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UN Human Rights Commission Proceedings: Clarification on Special Rapporteur Paul Hunt's Resolution

GENEVA, April 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Monday, LifeSiteNews.com reported on the acceptance of Paul Hunt's resolution on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health. We failed to clarify a change that had been made regarding this report before its final vote of approval occurred Monday.

While Hunt's report was ultimately accepted as written, a very important change to the UN's formal acknowledgement had been amended. Although pro-life groups had lobbied unsuccessfully to have his report completely removed, they did score a big success in downgrading the UN reference to the report from "Welcoming the report of the Special Rapporteur," to "The commission takes note of the report." Although this seems like a minor difference, "Welcoming the report of the Special Rapporteur," in UN-speak, is one of the strongest endorsements that a report can receive.

Thanks in large part to a strong push by our Muslim allies, the wording was changed to "The commission takes note of the report". According to a legal expert on the US delegation, there are no commitments associated with the term "takes note". It is the weakest acknowledgment that a document can receive and only serves to confirm the existence of the report and does not endorse it in any way.

See Paul Hunt's complete report with the innocuous sounding title "The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health" at
http://www.unhchr.ch/pdf/chr60/49AV.pdf

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage, "UN Human Rights Commission: "Reproductive Rights" to Eliminate Poverty?"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/04040104.html

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Christian Meeting Discussing Bill C-250 Disrupted by Gay Militia

Calgary police to lay charges

CALGARY, April 20, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Gay Militia stormed the national convention dinner of the Concerned Christian Coalition Saturday, brandishing clubs, screaming angry chants, and verbally assaulting the delegates.

"I was dumbfounded at the fact that the Gay Militia would storm into a private meeting where we were praying and discussing Bill C-250 -- a bill that will affect our freedom as Christians to discuss certain beliefs," Jim Blake, CCC Business Chair said, in a press release. "Just as our guest speaker Rev. Tristan Emmanuel was discussing how Bill C-250 is about silencing our freedom of speech and freedom of assembly the Gay Militia stormed the meeting and proved the point."

The CCC feels that all groups have a right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the freedom to assemble and protect their deeply held personal and moral beliefs.

"We are very concerned about the 'Christophobia' and the growing hatred towards Christians in Canada," Blake continued. "We are also very concerned that the media continually ignores the blatantly bigoted actions of the militant minority in this country. Can you imagine if our organization stormed a Homosexual gathering? It would be on the front page of every paper in the country and the headlines would not be flattering towards us."

The Calgary City police arrived at the event just moments after the Gay Militia was cleared out by hotel security. The Calgary Police Service seized all the videotapes, with the exception of one video clip which is available for viewing on-line at http://www.justicenetworkcanada.com/justicenetworkcanada.com.rmvb The video footage is also available from the CCC web-site at http://www.concernedchristians.ca

The Calgary Police Service has assured the CCC that charges will be laid against members of the Gay Militia when they are found.

The CCC believes that the Gay Militia are guilty of at least three violations of the Criminal Code: 175-1, "Causing A Disturbance;" 176-2, "Disturbing a Religious Worship;" and 265-1 B, "Assault."

"We will ensure arrests are made. We will ensure a complaint against all that showed is filed with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. We will ensure increased efforts against 'Christophobia' and demand that our rights as Canadians are protected. Enough is enough -- it is time that the courts, Human Rights Tribunals and the media start defending our freedoms and not just those of the radical left," concluded Blake.

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Over 2000 Attended National Liberty Day Rally to Oppose Bill C-250

OTTAWA, April 20, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Saturday's National Liberty Day Rally on Parliament Hill was well attended with estimates of attendance at between 2,000 and 2,500. The cool Canadian spring weather may have played a part in keeping more would-be attendants from coming. The music, led by David MacDonald, was inspiring and encouraged heartfelt participation. MacDonald led the group in his well-received Liberty Day theme song, "Freedom of Speech."

Speeches were presented by Free Dominion's John Pacheco. Pacheco said, "It is no surprise to anyone here, of course, that the liberal media and the more vocal supporters of Bill C-250 are highly antagonistic and intolerant of those who oppose this legislation. They think that we are tacitly supporting hatred against homosexuals by opposing this legislation. But they don't know us. They don't know us at all. We are NOT here because of hate. We are here because of love. Love for democracy. Love for our Country. Love for freedom. And yes, love for our opponents. But love does not always say 'yes.' Sometimes it must say 'no.' When the legislators and the unelected judiciary seek to deny us the right to say 'no,' then hatred's victim is not homosexuals - but rather truth and freedom and those who uphold these values."

Dr. Edmund Bloedow's presentation focused on practical considerations, such as the fact that the current hate crime legislation already has wording to protect homosexuals from hate, and thus Bill C-250 is redundant. Bloedow maintained that Bill C-250 is unnecessary. He said that hate crimes against homosexuals are negligible. He cites the Toronto example - in a city of 3 million, only 11 hate crimes pertaining to homosexuals were reported in 2002. He thus argued that increased provisions under the criminal code are unnecessary. Bloedow also argued that Bill C-250 is dangerous, citing the precedents set by Human Rights cases against Chris Kempling, Mark Hall, Scott Brockie, Diane Haskett, and Hugh Owens -- all of whom were targeted as purveyors of "hate crime." Bloedow said, "From these cases it is clear that rhetorical assurances of freedom of expression on religious grounds are at the mercy of liberal iconoclastic tribunals. Therefore, is not the suspicion justified that the sponsor(s) of this Bill are aiming at something else, something more?"

Scott Brockie also addressed the assembly. Brockie is the Christian printer who was fined in 1999 for $5,000.00 by the Ontario Human Rights Commission for refusing to print blank letterhead and envelopes for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

Connie Wilkins, co-owner of freedominion.ca, and key organizer of the event, told LifeSiteNews.com that, although encouraged by the attendance from Toronto, she was disappointed by the poor representation from Ottawa. She also pointed out the incredible witness of the Toronto Chinese Christian Community, led by Rev Dominic Tse, who also addressed the crowd. Wilkins said that the Chinese Christian members were worried about the new bill, because many of them had experienced life under communism, and knew what it was like to have restrictions on their freedom to practice their religion.

Read speeches and listen to theme music at: http://www.freedominion.ca/libertyday.htm

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UN Human Rights Commission Proceedings Final Report: Violence Against Women Resolution

GENEVA, April 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Violence Against Women resolution was voted on Tuesday morning and despite strong statements made by the United States and Costa Rica and pro-life groups' best lobbying efforts, the motion to delete the word "services" from paragraph 7 was defeated 50-2 with one abstention.

In explanations of their votes, Egypt and Mexico stated that their countries would never be able to support language that would support abortion and that the term "health care services" was agreed language from the Beijing Platform for Action and that it was a term that referred to comprehensive basic health care.

The resolution as a whole was adopted by consensus. The US made a final interpretive statement wherein Ambassador Williamson said that the United States would welcome any initiative that sought to eliminate Violence Against Women but that at no time would the US condone any language that might indicate support for abortion services.

Williamson went further and stated that the term "health care services" should never be interpreted to include abortion services or the distribution of abortifacients. He said that the US wanted to help women who had been hurt by abortion and that programs such as post-abortion counselling would be considered separate from abortion services. Finally, Williamson stressed that the US was in support of programs that stressed abstinence, monogamy and barring that, the distribution of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Read Monday's LifeSiteNews.com report "UN Commission on Human Rights: Violence Against Women Resolution," at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/04041903.html

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Pro-Abortion Protesters Pledge to Attack Pro-Lifers at Washington March

WASHINGTON, DC, April 20, 2004 (culture-of-life.org/LifeSiteNews.com) - The Culture of Life Foundation reports today that at least one pro-abortion group has threatened to assault pro-life counter-protestors during the pro-abortion "March for Women's Lives" next Sunday in Washington DC. The first of its kind since 1992, the March is being described by the National Organization for Women (NOW) as "the most significant and massive abortion rights march in over a decade."

In response to pro-life groups that have announced counter-protests, pro-abortion demonstrators are encouraging destructive and confrontational tactics. In an alert sent out to its supporters, a group calling itself the Radical Cheerleaders of DC said that pro-lifers will be present at the March, and that engaging them in debate is useless "because they are irrational and will not listen to you," so one way to handle them is to destroy their property, because "a thick layer of paint could really complement a bloody fetus picture."

Pro-life demonstrators and organizations plan to congregate along the sidewalks of the March route. They will gather according to specific groupings such as parents with small children and infants, women who have had abortions, college students, pro-abortion converts, and the clergy. This has angered pro-abortion organizers.

The NOW website explains that the first amendment grants pro-lifers "the right to hold a counter-protest, but it does not grant them the right to interfere with our demonstration. Washington D.C. police are already negotiating with the reproductive rights opponents to determine a specific site for their counter-protest that will minimize the possibility of confrontation."

The Radical Cheerleaders calls upon "feminists, radical cheerleaders, anti-authoritarians, [and] anarchists" to "rise up against a tyrannical government which threatens to penetrate women's bodies with its laws." The group also calls upon the radical community to move beyond the current pro-choice movement, which it claims has not done enough for women. Spokesmen say the group plans on "showing the government, as well as the pro-choice movement, that the radical community is as committed to the issue of women's choice as it is to anything else." In January, the group held a "guerrilla workshop" to practice organized resistance for the march as well as other events.

Further fuelling fears of violence, in order to swell their numbers, March sponsors have invited the participation of anti-globalization groups who will already be in Washington DC to protest the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Massive violence has followed wherever the anti-globalists gather, including in Genoa, Italy, where anti-globalists rioted and one demonstrator was killed. According to the Washington Post, one of these groups, Mobilization for Global Justice, which organized the 2000 protests that "led to mass arrests and disrupted parts of downtown," plans on "having a contingent at the women's march."

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Canadian Bishops Give Fuzzy Direction to Catholics On How to Vote in Federal Election

Once Again "Social Justice" Pre-Occupied CCCB Does Not Give First Priority to Life and Moral Issues Stands of Candidates

OTTAWA, April 20, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - With a federal election on the horizon, Canadian Catholics are being encouraged to weigh the issues carefully, be inspired by the Church's moral and social teachings and to exercise their right to vote which is an important responsibility for the common good of society.

The invitation is contained in a new document entitled Election 2004: Responsibility and Discernment issued by the Social Affairs Commission of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).

While the CCCB guide underscores such important issues as abortion, euthanasia, and cloning in deciding on a candidate, it stops short of mandating that under no circumstances should faithful Catholics be voting for a politician who will promote the killing of numerous humans through abortion, euthanasia, cloning, or fetal stem cell research.

The omission is especially disturbing because of the past four decades of leading involvement by Canadian Catholic politicians in the advancement of anti-life and anti-family government policies in Canada. Under these 'Catholic' politicians Canada has also been a leading and unfortunately very effective advocate of attacks on life and family at the international level, especially advocating the imposition of its ruthless agenda on poor Third World nations.

Catholic Answers apologist Karl Keating has written a "Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics," which clearly and concisely gives official Church statements on five "non-negotiable" moral issues. Keating's non-negotiable issues are: abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, fetal stem cell research, and homosexual "marriage."

"Candidates who endorse or promote any of the five non-negotiables should be considered to have disqualified themselves from holding public office, and you should not vote for them". Keating continues that "You should make your choice from among the remaining candidates".

Pro-life leaders, many faithful Catholics and certainly some US and Canadian bishops would take issue with the CCCB statement that "The Gospel does not give Catholics a specific program of social and political action." There are certainly many gray areas they say, but of the issues mentioned by Keating, there is only black and white, and many, including Pope John Paul II, say the gospels are very clear about these.

Although the CCCB statement encourages "Support for Marriage and the Family," there is no specific mention of the current major push for same-sex "marriage" and related threats to freedom of speech and religious freedom. The CCCB neglects to direct Catholic voters to specific action on this issue also during the election and does not explicitly discourage voting for candidates who support this serious undermining of marriage, family life and basic morality.

Read the full text of the CCCB "Election 2004: Responsibility and Discernment," at:
http://www.cccb.ca/Files/election2004-en.pdf

Catholic Answers Voting Guide for Serious Catholics is available free on-line at: http://www.catholic.com/library/voters_guide.asp

Also read statements of over 15 U.S. bishops on giving first priority to the life issues when voting at: http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/bishops/bishopexcerpts2.htm

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LifeSiteNews.com Newsbytes

Democrats wooing dumbed down Catholics
They're doing it with the help, directly or indirectly, of most of the Catholic hierarchy. Let me explain. There are 71 pro abortion 'Catholics' legislators in U.S. Congress and 415 pro abortion 'Catholic' state legislators. These legislators, week after week, continue to receive the Eucharist (sacrilegiously) in many (not all) dioceses nationwide. Except for two courageous bishops, Archbishop Burke and Bishop Bruskewitz, no other bishops have placed canonical sanctions against these pro abortion legislators. This send the clear message those Catholics in the pews that it's perfectly alright to vote for abortion and still be a Catholic in good standing. Welcome to the era of proportionalism, or Catholicism 'lite.' Too many Catholics nationwide, and let's not exclude many of our Church hierarchy, suffer the condition of a faith that purports "if it feels good, it can't be morally wrong anymore."
http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=877

General Electric Commercial Advertising 4D Ultrasound Technology
http://www.gemedicalsystems.com/rad/us/4d/commercial.html

Group Condemns 'Elitist' Earth Day
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200404\NAT20040420a....

Having seniors 'die quicker' would free up beds Says NDP Saskatchewna MLA
http://www.canada.com/national/story.html?id=94061894-2A6D-46C7-87CF-7DD2E695623...

Islamic Congress Endorses Pro-Abortion Politicians
http://canadianislamiccongress.com/election2004/Election2004.pdf

Video Footage of "Gay Militia" Attacking the National Convention Dinner of the Concerned Christian Coalition
http://www.justicenetworkcanada.com/justicenetworkcanada.com.rmvb

Gay Activists Try to Bar Red Cross
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0031711.cfm

One-track minds: Abortion lobbyists see everything as an attack on Roe vs. Wade
http://www.worldmag.com/world/issue/04-24-04/closing_1.asp

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