Entries Tagged 'Mark Steyn' ↓
February 1st, 2008 — Canada, China, Ezra Levant, Mark Steyn, activism, censorship, counterjihad, litigation jihad, political correctness, tyranny
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.
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:
- Right-click on the badge image above.
- Save the image as m-446.jpg on your computer.
- Upload the image file to a directory on your host.
- On your blog, create a link to this URL:
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.
- Example:
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January 28th, 2008 — Canada, Ezra Levant, Mark Steyn, blog censorship, blogging, cartoon censorship, censorship, counterjihad
Then be sure to visit these two Canadian blogs!
January 23rd, 2008 — Canada, Islam, Mark Steyn, Sharia, YouTube, books, censorship, counterjihad, litigation jihad, political correctness
Mark Steyn Punctures Liberal Delusions
“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.
Controversial author, Mark Steyn speaks at a Goldwater Institute breakfast about his book “America Alone” and America’s war against international terrorism.
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.
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January 23rd, 2008 — Canada, Ezra Levant, Islam, Mark Steyn, Sharia, YouTube, cartoon censorship, censorship, litigation jihad, political correctness
(H/T: Gramfan)
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January 20th, 2008 — Canada, Ezra Levant, Foehammer's Anvil, Mark Steyn, YouTube, cartoon censorship, censorship, counterjihad, litigation jihad, political correctness, video
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.
For readers tuning in for the first time, here’s a quick summary of what’s going on.
- Two years ago, the now-defunct Western Standard magazine reprinted the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. I was the publisher.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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]…
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:
Want to complain about this infringement on free speech?
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:
Your favorite blog could be next!
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December 30th, 2007 — Europe, Gates of Vienna, Mark Steyn, blogging, counterjihad, enemy propaganda, flame war, leftist-jihadist convergence, littlegreenfootballs, political correctness, politics, terrorism, trolls
LittleGreenFootballs has been infiltrated
Bottehond 25 december 2007
For some weeks a controversy rages between the counter-jihadis of Little Green Footballs and a number of Islam-critical top bloggers. Your reporter went into the battle zone of this controversy to discover a sinister plot, and the explanation why this matter went completely out of control.
On first glance the issue seems to be whether or not some European parties are fascist or not, notably Vlaams Belang and Sverigedemokraterna. Both parties sent representatives to the anti-Islam conference in Brussels, where nearly all relevant players were present. This was not what LGF liked, being tipped off by Swedish anti-fascists.
But further investigation proved there is more going on. The debate went completely out of control: old alliances and long lasting friendships might very well be permanently damaged. How did this come to be?
Because of the Brussels Conference LGF boss Charles Johnson received messages from Europe about the assumed neo-Nazi secret agenda of Vlaams Belang and Sverigedemokraterna. Johnson obviously was flabbergasted. Understandable, because, as many posters said: “If it can be proven that European anti-Islam organizations are allied to fascists, many Americans will step aside from supporting the Euro anti-Islam organizations. An old problem was reborn again. Who doesn’t remember the messages collected by Blokwatch (and partly fabricated by them) about the roots of Flemish nationalism, who, as is commonly known, en masse choose to support the Nazis during WW2, in the hope of gaining independence after the war. Blokwatch also collected a lot of material about contacts between Vlaams Blok and questionable neo-Nazi organisation and persons. A similar file was collected about Sverigedemokraterna. The Swedes had some members in their ranks who maintained similar contacts with questionable clubs and persons.
In the following weeks many bloggers pointed Johnson to the fact that most of the “evidence” was razor thin, could be easily countered and was often manipulated. Then something important happened. Every reasonable man with sufficient understanding of politics will understand the vulnerable position of the international anti-Islam movement, and will know he has to work carefully and with restriction. Not so on LGF. Every critical remark about the “evidence” or suggestion of making things up were tarred as fascists or VB apologists. Even the most reasonable posters were scolded and suspected. Johnson was not capable of keeping the situation under control. Far from it: he was tempted by a herd of Lizards (which is how the posters on LGF call themselves) to estrange himself even more from such reputable bloggers as Fjordman, the folks of Gates of Vienna and Brussels Journal.
In the ongoing debate a Norwegian antifascist, Øyvind Strømmen, showed up. He wrote the book “Eurofascism”. Several times Charles Johnson published parts of this book, all of them accusations aimed at Vlaams Belang and Sverigedemokraterna. Of course, all of this was simply more of the same. In my opinion, it was a major error of Charles Johnson to quote from this book. Not just because the material was mainly irrelevant; to the contrary. Such accusations should always be taken seriously. But because he refused to call for a time-out or discuss matters with the (at that time) friends and allied bloggers, Johnson hanged himself with his, or better phrased, this evidence. That evidence became quickly irrelevant; matters had gone too far already. Apparently Charles Johnson had released the genie out of the bottle and had no idea how to get it back again. He had few options but to keep walking the path he made himself.
Now the smoke has cleared, mainly because Johnson’s opponents had the wisdom not to overreact we can make up the balance sheet. Those who followed the debates have seen the resentful tone that many Lizards used. LGF is known as very much pro-Israel, which really is a point to their benefit. It’s no surprise many Shoah survivors or descendants from them are amongst the Lizards, and they turned themselves away from the Euro movement. Add to this the deep suspicion many Americans hold about Europe, and European history, and we have the explanations for this debate that went completely out of control. At least, that is what a superficial observer will think.
However, to quote Daniël Belinfante: “there is more going on”. Let’s have a closer look at this gentleman Mr. Øyvind Strømmen. Who is he? A small investigation showed that Mr. Strømmen is member of this club: [listed at ECPR: European Consortium for Political Research]. When we read this list carefully, we find the name and founder of Blokwatch, the “anti-fascist” blog that began the accusations of fascism against Vlaams Belang. This is Bart Spruyt. You will find his name on this list.
But there is more: Mr. Spruyt, a friend of Øyvind Strømmen, did much to internationalize the ‘anti-fascist’ jihad by founding disreputable anarchistic-like clubs such as AFA Netherlands. These chappies are internationally organized. Scandinavia abounds with these little progressive clubs. Perhaps you recall the attempted murder on four SIOE members in Copenhagen, recently? Yes, friends of our friends Spruyt and Strømmen. Those of you who would bear the stench can open a cesspit of extreme left Inquisition. And be surprised of the way these little hysteric clubs work intimately together, internationally.
What are the conclusions of this little investigation? The obvious, of course. LGF has been infiltrated by left wing fanatics, who respect nobody and nothing to achieve their goals. Those who tar everybody fascist who resists, for example, the Islamization of Europe. We are talking here about delusional fanatics who are so utterly convinced of being right (compare them the Baader Meinhof gang) they don’t worry about one victim more or less. They actually became what they fought: merciless fascists. Their current champion: Øyvind Strømmen. The man shows off with his many ‘investigations’, but got his ‘investigation’ directly from Bart Spruyt. I do not doubt this applies to his ‘investigations’ about Sverigedemokraterna as well.
Please draw your own conclusions by reading his own forum. A very weak debater, drawing up smokescreen after smokescreen. All questions that might compromise him will remain unanswered. However, his strategy is clear enough: he wants to uncover the Islam-watchers as fascist fanatics, or at least as their helpers. Practically ALL Islam critics (Bat Ye ‘Or, Oriana, Robert Spencer, Mark Steyn, Fjordman, you just name anyone) have been criticized by him. There can be no doubt at all: Øyvind Strømmen thinks Islamization is a hoax, and Islam critics are mentally ill or (his preference) fascists. And this is supposed to be the source of Johnson? An infamy!
Did Strømmen enter the debate alone? Of course not. I found so much hatred in the ongoing debate that my conclusion is that Charles Johnson not only has a very questionable advisor, but also that the Lizards have been infiltrated. Check it out for yourself. Observe the responses from the Lizards: foaming at the mouth as they blast their ‘fascist’ mantra to your postings. Amongst them are a lot of Europeans who will claim not to be left wing orientated. But also a bunch of Lizards who feed Charles Johnson with a deluge of evidence. Evidence collected for many years by the Strømmens and Spruyts of the world. There is a little bit of good news to report as well. Charles Johnson has put some distance between himself and Strømmen. He repeatedly said that he doesn’t agree with everything Strømmen said or stands for. Hardly possible, as Charles keeps the photo of Oriana prominently on his website. Hopefully he will realize one cannot have it both ways. I called on LGF for a debate. Face to face, for communication of such and important matter by mail will not do. The raid on LGF by Euro extremists makes it crystal clear that we cannot afford to. Only reason can heal the breach. Therefore I suggest we all take responsibility for our own action and take it from there.
The only question remaining is: will Øyvind Strømmen hang Charles Johnson’s scalp on his AFA belt, or will Charles Johnson see reason, and organize a mediation?
Also see:
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