Monday, March 29, 2010

Ann Coulter is a columnist, author, and a political commentator who has extreme right wing beliefs. She is well known for standing up for her beliefs in very controversial ways, often by using acts of racism. Ann is often on television or radio programs, and gives speeches to groups of people. Her commentary has given her a bad reputation as being an offensive critic of liberalism. Ann has often been heard making remarks about other races, especially Muslims. Recently, she told a Muslim woman who attended one of her speeches to "take a camel" as an alternative to flying. This quote outraged many people of all races which then led to an immense crowd of protesters at her next speech, causing it to get cancelled.
Freedom of speech is the freedom to voice one's opinions without fear of censorship or punishment.. The right to freedom of speech is considered as a human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In Canada, everyone has the freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression.Despite the protections from the Charter, Canada has had a few journalists and writers fined or put in jail for their political opinions as expressed through their writing. Courts continue to struggle with the conflict between groups not putting up with anything bad said about them and groups voicing their opinion about their beliefs. That being said, there is a limit as to what one can say. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, it is illegal to promote genocide, as well as publicly display hatred against certain people based on their colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, and sexual orientation, except if the statements are true or made in good faith.
Before Ann's speech at the University of Western Ontario, she received an email from the University stating that she be careful about what she says during her speech because of the Charter. Ann however ignored this warning and spoke in an extremely disrespectful manner, offending many groups of people, especially Muslims. Ann Coulter was warned before the speech about racism and how Canada doesn't tolerate it. There is a huge difference between voicing one's opinions in a civilized way and voicing one's opinions as to offend people. Ann went over the top with her conservative ways and should be severely punished for it. If Ms. Coulter does get charged, it might prevent her from making the same mistakes in the future, and she will think about what she says.

Monday, March 22, 2010

desctriptive paragraph

The dust finally settled on the old transport wagon. The chase was over, stopped abruptly after the wagon's wheel smashed on a jagged rock. Out of the wreckage crawled a man . His eyes were shielded by a soft brimmed top hat, desperately needing a wash. His face was hidden amongst a forest of scraggly facial hair, his mouth poking through like a groundhog coming out of it's hole for the first time. The shadowed eyes seemed to hiss at you, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike out and grasp their unsuspecting prey. The dusty old jeans that were strapped on at his waist looked like they had been worn one too many times, with rips scattered all over, just like potholes occupy abandoned roads. This man's boots snake skin boots were atrocious, almost as if they were undergoing an annual shed just like the snake had done before. With lightning quick speed this man pulled out his guns, and shot my companion in the head. I dove for cover behind the remains of the wagon, and when I poked my head out, all that could be seen was the silhouette of this strange man against the setting sun in the distance.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

entering a haunted house cliche paragraph

It was a dark and stormy night when some of my best friends and I decided to spend the night in the towns old abandoned haunted house. I think that we bit off more than we could chew, as we soon found out. We were standing outside the house, scared half to death, when I took one for the team and opened the creaky old door. We stepped forward cautiously into the house, waiting for any surprise that might jump out at us. Oh boy, we sure got a run for our money that night. The floor boards were creaking underneath us and the roof was shaking above us. Everything about the house screamed out danger, especially the noise. Thats when things took a twist. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement. Then suddenly a masked figure jumped out at us and chased us right out of the house. I ran all the way home, heart racing, hands shaking, and my hair standing up on end. No one ever made the same mistake as us ever again. The mistake of letting one of your friends put on a mask and scare the living daylights out of you.