Media blackout: the story Canadians won't discuss

'In a direct attack on freedom of expression, Canwest [the largest media corporation in Canada] has launched an unprecedented civil lawsuit against local activists. They are being sued for "conspiring" to produce and distribute a four-page parody of the Vancouver Sun' - the parody in question satirised Canwest's biased coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The media corporation is suing those who dare to parody or satirise them, claiming 'commercial violation of trademark'. And on top of that, the rest of the Canadian media won't report on the story. Surely it's a free speech issue that everyone should be discussing?

Full story: Seriously Free Speech - Canwest: Media Bully

well ... I started to blog on this and then realized (a) I could care less about anything Canwest said ANYWAY and (b) the reason for the media blackout is likely not to protect Canwest, but to save reflex reactions because of the specific nations involved in the parodied story. Yeah, I think that's dumb, but Canada has never pretended to be a free-speech nation, and to tell the truth, I also don't want to be bothered with fending off the resulting thin-skin bile that would ensue upon any participation. I expect the other media too are thinking the same, "Oh, if ONLY it was about a skirmish over gay marriage or a Harry Potter book or something ..."