Quebec Blogger Found Guilty – A Shot Across The Bow

Listen To The 5-Minute Audio Broadcast Associated With This Editorial.

I don’t know anyone who Writes Opinions on Socio/Political Issues more than I do. And because of the Volume of Editorials I Produce, Virtually all of them Opinions, I Truly Believe that I am as Prolific as it gets, which gives me a Real Expertise to Comment on all Manner of Journalism.

I Have Stated Many Times In This BLOG, how . . . when I was Growing-Up, I Believed there was no Greater Calling than Journalism. I Believed this with my Entire Being, so much so, that I knew that I could Never Measure-Up to be a Journalist, since Journalism was the HOLY GRAIL OF TRUTH & FREEDOM, far Above & Beyond anything I could Hope to Aspire.

I Wrote for my High School Newspaper. I wrote for Two of my University Newspapers (Sir George Williams University – the Editor of one of the Two Papers).

I wrote Product Editorials for a Weekly Newspaper (The Sunday Express). I wrote Print Ad Material, Including Radio & Television Ads, all of which I Directed & Produced. And I wrote Several Non Fiction Books.

I Wrote & Editorialized On Radio . . . And I Wrote Political Campaign Flyers & Mailers. So, when I Write Here & Now, that I Know from what I Write . . . I Do So With Absolute Confidence.

The Editorial You Are Reading Now . . . Is the Two Thousand, Four Hundred & Twenty Sixth Editorial I Have Published On Galganov.com.

SO NOW THAT I’VE ESTABLISHED MY BONA FIDES . . .

There was a very Recent Court Case (Ruling) in the Province of Quebec, where a Moslem Woman (Dalila Awada), who describes herself as a Female Rights Activist, who DEFENDS her Right to Wear a Hijab in Canada, Successfully Sued a French Canadian Blogger by the Name of Philippe Magnan, who is a self Confessed Anti-Islamist.

Dalila Awada, Speaks out wherever she can, to Criticize the once Proposed Quebec Charter Of Values, which Stands Contrary to Religious Symbols Worn in the Public Sector – Such As The Wearing Of The Hijab.

The Intricacies of the Lawsuit in this Case are Secondary to the Reaction of some of the BLOGGING Pundits on the Right, Specifically Pamela Geller, who on her own BLOG Rushed to the Defense of the French Canadian Blogger, and to the CONDEMNATION of the Quebec Superior Court.

In Pamela Geller’s BLOG, Geller Laments the Decision of the Court as a Direct Assault on Freedom of Expression, same as the Plaintiff Philippe Magnan used as his Defense . . . BUT IT’S NOT QUITE THAT SIMPLE OR TRUE.

I know Pamela Geller . . . I Paid her to Speak at one of my Pledge Ride Events in Boca Raton Florida. She is very Brave, very Opinionated, and very Articulate. The Problem However, is that too Often, Pamela Geller Mixes Opinion with Facts, which is what Geller did in her Condemnation of the Quebec Superior Court Judge in the Dalila Awada Versus Philippe Magnan . . . Defamation Suit.

Philippe Magnan Didn’t Lose The Case Because He Hurt Dalila Awada’s Feelings.

Philippe Magnan Lost The Case Because Magnan CONFLATED Facts with Opinions. In other words, Philippe Magnan Made Statements of Opinion as TRUTHS, without having any Evidence to Corroborate his Statements.

DON’T GET ME WRONG . . . I think the Judicial System Stinks Equally in Canada as it does in the United States of America. I think there are far too many Judges who Prefer to Make the Laws Rather than Interpret them as they were Written & Intended, Especially in Canada, where Judges have far more LEEWAY to be Creative & Interpretive with the Laws than Do-Judges in the USA . . . HOWEVER – THIS WASN’T A CASE OF INTERPRETATION.

I Read the Judge’s (Carole Julien) Finding in the French Language as it was Written, which I am quite Certain Pamela Geller Didn’t, which means that Geller had to Rely on other People’s Interpretation, which in itself could be Biased & Untrue.

To Me . . . The Judge did Appear to be Somewhat Sympathetic to the Plaintiff (Dalila Awada), & More Than Somewhat Less Sympathetic To The Defendant (Philippe Magnan). However . . . That Written – The Judge’s Finding was Based upon FACTS . . .

Did Philippe Magnan have Substantial Evidence to Corroborate His Opinions – WHICH HE WROTE AS FACTS?

I HAVE WRITTEN MANY TIMES THAT THIS BLOG HAS TO BE RIGHT 100% OF THE TIME:

A Few Editorials Ago . . . I Castigated some of the Readers of Galganov.com for Writing Comments in the Galganov.com Editorial Comment Section, which were either UNTRUE or Unsubstantiated Opinions . . . as if they were True.

If You Say Or Write It As FACT . . . You Better Be Able To Prove It.

Perhaps Everything Philippe Magnan Wrote in his BLOG about Dalila Awada was True, which is very Possible, but if it Can’t Be Corroborated . . . It’s Defamation, which is what the Courts Are For and what this Case was all About.

The Judge Made That Point Ultra Clear, She Condemned BLOGGERS for being Unprofessional, who very Often Resort to Hyperbole . . . To Which She Was Right.

But The Same Thing Can Be Said About The Mainstream Media, which Far Too Often is GUILTY OF THE SAME OFFENSE, but somehow gets a Bye for their Dishonesty.

Pamela Geller Was Right . . . When she wrote that Bloggers Today are like the Pamphleteers of Old – the Men & Women who in the Still of the Night or Under Tremendous Threat . . . Wrote & Disseminated the Truth in Totalitarian Societies, which only Makes our Accuracy & Integrity all that Much More Important.

IN THIS DAY & AGE OF FAKE NEWS . . . Bloggers are Essential to Balance the Power & Dissemination of Information. But, if Bloggers Resort to the Proliferation of Opinion as Fact & Hearsay as Evidence – Where Will We Be Any Better Or More Vital To The Truth Than Are Today’s Mainstream Media?

Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov