Inkless Wells

Paul Wells on all the latest out of Ottawa—along with the occasional post about jazz. Follow Paul on Twitter: @InklessPW
He also offers his thoughtful perspective of Stephen Harper’s last 10 years in his recent eBook, The Harper Decade.

Categories: Capital Read, Inkless Wells

Then they built Evan's set. And it was HUGE

by Paul Wells on Monday, October 26, 2009 1:44pm - 65 Comments

The new CBC politics web portal has at least one familiar face, and a lot of zippy features, including a time-lapse look at the construction of the Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg the Beijing Olympics facilities Evan Solomon’s new set in Ottawa.

Tags: cbc, Evan Solomon, look for the union label

More by Paul Wells

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

Meow.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Inkless Inkless

I'm just jealous. My last spacious digs were at the National Post, before the Aspers started managing for value.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

No need to be jealous. You guys have that ever-changing maple leaf apostrophe every week. And unlike Mansbridge, you're not being made to stand up while you work.

(p.s.: does anyone else find O'Malley's new picture oddly demonic?)

http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

LOL…Her face does seem very stern in that photo.

Mulletaur

Kady is starting to use the same lipstick as Harper, very bad sign.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Lord_Bob Lord Bob

Oh god, that is a frightening expression she's got on. The first time I went to the portal I threw my wallet at that photo, ran out of the office, slammed the door, and sobbed for forty-five minutes.

I imagine that's the expression she uses every time a parliamentary committee degenerates into namecalling and pointless bickering, so no wonder it stuck a little.
http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Feschuk was joking that she was a witch, maybe it's no joke!

Mulletaur

The sooner the CBC is sold off to the private sector, the better. Actually, scrap that – just shut it down and sell off all the frequency allocations to pay off the national debt. That will put a huge number of socialists and separatists out of work. Good all around.

http://intensedebate.com/people/WDM WDM

Yes, but then they'll have the time to conspire to get together and form a coalition. The CBC keeps them busy and their minds off such diabolical treachery.

Mulletaur

Easily solved : we can immediately employ them on 'stimulus' infrastructure projects. A bit of honest labour won't do them any harm at all.

Foreigner

"That will put a huge number of socialists and separatists out of work."

Don't forget the Taliban-huggers and the pedophiles.

Mulletaur

I am trying to show some self restraint and thus will not point out in which institutions those two groups are more likely to reside, but you can use your own imagination.

Smith

i just checked in on the cbc blog of QP. You're not far off.
Foreigner

"I am trying to show some self restraint and thus will not point out in which institutions those two groups are more likely to reside, but you can use your own imagination."

Why would I need to use my imagination for something that is entirely predictable?

What I don't get about the CBC-bashers is their obliviousness to that fact that the private broadcasters, who cost us a hell of a lot more than the CBC does, offer no appealing alternatives, neither in news nor entertainment. And as for educational programming is concerned…*shudder*. We get dumber as a result of what they do, not smarter.

Mulletaur

Private broadcasters can do what they want, I don't pay for their crap through my tax dollars. I can always boycott the products they advertise or cut my cable but I can't boycott the CRA. Perhaps Coyne is right, it makes sense to make the CBC pay-per-view. Then we will see whether all the ardent defenders of the CBC are willing to put their money where their mouths are.
http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Hear hear! My guess is that the lefties are willing to put their money where their mouth is, that's why they forced us to pay for it.
Foreigner

"Perhaps Coyne is right, it makes sense to make the CBC pay-per-view."

About as much sense as it does making the roads pay-per-trip and the sewers pay-per-flush. Maybe it does. Let's try those first, as I'm sure it will save a lot of people (maybe even you) more money than the 30 dollars a year the CBC costs.

And if Coyne wants to make a bold case about this, I'll start listening as soon as he lobbies for Macleans to say "no thank you" to the 3 million a year the rag gets from taxpayers.
Mulletaur

I would rather spend $1 billion a year on alleviating child poverty than on the useless, unwatchable and irrelevant CBC. I am also quite happy to take away the $3 million from Macleans and have railed against this subsidy in the past on this very blog site. And while we're at it, we should renegotiate NAFTA so that we stop protectionism in our so-called 'cultural industries', which anyway only regurgitate Yankee pop culture when they are not peddling the lamest, most mediocre locally produced crap imaginable. Perhaps we could convince Murdoch to buy the CBC for a dollar.
Foreigner

Well, we'll just put you in charge then. I'm sure you'll have this country sorted out in no time.
Mulletaur

You could put a passel of smoking monkeys in charge, they couldn't do a worse job than Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Thwim Thwim

You may want to dig a little deeper into your preconceptions.

Mulletaur

Oh, and I forgot to add that we should tear down all the CBC buildings and pour salt in the foundations. Please keep piling on with the thumbs downs, it's making my day.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

You have to pour salt in the foundations or else a new building will start to grow.
http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

you sound like a fun/happy person to hang with. just saying.

Mulletaur

I hope you remembered to put a few thumbs downs on my comments after that.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

i think your comments stand for themselves
Mulletaur

Would you pay for CBC if it were pay per view ?
http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

hard to say.

just recently got cable after 3yr absence and barely use it. i much prefer the internet as a rule.

but that does not change that i see the idea of a public broadcaster – and a well-funded public broadcaster at that – as a public good.

http://intensedebate.com/people/jolyon jolyon

Slide show is funny: here's evan texting! here's evan looking engrossed! here's evan looking thoughtful!

I miss Kady, I wish she would return.

Anon

Hmmm .. and yet, you (and jarrid) couldn't wait to criticize her when she was here :-)

Seriously though, I think Maclean's should enter into a co-hosting arrangement with CBC to allow some cross-posts.

Jim

This website is boring ever since Kady left. Macleans is now a slightly less racist version of blogging tories.

Foreigner

Don't worry. Jonathan and Mother Kay will be ending up here soon, so things are bound to improve.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Lord_Bob Lord Bob

Wonder if Kenneth Whyte's going to use that as a blurb on his next book.
Dee

Amen. The Conservative comments/hate starting to pervade this site is certainly making it more unappealing.

Dot

Hey, this is just like Bull Durham when Nuke gets called up from the minors to "the Show". Did Crash ever recover?
Sigh

This guy must have some wicked connections.

Mulletaur

Nobody could ever accuse Fluffy of having any skill, that's for sure.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SamDavies SamDavies

Man – total sausage-fest here!!!

Did anyone check out the live-blogging for QP?
Wanted to check it out, but was delayed….
Mulletaur

The only thing of value that the CBC does and thus its only possible justification for receiving taxpayers' funds is current affairs and news. Evan Solomon is an intellectual lightweight who can barely hold his own in an interview. If that's the best the CBC can come up with as a replacement for Don Newman, we don't need to pay for it with our taxes.

Foreigner

Hell hath no fury like the anonymous mediocrity.

Dot

Mick Jones? Ian McDonald? Lou Gramm?

Is that you?

Foreigner

"Mick Jones? Ian McDonald? Lou Gramm?"

Who are they? If they're famous…oh, I sooo hate them!

Iccyh

I already miss Kady O'Malley and I *still* miss Chris Selley. There was a period there last year where between Need To Know, Megapundit, ITQ and the other great blogs on here, it really felt like I could read almost everything worth knowing about Canadian news, especially politics, on any given day.

This is still pretty much the only site I read (I don't have a ton of time to be browsing while at work), but more and more I feel like I'm missing out by not checking other sites.

http://intensedebate.com/people/TwoYen TwoYen

I think both Wells and Coyne are great value, but they seem to have days jobs, so they don't have as much time to post.
edeast

I agree with iccy, what are you guys doing?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jenn_ Jenn_

Yeah, me too. And most sadly, I didn't realize how good I had it at the time. Well, I do now!

kcm

I concur. I even miss some of the old posters from last winter/year. Kody, Tiguy…where art thou? I have a sneaky feeling tiguy's still with us. But we may never see the like again of Jarrid and kody filling a whole thread with their art – that's till Wells came along and knocked all their blocks over. Sigh…wonder if it gets better the futher back you go?

edeast

I definitely miss Tiguy.

edeast

If the blogs aren't a priority. And so that I'm not all criticism.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

I miss Sellley and O'Malley too. My solution is to keep following them by visiting their new websites.

http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

Well, there you go with the basic common sense thing, again, Crit.

PassTheDonuts

Mulletaur – it must be said that the only thing lightweight about the Duffster was his intellect.

Mulletaur

Too true, too true.

Orson Bean

Does that mean that Jane Taber has taken over Duffster's former role in the Parliamentary Press Gallery?

LC Bennett

I think Kady is going for the Camille Paglia look in her picture but at the CBC the angry feminist look would be more appropriate.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

I'm amazed that the photo hasn't been changed yet.

Mulletaur

Please tell me that Evan is not currently interviewing a bunch of NDP dupes who disrupted the House of Commons proceedings today.

http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

Evan is not currently interviewing a bunch of NDP dupes who disrupted the House of Commons proceedings today.

You're welcome.

Mulletaur

MYL, that's not even truthy.

http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

But you asked, and you said please…

Rob L

Loving the new mobile version of Inkless/MacLeans.
kcm

Oh oh…who could forget Carrol [ karol] ?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

That guy was great. I hope he got help.

Smith

What riding would this infrastructure spending qualify in?

Seriously, I hope Kady tripled her income.
http://intensedebate.com/people/TwoYen TwoYen

Ottawa Centre – an NDP riding!