Unwiped Bums Gaute
PMO Iqaluit bumble draws smiles, frowns
OTTAWA — A bumble by the Prime Minister's Office has residents of Nunavut alternately chuckling and cringing.
A news release sent out Monday outlined Prime Minister Stephen Harper's itinerary as he began a five-day Arctic tour.
The release repeatedly spelled the capital of Nunavut as Iqualuit - rather than Iqaluit, which means "many fish" in the Inuktitut language.
The extra "u" makes a world of difference.
"It means people with unwiped bums," said Sandra Inutiq of the office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut.
"It's not exactly a nice term."
posted by calgarygrit at
9:37 p.m.
16 Comments:
Clearly a smear job...
By
Anonymous, at 10:51 p.m.
Yes, the original story was quite funny. But then the PMO sent a note around to all the press, listing everyone they could find who had made this spelling mistake - including Kady O'Malley who made the typo while liveblogging without a spell checker a while back and some travel form from Paul Martin in 2004. Kind of makes you wonder what kind of people occupy the PMO. Obviously not the grown up kind of people.
By
Anonymous, at 11:12 p.m.
Are you serious?
I am reminded of the good old days when my parents, for some strange reason, would never accept "well he did it too" as a reasonable excuse for my behaviour.
I thought the conservatives were all about personal responsibility. I guess what they mean is everyone else should be taking personal responsibility.
By
Gayle, at 12:40 a.m.
I don't suppose you see the irony in saying the Conservatives are being childish while you use a humourous little slip-up that's independent of political stripe to slam the Conservatives?
By
Robert Vollman, at 10:33 a.m.
If you are referring to me, then I would like to know when I ever used this slip up to slam the conservatives.
If you are referring to Dan, I would like to know when he said the conservatives were childish (at least in relation to this issue).
By
Gayle, at 1:58 p.m.
The slam:
I thought the conservatives were all about personal responsibility. I guess what they mean is everyone else should be taking personal responsibility.
Admit it. No matter how they had responded to this, you would have found fault with it, and found a way to mock it.
Come on. As if their response is somehow Conservative. As if other parties would have behaved differently.
I'm not saying you have to laugh and move on. If you want to use the opportunity to score points, or fuel your agenda, that's great! Just don't accuse a pot of being black when you're being a kettle.
By
Robert Vollman, at 8:15 p.m.
Sure I am mocking them for running around pointing fingers and saying "but they did it too". They have been acting that way since day one, and since conservatives are always saying that people have to take responsibility for themselves (and I know you know that), it is a perfectly valid to mock them for acting like children.
That has absolutely nothing to do with the typo.
And yes, I think other parties would have behaved differently - like by apologizing and maybe laughing at themselves. Certainly not by compiling a list of other people who made the same typo.
Stop being so sensitive. This is kind of a stupid argument.
By
Gayle, at 8:51 p.m.
Let's remember this as an example of the Conservatives making a minor gaffe and the media excoriating them for it, ignoring the same gaffes committed by others.
Another example would be all the complaints we've heard from the Liberals over the years about Conservative MPs sending so-called "10-percenters" into other ridings - while I received one from a Liberal MP I've never heard of. I live in the Ottawa area. Does she think I'll vote in Brossard-Laprairie?
Criticism is fair. Balance is critical.
By
Paul, at 8:53 p.m.
Harper does have a bit of a track record of refusing to appologize to mistakes. I don't think their response was that awful here (it's kind of playful to point out the media making the same mistake), but they certainly have dug in hard on some press release gaffes in the past.
By
calgarygrit, at 10:12 p.m.
Harper does have a bit of a track record of refusing to appologize to mistakes.
Not just Harper, what about Mackay back when he called Stronach a dog?
And not just Conservatives, what about Jean Chretien's infamous refusal to apologise for not cutting the GST?
It's fair to say that very, very few politicians are prepared to ever apologise.
And yes, I think other parties would have behaved differently - like by apologizing and maybe laughing at themselves.
I just can't agree with that. I'm not saying you're wrong, because we're talking about opinions, not facts, but if you truly believe this, you need to take a hard look at your ability to be objective when it comes to the Conservatives.
This is kind of a stupid argument.
I can, however, agree with that.
conservatives are always saying that people have to take responsibility for themselves (and I know you know that)
And that ... that's certainly a good point. The big difference between the Conservatives and (say) the Liberals isn't in their actions (which are often identical, imho), but in that the Conservatives claim to act better.
Let's remember this as an example of the Conservatives making a minor gaffe and the media excoriating them for it, ignoring the same gaffes committed by others.
Bingo! Paul's got it.
Slightly off-topic, but if Bush had done with Obama just did this week-end, and say he's going to fund health care reforms by taxing charities but "spin" it to make it sound like he was taxing the rich, he'd have been mocked every day by Stewart, Maher and Colbert for at least a week. Since Obama did it: not a peep. Instead we get some crap about Glenn Beck from a year ago.
By
Robert Vollman, at 10:09 a.m.
"...you need to take a hard look at your ability to be objective when it comes to the Conservatives."
I hardly see how my comment about other parties reflects my objectivity when it comes to the CPC. It is already quite evident how the CPC reacted here.
Besides, if you are concerned about objectivity, you might want to reconsider this:
"Bingo! Paul's got it."
If you truly believe the media dump on the CPC while forgiving the same actions when committed by other parties, then you are the one who needs to reconsider your objectivity - when it comes to all parties.
That whole "the media are out to get Harper" stuff is oh so tiresome...
By
Gayle, at 5:47 p.m.
This comment has been removed by the author.
By
Robert Vollman, at 9:16 p.m.
I think it's funny! I live in Toronto and I thought the Coors ad in Vancouver was funny. Why are we so touchy?
People should get over being so offended... I don't think Harper should be required to apologize, it's just not that big a deal.
Thank god our lives in Canada are so awesome that we can afford to make stuff like this news! :)
By
Jason Bo Green, at 9:47 a.m.
Harper does have a bit of a track record of refusing to appologize to mistakes.
What about the Chinese Head Tax.....?
;-)
By
Jason Bo Green, at 9:48 a.m.
From what we hear in the media, what do we know about exactly how the Conservatives actually did react to their gaffe? Nothing.
The only things we know are what the media have chosen to craft as their story.
In this instance, we do also know that the Conservatives offered the media an opportunity to present a balanced story.
But how many media outlets chose to carry that balanced story? And how many bloggers chose, instead of carrying a balanced story, to make the story about how the Conservatives were trying to create a balance in the story?
By
Paul, at 12:10 a.m.
Hey, there is really much worthwhile material in this post!
By
sex shop, at 1:20 p.m.
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