Roundup: Risk or propaganda?

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It really was pretty galling when the tweets started rolling in yesterday morning – after admonishing the media to pay close attention and be very careful not to show the faces of any of the Special Forces troops in Iraq while they covered the Prime Minister’s surprise visit, the PM’s own media team went ahead and did it without a second thought. Oops. When this was pointed out, they took the videos down and tried to make some excuses, and later in the day, the Chief of Defence staff called the risk “minimal,” but maybe that’s because the PM’s 24/Seven videos get a mere tens of viewers, half of them from the media trying to see what they weren’t allowed to cover while the PM had his own team of propagandists doing the work for them. But the thing is, this wasn’t the first time this particular screw-up happened either. No, just a few weeks ago, Jason Kenney tweeted some of those faces that were not supposed to have been shown when he posted photos of the ramp ceremony of Sgt. Doiron, and I’m not sure that he delivered so much as an apology. And while Marc Garneau did ask whether this was a matter of incompetence, it also needs to be called out that neither of the opposition parties took this rather serious breach of operational security and government incompetence was asked about in QP until the second round for the NDP, the third for the Liberals. If a government is putting troops in danger because they want to bolster their image for propaganda videos, they deserve to be raked over the coals for it. It’s too bad that the opposition parties can’t be bothered to do their jobs.

Good reads:

  • The NDP won a majority in Alberta, ending a political dynasty lasting some 44 years.
  • The Duffy trial moved onto the case of the puppy, and whether he bought it on his trip to Peterborough and expensed it to the Senate.
  • Here’s a look at how the government used the EI fund to balance the budget.
  • Omar Khadr’s bail decision won’t be made until Thursday.
  • The government has announced they are going to replace the Correctional investigator.
  • The Canadian Bar Association has some major concerns over the “barbaric cultural practices” bill.
  • Andrew Coyne disputes the Trudeau narrative of the struggling middle class.
  • My column this week looks at the government not matching their rhetoric with money to make it happen.

Odds and ends:

Greece is trying to halt the EU trade agreement over use of the term “feta” cheese. No, really.

Here’s a look at the nomination race against Eve Adams in Eglinton–Lawrence.

Alex Trebek paid a visit to Question Period, but found it lacking.