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April 10, 2008
It can't happen here?
Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value.Conservative and libertarian American bloggers should be very, very glad that angry leftists are pretty much limited to hurling accusations at those who disagree with them, but that they cannot haul their opponents in front of so called "Human Rights Commissions" the way they can in Canada. This is not to say that there aren't human rights commissions in this country, or that they don't stick their noses into places they really have no business sticking them as happened recently in New Mexico. (Via Glenn Reynolds.) In the past couple of days, Glenn has a number of posts up about the situation of the Canadian bloggers being sued en masse and hauled before the Human Rights Commission. Fortunately, there is an important difference between the U.S. and Canada. Because Canada has hate speech laws, and Human Rights Commissions operating without the restraint of the First Amendment, a man named Richard Warman is able to legally terrorize anyone he wants, and right now, he is suing numerous Canadian bloggers: Richard Warman used to work for the notorious Human Rights Commission, which runs the "kangaroo courts" who've charged Mark Steyn with "flagrant Islamophobia."A vicious sock puppet, his tactics are detailed here by Ezra Levant. A snippet: Warman's not just suing me. He's suing some of the biggest names in the Canadian blogosphere - from Kate McMillan of Small Dead Animals to Kathy Shaidle of Five Feet of Fury (or, Five Feet of Furry, as the lawsuit says on page 2), to Free Dominion, the largest conservative chat site in Canada. Warman's goal is breathtaking in its chutzpah: he wants to muzzle the Canadian conservative Internet. It's not just his goal - it's the goal of the CHRC itself, and its friends at the Canadian Jewish Congress, who have stated their goal is to "tame" the Internet - or at least those voices they disagree with. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the CJC was bankrolling Warman's lawsuit - they've done joint legal work together before, and Warman's number one defender is on the CJC's legal committee. The CJC hates conservatives, and this would be a way for them to do damage to the conservative blogosphere without taking the political flak for it.Wow. A sock puppet who labels everyone he disagrees with part of the "extreme right wing"? Fortunately, in this country, guys like that don't have the ability to operate the way Warman does in Canada. (Although this is a good time to remember that Bryn Mawr College's new president assisted in a hate speech prosecution while she was in Canada.) They'd like to, though. A speech code here, a speech code there, and pretty soon everyone gets used to speech codes, and laws follow. (It's a predictable result of the "activist-compliance cycle" I discussed earlier.) So, in fighting the growing censorship movement, every little bit helps. Because it can happen here. The Canadian bloggers who have been sued are in dire need of help, which is why even though none of these arguments are new for me I felt obligated to write this post. You can help by sending money directly, or by buying one of these T-shirts, which I found by simply following the links from the Hot Air post that Glenn linked yesterday. I bought one yesterday, as it's the least I can do. Hell, when Glenn linked this fundraiser post, and said he donated to all of the bloggers under attack, and Michelle Malkin "pitched in $100 to each blog!" so I feel like a piker. Anyway, here's a listt of the blogs: And the logo:
UPDATE: One of my earliest friends in the blogosphere, the great Canadian blogger Nick Packwood (Ghost of a Flea) weighs in on the lawsuits, and adds a personal tangent: A tangent here. People wonder why I quit university teaching. Imagine an office - all your colleagues and all your supervisors and anyone with a say in your tenure prospects, your research funding and your publications - where everyone organizes their careers in such a way that a "human rights" commission would have no reason to object. Their teaching practices, their research, their political views; everything they think and do including and especially their "private" lives from the television they (do not) watch to the fast food they (do not) eat to the sex lives they (do not) allow themselves to have. Even the concept of a "private" life dismissed as reactionary and/or illusory and in any event subject to the scrutiny of any undergraduate with internet access and a grudge. That is the life I escaped. Even a couple years after the fact I find it a surprise when my internal censor warns me against writing something for fear of losing my livelihood and my career and I realize I have already crossed that bridge, burned it and done a little dance some time ago. It is a small price for freedom compared to the price so many have already paid for me. But it is something.My congratulations to Nick for breaking away from a life of living in fear. Many are unable to. (Anyone who thinks such career-based self-censorship is not a way of life here has probably not worked in academia, or lived in a town like Berkeley.) Nick also links this: "You know you've lost your freedom when you cannot call a censor a censor." And more here: This is a roster of the most prominent blogs leading the fight for freedom of expression in Canada and, just as importantly, freedom from arbitrary interference in freedom of expression by agents of the Canadian government. Flea-readers who are not familiar with the situation in this country - and particularly the kangaroo proceedings against Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant - may find it difficult to believe how quickly things can go so far wrong.Please donate to the above blogs. I'm pleased to announce that I finally got off my ass and matched Michelle's $100.00 per blog challenge. (Frankly, it's a lot of money, but this is one of those "hang together or hang separately" deals.) MORE: Here's Solomonia: Follow some links, get familiar with this issue, and Americans, thank the deity of your choice for the First Amendment and remind yourself that lawsuits and unaccountable bureaucrats are not the way of solving the world's problems. UPDATE: My thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the link and the quote! Welcome all. Once again, please donate. UPDATE: My thanks to Ann Althouse for the link! posted by Eric on 04.10.08 at 01:45 PM
Comments
I invite all non-leftist Canadian bloggers to come join us and live in America. We need more people like you. Welcome! We want you! Frankly, it would be cheaper for Ezra Levent or Mark Steyn to relocate to the US than to continue to pay legal fees to defend themselves from this nonsense. GK · April 10, 2008 09:23 PM In fact, if they relocate to America, not only would they not have to waste their life savings on this nonsense, but they can blog with impunity AND perhaps have a much bigger effect on Canada. That may be the most effective way to further the cause. Get out of the reach of the 'Human Rights Commissions' and blog with impunity. GK · April 10, 2008 09:26 PM Part of the problem seems to be that Canadians are too law-abiding. This makes them suckers for those that aren't. Canada's implemntation of so-called "human rights laws" invites abuse. Lots of Americans would welcome the opportunities to abuse the puppies as a form of entertainment, by bringing bogus, as well as real, charges against just about everyone with significant power, whether or not they hold elective or appointive office, and the charges would not be confined to political ones. Consider, as an example, how many hundreds of thousands, or millions, of Americans would bring human rights charges against Bill Gates for inflicting Windows on us. If Canadians behaved like Americans, the politically powerful in Canada would have deep-sixed its human rights laws long ago. Tom Holsinger · April 10, 2008 09:27 PM You have been lanched. M. Simon · April 10, 2008 09:36 PM Perhaps a solution is to bring complaints of human rights abuses against Mr. Warman himself. When he is on the receiving end, he might have a change of heart. Gringo · April 10, 2008 09:49 PM I sadly must disagree with inviting the embattled Canadians to move south. I would love to have them, to be sure. But I cannot agree that abandoning their own country to these thugs is the right solution. Would you? If it happened here, where would you go? Where could you go? After us there is Nothing and Nowhere. I don't believe in painting myself into a corner - nor should we. urthshu · April 10, 2008 09:53 PM Get out of the reach of the 'Human Rights Commissions' and blog with impunity. It's better to stay to help slay the monsters than to cede the country to them. ic · April 10, 2008 09:53 PM "The CJC hates conservatives, and this would be a way for them to do damage to the conservative blogosphere without taking the political flak for it." Boy, the CJC has never paid much attention to Pastor Niemoller's poem have they? ("First they came for the Communists...") There are some powerful groups out there that hate Jews and love to use Human Rights Commissions to attack their opponents, who are likely to acquire much more power and authority in years to come; as opposed to pathetic Canadian Nazis. Be very, very, careful what you wish for... Observer · April 10, 2008 09:59 PM M.Simon - sorry, but Glenn's post was what brought me over here. Note that mine is stamped twenty minutes after is. Gringo, Don't be a piker. Instead bring the charges against Prime Minister Harper and the ten most politically powerful, and/or rich, people in Canada. They're the ones who can abolish these silly laws. Harass them with those laws. Tom Holsinger · April 10, 2008 10:04 PM "Instead bring the charges against Prime Minister Harper and the ten most politically powerful, and/or rich, people in Canada. They're the ones who can abolish these silly laws." The problem is that the human rights commissions simply reject complaints they don't care for. Remember that one faxed complaint was rejected for being double-sided... Observer · April 10, 2008 10:06 PM Well... Read the links regarding Mr. Warman. He's connected to the HRCs and the HRCs routinely reject petitions coming from the Right. They need our help now. And publicity to expose what happens behind closed doors in kangaroo courts. urthshu · April 10, 2008 10:11 PM I'll kick in something to the bloggers as soon as I finish my taxes. Meanwhile, if someone comes up with a T-shirt of Warman tied to a tree being sodomized by an energetic brown bear, I'll happily buy one. Better still, throw a bag over the guy's head and chuck him over the border, there's plenty of trees and bears and I'm sure we can find some rope somewhere... JEM · April 10, 2008 10:22 PM Have the websites on US servers. When the HRC's bring an action ignore them. When they try to enforce their actions, sue them(the officials) personally in a US court. They will have to spend a lot of money to defend themselves or risk a summary judgment. That judgment can then be domesticated in Canada. And enforced there. cubanbob · April 10, 2008 10:22 PM Blazing, I think Mark Steyn already resides in the US. rtw · April 10, 2008 10:23 PM Speaking as a member of the Canadian conservative blogosphere, I have to say that I don't regard this as some devastating attack on our freedom of speech. Rather it has been a rallying cry for us to get together and fight a common enemy. Money is being raised, consciousness of a problem is rising, and I think we will win this fight in the long run, and I think that the events of the past year, starting with Ezra Levant's brilliant attack of the HRCs, and ending with this lawsuit (its NOT a rights complaint, but a defamation lawsuit), will be seen as the beginning of the process of discrediting the liberal fascists who wish to control our every thought and move. So, don't feel sorry for Canada's conservative bloggers. Send money, write letters, write posts everywhere you can. This attack on free speech is being carried out by a very small number of leftie idealogues. We will show them that they are up against thousands of intelligent well financed conservatives, and I think they will crawl back to the caves where they came from soon enough. Lori · April 10, 2008 10:48 PM Observer, Canadian law recognizes lawsuits for administrative abuse of discretion, and it only takes one lawsuit to set a precedent for all its human rights commissions. Those are required to use uniform principles in determining which complaints to toss, and failure to do so makes them vulnerable to such legal action. That one lawsuit would almost certainly result in a procedurally arduous, and properly Canadian, legally mandated process for proper paperwork in determining which complaints to toss and which to prosecute. You have no idea how burdensome even a minor paper-processing requirement can be when enough people use it. America's Vietnam War draft system was crashed in 1968-69 by a college student campaign of "A letter a day keeps the Draft Board away". I was one of the people who did that. The Selective Service had to change its procedure from "selection" by a draft board committee of which young men to conscript to a lottery system. Tom Holsinger · April 10, 2008 11:54 PM Over on my blog, I've decided to do a one-man googlebomb linking Richard Warman to "flaming turd". Joe R. · April 11, 2008 12:23 AM Tom, It is not like First!!! I was just giving Eric a heads up since he sometimes misses 'lanches. M. Simon · April 11, 2008 01:14 AM Glad to see you covering this. I blogged it here. The googlebomb is a good idea. Ken · April 11, 2008 02:27 AM Thanks for the stirring post, and the inspiring comments, everyone. I may be Canadian, but I take my cue from your Founders. I too "pledge my life, my fortune and my sacred honor" -- although being a Canuck, that's "honour" with a "u" :-) Because of the technical issues involved at the heart of the case, re: IP addresses and mysterious chat room messages, this will be our Rathergate. Now, imagine Rathergate -- with Ezra Levant involved. Guys, we're gonna have fun with this. But it is also deadly serious. And that is the best kind of battle, no? Again, words cannot express our gratitude for your support. I'm humbled. Kathy Shaidle of FiveFeetOfFury.com Kathy Shaidle · April 11, 2008 06:54 AM Thanks for all the comments. Especially Kathy -- thanks for coming, but I'm the one who is humbled by what you're facing. (We take free speech for granted down here.) Best of luck. Eric Scheie · April 11, 2008 09:48 AM How great to see this support from our American friends, and yes, despite what the self loathing leftist moonbats at the CBC say, you Americans are, and always have been our best friends. I am not a blogger, but I am a proud Canadian, with roots in this country going back to 1670. I could live in the USA, and be very happy. But I will not abandon my country to this nonsense. I have donated to Kathy and Kate, and will hit the others when I can. I encourage you all to help if you can. "First they came for the Canadians, but I did not protest because I am not a Canadian ...." Karl · April 11, 2008 10:03 AM Eric, Don't merely protest. Use their own weapons to bury them in paperwork. A paperwork bomb would be very Canadian. Tom Holsinger · April 11, 2008 11:14 AM I am as proud that Ezra Levant is Jewish as I am ashamed of the CJC, which my grandmother would have called "a shonde for the goyim". sestamibi · April 11, 2008 12:38 PM A few years ago, I discovered a blog by an American ex-pat who had moved with his family to Canada, gotten a farm there and become a Canadian citizen, and used his blog to extol the virtues of the Great White North in contrast to BusHitler's AmeriKKKa. Standard moonbat fare, but what caught my attention was his claim that Canada was "freer" than the US. As a libertarian I'm always looking for an alternative to escape to after the Democrats and me-too Republicans take us the rest of the way down the Road to Serfdom; so I e-mailed him asking, "In what specific ways is Canada a freer country than the US?" His reply was pretty weaselly, and it became clear he was there primarily because he could get Canadian tax-payers to foot the bill for his and his family's medical expenses. The best he could do was claim that under the Bush presidency, freedom of speech was much greater in Canada. This, despite the fact that I knew from experiences in publishing that Canada was much more censor-ridden than the US. Now the situation in the Frozen Worker's Paradise seems even worse. And how's that free health care working out, Farmer McMoonbat? Bilwick1 · April 11, 2008 01:40 PM Warman is suing for libel. Now, Canada's libel laws are a mess, and I am an advocate for reform, but Warman is suing bloggers arguing that a key piece of evidence attributed to him as author, is, he claims, not authored by him. The piece is a racist piece directed against Canada's first black senator. Even in America, with its First Amendment, one can launch a tort of defamation over something like this. Some posters have called for violence against the man. You can disagree with the Human Rights Commissions -- I think they are wandering into territory not intended -- but the lawsuit is not about the appropriateness of the commissions. I think the defendants are trying to make that connection, but it's a red herring. I am being sued for libel myself, by the way, over online political actions in the Green Party of Canada. I consider the suit without merit, and have many criticisms of Canada's antiquated libel laws as a result. Google Wayne Crookes for more. The Crookes suits are far more dangerous to free speech in Canada than the Warman suit, which, is, frankly not all that surprising in law. The gang-that-can't-shoot-straight still haven't apparently noticed that the IP they claim to be Warman's was actually the IP of a common proxy used by some 700,000 people in Ontario, Canada, at that time. That would also include me. Read more here: http://bouquetsofgray.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-there-is-room-for-doubt-about.html Oh, our Prime Minister recently sued the Official Opposition for libel for printing online what was spoken in Parliament, and repeated throughout the media. A lot of these same characters screaming murder over Warman's libel suit support the PM's vexatious libel suit. Hypocrites. Mark Francis · April 11, 2008 08:07 PM As an expat Canadian, I must express my gratitude to Americans for giving a damn about what happens up North. I am reminded of how Americans on the Internet helped bypass the publication ban on the Paul Bernardo case back in the 90's -- and not just because he hid Leslie Mahaffey's body parts less than a thousand feet from my parents' home... Seerak · April 11, 2008 08:32 PM First they came for the Canadians, but I couldn't help because the border guard asked me if had pepper spray, a gun, an American newspaper, any books on the banned list... and by the time she finished, the gas gauge in my car pointed to "E." The Canadian government engaging in the moral equivalent of war on its own citizens has been going on for over 25 years. Even if the HRC is abolished tomorrow, Canadian's won't be free. Welcome to America: freedom's last hope. tehag · April 13, 2008 07:39 AM Hello, Cristina Dumitru Cristina Dumitru · April 24, 2008 08:14 AM Post a comment
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