Great News: Elon Musk, Committed to Free Speech, is Buying Twitter
Elon Musk, CEO of electrical car giant Tesla, has bought social media giant Twitter and promises a new era of free speech. ” – Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc. for $44 billion cash on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world’s richest person. It is a seminal moment for the 16-year-old company, which emerged as one of the world’s most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges.
Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, has criticized Twitter’s moderation [censorship]. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement. Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc for $44 billion cash on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world’s richest person.
It is a seminal moment for the 16-year-old company, which emerged as one of the world’s most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges. Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, has criticized Twitter’s moderation. … Political activists expect that a Musk regime will mean less moderation and reinstatement of banned individuals including former President Donald Trump. Conservatives cheered the prospect of fewer controls while some human rights activists voiced fears of a rise in hate speech. (Reuters, April 25, 2022)
Worried thought control types fretted at the prospect of real free speech. “Human rights groups on Monday raised concerns about hate speech on Twitter and the power that its takeover by Elon Musk would give the billionaire after the self-described “free speech absolutist” clinched a deal to take the social media platform private.
Musk, who is also chief executive of electric car maker Tesla Inc has described himself as a “free speech absolutist” who has been critical of Twitter’s policies of moderating content on the platform. He has said Twitter needs to become a genuine forum for free speech. In a statement after securing the deal on Monday, Musk described free speech as “the bedrock of a functioning democracy.”
“Amnesty International said it was concerned about any potential decision that Twitter may take after Musk’s takeover to erode enforcement of the policies and mechanisms designed to moderate hate speech online. The last thing we need is a Twitter that willfully turns a blind eye to violent and abusive speech against users, particularly those most disproportionately impacted, including women, non-binary persons, and others,’ Michael Kleinman, director of technology and human rights at Amnesty International USA, said on Monday.” (Reuters, April 25, 2022)
The worldwide freedom movement has been experiencing a lull in attendance because of the lifting of mask mandates and some of the international parliamentary and judicial decisions to declare the pandemic over, Canada being the exception. So, we like many other freedom organizations across the country are taking advantage of this fact to develop stronger structures, clearer strategic objectives, and better methods for collaboration.
To that end, we’ve formed a volunteer five-person Member Support Team, who were introduced at our April 24 rally, and we are in the process of improving communications with you and the outside world through our fledgling website at Penticton4Freedom.com. Check out our events calendar there as frequently as you wish. We will be posting appropriate events as we hear of them, so you don’t have to wait for the next email to find out.
This week’s Round-Up email looks a bit skinny for images because we have had complaints about the size of the graphics in a standard email format. While they may look pretty, they take up a lot of space in your inbox and frequently do not display properly on certain email sites. So, we will be using our website to display whatever images we’ve been sent for the events we list, and you can see them by clicking on the specific event of interest in our online calendar.
Watch for further improvements as we go along. These things require a lot of TLC, and we are grateful to those volunteers and sponsors who have stepped up to make it all happen. Meanwhile…
Don’t miss these important dates!And Remember to bring two friends with you! PENTICTONEVENTS & INITIATIVESThank you, Vlado Z. for the photos of Penticton on April 24thhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/7LUm1iCjQSST9Wm29We’ll post Marcel’s video as soon as we have the link.——————- o0o ——————-
PENTICTON RALLY – EVERY SUNDAY We have a great reputation out there in the public speaking world because of how welcoming and enthusiastic we are as a group. Sometimes our special guest speakers only come to our attention at the last minute, and we’ve had some amazing ones! Witness the surprise visit of Chris Schaefer who, with less than 24 hours’ notice, agreed to share his knowledge with us the past Sunday. All we can say is:Miss a week and you miss a lot!And remember to Bring Two Friends! – Next Sunday’s speakers: To be announced in our Weekend Update edition on Friday. Our regular Sunday agenda: – Table and stage setup – 12:30 – Music starts as soon as the sound is set up – Updates and guest speakers 1 to approximately 1:40 – 1:40 to 3 – out on the sidewalk inviting passers-by to join us! – 3 to 3:15 – Clean up, pack up and leave the site cleaner than we found it. OTHER ATTRACTIONS Come visit our friendly volunteers at the tables. Informative handouts. Druthers and other independent journals. Check out the other cool items at the table: Bumper stickers, key chains, Pocket size Canadian Charter and Bill of Rights and Freedoms, and many surprise items.We’ll have the latest edition of Druthers there next Sunday. Pick up your copy and a few extras for your friends and neighbours, and to leave them behind when you do business with shop-owners and restaurants. RALLY LOCATION –Meet in the parking lot at the NE corner of Main St and Warren Ave across from Tim Hortons. BRING TWO FRIENDS! Lots of extra parking at BCAA garage, the strip mall adjoining our regular parking area, Winners (across the street), or overflow mall parking opposite the Warren Avenue entrance to Cherry Lane Mall
Planning Meeting- Stay tuned for dates. You’ll be excited about what’s in store.
WORLD-WIDE DEMONSTRATION DAY IN PENTICTON – Sunday, May 22
Vaccine Choice Canada president, Ted Kuntzwill be our headline speaker once again, along with an exciting line-up of special guest speakers. Let’s make this a MEGA Rally to remember!
Email your suggestions for topics and potential speakers and any other ideas you may have. And thank you for your donations to upgrade our sound system. We will have our own Big Booming Sound System in place for this day. Thanks and wishes for success in his future endeavours go out to Marty, and thanks to Michael for all his assistance in making sure we had sound whenever it was needed.
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Are you wondering what other communities are up to?
Check out the Penticton4Freedom events calendar.
https://penticton4freedom.com/events/month/
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OTHER INITIATIVES
National Citizen’s Conference: Victoria, BC / May 28, 29
Dear Freedom Family, (a message from Ted Kuntz, President, Vaccine Choice Canada)
In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a National Citizen’s Conference will be held in Victoria, BC to assemble a coalition of leaders, including the Honourable Brian Peckford, to discuss the future of democracy in Canada. This gathering to Reclaim Canada will take place from May 28th to May 29th and will be jointly hosted by We Unify Canada, Taking Back Our Freedoms, Vaccine Choice Canada, Freedom Rising and many others.
The conference will focus on peaceful action as well as the principles that embody fundamental individual liberties. Our goal is to bring together Canadians from across the country to explore a national strategy to advance our democracy and repair the damage that stems from political and societal dissonance. We see this as a historic event as Canadians endeavour to reclaim our democracy, our rights and freedoms, and our country. We welcome your ideas and contributions to rectifying the current situation in Canada and globally.
This week’s call to action – seeking evidence of police violence
Police4freedom has a section on their site for the collection of Police Violence reports from Ottawa and ANY other incidents involving unlawful police violence or coercion against peaceful, law-abiding citizens. If you or anyone you know has witnessed any such events, please send any photos, videos, or evidentiary texts to Police4Freedom at https://police4freedom.ca/Ottawa-Evidence/
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And on a lighter note, remember that Freedom Hugs are available at ALL our events!
Jody Thomas, the Prime Minister’s Security and Intelligence Advisor, declared on March 10 that “there’s no doubt” that the people who organized the peaceful protest in Ottawa in February “came to overthrow the government.” Oddly, Ms. Thomas then goes on to express grave doubt about whether the protesters had the ability to do this, or even knew how to do it. Indeed, the truckers brought neither guns nor tanks, did not storm the Parliament buildings, and made no effort to occupy even one government building. Some individuals called on the prime minister to resign, but nobody used force to try to make that happen.
Ms. Thomas credits the Emergencies Act with empowering the federal government to freeze bank accounts without a court order or oversight, and to have police horses trample unarmed protesters, “in a way that we would have not otherwise been able to do.” It appears that, for Ms. Thomas, no measures can be too harsh when suppressing what she describes as “domestic ideologically motivated violent extremism.
“Ms. Thomas refers to the February protest as the “occupation” of downtown Ottawa, although Members of Parliament (and many others) have stated publicly that they had no trouble walking through the city centre each day to get to their place of work. Article 42 of the Hague Convention of 1907 states: “Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised.” When the Romans occupied Britain, they were effectively in charge of Britain, to the exclusion of another empire or a local sovereign. When the Germans occupied the Netherlands and other countries during the Second World War, the Germans ruled. A large gathering of people in one area does not constitute an “occupation.
“Ms. Thomas also referred to the peaceful protest as a “blockade,” when in fact the downtown was not in any way sealed off to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving. It was the police, not the protesters, who eventually erected a fence around the downtown core, after the Prime Minister had declared a national emergency. Certainly, some Ottawa residents were inconvenienced by the protests, but this does not turn the protest into a “blockade.”
If the protesters had been violent or had committed crimes, the Ottawa Police would have arrested those people, and publicized the arrests. To support the government’s narrative that the truckers were dangerous, racist, violent, criminal extremists, the police would have informed the public about specific crimes, detailing what happened, the names of persons charged, and which Criminal Code sections they had been charged with violating.
Yet during the first three weeks of the Ottawa protest, prior to the February 14 declaration of a national emergency, police did not charge any trucker with any crime. Some of the truckers’ leaders were in daily communication with police. Police even told the truckers where to park their trucks.
Moreover, if any protester had vandalized, stolen, or burned down property, or had assaulted anyone, or had uttered criminal threats, the CBC and other government-funded media would have gleefully reported on it repeatedly, around the clock, for weeks on end. Why were government-funded media not able to show Canadians footage of protesters committing crimes? Perhaps because the truckers were not engaging in illegal behaviour?
The accusations of Ms. Thomas about an “occupation” and “blockade” with intent to “overthrow” Canada’s government are as irresponsible and unfounded as the Prime Minister’s narrative about unvaccinated Canadians being “anti-science, racist, misogynist, extremists.”
There is a dark and very sinister side to accusing peaceful protestors who disagree with certain government policies of wanting to overthrow the government. It’s a move that comes straight out of the tyrant’s playbook.
A Cambodian court recently convicted 19 political opposition leaders of trying to overthrow the government, a verdict described by Human Rights Watch as bogus. The prosecution accused members of an opposition party of conspiring to topple the current government, run by former Khmer Rouge commander Hun Sen. Political opponents were also accused of undermining the current regime’s credibility by disseminating untrue and inflammatory information.
When Nicaraguan security forces violently put down anti-government protests in 2018, President Daniel Ortega claimed the protests were actually an attempted coup with foreign backing, and that foreign-funded organizations were part of a broader conspiracy to remove him from office. Nicaraguan authorities continue to prosecute and jail President Ortega’s opponents on charges of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.” It is interesting that Ms. Thomas accuses truckers of wanting to overthrow the Canadian government and asserts that foreigners provided funding to the truckers.
Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, whose regime murdered an estimated 300,000 Ugandans during his eight-year reign of terror, was very offended when Archbishop Janani Luwum publicly criticized the government’s violence. Well, you guessed it: Idi Amin accused this archbishop of seeking to overthrow the government. Archbishop Luwum was arrested in February 1977 and died shortly after. Although the official account describes a car crash, it is generally accepted that he was murdered on the orders of Idi Amin.
Thus far, opponents of Prime Minister Trudeau have not been murdered and have not been jailed for long periods of time. But demonizing the unvaccinated minority, accusing opponents of wanting to overthrow the government, freezing bank accounts without a court order, and commencing criminal prosecutions against peaceful protesters are clear and direct threats to the survival of Canada as a free and democratic society.
April 17, 2022, will mark the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms becoming part of Canada’s Constitution. The Charter reduced the sovereignty of Parliament by giving judges far more power to strike down laws as unconstitutional.
Prior to 1982, courts could strike down federal laws for violating provincial jurisdiction, and strike down provincial laws for violating federal jurisdiction. But apart from enforcing the proper division of powers between two levels of government, court rulings that invalidated legislation were exceedingly rare. Prior to 1982, Canadians who disagreed with a law essentially had only one recourse: using the democratic process to change or repeal the law which they deemed to be bad. With the Charter, Canadians could, in addition to using the democratic process, try their luck at challenging a law in court, by arguing that the law violated one or more of the fundamental freedoms of conscience, religion, expression, association and peaceful assembly, or other Charter rights and freedoms.
It all sounds wonderful, of course. But section 1 of the Charter has proven repeatedly to be a rotting fly in the ointment of the intended civil liberties medicine. Section 1 permits politicians to trample on Canadians’ Charter rights as long as the government’s lawyers can concoct a justification which will thereafter persuade a court that the violation was “reasonable” in a free and democratic society. As the Judicial Freedom Index makes clear, some judges trust politicians and admire governments a great deal, while other judges are more sympathetic to individual freedom.
Canadians who assert their Charter rights will typically have to wait for years before a court rules on whether the government’s violation is “reasonable.” Long waits are caused primarily by Canada having too few courts and too few judges. During the years that it takes to litigate a case, governments typically continue on their merry way of violating citizens’ rights and freedoms. Armed with easy access to billions of tax dollars, governments lack the incentive to obtain rulings quickly. The shortage of judges and courtrooms further enables governments to delay a speedy resolution of Charter claims. Justice delayed is justice denied.
All constitutions claim to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens.
The 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union is only one example. As a workers’ paradise, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was so wonderful that the communists made it illegal to leave and move to another country. Article 50 guaranteed citizens “freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly, meetings, street processions and demonstrations.” Article 51 enshrined “the right to associate in public organizations that promote their political activity and initiative and satisfaction of their various interests.”
Article 52 guaranteed “freedom of conscience, that is, the right to profess or not to profess any religion, and to conduct religious worship or atheistic propaganda.” Article 55 guaranteed the inviolability of the home: “No one may, without lawful grounds, enter a home against the will of those residing in it.” Article 56 exalted “the privacy of citizens, and of their correspondence, telephone conversations, and telegraphic communications” while article 57 declared that “citizens of the USSR have the right to protection by the courts against encroachments on their honour and reputation, life and health, and personal freedom and property.”
It all sounds wonderful, of course. But the Soviet Constitution severely limited citizens’ rights “in accordance with the aims of building communism” (Article 51).
The Constitution explained that the citizen of the classless communist society must be “moulded.” Article 39 specified: “Enjoyment by citizens of their rights and freedoms must not be to the detriment of the interests of society or the state” as determined by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Article 6).
The utopian goal of communism and the utopian goal of a world with no Covid: both ideologies have been used to trample human rights and constitutional freedoms into the ground.
Canada’s federal and provincial politicians should be embarrassed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Charter on April 17. No provincial premier has actually apologized for the repeated and flagrant violations, since March of 2020, of citizens’ freedoms to move, travel, associate, assemble, worship, and exercise control of their own bodies by deciding what medical treatments they will or will not receive. Federally, Parliament’s Liberal-NDP majority imposes unscientific discrimination against the “misogynist, anti-science, racist, extremists” who have not received two Covid shots, in spite of the fact that vaccinated Canadians get the virus and spread the virus.
Our Charter at 40 has not prevented us from moving rapidly towards a tyrannical system in which Canadians are slaves of the state. More and more, Canadians are managed and controlled by politicians and bureaucrats in ways similar to how farm animals are managed and controlled by the farmer. Ultimately, Canada’s survival as a free society that respects the dignity of every human being depends not on the Charter or on how courts interpret it, but on the extent to which Canadians truly cherish our freedoms, and are willing to suffer and sacrifice for them.
The charter that defends rights, but also tells government how to quash them
Not everyone is inclined to cheer the charter as a bulwark of liberty. ‘We are less free today than 40 years ago,”’ said John Carpay, president of the JCCF Author of the article: Tristin Hopper Publishing date: Apr 15, 2022 • April 15, 2022 • 7 minute read • 91 Comments
The notwithstanding clause is how provincial governments can consistently maintain legislation, such as Quebec’s Bill 21, that are a pretty obvious curb on fundamental freedoms. Photo by Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia/File
The decision was a surprise to Canadians, where any number of similar challenges had failed.
Time after time during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian governments imposed extraordinary public health measures that seemed to be naked infringements on Canadians’ charter rights. Mandated church closures that violated protections on “freedom of religion.” Bans on gatherings that curbed “freedom of association.” Border and travel strictures that undermined charter guarantees on mobility rights.
But the courts didn’t care. Whenever a pandemic case hit the docket, courts “erred too far on the side of deferring to government,” Joanna Baron, the executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, told the National Post.
Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of Canada repatriating its constitution, a process that included passage of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The charter has often been praised as one of Canada’s leading modern accomplishments and its “gift to the world.” But it’s also one of the world’s only constitutions that explicitly gives the state a roadmap on how to quash the very “fundamental freedoms” it cites. It’s why, four decades in, not everyone is inclined to cheer it as a bulwark of liberty.
“I cannot think of any freedom … that the charter has brought to us,” said John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a group that has been particularly active in challenging pandemic mandates and defending the organizers of Freedom Convoy. “We are less free today than 40 years ago,” he said.
If governments are looking to do an end-run around charter-enumerated rights, there are two primary sections of the document they turn to. Section 1, which is literally the first line of text in the charter, explicitly states that rights and freedoms are protected in Canada only to “reasonable limits.”
According to an official government of Canada guide to the charter, the purpose of this section is to remind Canadians that “rights can be limited by law so long as those limits can be shown to be reasonable in a free and democratic society.”
The notwithstanding clause allows provincial governments to knowingly pass legislation that treads on a fundamental freedom.
If such a legislative override had existed in the U.S. Constitution, many of the most iconic Supreme Court decisions of the civil rights movement might not have mattered. Brown vs. Board of Education — the 1954 decision that struck down school segregation — could simply have been ignored by states invoking the notwithstanding clause.
In Quebec, it’s how provincial governments can consistently maintain legislation that are a pretty obvious curb on fundamental freedoms. Bill 21, a provincial law passed in 2019, bars government employment to any Quebecer who wears religious garb such as turbans or hijabs. Any charter challenge against Bill 21 would likely be a slam dunk on the “freedom of religion” clause, but Quebec would simply be able to soldier on with the law by invoking the notwithstanding clause.
Don’t miss these important dates!And Remember to bring two friends with you! PENTICTONEVENTS & INITIATIVESThank you, Vlado Z. for the photos in Penticton on April 17thhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/nUtZYBWqPG8ki4vC6Planning Meeting Dates will be announced soon.Rallies at Richard Cannings’ office – Every Tuesday at noon
Meet at his office 301 Main Street (Nanaimo Square). ——————- o0o ——————- PENTICTON RALLY – EVERY SUNDAY
Miss a week and you miss a lot! – This Sunday’s speaker: To be announced in our Weekend Update edition on Friday. OTHER ATTRACTIONS Come visit our friendly volunteers at the tables. Informative handouts. Druthers and other independent journals. Check out the other cool items at our table – books, bumper stickers, key chains and… Pocket size Canadian Charter and Bill of Rights and Freedoms booklets. Fits purse or pocket, easy reference right at your fingertips! The local chapter of Action4Canada will have its own tables there for information, too. RALLY LOCATION –Meet in the parking lot at the NE corner of Main St and Warren Ave across from Tim Hortons. BRING TWO FRIENDS! Lots of extra parking at BCAA garage, the strip mall adjoining our regular parking area, Winners (across the street), or overflow mall parking opposite the Warren Avenue entrance to Cherry Lane Mall
OK FALLS – Saturday, April 23, 11:30 AM across from the Esso Station
OLIVER EVENTS- Saturday, April 23 Town Hall 12 Noon Oliver Town Hall
OSOYOOS EVENTS- Saturday, April 16 Town Hall ***NEW TIME 11 – 12 NOON KELOWNA EVENTSKelowna C.L.E.A.R. MEGA Rally @ Stuart Park at the Bear 12:00 noon- followed by a MEGA March and highway rallyBecause it ain’t over!Guest speakers:Ted Kuntz – Vaccine Choice CanadaChris Schaefer – world expert on masksDavid Lindsay – CLEAR (Common Law Education and Rights)Emcee : Jacquelyn Rose
OTHER INITIATIVES
Please share with family and friends!
Mama Bears Presents a six-part Mental Health Program to help our youth and parents navigate through the challenges of life, especially the difficulties faced over the last couple of years. Please join us for the first session hosted by Eric Kussin and Theo Fleury Founder and Celebrity Alliance Founder of the SameHere Movement. They will show us how the beauty of life is not how perfect it ‘should be’, but what can emerge after coming through a difficult time. The most unfortunate variable is when the victim is a child or teen, as it is difficult for them to understand this enough to seek help – even if they live in a loving and safe environment. Learn how to start the conversation with your child to understand how they are feeling and why, and most importantly how you can help them feel better.
Smashing Dissent — In the Dead of Night, Tyrant Doug Ford Rams Through Anti-Trucker & Anti-Protest Law
Fidel Ford with support from the Liberals and NDP pass Bill C-100, an anti-trucker bill that cancels right to protest & allows cops to steal your vehicle & cancel your licence. Welcome to the police state
Compassionate Appeal from Former Political Prisoner & Free Speech Warrior Arthur Topham
Dear friends and associates, I’m sending out the url to my GoGetFunding campaign in order to raise funds to help defray legal costs associated with my application for a grant of administration in the case of my late son Shashone who tragically passed from this world on January 25, 2022.
When he passed suddenly he hadn’t left a Will and that has caused a tremendous amount of problems with his siblings and former common-law partners and his three children; one daughter and two boys. As is usual with cases like this disagreements arise immediately and so I decided to apply for a grant of administration in order to help settle his intestate possessions in a fair and equitable manner.
The details of all this are included in the narrative that can be read on the campaign site.
Given the recent actions of different funding sites, especially the GoFundMe site that the Canadian Trucker Convoy was using, many people now are very skeptical of donating to these organizations. Having said this I want to let people know that my regular email address that I’m using to send out this appeal ( arthurtopham@nym.hush.com ) can also be used to send e-Transfers directly to my CIBC banking account should anyone wish to donate that way.
Any amount will be gratefully appreciated. On behalf of my wife Shasta and myself we thank you.
HAPPY EASTER — Freedom Rallies in the Okanagan, April 16-17
Don’t miss these important dates!
And Remember to bring two friends with you!
PENTICTON RALLY – EVERY SUNDAY
Miss a week and you miss a lot! It is Easter Sunday, and you may be otherwise occupied. For those who are available, remember how important it is for a group of us to show up every week, same time, same station, in support of those who are questioning the COVID narrative. RALLY LOCATION –Meet in the parking lot at the NE corner of Main St and Warren Ave across from Tim Hortons. BRING TWO FRIENDS! Lots of extra parking at BCAA garage, the strip mall adjoining our regular parking area, Winners (across the street), or overflow mall parking opposite the Warren Avenue entrance to Cherry Lane Mall
OK FALLS – Saturday, April 16, 11:30 AM across from the Esso Station
OLIVER EVENTS- Saturday, April 16 Town Hall 12 Noon
OSOYOOS EVENTS- Saturday, April 16 Town Hall ***NEW TIME 11 – 12 NOON**** KELOWNA EVENTSWeekly on Saturdays – Kelowna C.L.E.A.R. Rallies @ Stuart Park at the Bear 12:00 noon- Every Week! Longest running B.C. rallies! Visit https://clearbc.org/events for Kelowna and other city updates.
