Freedom of speech in Canada is under attack.

The Harper government has declared environmental groups like Greenpeace and The Suzuki Foundation to be "enemies of Canada", "radicals" and even "revolutionaries". The government has ordered the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to audit their books to determine how much of their financial resources are used for political purposes.

The government has also tabled legislation that will compel all unions to submit documentation for any expenditure over $5,000 and the figures are to be posted on the internet by the CRA.

Several reporters who are critical of the Harper government have lost their jobs after the local CONservative Member of Parliament threatened to pull his advertising from the reporters' newspapers.

Even churches are not immune to the new approach to opposition that the Harper government has chosen to employ.

With all of this going on, Canada's entertainment industry has been largely silent.

Until now....

"Stars" is a Canadian band:

Stars' Torquil Campbell: Harper's Spokesman Should Stop Listening To Us, PM A 'Sociopath' (TWITTER)

Huffington Post Music Canada | By Jason MacNeil Posted: 12/11/2012 12:15 pm EST | Updated: 12/11/2012 12:53 pm EST

Editor's note: some of the language used in the following tweets is profane.

Stars singer Torquil Campbell has rarely passed up an opportunity to criticize Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, including telling HuffPost Canada he thinks Harper is an 'evil man.' But it seems that hatred's only a one-way street.

On Dec. 8, Andrew MacDougall, the Director Of Communications in the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) tweeted his love for the new Stars album The North. "The whole Stars record is great but 'Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It' is the standout track." The tweet also included a YouTube link to the song.

MacLeans' journalist Aaron Wherry picked up the little tidbit of information yesterday and Campbell, currently touring with Stars in Europe, eventually found out about the endorsement. Needless to say he wasn't impressed.

Campbell tweeted Wherry, thanking him for the info and that he "was at present tweet bombing the fucker until he stops listening." Campbell then tweeted MacDougall with a request to essentially stop listening to the group.

"@PMO_MacDougall please man," Campbell tweeted. "until you stop working for a sociopath who is ruining the country, leave our record alone. cheers."

But it didn't stop there, with Campbell adding more tweets to drive that point home.

"@PMO_MacDougall and just so we are clear, the bastard i am referring to in that song could very well be old dead eyes himself.....," he tweeted before later adding the following: "having stevie harpers publicity guy praising our new record is ironic in the worst possible way. #fuck"

Campbell pressed on, hoping to get a response from MacDougall:

"i. every time you hear that song i hope you immediately think of l'il stevie harper sucking satans cock #itshallbeso," the singer added.

"@PMO_MacDougall sorry to be so explicit, but i'm doing anything i can to get you stop listening to us," Campbell continued via Twitter. "please. for the love of god. stop."

But again MacDougall remained mum.

"@PMO MacDougall maybe this will do it: we think your crew are a bunch of fucking thugs, and we detest every last one of them #seriously," Campbell tweeted.

Finally, MacDougall replied to this tweet, but perhaps only to infuriate Campbell even more.

"no need to set yourself on fire," MacDougall said, referencing Stars 2004 album Set Yourself On Fire.

As of this morning neither Campbell nor MacDougall have commented further. Stars continues its European tour tonight in Berlin before concluding the leg in Vienna on Dec. 20. From there Stars heads to Australia in February before hitting Southeast Asia. The group also has two South Korean stops slated for February in Seoul and Busan, respectively.

Additionally, this morning in a press release Stars revealed an extensive Canadian tour kicking off with a two-night stand in Montreal on March 15-16. The shows are being dubbed "Evenings of Sex & Death" which "speak to the recurring and ever-present themes of sex and death that span the albums of the group's storied career." The 16 Canadian dates also include multiple shows in Toronto and two shows at Vancouver's Commodore on April 6 (matinee and evening). Tickets for the Canadian dates go on sale this Saturday (Dec. 15).

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/11/stars-torquil-campbell-pmo_n_2277414.html

Is Stars well-known and followed in Canada, Sid? ~ if so, they might awaken a giant "young generation" to action ~ which would certainly be a plus ~

Sooz

To be honest with you, this is the first I've heard of them because I don't really follow what's going on in Canada's entertainment world.

It appears they've been around for a while: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_%28Canadian_band%29

Here's their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/starsstars They have 204,000 "Likes".

I'm looking forward to the collision.

As am I!