Free Speech Monitor: April, 2006

Warman: The Destruction of Terry Tremaine Ottawa anti-free speech campaigner – he has so far filed 20 complaints against Canadians for comments on the Internet or for their websites – is a nasty piece of work. Oh, yes, he’s suing CAFÉ and me for calling him an enemy of freedom and a censor. Read the following heartbreaking story of Warman’s efforts to destroy a man – Terry Tremaine – for no greater reason than he didn’t like his views, as expressed on Stormfront. After reading Mr. Tremaine’s story, you might conclude that I was being temperate in what I called him in 2003. Warman seems to have landed himself safely inside the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith, where “human rights” do not mean freedom of speech for anyone of whom BB disapproves. Warman wrote: “As early as February of 2004, an individual using the name 'Mathdoktor' began posting extremist antisemitic and anti-black material to the Canadian section of the forum on the US ... website Stormfront. His hate propaganda against blacks, said Mathdoktor, was motivated by his experiences after having taught in the Caribbean for a few years. He gave out enough personal details in his profile and postings that it was possible to determine that he was, in fact, Terry Tremaine of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan who had a Masters degree in Math. It was discovered that, in addition to computer contracting, he held a position as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Saskatchewan. Mr. Tremaine’s position with the University of Saskatchewan was terminated in April of 2005 following a complaint, accompanied by evidence of his activities, to the President of the University and the Head of the Department of Mathematics. A federal human rights complaint had been filed against Mr. Tremaine in October of 2004.” (2005 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents) Tremaine explains that Warman approached the university to fire him: " Near the end of April, I received a phone call from the legal department of the University where I was teaching part time as a sessional lecturer in Mathematics. They stated they had received a fax from Mr. Warman outlining the complaint against me and requested a meeting to discuss the matter. I agreed. It did not require a genius to figure out what would happen next. At the meeting I was dismissed from my duties in the University's interest so as to avoid a 'media circus'. I agreed that I did not want the media involved. Mr. Warman had stated he would go to the local and national media if I were not immediately dismissed. By the way, it has always been my position that politics should be left out of the classroom unless, of course, it is relevant to the course material. Furthermore, I always considered it my duty to treat all students with fairness, whatever their racial origin. I left my political opinions at the door when I entered the classroom."  It was not enough for Warman to file a human rigfhts complaint to try to get Tremaine restricted or banned from posting on the Internet. The title of his speech given to the ARA (Anti-Racist Action) last August in Toronto was Maximum: Disruption: Stopping the Neo-Nazis By (Almost) Any Means Necessary.   So, it’s not enough to make a complaint to try to gag Mr. Tremaine. He must seek to have him fired from his job and livelihood. The destruction of Mr. Tremaine continued. Now, faced with the likelihood of never being able to work in his job as a  math educator, he began to drink heavily, contemplated suicide, fell into a depression and eventually had to check himself into a psychiatric institution for depression. Mr. Tremaine is now on the mend. At one point, last fall, Tremaine wrote what he called “a groveling letter” of apology for his “racist” views. “As I said above, I considered the only alternative was my suicide. So, I truly felt between a rock and a hard place, not really wanting to kill myself.” The anguish and humiliation of these lines reminds one of the destruction of Winston Smith in George Orwell’s novel 1984. No doubt Warman is chortling at the mischief caused by his “maximum disruption.” However, the evils inflicted on a gentle mathematician who dared to utter political thoughts on the Internet must not be forgotten. The attempt to destroy Terry Tremaine is the true face of Canada’s Soviet thought police. I’m certain you are even more determined than ever to fight the thought control freaks in our midst, the “human rights” commission censors and the special interest groups. -- Paul Fromm Christie Argues Appeal for Chief Ahenakew On Monday, April 3, the Battling Barrister Doug Christie argued the appeal against Chief David Ahenakew's conviction under Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code (the "hate law"). The Chief was convicted for remarks he made to a Saskatoon Star Phoenix reporter. He did not know he was being taped and the reporter did not appear the be taking notes. Sec. 319.2 states: "Every one who, by communicating statements, other than in private conversation, wilfully promotes hatred against any identifiable group (colour, race , religion or ethnic origin or sexual orientation) is guilty of an indictable offence." "Doug Christie, argues the conviction means the media can enrage anyone and then report on what may be said in a moment of anger. 'It amounts to the revocation of the limits that Parliament put on this section,' said Christie. 'They didn't want it to apply to private conversation, but it will if you can privately tape somebody saying something indiscreet in a moment of anger. From now on you could basically cause them to be convicted of a crime. 'I don't like that thought and it's something that I think should be restricted.' … 'Anyone can be a tattletale,' Christie said. 'Reporters are just professional tattletales. They have a little more experience in the field, but what is to stop anyone else from doing the same thing'" (Canadian Press, April 2, 2006) If anybody should have been charged with communicating hate, it should have been the reporter for the Star Phoenix. The judge reserved his decision. In an interview with CAFÉ, Mr. Christie said: "The hearing went reasonably well. The Crown had to come down to saying that the Chief had no reasonable expectation of privacy, even though he honestly had. The expectation has only to be subjective. The expectation of privacy of a conversation need only be honestly perceived," Mr. Christie pointed out, referring to comments made in the Supreme Court decision in the Keegstra case, which he had argued. The ruling was made by the Chief Justice of the day Brian Dickson. "But the Canadian Jewish Congress, which has been granted intervener status at the appeal in Saskatoon Court of Queen's Bench, argues Christie's stance threatens the integrity of Canada's hate laws.  'The anti-hate laws are extremely important for minority communities that are targeted and vulnerable, and Canada would not remain a multicultural democracy for very long if segments of its society would be attacked and vilified with impunity,' said executive vice-president Manuel Prutschi." (Canadian Press, April 2, 2006) Prutschi's argument has become the standard song-and-dance of the CJC: that the Jews are a "targeted and vulnerable" minority. Anyone with his brain in gear and in possession of the facts knows how false this complaint is. Jews are Canada's wealthiest ethnic group. They wield disproportionate and powerful influence in the media and government. When Ernst Zundel's home was firebombed by arsonists, May 8, 1995, no politician came by to denounce violence and extremism. Yet, when a Jewish school's library suffered a few thousands dollars damage from a Molotov cocktail in Montreal several years ago, there was Paul Martin, the Prime Minister, and Tory and Bloc Quebecois politicians all with solemn faces, denouncing this act as un-Canadian. As well, it was the Canadian Jewish Congress, after 30 years of pressure and lobbying,  that persuaded Parliament to pass this iniquitous law in 1971. Some "targeted and vulnerable" minority! Crown Demands Prison Time for Web Writer As Canada becomes more and more a Third World despotism, freedom of speech is  a dwindling commodity in this country. The sensitivities of privileged groups trump the rights of others to hold or express opinions. The Edmonton Journal (Dec. 15, 2005) reported: “The Crown will recommend that Reinhard Mueller serve jail time for operating a racist website that denies the Holocaust and promotes hatred against Jewish people. After three hours of deliberations on Wednesday, a jury convicted 62-year-old Mueller of one count of promoting hatred through his website called Federation of Free Planets. It is believed to be the first Internet hate crime case to go to trial in Alberta. Mueller admitted he wrote material, which he posted on the site between 1999 and 2003, describing Jews as ‘sub-humans’ and ‘demons.’ He also claimed Jews are responsible for creating the Ebola and AIDS viruses, for the collapse of the World Trade Centre towers and for the Columbia space shuttle disaster. … He also testified that ancient writings have declared him a spiritual leader called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He said he has authority over the destiny of the Jewish people and, therefore, the right to chastise them. Mueller … changed his name to Reni Sentana-Ries following his arrest last year, has since moved to Two Hills with his wife.” Admittedly, Mueller sounds more than a little eccentric. However, when did the price for unusual or even eccentric ideas become criminal conviction and the state censors in the person of the Crown baying for a prison sentence? If Mueller or Reni Sentana-Ries’s postings were nonsense, surely an informed public can see that and take a pass. Speaking of spreading ignorance, the Edmonton Journal, supposedly not into Egyptian abracadabra, can’t even the terminology right. Strictly speaking, Mueller’s writings might have been “anti-Jewish” or, in the common incorrect parlance “anti-Semitic” (Arabs are Semites too), but certainly not “racist,” unless the Crown and the Journal are holding the novel view that Jews are a race rather than a religion. While I cannot but laugh at the Federation of Free Planets mumbo jumbo, I think Mueller has it right: "I deem this to be a dark day for Canada. I think the jury has made a serious mistake." Canada is just a little less free, a little more conformist, a little more stupid and a lot readier to be bossed around as sheep or cattle by the masters of the New World Order. Canada & World's Dictatorships Hate Internet Freedom Dictators and totalitarians around the world hate the Internet. The Red Chinese dictators in the $2,000 capitalist suits, the grim Cuban communists, thugs like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe all hate the freedom of the Internet. So, too, do the thought control freaks at the Simon Weisenthal Centre. So, too, does Canada's thought control drunk government, having handed over control of the Internet to the Canadian Human Rights ("truth is no defence") Commission under Sec. 13.1, where privileged groups are sheltered from criticism.So far the chief hitman -- 20 complaints so far -- Richard Warman, has helped the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Canada to take their place among the shoddiest thought control dictatorships in the world. "Cuba, Iran and African governments lashed out at the U.S. government this week, charging that the Internet permits too much free speech and that the way it is managed must be reformed immediately. ... 'Those who have supported nihilistic and disorderly freedom of expression are beginning to see the fruits' of their efforts, Mugabe  said, adding that Zimbabwe will be 'challenging the bully-boy mentality  that has driven the unipolar world.'  ... In Cuba, only people with government permission can access the Internet, owning computer equipment is prohibited, and online writers have been imprisoned, according to Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based free speech watchdog group. Too often, the Internet is used for the 'propagation of falsehoods,' said Mohammad Soleymani, Iran's minister of communication and information technology. ... Economists generally agree, however, that investors prefer nations with a respect for property rights, the rule of law and a functioning court system--which means that few African nations make the list. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, offers an Index of Economic Freedom. The index finds a close correlation between wealth and a stable, functioning government. Wealthy regions like Hong Kong, the U.S., and Switzerland respect economic rights, the index shows, while poor nations like Sudan, Zimbabwe, Iran and Cuba show the least respect for them." (CNET News.com : November 18, 2005) Damning With Faint Praise When Paul Fromm was undergoing the ordeal that led to his dismissal from the Peel Board of Education, one of his purported sins was to suggest that multiculturalism would undermine hard-won Western liberties.  While no apology is forthcoming, we note that Al Jazeera, AKA The Beheading Network, is fulsome in its praise of Canada's diminished freedoms -- and note the telltale signature of deep hostility to freedom of speech -- inverted commas isolate the offending term.  "Canada, by showing restraint in publicizing the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad-PBUH, have become a focal point for educating the West on 'Freedom of Speech' and redefining its meaning.  The new slogan should be 'Freedom of Speech with Civility.'  The West was instrumental in enforcing the human rights in their countries, 'Freedom of Speech' and its Western interpretation need change.  [Not Middle Eastern interpretations -- ours -- in our own countries!]  It should be coupled with civility.  If the West can enact anti-Semitic laws considering the insult to the Jews caused by them, then it can also push for application of these laws also for Muslims.  If there is a will there is a way.  The civilized countries of the West should behave civilly also towards Muslims.  The West is sitting on a Time Bomb.  With the immigrant Muslims increasing in the West, and Islam being the fastest growing religion, it is important that it realizes the explosion that is coming its way."  (Al Jazeera, March 12, 2006)  Is that a threat?  Of course, Islam and Al Jazeera are not the only or even the loudest agents pressuring The West to abandon traditional freedoms -- without exception every ethnic and interest group seeks to stifle our long heritage of casting a critical eye over our own society while reserving their new-found right to criticize this society, freely and often.