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| Great White North |
| Mark Steyn is Not Alone by Jack Engelhard |
| 2007-12-19 |
| There's a definite chill in the air and this cold front comes to us from Canada, where author Mark Steyn finds himself in trouble for speaking his mind. Steyn is a brilliant writer and many of us have been amused (he is often hilarious) and enriched by his commentaries upon our culture in general and, in particular, what awaits us if we don't face up to terrorism. He's written a book on that very subject, America Alone, and this book is a bestseller in America and number one in Canada - and it's also the number one reason he's being summoned for "hate crimes." Steyn, by the way, is a passionate friend of Israel, and no, he is not Jewish. Two "human rights" panels, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Human Rights Commission, have him on trial for his alleged claim that Islam does not square with Western ideals. Whatever the outcome, we're all on notice that Big Brother is watching. The word "tribunal" itself reeks of an Orwellian nightmare and Soviet gulagism. From my own days in Montreal, I remember singing these words from Canada's national anthem: "O' Canada, Glorious and Free." Those words may have to be expunged. But is Steyn alone? Can't happen here in the US? Well it has been happening here. Conservative, pro-Western and pro Israel commentators like Robert Spencer (Religion of Peace? his latest), Daniel Pipes and David Horowitz consistently get shouted down from campus to campus. Some get physically roughed up and require bodyguards and double security when they dare to deliver a message that displeases peace-loving professors and students. Some, like Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, are being sued in British courts. Ehrenfeld wrote the book Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed - And How To Stop It, and though the book was not published in the UK, it's still being taken up by the courts over there for defamation. Ehrenfeld refuses to recognize British jurisdiction and is fighting back through America's court system. If Canada is on the verge of being "glorious and free" no more, "America Alone" (as Steyn has it) is being asked to remember that it is still the "land of the free" and "home of the brave." That's Steyn's thesis in a nutshell. He's counting on America to save the world from a campaign of tyranny being waged against words spoken and words written. Bangladeshi novelist Taslima Nasrin is another writer in jeopardy, and on the run somewhere in Europe, after her words provoked riots among jihadists. Recent reports had it that she was rewriting a novel for fear of her life, but according a late posting on her web site, "Come what may, I will never be silenced." This, then, is war, but it is not a war of words - it is a war against words. Israel has its own laws and tribunals for those who "insult public officials." Israel's political and cultural leaders, who whimsically define the word "insult" to isolate dissent from "right-wing" Israelis, may wish to consult Hatikvah for the stanza that summons the people "to be a free nation in our own homeland." All this - Steyn's Canadian fatwa and the attempts to muzzle all freedom of expression - is not quite the same as the short life of Theo Van Gogh after he produced the documentary Submission. Nor is it quite the same as the fate of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who scripted that film and was forced to escape the Netherlands. She has since moved to the United States, where, of course, she travels with bodyguards. Not quite the same, but close enough to remind us that Mark Steyn is Not Alone. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 Or they may demand the right to stop working and look at news on the internet every 5 minutes. Who knows. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-12-19 22:54 |
| #7 rjschwarz: The FSM (Flying Spaghetti Monster) is already making inroads against silly Christians (specifically, intelligent design types). Perhaps its noodly appendages will soon begin to swipe at Islam. One can hope. For example, FSM followers may demand the right to go to work and get driver's licenses, while smothered in Parmesan cheese. Or, they may demand to stop work 5 times a day, and boil some noodles while facing towards Italy. It could happen ... |
| Posted by: Beau 2007-12-19 22:10 |
| #6 Maybe I'm wishful thinking but the English speaking peoples have always had a sense of right and wrong. The Brits for example were very wrong prior to WW2 because they wanted peace so badly. When the tipping point came they rolled up their sleaves and slugged it out against insane odds. The rolls are somewhat reversed now with most of the US rolling up our sleaves and the rest of the English speaking peoples hoping to avoid conflict but sooner or later I believe we'll have the same result of everyone waking up and doing what has to be done. The problem is the same as the one in WW2. A little action early could have saved a lot of bloodshed later but fact is, unlike some other groups in this world, it takes a lot to convince the English speaking people to get really bloody and when we do we don't tend to lose. Perhaps what we need is a religious group of a small number (say the Jedi as they scored high in some internet religious poll) to start making demands and thus mock and put into perspective what the Muslims are demanding constantly. "He said the word try! We Jedi find that offensive and the word must be striken from public discourse. Do or do not, there is no try!" |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-12-19 18:45 |
| #5 I'm reading the comments by Canuck. Sniper and rjschwar. Both are saying..."Not to worry...everything will be okay...tipping point...we'll strike back...etc..etc..etc.." Like a 7 year old kid at Christmas...I still believe...I want to believe...BUT: I'm no longer so sure. For goodness sake I read stories posted here at RB almost everyday and I say to myself: THIS will be the final straw...THIS will be the point were we - Western Civ - we begin to push back against the BS laid out everyday by the muzzies and their apologists. And it never happens...it never comes. Example: last week there was a huge story out of Toronto, Canada about a 16 year old lady named Aqsa Parvez strangled by her father because she refused to wear the hijab. I don't even recall this story being touched upon at RB though it should have been. I read the story and thought to myself: This MIGHT wake the people up in Canada. Maybe now they will begin to see what their open immigration policies towards muzzies is bringing to their country. Hell no. The muzzies and their lib apologists have sold Canada on the notion that the Parvez murder was nothing more than run of the mill Domestic Violence...nothing to do with islam...move along...nothing to see here. Spit. That child's honor killing had everything to do with islam and please don't try to tell me otherwise. Antoher story from last week was the story of the Normandale CC in MN that turned a public room into a virtual mosque under the noses of the PC administration. A taxpayer funded muzzie only mosque for all intents and purposes. Where's the outrage? Where's the outrage? That's the point: there is no outrage. Can't have outrage because that would be insensitive. WE - Western Civ - are losing the war against these backward f**king barbarians and their lying PR machines and the REAL tiny minority are those of us who see this happening and can't wake up our brethern citizens to the threat. I prya that Canuk snipe and rjschwarz are right that all turns out well for Mr. Steyn. But as Mr. Steyn has already said himself: The mere fact that the charges have been accepted by the "human rights council" and will be pursued is enough in itself to chill the right of free speech in Canada. Once again, Steyn is right as rain. We're losing the war because of rules played by a great and noble civilization. Would that our enemy played by those rules in his country. Spit, yeah, right. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2007-12-19 17:19 |
| #4 Mark lives, I believe, in New Hampshire. As far as I know, the US does not have an extradition treaty with al-Canada that covers political correctness. |
| Posted by: Gomez Crusotch3094 2007-12-19 15:33 |
| #3 This will take a while to play out but look below the surface of whatever you read or hear about how it will be resolved. The MSM will scream and screech, the politicos will vent but in the end Mr. Steyn and Macleans magazine will be untouched. I keep saying in this forum that when we're upset about something we Canadians are more N@zi like than Adolph and company were. We're just more polite about it. The real fun will come afterwards when retribution is handed out. The RCMP is currently in disarray, the left wants to be everybody's best friend and the people who can actually DO THINGS are just keeping their heads down and staying quiet. For now. |
| Posted by: Canuckistan sniper 2007-12-19 13:13 |
| #2 Personally I think as far As Canada goes this is a tipping point. They were fools to pick on Steyn and should simply have let his book come and go. His sales will go through the roof as Canada is forced to look at what Muslims have done in the name of their religion, at demographic trends, etc, and decide is pointing out statistics racism or is there something nefarious going on as folks try to silence those that point such things out. Not that he needs it but if he sets up a Mark Steyn defense fund I suspect he'll be flooded with cash. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-12-19 12:27 |
| #1 Can't we arrange to have the Halliburton Dissent Supression Division blow up a few tribunal office buildings? After midnight, of course, so there is only property damage. Will this be Sinktrapped for advocating violence? Or will it be perceived as an ironic joke? Inquiring minds want to know! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-12-19 07:42 |