Exploring Vancouver's New Seawall Areas

After a long but exhilarating week, I very much needed to get out on my bike and get some good exercise in. I had heard that some new segments of the False Creek Seawall had recently opened up and decided to explore them first hand.

Lo and behold, they've opened up a lot of key segments that have been closed due to construction. It's now possible to ride along or near the water, all the way from the Kitsilano Pool, past Granville Island, all the way to Science World, and then all the way over to Stanley Park. To whomever is responsible, let me offer a hearty, "Job Well Done"!

The blue line represents the previous near water access one could walk or bicycle or rollerblade on. The green segments represent the newly opened ones.

Here are new photos of the delightful Canada Geese kids. I tried finding the correct name but could not. I did however learn that in French they're called "Bernache du Canada" and in Spanish they go by the name "Ganso canadiense".





And here are 2 turtles nearby. Notice that in both photos, the heads of this pair are looking in exactly the same direction. The photos were taken just a few seconds apart so it's not like the sun moved that much. Fascinating creatures!


This gigantic pair of "deck chairs" sits on the new long section at the southeast corner of False Creek. The people lounging in them seemed to be enjoying themselves!

In the background are some of the new towers in the eastern part of Yaletown.


This is a little man-made island that is still under construction. I don't know if anyone will ever be allowed on it. Something tells me not.

These are a few of the new buildings going up in the southeast False Creek area. They're called Millennium Water.
And finally, on the north side of False Creek, there's one new section of the seawall. All along were these incredible wild flowers.

A 2010 Connection?

With apologies to all real artists!

Shoddy Journalism or Just Institutional Bias?

A friend of mine recently remarked that I often talk about the severe left-wing bias of much of the media in Canada but don't provide enough examples. Here's one, an extremely distorted account of what occurred this past week written by the Toronto Star's Petti Fong. Here's her opening paragraph, that sets the tone for the rest of her editorial news article:

A high-profile B.C. Human Rights Tribunal heard yesterday that an article published in Maclean's magazine drew responses from readers that called for the mass killing, deportation and forced conversion of Muslims.

Really? Strange that she failed to mention that such comments were actually posted on Internet websites, most, if not all of which operate outside of Canada. And whether there's a direct correlation between Mark Steyn's article and these responses is very questionable and was definitely never proved during the proceedings. Fong knows this.

But she never lets the full set of facts get in the way of her agenda reporting. For example, further on she writes:

The tribunal was called after two members of the Canadian Islamic Congress – president Mohamed Elmasry and Dr. Naiyer Habib – complained, saying the article promotes hatred against Islam and incites fears Muslims are taking over the world by criminalizing the religion and its followers.

Dr. Habib, a B.C. cardiologist, testified that a handful of Muslims hold extremist views. He said he was ashamed to see Islam demonized in that way.

Really? Strange that she failed to mention that Dr. Habib's co-complainant, Mohamed Elmasry, has publicly stated that "any adult Jew in Israel is a legitimate target for a terrorist attack." A reader not so familiar with the case would think that both complainants are purely innocent victims. That's not really the case with Elmasry, is it?

A bit later Fong illuminates us with this:

During the week, while Steyn supporters continued appearing in the public gallery, a growing number of Muslim Canadians also began attending to show their concerns about what they consider is a growing hatred for their religion.

Surrey resident Lazina Yasir said she thought it was important to hear what was being said. She began weeping quietly in the public gallery when the lawyer for the CIC read some of the blog responses to the article, such as one writer calling for the use of DDT to eradicate Muslims, while others suggested throwing the Qur'an in the mud and "pissing on Muslims."

This is an example of "fair and balanced"? On the one hand we have supporters in league with that terrible white guy Steyn (my words, not Fong's) and on the other we have a poor Muslim woman "weeping quietly". Give me a break!

Why didn't Fong seek out the countless Muslims we've heard on the other side of the fence, who are deeply embarrassed that a small number of their own faith are trying to trample on Free Speech? For example, I'm sure that Tarek Fatah would have been more than wiling to talk with her. But his views don't fit in with her narrative reporting so he was excluded.

Soon after, we read this:

Yasir's husband, Areeb, said he doesn't see the issue as one strictly about free speech. "There's never been any question in our mind that we need to have both free speech and a free media," he said. "But even here at this hearing, we are encountering people who don't want to acknowledge that some people may not see things the way they see it, when it comes to religion."

And your point is, sir? From her perspective, the purpose of Fong's inclusion of this quotation is clear, trying to emphasize the alleged close-mindedness of those "people" the gentleman was referring to but the deep irony of his words in relation to free speech undoubtedly sailed well over Ms. Fong's head.

The Positive Power of the Internet

I just read Rob Breakenridge's new piece on last week's "trial" and sent him this note:

Rob, stepping back a minute, I'm struck by what an amazing tool for freedom and free speech the Internet has become for all of us. Your article is a brilliant one, pulling together quotations that, even just 10 years ago, would have been very difficult to find, especially in a timely fashion.

While the Internet does serve as a breeding ground for the lunatic fringe, it also provides a space for the likes of you & me to express our opinions and hopefully start a dialogue with those open minded enough to have one.

Living in Vancouver, this past week was a troubling one for me, but I'm now starting to feel a renewed optimism about my country and the people in it. A positive future, more akin to Tarek Fatah's vision, seems more & more likely. Though the big lesson for me from this past week is that us "sheepdogs" must always be vigilant to ensure that the positive future remains that way!

That Old Duck Test

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck.

So goes the inductive reasoning known as the Duck Test. Let's update the test to what occurred here in Vancouver last week:

If it looks like a fool, acts like a fool, and quacks like a fool, then it's probably a fool.

Call me Mr. Prescient, but just yesterday, in my letter to Wally Oppal, I stated the following:

"The three BCHRT employees sitting in judgment this past week, namely Heather MacNaughton, Tonie Beharrell, and Kurt Neuenfeldt must either have their employment terminated or otherwise be transferred to a different department within the government. Whether or not they're competent is still to be decided but in the eye of public opinion their credibility is forever shot and no future ruling by any of them will ever deemed to be fair."

The bizarre behaviour of these three, as carefully outlined by Andrew Coyne, Bruce Hutchinson, Ezra Levant, and others, has made some turn to the age-old non-violent weapon of cynicism. First up is Michael Coren from Toronto. In this column, Coren goes nuclear, doing his very best to be brought in front of one or more "human rights" commissions. If Coren is lucky, serial-complainant Richard Warman will be watching!

The Globe & Mail [Finally] Weighs In

Finally, our major national newspaper lends its voice to what transpired here this past week. The most brilliant portion of the editorial was this:

"Vigorous and legitimate expressions of opinion may sometimes get some listeners or readers worked up in harmful ways. But that is not the fault of the speaker or writer of the opinion - not at least in any nation where there is free speech."

A Sampling of Modern Liberals

Here's a "fascinating" post I found about our recent Kangaroo Court. It's published on "The Daily Kos", one of the most prominent Left-Wing American websites. The original article itself is fair and fairly well balanced. The author and I would probably be diametrically opposed on most every issue but at least s/he saw the travesty of justice that occurred here this past week.

But then open up the comments. There you'll see what I perceive to be a mixture of American and Canadian commenters. Almost surely all devout liberals; it's sort of a prerequesite for that site. And most of them make excuse after excuse about why the BCHRT is justified in doing whatever they damn well please. To these people, free speech is a relative concept. It's like those people who describe themselves as "very open minded". What that really means is that they're "open minded if you agree with them but close minded like a steel trap if you don't".

The good news for them is that if & when the 3 commissars of the BCHRT from this past week get fired, any of these folks would be just "perfect" candidates to replace them.

Mark Steyn Interviewed x 2

Here's a clip of Mark Steyn interviewed on BNN (tune to 35:00). He offers up his old joke about "China looking to become the first Gay Superpower since Sparta". With the large Chinese-Canadian population in Vancouver, I wonder if we'll be seeing Mark back here next year, defending a new Human Rights violation?! :-)

And here's a longer interview outside the Robson Square courthouse:

Formal Complaint About the Human Rights Tribunal

After listening to BC's Attorney General (click here and move to 16:55 - and I'm on at 36:20) I intuitively knew it was long overdue for me to take the time to carefully compose a letter to him. I present it below.

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Dear Mr. Oppal:

I've carefully followed everything connected with the BC Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) case against Maclean's magazine this past week. Earlier this afternoon I listened to you discussing the BCHRT with Jon McComb on CKNW.

I have long viewed you to be a good-hearted person, although perhaps someone who has not wanted to make too many waves within your ministry. But please know that I've generally been very supportive of you and Premier Campbell's government. But sir, there is absolutely no question in my mind that the BCHRT is completely out of control, run by people whose decisions are strictly based on their extreme social activist agendas. Their actions, not just this past week, but over many years, have brought embarrassment and shame to our province and to all of its citizens who believe in free speech and a judicial system that they can (and want to!) respect. For it is only through the respect and support of its citizens that a judicial system earns its credibility and right to exist. This is a fundamental tenet of any real democracy. If I may, I'd like to share this quote with you:

"Perhaps no characteristic of an organized and cohesive society is more fundamental than its erection and enforcement of a system of rules...enabling [its members] to...settle their differences in an orderly, predictable manner. Without such a 'legal system', social organization and cohesion are virtually impossible...[I]t is this...that allows society to reap the benefits of rejecting what political theorists call the 'state of nature'. "

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Harlan [Jr.], Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371, 374-75 (1971)

In your discussion with Jon McComb, you implied that the BCHRT is an organization that helps to prevent our society from moving down the same path as Nazi Germany. As someone whose father lived there during that time and whose grandfather fought in Hitler's army, I have made great efforts to educate myself into what went on during that terrible period and to understand the small but constant steps that lead the German people down the slippery slope to tyranny. With all due respect, I strongly believe that you have things exactly backwards when it comes to the BCHRT. No judicial body that righteously defends freedom would ever deem Truth and Facts to be inadmissible as a defense. Yet as everyone paying attention around the world this past week learned, that's precisely what the BCHRT did. In no uncertain terms, their actions are closer to the way things operated in Nazi Germany than any other arm of government in recent Canadian history.

I am not suggesting that the entire BCHRT be disbanded. But, regardless of the eventual verdict against Maclean's, four steps must be taken, hopefully prior to the next provincial election:

1. Section 7.1 of the BC Human Rights Code, dealing with discriminatory publications, must be removed. Rewording it will never resolve the problem because it's too open to misinterpretation, as has been demonstrated this past week. Once this is done, then Section 7.2 can be removed as well, as it becomes a moot point.
   
   
2. The three BCHRT employees sitting in judgment this past week, namely Heather MacNaughton, Tonie Beharrell, and Kurt Neuenfeldt must either have their employment terminated or otherwise be transferred to a different department within the government. Whether or not they're competent is still to be decided but in the eye of public opinion their credibility is forever shot and no future ruling by any of them will ever deemed to be fair. Under Section 6 of the code you clearly have every right to do this.
   
   
3. Further to Section 6, the employment of all other staff at the BCHRT must be carefully reviewed by you or a designate so as to ascertain that their judgment is fair & balanced and not drawn from a predetermined agenda.
   
   
4. The BCHRT must be repopulated with individuals who have no particular political agenda and who have much more judicial training.

In doing so, you will restore faith in the BCHRT amongst our population, giving the Tribunal a renewed opportunity to fulfill its original mandate. It goes without saying that what has occurred this past week is not a Muslim vs. non-Muslim issue. As someone who has many Muslim friends, I strongly believe that they would be very much in support of you taking the actions I've outlined above. I might also suggest you consult with Tarek Fatah, a brilliant Muslim author, and ask him for his opinions on this matter.

I trust you understand that I have written you with no particular agenda but simply the goal of seeking positive change for the benefit of all British Columbians.

Most sincerely,

Robert Werner
Vancouver, BC

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In no uncertain terms, I strongly encourage you to write both Wally Oppal and Canada's Attorney General, Rob Nicholson. Also don't hesitate to share your views with Jon McComb at CKNW. He is as mad as everyone else that such Kangaroo Courts are operating in Canada in 2008. He's willing to devote his future Friday shows to this issue, but only if there is sufficient interest. Please let him know yours, even if you don't live in Metro Vancouver.

Mark Steyn on Mike Duffy Live

Here's the direct link.

A "Preview" of Ezra Levant's Kangaroo Court Case

Ezra Levant accepted my suggestion and posted this video on his blog:

Here's hoping!!

Beyond The Twilight Zone

Andrew Coyne's live blogging has now wrapped up for the week. His final entry was the piece de resistance:

12:04 PM We’re hearing, last, from the intervenors: first, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, then a joint submission from the BC Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association of Journalists. I’m going to go with the written texts here, if you don’t mind…

CODA: There will be no more liveblogging. As I left the courtroom for the lunch break, i was taken aside by a sheepish-looking court official, who said that he’d just learned that I had been “broadcasting” from inside the courtroom. So had I. Broadcasting, I said? I didn’t have a microphone, or a camera.

No, he explained: but liveblogging counts as broadcasting. It’s not the computer that’s the problem. You can type away on it all you want. If you step outside to send it, that’s okay, too. But if you send text from within the courtroom, that’s broadcasting.

Anyway, I gave him my solemn word that I would do no more broadcasting. What with the hearings being almost over and all. It seemed a fitting way to put a cap on the week.

This last comment of Coyne’s is a fitting end to this entire travesty. Two things immediately come to mind:

1. The court ONLY noticed today that he had been blogging to the world all week? And these people are the wise, intelligent sages who dispense justice from on high?!?
   
   
2. When I was there on Monday I noticed how incredibly small Courtroom #105 was, especially as compared to all the others around it. I believe this was quite deliberate, in order to minimize the amount of media coverage. Now they’re officially stating that the free press can’t cover such events in real-time.

These Roos and their baby Roos are so DEEPLY out of touch with any semblance of what I call CANADA. God help us all!

P.S. I have already suggested to Ezra Levant that he absolutely refuse to participate in his Alberta Kangaroo Court case unless he's allowed to video it or at least have any number of people there blogging it in real time. Canadians (and the rest of the world) must know what's going on!

Rights or Privileges?

I was especially taken by this comment by Peter O'Donnell. To him I wrote this:

An excellent point! Instead, activists like Khurrum Awan have a VERY different agenda. I encourage you to read & listen to the links provided here and to watch the aforementioned Al & Mike episode with Mark Steyn which you can find here.

I don't know about the rest of you, but this week has been a vivid wake-up call to me that our liberty and free speech are very precious things that we must forever be vigilant about protecting. Growing up in Canada, I had mistakenly thought of them as "rights" but now realize they're not. For rights are guaranteed and forever. Clearly those don't actually exist in Canada, not in the age of the HRCs.

In our Modern Age the "Barbarians at the Gate" will not be so obvious at first glance. They may be dressed in 3-piece suits or pant suits, may come in all colours and creeds, but rest assured that all kinds of apparently "well meaning" people are on a never ending crusade to destroy our basic freedoms.

June 6th, 2008: A Day That Will Forever Live in Infamy!

June 6th, 1944 vs. June 6th, 2008

On Andrew Coyne's blog a commenter named "Laura" pointed out the irony that the Kangaroo Court in Vancouver is wrapping up its hearings on a very important day in Canadian History, namely D-Day. Nearly 1,000 Canadians were wounded or gave up their lives to . . . to have this happening 64 years later? What a travesty!

Final Day at BC's Very Own Kangaroo Court

I, and tens of thousands of others, from around the world, are closely following Andrew Coyne's live blog.

At 11:08am he provided this quote from the lawyer for Maclean's magazine:

“A hard shove down the slippery slope to censorship must be met with unflagging resistance from everyone who values freedom in a democratic society.”

Absolutely brilliant. Absolutely right to the heart of the matter. And absolutely true. But as we've learned earlier this week, in front of this Star Chamber, "truth is no defense". Welcome to Canada in 2008!

A Bridge to Justice Too Far

Looking back at this past week, what I'm most struck by is the absolute disinterest of the Star Chamber "judges" to seek justice. Remember that outdated term: Justice - "A fair decision reached by an impartial judicial body, based on weighing the facts and seeking the truth."

Instead, the phrases that keep going through my head over & over are "Truth is No Defense" and "Facts are No Defense". Are we still in Canada? Apparently Room #105 at 800 Hornby Street in Vancouver is foreign territory, much like a foreign embassy in any of our larger cities. It's as if we subcontracted out a portion of our justice system and have it being run by assorted dictatorships: North Korea in B.C., Zimbabwe in Alberta, etc.

I'm also struck by how much damage Khurrum Awam has done to all Canadian Muslims this past week. He clearly has a great challenge sticking to the truth. He also has a propensity to immediately call anyone who disagrees with him a racist. This reinforces every fear that non-Muslim Canadians have of Muslims in their midst. Brilliant, thoughtful Muslims like Tarek Fatah have been relegated to the bench this past week and that is a tragedy for all of us.

I'm blessed to have several close, great friends, who also happen to be Muslim. All are intelligent & kind, and in the case of the women, beautiful people. In the weeks and months ahead, I hope to hear more voices like theirs, all of whom believe in Free Speech as strongly as you & me.

Ezra Levant interviewed by John Gormley

Here's an excellent interview on a Saskatchewan radio station:

A Long Interview With Mark Steyn

Mark gets really deep into the nitty gritty details of the Kangaroo Court Case with Al MacDermid and Mike Brock from Toronto (it doesn't start until 1:50 so wait a few seconds and move the slider) :
Free Videos by Ustream.TV

Khurrum Awan: Was he lying in court or on the radio?

Khurrum Awan is one "interesting" guy. He appears to have a very flexible idea about the word "truth" and changes his statements depending on the audience he's talking to. Here's an example:

From the June 3rd 2:00pm entry on Andrew Coyne's realtime blog:

"Now Porter returns to the attack. “When did you first publicly admit that you asked for money for a donation” at the Maclean’s meeting? (The money, to be clear, was not to go to the students, but to a race relations foundation for the promotion of religious tolerance.) When was it? Porter supplies the answer: At a press conference on April 30 of this year, when Joe Brean of the National Post asked him about it. At that time, the group’s lawyer, Joseph, said it was only “a nominal” amount.

Awan now says they were considering asking for $10,000, but never got around to naming a figure. He doesn’t think this could be characterized as a “substantial” sum, given the magazine’s resources. He doesn’t know Maclean’s."

Now listen to Awan on Jon McComb's show on CKNW. Move the slider to this time: 9:15 In it we "learn" from Awan that he "speaks for tens of thousands of Muslims in B.C.", that Jon McComb is a racist, and that he and his colleagues never requested any money from Maclean's.

Beautiful! Regarding the money, he must have been lying at one of these two venues. Which was it?

I'd now like to draw your attention to this York University newspaper article about Awan entitled "Learning about law to change Canada". Considering his track record, that title alone is chilling. Here's a quote from him in the article:

"The way to overcome these stereotypes and problems is to let your work speak for itself. I also want to do good work for all Canadians and simply be a good and ethical lawyer who rises to the top with honesty and professionalism. If you work hard enough, you can overcome any obstacle. I also think it’s important to actively engage in broader issues that concern the Canadian society as a whole." (the emphasis is mine)

A Visit to Ground Zero of the Kangaroo Court

What an afternoon! I made it down to the infamous Courtroom #105 at 800 Hornby Street.

Everyone was streaming out as I arrived. I spotted Andrew Coyne and went up and shook his hand, thanking him as one of tens of thousands of people around the world who are paying close attention to his excellent real-time blogging.

I also spotted the 3 fondly named "socket puppets". One of them, Khurrum Awan, now referred to by Ezra Levant as the "Serial Liar", was a whole lot shorter than he appears on TV. Simply an observation.

Just outside the court complex I saw Macleans' lawyer, Julian Porter, being interviewed by 3 reporters.


In this video he explains why he has refused to call any witnesses. Apologies for the poor sound quality.

About half an hour later I spotted none other than Mark Steyn heading into the local Starbucks across the street from the courthouse. I walked over and introduced myself. Mark was very engaging and we had a great chat for about 5 minutes. But I must say that energy-wise he seemed somewhat deflated. And no wonder. Imagine having to spend endless hours of your time, at your own cost, to defend your right to free speech. It's insane! Is this Canada in 2008 or some dictatorship 70 years ago?

Day 4 of BC's Kangaroo Court

I'm heading downtown soon and will stop in at the infamous Room #105 to see if I can get in. For now though, let me share with you a number of new articles pertaining to this fiasco:

• Mark Steyn
• Andew Coyne
• Mark Hemingway
• Ezra Levant

And of course, Andrew Coyne's realtime blog.

Mark Steyn will be on a number of radio shows today, including Hugh Hewitt's America-wide program at 3:00pm PDT and Jon McComb's Vancouver program at 3:30pm PDT. If you think that a growing number of people aren't paying attention, you'd be wrong. If you think that was is going on here is just fine then you really do need to get some anti-delusional medication.

The last 2 sentences of Steyn's aforementioned article are very prescient for the delusional set:

"I'll be the first No. 1 bestselling author and National Magazine Award-nominated columnist to be deemed unpublishable in Canada. But I wont' be the last."

Add a Free Speech in BC Button to Your Blog

I've created a simple way to encourage people to contact BC's Attorney General, Wally Oppal. You can add the button to your blog with this code:

<a href="http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/contacts/emailag.htm" target="_blank"><img src="http://mwtech.com/downloads/personal/contactAG.gif"/>

Now a Plaintiff Doesn't Even Need to Appear!

Things have gone from bad to worse on the Absolutely Ridiculous front in the Twilight Zone otherwise known as the BC Human Rights Tribunal. Here are the last two entries from Andrew Coyne's blog from the hearing today:

3:26 PM We’re back from a break, and Faisal Joseph is announcing … they aren’t going to call any more witnesses! They’re not going to call their third and last expert witness, as it would merely repeat previous evidence, he sayd and they’re not going to call Meihir al Habib (I’ll check the spelling later), one of the complainants!

Julian Porter is furious. Then I’m calling al Habib! This is contemptuous of the process, he says, and disgraceful. He should be here to answer having laid the complaint. I was told I’d get a chance to cross-examine him. “I cannot believe” - he’s practically growling - “that they would have the audacity not to expose either one (meaning Elmasry, the other complainant) to cross-examination!”

Joseph: Talk about audacity. Steyn’s here, and he’s not testifying. I’m upset that I don’t get a crack at him.

Steyn snorts in laughter. (Possible reason: He was supposed to be in a radio debate with Joseph some time ago, but Joseph never showed.) Joseph expresses displeasure at this.

Porter (to the tribunal, quietly): “Do you have any idea how bad this looks?” He asks for five minutes to prepare, and then, I presume, he’s going to call Habib as a hostile witness. Stay tuned!

4:04 PM We’re going to adjourn for the day! We don’t even know whether we’re calling any more witnesses. If so, we’re back at 10 tomorrow. Otherwise, we hear final arguments on Friday.

Talk about a cliffhanger! Will Porter get to call Habib? Will Joseph cross-examine? Tune in tomorrow… same kangaroo-time, same kangaroo-channel…

Wait! Porter in on his feet: “If Habib and Elmasry are afraid to testify i don’t want them as my witnesses. They’re a pair of scaredy-pants, and…” I swear to God that’s what he said. The proceedings dissolve in even more confusion than usual…

Did you catch that? Neither complainant in this "case" is actually bothering to testify! That's the most outrageous thing I've ever heard, but just par-for-the-course for this Kangaroo Court. Once again, I encourage everyone to write BC's Attorney General, Wally Oppal, especially if you live in B.C. because your taxes are paying for all this!!!

CKNW Discusses the Kangaroo Court Case

The dearth of coverage of this case in the Canadian media is an absolute embarrassment. It's a clear indication of how so many in the media are towing the government line of political correctness. At the top of this list of Shame is the Globe & Mail.

But kudos must go to Jon McComb at CKNW who has dedicated the first half of his show today to this court case. You can listen to the first hour here and the second hour here. And beautifully, you can skip through the commercials too! In the first hour the discussion begins at 8:04 and in the second hour it begins at 16:47. Furthermore, in the second hour Ezra Levant is interviewed beginning around 36:30.

I called in, as did many others. There were only two people in support of this Kangaroo Court. One trying to argue that if Ernst Zuendel could be convicted by such a commission then so should Maclean's (and Steyn). My response to this would have been, "Zuendel, as offensive as he is, shouldn't have been brought in front of an HRC and neither should anyone else. But he could and should be brought in front of a criminal court."

Later, an older gentleman, called in, claiming his father was Jewish and had to leave Germany in 1934. Through some very twisted logic, he said that if the BCHRC existed in Nazi Germany then Hitler would have been stopped. McComb, shot back at him with extreme brilliance, disagreeing vehemently. The only thing I would have added is that Nazi Germany is proof positive of why all HRCs in this country should be stopped dead in their tracks.

Finally, Mark Steyn will be appearing on Calgary Radio Station CHQR at 6:00pm PDT (7:00pm MDT) tonight. You can listen in here.

Enough is Enough

This morning I was heartened to read some very strong words coming out of newspapers in Ottawa and Vancouver. It reassures me that I'm not the one living in a Twilight Zone. Other Canadians are as outraged as I am.

Here's a glorious article in the Ottawa Citizen by David Warren. Don't let these key parts escape your attention:

• 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.
• This is a news story that should be on the front page of every newspaper in Canada, every day until it is resolved.
• The Left may think they have found the ideal method to silence anyone who challenges their insane, "politically correct" ideas, but have instead created a monster that can as easily eat them next.
• Most of the victims of these neo-Maoist tribunals have been "little people," with nothing like the resources Maclean's magazine has put in play to defend itself and Steyn, and no media reporting whatever. They have been persecuted, stripped of their livelihoods and savings, demonized among their neighbours, made to endure humiliating "re-education" programs - without lawyers, without assistance of any kind -- all for exercising rights that any Canadian would have taken for granted a mere generation ago.

The Vancouver Sun published this article by Ian Mulgrew. Here are some important things he had to say:

• The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal is murdering its own reputation by putting on trial an offensive article published by Maclean's magazine two years ago.
• No matter how it rules in this case, the tribunal looks like a kangaroo court as a result.
• Our human rights bureaucrats are pushovers and our legislation is so loosey-goosey anybody can complain about anything, and does. And why not? To complain is to win -- the standard is hurt feelings, not actual damage or harm -- and the tribunal may "compensate that person for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect or to any of them."
• As chairwoman MacNaughton has already reminded everyone, the strict rules of evidence do not apply in this Mickey Mouse world.
• Sensitivity is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't trump our constitutional right to free speech: If you don't like Don Rickles, sarcasm or being insulted, develop thicker skin or stay home.

If you talk with any recovered drug addict you'll learn that they had to hit rock bottom before they could healthy again. Perhaps as a society, such a horrendous mockery of justice like this had to be brought out into the open before we could get healthy. For no true democracy, where free speech is held up in high esteem, would ever permit such Kangaroo Courts to operate.

Dr. Anne Wortham

Here's a brilliant African-American woman who believes strongly in the teachings of Ayn Rand. Very fascinating is how she describes that liberal colleges will not hire her because she refuses to tow the line of teaching Black students to be victims. Instead she believes in teaching them to be independent and pull themselves up from their bootstraps.

How incredibly sad it is that people like her are ostracized, yet Permanent Victm preachers like Barack Obama and Al Sharpton are held up to high esteem. How incredibly sad indeed.

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This video has been removed from YouTube but if you're at the University of Maryland then you can watch it here.

Canada Geese

Scenes from False Creek

Do you see all the cranes in the background? They're building the Athletes Olympic Village, which will then be sold to the public. You can learn more about it here.

False Creek Flowers

Vancouverites ARE Starting to Pay Attention

CKNW 980 AM is the most listened to radio station in British Columbia. Their average number of listeners at any time during the day is approximately 166,000.

On the station today, their afternoon host, Jon McComb, had some very important words for those listeners. You can listen to what he had to say here. When Windows Media Player appears, move the slider to 36:15.

In your mind's eye, envision the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians who were listening and are perhaps now starting to wake up to the travesty that is this case. McComb gives a well deserved hat tip to Andrew Coyne's excellent blog.

Keep listening, because caller "Joe from Chilliwack" asks why this Kangaroo Court case isn't on the front cover of every Canadian newspaper this week. Perhaps if the author of America Alone were named "OJ Steyn" then it would?!

She Might Not Know How to Drive But at Least She Can Operate Her Cel Phone!

Even though the trial of the decade is ongoing in Vancouver, the rest of the city continues on with its own daily routines. Scenes like this are all too typical in this city.

To End The Day

I wish to share with you two great summaries, one here and the other here. It's truly a travesty what's happening. Maybe one day the majority of British Columbians will wake up from their pot-induced comas and realize that they need to speak out if they wish to take back their basic freedoms.

P.S. Check out the Map of Canada in the first link. Absolutely hilarious!

An Open Letter to the Attorney General of British Columbia

Dear Mr. Oppal,

I do hope you are closely following the proceedings at the BC Human Rights Tribunal this week in Vancouver. At first glance it appears to just be a case against Maclean's magazine and the author, Mark Steyn. But in truth, it runs much deeper than that. Three employees of yours are carrying on with the farce that they actually have the right to decide what people can write, can say, and ultimately can think.

I have closely been following the real-time reporting coming out of the pseudo-courtroom. It has become blatantly apparent to any reasonable person that the trio running the tribunal are way out of their depth and appear to be arbitrarily making up the rules on-the-fly. This alone should trouble you deeply. But you should also be aware that the proceedings of this case are being closely followed by countless people from all around the world. Our province and the judicial system within are quickly becoming the laughing stock of the international community. This will eventually bring into disrepute the entire B.C. judiciary.

I therefore respectfully suggest to you, sir, that it is long overdue for you or a designate to firmly tap Heather MacNaughton on the shoulder and tell her that her time playing judge is over. She's not fooling anyone any longer.

Sincerely,

Robert Werner
Vancouver, BC


Update: I strongly encourage EVERYONE to send their own thoughts to Mr. Oppal. He's a good man and means well. You can write him here. If you live in B.C. then talk about how you feel about such a Kangaroo Court operating in your province. If you live elsewhere, then talk about your perception of BC's Justice System.

A Counterfeit Court

Ezra Levant has his say. To read his accounting of today's events you'll need to go here and then scroll down to the first June 2nd entry. Then work your way back up to the top. It's truly unbelievable that such a judicial atrocity is occurring in Vancouver in 2008.

Just a Typical Day for CBC News Reporters

Ensure there are no sharp objects around when you read this. Remember that over a billion dollars of year of your tax dollars are funding twits like this at the CBC. It's unbelievable how ignorant two so-called journalists could be!

Update: I just heard the CBC Radio News report on their 4:30pm news. The local reporter mentioned in the cited piece is Karen Tankard. She is the same one who won the 2002 Jack Webster award for "Excellence in Legal Journalism".

Remember that old line about what 4 bits and a journalism degree will buy you . . . ? ! ? :-)

Kangaroo Court Update

It's absolutely fascinating to follow Andrew Coyne's live blog, which hundreds of people from around the world are commenting on. Everything is in real time!

To follow it, here's Part 1 and here's Part 2. If you are following it closely, remember that you can hit "F5" on your keyboard to refresh the page.

Keep in mind that Coyne is doing all this through his Blackberry because there's no WiFi in the courtroom. After 5 days of this, his thumbs will probably being black & blue like a blackberry!

My Non-Adventure at B.C.'s Kangaroo Court

I set the alarm for 6am sharp this morning, downed a large coffee, and was out the door by 7:15am. Walking downtown, it was a cool and overcast day in Vancouver.

I reached the courthouse before 8am and already a small, but determined group of Free Speech advocates were out in force, determined to show their support for Mark Steyn.


I learned from the security guard that the doors would open at 9am so my stomach told me to go grab some breakfast.

By about 8:55am a crowd of around 25 people had gathered in the upper foyer, barred from entering the main part of the building by a set of thick sliding glass doors. By this time I had befriended a young university student who had taken the day off work to attend this show trial. He asked if I was Andrew Coyne. I almost said yes but thought better of it! I also met an older man who identified himself to be from India and despairingly asked why more Canadians didn't realize what an incredibly slippery slope this trial represented.

At 9am the doors did open and the whole pile of us rushed downstairs, fervently in search of the infamously advertised Room #105. We passed large room after large room, all the way to the extreme back-end of the facility to discover a tiny little room, perhaps 30' wide by 50' long. Considering all the interest in this case, both nationally and internationally, it seemed rather odd that they would pick this room.

With every minute, more and more people started arriving, including Andrew Coyne, Ezra Levant, and Terry Milewski. About 9:15am a gentleman came out and announced that no cameras were allowed in whatsoever, including cel phone cameras. They all had to be checked in at the Sheriff's office at the front of the building. I saw most people smirk and ignore this but I thought it proper to check mine. So I did. Returning about 5 minutes later I sadly discovered the room was full and they would not admit any more people. So ends my participation today. And I never got to meet Mark Steyn. :-(

Incidentally, when I was walking back from the Sheriff's Office I met the 3 lawyers for the plaintiff: 1 man and 2 exceptionally pretty young women. The shorter of the two ladies was staggering down the hallway, clearly struggling under the weight of the heavy box she was carrying. I offered to carry it for her but she declined. Later I thought, "Isn't it interesting that while I completely support their right to free speech, they don't support mine." This didn't stop me from being a gentleman though!

I do wonder what will come of all this. I'm absolutely convinced that Heather MacNaughton and her little cabal have rigged this "trial" entirely from the start. I predict that they will either declare Maclean's (and Steyn) guilty in order to exert their own authority in this area -or- will find them innocent in order to protect the longevity of their own jobs. Either way, the independence of the "deciders" is completely at odds with any semblance of truth and justice.

You can follow the proceedings, minute-by-minute, via Andrew Coyne's excellent blog.

An Example of our Cowtied Press

Take a look at this article. I sent the reporter this note:

Salim,

Not one mention of the term "free speech" in your article? That's the 10-ton elephant in the room and you be ashamed of yourself for not mentioning it, doubly so because of the profession you're in. Maybe one day you'll wake up to the fact that your right to free speech is a very precious one. Though perhaps by then it'll be too late.

I will file no complaint with your employer but I am deeply embarrassed for you.

Robert Werner
Vancouver, BC

Out & About in Kitsilano