Gavin McInnes' Bad Week

I have to admit to the readers of this blog that I have derived from Twitter what might be considered somewhat of a perverse joy concerning this particular feature:

Yes, ARC has been blocked by Kevin "The Chairman" Goudreau. This occurred a few years ago after Goudreau realized that we were getting screen shots from his account and we were making fun of him and his obviously fake followers. At the time we guessed we hurt his feelings since he has continued to sporadically threaten to have the members of ARC killed.

Such thin skin.

Goudreau wasn't the last to block us. Connie Fournier blocked us for a time before unblocking us to send a message to relay to Richard Warman whom she believed we had contact with in some way (because reasons). And we were also blocked by this handsome fella a little over a year ago after sending a few tweets in his direction:

Later, Ezra preemptively blocked us from his other Twitter account:

There's actually sort of a club on Twitter of people Ezra has blocked without having engaged in any actual two-way exchange. That's certainly his right, though the practice does call into question Ezra's claims to be a courageous crusader for free speech.

Oh, we don't mean that he's denying us free speech by not allowing us to read or comment on his Twitter page. No, we totally mean the "courageous" part since he seems really frightened by being challenged with alternative viewpoints.

In any case, we can announce that as of today, we've been blocked by another individual of.... er.... courage. One might even say that this person is a very proud boy:

No! Really? Gavin McInnes?

Surely this prime example of a man's man wouldn't be so much of a "pussy" as to block lil' old me, would he?

Oh Gavin! My heart breaks! Whatever did I do to deserve your scorn?

Oh, right.

All those things I wrote about him earlier in the week.

Fair play Gavin. Fair play.

Rebel Media Loses Lauren Southern. Oh, And Gavin McInnes Is An Antisemitic Dick Too

Actually McInnes isn't a fan of Palestinians specifically and Muslims in general either, but we're sort of getting ahead of ourselves here.

We've written about Ezra Levant a number of times here on the blog, as well The Rebel which he started a few years back after SunNews collapsed. The Rebel is Canada's alt-right answer to Breitbart and Levant, as Rebel Commander, has used it as a vehicle to attack left-wing protesters, stoke the fears of his readers and viewers about Muslims and refugees, and celebrating far right political figures in Canada and abroad. The Rebel Commander also had a number of subordinates as well who have made names for themselves in alt-right circles as well. Among the more popular were Lauren Southern and Gavin McInnes.

Well, at least until recently.

The (Partial) Rise and Fall of Milo Yiannopoulos: With Canadian Content

Upon learning the news today regarding the Milo Yiannopoulos that came to light, we threw this together quickly, mostly because this writer is having fun honing the ol' video editing skills.

I think I'm getting better.

In any case, another shout out to Canadian Cynic who collected many of the screen shots found in the video.

Rise Canada and Other Islamophobes Celebrate Their Islamophobia At Toronto Mosque

On February 17, Ron Banerjee, Eric Brazeau, Sandra Solomon, and other Islamophobes protested in front of a mosque in Toronto. As of Saturday the Toronto Police Service claimed to be investigating the protest as a possible hate crime.

And since Banerjee was kind enough to provide video of the event, this writer decided to provide our readers with the pertinent excerpts interspersed with Banerjee's tweets and screen shots from the Facebook profiles of some to the other participants.

Yep, this writer made a video:

Yeah, it isn't great; poor production value, editing, and all that (including a rather unfortunate lapse in memory regarding the year that we are currently residing, as the first text page has the date that the rally took place as 2016 rather than 2017 UPDATE: fixed). It's my first time so cut me a little slack. But we think it provides our readers with the general tone of the protest as well as the bigotry of at least some of those involved in the protest:

Meir Weinstein and Ezra Levant, unsurprisingly, thought the protest was supper kool:

Though they wouldn't have needed the excuse be hateful towards Muslims, Banerjee and co. were reacting to M-103, a private members motion condemning Islamophobia.

Actually, lets, post the full text of the motion:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; (b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and (c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could (i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada, while ensuring a community-centered focus with a holistic response through evidence-based policy-making, (ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and that the Committee should present its findings and recommendations to the House no later than 240 calendar days from the adoption of this motion, provided that in its report, the Committee should make recommendations that the government may use to better reflect the enshrined rights and freedoms in the Constitution Acts, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That's it. And it is similar to the wording of another Liberal motion condemning the rise in antisemitism around the world:

a) there has been, in the words of the Joint Statement issued following the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on January 22, 2015, “an alarming increase in Antisemitism worldwide,” including the firebombing of synagogues and community centres, the vandalizing of Jewish memorials and cemeteries, incendiary calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people, and anti-Jewish terror; 

b) this global anti-Semitism constitutes not only a threat to Jews but an assault on our shared democratic values and our common humanity; 

Therefore the House: 

a) declares its categorical condemnation of anti-Semitism; 

b) reaffirms the importance of the Ottawa Protocol on Combating anti-Semitism as a model for domestic and international implementation; 

c) reaffirms, in the words of the Ottawa Protocol, that, “Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic, and saying so is wrong. But singling Israel out for selective condemnation and opprobrium – let alone denying its right to exist or seeking its destruction – is discriminatory and hateful, and not saying so is dishonest;” 

And the House further calls upon the government to: 

a) continue advancing the combating of anti-Semitism as a domestic and international priority; 

b) expand engagement with civil society, community groups, educators, and other levels of government to combat anti-Semitism and to promote respect, tolerance, and mutual understanding.

That motion condemning antisemitism was, rightfully, adopted unanimously.

So it would make sense that M-103 would be similarly accepted. I mean, given that this motion will be voted on in the aftermath of what appears to be a likely Islamophobic mass shooting resulting in the death of six men as well as numerous assaults on Muslims and vandalism of their places of worship, who could possibly have a problem this this non-binding motion?

Right?

Nope. People are losing their shit. Or to be more specific, demagogues such as Kelly Leitch and some other Conservative Party leadership candidates as well as Ezra Levant and his merry band at "The Rebel" are ginning up fear that this, I once again stress, non-binding motion will take away people's free speech, become an anti-blasphemy law, and impose sharia on Canadians:

Except this happened in 2015.

And despite the efforts of reasonable Conservative such as Michael Chong and rather valiant efforts by some media outlets such as the CBC, "Globe and Mail," "The National Post," and Global to inform the Canadian public as to what M-103 is and what it is not, the folks who are inclined to believe Muslims are hiding under their beds and in their closets ready to jump out one day to dress their women up in niqabs and force feed them kabobs are having none of this rational discussion and have fully embraced the crazy:

In the meantime, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid who tabled the motion spoke about the death threats she has received ("The Star" also covers these threats and sexually demeaning insults) as a result of her motion as a reason why she would not remove the word "Islamophobia" from the motion as requested by the Conservative Party. She has since been offered police protection.

You know, threats (as well as other lovely comments) like these posted yesterday:

Associate of Soldiers of Odin in Saskatchewan Found Guilty of Uttering Threats Directed at Prime Minister

To be fair, the Saskatchewan Chapter of the SoO is now seemingly defunct, but that is neither here nor there.

Near the beginning of August we reported that Christopher Hayes of Grayson, Saskatchewan had been arrested for uttering threats directed towards Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Christopher was at the time a member of at least one SoO Facebook group:

His brother "MJohn Hayes" was, also at the time, the Oxbow president of the SoO:

Not long after, we posted a few follow-up articles that our readers could view here:

• Soldier of Odin Member Christopher Hayes Update 1
• Soldier of Odin Member Christopher Hayes Update 2

Today, we learned that Christopher Hayes has been found guilty of uttering threats:

Leading up to Hayes' arrest, police received two complaints about posts he had made on Facebook in relation to the prime minister. The RCMP's National Security Enforcement Section investigated the complaints. 

One of the two posts was read out during sentencing in provincial court on Feb. 13.
Hayes was found guilty of uttering threats and faces nine months of probation. Part of the probation stipulates that Hayes is not to attend events where the prime minister is present. 

He is also prohibited from owning or shooting any firearm or crossbow for the next five years, is not allowed to own ammunition or explosives, and is subject to a $500 fine.

Now, while we are pleased that this individual has faced the consequences for his criminal actions, at least to some degree, there are many others who seem to make threats with impunity.

An article came out in the "National Post" noted that other politicians in the country, particularly Rachel Notley, have been facing an almost continuous barrage of threats to kill, rape, or otherwise harm them:

December 2016 Bits and Bites

We begin with a very brief update on Paulie who is so tickled pink (well, more pink than he usually is) about Trump's election that he isn't bothering to try to conceal his views in more "respectable" terms anymore:

We're sure that Paulie will be leading the charge.... so long as others foot the bill so that he can maintain the lifestyle that he has become accustomed to.

And as long as others actually take on any potential risks. That of course goes without saying.

Out in British Columbia, some members of the Soldiers of Odin tried to crash an anti-racism rally in Richmond. Suffice it to say that it didn't go especially well for them:

However, it was marred slightly by the appearance of a small group from the Soldiers of Odin, a citizen-based “street patrol” organization, closely connected to anti-immigration movements in Finland.
....
On Sunday, although claiming not to be racist, pledging support for everyone, irrespective of race and carrying signs stating “Stand And Fight Against Hate,” — the three men representing the Soldiers of Odin were told their presence wasn’t welcome and, after a few words were exchanged, moved further down No. 3 Road. 

Despite repeated attempts to contact the Soldiers of Odin’s B.C. chapter through its Facebook page, the News was not able to reach the group or its local leaders for comment.  

At the event, Soldiers of Odin representative Kris Erickson told the News’ photographer that everyone had got their message wrong and claimed that they were there to express solidarity with the protestors.
....
SOO, which has chapters across Canada, denies, on its public Facebook page, any accusations of being racist or anti-immigrant and claims to exist to primarily protect women and children by keeping the streets safe. 

However, it’s been alleged the group’s private Facebook page is filled with racist and xenophobic comments, mainly directed towards Muslims.

In other interesting news, we found the following rather enigmatic post on Quebec SoO chapter president David Tregget's Facebook page:

A Busy Weekend for Extremism in Calgary: Blood & Honour and "The Rebel"

This past weekend there were two Calgary events that caught our attention. In some ways they were a study in contrasts. One event was held on Saturday by a small, shadowy, group that has since 2012 shunned media attention. The other was held on Sunday by a relatively politically savvy group that, while claiming to revile the media, works very hard to capture the attention of that same media for fun and profit.

But while their methods in dealing with media attention might contrast, there are still a few similarities which is perhaps a bit ironic considering one is a hate group in Calgary run by a violent antisemite and the other is a media platform established by a prominent (though not widely respected) Jewish-Canadian which has been used to rile up Canadian and foment hatred.

On Saturday, Blood & Honour in Calgary held an event:

This was actually the latest in a number of events organized by Kyle McKee's B&H since 2013. Prior to 2013, McKee and co. were frequently in the news with their White Pride March which was for a while an annual annoyance. Though McKee might have been pleased with the notoriety in those cases, the other times he and his group were mentioned tended to result in rather unwanted attention by the police and frequently ended up with McKee and others finding themselves as guests of Her Majesty's hospitality for months and years at a time. But then charges of assault, vandalism, illegal possession of weapons, attempted murder, and murder will put a bit of a damper on one's desire to be famous.

But recently though, and after Trump's victory in the United States, it looks like Calgary's B&H has decided to make itself known again:

The above photo was taken at the Lion's Park LRT station around November 22. If one wishes to look at the silver lining of Trump's election victory in November based in part on stoking racial prejudices in some of his supporters is that the media is more willing to pay attention to hate groups whereas in the past they would be ignored as "fringe" and "irrelevant":

• White nationalist stickers appear at Calgary LRT station
• Calgary Positive posters duke it out with neo-Nazi stickers on Calgary Transit property

McKee (posing as "Freedom Fighter") appears to confirm on Stormfront that there will be more active recruitment by B&H in Calgary in the future:

What McKee doesn't seem to understand is that as he has grown increasingly arrogant concerning B&H and his belief that he's operating under the radar, he's also become very sloppy. 

We'll leave that there for Kyle to ponder.

Blood & Honour and like gangs are dangerous, though as we've always noted that their danger lies in how they target individuals and communities. That fact can't be discounted, but we've always written that gangs such as McKee's are ultimately not a danger to the social fabric of the country as a whole. Even in the post-truth era of Trump, that remains true in general. The real danger are individuals and groups that are able to stoke the fear of demographic and cultural change in the country and use that fear to create resentment and hatred which, if directed, could lead to violence.

That's where people like Ezra come in:

The previous weekend, Ezra Levant and "The Rebel" held an anti-carbon tax rally at the Edmonton legislature which sort of made national news when some of the folks in the crowd began the Trump inspired chant, "lock her up!" Chris Alexander was present then and was too spineless to say anything at the time, but bravely mentioned how uncomfortable he was with the chant when not with the angry mob. Others in politics and media did however condemn the chant, which prompted Levant criticize those conservative politicians who were critical of the mob-like chant that was only missing the pitchforks and torches....

.... and to double down on the chant:

Also not surprising, Ezra has decided to try to monetize the controversy by selling a t-shirt to people who he has suggested are financially hard done by the Alberta government:

Unlike boneheads, Ezra actually loves him some t-shirts. 

Ezra has tried to make the case that the crowd weren't really demanding the arrest and imprisonment of democratically elected politicians who are doing their job (whether or not people agree with the policies enacted by said politicians is an entirely different matter and the reason why we have elections, but that's another matter). No, these people are merely frustrated, non-violent, folk who are venting but who are not actually serious about subverting democracy. Any fool could see that, right?

If this is Ezra's argument, then he should perhaps let his follower know that they should play along:

Ezra Levant and Canadian-Style Trumpism

In Edmonton this past weekend, Ezra Levant and his merry little basket of deplorables posing as journalists held a rally at the legislature opposing the carbon tax passed by the NDP government that is set to come into effect in January 2017. Aside from the fact that Levant claims The Rebel is a journalistic endeavor and that political advocacy more than blurs any pretense of journalistic objectivity, protesting is perfectly fine in a democratic society. Prominent politicians such as Wildrose leader Brian Jean and federal Conservative leadership candidate Chris Alexander were in attendance

Chris Alexander reacts to a crowd at a Rebel Media hosted anti-carbon tax rally, as they
begin to chant "Lock her up." (Sheila Gunn Reid/Twitter, Zoe Todd/CBC)

But things really did go off the rails very quickly:

1. Bernard Hancock (the actor playing the role of "Bernard the Roughneck") encouraged the illegal hacking of the government in order to obtain material that could be used against the government: “I know there’s a bunch of stuff they can dig up on what’s going on in that building…we need their help.”
2. Some individuals attending the protesting appeared to have additional motives as they proudly displayed homophobic signs. Levant claims they were NDP plants since his supporters would NEVER act in such vulgar ways.
3. Supporters of an anti-immigrant group handed out flyers targeting minorities.
4. Perhaps getting the most coverage, many in the crowd began shouting "lock her up!" referring to Alberta premier Rachel Notley (because.... reasons) while federal Conservative leadership hopeful Chris Alexander was speaking. He later expressed how uncomfortable he was when he heard the chant, though didn't do anything about it at the time. Not much in the way of courage, but at least he feels bad.

Not surprisingly, this all resulted in significant media coverage as other conservative (big "C" and small "c") politicians denounced the rhetoric at the rally and comparisons to Donald Trump-style politics were made:

• Graham Thomson: Alberta politicians of all stripes distance themselves from yahoos at Saturday rally
• 'Lock her up for what?' Professor weighs in on Alberta rally
• Wildrose leader denounces 'lock her up' chanters at weekend rally
• Chris Alexander says he was 'mortified' by chants of 'lock her up' aimed at Alberta premier
• Alberta, federal politicians denounce ‘lock her up’ rally as Trump-style politics

Well, we guess not everyone was ready to denounce the "lock her up!" chant:

Then again Brad Trost is sort of an idiot. And considering that your "friend" Alexander is scrambling as quickly as he can away from the incident, we're not sure he would be as appreciative of your public support for him in relation to the chant.

But anywho....

In brief, it was all a bit of a dumpster fire. And Ezra being Ezra, there's no fire he isn't willing to throw more gasoline on as he later double downed on the "lock her up!" chant:

If the shoe fits....

Let's take a closer look some of the incidents that occurred.