Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Canadian Jewish Congress on the Anti-Semite Kathy Shaidle

"[Kathy Shaidle] is a purveyor of some of the most offensive racial stereotypes I have ever read,"

Bernie Farber
Chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress

Shaidle the Racist tries to remove hate posts after the London Free Press article

Shaidle Panics?


Looks like she's trying to send some of the links to her "outrageous" comments down the memory hole. From the list, so far

On Indians: they are “parasites” who “extorted tax dollars [for] booze, smokes and junk food. Not to mention free everything else, including university educations they don't bother getting.”

· On Sikhs: "Backward foreigners [who] shit on hand that feeds them...Unable to invent their own iconic product due to too much time spent worshipping monkeys and cows, setting women on fire and obsessing over imperceptible differences in each other's skin colour..."

are gone.

Ah well, screen-caps and google cache.

Racist Shaidle in London


London Free Press has the latest on the Kathy Shaidle saga here:

Her scheduled appearance in London has started a similar battle in the blogosphere. Many of the blogs state the event is organized by the London Jewish Federation.

The federation's executive director, Esther Marcus, said yesterday she was asked by organizers of the event to book the Jewish Community Centre.

That was the extent of her involvement and, in any case, the organizers are now looking at another location, Marcus said. The federation is not a sponsor of the event, she said.

The piece also notes that, Alan Perlmutter, one of the event's organizers, is having second thoughts.

The most important thing to come from this relates to how a figure gets labelled "controversial" in wikipedia. Details as to how it would work in Shaidle's case can be found here, but the upshot appears to be, if I understand correctly, that a MSM piece (like the one above) quoting her more "outrageous" statements should make it easier for a catalog of such statements to appear as part of her main wiki entry. Thus anyone considering booking Shaidle for a speaking event/tv appearance will find them in the course of doing their due diligence research.

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Controversial right-wing blogger invited to speak at London event

Controversial right-wing blogger invited to speak at London event
Some members of the city's Jewish community have brought in speakers critical of anti-hate laws
By RANDY RICHMOND


She has called Muslims "pathetic, whiny losers" who practise "a sick, sick religion."
She has accused Asians of spreading disease in Toronto, disparaged natives and blacks, and suggested the poor "are no more real than Bigfoot."
Now, controversial right-wing blogger Kathy Shaidle may be coming to London to speak about human rights.
The invitation to Shaidle by some members of the city's Jewish community has alarmed anti-racism activists and provided fresh ammunition to the country's heavyweight politicos over freedom of speech.
"She is a purveyor of some of the most offensive racial stereotypes I have ever read," Bernie Farber, head of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said yesterday.
"Any group that associates with or defends her is diminished by her," charged Warren Kinsella, Liberal insider and author of Web of Hate: Inside Canada's Far Right Network.
"They shouldn't have anything to do with her. They will just hurt themselves."
The controversy has the organizer of the event promising to look further into Shaidle's comments.
"If they are true, I will have nothing to do with her," said Alan Perlmutter, a Jewish activist in London.
But, he added, "I am not going to cancel her until we can cut through all the smoke and see what is being said."
Shaidle vows to show up at the April 13 event at a location still to be determined.
"I will not be intimidated. I am not going to apologize about anything I have written," she told The Free Press yesterday. "This is a goofy smear campaign by name-calling leftists."
Shaidle and fellow conservatives Ezra Levant and London's Salim Mansur have been invited to talk about the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The three are critical of the commission and Canada's anti-hate laws, saying the laws stifle freedom of expression.
Shaidle recently co-authored The Tyranny of Nice, How Canada Crushes Freedom in the name of Human Rights and comments regularly on her blog, Five Feet of Fury.
Her appearance last month on the taxpayer-funded TVO led to an online battle between political enthusiasts and ordinary viewers.
Her scheduled appearance in London has started a similar battle in the blogosphere. Many of the blogs state the event is organized by the London Jewish Federation.
The federation's executive director, Esther Marcus, said yesterday she was asked by organizers of the event to book the Jewish Community Centre.
That was the extent of her involvement and, in any case, the organizers are now looking at another location, Marcus said. The federation is not a sponsor of the event, she said.

WHEN YOU LIE DOWN WITH DOGS


WHEN YOU LIE DOWN WITH DOGS 





Here's the London Free Press this morning:

She has called Muslims "pathetic, whiny losers" who practise "a sick,
sick religion."

She has accused Asians of spreading disease in Toronto, disparaged natives and blacks, and suggested the poor "are no more real than Bigfoot."

Now, controversial right-wing blogger Kathy Shaidle may be coming to London...

The invitation to Shaidle by some members of the city's Jewish community has alarmed anti-racism activists and provided fresh ammunition to the country's heavyweight politicos over freedom of speech.

"She is a purveyor of some of the most offensive racial stereotypes I have ever read," Bernie Farber, head of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said yesterday.


Any regular readers of this web site won't be surprised by any of the offensive racial stereotypes conjured up, day after day, by Kathy Shaidle. I've documented plenty of examples of her bigotry. So have others; it's all there in Google.

What Shaidle says, sadly, isn't surprising anymore. What is surprising is this: why have reputable organizations recently considered it acceptable to give legitimacy to her brand of hate? More than that - why have these organizations actually defended her bigotry?

There are three.

One is Steve Paikin's TVO. On his TVO blog, Paikin said that Shaidle is “respectful, opinionated.” Even after learning about her racist “opinions,” even after many, many taxpayers objected, Paikin insisted on having her on his show. That’s his right, I suppose. As taxpayers, it is equally our right to object to that.

Another example is found with a prominent Jewish advocacy organization (which I cannot name due to anticipated legal action). I have seen a statement from the organization's chief lobbyist in which he blithely dismisses the concerns about Shaidle – even after it is specifically brought to his attention that the infamous blogger calls Sikhs “backward foreigners” and Muslim children “parasites” – and in which he says “he would proceed” with a decision to invite Shaidle on an all-expenses-paid junket. According to her, “they're determined to have me be part of it.”

The third example, and most seriously, is the governing Conservative Party of Canada. In recent days, MPs Lois Brown, Daryl Kramp and others have angrily defended Shaidle in the House of Commons. Brown has even said it was "outrageous" to simply object to giving a platform to someone who calls Muslims and natives "parasites." As Shaidle does.

Is that what Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party thinks, now? That it is “outrageous” to protest calling Muslims and native Canadians “parasites?” What do Wajid Khan and Leona Aglukkaq think about that?

When I spoke to the London Free Press reporter yesterday, I said that it was simply tragic that a writer with Kathy Shaidle’s early promise would embrace bumper-sticker racism, in exchange for some web traffic, and to facilitate the sales of a couple self-published books.

What is even more tragic, however, is that reputable people and organizations have chosen to give her legitimacy. By doing so, they diminish their own reputations – and that, of course, is the greatest tragedy of all.


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