“Freedom of the press is on trial in Canada.” Pat Buchanan has a point re freedom of speech.

[jody]

Freedom of the press is on trial in Canada.

The trial is before a court with the Orwellian title of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The accused are Maclean's magazine and author Mark Steyn. The crime: In mocking and biting tones, they wrote that Islam threatens Western values.

Had Steyn written that, given the Crusades, colonial atrocities in Africa and the slave trade, Christianity had been on balance a curse, he would not be in the dock. In the United States, these charges would have been tossed out by any federal judge, who would have admonished the plaintiffs that, here in America, we have a First Amendment.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Yet, one's money ought to be on the new censors, for men who believe deeply in something, even when wrong, usually triumph over men who believe in nothing.

Today, the true believers in Islam and the true believers in diversity uber alles are making common cause against those who believe in freedom of speech and the press. As the former have the convictions and increasingly the power, they may prevail, and not only in Canada and Europe.

The above case is interesting since Canada signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Canada proudly proclaims, Canada and Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is extremely important for Canadians because it has provided us with a framework of human rights goals and standards to which Canadian legislation, institutions, and society can aspire. Since signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the Canadian government has been very successful in making universal human rights a part of Canadian law. There are currently four key mechanisms in Canada to protect human rights: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, Human Rights Commissions, and provincial human rights laws and legislation.

[east texas lib]

1. Tried clicking on "Freedom of the press is..." link...no luck there.

I was able to pull up the UDHR, very interesting reading.:hi:

[jody]

3. The link worked for me but I'll repost it below.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27042

[east texas lib]

6. That worked fine, thanks!

And you are correct. The man does have a point. Consider this: The suppression of differing
points of view is in reality the negation of the very concept of diversity itself. Odd, isn't
it, that those who would censor another's viewpoint demand that theirs be accepted as the "truth".

[Oregone]

2. Bah, sometimes freedom is overrated...

I see "freedom" causing children to be gunned down, being used to spread hate, touted by the top 1% as they stomp upon the lives of those below them, being used on a mass level to propagandize a war....

What about the "freedom" to have a healthy life (and be treated medically to promote that)? What about the "freedom" to live in a safe environment? What about the "freedom" to feed and clothe your children? What about the "freedom" to live in a beneficial environment with upward mobility, without some caste like society?

Is "freedom" universally "Good" (beneficial for the society) when it causes horrible effects? Or is it amoral, depending upon how it is used? What if the wielders of freedom (those with the economic power to be free) are irresponsible and care of no one but themselves? Is economic freedom more important that personal freedoms, and what do you do when the two conflict?

I think "freedom" is a complex issue....more so than we regard it in this country today (where economic freedom is declared as the most important concept in the free world). It is a necessary building block to a society, but no lone cornerstone to a Utopia.

[Edweird]

4. If freedom caused crime, then prisons would be crime free, wouldn't they?

Freedom isn't "complicated". If you do not enjoy it, you are certainly under no obligation to stay. There are many other alternatives.

[Oregone]

5. Freedom can and is used to create environments that foster crime.

"Economic Freedom" can cause wealth disparity and can stall upward inter-generational mobility (thus creating much poverty). And it is poverty that breeds depravity (which we can deduce via correlation studies).

Ask yourself...could you be less free and yet more happy/healthy/fulfilled? (Most rational people would look around the world, and answer 'yes')

And yes, there are other alternatives. Ill be an expatriate in a matter of weeks, and have Universal Health Care in a few months.


(BTW, examine the logical fallacy of your extrapolated statement: "A can cause B", so the absence of A should lead to the absence of B)

[Edweird]

12. Emvironments that foster crime exist in ALL cultures and societies.

"Economic Freedom"
Hmm. From what I've seen, typically LESS freedom tends to generate MORE corruption and crime. Especially economic crime.
Free countries aren't the only ones with poor people.


"Ask yourself...could you be less free and yet more happy/healthy/fulfilled? (Most rational people would look around the world, and answer 'yes')"
Actually that is a RW talking point. "They hate us for our freedoms" "Habeas Corpus means losing a city" "If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to hide" and on and on.....
I don't see (outside of a very tiny number of nutjobs and criminals) people "escaping" to Cuba or China or the former USSR. They are usually leaving their "utopia" for our relatively free country. Maybe you could correct their thinking, and enlighten them as to how terrible freedom is.

Congratulations on your relocation.

You are the one claiming "I see "freedom" causing children to be gunned down". So back it up. Prove it. Logical fallacy, my ass.

[hendo]

7. interesting

"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose"

"You don't know what you've got till its gone"

sorry, those songs were running through my head when I read your post. An ex pat soon too? Where are you moving to?

[Oregone]

8. Just Canada...not a world of difference, but different enough...

Though I really should be killing all my freedom by joining the terrible country of Sweden (who knows if I can get through their immigration).

[hendo]

9. I have a friend who moved to Sweden

She loves it there now. Had to learn the language though, that took her a while.

[Oregone]

10. I think its just too "far" for me...

Learning language, moving things, visiting family...far too complicated. Ill live closer to my Oregon home than my siblings in California will.

[hendo]

11. very cool

it's gorgeous out there in south western Canada.