Ottawa man fined for online hate

[kuzadd]

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national...90d11cb&k=37859

OTTAWA - The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal on Tuesday fined an Ottawa man $4,000 and ordered him to stop using the Internet to spread hatred.

The ruling by Anthanasios Hadjis found Bobby James Wilkinson had re-posted messages written by others on a "Canadian Nazi Party" website that he created and administered.

The messages, says the ruling, are likely to expose members of targeted groups - including Blacks, Jews, Asians, homosexuals, Arabs and Latin Americans - to hatred or contempt. Some incited violence against targeted groups, including genocide.

"It does not matter whether Mr. Wilkinson actually authored some of the hate messages," the decision concludes. "It was ultimately he who decided to post this material on the message board."

It's the first time someone from the national capital has been the subject of a tribunal decision on Internet hate. Little is known about Wilkinson.

Tuesday's ruling describes him as "a relatively young person of modest means." He did not attend the tribunal's hearing last February and could not be reached on Tuesday.

Evidence at the hearing indicated Wilkinson operated the web forum from the basement of his grandfather's house in late 2003.

Ezboard, the U.S. company that hosted the forum, shut the site down in January 2004 for violating its "no hate speech" provisions.

The complaint against Wilkinson was filed in December 2003 by Richard Warman, an Ottawa lawyer who has mounted a one-man crusade against Internet hatred.

[NovaScotian]

Good.

[ScottSA]

One wonders why the campaign doesn't seem to include the virulent hatred coming from Islam.

[guyser]

Whats his screen name here on Maple Leaf Web?

[ScottSA]

Whats his screen name here on Maple Leaf Web?

What a silly and entirely pointless use of bandwidth.

[guyser]

Whats his screen name here on Maple Leaf Web?

What a silly and entirely pointless use of bandwidth.

Thank you hall monitor....will I be reported?

[M.Dancer]

That reminds me....Figleaf should be back soon, if the shame hasn't killed her.....

[cybercoma]

What a silly and entirely pointless use of bandwidth.

edit: nevermind... not worth it.

Edited July 18, 2007 by cybercoma

[NovaScotian]

One wonders why the campaign doesn't seem to include the virulent hatred coming from Islam.

You are absolutely right.

[Moxie]

It's rather odd that those who insult Jews and blame them for everything wrong with the world, well according to the foilers they are taking over the world when they aren't planting bombs in highrises, support Radical Islam. Ironic that there is a network of Jew haters that travel from Canadian forum to forum spewing hatred towards Israel and the Jews yet they go postal if you mention Radical Islam. There seems to be a connection between the hatred hurled at Jews and those whom scream Racist when Radical Islam is discussed.

[guyser]

It's rather odd that those who insult Jews and blame them for everything wrong with the world, well according to the foilers they are taking over the world when they aren't planting bombs in highrises, support Radical Islam. Ironic that there is a network of Jew haters that travel from Canadian forum to forum spewing hatred towards Israel and the Jews yet they go postal if you mention Radical Islam. There seems to be a connection between the hatred hurled at Jews and those whom scream Racist when Radical Islam is discussed.

Care to name names?

Pretty much everyone on this forum does NOT support in any way shape or form radical Islam. I tend to stay out of Jewish threads since about four posts in they invariable turn into some shouting match

[kuzadd]

One wonders why the campaign doesn't seem to include the virulent hatred coming from Islam.

What virulent hatred from Islam, I never see any here, do you?

au contraire?

"I freely and often and quite loudly admit to being entirely anti-Muslim. I'm surprised you missed that. In fact, I may take out a billboard advertising my anti-Islamic sentiments"

scottsa?

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums//index....opic=9345&st=45

I wonder if these types of statements qualify?

Perhaps the moderators should be concerned about the fact that, they could be held culpable, for allowing these statements?

Just a thought.

Edited July 19, 2007 by kuzadd

[scribblet]

It's rather odd that those who insult Jews and blame them for everything wrong with the world, well according to the foilers they are taking over the world when they aren't planting bombs in highrises, support Radical Islam. Ironic that there is a network of Jew haters that travel from Canadian forum to forum spewing hatred towards Israel and the Jews yet they go postal if you mention Radical Islam. There seems to be a connection between the hatred hurled at Jews and those whom scream Racist when Radical Islam is discussed.

You have a point. The problem when discussing these issues is political correctness which discourages analysis and discussion of radical Islam for those reasons - that is, the screams or racism etc. when the issues are discussed.

[canadoattitude]

im all for freedom of expresiion and speech but somehting about the internet is not right. its too anonymous and faceless. it gives cowards an outlet and the nerve to say that which they would never have the guts to say otherwise. internet hate speech is a cancer that is metastitized by the actions of the unintelligent

[ScottSA]

im all for freedom of expresiion and speech but somehting about the internet is not right. its too anonymous and faceless. it gives cowards an outlet and the nerve to say that which they would never have the guts to say otherwise. internet hate speech is a cancer that is metastitized by the actions of the unintelligent

And it doesn't demand proper punctuation. WTF is "internet hate speech is a cancer that is metastitized by the actions of the unintelligent" supposed to mean? It sounds like the bumper sticker on the back of some grayhaired and ponytailed professor of Linguistics' car. Essentially meaningless but polysyllabic enough to impress the revolutionary lumpenproletarians living in mommy's basement.

Edited July 23, 2007 by ScottSA

[Wolf]

im all for freedom of expresiion and speech but somehting about the internet is not right. its too anonymous and faceless. it gives cowards an outlet and the nerve to say that which they would never have the guts to say otherwise. internet hate speech is a cancer that is metastitized by the actions of the unintelligent

Thats the price of an international forum like the internet. As well as an increased means of spreading awareness of important issues and giving us more information than we would have been able to imagine before, it also gives us a window into the darkest corners of each others minds. For example, if you wanted to find some of the most vile vices the people around you harbor, it just takes one creative Google Search and you're there. We now live in the information age and with all of the ideas that could change the world for the better being put forth, there are bound to be remnants of past hatreds still looming around. The only way to deal with it is showing no tolerance to those who would spread hate speech by punishing them and taking away their privilege of expressing themselves online.

[ScottSA]

im all for freedom of expresiion and speech but somehting about the internet is not right. its too anonymous and faceless. it gives cowards an outlet and the nerve to say that which they would never have the guts to say otherwise. internet hate speech is a cancer that is metastitized by the actions of the unintelligent

Thats the price of an international forum like the internet. As well as an increased means of spreading awareness of important issues and giving us more information than we would have been able to imagine before, it also gives us a window into the darkest corners of each others minds. For example, if you wanted to find some of the most vile vices the people around you harbor, it just takes one creative Google Search and you're there. We now live in the information age and with all of the ideas that could change the world for the better being put forth, there are bound to be remnants of past hatreds still looming around. The only way to deal with it is showing no tolerance to those who would spread hate speech by punishing them and taking away their privilege of expressing themselves online.

What nonsense. Expressing oneself is not a priviledge whose access is to be determined by some star chamber of polical correctness. If someone pays for access to the internet, they should be able to say whatever they want. I never could understand this totalitarian streak that gallops through the left and rears its head at every opportunity. Why do you folks feel that you have the right to determine rightthink, and beyond that to enforce it?

[M.Dancer]

What an odd thought. Free Speech, if you pay a subscription for it. Non Payers though will be required to follow the law.

[ScottSA]

What an odd thought. Free Speech, if you pay a subscription for it. Non Payers though will be required to follow the law.

What an odd misinterpretation of what I said *patting Momo on the head*

[Posit]

I never could understand this totalitarian streak that gallops through the left and rears its head at every opportunity.

Like most laws and regulations, the ones advocating for stricter controls come out of the right wing camps. You might want to have a talk with your evangelist Captains in charge of the Conservative Party if you want greater freedoms.

[M.Dancer]

What an odd thought. Free Speech, if you pay a subscription for it. Non Payers though will be required to follow the law.

What an odd misinterpretation of what I said *patting Momo on the head*

Maybe this is another case of you not understanding what you are saying.

If someone pays for access to the internet, they should be able to say whatever they want

How pray tell, does paying, give someone the right to spread hate?

[ScottSA]

What an odd thought. Free Speech, if you pay a subscription for it. Non Payers though will be required to follow the law.

What an odd misinterpretation of what I said *patting Momo on the head*

Maybe this is another case of you not understanding what you are saying.

If someone pays for access to the internet, they should be able to say whatever they want

How pray tell, does paying, give someone the right to spread hate?

Well, lets clear some of the fog in your head out by explaining a couple things:

A "right" is not something "given." A right is inherent. A priveledge is "given."

There are no commas needed in this sentence: "How pray tell, does paying, give someone the right to spread hate?"

"Hate" is not something tangible, like ink or oil, that "spreads." Only in the totalitarian neo-liberal mind is an idea, in and of itself, dangerous.

And last but not least, paying does not have any influence at all on someone's inherent right to say whatever they want on the internet. I merely used it as the throwaway part of a sentence.

[M.Dancer]

I merely used it as the throwaway part of a sentence.

At last, tacit acknowledgement your posts are the last refuse of a scoundrel......

[ScottSA]

I merely used it as the throwaway part of a sentence.

At last, tacit acknowledgement your posts are the last refuse of a scoundrel......

No...simply an acknowledgment of something so obvious that I thought even you would be able to grasp it without a detailed lesson plan on how to grasp the bleeding obvious.

[Bonam]

"Hate" is not something tangible, like ink or oil, that "spreads." Only in the totalitarian neo-liberal mind is an idea, in and of itself, dangerous.

Don't think I agree with you there. Certain unfounded racial/ethnic stereotypes have been known to spread very virulently, and have been known to result in very unfortunate events.