Entries Tagged 'Canada' ↓

Quite the contrary.

The UK, Germany, and other G-20 countries are cleaning house while the US, under George Soros and the Obama regime, is trying to drag the rest of the world, along with itself, down into the abyss.

See for yourself:

• Soros wants to collapse German economy with debt
  

  Transnational Totalitarian Progressive George is well known to be Barack Hussein Obama’s puppet master. He is a supporter of Islamic-Imperialist groups like Hizballah and Hamas. Soros despises American allies like Colombia and Israel and through his funding of International Leftist NGO’s. In short Soros is the perfect Bond villain, an evil sinister man who had no qualms taking the property of fellow Jews during the Holocaust.

  Barack Hussein Obama recently lectured the G20 nations to not balance their budgets. Instead he wants them to keep spending and borrowing. The reason for this is very simple, he is doing his master’s bidding. George Soros and his buddies collapsed the US economy in Sept. of 2008 so the Progressives can seize power. That was not enough however, now they want to bankrupt the whole world starting with Germany. Soros had the audacity to try to lecture the German government into spending more money… Read the rest.

• Defying opposition from within the Coalition, Tories to shut the open door for migrants
  

  Theresa May will unveil the country’s first ever cap on migrant workers on Monday – finally ending Labour’s open door immigration policy.

  Despite opposition within the coalition Cabinet, the Home Secretary will impose a strict limit on the number of non-EU work permits that can be handed out.

  Eventually, it is expected to lead to a sharp reduction in the more than 100,000 migrants and their family members who are told they can work here each year… Read the rest.

  In other words, the UK is working to roll back all forms of immigration, legal and otherwise, especially from Third World countries. The US should be doing the same.

• The Hill: US Isolated on Spending at G-20
  

  …Germany, France and Great Britain have all launched austerity campaigns designed to reduce public debt. They’re motivated in part by the Greek debt crisis, which continues to scare countries across Europe.

  “In the run-up to the summit, a clear plurality of G-20 countries has come up on the side of fiscal consolidation and not stimulus spending,” said Dan Price, a senior partner at Sidley Austin and former President George W. Bush’s “sherpa” for G-20 summits.

  Japan has also introduced a strategy to reduce its budget deficit, while Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is hosting the summit in Toronto, has challenged G-20 members to cut their deficits in half… Read the rest.

What does this mean?

Why can other countries begin to turn around, while the US seemingly cannot?

One problem is that the system of checks and balances in the US Constitution is broken. When we are foolish enough to elect a truly horrible legislature and President, we have no effective means of rolling back, or even of reining in, the abuse and the usurpation of power, until irreparable damage has been done. The Clinton Administration taught us that the threat of impeachment is toothless. The Supreme Court has too much power, and all too often, it uses that power to reaffirm unworthy laws and regulations as being Constitutional.

What now?

Since 1865, the States have feared to assert their right to annul any federal law or regulation that clearly flouts the Constitution. But that is beginning to change. We can only hope that enough citizens in enough States will realize that the federal government is not our protector, but a socialist tyranny that neither has nor deserves the consent of the governed.

Blogosphere Victory over Jihadist Mole

Hesham Islam, if you recall, is the Islamist mole who maneuvered his patron and mentor, Gordon England, into firing Steve Coughlin, the Pentagon’s only expert on Islamic law.

Winds of Jihad: Hesham Islam gets the boot

Hesham Islam’s ‘resume didn’t add up,’ official says

Thanx to Weasel Zippers

In a stunning turn of events, a high-level Muslim military aide blamed for costing an intelligence contractor his job will step down from his own Pentagon post, WND has learned.

Meanwhile, his rival, Maj. Stephen Coughlin, a leading authority on Islamic war doctrine, may stay in the Pentagon, moving from the office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the office of the secretary of defense. However, sources say a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey is trying to block his new contract.

The top Pentagon aide, Egyptian-born Hesham H. Islam, came under a cloud of suspicion after reports raised doubt about his resume and contacts he had made with radical Muslims. He is expected to leave the government next month, officials say.

Islam and Coughlin recently quarreled over intelligence briefings Coughlin presented showing a close connection between the religion of Islam and terrorism. Coughlin’s contract with the Joint Chiefs, which ends in March, was not renewed.

The Power of the Bloggers:

But as a result of the ensuing firestorm that played out in the conservative press – led by Washington Times Pentagon reporter Bill Gertz – Islam was put under a microscope, and questions were raised regarding his background…

Blue Collar Muse:
Hesham Islam to Leave Government in March

Hesham Islam has been in the new recently. Well, not really. He has been covered by conservative news sites like World Net Daily, NRO and The Washington Times but there’s been precious little MSM coverage outside of that. Bloggers have also covered the news.

I wrote about it here. You can catch other stories at 1389 Blog, Atlas Shrugs, The Jawa Report and elsewhere.

Hesham is a close friend, confidant and advisor to Gordon England. England is the #2 man at the Department of Defense. The problem is that Hesham is also something of a mystery. Despite a DoD published biographical profile which described his early life as akin to a Hollywood thriller, there was more to Islam than met the eye. It all came to light after Hesham Islam used his influence to punish Stephen Coughlin, possibly the best Islamic analyst at the Pentagon. Coughlin’s contract was not renewed after Islam described him as a “Christian zealot with a poison pen”. That statement came after Coughlin’s Pentagon reports became increasingly alarmist with respect to Islamic activity which precipitated an ideological conflict with Hesham Islam…

Blogosphere Victory for Ezra Levant

Ezra Levant has been prosecuted by the Alberta Human Rights Commission for having published the Muhammad cartoons.

Doctor Bulldog: Oh, Happy Day! —
Muslim Leader Drops Complaint Against Ezra Levant

Excellent! Chalk one up for freedom of speech. Also, Ezra Levant says he is going to sue Syed Soharwardy for the thousands of dollars in legal fees! Go get ‘em, Ezra!!!

Muslim leader drops Ezra Levant cartoon complaint
Western Standard publisher plans to launch a civil lawsuit

Graeme Morton, Canwest News Service February 12, 2008

National Post —CALGARY — Calgary Muslim leader Syed Soharwardy says he is withdrawing his Alberta Human Rights Commission complaint against former Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant.

The complaint was launched in February 2006, after the Western Standard and the Jewish Free Press reprinted cartoons from a Danish newspaper that many in the Muslim world felt insulted the prophet Muhammad. The cartoons sparked violent protests in a number of countries…

Atlas Shrugs: Brilliant Rant from Levant!

This guy is the greatest.

HUDNA! (hat tip Josef)

Today Syed Soharwardy told the Calgary Herald editorial board that he is withdrawing his human rights complaint against me that he filed two years ago when I published the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. (Seriously, if you haven’t done so, you’ve really got to look at his hand-scrawled complaint here. I know dyslexic ten-year-olds with ADD who are more coherent.)

If he’s really withdrawing the complaint, this is the first I’ve heard about it; and when I spoke with my lawyer this afternoon, the complaint was still proceeding against me.

It might be a lie — it wouldn’t be Soharwardy’s first, but then again, lying to an infidel newspaper isn’t immoral to someone like Soharwardy. It’s called taqqiyah.

But even if Soharwardy withdraws his complaint against me, an identical complaint filed by the Edmonton Muslim Council still proceeds.

So why would Soharwardy do this — and why now?

The answer lies in another Arabic word: hudna. A hudna isn’t a peace treaty. It’s a temporary truce called by a Muslim warrior who’s losing in battle. It’s pretty easy to understand how hudnas work by watching Israel fight Hamas and Hezbollah. Those two terrorist groups lob rockets and send suicide bombers into Israel for months; then, every once in a while, Israel deploys its military and flattens Hamas and Hezbollah, who then call for a hudna. The UN intervenes, saving Hamas and Hezbollah to fight another day. That’s a hudna: a tactical truce for a strategic advantage.

Soharwardy wants a hudna because he’s osing badly. Not financially: he hasn’t spent a penny to further the complaint against me — that has been done courtesy of Ed Stelmach’s government and the taxpayers of Alberta, to the tune of $500,000, I’d guess. Nor has Soharwardy had to spend hundreds of hours battling against me at the commission — Alberta government employees do that for him. It’s because over the past two years — and the past month in particular — Soharwardy has become known for what he is: an Islamofascist imam, who’s trying to bring Saudi values to Canada. Though I’m being pummelled in a kangaroo court, he’s being pummelled in the court of public opinion. He didn’t expect it, and he hates it.

He hates that hundreds of bloggers ridicule him. He hates that my video clips, in which I describe his illiberal nature, have been viewed almost 500,000 times. He hates that his own enemies within his mosque have taken advantage of this media coverage to shine a light of scrutiny on the way he runs his mosque - from his financial irregularities, to his abusive treatment of women.

There’s much more. Go!

What does the Afghan Constitution really say?

Does the new Constitution of Afghanistan actually mandate shari’a law – including the death penalty for blasphemy – or not?

Judicial Interpretation Blamed in Afghan Blasphemy Case

By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
February 11, 2008

(CNSNews.com) – The death penalty given to an Afghan journalist accused of insulting Islam has more to do with judges’ interpretation of the country’s laws than with a constitutional provision entrenching Islamic primacy, according to a leading scholar in Islamic law.

The Afghan government has reiterated its assurance that President Hamid Karzai will “find a just solution” to the case of Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh. A statement released by the Afghan Embassy in Washington said that this would be done “in accordance with Afghan law and our nation’s international obligations.”

A three-judge court in northern Afghanistan on January 22 sentenced the 23-year-old to death, after he was accused of distributing to students an online article questioning why Muslim men may have more than one spouse while women may not…

Broadcast Radio Talk Show Censorship

Fuhrman Hit

Silencing the truth tellers – run amok.
From my comrade Ron over at Rocket’s Brain:

Need I say more re the political hit and removal of the Mark Fuhrman Radio Show. 

Mapleton LLC  is the group that bought these stations from Citadel Broadcasting.  A key factor in this sale was the termination of the Mark Fuhrman Show. 

Not available on the Net yet but from the today’s S-R’s Business
Section:

S-R to broadcast on Mapleton Stations

The Spokesman-Review will begin producing radio news reports that will be broadcast over stations owned by Mapleton Communications LLC in
Spokane under an agreement announced Tuesday.

At least four daily
newscasts, plus a weekend talk show and a week-in-review program, will be broadcast from the Spokesman-Review building . . .

Isn’t it enough that it is estimated the Cowles Co control 80% of the local media in our market?  As I write in a reply (draft form) to the new Spokesman-Review Ombudsman: 

Because of the significant amount of property that the Cowles Co owns or controls in Downtown Spokane and along the Spokane River to the Idaho border, there inherently is a conflict of interest regarding its involvement in development projects and reporting by the S-R.   A close analogy is the period genre movie Chinatown. River Park Square is only one of several projects where there is a similar pattern and practice in quasi public/private developments where the public was defrauded.

Friends of Mark Fuhrman Radio Show

The unofficial fan site of Mark Fuhrman Radio Show that was squelched in my opinion by the "usual suspects." This list is dedicated to pursuing among other things the River Park Square fraud et al in Spokane, WA and other related topics that you will never read about in the Spokesman-Review.  Read regular updates from Fuhrman Show regulars, Larry Shook, Tim Conner, Cherie Rodgers, former Spokane Mayor John Talbott, Dick Adams, "Ron the Cop" and others.

nar9350@gmail.com

Recent posts at the blog Rockets Brain:

A complaint for the new S-R Ombudsman
To the Citizens of Spokane – Time to take a stand!
An Army of Davids Strikes – Spokane, WA

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing"

As many of you now know the Mark Fuhrman Radio Show was axed by KGA1510 AM (Citadel Broadcasting) in Spokane, WA.
. . .
I have information from a reliable source that the Fuhrman Show was in play from the very first contact by Mapleton representatives with Citadel about purchasing KGA. IMHO this was a "hit" plain and simple by a criminal enterprise to cover its ongoing robbery of the citizens of Spokane. This criminal enterprise has so thoroughly and systemically corrupted the political and governmental bodies in Spokane to a level I’ve never witnessed before in my entire thirty-five year law enforcement career. . .

Other News and Commentary:

• EuropeNews: Background: Muhammad cartoons controversy
• Cristy Li: Michael Savage Case Against CAIR
• Winds of Jihad: Canuckistan: Lying Scumbag Imam [Syed Soharwardy] Falls Into His Own Trap
• Bruce Bawer: Hege Storhaug: Fighting for Human Rights in Norway
• Pajamas Media: Meet Norway’s Answer to Ayaan Hirsi Ali

From Canada’s Social Conservatives United:

M-446 Introduced to Protect Free Speech!

This private motion will remove the power of the Canadian HRCs to interfere with freedom of expression in Canada. They will no longer be in a position to abuse their power to muzzle journalists, researchers, and bloggers, such as Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn.

Keep The Pressure On

Greetings everyone,

Some time ago, you were concerned enough to sign the petition against the Human Rights Commissions which are currently attacking Canadian citizens’ right to free speech. I encourage you to keep reminding your friends, family, and acquaintances to sign the petition. It is imperative that we remain vigilent in the protection of our inalienable rights as free-born Canadians.

As you may or may not know, there has been a private members’ motion to gut the most objectionable section of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The purpose of this email is to encourage you to e-mail Dr. Keith Martin, M.P., the author of the motion, and thank him for coming to our defense at a critical time in our nation’s history. It is also imperative that you WRITE A LETTER (not e-mail) to your local M.P. and M.P.P., expressing your firm objection to the attacks of the HRCs on free speech. Please also consider writing two more letters: to Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Your time and the cost of a few stamps are what is required at this time to keep the pressure on.

Free speech may be free but its protection is not.

Best regards,

John Pacheco
Social Conservatives United
www.socon.ca

---

PS: I have appended a small sample of the comments collected so far:

I am appalled that my freedoms have come down to this. My father fought in the second world war. I have many times witnessed him reminding people that thank him for his service, “you have lost more freedoms than before I went to fight.” Today these words sadly have more meaning than ever. How sad that we are letting our country down but more importantly our veterans down with these deplorable HR Commissions.

The Human Rights Commissions, as exemplified recently in Canda, are acting as a form of mind control against innocent media agents. This curtails 600 years of common law and human rights, rather than defending human rights.

The guy with the biggest mouth wins? Wrong. As is, there is no freedom in Canada, and in fact, North America. “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” – Benjamin Franklin

Animal Farm is upon us. What is black may not be called black as it may offend someone; rather it must be called white. To allow the politics of feelings to supersede rational arguments in public discourse is an amazingly regressive turn-around at this late stage of human evolution.

As the ligature of censorship pulls tighter and tighter around freedom of speech I am becoming not only ashamed but also fearful of the country in which I grew up, a country of which I was once immensely proud. What a sad commentary.

Born and raised under a communist regime, I’m very sensitive to the issue of free speech. People of Canada, free speech is the most precious asset! Hold it close to your chest, cherish it, fight for it!

Born in the Netherlands, I am following the political/religious climate in Europe with great interest. From what I have learned over the years via newspapers, family and friends, as well as books such “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one only comes to realize the need to be very, very concerned about official responses to the extreme sensitivity of a vast growing Muslim population easily fired up by its leaders. How Canada should learn from the mistakes Europe has made and now greatly regrets.

Canada now resembles to me the communist country from where I escaped 25 years ago! I only wish that the Canadians who value true freedom would finally wake up and fight back before it’s too late!!

D***ed it! Did I immigrate to China from China?? If not for freedom, I should stay there to make much more money as successful engineering contractor, rather than beginning everything from zero here in Canada. I`ll try to move to the States if freedom is not available here!

First rate Canadians have died for these basic democratic rights, why are second rate institutions being allowed to take them away from us?

Freedom is the only thing that can hold this country together. Victimary politics is no longer intellectually or socially productive, if it once was. Politicians should catch up with our real intellectual and cultural leaders.

Free Canadians are not oppressive in any serious way. Governments must help preserve Canadians’ freedom, and not shun democratic responsibilities by deferring to phony courts and victim religions. Reform the HRCs for real apolitical victims, not Gnostic thought crimes.

How can it be that I find myself uneasy filling out this petition, for fear that someone will come after me. Truly freedom to speak has been lost in this country. But I force myself to sign, knowing that if we don’t fight now, our children may not have a chance for the same freedoms we take for granted. For my children.

HRC existence and activities remainds me the time when I lived in communist Poland.

I am floored by how the Human Rights Commission is encroaching upon the very thing they are there to protect. Human Rights. I personally know an employee who told me of the demographics of the employees of the Human Rights Commission, and their political leanings. The HRC is anything but representative of the demographic and diversity of Canada.

There is a disproportionate of same sex oriented employees, a disproportionate number of anti Christian, secular fundamentalists.

I am old enough that I probably won’t experience full force the negative effects of the abuses by the CHRC but my children and grandchildren will. It concerns me deeply to see the way our country is going down the tubes.

I am tired of all the power hungry human rights bleeding hearts. It is time we take Canada back to where we were free to be Canadians and not something else.

I generally do not sign petitions of any kind, but I feel compelled to in this case by the outrage of various HRCs harrassing and penalizing free-born Canadians for expressing their opinions — whether controversial or otherwise. I implore Prime Minister Harper to come down strongly on the side of freedom of conscience and of speech.

I lived my youth in the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. I do hope I won’t have to live my adulthood in wrong side again.

I love Canada’s historic defence of freedom. Please, do not shame that history and the sacrifice of so many Canadians with this attack on free speech. – An American citizen.

Kangaroo courts are for loser countries.

Keep free speech, FREE.

Mark Steyn tells the uncomfortable truth and you want to silence him? You should be ashamed of yourselves. Pandering to the Islamics only strengthens their resolve to Islamise Canada. You should be siding Mark Steyn, not seeking to silence him.

Mr. Prime Minister, Our party must guarantee elimination of the HRC’s in the next election, restore free speach, and stop the multicultural decay of Canada. We need our party to stand up for our freedoms of expression and get back to traditional Canadian values. We need a party that will do everything in it’s power to eliminate the threat from the socialists and communsts who continue to deprive Canadians of free speach, and eliminate our traditional Canadian values.

My family came from England to Nova Scotia in the 1860s. Part of us moved to the US – the remainder stayed in Canada. I visit my relatives in Edmonton every year. We are ALL HORRIFIED at the dhimmification of Canada. This persecution of Mark is beyond the pale. Will Canadians please COME TO THEIR SENSES and stop this total nonsense. Freedom of speech is not a catchphrase. PROTECT IT.

My family has been in Canada since 1790. I hope that my posterity will be able to enjoy as free and good a country as my ancestors have.

My forefathers fought in Canada’s wars in defense of tyranny. These HRC’s are a repugnant affront to the sacrifices that these men and other Canadians made to protect our values and way of life. It’s time to shrug off the yoke of political correctness and abolish or severely limit the ridiculous mandate given to the HRC’s. I do not recognize their legality nor accept their presence in our society.

My opinions are my own, made of my own free will. Nobody shall hold any power over me. These freedoms were hard won by members of my family in every conflict this country has faced since before Confederation, and I shall not betray that trust. I will be a free man, and I shall teach my children to be free as well, in thought as well as in action. Only cowards gang up on an ideal they find inconvenient to live up to.

My parents came to this country to escape a totalitarian regime. HRC’s are as bad as any kangaroo court in the former USSR and should be eliminated immediately. Any politicians that were responsible for their creation should be brought up on criminal charges.

My Private Member’s Bill 208 (2006) in the Alberta Legislature was intended to protect the rights of Canadians to publicly criticize and disagree with government policies–in this case, same-sex marriage–without fear of being hauled before the Alberta human rights commission.

You can put this badge on your blog. Here’s how:

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  http://steynian.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/red-alert-go-do/
• In place of the anchor text, insert the link to the image file that you have uploaded on your host.
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More:

• Free Mark Steyn! Red Alert: Go & Do
• Atlas Shrugged: Private Members Motion M-446
• The Canadian Sentinel: Freedom is Winning the War Against Liberal Fascism
• 1389 Blog articles about Ezra Levant
• 1389 Blog articles about Mark Steyn
• Articles about litigation jihad
• Articles about censorship in general

Then be sure to visit these two Canadian blogs!

• Five Feet of Fury
• Blazing Cat Fur

Ezra Levant is a lawyer, blogger, and journalist who was recently compelled to appear before a “human rights” commission in Alberta, Canada, to account for his decision to publish the Danish cartoons of Mohammed in Western Standard Magazine. Full details on his battle for freedom of speech and the press in Canada are on Ezra Levant’s blog.

(H/T: Winds of Jihad)

Also see:

• Ezra Levant Takes Down Canadian “Human Rights” Commission

Want to complain about this infringement on free speech?

Five Feet of Fury has contact information:

Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission
Northern Regional Office
800 Standard Life Centre
10405 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 4R7
Confidential Inquiry Line (780) 427-7661
Fax (780) 427-6013

Southern Regional Office
Suite 310, 525 – 11 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta  T2R 0C9
Confidential Inquiry Line (403) 297-6571
Fax (403) 297-6567

humanrights@gov.ab.ca

Free speech for the counterjihad: Why we are all in this together

Ezra Levant is far from alone in confronting the forces of government censorship and “political correctness” that seek to muzzle and strangle every voice in the counterjihad. Here are just a few recent instances of draconian pro-jihadist censorship that seeks only to keep the truth from coming out:

• Mark Steyn hounded by Canadian Human Rights Commission
• Foehammer: Anvil Outage Caused by Islamist DDOS Attacks
• Words fail me: Belarus jails publisher over Mo-toons
• Malicious Commenter is Impersonating UK Anti-Jihadist Blogger Lionheart
• Threatened UK Blogger Lionheart: Webcast Interviews 1/17/08 and 1/18/08
• E-Jihadist Impersonates Balkans Terrorism Expert, Posts Fake Messages
• Censorship! Is THIS what we want?
• Big Yellow Taxi: Christian Pastors, Muslims, and Free Speech in Australia

Your favorite blog could be next!

More:

• Free Speech News Update 2/15/08
  

  Calgary Muslim leader Syed Soharwardy says he is withdrawing his Alberta Human Rights Commission complaint against former Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant.

• Click HERE to see the famous cartoons up close
• Click HERE to join Michelle Malkin’s Mo-toons blogburst!
• Articles about Ezra Levant
• Articles about cartoon censorship
• Articles about blog censorship
• Stop Blog Censorship! Resource Page
• Articles about censorship in general
• Articles about litigation jihad

(Also on FHK)

Mark Steyn Punctures Liberal Delusions

Mark Steyn on Multiculturalism

“Multiculturalism and its impact on democratic society” panel from “The Collapse Of Europe?” Conference. Panel Moderator is Evan Sayet. Panelists are Ibn Warraq, Mark Steyn, Douglas Murray, and Sally McNamara. Hosted by the American Freedom Alliance on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA.

Mark Steyn Comes to Arizona

Controversial author, Mark Steyn speaks at a Goldwater Institute breakfast about his book “America Alone” and America’s war against international terrorism.

CAIR Revealed

Mark Steyn Faces Canada’s Kangaroo Courts

Litigation Jihad and Canada’s “Human Rights Commission”

Mark Steyn is yet another member of the anti-jihadist community who is under siege by the enforcers of political correctness. Merely for having written the truth about unchecked Islamic expansionism in western societies, Steyn is being prosecuted by Canada’s misnamed “Human Rights Commission” (HRC), at the federal level.

Recently, fellow Canadian writer Ezra Levant has also been interrogated by the provincial HRC in Alberta for having published the Mohammed cartoons.

More:

• Mark Steyn’s blog
• Free Mark Steyn
• 1389 Blog articles about Mark Steyn
• 1389 Blog articles about Ezra Levant
• 1389 Blog articles about litigation jihad
• 1389 Blog articles about censorship

Canadian comedian Pat Condell defends free speech against Canada’s HRC kangaroo courts

(H/T: Gramfan)

More:

• Articles about Mark Steyn
• Articles about Ezra Levant
• Articles about litigation jihad
• Articles about censorship in general

Who is Ezra Levant?

Ezra Levant is a lawyer, blogger, and journalist who was recently compelled to appear before a “human rights” commission in Alberta, Canada, to account for his decision to publish the Danish cartoons of Mohammed in Western Standard Magazine. Full details on his battle for freedom of speech and the press in Canada are on Ezra Levant’s blog.

Ezra Levant has delivered one of the most ringing, eloquent defenses of freedom of speech and the press ever given.

Ezra Levant explains: What’s this all about?

For readers tuning in for the first time, here’s a quick summary of what’s going on.

1. Two years ago, the now-defunct Western Standard magazine reprinted the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. I was the publisher.
2. In response, a radical Muslim imam named Syed Soharwardy asked the Calgary Police Service to arrest me. They didn’t, of course. So Soharwardy complained to the Alberta Human Rights Commission, a government agency. Here’s his hand-scrawled complaint [pdf]; here’s my reply [pdf]. For two years, using government lawyers and taxpayers money, they have been pursuing me, infringing on my natural rights of free speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion.
3. On January 11th, a government “human rights officer” interrogated me for 90 minutes. Instead of bowing my head, I used the opportunity to challenge the moral and legal basis of the complaint, and the human rights commission itself.
4. I recorded the interrogation and posted video clips to YouTube. In the past week, they have been viewed nearly 400,000 times and were at one point the fifth most watched videos on all of YouTube. Though Canadian talk radio shows and op-ed columnists have covered the story well, I have seen only one newspaper report on the subject. I can’t understand why mainstream reporters and editors do not think it’s newsworthy that a publisher can be summoned by a government bureaucrat, and grilled as to his political thoughts. I’m pleased, though, that the support from pundits has come not just from the right, but from the enlightened left.
5. I’ve got some ideas of what people can do. Although my case is being prosecuted by the hapless, lame-duck provincial government of Alberta, it is politically more likely that change will come first to the federal Canadian Human Rights Commission. That commission is currently hounding columnist Mark Steyn on similar thought crime charges.
6. The blog posts below expand on various details of the case. If you are interested in the videos, they are all posted below, with commentary [see Ezra Levant's blog]…

Watch Ezra Levant’s videos on YouTube

Opening statement (print version here)

What was your intent?

The real violence in Edmonton

I don’t answer to the state

Entitled to my opinion?

Attributes of free speech

How does the commission make decisions?

Closing argument

Details of the complaint

Also see:

• Free Speech News Update 2/15/08
  

  Calgary Muslim leader Syed Soharwardy says he is withdrawing his Alberta Human Rights Commission complaint against former Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant.

• Watch Ezra Levant with Glenn Beck on CNN

Want to complain about this infringement on free speech?