Yes, Dropping Your Pants Is A Matter Of Human Rights

AFP – An order banning a teenager from wearing his trousers too low has been dropped because it breached his human rights, a court was told.

Ellis Drummond, 18, faced an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) which included a ban on “wearing trousers so low beneath the waistline that members of the public are able to see his underwear”.

Hey, What’s 20 Years Among Friends?

Xtra – As Xtra previously reported, Richard filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2005. He alleges discrimination based on sexual orientation by his former employer, the Treasury Board of Canada.

Richard, the Canadian government, the CHRC and the Attorney General are entangled in legal proceedings over whether Richard’s allegations of systemic homophobia — which was filed two decades after the events in question — should still be heard in court.

Damn Canadian Judges Dig This “Free Expression” Thing

Ontario Superior Court Of Justice, May 3, 2010. Click to read full ruling.

Steyn To CJC: Let’s Party

SteynOnline – The [Canadian Jewish Congress] says: “Mr. Steyn, however, rooted his assertions in quotations that Canadian Jewish Congress never uttered.  Maclean’s apologizes for this misattribution in its current issue.”

That’s not true, actually. Maclean’s issued not an “apology” but a clarification, “regretting any confusion”. As reflexively litigious as he is, Bernie Farber surely knows the difference – especially as there was an awful lot of back and forth between the various legal departments. My memory of the deliberations is that Bernie originally wanted Maclean’s to “apologize” for any “hurt” caused by such “defamatory” statements as “the only plausible explanation for the CJC is that it’s an Islamist front organization”. My reaction was that I’d personally fight such a case all the way to the Supreme Court because (a) it would be a non-stop laugh riot; and (b) Bernie’s peculiar touchiness on the subject suggests the odds are better than even that my joke would turn out to be true.

Need Some Cheap Publicity? Try Human Rights

Yes, That Arizona Thing Sure Is A Big Human Rights Problem For Mexicans

McClatchy – As the death toll has climbed from drug-related violence in Mexico, it’s fallen largely to newspapers to keep the count.

Two weeks ago, a government report that legislators leaked spoke of 22,700 deaths over little more than a three-year period, a far higher body count than the 18,000 or so given by El Universal, a leading newspaper.

Arizona. The Smart Protester’s Choice

Patterico – Yesterday, Amnesty International called the abuse of migrants in Mexico a major human rights crisis. The same day, a “caravan of rights observers and leftist political activists” traveling in southern Mexico were attacked by gunfire. Two people were killed and many more may have been abducted…

Career On The Flag? Try Human Rights

The Hollywood Gossip – The She Wolf is on the prowl, and she’s set her sights on Arizona.

In response to that state’s incomprehensible new immigration law – which allows the police to ask for the identification of anyone suspected of being an illegal alien – Shakira is going on the attack.

She’s headed to to Arizona today to get involved in the issue…

Law Prof: Studies From 14 Years Ago Prove Today’s Human Rights Commissions Are Great

Emphasis ours.

StarPhoenix – There are good reasons why the Court of Queen’s Bench is not a good replacement option for the human rights tribunal.

Three comprehensive reviews of provincial human rights systems have said just that, for reasons of access to justice, expertise in human rights, and representativeness of different sections of the community. The Ontario Human Rights Code review task force, Achieving Equality: A Report on Human Rights Reform, 1992; B.C. Human Rights Review: Report on Human Rights in British Columbia, 1994; and the report of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, Renewing the Vision: Human Rights in Saskatchewan, 1996.

Pesky US Supreme Court Still Protecting That “Free Speech” Stuff

The Stir – It’s a sad day for animal rights groups. The Supreme Court just struck down a federal law designed to stop the sale and marketing of dogfight videos and videos showing other acts of animal cruelty.

The court, in an 8-1 decision, ruled that the law was an unconstitutional violation of free speech…

The last time the Supreme Court carved out an exception to First Amendment free speech protection was in 1982 when it banned the distribution of child pornography.

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Kansas City Star – Animal rights groups were naturally disappointed by the ruling, but said they would continue to press for a more specific law, one that might pass constitutional muster.

And let’s face it: This was a victory for free speech because it once again validated the view that the government doesn’t have all-encompassing powers to shut down speech it doesn’t like or deem appropriate.

Paper: Sex Criminal Can’t Be Deported Because Of His Human Rights

Daily Mail – A Pakistani paedophile who abducted and sexually abused two young girls cannot be deported back to his native country because it would breach his human rights, it emerged today.

Zulfar Hussain, 48, was due to be sent home when he is released from prison halfway through his sentence for plying two vulnerable girls with drugs and alcohol before having sex with them.

Court Supplies Another Reason Not To Hire Anybody

StarPhoenix – Dora Cooke’s recent claim against HTS Engineering in Sudbury is illustrative of this. After eight months on the job, Cooke quit, asserting she was subjected to psychological harassment and bullying by Patrice Comeau, one of her supervisors. She sued for constructive dismissal.

Her accusations stemmed from an instance when Comeau, a high school acquaintance she had kept in touch with, called her boyfriend a loser, and a few occasions, when he called her pathetic or an idiot over her performance. Cooke also said Comeau raised his voice at personnel in head office and sometimes directed salty language toward suppliers.

Surprisingly, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice did not conclude Cooke was free to look elsewhere if she was unhappy. Instead, it listened to seven days of testimony in an attempt to sort out who called whom what. The judge found in Cooke’s favour, awarding her damages both for wrongful dismissal and mental distress.

Asking Where The Money Goes Is Tantamount To Murder

Toronto Star – The new Conservative appointees hounded the [Rights and Democracy] president, Remy Beauregard, over three small grants he had given to one Israeli and two Palestinians NGOs to probe possible human rights violations during the Israeli attack on Gaza a year ago. He died of a heart attack caused by the harassment, said his wife, Suzanne Trepanier, who testified Tuesday.

Steyn: Idiotic Bobbies At It Again

The Corner – Not in modern Britain. Her Majesty’s Constabulary are among the laziest, most overpaid, most obnoxious and most useless in the world. It was entirely predictable that, given the choice between taking on violent ne’er-do-wells or harrassing harmless old-timers with pocket knives, they’d choose the latter…

She Obviously Sucks At It If There’s Still Such A Problem

So Feminine – If one person from the EU Commission has made an impact, it’s Viviane Reding… “This thing with me and gender equality goes way back,” she says. As a student feminist, as one of the youngest members of Parliament, then as rapporteur for women’s rights, and as president of the Christian Social Women’s Group, she was closely involved in the preparations for the World Conference on Women in Beijing. “So I know my stuff,” she says.

CBC: Black Montreal Teacher Alleges Police Abuse

CBC – A black Montreal high school teacher arrested while waiting for takeout food has accused police of racial profiling and abuse.

Farid Charles, 26, said he lives his life “by the books” and can’t believe how police treated him last Thursday night, when he and a friend went to get takeout food at a Caribbean restaurant in the southern borough of LaSalle.

Sex Criminal Jumps On The Human Rights Bandwagon

Perthshire Advertiser – A SERIAL sex attacker claimed yesterday that his Human Rights were being breached by being banned from watching porn on his computer.

Twenty-six-year-old Martin Jones, of St Catherine’s Road, Perth, was jailed for 18 months at the Sheriff Court in March of last year for stalking a 12-year-old girl in the city centre.

Lawyer: Because You’re Arresting The Unborn Child, You Can’t Arrest Pregnant Terrorists

Jakarta Globe – Lawyers on Wednesday accused the police of serious violations of human rights when they arrested a pregnant woman, Putri Munawaroh, on terrorism charges, and prosecutors of causing further harm by bringing the woman to court…

The defense argued that, according to human rights law, children, including unborn babies, could not be detained under criminal charges.

Huff Post: Caring People Line Up Over Here, Selfish Bastards Over There

Huffington Post – Anyone interested in human rights (that would be the left side of the room) or property rights (that would be the right side) should email Congressman Pascrell’s office and let him know you support his attempts to enforce the law.

Great News: Murderer’s Human Rights Won’t Be Violated

Times Online – Marcus Bebb-Jones, 46, murdered his wife Sabrina in 1997 and hid her body in a national park in Colorado, US prosecutors claim…

A British judge’s decision to extradite him was postponed after Ben Cooper, for the defence, sought assurances that Mr Bebb-Jones would not face the death penalty.

District Judge Howard Riddle, sitting at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, said today that if life without parole was imposed, it would fall short of inhuman and degrading treatment, and he was satisfied that extradition was compatible with Mr Bebb-Jones’s human rights.

National Post: With All Of These Human Rights Convictions Going Into The Toilet, Let’s Try To Regulate Speech Better

National Post – As ever more prominent human rights hate speech convictions fail on judicial review, the credibility of human rights commissions is not the only thing at stake. The contradictory rulings suggest Canada is overdue for a comprehensive analysis of its approach to hate speech, to resolve the Supreme Court’s own disagreement about how to regulate the darkest emotion.

Results From Ontario Tribunal That Dictate Police Procedure Are “Private”

CBC – The Toronto police service has started an internal review on how officers conduct searches and arrests when dealing with people from various religions, CBC News has learned.

The review was sparked by a human rights complaint in July 2008 after a police officer removed a Muslim woman’s hijab, or head scarf.

The complaint eventually made its way to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, where it was settled out of court before a hearing could occur this past January.

Due to privacy rules, CBC News was not able to obtain a copy of the complaint or learn the identity of the Muslim woman.

Employment Lawyer: “Human Rights” Racket All About The Cash

Financial Post – This conundrum is exacerbated by the new Human Rights Tribunal, which permits even the most frivolous complaint to proceed to a full hearing, at overwhelming costs to employers but at no cost to employees…

When employers are so unfortunate, they can expect to spend several years and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, defending themselves while their business deteriorates. Their accusers can revel in their plight while they spend not a dime.

An “Interview.” Creepy.

Examiner – Threat by US Marshals Service – Attempt to Muzzle US Human Rights Report to the UN

Dr Joseph Zernik, founder of Human Rights Alert, a Los Angeles–based NGO, who has been actively producing a Human Rights report for the 2010 review of the United States by the United Nations, [1] was requested to appear for an “interview” by the US Marshal Service at the “earliest convenience” (attached below).

“Father To A Human Rights Complaint. Husband To A Bitchin’ Grudge. And I Will Have My Vengeance.”

Calgary Herald – Almost eight years after a controversial letter to the editor appeared in a central Alberta newspaper, the legal battle over whether a former pastor’s comments against homosexuals violate Alberta’s hate laws continues.

In December [2009], the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled that Stephen Boissoin’s letter to editor [2002] against the manner homosexuality is being taught in school was “jarring, offensive, bewildering, puerile, nonsensical and insulting,” but not hateful…

University of Calgary professor Darren Lund launched the original complaint against Boissoin.

On March 26 [2010], Lund filed an appeal based on what he views as Justice Wilson’s “problematic” ruling, which factors in the intention of an individual writing hateful comments while human rights law focuses on the effect of such a publication.