Mark Steyn, a conservative commentator from Canada, and Macleans magazine are being tried in Vancouver by British Columbia’s Human Rights tribunal for expressing the politically incorrect opinion that some Muslim beliefs are incompatible with western-style democracy.
Canadian journalist David Warren says of the matter:
The writings of Canada’s most talented journalist, Mark Steyn, went on trial in Vancouver on Monday, in a case designed to challenge freedom of the press. It is a show trial, under the arbitrary powers given to Canada’s obscene “human rights” commissions, by Section 13 of our Human Rights Act.
I wrote “obscene” advisedly. Before Canada’s “human rights” tribunals, a respondent has none of the defences formerly guaranteed in common law. The truth is no defence, reasonable intention is no defence, nor material harmlessness, there are no rules of evidence, no precedents, nor case law of any kind. The commissars running the tribunals need have no legal training, exhibit none, and owe their appointments to networking among leftwing activists.
I wrote “show trial” advisedly, for there has been a 100 percent conviction rate in cases brought to “human rights” tribunals under Section 13.
So in an effort to advance human rights Canada will infringe on civil rights. Nice.
It should be noted that these sorts of kangaroo courts have also been held in places like Puerto Rico.
Canadian journalist and blogger Denyse O’Leary explains:
Non-Canadians can best help us by monitoring the situation, spreading the word, and making sure it does not happen where you are.
Many Canadians love to say that their country is more “progressive” than the US. Liberals and leftists in the US salavate at the so-called “progressiveness” of our northern neighbors. Well, here is a perfect example of the perils of so-called “enlightenment”, and our enemies love it. Every hater of western-style democracy and culture exploits the assinine policies adopted by nations like Canada. And that’s just one example of the disasterous liberal/left programs and policies that schackle the Canadians; health care and immigration are others. If you vote for a Democrat at the national level, that’s the kind of miserable future that awaits us.
When has Puerto Rico held trial for expessing freedom of speech? I lived there for 28 years and never heard of one. Please provide an example. We can be accused of many things but that is not one of them.
Also,
It would be impossible for PR to hold such trials since the Island falls under the jurisdiccion of the Constitution of the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUqKFPsUL-w
En 1987, la Comisión de Derechos Civiles de Puerto Rico estaba controlada por izquierdistas, entre ellos: Su presidente Enrique “Chino” González, conocido abogado defensor de comunistas acusados de actos terroristas; su asesor legal, Franklyn Rivera Irizarri, miembro del Comité Central del Partido Socialista Puertorriqueño (PSP); y su director ejecutivo Yamil Suárez Marchand, colaborador de los Círculos Cristianos por la Abolición de las Armas Nucleares que dirige la terrorista convicta Lolita Lebrón. El 23 de octubre de 1987, la comisión citó bajo amenaza de desacato al periodista Antonio de la Cova, director de la revista Crónica Gráfica en San Juan, Puerto Rico. De la Cova exhibió documentos señalando al “Chino” González como responsable de un acto terrorista, por lo que el iracundo González retó a de la Cova a encontrarse con él “de hombre a hombre.” De la Cova acusó a González de no tener moral para presidir la Comisión de Derechos Civiles. González falleció el 15 de julio de 1990, a los 70 años de edad, tras sufrir un derrame cerebral durante un argumento legal en el tribunal de Carolina, Puerto Rico.
thank you for getting more word out, regarding this threat to our basic freedoms.
This is being followed closely by Ezra Levant, (who is being charged because a magazine he owned published the “danish mohammed cartoons”
http://www.ezralevant.com
and it’s true, “many Canadians love to say that their country is more progressive than the US”
but that doesn’t make it something that we all agree with, or aspired to…
The word is getting out regarding these “courts”. They’re generally staffed with the people that graduated “last in class”.
(really)
De al Cova was accused of violating his Federal (as in US) probation by ilegally spying on Puertoricans who favored independence from the US. He was passing this information to the FBI and the Intelligence division of the PR Police who then took the information to keep secret files on these Puertoricans. These actions by all involved were found to be violations of the civil rights of the independentistas. After these hearings the Intelligence division of the PR police was dismantled and all files were returned to the poeple who were ilegally spied on. These hearings were not about Dela Cova calling someone a communist, they were about him viloating the civil rights of other people. I remember these hearings, they were a huge issue in PR. You have to remember that wanting independence of your country is not a crime even if it is independence from the US. Some of the independence followers in PR are in fact communists but most of them are not. Most only want for PR the same thing Marti and Maceo wanted for Cuba. I am vry proud of the outcome of these hearings because everybody should have the right to express their political opinions without fear of the government spying. Tht would be facism which is what we all hate about castro and is what chavez is doing now. For what I understand De la Cova was a really shady charachter who even accused Huber Matos of being a castro agent.
Actually, what got the Puerto Rican commies pants in a wad wasn’t information that De la Cova was passing to law enforcement it was information that law enforcement was passing to de la Cova and that was being published in the newspaper that de la Cova’s marinovia owned.
They tried unsuccessfully to get de la Cova on a parole violation. El Chino Gonzalez who presided over the hearings was dirty and that’s why he challenged del la Cova to a fight when he was confronted with an accusation of firebombing his former mistress’s car.
El Chino wouldn’t let de la Cova talk. As you see in the new video de la Cova is asking to be permitted to speak.
You may be proud of those hearings but they are what seems shady to me.
I concur with Marc from Calgary. Muchas Gracias for following this absolutely embarrassing Kangaroo Court which is occurring just a few km from my home here Vancouver. Interested readers can read a lot more about it on my blog. In addition to the the excellent Ezra Levant blog the best source of information is Andrew Coyne’s realtime blog. And here’s a very biting editorial published in the Ottawa Citizen.
If you hadn’t heard this was occurring in Canada, might you not think it was happening in some corrupt Third World dictatorship?
Joaquin is lying and twisting the facts. I lived in San Juan and knew de la Cova in a professional capacity. His magazine Cronica Grafica exposed the link between the Machetero terrorists and the Castro regime. The articles are on the web at
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/epb-macheteros.htm
All Federal authorities rejected the subpoenas to appear before the Commission, which was controlled by Machetero supporters. The Commission assumed that the information in Cronica Grafica came from the P.R. Police Intelligence Division, but were never able to prove it. Neither de la Cova nor the magazine he edited were ever accused of violating anyone’s rights. The video shows that the Commission’s president, instead of upholding civility, threatened de la Cova to a fistfight. That misbehavior caused the Commission hearings to abruptly be canceled and other scheduled witnesses, like Lt. Taboada, never appeared. Joaquin will be a proven liar when unable to produce an article by de la Cova, as he purports, disparaging Huber Matos. While previously under parole, de la Cova was prohibited from writing political articles. The Commission failed in trying to prove the contrary. I was afterward present at the ceremony where the Cuban exile community in San Juan awarded de la Cova a plaque in gratitude for his journalism and for confronting Gonzales and other Machetero supporters on the Commission.
I’m still freaking out over the first sentence in this post. How can anyone violate someone else’s human HUMAN RIGHT by speaking? Can anybody please expain this to me?
How can speaking one’s mind violate a Human Right, when as I see it, those that don’t allow somone to speak their mind are violating a Human Right.
Unbelievable, I don’t know if I want to scream or laugh. Well ladies and gents, just take a look at France. Do you really think the muslim population is assimulating there?
The anonymous Joaquin is repeating the fairytale that Castro agent Raul Alzaga, alias El Bizco, previously wrote in a Commie rag about de la Cova. Cite facts, not fiction.