Starr
10-20-2008, 10:19 PM
So insane that I had to make it into the title of the thread:
Who is it that hates western freedoms, again?
The Internet can be a lawless wild west, filled with as much evil as good. And there aren't many ways to combat the former as this spider of hatred spins its sticky poison across the web.
That's one of the chilling conclusions in a Simon Wiesenthal Center report on hate sites on the net, identifying at least 8,000 known postings or web addresses spreading hatred or intolerance, a frightening 30 per cent increase over last year.
Neo-Nazi groups, known terror organizations, white supremacist followers, the Ku Klux Klan and more were all cited as having created pages - and many of them are not on some fringe sites that only members have access to or would know about.
Some have established a presence on Facebook, YouTube or Second Life, and even in online games, blogs and chatrooms, attracting unsuspecting converts who happen to use the popular sites. And many are very subtle about what they preach, making it hard to discern their real meaning.
The "iReport" as it's known, also contains a disturbing CD highlighting some of the more outrageous examples. "How To Behead" reads one article, which purportedly tells extremists how to commit the terrible act. Another odiously proclaims that multiculturalism is the "rape and murder of the white race."
The CD is being sent to every Member of Parliament and provincial justice minister as an example of what's going on over the Internet. It was also handed out at a special ceremony held at the Center's Yonge St. headquarters Monday, where Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and his York Region counterpart Armand La Barge were honoured for their work enforcing hate laws and initiating officer sensitivity training.
Both agree the web has made it harder than ever to keep these terrible falsehoods from spreading.
"It is difficult to prosecute hate crimes and most of the successful prosecutions have dealt with ... mischief to property which were hate based or assault," Blair concedes. "One of the great challenges facing law enforcement is prosecuting Internet-based hate crime.
"We can see that it's quite pervasive. It's accessible right across North America, and unfortunately many of the people realize that the Internet does not recognize national boundaries."
La Barge concurs that action has to be taken as soon as the blight appears. "Sitting idly by and doing nothing is no longer the solution to the problem, and history has taught us that it can lead to terrible catastrophes and terrible tragedies throughout this world. But it's important to do something."
What can you do if you stumble across such a site? "When a hate site surfaces on a Canadian server, we need the help of everyday people to report them to the abuse departments of relevant Internet Service Providers," advises the Wiesenthal Center's Leo Adler. Then call police.
"Without an official complaint," he concludes, "we can't effect change."
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_28271.aspx
Who is it that hates western freedoms, again?
The Internet can be a lawless wild west, filled with as much evil as good. And there aren't many ways to combat the former as this spider of hatred spins its sticky poison across the web.
That's one of the chilling conclusions in a Simon Wiesenthal Center report on hate sites on the net, identifying at least 8,000 known postings or web addresses spreading hatred or intolerance, a frightening 30 per cent increase over last year.
Neo-Nazi groups, known terror organizations, white supremacist followers, the Ku Klux Klan and more were all cited as having created pages - and many of them are not on some fringe sites that only members have access to or would know about.
Some have established a presence on Facebook, YouTube or Second Life, and even in online games, blogs and chatrooms, attracting unsuspecting converts who happen to use the popular sites. And many are very subtle about what they preach, making it hard to discern their real meaning.
The "iReport" as it's known, also contains a disturbing CD highlighting some of the more outrageous examples. "How To Behead" reads one article, which purportedly tells extremists how to commit the terrible act. Another odiously proclaims that multiculturalism is the "rape and murder of the white race."
The CD is being sent to every Member of Parliament and provincial justice minister as an example of what's going on over the Internet. It was also handed out at a special ceremony held at the Center's Yonge St. headquarters Monday, where Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and his York Region counterpart Armand La Barge were honoured for their work enforcing hate laws and initiating officer sensitivity training.
Both agree the web has made it harder than ever to keep these terrible falsehoods from spreading.
"It is difficult to prosecute hate crimes and most of the successful prosecutions have dealt with ... mischief to property which were hate based or assault," Blair concedes. "One of the great challenges facing law enforcement is prosecuting Internet-based hate crime.
"We can see that it's quite pervasive. It's accessible right across North America, and unfortunately many of the people realize that the Internet does not recognize national boundaries."
La Barge concurs that action has to be taken as soon as the blight appears. "Sitting idly by and doing nothing is no longer the solution to the problem, and history has taught us that it can lead to terrible catastrophes and terrible tragedies throughout this world. But it's important to do something."
What can you do if you stumble across such a site? "When a hate site surfaces on a Canadian server, we need the help of everyday people to report them to the abuse departments of relevant Internet Service Providers," advises the Wiesenthal Center's Leo Adler. Then call police.
"Without an official complaint," he concludes, "we can't effect change."
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_28271.aspx