Is The Era Of The Amateur Blogger Over? >>
<< Court Rejects RIAA's 'Making Available' Theory...
 tdicon 

Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick

Tue, Apr 29th 2008 4:16pm




Filed Under:
canada, canada post, libel, top 10 list


Head Of Canadian Post Offices Says Satirical Top 10 List Is Libel

from the oh-please dept

Rob Hyndman writes in to let us know about yet another person trying to use libel laws to get content taken down that isn't libelous at all. Apparently, the head of the Canadian postal service, Moya Greene, got upset at a satirical blog post on the blog of the postal workers' union making fun of Greene for joining the board of directors of Tim Hortons, the well-known doughnut shop. The union blog post put together a mildly amusing "Top 10" list of reasons why Greene had joined the board, including such things as "So she (or her driver) doesn’t have to get in line to get her morning coffee." Har har. So, it's not all that funny. But, it's difficult to see how it's libel. And, of course, by invoking The Streisand Effect, it seems like all Greene has done is suggest that she doesn't have much of a sense of humor.

9 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  1.  
    identicon
    eleete, Apr 29th, 2008 @ 4:41pm

    Streisand

    At least we found Barbs only talent.

    e

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    icon
    GeneralEmergency (profile), Apr 29th, 2008 @ 4:41pm

    Careful Moya...

    ...you don't want to look like you're going "Postal" over something like this.


    Oh, and pass the doughnuts, please.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    identicon
    Cynic, Apr 29th, 2008 @ 6:03pm

    So let's analyze this. She wins the lawsuit and maybe or maybe not gets enough to make it all worth while. But win or lose the next time she goes for a job or appointment, might it seem to the person or persons making the decision: "no sense of humor, poor public relations skills and possible distraction from duties of the next job if she gets involved in another law suit...hmmmmm..."?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    General Streisand, Apr 29th, 2008 @ 7:17pm

    Sad day for Canadian Culture

    Tim Hortons? No way! This is sad! I used to make conversation all the time with call centers based in Canada. Conversations circled around Canadian Culture, including topics about Tim Horton's.

    So calling a nameless outsourced call center 100 times a month... Chatting about Canadian culture was the best part of the day. It was either Tim Horton's or the joke about "Going on top of the roof to drink a Molson".

    Thankfully, Molson now has a US interest, so there's still something to make smalltalk with outsourced Canadian call centers about.

    BEER!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    bobbknight, Apr 29th, 2008 @ 11:33pm

    LOL Timmys

    We have Tims here where I live, and it's better than the other donut shops.
    Moya Greene, any relation to Red Greene?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    Brutus Beefcake, Apr 30th, 2008 @ 4:58am

    Soviet Canuckistan is still at it.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    identicon
    A Canuck, Apr 30th, 2008 @ 9:21am

    Drive thru

    Since most folks around here visit Timmy's religously, every morning, imagine the efficiency: I'll have a medium, black coffee, a donut, and the mail for 42 Beaver St.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    identicon
    Joe Smith, Apr 30th, 2008 @ 10:17am

    Timmy's

    For those not in the know, Tim Hortons, affectionately known as Timmy's, is the largest fast food chain in Canada with enormous amounts of goodwill from the general public. It is iconic in a way that Starbucks can only dream about.

    On the other hand the post office, its workers and its management, while it is better now, went through decades of being despised (partly for a one hundred year history of completely dysfunctional labor relations.)

    The Union and the management should recognize that the general public would see appointment to the board of Tim Hortons as a mark of success and respect.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    Malina, Jan 10th, 2009 @ 8:13pm

    So,is CEO of CPC is not full time job? What is it?
    For 300 000 a year plus 300 000 bonus, her hobby?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
Is The Era Of The Amateur Blogger Over? >>
<< Court Rejects RIAA's 'Making Available' Theory...
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Flattr rss rss
A word from our Sponsors...
Sponsored Resource
Essential Reading
Techdirt Reading List
Techdirt Insider Chat

A word from our Sponsors...
Recent Stories

Friday

7:39pm: In Defense Of Digital Freedom: It's Time To Get Beyond 'Cyber' Hyperbole (8)
6:40pm: Xbox One Release: Tons Of Questions, Very Few Answers (53)
5:37pm: Think DOJ Spying On Reporters Was 'Unprecedented'? Think Again (5)
5:00pm: DailyDirt: DIY Soda (Pop Or Whatever You Call Carbonated Beverages) (5)
3:51pm: Petition Asks Obama To Support Treaty For The Blind, Rather Than Siding With Hollywood (14)
2:46pm: Fair Use For Me, But Not For Thee (25)
1:45pm: Another Court Tells Prenda To Pay Up On Attorneys Fees (20)
12:45pm: If You Thought Copyright Was A Mess On Earth, What Does It Look Like In Space? (23)
11:45am: Guy Sues Twitter For Taking Away His Twitter Handle (12)
10:40am: Copyright... Patent... It's All The Same To The World's Third-Largest News Agency (57)
More arrow
A word from our Sponsors...

Close

Email This