When satire goes too far?

A late-night Fox News TV broadcast recently caused controversy when its panelists mocked Canada:

Defense Minister Peter MacKay is demanding an apology from Fox News after a panel on of one of its late-night programs made “disgusting” comments about the Canadian military.

In the four-minute segment, Gutfeld asked the other three members of his panel: “The Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants. … Isn’t this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country? They have no army!” (CTV News)

On Friday, four more Canadian peacekeepers were killed in Afghanistan, bringing the total Canadians killed during the country’s service in that country to 116. Popular Canadian political satirist Rick Mercer commented that “If you’re going to do satire, three of the most important rules are you have to tell the truth, you can’t be a bully and don’t be [a jerk]. Being a bully is not satire.” (Globe & Mail)

• The full video of the four minute segment from Fox News’ 3am “Red Eye” program has been posted on YouTube.

What do you think of this segment? Is an apology necessary? Can some leniency be given due to the fact this late night talk show features comedians and other philistines?

From:thelife.com

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Text Size Obama’s NCAA Picks

Got “March Madness”? Then you may be interested in what the commander-in-chief of the United States thinks about your favorite team’s chances in the 2009 NCAA basketball tournament:

President Barack Obama, who can still go strong to the rim in pickup games, announced his NCAA picks just before leaving for California on Wednesday. In a first for an American president, he did it with an appearance on ESPN, the popular cable sports channel. It’s risky business, sure to please and anger sports fans around the country. Lucky for Obama, the election is long over.

The first fan will be trying to catch parts of tournament games as he travels, but here Obama has a big advantage. “Air Force One has DirecTV,” he told ESPN. [Mercury News

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Although it’s nice to see the president is in touch with popular cultural phenomenons and actually makes time in his busy schedule for a little recreation, a lot of people probably will react like Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski who commented that “as much as I respect what he’s doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets.” [ABC News]

Do you agree with his picks? (You can see Obama’s NCAA 2009 picks here on the ESPN site.) How do you feel about Obama’s recent ESPN appearance? Is it lighthearted and fun encouragement, or not taking the severity of the economic situation seriously enough?

From: thelife.com

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