting it is important to note that regardless of the message it is our right in this country to have and to express an opinion regardless of the IQ of the individual expressing that opinion.  However with this right it is equally important that right minded people express their opinions to the contrary to show that this is in fact a minority opinion.  We can all remember how a minority opinion in the 20’s in Germany was allowed to grow and extend their beliefs over others who stood by silently.”  –  Ed

Send us an email by Connecting with BT! We’ll continue to champion free speech by sharing your opinions on the air. While you’re at it, check out our interview with Ezra Levant following Coulter’s appearance at the Red and White Club in Calgary on Thursday night:

rpj.

Yeah so after watching Dead Weather videos all afternoon yesterday (and being so distracted that I didn’t even post my blog for that day until like 2 seconds ago..) I started watching videos for “The Kills”. Alison is the lady who has joined forces with Jack for the dead weather. Her band is the kills. They are pretty decent, I think I have a new crush as well…

Any ways.. here is my pick of their litter of videos. LIVE!!!

Jack white has the ability to turn anything he touches to gold, Dead Weather ain’t no exception. Here we have a music video for said band in full combat mode. Pretty basic concept here, the little special somethin’ comes at the end when Jack is walking away and beams of light are shinning out of his back.

Now that you are broken in, here are three different videos for the song I cut like a buffalo. i found them all quite entertaining and didn’t even mind listening to the catchy little number three times consecutivly.

Now that you love this band check out the oral history to know who they are and what they are doing.

cheers!

Wee wise one

I wonder if she knows how magnificent she is?    Murray does.    He holds birds in very high esteem.    He also holds them with great care and respect in his role as a licensed bander of birds.    This owlet – a young Great Horned Owl has just learned to fly …  and is just coming into its primary feathers.    At about 6 weeks, mom coaxes the wee ones out of the nest for the first time, and 4 weeks later:  the first flight.    The first flight is usually to the ground.    In Murray’s words:  “We banded her but had to be very alert because both parents were close by”.

DID YOU KNOW?    In 1977, the children of Alberta were asked by the provincial government to select a bird to represent the province.    After a province-wide vote, they selected the great horned owl as Alberta’s Provincial Bird.

IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS BLOG, FIRST OF ALL WELCOME!    SECOND, WE INVITE YOU TO BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION.    MEMBERSHIP FEE?    A PICTURE OF MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES.    UPLOAD YOURS TODAY.

Thirsty traveller

Mick and Candy take us to a little jewel of a place west of Fernie, BC to the shores of Island Lake.    They were walking along the path near the lake when they saw this cow moose slurping up duckweed “as happy as can be, thank you very much”.     She seemed to be looking across the water an awful lot, and then they saw why.

Moose deuce

A bull moose walked out of the trees, down to the water and then swam across the lake.

Moose meet

At first it was a bit of a stare-down between the two.    But eventually they both went back to the business of browsing and slurping up the delicious and plentiful green stuff.

Mon Amour Mon Moose!

DID YOU KNOW?    Moose are herbivores(only eating plants).    He/She is one heck of a powerful swimmer too.    Within days of being born, they can dive more than 5 m for food on the bottom of a lake.    A bull calf’s antlers start to grow midsummer and are covered with a velvety skin.    By late August/early September the antlers are fully developed and are hard and bony.

DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A MOOSE – COULD BE A MOUSE.    YOUR CREATURE COULD BE IN THE WOODS – OR AT THE BACK OF YOUR HOUSE.    PHOTOGRAPH ANYTHING SHOWING ’MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES’ .. AND BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION.    UPLOAD YOUR PIC(S)TODAY!

Here is a video by YATCH for the song “the afterlife”
how amusing.
YATCH were recently in Edmonton where the rocked the Pawn Shop. They put on a great show as well as sold little bibles they have written. Perhaps tomorrow I shall pass on a verse to you For now though…baptize ya eyez

By the way check this site out , It is an online magazine full of interesting articles!!!

http://texturemagazine.ca/

Today I have a link to a slideshow music video. I know, I know, they usually detract, but its about the music man. The prolific and influencial Alex Chilton passed away recently and he will be missed. Remember him fondly with these links!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Chilton

On the lighter side I have upload a couple of Iphone vids of the show at Likwid Lounge on saturday to youtube check it!
IT WAS LOUD!!
Moby Dicks

BA Johnston

Perfection at day's end

No traffic lights, no power lines, just the window to the world up north – wide open!    Shane saw this sunset evolve and thankfully he made it into a kodak moment.    This is 100 kilameters north of Fort McMurray - and north of oil sands country.    & I mentioned ‘window’ earlier,…but Shane tells us – this is through his windshield from the comfort of his coach.    “No buildings to obstruct the view” he says.    We say – thanks!

DID YOU KNOW?    This picture was taken in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.    Some of the communities in Wood Buffalo are:  Fort McMurray, Fort Chipewyan, Fort Mackay, Anzac, Mariana Lake, and Gregoire Lake Estates.

DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR SUNRISE OR SUNSET?    SHOW US YOUR ARTISTRY BEHIND THE CAMERA.    FRESH AIR PHOTOS AIR EVERY MORNING ON BT AND RIGHT HERE ON THIS VERY BLOG.

What is it? Stumped?

Terri opened the lens cap — and opened my imagination.    I see trees with human-like characteristics…fingers included.    Terri is a wildlife biologist who right now, is looking after “junior” at home.    Kudos for capturing such an awesome moment.    This is spring time a few years ago at a frog study site near Whitecourt.    In her words:  “I so appreciate the wildlife and scenery in the deep woods of the area north and west of the city”.    Ditto!

DID YOU KNOW?    The pond above was created when a beaver dammed an area that had historically been harvested for wood.    No other animal has influenced Canada’s history to the extent of the beaver.    When Europeans began to settle in northern North America, beaver pelts were the prize that lured them farther and farther into the wilderness.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO HEAD TO THE WILDERNESS – YOU MIGHT SEE A FRESH AIR PHOTO MOMENT OUT THE BACK DOOR.    UPLOAD YOUR PIC OF MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES – TODAY!