Outrage Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

[Toronto Star] Khadr’s lawyers hope the short clip of the video posted online today will create an outcry in Canada and pressure Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand that the U.S. halt their war crimes prosecution of Khadr, the last Western detainee still imprisoned in Guantanamo.

Ottawa officials had been bracing for weeks for the video’s public release.

“I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth,” Edney said in an interview.

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[Blatchford, Globe and Mail] It’s that one spring day in 2006, the leader played for a group of young men a nauseating beheading video on his laptop in a restaurant on Danforth Avenue, a main Toronto drag. The restaurant had a big picture window. Even if it was otherwise empty, presumably the owner or someone in authority was present. Yet no one appears to have uttered a word in protest.

Where’s The Humanity?

Perhaps steak dinners, a queen size bed, and HBO would make it look less like a prison, huh, Andy? 

[Anti-War.com] Clearly, these requirements have not been fulfilled in Omar’s case, and the Canadians’ complicity in Omar’s detention and interrogation also, of course, make a mockery of the Canadian government’s insistent mantra – that it would not intervene in Omar’s case since it had received assurances from the United States that Omar was being treated humanely – which, as Whitling notes, “has now been proven to have been an attempt to misinform the Canadian public.”

The rest.

What? There’s Fathers Involved?

[Windsor Star] My experience with abortion may not be unique, but it has shaped a unique perspective. My first child was aborted 25 years ago, and I paid $100 American for that termination. That ended the life of my child, and caused painful years of reflection.

Legally, if an unborn child was provided the right of security, and life under the charter, I would be guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, but this is not the case.

In Canada, the unborn have no rights unless the mother chooses to recognize them. It appears the issue of choice means different things to different people. My support, choice and decision has left a scar of some permanence, and regret, that time cannot, and will not move, for it is one of blood…More.

–Rob Chesire, Letter to the Editor

Post Editorial: Comedy Under Siege

[National Post] If it were only the career of one stand-up that were at stake, the Earle affair might not be so troubling. (Mr. Earle is holding a “Comics for Freedom” benefit on Saturday at Toronto’s Comedy Bar, 945a Bloor Street West.) But if hecklers are legally protected — and stand-ups have to worry about facing legal expenses for having defended themselves verbally on stage from distracting drunks and drama queens — stand-up comedy will die like a fish out of water in Canada. Who would put in the brutal hours needed to master it under such a threat, or dare come to this country to perform? An entire art form will have been euthanized in the name of preventing “offensiveness,” and what others can then regard themselves as safe?

The rest.

US Blogger Looks North, Chews Nails

[Human Events] Many Americans can only shake their heads at the nutty excesses of multiculturalism in Canada. Government investigations for insulting people? That kind of thing could never happen here . . . Right?

Wrong, probably. Multiculturalism may not be as advanced in America as it is in Canada, but it’s on the same path. The U.S. already has a number of federal multicultural policies, most notably the annual Diversity Visa Lottery. However, as the sorry lesson of Canada demonstrates, the key to pushing multiculturalist laws from the level of the mildly ridiculous into the rarified realm of the monumentally stupid is to advance them first on the local level, where action attracts little public scrutiny. 

The rest.

Copenhagen Prepares For World Outgames

[Windy City Times] One year to go.That’s the attitude—and reality—in Copenhagen, as the capitol of Denmark prepares for what likely will be the largest LGBT sporting event of 2009.

The second-annual World Outgames will be held in Copenhagen July 25—Aug. 2, 2009, with 38 different sports disciplines, from aerobics to wrestling, for competitors of all skill levels. In addition, there will be a wide variety of cultural events, including performances, exhibitions and parties. World Outgames 2009 also will feature a human-rights conference addressing issues and concerns of the LGBT community.

…

[Mark Northern, Director of Marketing]: …Montreal was a fantastic event, but there were vendors who were left holding the bag until they found a resolution a few years later.

WCT: So, have those 2006 vendors been paid?

MN: I can’t speak to that; I just don’t know. The latest report that I heard was, a compromise was reached between the city, the organizers and the vendors. But I don’t know what that meant or what they actually received for the outstanding debts.

WCT: Will any of the people from Montreal Organizing Committee be involved with 2009?

MN: No.

The rest.

Coincidence? Hate Crime On The Rise…But So Is Identifying Yourself As A Target

From the Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics file.

[All Headline News] To break the culture of hate developing among young Canadians, a member of parliament attending an ongoing Somali Muslim Hate Crime Summit has proposed bringing hate crimes to public attention.

Muslim migrants have difficulty adjusting to their new homes because of the anti-Muslim sentiment since Sept. 11, 2001, Mohamed Gilao, executive director of settlement agency Dejinta Beesha said. In 2005 his son, who was with a friend, were shot after they left a theater.

While it is unclear if the two boys were victims of hate crimes, Gilao said by educating the youth who commit one-third of the hate crimes in Canada, unnecessary deaths especially among immigrants could be prevented.

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[Stats Canada] Canada is a multi-cultural society comprised of many social, cultural, religious and linguistic groups. According to 2006 Census data, over 5 million Canadians or 16% of the population, reported being members of a visible minority group, up by 27% since 2001 (Statistics Canada, 2008). The number of same-sex couples has also increased, up by 33% between 2001 and 2006 (Statistics Canada, 2007).

Canadian Politician: If Not For My Party, Canada Would Be Less Humane

[Rabble, quoting NDP candidate Michael Byers] In addition, the NDP has long generated new policy positions that are taken up by other political parties. There is nothing inconsistent about wanting change for social justice and human rights reasons and also wanting political power. Political power is a means for implementing progressive change.

This country would be less humane, less progressive, less peaceful in its orientation were it not for the ongoing contribution of the NDP.

The rest.

New UN Anti-Defamation Resolution Mentions Only One Religion By Name

[One News Now] Dozens of Muslim-dominated countries want protection. Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law & Justice explains what that entails. “They’ve put forward what’s called a ‘[Combating] Defamation of Religions’ resolution which would amend the U.N.’s Declaration of Human Rights and would make it a criminal act and violation of international law to ‘defame another religion,’” he explains.
 
Sekulow points out the resolution, put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, only mentions one religion by name: Islam. “[S]o there’s nothing about preventing the defamation of Christianity,” the attorney warns, “which means if you were spreading the gospel, it would be deemed defamatory towards Islam and would be [considered] a crime.”

The rest.

Pipe Down. The Omar Khadr Thing Is Just Heating Up

[Himalayan Times] A human rights activist and a rights watchdog on Monday urged the government not to grant general amnesty to anyone involved in serious crime.

“We are against giving the blanket amnesty to anyone,” former member of the National Human Rights Commission Sushil Pyakurel said.

Criticising a report prepared by the US-based law firm Holland and Knight, the Accountability Watch Committee (AWC) on Monday opposed the concept of general amnesty, saying, “The report hints at granting general amnesty to those involved in war crime and crime against humanity.”

The rest.