Tweet-tweet

I’ve been hearing so much about Twitter in the last couple of years that I decided I finally had to give it a spin. I joined up today and have inserted a Twitter widget on the right side of the page. Please feel to join up and follow exciting updates such as “It’s Saturday” or the ever popular “Wondering what to have for lunch” or the scintillating “I'm bored”. Hopefully, there will be a bit more substance than that, but the 140 word limit is a good idea. Might help to keep moi focused. Read on me hearties! :-)

How to deal with telemarketers ...

We've all experienced them: dinner hour phone calls from people trying to sell us things, inform us of new products, or otherwise try our patience with sales pitches for services or products we don't really need or want. Our privacy is invaded on a daily basis- and it seems our options are limited...but there are ways to fight back. For instance, we might say, 'This is a bad time for me; give me your name and your home phone number, and I'll call you back when it's more convenient'- an approach which allows us in a gentle way to express your irritation at being disturbed. However, these strategies are not always fail-safe. Thus, the opportunity exists for a more creative approach.

Mike Royko, the late Chicago newspaper columnist, once wrote an amusing piece about being interrupted at dinner by an unsolicited phone call from a stockbroker wanted to pitch the market's latest 'sure thing.' Royko pretended to be very interested, and said, "I'd like to buy 1000 shares- on one condition." The broker, happily imagining the fat commission he'd earn, asked the condition, and Royko responded. "All I want is for you to promise, in a written, notarized contract, that if the stock fails to go up the way you said it should, you agree that you'll kill yourself in the manner I specify." "What!?" shouted the broker. "Are you crazy!?" "No, not at all," Royko explained. "It's just that I don't know you, I didn't contact you, and I've never spoken to you before. You want me to take all the risk by investing some of my hard earned money; I might lose some or all of it, but you'll get your commission no matter what happens. I just think it's fair that you should have something riding on this, too; if your life is at stake, I can be sure that you have the incentive to give me the best possible advice. So, what do you say- do we have a deal?" Needless to say, that stockbroker never bothered Mr. Royko again.

Instead of getting angry at callers who invade our privacy, we can have some fun at their expense. There's nothing to be gained by yelling at them (for after all, they are presumably trying to make an honest, if annoying, living), and we certainly don't need extra stress or a higher blood pressure; instead, a more effective approach might be to make them hang up in frustration. In that playful spirit, I offer the following list of possible responses to telemarketers (one of which is sure to fit your interests and personality).

THE “QUIZ MASTER” APPROACH

"Hello, may I please speak to Mr. Smith?" "Is this a sales call?" "Yes, it is." "Good. Here's my policy. I'll ask you a question; if you can answer it correctly, then I'll listen to your sales pitch. Ready?" "I guess so." “Ok. In the classic World War II movie, ‘Stalag 17,’ what were the names of the two American prisoners killed by the Germans early in the movie while trying to escape?” “Um, I have no idea.” “Oh, sorry. Their names were Manfriedy and Johnson. Better luck next time.” Click. (This is one of my favorites; it allows you to take immediate control of the conversation. Your trivia questions can be on any subject of interest to you; you can even keep a list near your phone for this purpose. Of course, if the caller somehow does manage to answer your question correctly, you’ve already promised to listen to the sales pitch- so it’s a good idea to make your questions as obscure as possible).

THE “CHATTERBOX” APPROACH

“Hello, may I please speak with Mrs. Johnson?” “Oh, you want to talk to me? Thank you so much; that’s so kind of you! I don’t get many callers; in fact, I don’t get to talk to many people, period, so this is going to be wonderful. Mrs. Milliguddy next door always used to stop in to see how I was doing, but now with her gout she isn’t able to get here anymore, and because I’m pretty much confined to home, I really don’t have much of a chance to talk. My son does stop in twice a week to see if I need anything, but he’s also so busy- you know how that goes- so he isn’t able to visit very long. I keep telling him to bring Marilyn- that’s his wife- and the kids over to see me, but they never seem to have the time. Just between us, I think he wants to, but Marilyn won’t let him. She’s never liked me, you know, at least not since their wedding reception when I made that innocent little remark about her gown being so skimpy. After all, it wasn’t my fault that she looked like a shameless hussy- and on her wedding day, of all things!- and I don’t know why she and her mother and sister were so offended. People are so touchy these days. Why, do you know, just last week…(By this point, most telemarketers- after several fruitless attempts to interrupt- will have hung up in frustration).

THE “LONG LOST FRIEND” APPROACH

“Hello, may I please speak to Mr. Wilson?” “Fred? Fred McDonnell? It’s great to hear from you! What have you been doing, guy?” “No, sir, my name’s not Fred; I’m calling for…(Interrupt:) “Fred, I just can’t believe it! How did you ever track me down? I haven’t seen you since third grade back at St. Mary’s. Say, do you remember Sister Lucretia Ann? Boy, she really seemed to have it in for you; in fact, I recall her saying you were the most likely kid in class to end up in a state prison.” “Sir, I’m trying to tell you that you’ve mistaken me for someone else; my name isn’t…” “Hey, Fred, remember that time Lisa Samuels got sick after lunch and threw up on you; Sister made you go to the boys’ room and take off your pants and wash them in a sink, and you had to hold a towel around your waist until they dried- and it was just before our class pictures were going to be taken that day, and you looked so sad I was sure you were going to break out crying.” “Sir! Please let me explain!” “Oh, no need to explain, Fred; everyone always knew there was a black cloud following you. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when I heard about you filing for bankruptcy after your wife left you a few years back. I suppose it had something to do with that shady real estate deal you put together that I read about in the paper. Say, how’d you manage to avoid doing time for that one?” “Aaarrgh!”

THE “EVANGELIST” APPROACH

“Hello, may I speak to Ms. Tringgold?” “Sister, not only can you speak to me, but I’m going to do you one better- I’m going to help you speak to the Lord God Almighty Himself. Yes, girl, that’s right: you and I can do some heavy-duty praying right here on the telephone. But first, I need to ask you: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” “Um, Ma’am, I’m just calling on behalf of…” (Interrupt:) “Oh, that’s all right. You don’t have to confess your sins right now; that’ll come later. Now, tell me, you poor, wretched creature, are you tired of being the plaything of the devil and a slave to iniquity? Are you ready to give up your life of wickedness and debauchery? Have you finally come to see the error of your filthy and degraded way of living?” “Excuse me, Ma’am, but you don’t understand…” “Oh, I understand more than you know, Sugar; I’ve been there myself. In fact, let me give you my personal testimony of salvation; that’ll make it easier for you to open up and pour out your soul to me. Way back in 1968…” Click. (This approach, of course, isn’t an attempt to make fun of religion, and certainly shouldn’t be used in such a manner- but because many people are uncomfortable talking about religious subjects, if can be an effective way of closing off a conversation…and after they hang up, you can say a little prayer on their behalf).

THE “SPACE CADET” APPROACH

“Hello, may I please speak to Mr. Brown?” “Are you cleared to use this frequency?” “What?” “Your code name and Federation I.D., man!” What’s your code name and I.D. number?” “Uh, sir, I’m calling for Acme Tours, and this month we’re having a special on Caribbean cruises. For just $599…” (Interrupt:) “Oh, well why didn’t you say so? You can never be too careful these days, you know, not with all the eavesdropping the Martians are doing on us earthlings. You probably didn’t hear about that, did you? I’m not surprised; the government’s keeping all that hushed up, just like they did three years ago with the radioactive pink dragon. Anyhow, you were saying?” “Well, uh, we have this special cruise…” “Oh, yeah, the cruise! You know, it’s been a long time since they let me near a boat; I still say that packing my luggage with plastic explosive would have been an effective way to scare off monsters that were waiting for us down in the Bermuda triangle. I don’t know why the Coast Guard and FBI were so angry; I guess they were just mad at me that they didn’t think of that idea first. If you ask me, four years in prison was a big overreaction to a harmless little misunderstanding. I don’t mind telling you, if it wasn’t for those secret midnight visits of Astro the space leprechaun, I’d have gone crazy for sure. Anyway, I’d be interested…Hello? Hello? Are you still there?

THE “HARD OF HEARING” APPROACH

“Hello, may I speak to Mr. Marshall?” “Sure, just a minute.” (Pause a moment while pretending to come to the phone, then say in a loud voice:) “HELLO, WHO’S THIS?” “Mr. Marshall, I’m calling for…” (Interrupt:) “HELLO, IS ANYONE THERE? I CAN’T HEAR YOU. THIS BETTER NOT BE ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE CRANK CALLS. WAIT A MINUTE. IS THIS JIMMY BENNETT? YOU LITTLE PUNK, I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE NOT TO BOTHER ME WITH YOUR STUPID PRANKS.” No, Mr. Marshall, no, you misunderstand. I’m calling for Diamond Mortgage Company…” "COMPANY? NO, I DON’T HAVE ANY COMPANY. WHY DID YOU WANT TO COME OVER?” “No, sir, that’s Diamond Mortgage Company…” “I SPOSE YOU CAN COME OVER, BUT YOU BETTER BRING YOUR OWN DRINK. I’M NOT SHARING ANY OF MY ENSURE- THAT STUFF’S TOO EXPENSIVE.” “No, sir, I’m calling to see if you need a second mortgage on your home.” “MY COMB? OF COURSE I HAVE A COMB. I MAY NOT HAVE MUCH HAIR LEFT, BUT I KEEP IT NEATLY COMBED. WHAT’YA THINK, THAT I DON’T HAVE ANY PRIDE IN MY APPEARANCE?” “No, sir, I wasn’t saying that…” “FAT! NOW YOU’RE CALLING ME FAT? LISTEN, JIMMY OR WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS, SOMEBODY OUGHT TO TEACH YOU SOME RESPECT FOR YOUR ELDERS. BACK IN MY DAY, YOUNG MAN, SOMEONE LIKE YOU WOULD HAVE ENDED UP IN REFORM SCHOOL, WHERE…HELLO? HELLO? ARE YOU THERE, JIMMY?”

THE “PSYCHIC HOTLINE” APPROACH

“Hello, may I please speak to Chloe Reinsdorff?” “This is Madame Chloe.” “Uh, Ms. Reinsdorff, I’m calling for…” (Interrupt:) “Wait! Don’t tell me; I’m very good at knowing these things. Yes, yes, I’m feeling a strong psychic vibration; your inner self is being laid bare before me, and I’m peering in your soul. I sense that you need to talk to me about something regarding a financial matter- am I right?” “Well, yes, in a way…” “I knew it! I told you, I have a very strong sense of what people need. Just stay quiet for a moment, sir; let me see what I can pick up as I read the energy force that surrounds and unites us. I’m sensing some confusion and bewilderment on your part, and right now you’re thinking…Why, young man! Shame on you! I told you, I can read your thoughts! It’s lucky for you that no one else knows what you were just thinking. We won’t say anymore about that sort of thing, I can assure you!” “Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and besides, I just wanted to tell you…” “Madame Chloe knows what you want, child; she’s aware of your insecurities and your desperate desire to overcome the deep self-loathing that’s crippled you for years, being stuck in a dead-end job like this…” Click. “…that forces you to match wits with gifted, intelligent people like me. Poor thing; ha, ha, ha (and I can just imagine what you’re thinking right now).”

These are some fun and creative approaches to talking with telemarketers; others might include the “NO COMPRENDO” APPROACH (in which you speak in Spanish, Italian, or any other language of your choice- perhaps even one you make up on the spot- thus creating a “failure to communicate”), the “POLITICAL ACTIVIST” APPROACH (in which you explain that you only do business with people who support your pet causes, and then ask a long series of “yes” or “no” questions on contemporary issues), or the “HARRIED PARENT” APPROACH (in which you keep interrupting your telephone conversation to shout at your imaginary children for alleged misdeeds of a mind-boggling nature, leading your caller to think she’s dialed a madhouse by mistake). Various one-liners might also have their place (“Could you get off the line, please? My wife just fell off the roof of the garage and I need to call 911,” or “I’ll buy whatever you’re selling, as long as I can pay for it with the pink suede currency my space alien friends gave me.”). These ideas are offered for your enjoyment and possibly for your own use- and perhaps they’ll help you come up with even better ideas of your own. Have fun!

P.S. If you’re a telemarketer and find this article offensive, and want a personal apology, I’ll be happy to comply. Just send me your name and home phone number, and the time when you normally eat dinner, and I’ll be sure to call.

http://www.catholicjournal.us

Gordie & The Bieb ...

Two Canadian icons, one veteran and one newbie, have set off a viral video

CBC journalism ...

Once upon a time, long ago and far, far away, I thought I understood the news media – talk about a sea change.

The case in point is the Colonel Williams trial in Ontario – the former air force commander who has been charged with multiple offences including sexual assault and murder. Williams owned up to his crimes, admitted them to the cops and entered 82 guilty pleas yesterday in a courtroom.

Now, they’re to the point where the crown is introducing evidence to back up their case … including hundreds of pictures, graphic testimony from Williams’ confession and more information than we NEED to know. The media is sucking it up like an overcharged septic tank cleaner and spewing it out in voluminous quantities. If I hear the CBC run a caution warning before the story in another morning newscast on radio, I’ll puke.

Why do they need to go into such detail … not only in the Williams case but in so many others as well. There seems to be a need to take the old TV concept of jolts-per-minute to an entirely new level without any regard for the listener.

Bottom line is that it’s sensational, tabloid crap, wrapped in a very poor disguise of journalism. I can only imagine poor old Wilf Kesterton turning over his grave at what the modern day CBC editor allows to go on the air. Once upon a time, CBC journalism represented quality – it was a long time ago and far away.

Subway impresses

I’m more than willing to complain when I receive lousy customer service; it’s only fair to acknowledge when a company decides to do something about it. I was into the Subway sandwich shop on Kelsey Drive the other night and the service was horrible. When I got home I decided that rather than write another complaint blog entry, I would go to the source, so I looked up Subway online, found their customer service link with an American address and wrote them an e-mail. The next day, I received a telephone call from a Subway customer service rep who apologized for the service I had received, said it would be discussed with senior management in the St. John’s area and offered a gift card as a way of compensating me for the lousy service. Clearly Subway takes such complaints seriously and it is most appreciated. Kudos to Subway!

The stark reality of aging

The two picures below are of the same guy former 70's teen heartthrob Leif Garrett. The one on the left is when he was at the height of his popularity; the mugshot on the right, taken this year when he was busted by Los Angeles cops for heroin possession. The years have not been kind to him.

by The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Former teen heartthrob Leif Garrett has pleaded no contest to heroin possession in Los Angeles. The 48-year-old actor-singer entered the plea Friday in Los Angeles and was sentenced to a court-ordered drug treatment program. Garrett was arrested in February after authorities found him carrying heroin in a Los Angeles subway station. He has had a series of drug arrests since the height of his popularity in the 1970s.

Pay the bills you greedy ghouls

I heard an interesting interview on CBC radio this morning with people from Dunville who are still trying to figure out the damage after Hurricane Igor.

The whole point of the interview was that they’re waiting for government money to repair the damage to their homes.

My question is how do the insurance companies decide what they will or will not cover? I hear all of this talk about “acts of God”. Well, for those of us who believe in God, we tend to think that most things are acts of God – hurricanes, floods, beautiful sunsets – the list goes on and on.

The fact of the matter is we pay a pretty penny for insurance coverage and then the insurance companies start telling us about the exceptions. Perhaps it’s time the various governments in Canada talked to the insurance industry and passed the legislation to cover these “loopholes”. The insurance industry is a multi-billion dollar business and the way they make their money is by reducing their losses – this is a classic case of them turning their back and walking away (unless of course you want to buy MORE insurance!)

Do you remember all of the hoopla about caps on the amount of money insurance companies would pay for soft tissue injuries in a car accident? There were many of us at the moment who could see the insurance industry’s hands so far into the politicians pockets that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other started. Same thing here.

I don’t believe that governments should be insurers-of-last-resort. I think the insurance companies should take responsibility for looking after the cost of repairing those homes. They can afford it and know they can although they will whine about how tough times are if you even suggest it. Right. Suck it up and pay the bills you greedy ghouls.

Social media's reach into the business world

There’s a fascinating article on the influence of social media on the BBC News website written by business editor Tim Weber entitled “Why companies watch your every Facebook, YouTube, Twitter move”. It’s well worth a read.

Weber makes the point that social media such as those noted in the title are so pervasive in terms of their influence on business that knowing and understanding social media has become a mission critical factor in business development.

He cites one example: “When Ford introduced the compact Fiesta car in the US market, it offered 100 people the chance to drive the car, on condition that they review the cars using social media. On YouTube, the Fiesta videos were viewed more than 6.5 million times, and - more importantly - towards the end of the campaign more than 50,000 people had expressed an interest in buying one.”

The influence can be felt on a macro (like the Ford example) or micro scale where a local blogger comments on customer service available at local establishments, such as I have done a few times. I’m not sure my comments about the widely varying levels of service at a chicken outlet on Blackmarsh Road are going to have much impact on the business operation, but if enough people complain, eventually the corporate franchise owners may take action although the generally pathetic level of customer service in St. John’s would suggest otherwise.

The fact is that the customer does have an enormous voice now via social media. As Weber notes, “social media is quickly becoming a customer relationship management system, as companies have "for the first time access to people's minds in real-time," says Jorn Lyseggen. The tools on offer provide companies with dashboards that show trends, hot topics, the reach of brands, customer mood and how competitors are doing."

The old adage was "if you're happy with our service, tell others; if not, tell us."  Now, if someone is unhappy with your service, they may tell 50,000 of their cyber friends.  Massive equation change from 1=10.

Power to the people takes on a whole new meaning.

Harper-land

If there’s one thing apparent about the Stephen Harper Conservative government, it is that they will throw everyone and everything over board as long as they can stay in government.

The most recent example of that is the loss of the election to the United Nations Security Council. Suddenly, after nearly five years of ignoring the United Nations, Harper finally managed to get there in time to promote Canada as a worthy candidate for the Security Council, the most important body within the U.N. It became, for all appearances, his number one foreign policy objective; however, as you will recall, in a classic measure of how much importance U.N. delegates attached to his speech, he spoke to a nearly empty Assembly Hall.

So it came down to a contest between Germany, Portugal and Canada. Germany easily won the first round of voting and Portugal had a comfortable majority over Canada although not the required number of votes to win the second seat. Rather than be subjected to the embarrassment of losing, the orders came from Ottawa to our U.N. delegation to pull out of the race. Turns out the cute little bottles of maple syrup that the Canadians distributed to the U.N. delegates didn’t make much difference. (They should have tried handing out bottles of booze like they used to at home in elections!)

Of course, now the spin doctors take over claiming that it wasn’t really a loss since the position on the Security Council wasn’t that important after all. Then it became a case of our foreign policy being better than many of the voting members anyway and the U.N. has more than its share of corruption. Hmmmm … Parliament Hill renovations anyone?

Then, in a true measure of the ethical integrity of Stephen Harper and his minions, they tried to blame it all on Michael Ignatieff, saying that his comments about Canada perhaps not deserving a Security Council seat really cast their ship of fortune upon the shoals. Wow! On the one hand it seems ludicrous; on the other hand, it shows the enormous respect which they feel Ignatieff must enjoy on the world stage which clearly Harper does not enjoy. Will the real Prime Minister please stand up?

China throws tantrum over Nobel Peace Prize award

Almost every country in the world considers it a great honour when one of its citizens wins a Nobel prize, and especially so the Peace Prize because of what it means. Not so the communist government in China. The Chinese government accepts no interference in its tragic human rights record and addresses such issues strictly in terms of one question: What serves the Communist Party’s complete grip on power?

Its response to Liu Xiaobo’s selection as the winner of the 2010 Peace Prize shows that so very clearly. The 54-year-old scholar and author, who won the prize for his outstanding contribution to human rights, is currently serving an 11-year sentence on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” imposed after an unfair trial. The Chinese Communist government immediately blacked out news of the award, calling the decision a “desecration” of the peace prize. News inevitably will leak out, but the government will insist that foreigners are meddling in China’s internal affairs; already Liu’s wife has been placed under house arrest immediately after reportedly visiting her husband in prison.

As the New York Times reported, the prize is an enormous psychological boost for China’s beleaguered reform movement and an affirmation of the two decades Mr. Liu has spent advocating peaceful political change in the face of unremitting hostility from the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Blacklisted from academia (he is a literary critic) and barred from publishing in China, Mr. Liu has been harassed and detained repeatedly since 1989, when he stepped into the drama playing out on Tiananmen Square by staging a hunger strike and then negotiating the peaceful retreat of student demonstrators as thousands of soldiers stood by with rifles drawn.

There have been enormous changes in China since 1989 but the one area that remains a tragedy is with regard to human rights. The Chinese government tolerates no criticism from inside its borders and even less from outside. One of its immediate reactions to the awarding of the Peace Prize was to cancel a meeting between the fisheries ministers from China and Norway – in effect punishing Norway.

The disappointment in all of this is how cautious western governments have been in criticizing China’s human rights record. The message is very clear – when it comes to trading with the Chinese behemoth, human rights are far down the list. As I look around the room this morning, I realize that nearly everything in here has a ‘made in China’ tag on it. China’s exports trump every other nation on earth. Their economic power, as witnessed in Africa of late, is so huge that western governments tread very lightly when criticizing the Chinese government in any area while thousands of Chinese citizens suffer and die in the gulags.

When will we develop the backbone to stand up for the Liu Xiaobos of the world and let human rights trump trade?  Can we?

Internet disconnect laws increasing'

We often operate under the illusion that the Internet is this wonderfully unrestricted egalitarian means of communication. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Increasingly, governments and their agencies are putting restrictions in place to govern how we may use the Internet. In China the communist government simply shuts down access to various websites it deems as being too liberal or whatever. Western governments monitor every bit that travels through cyberspace and flag you for the most innocent reasons. It’s an ego rush to think that there’s some poor intelligence analyst sitting in one of those seven underground stories at the CSIS building in Ottawa reading this now. NOT!  (Using those four letters though "cee-ess-eye-ess" probably would cause a flag.  :-)

On the commercial side, Internet service providers are imposing caps on how much material you can download unless you pay premium fees. They’re also tracking your every move on the Internet and working with government, they’re putting new rules in place that will seriously affect our access to the Internet unless we play by government and corporate rules.

Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the world wide web, is warning of the "blight" of new laws being introduced across the globe allowing people to be cut off from the Internet. One example is a French law that comes into effect this year that threatens to cut people off if they illegally download from the Internet, and a new British law passed in April which could see similar action. "If a French family can be forcibly disconnected from the Internet by law for a year because one of their children downloaded something that some company asserts that they should not have downloaded, without trial -- I think that's a kind of inappropriate punishment," Berners-Lee said.

Dr. Berners-Lee says the US Senate is also considering a bill that would have the government create a blacklist of Internet sites that US ISPs would be required to block.

Big Brother is not just a TV show.

More money wasted ...

So we have a new guv’ner general. Yawn.

It’s a tradition that we should dispense with, but the monarchists prevail and it’s too sensitive an issue for politicians to debate (consider the furore over the Maclean’s article about Quebec) so we’ll continue to get people appointed to one of the plum patronage jobs as pseudo royalty in Canada every five years or so.

David Johnson is the latest tenant to live in public housing (Rideau Hall) in Rockcliffe Park in Ottawa. He’s held steady jobs in academics and I used to enjoy seeing him host The Editors on TV but apart from the fact that he did Stephen Harper a huge favour with a very limited inquiry into Brian Mulroney a couple of years ago, I don’t see much reason for him to get the job. Apparently, he has the right political credentials or something.

His installation ceremony was heavy on pomp and circumstance. One example. He made a good decision to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa but why do it in a horse-drawn carriage? The soldiers he was honouring never had a chance to ride in such luxury and it’s only a short walk from where he was installed so why didn’t he and the missus set a good example and walk over to the monument? I guess when you’re called “Your Excellency” you don’t walk much anymore.

In my humble opinion, we’re wasting money on this whole pseudo royalty thing and the faster we get rid of the position, the better.

By the way, Michaelle Jean who held the gig just before Johnson has been appointed as a UN representative to Haiti. If there are any five-star hotels left in Haiti, that’s where she’ll be staying when she visits now.

Linden MacIntyre: story teller extraordinaire

Perhaps one of the best pieces of reporting I’ve seen about the sexual abuse scandals in the roman catholic church in Antigonish, NS was broadcast tonight on CBC’s the fifth estate. Written by Giller book prize winner (The Bishop’s Man) Linden MacIntyre, the piece was balanced and broad in its coverage of this horrific story where children were abused by priests and the former bishop of the diocese, Newfoundlander Raymond Lahey, was charged with possessing child pornography.

MacIntyre and producer Neil Docherty give a voice to many people in the catholic diocese who expressed dismay that they were being forced to pay for the sins of a few priests and the culpability of the bishops of the day. Many asked the important question of why the vatican and the pope, long heralded as the centre of the catholic church were not required to contribute to the payment of eighteen and a half million dollars (a large portion of that going to lawyers).

If there was a disappointment in the piece, it was the interview with current Antigonish bishop Brian Dunn who managed to skate around every question that he was asked. Dunn is a former professor of church law at the catholic seminary in London, Ontario. Unfortunately, it seems his response is about all that we can expect from church hierarchy officials.