Wow!!
The note scribbling professional(all do respect) is really at a disdvantage.Ezra has it!He's doing a Canadians a huge favour here! Great that this is available for our viewing!

That was great! Watch her pretending to take notes - but she is absolutely a deer in headlights.

Apparrently, the lady's name is Shirlene McGovern.

I'm sure she doesn't want the job, so be gentle,

However, I am also sure you can find her on canada411 or elsewhere. give her a call.

He is correct...but sadly aware of the cameras he himself brought along. Nonetheless he is correct.

I almost hope the AHRC ruling goes against him so that this can go to the Supreme Court AND that it hit the legislatures.

It is offensive that the ask him what his intent was. Although if only judged on effect then he loses...someone was offended....but that just begs the question of whether it should even be judged by effect....tough area.

Once again, part of me hopes he loses so that it hits a larger stage and we can resolve this problem of creeping control.

Kangaroo court yes what other way can you look at it. The THOUGHT POLICE to the rescue of canada. The human Lites commission must go.

The best defense is a good offense.
Not giving an inch is also a good policy.
I think they've got their hands full.
I can't wait for the lawsuits against the HRC and the Imans.

Got ahold of those "hatefull" cartoons.

The bombskull would make a GREAT tattoo... on my ass!

Hmm, need to find a tatoo parlor.

She's not taking notes, she's working on her resume.

Levant mentions a Jordanian Islamic chap who torched his (Ezra's) synagogue. Was this fellow ever charged with a "hate crime"?
Anyone know?

btw, way to go ,Ezra, I'm a former reader of his mag, and wish him all the best in his trial by Star Chamber.

We have to start using the activists own weapon, the HRC's, against THEM, when they spout hatred, as they do daily.

I know it's distasteful, but use of these HRC's can be a two edged sword.

Who was the chap that said every Jew over age 18 was a potential target for killing? Was that hateful?

That was Elmesery(sp), on the Michael Coren show....and Ezra dicusses him in one of these vids.

Ezra mentions the hate crime of his synagogue being firebombed...

Who knew?

Did it make the MSM?

What Ezra is saying here is what really has NEEDED to be said for along time. Good on him for taking this most principled stand. There will eventually be hell to pay for not standing up for the principles Levant is basing his arguments on. It is high time to let our governments know that we will not be sh-t on like this with these BS so-called Human-rights commissions.

This is a great moment for people who have waited so long for a voice against the faceless bureaucracy that enforces the culture of entitlement and victimhood in Canada.

But.
But..
But..

I would advise that people do NOT harass, spam, or bother the HRC in any way. The only way they are going away or their reach limited is through the court of public opinion fortifying political will.

I can just see the first article a week from now about how this poor functionary of the HRC has been scarred for life by abusive email, online threats, etc. And she was only doing her job, like all the other good jobs she did.... etc.

We want the public to see the banality and vacuousness of the process, not to feel sorry for the functionaries.

We don't want the public to think that those who oppose the HRCs are lunatics and irrational angry people.

Keep calm.

Let Ezra do his work.

Support the man.

Write your MP, write the PM, write the local papers and the national papers.

Sign the HRC petition
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/a-free-dominion-against-the-hrcs.html

Post "Ezra Levant - Google it" everywhere you go on the internet, on the Globe and Mail discussion forms, the Macleans forums, the National Post forums, etc.

But do not undo the moment with foolish things like harassing public officials and stupid threats. You will only be fortifying the social engineers then!!!!

I am now wondering how deep 'saudi' influence goes into helping these commissions "feel" they can help deny the right of law to any Canadian just because some well connected fascist is offended?

Just like these demanding head scarf adolescent 'voices' for the "right" to break and/or ignore established rules regulations that are for EVERYONE.

Ironically their rules forbid anyone of their group, to ever question THEIR version of Islamic rules including any iman saying anything he wants to, just insane...

In Iran they are murdering a 13 yr old girl for having sex outside of her (likely forced) marriage... or the young girl recently murdered by her father and brother in Toronto, because she didn't wear a head scarf in a free society?
WHERE IS HIS OUTRAGE AT THIS?

Killing apostates?
Honor killing?

Odious indeed.
Pisses me off to the max.

We'd better stop these dangerous and ignorant people with such heavy handed authority over us before we are all beholden to the fascists that these authoritative figures now obey.

The moment she says "...this kind of Section 3 case takes a lot of analysis....", she is admitting she is on a bureaucratic path of fabrication to create case precedent from whole cloth.

She is the mother of invention. No disrespect to Mothers and Inventors.

Let's not forget that there are Canadians who have been jailed for speaking out against abortion. The god of Tolerance tolerates no dissent.

I can't see how hassling Ms. McGovern is going to do any good, and it could do some harm. She is a low-level functionary conducting a preliminary review. This is not the actual hearing, which if it goes that far will be open to the public (at least as I understand the statute).

As I mentioned in the other thread, this is not an abstract debate, it's the real thing. This is a situation that will play out over time; it may even end up at the supreme court. This is a situation that will require us to provide long-term support to Mr. Levant in his defense of our fundamental freedoms, not simply some short-term ranting and venting.

So while carefully considered letters to politicians, and yes, even the MSM, are not in my opinion a problem and are even a good idea, running around screaming and babbling isn't going to help anyone. Not that I'm suggesting anyone is doing the latter. Moreover, it's not my place to tell you what to do. I just ask that y'all think carefully before you act.

Ezra links the appeal judgement about the fire bombing at his website.

The original sentence was 10 months and 3 years probation I think. The appeal court upped it to 2 and half years in prison, due to its hate crime and terrorist links.

Help me out here, I've adjusted everything I can think of on my computer and still can't hear a thing. Whatever, go for it Ezra!!! You owe this hag and her pay source nothing.

The bombskull would make a GREAT tattoo... on my ass!

....and vanity plates. I've said this before that on a pre-selected date, we - here in the US, Canada and the EU - should start our insurrection to this socialist pc crap by affixing that image on our cars via vanity licence plates. Mass arrests, I think not.

Hey, here in the US, God forbid, we are one, maybe two, possible election cycles away from being Canadianized by the Dems, here's praying the CHRC goes down in flames.

The HRC is going to regret the day they took on Levant and Steyn. Hopefully they will manage to kill the hrc off and sue them for damages.

The thing is Vitruvius, is that he cannot allow a single stage or part of this farce to go by without completely challeneging the process and all those involved.

If that means some mid level bureurcrat gets dumped on, then so be it. No one forced her to accept the job. Ya pays yer money, ya takes yer chances.

Understood, Jim. I'm not trying to proscribe anyone, I'm simply asking that we all take do care considering what the most effective responses are. I'm meeting with some people tonight to discuss how best to respond publically to this situation, in order to best support Mr. Levant and our broader argument in favour of our free speech human rights; perhaps I'll have more to say later.

Consider for a moment the possibility that those inside the HRC want to see the whole thing collapse. Don't they have the authority to dismiss the complaint even before it came to this point? Are the bureau-weenies that petty and narrow minded? Can't they see that taking on a publisher and an internationally recognized author will bring them under such intense scrutiny that the HRC in Canada will come to screeching halt and (by the way) back handedly help the Conservatives in a coming election?

Further to JIM, 8:48. I doubt whether Stalin or Hitler personally killed anyone. The millions of people who died were killed by all of the citizens of those countries "just doing their job".

Thank you Ezra, it is about time this came to a head. If these people are so sensitive about thier religion and laws, mabey it is about time that it is front and center. I do not think that the MSM will print these hearings on the front page unless Ezra is charged with hate crime. I personally think that we should be taking advice from Austrailia, if you do not like our way of life or freedom of thought, move back to where you came from. Thanks for the Blog Sites, more and more people are reading Blogs like this everyday. Merle Underwood

InstaLaunch ~
instapundit.com/archives2/014017.php

Samizdata ~
www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/2008/01/canadian_fury_a.html

Mark Steyn at the National Review ~ tinyurl.com/2mwy73

Mark Steyn's update on Ezra's video at the HRC at the Corner:

Ms McGovern, a blandly unexceptional bureaucrat, is a classic example of the syndrome. No "vulnerable" Canadian Muslim has been attacked over the cartoons, but the cartoonists had to go into hiding, and a gang of Muslim youths turned up at their children's grade schools, and Muslim rioters around the world threatened death to anyone who published them, and even managed to kill a few folks who had nothing to do with them. Nonetheless, upon receiving a complaint from a Saudi imam trained at an explicitly infidelophobic academy and who's publicly called for the introduction of sharia in Canada, Shirlene McGovern decides that the purely hypothetical backlash to Muslims takes precedence over any actual backlash against anybody else.

Thus the unending valse macabre of our times, as the supposedly progressive forces of tolerance are whirled around the floor by the avowedly intolerant. Ezra is rightly contemptuous of these "human rights commissions". Canadians should be ashamed of this show trial.

We can all hope that this does end up at the Supreme Court. However, a win there is only a partial win. The fundamental problem is not the decisions that these HRCs are making; it is the process itself.

Therefore, the only win is to either have the HRCs abolished or to have their powers curtailed back to their original mandates.

The person posting as "let there be light" is Robert Bollocks.
Please ignore him until Kate gets a chance to delete his comments.

Sweet Baby Jeebus!! Ezra Levant makes me want to take to the street and...cheer him on! Thank you, thank you, thank you Ezra. You are a patriot for Canada the likes of which we have not seen in a while. He twists this bureaucrat and clearly demonstrates the low level of performance that Canadians pay a premium price for.

I cannot even think clearly I am so happy for what Ezra is doing for this country.

Therefore, the only win is to either have the HRCs abolished or to have their powers curtailed back to their original mandates.

The only win is eliminating the perceived need for such bodies. Until everyone considers themselves of value as they exist this type of board will plague humanity.

I wonder if "human rights agent" Shirlene McGovern understands how ominous it is to interrogate a publisher about their intent regarding freedom of speech? Many people would fall for it: answer the question reasonably, get a pat on the head and hope for a favouably ruling. Ezra knows better. The process is the punishment and he, like Mark Styen, is forcing the issue.
Thanks and congrats to all sites who have posted these clips, it's great to shine light on these sinister little functionaries. Can't remember who said it, but there's a quote about the "banality of evil" and it applies to the commissioners.

"like Mark Styen"

Oops. Steyn. He deserves to have his name untypoed.

There's another video up at ezralevant.com entitled "I don't answer to the state". Mr. Levant's strategy here is brilliant ~ if they take him down on this then he becomes a martyr, which they probably don't want. Ezra says ten more videos over the weekend.

This goes to show what happens when you let bureaucrats rule vs. common sense. We already had anti hate crimes in place before the hate law became a curse on us -like the so called Charter of Rights and Freedoms (but the charter for whom. They were the libel and slander laws which had a higher standard of proof than the current standard that Lieberal appointees could understand or make up in their kangaroo courts.

When we abolish these "courts" then we will have immediately raised the intelligence level of all Canadians buy a factor or 10.

dean spencer - fox, dead on, isn't the real point to this Stalinesque show trial nonsense afoot here, which should stop those of us that love democracy dead in our tracks, is that a commission like the CHRC would even take on these cases. The outcomes are almost less important to the fact that these liberal fascists thugs can't/won't dismiss the obvious assaults to free speech. That's what makes it all so ominous and disgusting.

Amazing, isn't it, that at is point in history when fascist Islam would love to mass murder us, we are forced to beat back their Useful Idiots among us first.

I moved my commment from the other thread, as discussion seems to have moved here:

I can't believe that there are those who council that the HRC not be spammed or harassed. Don't issue threats or profanity, but anything else you have to say in voicing displeasure should be said again and again and again.

If you stay quiet, you are doing exactly what the Muslims want. If you stay quiet, you will become England, or Holland, or France. Silence is absolutely the greatest enemy of freedom. Legal arguments to and fro with all sorts of complexities also are the enemy, for it is in that complexity that truth always gets lost. That’s why Ezra is keeping is simple and hard hitting.

Imagine, the complainants in this case incur no cost, while the one defending themselves incurs all the cost ... and that includes you and me. Each and every one of you who pays taxes in Canada, is paying for the persecution of Ezra Levant. Imagine what a powerful state control instrument the HRC is when it let's complainants off without legal costs, yet those defending themselves must bare all their costs. Unbelievable.

Make noise, write, email, spam ... let it be known that you and I have the right to bitch, complain, and criticize Islam, Christianity, Liberals, neo-cons, conservatives, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, and even Don Cherry. If we lose that right ... we lose.

Michael Coren gets in line,behind Levant and Steyn.
Do we vote because of race or gender?
How about qualifications?

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Coren_Michael/2008/01/12/4769094.php

ps: Don't go after the person ... go after the institution. Go after the HRC.

Quote "There's another video up at ezralevant.com entitled "I don't answer to the state". Mr. Levant's strategy here is brilliant ~ if they take him down on this then he becomes a martyr, which they probably don't want. Ezra says ten more videos over the weekend." Unquote

If they try to silence him and prevent him from taping or publishing the clips they reinforce the fact that they are against free speech.

I need to send twenty bucks to Ezra.................Where is his defence fund?

we all should do that

So, help me get this correct. Some radical imam shoots is HRC arrow straight in the air and thinks he can blame anyone (but himself) if the arrow hits him.

For those of you that haven't had this "O Sh*t" moment ... you lose sight of the arrow ... gravity should let you know it's coming down ... whether you believe in gravity or not.

Paul2 - we agree. I am not saying to sit quietly by and watch Levant do all the work.

Go after the institution, not the clerks and functionaries.

Don't make it personal and don't make it sound nutty. Make it loud and rational. Angry is OK. Hateful is not.

Approach the right people. Emailing the HRC itself and saying "you are scum" is pointless and possibly counterproductive. Emailing a federal or provincial minister and sending a newspaper letter-to-the-editor saying "the HRCs are sham courts that have strayed outside their original role and become a tool for suppression of speech" is not.

Lori: That's what I meant, and I restated it in my ps:

Like this, Lori?

Look at the 10:11 comment....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080112.wbmideast0112/CommentStory/International/home

Where are the trolls? Even the albatross' of the world realize that Ezra has pulled the rug out from under Big Brother, and they don't know which government program is going to be next.

This is going to be fun.

Let's shine a little light on those who brought this complaint. Maybe they won't like having their dirty little views exposed to the light of day.

One heck of a warm-up act for Maclean's and Mark Steyn. This is reverberating throughout the conservative blogosphere today and it's not over.

I wouldn't be surprised if the HRCs try to find some way to extricate themselves from the mess they've gotten themselves into with Steyn.

If and when they do, some of us will be very disappointed.

I'm starting to think that Ezra should run for public office

I find myself thinking of all the farcical 'decisions' by these HRC's over the years. (Christian organizations/businesses ordered to pay fines to homosexuals or their organizations)

If/when the HRC's are closed down, I think our governments should reimburse these people the fines they paid. If we can recoup the money from the 'offended', then fine - but the wrong done to these people needs to be redressed - and our collective silence is what allowed them to run roughshod over the rights of our fellow Canadians.

The internet will be the agent of change as opposed to MSM, with anything involving the "hrc" kangaroo court.

Ezra's YouTube presentations are going world wide and are very hard to refute by anyone in regards to free men, free of state thought or speech control.

Okanagan hit the nail on the head. The silence of the trolls is deafening. Couple this with the debunking of the AGW scam and 2008 is not starting out very well for them.

Go Ezra Go!

Does anyone know where I can get some "GO EZRA GO" bumper stickers, Tshirts, hats etc.

Lets get this out in the public. Ezra is the new uber Canadian.

Where is the media coverage of this event and Ezra's statements? As others have noted, there are very few news stories mentioning the hearing. In the United States, this would be front page news on every major daily and a top story on news broadcasts of whatever stripe. I do not believe that Canadians value their rights, and the price of such indifference is to lose those rights. The MSM is complicit in this sell-off of Canadian freedoms. Go Ezra -- one of the few remaining public figures who seems to care about what being a Canadian should stand for.

Gotta agree with Jim and rebarbarian, if you work there and get payed there, you're part of the problem.

I published one of those cartoons on my blog; so did Angry and Kate. They're coming after us next, right? hahaha

Off on a tangent, but -
rebarbarian
"I doubt whether Stalin or Hitler personally killed anyone."

Check out Stalin's early career in Georgia.

LinsaL writes: "In the United States, this would be front page news...".

Linda, I live in the U.S. Sadly, were it not for the Internet, I would know nothing about this obscene HRC. I've monitored the websites of CNN and the NY Times, and they have reported absolutely nothing regarding the persecutions of Steyn and Levant. I am not at all sure that we are as different from Canada as we might like to think.

Watching this bureaucrat reminds me of the film "The Wansee Conference", and the description of the bureaucrats in "The Gulag Archipelago" -- it's this "banality of evil" someone described -- "Just doing my job", nine to five at the einsatzgruppe; these cases require a lot of "analysis" -- Holy crow! Any laws broken? Any due process? Any Miranda rights (I know -- an American concept)? Way to go Ezra. And how are the finances holding up?

Is this possibly a Twisted Sister moment in Canadian history?

Here's a link to Ezra on the CBC's As it Happens:
http://canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/14371.shtml

I believe we should show our support also by being offensive. go on the offence. its time for the pendulum to swing the other way.
like cjunkers challenge
Islam lends itself to humiliation as it cannot stand up to reason or intelectual challenge.
that is the weak underbelly of this beast.

offence against pc also

Ezra is correct. Private thoughts are not subject to Federal or Provincial law.

Public actions are. Political cartoons were published.

There were no special emergency laws prohibiting political cartoons at the time.

Simply obvious that no standard or emergency law was broken.

Furthermore, the cartoons had important news information value for Canadians.

I and many other Canadians resent that bureaucrats can quietly decide to keep us in the dark, * for our own good*.

If there were to be a sudden outbreak of terrorism in Canada, a shocking number of uninformed Canadians would be totally shocked, vulnerable and helpless to enact any civil defense.

I*m guessing, but suspect that thousands of younger Canadians may not even understand the concept of civil defense. = TG

Go on the offensive, good idea.

What if the HRC got 2 or 3 hundred complaints a day, for a month or two? They must investigate every complaint. It appears that they accept hand written complaints so it should be easy.

Here's my complaint: As a Ukrainian Canadian, I was disgusted that noone celebrated Christmas when I did. I did not get Ukrainian Christmas off from work because they do not recognize my calendar. This caused me and my family great distress. I was not able to be at home to make homemade perogies for my family. I was clearly discriminated against. /sarcasm, sort of.

Way to go Ezra!!

To paraphrase Cordell Hull:

He may sound like a bit of a pompous windbag, but he's our pompous windbag.

Excessive windbaggery and showboating might be damn well necessary when dealing with a faceless, nameless, blameless foe that uses your own money against you against your will.

Relevant and well said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhN6CG1zCRc

Spend the time to watch, it's worth the price of admission :)

this woman is a stupid, mindless, bureaucrat and she is why organizations such as hrc's can exist and function. most government agencies are staffed by stupid people like this.

I'd go easy on Ms. McGovern. She seems to be going through the motions..."I have to ask you this to please those who pay me." She could not even articulate why the questions was relevant. There are much, much, much worse people to deal with at these commissions.

We are plainly dealing here with political speech and freedom of the press which should and likely does enjoy the highest protection under the Charter. I hope this gets up to the SCC while McLachlin is still Chief Justice--she is an admirer of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who coined the judicial expressions "marketplace of ideas" and "clear and present danger" with respect to free speech.

He,s wrong you cannot publish whatever you want. we have laws, called hate crime, try to get a copy of mein comf (thats right its banned) People do get charged all the time. Just try to publish lies about the the priminister and see where you will end up.

RE: Angry is OK. Hateful is not...

But, but....

I HATE the way this abuse of the justice system is tolerated, encouraged, and promoted by the CBC, the Liberal Party, The NDP, etc, etc, etc. It is the end result of left wing 'tolerance' gone mad. and embarrassing to the 'free' people of Canada. Little did we know how thin that veneer of freedom really is. This hearing makes a mockery of justice, imo. The video looks like a scene from a bad movie but who could make that up? Nobody would believe it could happen here.

Video number five is up......... she tells him he is entitled to his opinions!!!!!!

It is to cry.

There is a link on Hot Air to the videos as well. Seems Ezra is a rock star because he told this government robot to get stuffed.
Need to take those Whabbists and kick them the F out.

Peter - You are wrong. You can get a copy of Mein Kampf in many books stores, and publishing lies about the P.M., or anyone else is covered by libel laws like it is in any civilized country. publishing something that is true, that may or may not be construed as hate is not the same thing as libel, and as long as it is true should be protected by our ancient freedoms.

I'd just like to say that the cooler heads here are correct. Don't spam or abuse anyone, but a good letter is OK.

For those seeking to donate, there is a "Donate" button on Ezra's site.

I think Lori's post of Jan 12, 8:45PM, deserves consideration. Our focus should be on principles, not on personalities, which is precisely where Levant placed his emphasis. Notice how, with few if any exceptions, Levant refrained from using the word "you" when denouncing the process and instead identified his opponent as "the state". Even so, his presentation was not lacking in effect. Even the interviewer, though her arms were often crossed defensively, at times seemed to relax somewhat as he made his points.

Public opinion, which is what we need to influence, turns only too often on shallow emotion (witness the U.S. elections). The last thing we want to do is turn a faceless bureaucrat into a martyr.

...for those who may not have a contacts list handy.

Hector Goudreau - Alberta Minister of Tourism,Parks, Recreation & Culture. Also Minister i/c of the AB Human Rights Commission
tprc.minister@gov.ab.ca

Alberta Human Rights & Citizenship Commission
humanrights@gov.ab.ca

Premier Stelmach
premier@gov.ab.ca

Ezra & Kate are going above and beyond. The least we can do is help them out by writing/e-mailing. Phoning is to easily ignored/dismissed.

My letters went about a month ago and so far there have been two responses. Nothing yet from the premier's office, but it seems they are listening. They do pay attention to letters in AB, particularly if there are lots of them.

Contrast this appalling Muslim witch hunt against Ezra with the "works" of this Canadian "artist":

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=232075

I always love it when artistic luvvies think they're vicariously shocking something called the "establishment."

I wonder if the "artist" has a sculpture of Mohammed in his pornographic repertoire?

I doubt it: he knows all too well that it's perfectly safe to offend Christianity but offending Islam is likely to get him his head lopped off.

My comment at 8:48 was written before viewing the most recent (?) tape, in which Levant does indeed address his interviewer directly and identify her with the process. And, I must admit, he didn't hurt his case one bit. He called her a thug and, speaking just for myself, I found his candor refreshing. Still, I think Lori's point was well taken.

@murray: "I'd go easy on Ms McGovern. She seems to be going through the motions . . ." Murray, that's exactly the reason we shouldn't go easy on McGovern. I'm not saying do anything personally to harass or threaten her, however, she is participating in an inquisitorial attack on Ezra's and our fundamental freedoms as part of a larger, more sinister organization which operates outside any recognizable system of justice, or democratic accountability. Maybe she'll claim she's "just following orders". That's the whole point, a democracy needs people who don't just follow orders. To avoid the risk of nothing more than being transferred to another department she is voluntarily participating in an egregious violation of others right to free speech. I'm sure many of the einsatzgruppe were just "going through the motions" -- load, point, fire -- no big emotional investment or enthusiasm for the task. But that was enough to visit destruction on an entire people. Imagine if McGovern stopped and said "You're right; this is an un-democratic violation of your rights and the complaint is completely baseless. I'm not going any further" She'd be a hero. But she won't do it. Freedom needs a spine and independent thinking and she and her organization have neither. She is the ultimate threat to our freedom.

When the state presumes to "grant" (rather than simply recognize) rights, such as freedom of speech or religion, it is really proscribing rights, because it assumes the authority to oversee the apparatus that "protects" them, i.e., the courts. What the state giveth, the state may re-define, limit, or take away.

A good example is same-sex marriage. The courts diminished religious freedoms by narrowly defining religion as the rites of worship within a religious place of worship. As any practicing Christian knows, that is not what religion is. It permeates every waking action and thought. It is exercised in private and in public.

A Christian marriage planner should be free to decline to participate in the planning of a marriage that she views as illegitimate. She is not.

Bed-and-breakfast owners should be free to decline to participate in immoral behaviour -- and that would include declining a room to an unmarried couple; they are not. In the case of the PEI B&B owners, they were given a stark choice -- take a government rehabilitation course (echoes of the Soviet Union) and open your beds to homosexual couples, or shut down.

They chose the latter.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms has become an instrument used by the state to undemocratically impose its views on its citizens -- and I use the expression "its citizens" advisedly.

Freedom of conscience, speech, and religion?

Who do you think you're kidding.

DrD:
Good post. With minor changes in wording, your post could be directed to Ms. McGovern herself without in any way resembling the ad hominem attacks that often disfigure public discourse. In fact, your words could be construed as a merciful invitation to reconsider her position.

Below, a copy of my e-mail to the AHR(sic)C:

To whom it may concern:

I am appalled by the questions being asked publisher Ezra Levant. In fact, I'm appalled that the AHRC has even made the decision to "arbitrate" the complaint of Imam Syed Soharwardy who, himself, has said any number of things which are "offensive" to Jews and many in Canada who value genuine democratic rights and freedoms. 'Last time I looked, Canada was a democracy where all of its citizens have certain inalienable rights, for instance, to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, to name but a few.

It would seem that this so-called "case" against Ezra Levant and The Western Standard violates all of these inalienable rights and freedoms, which every Canadian citizen should be assured of without fear of harrassment in the form of being hauled before a Human Rights (sic) Commission for the purpose of being interrogated as to the intent of certain materials they have chosen to publish .

On what grounds was the decision made to give credence to Syed Soharwardy's complaint against Ezra Levant and The Western Standard ? Surely, as a publisher, Ezra Levant is well within his democratic rights to publish anything he chooses, regardless of the fact that it might be "offensive" to some.

I'll tell you what is far more offensive: It is this idea that if someone or some group finds offence by something that is said or written, they can complain--in this, a democracy--to a Human Rights (sic) Commission, have their complaint taken seriously, have the Canadian taxpayers pay for their being offended, while the "offender" (still not proven: in democratic Canada isn't one considered innocent until proven guilty?) is forced to defend him/herself totally at his/her expense.

What is wrong with this picture? What is just about this? What is reasonable about this? I would suggest to you that there is nothing just or reasonable about this process. As Mr. Levant has already pointed out, the process is the first punishment, chances being that there will be many more to come. The fact that he is put in the position of having to defend himself and to pay for his defence, while radical Islamist Imam Soharwardy is being defended, as it were, by the AHRC, all at the expense of the Canadian taxpayer, is a gross infringement and travesty of justice. And this is happening in a democracy?

There is absolutely nothing democratic about this case, and the AHRC is going way outside the bounds of assuring the democratic freedoms of all Canadian citizens. The AHRC is, essentially, giving preferential treatment to Mr. Soharwardy while putting in the dock Ezra Levant and his publication The Western Standard.

As a Canadian taxpayer and citizen I strongly oppose this AHRC process, and demand an end to the harrassment of Ezra Levant. He is a Canadian citizen who has inalienable rights--to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, etc. Imam Syed Soharwardy also has these rights assured to him--but they do not extend to his right to harrass an individual or publication, and haul them before a deeply undemocratic agency such as the AHRC, simply because his feelings have been hurt, simply because he is offended.

Shut this farcical, shameful, unjust, unreasonable, circus down. The whole process is deeply damaging to the fabric of our democracy.

Freedom of speech is a foundational freedom that all other freedoms are built on.

In attacking this critical freedom the HRC has declared war on all of us.

In a war, it's important to know who the enemy is and where they are at all times. To that end, as much as the enemy has this information on Ezra, we should make their personal information public. Ms. McGovern and her cohort 'officers' pictures and personal information must be published for all to see. This will give them the same threatening sense of dread and worry they inflict on their victims.

They must be shamed and shunned by society.

They must not be allowed to carry out their illegal war of rot from the safety of anonymity, silence and shadow.

C.S. Lewis: "the greatest evil... is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars... who do not need to raise their voice." (Preface to the Screwtape Letters)

Last night I listened to the national anthem being sung and when I heard the words "true patriot love in all thy sons command" I thought about Ezra and Steyn and I became deeply offended that: a non-Canadian who has no interest in "true patriot love" has attacked one of our basic freedoms in an attempt to undermine our culture in order to twist it towards his own.
His preaching undermines our culture, he is a subversive and should not be permitted to stay in this country.
I think the HRC should be inundated with complaints along these lines. Unfortunately they would see that as justification for their existance rather than a criticism of their existance.

Let's assume that all these ridiculous "human rights" complaints are successful and the law of the land turns into "you can't offend anyone".

Here's one interesting effect:

The Holocaust will no longer be able to be discussed in ANY way.

Deny it = offend Jews
Admit it = offend Germans

Or the rape of Nanking:

Deny it = offend Chinese
Admit it = offend Japanese

So we end up in a no-mans land where historically repugnant events can't be mentioned, discussed or analyzed in any way. Heck even run of the mill events will no longer be able to be discussed for fear of offending someone (or someone who will claim offense on behalf of some group)

I'm more than a little confused here.

What human right did Ezra violate?

Where is it written that thou shalt not publish a cartoon?

Where is it written that not being 'insulted' is a human right?

Where is it written that anyone's religion is beyond crtique?

Where is it written that one cannot make valid comment about a historical figure?

Could someone point out the legislation that bans all of this?

RE: Complaints....Unfortunately they would see that as justification for their existance rather than a criticism of their existance.

I agree. I think at one point Ezra called her unCanadian. The questioner looked very ticked off when Ezra said unCanadian. HRC might make him pay for that one. In my experience, with many of todays Liberals and NDP, being a leftwinger and a totaltarian (they of course much prefer being called 'social democrats') is Canadian and that cannot and must not be ever be questioned or doubted.

GO EZRA! Ezra Levant....superstar. The basic issues he addresses here could and should echo far and wide. I think Ezra does very well and his position is strong. Would like to see the end result being the HRC 'splaining how it has reached such a low point but HRC does have power and can slap Ezra down. Hard. Let the interrogation begin, indeed.

I agree with going easy on Ms McGovern on the one hand but on the other she needs to come to the realization that what she is doing is not "honest" work. That "commission" is a sham that is working against everything our country is suppose to stand for. There is nothing wrong with EL going hard against the commission on bringing this complaint to the stage it is at. They should have told the Imam to go back to his Mosque, form a circle with his Islamofacist friends and sing cum-ba-ya. Maybe invite a suicide bomber in with them. (Oh boy, here come the charges!!)

I wonder how long it will take them to decide that recording these "procedures" is not in the best interest of the "public" and that they should be held in secret.

Largs:
The decision has probably been made already. After all, the tapes have been out for an entire day... plenty of time to realize one's "mistake".

'Total double standard at work in this case at the AHRC: It's OK to offend publishers, Jews, readers of the Western Standard, the free and democratic process in Canada--which was bought at a great price, judicial fairness, etc. but it's not OK to offend an Islamofascist Imam, a recent newcomer to Canada.

What gives?

'Wonder what brought Imam Syed Soharwardy to Canada in the first place? Once here, he should play by OUR rules, not his. And now HIS rights are being defended, at the expense of each Canadian taxpayer, while another Canadian who, in our democracy, is assured of freedom of expression, religion, speech, and the press has to defend himself at his own expense.

Sad Canada, alright.

It's time for us to "stand on guard for thee."

I've written a straightforward e-mail to the AHRC asking them to justify their hearing of this case. 'Nothing over the top or ad hominem, just facts, to let them know that what they're involved in here is totally unacceptable in a democratic country.

Largs ,
Oh how I would to see that . If these fools are paying any attention at all they will notice this story is gaining momentum rapidly .

So, now that we have all said "Go Ezra Go!" what is each of us who are outraged by this HRC travesty prepared to do to take back Canada from the ultra-Leftists (uber-Liberals)?

Every blogger should post a cartoon a day. Each of us can write an e-mail to Ed Stelmach, AHRC, the MSM etc. in protest of this inquisition.

Muslims are using our Canadian institutions and the useless Liberals as vehicles to silence us and impose their Islamofascism upon us.

Are we going to go quietly? The best way to support Ezra is through visible outrage and protest. My letters are being sent. Where are yours?

PS: This is what you get for voting LIBERAL!!!!

HEH , how's this for a start Gypsy ?

" He's dead, by the way"

Yes and there is sufficient documented evidence to believe he died of an unseemly ailment that is rarely associated with the chaste disposition of holy men. His sporadic violent outbursts and "visions" (following hallucinating "seizures") and the confused contradictory dictums reveal a mind wracked by a battle with lues venerea...which he appears to have suffered under for some decades as either a result of parental promiscuity or after his profligate life as a brutal plundering slaver-brigand.

If this is the guy you want to pattern as a religious role model (prophet), it's no wonder the choice takes constant defense with coercive threats and violence.

Silence infidel!!

From the 1st century onward there have only been 2 directives for the spread of "the true faith"

Christian martyrdom = I will die for what I believe in

Islam martyrdom = YOU will die for what I believe in.

Boy oh boy is it a good thing it's Ezra Levant on "trial" and not me.

If that was a video of *Mr.g* being on "trial" in one of these kangaroo courts,the only thing you'd see for 10 minutes is my hands around that woman's neck squeezing the life out of her for subjecting me to this outrageous effrontery!Nuck,Nuck,Nuck!!!!!!!!

Mr.g

Donate, people.  This isn't free for Ezra.  I just hit his PayPal jar — he needs a lot more people to do the same.  His lawyer's probably costing him an absolute minimum of $250.00/hr., likely a lot more.

Then all us Albertans need to tell "Steady Eddie" that we'll vote for the candidate in the upcoming provincial election who promises to either abolish the AHRC outright or severely limit the scope of its mandate, by statute.

Actually WLM Redux it should read

Islam martyrdom = I will sacrifice my children for what I believe in and they will be taking your children with them.

Go Ezra! We support you!

Calgary Clipper,

Thank you. This makes it so easy for us *lazies* to send in our corrective opinion.

**...for those who may not have a contacts list handy.

Hector Goudreau - Alberta Minister of Tourism,Parks, Recreation & Culture. Also Minister i/c of the AB Human Rights Commission
tprc.minister@gov.ab.ca

Alberta Human Rights & Citizenship Commission
humanrights@gov.ab.ca

Premier Stelmach
premier@gov.ab.ca

Ezra & Kate are going above and beyond. The least we can do is help them out by writing/e-mailing. Phoning is too easily ignored/dismissed.

They do pay attention to letters in AB, particularly if there are lots of them.**
Posted by: calgary clipper at 8:48 AM
===============
=TG

Yes, I think we should send letters to various people - PM, Premier, HRC, a few MPs etc. Careful and rational letters of deep concern about the abrogation of a fundamental right to an unaccountable and subjective process. Here's the letter I sent to the pm, premier, HRC...

Dear Sirs:

As a taxpayer, I am asking that the federal and provincial governments examine the Human Rights Act (HRA) and the activities of the Human Rights Commissions (HRC) with a view to disbanding the HRC.

The HRC began, to my understanding, as a forum to review alleged cases of discrimination in the workplace and housing. I am assuming a paucity of such cases that has led to the self-generated new role for the HRC, which can only be defined as State Censorship.

Section 13.1 of the HRA can only be described as a degenerate section. Incredibly, it bases its grounds for prosecution on pure speculation rather than facticity. I quote it below:

1)" It is a discriminatory practice for a person or a group of persons acting in concert to communicate telephonically or to cause to be so communicated, repeatedly, in whole or in part by means of the facilities of a telecommunication undertaking within the legislative authority of Parliament, any matter that is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt by reason of the fact that that person or those persons are identifiable on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination. "

Please note the basic axioms of analysis in this section:

a) The allegations referred to as 'hate messages' are 'likely to expose'. This removes the focus from any requirement for empirical evidence that the message actually did have an observable result that some members of the population were moved to a feeling of being hated and viewed with contempt by virtue of that message. Instead, this section refers only to the supposition that, in the future, the message 'might' expose... Not did expose, but 'might expose'.

Speculation has absolutely no validity in any legal procedure. Speculation is a subjective, irrational and non-factual process. To condemn a Canadian citizen on the basis of speculation about a future and purely hypothetical result is a violation of our rights.

b) Furthermore, basing a judgment on a future event, and attempting to directly link that future event (feeling of being hated or view with contempt) to one specific message betrays a profound ignorance of the cognitive process.

There is no way that we can directly connect a subjective and personal perception to one and only one cause. Such a direct and singular link can only be found in mechanical systems. Human cognition is not mechanical and instead operates as a complex network of a lifetime of embedded experiences and memories.

c)The emotions of 'hatred or contempt' are entirely subjective. What may be viewed as an act of hatred or contempt by one person may be dismissed by another. No legal process should be based on randomness, that is, on the subjective perceptions of any one person.

In addition, three other factors must be emphasized.

The first is that there is no inherent 'right to be not offended'. The basic infrastructure of a democracy is its capacity to question, examine, explore, and debate its basic systems of belief and behaviour. This is the method - and it is the only method - by which a people can advance in their civilization. Certainly, those who hold one set of beliefs may be offended when an alternate set is offered; the only way to deal with this is the ancient rational method of dialectical debate and discussion. Such debate and discussion may offend, but our beliefs and behaviour cannot be removed from such ongoing rational examination. If we remove them, they rapidly become dogma. And we become trapped in that dogma.

Second, and vitally, this section of the HRC is in direct violation of the Charter of Rights, Section 2b, which guarantees us freedom of expression as a fundamental right. Not as a peripheral right but a fundamental right. I would like to question the governments, both federal and provincial, how they can permit a legal procedure to operate that directly contradicts a fundamental right.

Third, the unfairness of the financial aspect of the system is yet another violation of Charter rights, guaranteeing equality of treatment in the legal system. Under the HRA, the complainant bears no costs of the proceedings; the defendant, however, bears all the costs. This unequal financial burden sets up a situation where the defendant is, fiscally, immediately guilty. The complainant's costs are born by the taxpayer; the defendant's costs are born privately, which inserts a supposition of immediately being judged as guilty. This is a violation of our fundamental rights of innocence unless proven guilty.

The HRC has degenerated into what can only be called 'kangaroo courts' , operating against the basic principles of a free and open democracy, in violation of our rights, in violation of the necessary infrastructure of a rational and progressive people.

They should be disbanded immediately.

Exactly WLM Redux.

Arabic Islamic texts are decoded by Imams who are simply carrying out Muhammad's agenda of world domination and subjugation.

Thus, in war, they must not allow criticism and exposure.

Mohammad declared questioning and criticism of his constructed and personally convenient religion a great sin, "worse than slaughter."

Mohammad declared the world divided into dar el Islam and dar al Harb. He said, "War is deceipt." To guard against criticism (apart from the proverbial death sentence) Mohammad provided a way for Islamofascists to prevent exposure of their sinister agenda called 'taqiyya,' - sanctified lying; and 'kitman' - deception by not telling the whole truth.

And they know that because the texts expose the ideology as the foundationally hate filled and violent war cult that it is - as knowledge becomes wide spread and people force governments to take action, their era will be over and their agenda destroyed.

The ideology as expressed in their trilogy and Mo's life example is their achilles heel.

Emails fired off to AB head honchos with the head. . .

** Stop using the AB-HRC to keep us in the dark! **

Body @ Ja 13/2:01 am

** PS: Thousands of Albertans, may even be a majority on Canada*s leading SmallDeadAnimals.com. ALL who seem to be 100% offended by this bureaucratic AB-HRC attack on our freedom to information!

I thought I had cleared this all up a long time ago.

Findings: AB- HRC investigated the complaint and finds that some political cartoons were published to inform readers of world news.

No human rights or publishing laws were infringed upon, therefore these investigative proceedings are concluded. AB-HRC
= TG

The HRC, directly or indirectly, has been responsible for the RCMP being transformed from a highly respected police force into the RKKK. (Royal Kanuckistan Keystone Kops). A prime example of their forced policies of hiring policeman from all walks of life is a female officer in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. I bear no hostility towards dwarfs but they are not well suited to perform police work. This officer is about 4'something tall with the characteristic large gluteus maximus muscles that required exceptional tailoring skills to cover. The muzzle of her 9mm Glock almost drags on the ground.
It is very difficult not to laugh out loud.

As an American, I am sending emails to the New York Times and CNN calling their attention to the Steyn/Levant affairs and asking why these matters have received no coverage on their websites. Though I would like to include a link to the Levant tapes, I cannot seem to do anything other than start them. I apologize for my technical shortcomings, but can anyone post a link to the tapes that I can cut and paste into my emails?

I have to ask again. where are the trolls?
I see this all over the net and its going global.
but in all the comments...where are the trolls?

Is this as close as you are going to get to a barrel of a gun issue?

Never mind about the link to the tapes. I should have thought to just link to "http://ezralevant.com". That's even better.

I've felt for a long time that Canada was/is becoming a Banana Republic. What more proof do we need than this farcical circus being played out at the AHRC?

It's clear that the AHRC's Commissar, Shirlene McGovern, is in way over head. She can't in any way keep up with Ezra Levant's tsunami of arguments and ideas--so, I guess she's going to have to use the tapes, herself. Ezra should copyright them and charge the AHRC for their use.

Thanks, RSP, for attempting to make sure that the U.S. MSM covers this kangaroo court on its Northern border. I don't imagine that our fearless, champion of the underdog, CBC is reporting on this travesty of justice because the only underdog that matters is a left-liberal one.

I sincerely hope that Mr. Levant and the tapes he's made get the widest possible viewing audience and that the Canadian HRCs are so deeply embarrassed by this clear miscarriage of justice that they're forced to shut down.

Kanadian Kangaroo Kourts: something that none of us need.

Great letter, ET. You're right: a good letter should be calm, well-reasoned. I've taken the liberty of copy/pasting to a couple of friends.

I'm wondering: vis a vis, laws with speculative elements: Drunk-driving. Blood alcohol limits. These laws criminalize behaviour which MAY ot MAY NOT result in any damage. I'm probably missing a key bit of logic here?

trolls? is it because when you shine a light on them they scurry to get back into the dark.

Hey! I have a couple more issues where I'd like to shine a light!

By the way, has anyone noticed that the Canadian MSM are utterly silent on this important case? It's about freedom of expression, ie, freedom of speech, ie, freedom of the press. And, our Canadian Press are silent. Why? They should be hand in hand in hand on the ramparts supporting Ezra. Instead; they are silent. Why?

That's a good question, me no dhimmi, but I'll venture that an answer is that the blood alcohol level is a physical measurement, i.e., it's objectively measureable. Let's say that you have a blood level measurement of X. This measurement is an actual physical property of the blood.The machine that tests this physical property measures everyone the same way.

Another measureable physical property is the capacity-to-drive. There's a normative physical requirement for reliable reflexes, cognitive processing, valid and clear perception, etc.

Now, you can actually measure a direct physical relationship between the actual physical property of the blood alcohol level and the physical effect of this blood alcohol level on normative physical reflexes, cognitive processing, valid and clear perception, etc.

So, you can directly physically connect the two, and reliably say that IF you have an alcohol blood level property of X, THEN, your physical perceptual and cognitive faculties are lowered by Y amount.

Someone's subjective emotions are not physical, they are internal and specific to the person and not objectively measureable to a uniform criterion.

Get the difference? There's nothing speculative about the drunk driving; it's simply relating two physical entities: alcohol and its effect on the human mind and body.

here is a youtube, non cartoon.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nhbHVEGnYD8

So if these complaints are confirmed by the various HRCs, does this mean that we, as tax payers, can sue the various Mullahs and idiots on behalf of the moderate muslims for bringing contempt to their religion?

Just a thought. For all of the trolls that like to play the racist card, I find this an incredibly fair response.

New Video Link . Gawd but some of the things she says are ironic " You are entitled to your opinion ."

Nazi Germany had a Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda - the Human Rights Commissions are nothing more than Nazi "wanna be's" controlling our freedom of speech & expression.

Not only that - but she clearly asked Ezra Levant his intention when he published the cartoons. These little Nazi's are attempting to take the next step into George Orwell's 1984

Watch for McGovern to be replaced when the next "interview" takes place. She's a lightweight and will be replaced by a "supervisor" because of the importance of this issue.
This is coming from an individual who worked for many years in the public service. Believe me, they
are intransigant when it comes to preserving their status as the arbitrers of correctness.
God Bless Ezra Levant!!!

ET: Yes, but of course people respond wildly differently to different "measureable" levels of alcohol; some people are truly inebriated at 08; some are not. Which is not at all to suggest I'm against this law notwithstanding its arbitrariness.

Churchill, as you know, drank all day every day while saving the Western World.

The truth is the cartoons are really just stupid cartoons, truly meaningless, and Muslims were offended by them enough to riot and kill? Nutjobs!

I'm offended that someone is stupid enough to be offended by someone offending a dead guy who doesn't even know he should be offended, and in all reality would probably not even been offended.

If you want to get some info from the Access to Information you must pay, up front, for this. If they don't really want you to have this info, the charge can be quite high.
So, let us get the law changed, as a first step. Anyone filing a complaint with any HRC in Canada must send a certified cheque in the amount of 5,000. to help defer costs. He/she must provide and pay for their own lawyers.
These suits are one reason the Court Challenge program was shut down.
Could we taxpayers file a class action suit against the HRC for using our money to punish innocent Canadians. I thought liberals were against torture, or is that only against torture of those trying to kill us.

Me no Dhimmi; you took your eye off the ball. :)
Driving is a privilege not a right; as you know, every aspect of driving is heavily regulated.
One's license can be lifted (by a bureaucrat) for reasons as widely different as health, to driving offence records.
One of those areas of life where it's best to toe the line.

I love this quote from Ezra:

"Again, I refer to Hannah Arendt's phrase, "the banality of evil". No six-foot brownshirt, no police cell at midnight. Just Shirlene McGovern, an amiable enough bureaucrat, casually asking me about my political thoughts, on behalf of the government of Alberta. And she'll write up a report about it, and recommend that the government do this or that to me. Just going through checklists, you see.

If you don't pay attention, you might not even realize that freedoms are being eroded. I had half-expected a combative, missionary-style interrogator. I found, instead, a limp clerk who was just punching the clock. She had done it dozens of times before, and will do it dozens of times again. In a way, that's more terrifying."

Shirlene McGovern is a perfect example of "the banality of evil".

Can Ezra Levant please be our Prime Minister!

If you want to make a donation to Ezra Levant go to his site:

http://ezralevant.com/

and the 'Donation' button is at the right hand side of the page.

me no dhimmi - Churchill wasn't driving.

And although people may react differently to alcohol (I'm dizzy after three sips and I mean that)..there is still a 'normative average' that shows how this chemical (alcohol) affects another set of chemicals (the human body/mind). So, it isn't in the least arbitrary. It refers to a statistical data base. The variations to the average are just that - variations, and the focus is on the statistical average.

By the way, Joanne, it is of interest that the Islamic political cartoons, when published, had essentially no effect. No violence, nothing. It wasn't until three months later, when a Danish imam started a campaign against the cartoons, and, importantly, ADDED three of his own - three cartoons that were not part of the original set, and were utter fakes - and went to the ME, campaigning against the West and rabble-rousing people who had never, ever, seen any of the cartoons.
Furthermore, the riots that took place were govt sanctioned, for in these Islamic countries, you don't move into a public complaint without govt approval.

Oh - and we still have to realize that there is no proof of any 'hatred' or 'contempt' to Muslims by Ezra's publication. That is not the issue, for free speech cannot be confined to speech which 'offends no-one'.

DaniVan: It is you who have lost focus. Driving is a right, not a privilege. Heavily regulated to be sure, but that is regulation for the reasonable protection of all who share the right, is it not(think long about this)? We do not live in a feudal system. The state is not our master, it is our employee.

The Human Rights Complaints lady is plainly in over her head. She is more used to 'interviewing' regular joes, not folks like Ezra. The problem is, she is going to write whatever she decides too. She is going to ensure job security, so what she writes will be slanted the way her education has taught her, and the way she knows her superiors want it.

As a matter of fact, Shirlene looked and sounded like a very gentle person. Is that a requirement, a front, for such a position?
One would have to wonder how anyone with such a demeanor could not see through the sham of the Commission she works for.
That is a commission that interferes with our freedoms at the whim of any and all zealots. At this time in our history,far too many are coming from people with whom we have no substantial history or even way of life. They have no understanding of the meaning of freedoms, coming from places that don't allow them.

They have quickly come to know how to try to control our freedom of speech. It doesn't hurt to have the help of those who have managed to become settled here and even become tenured Professors in our Universities.

This is a dangerous and troubling issue. There has to be government intervention at some point, and soon.

Canadian tax dollars at work. Perfect example of bureaucratic empire building. Start with small department to ensure equal treatment regarding rent and hiring practices and build that department into another monster bureaucratic nightmare with ever expanding budgets and more staffing and bigger offices and thicker carpets. To justify their overpaid positions the busybody bureaucrats then set about creating make work projects. Now the sad thing is that this small minded bureaucrat Shirley believes she is doing good valuable work. That is the bureaucratic culture and mindset which leads to the God complex. Of note is the fact that Shirley has developed the "I" disease because she has been vested with the power and authority. I have to do this and I have do that before I make my decision she says. NO wonder Ezra treats her with contempt. He should spit in her face.

I’ve watched most of the Levant videos and am very pleased that he’s not taking this lying down. The HRCs are a complete travesty and deserve all the contempt for them we can muster.

However . . . I’d like to have seen Mr. Levant present his case in a more even handed way: IMO, staying low key and always polite, while delivering verbal grenades is, a lethal, more effective strategy. One doesn’t want to give the opposition and Canadian Pollyannas any ammunition: “But he seemed so angry and impolite!” (Of course, why wouldn’t he be?)

E.g., When little Ms McGovern, the HRC toady, expressed her earnest concern about a possible violent backlash against Muslims after 9/11, Levant rightly posited that the concern for violence was certainly real—but that the ACTUAL, extreme violence was caused by Muslims. He then mentioned that his synagogue had been firebombed. Then he said—correct, but not helpful to garner public support (it could well be used against him)—that, as a result of Muslim violence, hating Muslims makes sense. I don’t think that’s the issue here. Also, one should not concede any ground to these weasels and their friends on the left. (Mr. Levant’s swearing didn’t help either, IMO.)

I wish Levant had provided a LITANY of Muslim violence since 9/11—as easy as taking candy from a baby—and then pointed out that, concerning hatred, and causing offence and actual violence, including mass murder, to others, it seems that MUSLIMS are the problem, not Canadian publishers. (I'd have also liked to see more questions directed AT Ms McGovern. Put her in the hotseat and watch her squirm! E.g., "Given the facts of extreme Muslim violence in the West, directed at innocent civilians, don't you think, Ms McGovern, that the HRCs' concern about Muslims being the victims of violence in the West is somewhat misplaced?")

That said, I ALTOGETHER support Mr. Levant and hope and pray for a big change in how Canada handles human rights issues. (Keep the government out of not only our bedrooms, but, for the most part, out of our lives!)

I believe that we need to protest vociferously—but within the bounds of propriety. In mid December, in regards to Mark Steyn—but I could easily say the same about the Levant case—I wrote the following to the federal HRC, with a copy to the PM:

“I am deeply offended by the actions of the instigators of this action: they and their families have been welcomed to this country and invited to share the freedoms my forebears fought for.

“Now, these people have the audacity to use their newfound privileges to attack the very foundations on which these privileges rest.

“That your commission, paid for by my tax dollars, would entertain allowing this travesty—to persecute a Canadian citizen for exercising his free speech rights—is abhorrent to me. (As are the arbitrary measures the Human Rights [sic] Commissions are allowed to employ.)

“The commission’s apparent willingness to persecute law abiding Canadian citizens, on the flimsiest, often hearsay, pretexts, is anathema to me and many others. The only good result from this—unless Mark Steyn’s rights are fully upheld (as they should be in a free and democratic country)—is that Canadians, who have been unaware of the lack of due process in the commissions’ kangaroo courts, will realize how dangerous the human rights (sic) industry is in this country.

“Punishing law abiding citizens outside due process of the law is draconian and should be outlawed in any democratic country. One can only hope that the publicity generated by the commission’s unwise agreement to hear this case will speed the end of all Human Rights (sic) Commissions, which are an insult to the integrity and freedoms of all Canadian citizens.”

One good thing HAS happened already: Canadians ARE much more aware of our arbitrary and undemocratic HRCs, which would have fit very well in Soviet Russia. A small number of Canadians, mainly observant Christians, has been waging this battle for decades. It’s nice to have many more Canadians finally on board.

AB government gets a human rights complaint.

Instructs AB-HRC to look into it.

AB-HRC finds no laws have been abused.

AB-HRC submits *no actions required* report.

AB government has satisfied the complaint.

One would expect logic and efficiency in Canada, yet one has to wonder.

Air India?

Karl Schreiber, a proven fraud, whom Canadian courts are spending a fortune on while keeping him from justice in Germany?

Only the courts in Canada, you say? Pity! = TG

Oh yeah, Picton;
What*s wrong with one murder charge, one verdict, one life sentence and an appeal only if someone else is proven guilty for all? = TG

Yeah, when she said, "You certainly have the right to your opinion," I was yelling, "Then why is he sitting there?"

My guess at what she is scribbling:
I hate my job!
I hate my job!
I hate my job!
I better get a raise for this!
....

Lookout...polite and gentle has got us this far.I think Levant and Steyn are leading a change in course(with Coren's help)

Although he is silent on this matter, I'm guessing PMSH is watching this closely.

I don't know where YOU live Skip, but here in B.C. you don't get to drive until the Government SAYS you can; ie a privilege. A privilege which they can and will withdraw WITHOUT any recourse to the courts.
Hell, the cops do it for 24 hr periods at THEIR whim! You want to try driving up here without a license? Be my guest.

Comparing being allowed to drive, to being punished for voicing an opinion, muddies the waters horribly.
I don't honour my Legion buddies for their skill at letter writing to bureaucrats.

lookout - that was a great letter. I'm guessing that the HRC 'chose' to accept the case out of their own leftist cowardice. They are afraid to be seen, by Islamists, of 'not being multicultural', which in their terms translates to rejecting the right of anyone to critique Islam.

Lookout @6.40 PM.

Ezra has deliberatley chosen to be outspoken, confrontational and "undiplomatic" so there is no way the AHRC can equivocate.

With his approach, they can only either publicly and obviously back-down or find guilty.

The way the ARHC would *like* to handle this is to say "we find no fault". This would get them off the hook and still maintain their claim to public thought-control. With Levant's approach, they cannot do this as if they back down, they acknowledge their wrongness; they must convict to save their reputation.

bluetech, I hear you. But I don't mean "gentle": remember, I said "delivering verbal GRENADES".

On occasion, I'm not particularly gentle, as SDA regulars will know. As a proud politically incorrect Canadian, who holds what are considered to be strong, out-of-date ethical and political views, I believe, in the enemy territory that is present day, official Canada, it's a good idea to be very aware of the optics: "Be wily as a serpent"! It's not a good idea, IMO, to look at all like the spoiled brats our opponents are. We can make our points very well, thank you, without histrionics.

ET, I appreciate your comment about my letter. (bluetech, I hope you don't think I gave the HRC any quarter!)

In general, Ezra Levant presented his case with clarity, intelligence, and, above all, courage; he had some VERY fine moments and I'm altogether in his camp. I want him to be point blank about the central issue here—freedom of speech and association—but I want him to be strategic too. IMO, I believe that losing any of the moral high ground, which is his, in spades, is not good strategy.

Kate,
Thanks for introducing me to Glen Glow-worm. NOT. But, at least he understands the basics of a truly liberal society, rether than the "liberal" one of the left.

Wimpy Canadian, good point.

However, strongly challenging the HRC’s “smelly little orthodoxies” (Orwell) can be done without histrionics. That's all I'm saying. In fact, hitting them very hard with the unsavoury FACTS of the matter—I have no problem with that all—while remaining civil in demeanour, is double jeopardy for them.

Think of Robert Bolt’s “A Man for All Seasons”: Thomas More’s eloquent defence of himself, when he finally had no choice, in the face of a repressive and arbitrary state, was lethal in its logic, intelligence, and clear moral imperative. However, he never stooped to banality or rudeness. That made his statement all the more powerful.

That’s all I’m saying.

I've noticed that the so-called national news aggregator, National News Watch has NOTHING on this story.

Some aggregator. I've written to them to ask them "what's up?"

Ezra should begin selling "I SIMPLY WILL NOT COMPLY" bumper stickers.

Mark Steyn could be his first customer!

DaninVan at January 13, 2008 8:49 PM

As I started this "drunk driving" analogy, a clarification. I was really only wondering about the intellectual clarity in one aspect of ET's excellent argument -- that laws can't deal with speculative matters, i.e., prohibiting speech which "may cause people to be exposed to contempt". As you know the drivers are prohibted from driving drunk 'cos they MAY cause injury.
It was the just the logic I was questioning.
For the record, I've never been cited for impaired driving and in fact I don't drink.

And as ET (and myself elsewhere) pointed out, the key issue is that there is no right not to be offended anyway. And I go further than that: these commissions were initially constructed to deal with employment and housing issues with a racial aspect. I believe that in a truly free milieu I should be permitted to refuse to employ or to rent to whomever I wish and for whatever reason. But for starters I'll be happy to get rid of "hate speech" laws which are a travesty.

...i'll be the black sheep here.

I for one wasn't too impressed with Ezra's rant on YouTube.

"you may start your interrogation" was amateurish and stupid.

He may have had some good points, but after that remark and pointing at the lady and calling her a 'thug' wrote off any respect for the guy from me.

Why does it seem all the guys making the news, like Gary McHale and Ezra Levlant don't seem to understand PR, Marketing, and proper rules of engagement when making their points?

They do more disservice to the cause then help it me thinks...

Hi Tomax, Vitruvius here. Your aesthetic judgement of Mr. Levant's behaviour is not the point. The point is that it is not for the state to judge the aesthetics of Mr. Levant's behaviour. Even if you think that Mr. Levant is being a scoundrel, don't forget these words from H. L. Mencken: "The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all."

While I have not yet distilled my thoughts to the point that I feel I am ready to write cogent letters to the media and the putative officials involved in this matter, I have now managed to at least come up with a summary of the situation as I see it, and have published that to my mailing list. If you're interested, it's here:

sagaciousiconoclast.blogspot.com/2008/01/ezra-levant-fights-for-your-human.html

I noticed that National Newswatch had nothing on the Ezra tapes on Sunday night, only one day after the tapes became available. They usually keep news items up for a day or two.

If they did have the Levant tapes up on Saturday, where were they on Sunday? And did they run all of the tapes or just a couple?

'Anyone know for sure?

"Interrogation" is a good word but I like the word "Inquisition" better. I think it better describes what is happening here.

Please make sure to put your money where your mouth is. As a "sustaining donor" to the Conservative Party of Canada I have redirected those funds to Ezra levant then they will go to Mark Steyn when his case comes forward. It is vital that these heros of freedom have the funds to take this fight all the way for us. Until such time as a government of this country does away with the Human Rights Commissions I will continue to help those who are fighting for the rest of us. No government will get another donation from me until that time.

It's your choice, eliza, and quite reasonable. However, as a minority governmant, the CPC couldn't abolish the HRCs, even if it wanted to.

I think contributing to the coffers of the CPC, in order to help it get a majority government, might be a very wise thing to do. If the Conservatives were in charge of the vote, I think we'd see a lot of substantial changes in Canada. At the moment, their hands are firmly tied by the four lefty, socialist parties that can outvote them. Political realities usually call for compromises.

One way to make the CPC take notice is to write them cheuques and then call your bank and stop your cheuque! They will call and wonder why. Then tell them you have redirected the funds to help support Ezra and Mark!

from the greenwald blog:

"Just like Bush followers who bizarrely think that the limitless presidential powers they're cheering on will only be wielded by political leaders they like, many hate speech law proponents convince themselves that..."

In support of tomax 7, who has questioned Levant’s modus operandi, I’m repeating part of some of a previous post I made.

Despite my FULL support for Levant’s—and our—cause and my belief that the HRC’s “smelly little [Liberal] orthodoxies” (Orwell) need to be strongly challenged, I believe it should be done without bombast, histrionics, or ad hominem attacks. E.g., By all means call the HRCs “thug organizations”, but avoid personally attacking the commissioner hearing the case by calling HER a "thug". The same point is then made without Levant coming across as a bully. There IS a very important public relations side to this: the in-the-middle, uninformed—usually squeamish about confrontation—Canadian needs to get on side. IMO, it’s important not to carelessly squander the good will of the public by coming across as brutish.

On the other hand, hitting the HRCs VERY hard with the unsavoury FACTS of the matter—by all means, use powerful words like “inquisition”—is an excellent strategy. But, remaining civil in demeanour should be a priority. It works for our side and is double jeopardy for the HRCs.

Again, consider Robert Bolt’s “A Man for All Seasons”: Thomas More’s eloquent defence of himself, when he finally had no choice, in the face of a repressive and arbitrary state, was lethal in its logic, intelligence, vehemence, and clear moral imperative. However, he never stooped to banality or rudeness. That both magnified the dignity of the man and made his statement all the more powerful.