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Stories about Charles Darwin's upcoming bicentenary:

Exhibit reveals Darwin as reluctant evolutionary
Bicentenary of his birth marked by reappraisal of tormented theorist who challenged faith
Toronto Star, November 23

Charles Darwin: Troublemaker of the Century
Charles Darwin is in the news a lot these days. A combative documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, came out this year attacking those who defend Darwin's evolutionary theories. It was produced by a British Columbian named Walt Ruloff (watch for my upcoming profile).
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, November 27

Earlier: Expelled brings Intelligent Design controversy back home to Canada

Stories about the same-sex debate:

Abbotsford pride parade quashed by online protesters
Plans by a group of Abbotsford high school students to hold their community's first gay pride parade were halted after hundreds of people protested their efforts online. Instead, the youths have joined forces with other equality advocates to organize a "social justice rally" December 6.
Vancouver Sun, November 24

Man sues Sask. gov't after being fined for refusing to perform same sex marriage
A marriage commissioner is suing the Saskatchewan government after being fined $2,500 for refusing to marry a gay couple. A Saskatchewan human rights tribunal cited Orville Nichols for discrimination in May for refusing to perform the same-sex marriage.
Canadian Press, November 25

Earlier: Stories about same-sex marriage and anti-gay protests

Stories about American presidential politics:

Noted Vancouver financier says "no business link" with Bill Clinton
Vancouver-based mining investor Frank Giustra has written to me to clarify his relationship with former U.S. president Bill Clinton as it relates to the possible appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, November 20

The no-spin White House
As my colleagues look back this week upon the expected legacy of George W. Bush, reviews from both here and abroad, left and right, are largely negative. The Bush administration itself seems disinclined to defend its record; there is an unusual lack of concern for public opinion. This challenges some of our thinking about democratic leadership.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, November 27

Earlier: Stories about the American election

Stories about "human rights" tribunals and commissions:

Human-rights tribunal shouldn't police Internet hate: report
An independent report recommends stripping the Canadian Human Rights Commission of its authority to police hate messages on the Internet. The report by constitutional law expert Richard Moon says Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act should be repealed.
Canadian Press, November 24

Drop hate from rights act, study urges
Section 13, the controversial hate-speech provision in the Canadian Human Rights Act, should be repealed so that online hate speech is a purely criminal matter, according to an independent review by University of Windsor law professor Richard Moon. "The use of censorship by the government should be confined to a narrow category of extreme expression -- that which threatens, advocates or justifies violence against the members of an identifiable group," Prof. Moon writes in the review, released yesterday, five months after it was commissioned by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
National Post, November 25

A victory for free speech
With the release of the Moon report, Parliament has no excuse not to kill the censorship powers of the Canadian Human Rights Commission
Ezra Levant, National Post, November 25

When speech becomes dangerous
Prof. Moon gets a lot right in his report, notably his finding that the failure to ban "the extreme or radical edge" of what he calls "discriminatory expression" carries too many risks, particularly in the context of "the racist subculture that subsists on the Internet." He also rightly concludes that the kinds of speech the CHRC has found to violate Section 13 fall within this dangerous "radical edge." What he doesn't get right is his major recommendation: namely, that Section 13 can be safely repealed.
Mark Freiman, Globe and Mail, November 25

Revise the Human Rights Act
There are few true rights in our free and democratic nation. One of those, which is central to our freedom, is the right to free speech. This issue inadvertently came to the forefront last year due to a number of actions taken by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and its application of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) in a number of high-profile cases. The furor sparked by the CHRC's actions compelled the commission to undertake an independent study of its own activities. Well respected human rights expert Professor Richard Moon was tapped to lead the investigation. His report, just released, is a lucid exploration into this sensitive issue; his recommendations, courageous.
Keith Martin, National Post, November 26

Earlier: Stories about "human rights" tribunals and commissions

Stories about the Aga Khan, Islam and the West:

The Aga Khan: faith and action
My interest in His Highness the Aga Khan, and in his vision, dates back to 1957. Then, as a young university student, I read about Prince Karim, who had suddenly inherited his grandfather's mantle as the imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismailis. His grandfather had been a remarkable figure of worldwide renown. The young prince was still a student at Harvard, and I remember thinking, "How does he feel about inheriting this enormous responsibility as the leader of the Ismailis at the age of 20?"
Adrienne Clarkson, Globe and Mail, November 20

Roman Catholics and Ismailis hold two giant Vancouver events
Two giant events will be held by religious organizations in downtown Vancouver in the next few days, despite B.C.'s reputation as one of the most secular regions of the continent. More than 12,000 Roman Catholics are expected to gather at 1 p.m. Sunday at GM Place to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the archdiocese of Vancouver. And an expected crowd of 25,000 Ismaili Muslims will meet at B.C. Place on Tuesday to mark the 50th anniversary of the reign of their spiritual leader, the Aga Khan, who is on a cross-country tour.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, November 21

Islamist fighters storm port seeking pirated ship
Spokesman for militias says they plan to free tanker; others say they hope for ransom share
Jonathan Manthorpe, Vancouver Sun, November 22

'We've been victimized'
At issue was the treatment of Islam in Maclean's magazine, and after considering criminal complaints or a civil case, the group decided on the quasi-judicial compromise, human rights commissions. The campaign against Maclean's that was born that night has now failed in three jurisdictions, and the public outcry at its perceived frivolity has drawn Canada's entire human rights bureaucracy, fairly or unfairly, into scandal and disrepute. The debate has expanded to include other cases, and drawn together many threads, from white supremacy and immigrant integration to media freedoms and the rise of the blogs.
National Post, November 22

Cacophony sounds okay to the Aga Khan
What may often sound to Canadians like a discordant cacophony of voices from our diverse cultures and interest groups is apparently music to the ears of the Aga Khan. In an exclusive interview on Sunday with The Vancouver Sun, the hereditary leader of the world's 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims held up Canada -- a country he has visited often and has maintained a close relationship with throughout his 50-year reign -- as a model with much to teach the world.
Vancouver Sun, November 24

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UN gives Islamic states 'cover' for anti-blasphemy laws
Islamic countries Monday won United Nations backing for an anti-blasphemy measure Canada and other Western critics say risks being used to limit freedom of speech. Combating Defamation of Religions passed 85-50 with 42 abstentions in a key UN General Assembly committee, and will enter into the international record after an expected rubber stamp by the plenary later in the year. But while the draft's sponsors say it and earlier similar measures aim at preventing violence against worshipers regardless of religion, religious tolerance advocates warn the resolutions are being accumulated for a more sinister goal.
Stephen Edwards, Full Comment, National Post, November 24

Ismaili Muslim leader says Canada's diversity is a model for the world
The leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims says Canada's pluralism is a model to the world. The Aga Khan thanked Canada for welcoming Ismailis, a moderate group within the Shia wing of Islam, who were forced to flee persecution and conflict in their own countries over the years.
Canadian Press, November 25

Crowd of thousands greets arrival of spiritual leader
The Aga Khan is expected to draw 25,000 for a religious gathering at BC Place today
Vancouver Sun, November 25

The Aga Khan after 50 years: We may yet set the world right
Education is the key to better relations between the West and Muslim states, says spiritual leader
Don Cayo, Vancouver Sun, November 25

Aga Khan inspires gathering at BC Place
Leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims delivers inspirational speech to crowd of about 25,000 on the last day of his visit to Canada
Vancouver Sun, November 26

Mumbai massacre
The carefully planned and coordinated attacks in India's financial capital of Mumbai by terrorists armed with automatic weapons and grenades Wednesday killed at least 101 people and wounded 287 more. The critical now question is: Will this inflame religious tensions between Muslims and Hindus in India and prove to be a setback for building better relations between Muslim Pakistan and predominantly Hindu India?
Jonathan Manthorpe, Vancouver Sun, November 27

Look to Pakistan power struggle for roots of Mumbai murders
The terrorist mayhem in Mumbai had barely subsided when I received the first e-mail suggesting the attacks had been carried out by agents of Mossad -- Israel's foreign intelligence agency -- masquerading as Islamic terrorists to give Muslims a bad name. . . . As ridiculous as this may sound, chances are that countless Muslims are deluding themselves into believing that it is not their co-religionists who are responsible for the savagery let loose on India, but some hidden U.S.-Zionist conspiracy against Islam.
Tarek Fatah, Full Comment, National Post, November 27

Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West

Stories about Muslims accused of firebombing Jewish sites:

File on 1980 Paris bombing revealed
The author of the 1980 bombing of a synagogue paraded in the streets of Paris with two fake Cypriot passports, and carried a stack of $100 U.S. bills to pay for the material used in his deadly deed, according to French police records released Thursday. The newly unsealed documents are part of the extradition case against Hassan Diab, an Ottawa sociology professor and Canadian citizen born and raised in Lebanon who was arrested in connection with the bombing last week.
Globe and Mail, November 20

Mother of Montreal Jewish school firebomber sentenced to one year's probation
The mother of a man involved in the 2004 firebombing of a Jewish elementary school in Montreal won't be serving any jail time. In September, Rouba Elmerhebi Fahd, who has been free on $10,000 bail, was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact. She had tried to help her son leave the country after the firebombing.
Canadian Press, November 25

Earlier: Stories about Muslims accused of firebombing Jewish sites

Other stories from the past week:

Truth and Reconciliation Commission's first national event postponed
The first in a series of nationally scheduled meetings between aboriginal residential school survivors and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been postponed. The meeting was to have taken place in Vancouver in January. The commission says on its website the decision was made "given the circumstances," and that the intention is to reschedule the event once a new chair is appointed. The commission into Indian residential school sexual and physical abuse was derailed when its head, Justice Harry LaForme, resigned in October.
Canadian Press, November 20
Earlier: Stories about the residential schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Crash survivors face mix of emotions -- and may find a new spirituality
'If you didn't have a way to make sense of things ... you'd go crazy,' Prince George woman says
Vancouver Sun, November 21

Exploring a hostile world
UBC researcher Ara Norenzayan has spent his life studying the religious roots of hatred and goodness, and how it impacts his own life
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, November 22

Catholics pack GM Place for anniversary celebration
Nearly 12,000 flock to mark 100th birthday of archdiocese
Vancouver Sun, November 24

Brawling at the Holy Sepulchre
In Israel, as in all countries that contain archeological sites of deep spiritual and religious significance, there tends to be three levels of authenticity and holiness. First, those that are almost certainly not genuine but are soaked in prayer through centuries of devotion. Second, those that may or may not be the real thing but inspire believers. Third, those that are certainly or almost certainly the original places of world-changing events. The church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is regarded by virtually every serious archeologist and historian as the spot where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried, and where, according to Christians, the resurrection took place.
Michael Coren, National Post, November 24

Sikh youth group sweeps to temple power
It is the end of an era at Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Temple. Longtime moderate president Balwant Singh Gill was defeated in temple elections Sunday that saw an orthodox youth group sweep all the temple executive positions.
Vancouver Sun, November 25
Earlier: Stories about Sikhs and Sikhism

P.E.I. bucks trend, still no year-round Sunday shopping
Prince Edward Island has once again decided not to have year-round Sunday shopping. Attorney General Gerard Greenan confirmed the P.E.I. government will not change the current law that prohibits Sunday shopping for the months of January, February, March, April and much of May.
CanWest News Service, November 27
Earlier: Stories about Sunday shopping in Nova Scotia

Catholic trustees avoid police probe
No grounds for criminal investigation are found in report about questionable, prohibited expenses
Toronto Star, November 27
Earlier: Stories about the Toronto Catholic school board

November 27/2008