On Sunday LondonYank started the WBTC project.
PsyOps: Walking Back the Cat "My fellow Kossacks, we need to start walking back the cat on all the false stories, because it's always the same crowd creating hysteria in the run up to war."
Monday LondonYank posted: WBTC: Fakhravar the new Curveball?
Tuesday WaterDancer posted: Walking back the cat - Who is Eli Lake?
Initially the National Post article Iran Eyes Badges for Jews was credited to Chris Wattie , a Canadian photojournalist who has covered international stories. He was embedded with Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Last year the Canadian Defense & Foreign Affairs Institute Ross Munro Media Award noted his work for honourable mention at their annual awards dinner. However...
However, in a follow up to the original story Chris Wattie appeared to distance himself from the story, as though he had never written or been credited with writing the article.
Experts say report of badges for Jews in Iran is Untrue
A news story and column by Iranian-born analyst Amir Taheri in yesterday's National Post reported that the Iranian parliament had passed a sweeping new law this week outlining proper dress for Iran's majority Muslims, including an order for Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians to wear special strips of cloth.
My emphasis added. Now the story belongs to Taheri, eh?
Is he a dupe? A stooge? Does he deserve to be fired?
Or was he merely following orders the editors and publisher of the National Post?
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Canada
Stephen Harper commenting on the original story said:
"Unfortunately we've seen enough already from the Iranian regime to suggest that it is very capable of this kind of action," Mr. Harper said. "It boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the earth would want to do anything that would remind people of Nazi Germany."
Atta Boy! Wouldn't want the Americans to think Great Britain is their best friend in these troubling times. Stevie you're doing a heck of a job!(very convenient timing when the Australian PM is in town too)
Antonia Zerbisias
I almost didn't write this diary because Antonia's blog absolutely rocks! Antonia is a journalist and columnist for the Toronto Star. She has all the information on the background of the major players here. Her latest at my time of writing is: All the fables fit to print in which she chases the story and provides some excellent analysis and links. But you wouldn't know if I didn't tell you, right? Antonia links to Taylor Marsh's post at FDL: Who started the Iranian Badge Story for those who haven't seen the article. It too is excellent.
Doug Kelly
Is Chris Wattie's editor-in-chief at the National Post. I don't have too much on him but he worked at the Post from the newspaper's conception by Conrad Black. As far as I can tell he is a disciple of his predecessor, Ken Whyte.
Ken Whyte
Is the founding editor-in-chief of the National Post. As a young man he worked on Ted Byfield's Alberta Report, an extremely right-wing Christian magazine that has since folded. He loves controversy. As a 35 year old editor of Saturday Night (reporting to then owner Conrad Black) he ran a slanderous article about a 13 year old child for which I will never forgive the rotter. Be the first to see my dusty old diary on Craig Kielburger
Kielburger has encountered difficulties in promoting human rights for children. He expected resistance from the governments and industries exploiting children. But he also had to contend with conservative Canadian "Establishment Man" Conrad Black. Black's now defunct magazine "Saturday Night" published "The World's Most Powerful 13 Year Old", an article that implied Craig was a flim-flam artist and fraud who was naively being exploited by his ambitious teacher parents and third world labor activists.
At the time Nike and other companies were being criticized because their contractors were paying pennies to children to sew soccer balls and apparel. Sweatshops: Global Exchange Even management guru Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence) seemed to embrace globalism as opportunity for the sweatshop employed. But it was before the neo-con Ontario government of Mike Harris gutted the education system. So the high schooler took on Canada's litigious publishing baron, owner of more than 100 newspapers, and sued for defamation. Three years later Black's crony and editor, Ken Whyte, paid Kielburger nearly $350,000 in an out of court settlement. The author of the smear, Isabel Vincent, went on to work at another Black publication, The National Post, before experiencing a conversion of sorts. Her most recent book is about the exploitation of Jewish women as sex slaves.
Also from that diary
Conrad Black, born into wealth, established himself as a high school cheat by selling examinations to fellow students at prestigious Upper Canada College. More recently he's come to the attention of the world in Chicago: on an eight count indictment for fraud. In the words of Kossak hero and federal prosecutor Patrick FitzGerald
The indictment charges that the insiders at Hollinger made it their job to steal and conceal...
More than $34 million is missing from the media empire.
Black purchased a title in Britain and enjoys the trappings of a British "Lord". He has promoted many conservative and neo-conservative causes in Canada, the United States and Great Britain. He appears to be a person who couldn't care less about the street beggars and hinders those who would help others less well off. He's promoted wingnuts of every description and is currently married to one, journalist Barbara Amiel. Charles Dickens might find this ermine trimmed, crimson robed blowhard an excellent character for a novel, perhaps redeemed while wearing beltless orange overalls. Note to Richard Perle and the PNAC: use your powers for good, not evil.
The Asper Family: Leonard & David & "Izzy" Asper
Owners of the CanWestGlobal media empire including the National Post
Israel "Izzy" Asper founded the empire in the mid 1970's and was a Liberal member of the Manitoba legislature. He was a firm supporter of the federal Liberal party and the state of Israel until his death.
Leonard and David Asper now control the empire. Leonard was a supporter of Stephen Harper in the last election. Unlike his father, who was known as a partisan, Leonard may be a pragmatist, going with the winner. However, the family has unshakeable support for Israel. Izzy's international political view was most revealed by his support for the Likud Party. Was this the connection to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles?
Meow!
Update: I didn't make clear that CanWestGlobal purchased the National Post and other media assets from Conrad Black about the time the latter got into financial trouble. The original story appeared in just two publications: Toronto's National Post and the Jerusalem Post, both owned by the Asper family. (The Jerusalem Post is owned jointly with Mirkaei Tikshoret Ltd. of Tel-Aviv)
Who was had by whom?
