“Here’s a column I wrote about them after an encounter I had with Elmasry at a journalism conference last year. We were on a panel together, and he railed on about how the ‘zhoos’ controlled the media. He received more than a polite response from the crowd of reporters, and a vigorous defence from a particular CBC radio producer in the crowd.
“Substitute a Louisiana accent for his Egyptian accent, and Elmasry’s speech could have been given by David Duke. How he continues to get kid-glove treatment — even on the Maclean’s website! — is amazing.
“Surely his public support for killing Israelis warrants some mention whenever he’s quoted in the press.
“(…) there’s no point suing in defamation law, where the CIC would have to pay for their own lawyers, and our lawyers if we won, and where silly things like the rule of law apply.
“Better to go to the human rights commissions where the taxpayer pays for the prosecution, traditional rules of evidence and procedure don’t apply, and free speech is not protected.
“It still has all of the down-sides for the defendant — the hassle, the cost, and a lower bar for a ‘conviction’ — but none of the cost for the complainants.
“Speaking of which, the Western Standard‘s own human rights hearing is finally coming up, nearly two years after we published the Danish cartoons and were first hit with the complaints. We don’t have an exact date yet, but the formal ‘investigation’ meeting will be in January. Though we ceased publishing the magazine, we are still a corporate entity, and it’s important to me that we see this human rights challenge through.”
Del.icio.us Tags: steyn, free speech, islam, censorship
