The Bigsibling Blog

This week’s award goes to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The UNHRC has taken a 180 degree change in charter from being the watchdog of governments and protecting the human rights of individuals, to limiting the free speech and becoming what Orwell called the "Ministry of Thought".

Egypt and Pakistan proposed a measure to the 47 nation member council (heavily populated - need I add? - by Arab and Muslim countries) that directs the councils expert on free speech to investigate individuals and new organizations for negative comments on Islam.

Western countries have criticized the reversal for the expert - Ambeyi Ligabo of Kenya - who used to make reports to the UNHRC on what governments and tyrants did to curtail and otherwise restrict free speech. His job now, is to report to the UNHRC when regular folks (like you and I) and the media (like CNN and FOXNews) make disparaging remarks about the beloved "Religion of Peace".

The measure passed 32-0 because the wussie western countries on the UNHRC abstained instead of voting against it - the US is not on the UNHRC - but those freedom of speech hating loving Canadians are. I’ve discussed what a dire state free speech is in for our beloved friends up north, so their abstaining doesn’t really surprise me. They couldn’t vote for it and still pretend to be true believers in free speech, but they couldn’t vote against it, since they are trying to do the same damn thing back home. The UNHRC has also adopted a separate resolution urging countries to enact laws that would specifically protect Muslims and Islam from criticism. I guess Jews are still fair game with their lot though.

It looks like the only folks who actually like this crappy measure are those freedom loving, woman hating, child raping, beheading, peacenicks from the "Religion of Peace." I have to say, I have seen more hatred and filth and vilification spew from the mouths of Muslims, than I have every heard from any other group of people. I wonder if the UNHRC will sanction the "president" of Iran for his remarks against the Jews? Nah, because the Jews are fair game. The only religion that cannot be criticized is Islam.

I have never thought the UN was anything but bad. I have never felt they could do anything at all. Their peacekeepers don’t, their humanitarian workers are corrupt criminals, they were neck need in the Iraqi oil thieving scandal, all the way up to the frakcing top! And yet nothing happens. They have no teeth. They have no jurisdiction anywhere really. It’s a giant farce and humongous waste of money.

Frakcing UN.

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I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, ‘Woe to you folks up in Canada who believe you have a modicum of free speech’. This week there was a hearing regarding the practices of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. This is the governmental body in Canada which is charged with investigating and punishing thought crimes hate speech.

I’ve stated here before that Canadians are being fooled into thinking they have freedom of speech. But that they really don’t. They can’t say or write anything that might "bring ridicule or contempt" upon a person or group of people. The CHRC have been jackbooting their way through people’s lives. Scouring the Internet for anything they could find that would enable them to drag people before "The Commission". Oh, and like the Mounties, "The Commission" always gets their man. They have a 100% guilty rate for people who have been judged by them.

For those not in the know, the CHRC is not a judicial body. They are not law enforcement. They don’t require search warrants or wire taps. And on slow days, they log onto Internet sites, using fictitious names trying to goad and bait people into saying something the commission can then charge them with.

I know, I know…all of this seems like some strange movie akin to Orwell’s 1984, or "V for Vendetta" but it is real. The CHRC agents have even gone so far as to illegally hijack some private citizens’ wireless Internet connection in order to anonymously log onto the web sites they are investigating in order to mask their IP addresses. I guess these thugs have never heard of anonymous proxies. There are plenty around.

At one point in the hearings, the CHRC’s Dean Steacy was asked "What value to do you give to freedom of speech?" to which Steacy replied:

"Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don’t give it any value … It’s not my job to give value to an American concept."

Exactly what I have been trying to say. The Canadian government, by way of the CHRC places absolutely no value on free speech for your poor Canucks. It is frightening really.

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In the small town of Aspen, CO- home to exceptional skiing and quaint shops (and formerly John Denver), a controversy has brewed. It appears there is a film on the internet titled “Judea Declares War on Germany.” I haven’t seen it, nor have I even heard of it before this recent flap. By the title, I am surmising the film bends towards the anti-Semitic and attempts to justify the Nazi led attempt at genocide.The controversy arrives courtesy of Steve Campbell of Glenwood Springs, CO. He asked local television station GrassRoots TV to air the film. Knowing the film would be extremely controversial, the station’s board of directors opened the subject for debate. Most people haven’t seen the film, but believe it is a film depicting denial of the holocaust. But Campbell says the film does not deny the holocaust, but tries to show other evidence that is not widely discussed.

It seems to me, by the title and the description given by Campbell, that the film is severely titled against the Jews. An attempt to justify the attempted genocide by Nazi Germany. Of course, if the people who believe in censorship have their way, the good folks in Roaring Fork Valley may never know what the film depicts.

Believe me, I can understand, and have a hard time not siding with, the good, decent, upstanding folks who don’t want this film aired. More than the likely the film is not more than a pack of vile, disgusting half-truths and out-and-out lies. But does that mean it should be banned? It was banned in Australia already. Of course, it can’t be shown in France or Germany because holocaust denial is actually a crime in those places. Are we to do that here as well? Are we to make a crime out of exercising one’s free speech?

While the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees us, each and every one of us, free speech, it guarantees nothing in the way of a forum for that speech. It does not dictate that every television or radio station or newspaper or magazine must broadcast our speech, or give any air or print time to that speech. So while the GrassRoots TV station will be completely within its rights to not air the film, I tend to think along the lines of Harvie Branscomb who, at the meeting, declared:

“I’m scared of information totalitarianism.”

As well as Sheila Markowitz, of Glenwood Springs, CO who, at the same meeting, stated:

“I am afraid when I’m told I can’t see something, I would rather have this be seen and let people decide.”

Look, people by and large are not idiots. Even the lefties out in Aspen, CO are not idiots. Heck, if they can afford to live in Aspen, they have to be doing something right. By refusing to allow this film to be seen, the board is telling the folks of Roaring Fork Valley that they are too stupid to know what is truth and what is fiction. That they are so stupid they will all suddenly become skinheads just by watching this film.

I know this much, if someone says that I can’t watch a film or read a book because it is bad for me, I’m pretty much going to run out and do just that. I would have to see what is so bad that it required being banned. I remember the movie “Children of the Damned” when I was quite a bit younger. I remember wanting so badly to see that movie because the newspaper adverts declared in big bold letters “Banned in Cleveland” - or it could have been Chicago, or some other city, but that isn’t the point - the point is, by declaring that movie to be banned I just had to see the movie! I had to see what it was about. I didn’t like the movie much as I recall, it seemed fairly banal. But it got me to see it.

Now I’m probably going to feel the inexplicable need to hunt down this movie and watch it. Just because the government of Australia says their citizens can’t, and even more so because it seems like the board of directors at GrassRoots TV will also tell their viewing audience they can’t see it either. I’m pretty sure I can find the thing on the YouTube.
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Technorati Tags: GrassRoots TV, Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Judea Declares War on Germany, Holocaust, Steve Campbell

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In a move reminiscent of just about every dictator and despot with intentions on seizing power, Chavez has closed yet another non-state owned television station in Venezuela - and replaced with a state sponsored television station.

One of the country’s leading dailies, El Nacional, denounced it as “end of pluralism in Venezuela,” and slammed the government’s growing “information monopoly.”

Next, look for the newspaper El Nacional to be closed down and replaced with a state sponsored rag. The more people are kept in the dark about the truth, the more they will follow whatever is told to them but those in power.

The EU’s German presidency said it worried Venezuela let the network’s broadcast license expire “without holding an open competition” for a successor station.

Well…DUH. Chavez doesn’t want freedom of speech. He doesn’t want the press to print anything but official and approved stories. He doesn’t want his people to be an informed thinking populace. That would be dangerous to him and his program. Eventually, a thinking people will come to the conclusion that what Chavez is up to is no good. But if the people are kept stupid and in the dark, they don’t know any better. I’ll be terribly surprised if there is ever another election in Venezuela after the next one. Watch; over the next several years, Chavez will gain more and more power, taken from the people, and will emerge as the newest despot with global ambitions.

As all of this is happening, other countries in South and Central America are moving towards the left, towards socialism. This in and of itself isn’t a problem. There are many socialist states which still provide exceptional freedoms of their people (freedom of press and expression being the most ardent of all). The problem with those states in Central and South America moving towards socialism, is that they are using Venezuela as a model. The question now becomes, will they follow in Venezuela’s footsteps - taking freedoms from the people - or will they do it right? Does anyone remember the (then chastised) Reagan warnings of the “domino effect”? We may now have the opportunity to witness this in our won back yard.

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Technorati Tags: Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, Television, Socialism, Dictator, Despot, Totalitarian

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