Hate Crime Conviction in British Columbia

We're curious to know what makes this case different than the recent attack in Edmonton.

Attack on gay man was a hate crime, B.C. judge rules

Michael Kandola sentenced to 17 months in prison for assaulting Jordan Smith

Vancouver, BC — The Canadian Press
Published on Friday, Apr. 30, 2010 6:01PM EDT
Last updated on Friday, Apr. 30, 2010 10:45PM EDT

Gay hatred was flowing through a young B.C. man the night he and a group of friends swarmed two men holding hands in downtown Vancouver, shouting homophobic obscenities and punching one of the pair in the head, a judge has ruled.

The rare finding that the beating of Jordan Smith was a hate crime was lauded by B.C. activists who say it will be used to bolster future cases where prosecutors argue prejudice is a motivating factor.

Mr. Smith was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion and broken jaw for daring to challenge the bully who called him and his boyfriend “faggots” in the early hours of Sept. 27, 2008 as the couple meandered through the city's gay village.

Even after Mr. Smith went down, Michael Kandola stood over him, spitting slurs and threatening to kick him in the face again, court heard Friday.

“[At] any of these junctures, there was an opportunity to stop, an opportunity to see the matter was getting out of control, an opportunity to change your ways,” Justice Joel Groves told Mr. Kandola and the victim's supporters in B.C. Supreme Court.

“This opportunity was never chosen by Mr. Kandola.”

Mr. Kandola fled the scene when a taxi driver threatened to call police. Video footage of the incident was captured by a nearby convenience store camera.

Calling Mr. Kandola's actions vicious, unprovoked and cowardly, Justice Groves said hatred of Mr. Smith's sexual orientation was a motivating factor in the attack and as such, he was meting out a harsher penalty for the crime.

Mr. Kandola was sentenced to a total of 17 months in jail. With time off for the period he's already served in custody, the sentence amounts to a year.

The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm in late March.

Prior to the sentencing, defence lawyer Danny Markovitz read out a short apology letter from Mr. Kandola that describes the crime as a “bad choice” fuelled by alcohol and adrenaline.

“My mother and father have instilled many values in me ... that I should like or dislike a person based on how they act, not the colour of their skin or their sexual orientation,” the letter read.

“I am not or have I ever been a person who discriminates against gay people.”

Mr. Groves said the man's remorse was “limited and late in the day.”

“Mr. Kandola individually must know his actions are not only contrary to the law but are also deplored by Canadian society,” he said.

Outside court, Mr. Markovitz said he's seriously considering appealing the case.

Mr. Smith's lawyer, Dasein Nearing, told reporters the “significant” decision will be used by courts down the road.

“I believe it does send a message and I think in his judgment, Justice Groves was particular and instructive in saying this kind of behaviour will not be countenanced by other people,” she said.

The case drew wide media attention as Vancouver's gay community rallied for recognition that the crime was triggered by prejudice.

After the incident, hundreds of people, including the city's chief of police, marched through Vancouver's West End where the incident occurred to denounce violence against gays.

Prof. Janine Benedet, who specializes in equality law at the University of British Columbia, said the decision could be precedent-setting in a city that's seen its share of gay-bashing go virtually unrecognized by the courts.

“It recognizes that there is something particularly significant about assaults that are motivated by discriminatory attitudes, because they really do target not just the victim, but an entire population,” she said.

Gay rights activists were outraged when a judge failed to call the beating death of Aaron Webster a hate crime. Webster was found naked, wearing only boots, after the 2001 attack in an area of the park known to be frequented by gay men.

Hitler: Dead and Loving It

April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945

Now, let the fun begin.

Hitler's skull fragment was reportedly used by Stalin as an ashtray.

Okay, even we're a bit embarrassed by that last one.

Come on. It's not as if you didn't think we'd pass this up.

More on Craig Cobb Firing: The Bill Noble Comedy Hour

"boom booom antifa, soon bullets will be flying "

The above message was left for us under the post regarding Craig Cobb concerning his firing from Xentel. We didn't allow the comment to pass moderation and hadn't initially intended to publish it, however given the recent posts by Bill Noble on Stormfront regarding the Cobb protests, we figured that it would serve as an interesting and telling counterpoint to the claims now being made by Bill Noble:


Here, Noble writes that the only reason why Cobb's residence would be published would be to harm him. He claims that anti-racists, "are well known for their firebombing and other forms of assault against their victims."

Look as we might, during the past decade we can't find a single instance of racists who's address has been who have been subject to any form of physical abuse or vandalism. When we look at the past 20 years, we find a single instance, that being the incident that occurred at Heritage Front member Gary Schipper's home. As for firebombing, we've yet to find a single case were that has occurred. You may try to claim the Zundel arson as having been committed by the ARA, however the only group to have ever claimed responsibility for that crime was an extremist and racist Jewish group with connections the JDL.

On the other hand, we can point to numerous examples in Canada alone during the last couple of years where anti-racists' residences' addresses have been published by racists, and those anti-racists were subject to assaults and firebombings. Jason and Bonnie Devine's home has been firebombed and vandalized on at least three occasions over the past two years. The apartment of the individual who organized the anti-racist rally in Vancouver on March 21 was attacked with some sort of incendiary device. Hell, racists are even attacking other racists, as the allegations concerning Kyle McKee suggest. And these are just a start.

During our research, we even came across an example of someone who's contact information YOU published was subject to harassment Billy:

It was only a matter of days before a Creator calling himself "Exterminance" took a trick out of Matt Hale's old playbook [we should mention that Noble, who not long ago was posting online as "Exterminance" was not a member of the Creativity Movement]. He posted an address, cell and telephone number for an Anthony Evola outside Chicago, "In Case Anyone Wants To Say Hi." Within hours, threatening messages had started to pop up on Anthony Evola's answering machine.

Just one problem: It was the wrong Anthony Evola.

Given this reality, we have to wonder what Billy means when he writes, "only if they taste their own medicine can they be made to leave decent human beings alone." What medicine did Mr. Evola have to taste, Billy?

And while we're at it, you're not saying that Cobb is a "decent" human being, are you? We admit that being decent can be somewhat subjective (one man's saint is another man's sinner), but were not sure how anyone who does this could be considered to be decent by most standards in civil society:

"Rosa Parks was a shitskin communist," he said. "I'm here to celebrate her death."

In another post, Billy addresses another Stormfront member who disputes the claims that Craig Cobb has ever advocated racial genocide on the website he created:

Well, there's a very easy way for our readers to determine the truth of Billy's claim here. While we will not provide the link to the site, we would invite our readers to type, "podblanc" into Google. There, you will find such charming videos as, "Skinhead beatings (best of)" which is a compilation of neo-Nazis attacking and beating minorities (you will also notice that these are often from behind and involve multiple neo-Nazis against a single, often much smaller, individual). You'll also find the video of Russian neo-Nazis who have kidnapped two people who appear to be from the Caucuses, cut off their heads and state that this is a warning of what will happen to other, "non-Russians" living in Russia. We managed to find videos supporting the mass murder of Jews. Of Muslims. Of homosexuals. And this is a site that was created and maintained by our friend, Craig Cobb.

But as we wrote, you needn't take our word for it. Check it out for yourself. You can also head on to VNN and take a look at what he posted there until he was banned (a bit of a spat with Alex Linder) including gems such as these:


Our favourite part of Billy's lament is that our criticism of people like Cobb, himself, the Aryan Guard and other groups is based on circular reasoning. The only reason why we think Billy is "evil" is because of his association with the Aryan Guard. The reason why the Aryan Guard is "evil" is because Bill Noble is a member.

Billy. Baby. That's simply not true.

While the links between the Aryan Guard and the National-Socialist Party of Canada are interesting, those links aren't the reason why we think you all are "evil" (a word used too much and often for the wrong reasons). That's more a case of like minded people coming together in their mutual douchebaggery. No, that we condemn the Aryan Guard has nothing to do with whom they associate with and everything to do with how they behave.

It was an Aryan Guard member who was convicted of assaulting a Japanese immigrant in 2008.

It was a member of the Aryan Guard who attempted to attack an city transit worker he lured into the compartment he was riding in, then attacking the police with the same knife.

It is the founder of the Aryan Guard who is currently behind bars on attempted murder charges.

It is a member of the Aryan Guard who has advocated murdering minorities, including children:


See. No need to invoke the NSPC to explain why you all are scum. You provide ample reasons yourselves why you should be loathed. We could provide more reasons, but I think you get the point.

Finally, and in a blow to Billy's claim that anti-racists represent some sort of great danger, even the boneheads don't believe that's true. On March 15, another well known Canadian bonehead posted a message on our blog. We'll go into more detail, and provide a context for her comment, at a later date, but for now we think the following excerpt should suffice:

Nobody thinks you are dangerous. You've had my email for years, and my last telephone number was in the phone book in Montreal.

We've been saying this for years, but maybe you'll believe one of your own. Who wrote this?


Why it's the lovely Tara Dribnenki, better known online as "love2hate" or "WindorForest" as has gone by for a few years on Stormfront.

Thanks Tara. How've you been? Still tone deaf? Can you still do that trick with the beer bottle?

Which brings us back to the message we were sent last week and which we began this post with.

Billy, you and we know who have carried out attacks, firebombings and in some cases murders. It isn't the anti-racists.

And to the person who left us the message, if you think for one moment you're going to intimidate us into silence, you've failed utterly.

Victim Called a Dyke, Attacked Because of Her Sexuality, But it Isn't a Hate Crime

Apparently we have a different idea of what constitutes a hate crime, but what do we know?

Teen charged in violent Edmonton assault

Last Updated: Saturday, April 24, 2010

A 14-year-old boy has been charged in connection with an assault on a 31-year-old woman who says the attack was a hate crime.

The boy, who can't be identified, was arrested on Friday and charged with aggravated assault after the vicious attack on April 17 in the area of 76 Avenue and 96 Street.

The victim, Shannon Barry, suffered a broken jaw, a crushed left eye socket and facial nerve damage.

Barry, who is a lesbian, said she and five friends were walking home from a bar in south Edmonton when a group of men started yelling at them from the other side of the street, calling them "dykes" and "faggots."

In an interview after the attack, Barry told CBC News one of the men then walked over and kicked her in the face.

Police said at a media briefing on Saturday that after interviewing witnesses they've determined the assault was "random and that the victim was not specifically targeted."

At the briefing, Edmonton police Chief Mike Boyd also apologized for the way the investigation was handled.

"I want to offer my apology to the victim, and I also want to offer my apology on behalf of the Edmonton Police Service to our wider minority communities here in the city of Edmonton," he said.

Barry had raised concerns, saying police did not begin investigating until several days after the assault.

At the time, police confirmed they began investigating after a CBC News report came out Wednesday, detailing how the officer who responded to Barry's 911 call had not followed the standard police practice of calling in a dog team or helicopter to search for the attackers, who had fled after the assault.

The officer also did not interview any of the witnesses and did not file a report the same day the assault occurred, which is a breach of police policy.

Boyd apologized for the error on Saturday, saying the officer failed to file an internal report the day the assault occurred and didn't finish the report until he returned from his scheduled days off on Thursday.

However, Boyd said the hate crime unit was given the file and starting investigating on Wednesday — despite the fact that the officer's report was not submitted until the next day.

Boyd said the officer is a constable with "several years" of experience. He said the office is looking into the incident, and the officer may face disciplinary action.

Craig Cobb Feeling the Heat In Vancouver It Seems

We had mentioned some time ago that Craig Cobb was currently living in Vancouver after having been deported from Estonia where he had resided for a few years. Cobb is infamous for a few reasons, including his vitriolic hatred towards minorities on the Internet, his habit of attending events where he records the reaction of participants to his hateful rhetoric (something he did recently in Vancouver, though apparently without the commentary) and, most significantly, his creation and participation on Podblanc, a site that glorifies violence and murder committed against minorities.

We here in the Collective had been wondering how Cobb, an American whom we assume must have Canadian dual citizenship, was making a living. It would seem that Vanccouver area anti-racists learned the answer to that question and decided to make their concerns known to the buisness where Cobb found employment:

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

Vancouver SHARP and ARA have recieved information that a local employer, Xantel has knowingly hired white power organizer and advocate of genocide Craig Cobb despite having full knowledge of his racist views, open advocation of mass genocide and his website podblanc.com. We are planning to meet at the Art Gallery on Saturday April 24 at 11am to make a statement to the city in general and to Xantel specifically that the hiring of known white supremacists will not be tolerated, and that doing such a thing is equvalent to condoning such acts. We would love for you and any others you wish to bring to come stand with us and make your voices heard. We will be starting at the Art Gallery with some speakers and from there moving through the streets to the business in question, on our walk we will be passing out infomation to passers by about Cobb and his history of hatred. Upon arriving at Xantel we will make our voices heard and tell this employer that in no uncertain terms, the hiring of known hate criminals will not be tolerated! Please join us in showing the city and indeed the world that there is no room for hatred. Anyone wishing to help or ask questions please feel free to email Vancouver SHARP at vancouver.sharp@gmail.com or call 604-786-9673 Warmest Regards, Blayde Sharp Skinheads Against Racial Predjudice Vancouver Chapter Anti Racist Action Vancouver Chapter

This press release came out yesterday. And what was discovered soon after? Well....:

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

Earlier this evening Vancouver Antifa members learned that Craig Cobb has been fired from Xantel DM. A huge thank you and congratulations to each and every one of you for helping to make this happen!!! The rally is still on for tommorow at 11 am. Hoping to see you all there.

In Solidarity,

Micheal Plume

Vancouver Skinheads Against Racial Predjudice

Anti Racist Action Vancouver

Edmonton Hate Crime Being Investigated

On April 17, a gay woman was attacked and seriously injured in Edmonton by a group of young men hurling homophobic slurs. Still more disturbing is the fact that police waited five days before opening a case file on the assault and launching a formal investigation.

Edmonton assault being investigated as hate crime

Gay woman undergoes reconstructive surgery to her face

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Police Service Hate Unit is investigating after an Edmonton woman says she was kicked in the face when she and her friends refused the advances of a group of young men.

The Saturday night encounter turned violent after one of the women said they weren’t interested because they are gay.

Christie Feels the Pinch as BC Court of Appeal Upholds Law Society Discipline Ruling and Fine

Christie loses appeal of law society ruling

Times Colonist
April 22, 2010

Victoria lawyer Doug Christie has lost another appeal of a decision by the Law Society of B.C. that he committed professional misconduct and should pay a fine of $2,500, plus costs of $20,000.

The B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed Christie's appeal in a judgment released this week. The matter stems from a 2006 complaint against Christie, lodged by another lawyer, in connection with three subpoenas the society said Christie issued improperly in 2003.

In its original December 2007 decision, a society panel found Christie altered a subpoena so it appeared to compel the recipients to provide documents. Christie said the document had been typed up by his client's husband because Christie's wife, who was also his secretary, was ill. Christie said he saw the error in the document but did not change it. He argued the error was inadvertent and the result of severe stress he was going through.

Regardless, the law society ruled in 2007 that Christie acted unprofessionally. Christie paid the $2,500 fine but appealed the costs. In 2009, the society reviewed the decision and confirmed it. He then appealed to the B.C. Court of Appeal.

We direct you to this link to read the actual appeal decision

That's got to smart.

Nazi Fetish Day Part II

Okay, this is a quick one.

Predictably boneheads are celebrating the birth of Adolf Hitler, among them two of our favourite Aryan Guard social misfits:


And to that, we have the following response:


We know. Childish. Beneath us. We should act our age.

But at least we think we're funny.

Nazi Fetish Day

If you're a normal high school student, the idea of "celebrating" 4/20 probably brings to mind sitting in a basement with a few friends, watching old episodes of the Teletubbies, and partaking in certain non-legal pharmaceuticals (don't do drugs kids). But if you're a Nazi fetishist, today is your Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Laylat al-Qadr all rolled up into one magical day. You see on this day 121 years ago a little boy was born in an obscure Austrian border town to a customs official who's own parentage may have been the result his grandmother's roll in the hay with any number of itinerant male workers (grandma Schicklgruber was girl who knew how to have a good time). That little boy would later go on to fail at school, live as a homeless vagrant in Vienna, create "art" that your own grandmother wouldn't put up beside the velvet Elvis she picked up in Graceland on her last vacation for fear that it looked too tacky, and grow a really, really stupid looking mustache.

We of course are talking about Rollie Fingers:



No, no, of course not. Actually, Hitler was born this day in 1889.

To most of the world, Hitler is one of the most reviled humans to have ever existed. In addition to the Holocaust, his actions ultimately led to the destruction of Germany and that nation's partition between the Western and Soviet blocs for close to 46 years. Hitler did more damage to Germany than any other person as a result of his naked aggression against other Europeans.

Yet, the Nazis love him. No, you don't understand. They loooovvvvvveeeeeee him. A lot. How much? Well, if Hitler somehow appeared before... let's say Kevin Goudreau, we're sure that Goudreau would immediately fall to his knees and offer to perform fellatio. And not because for any sexual gratification. Goudreau would likely believe that Hitler's seed would somehow imbue him with cosmic super powers with which to slay his enemies, fly and time travel. Even people who's ancestors would have been considered untermensch (such as London, Ontario's self described "biggest hater" Tomasz Winnicki) are willing to ignore Hilter's own statements concerning the Slavs and become full on Hitler worshipers.

Today, neo-Nazis, people whom Hilter himself would have sent to the camps for being degenerates, are in the process of celebrating the birth of a man who is directly responsible for the deaths of more than 70 million people. We here at ARC have decided that we too will commemorate the birth of Hitler in the only way we know how.

Derisive, childish, mockery, all of which we can absolutely guarantee will be in extremely bad taste.

We didn't realize that Hitler was such a Brittney fan:



None of us speak German, but we all think we need to watch this movie:



A little Monty Python for the old timers:



Perhaps not exactly in good taste, but as Hitler is being lampooned, we'll add it to the list:



From the great, great Mel Brooks, master of the parody (fun fact: we miss the 1980s):



Finally, you can't mention the name Mel Brooks without also mentioning, "The Producers":



While we celebrate "Dead Nazi Day" on the day that Rudolf Hess ended his miserable existence, we feel that we should make this day an annual event for anti-racists to laugh at the Nazi fetishists.

Rehberg Brothers Charged in Nova Scotia Racial Intimidation Incident As Victims' Car is Burnt on Weekend

On February 21, Michelle Lyon and Shayne Howe found a cross burning outside their residence. The reaction from the "White Pride, not hate" crowd on Stormfront was as expected:



Very soon after, two suspects were arrested and charged with the crime. Today Nathan and Justin Rehberg were to enter a plea. Justin Rehnberg has plead not guilty. His brother Nathan did not enter a plea. Neither appeared in the court room: