The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights
entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of
the Constitution Act, 1982. The Charter is intended to protect certain
political and civil rights of people in Canada from the policies and
actions of all levels of government. It is also supposed to unify
Canadians around a set of principles that embody those rights. The
Charter was preceded by the Canadian Bill of Rights, which was
introduced by the government of John Diefenbaker in 1960. However, the
Bill of Rights was only a federal statute, rather than a
constitutional document, and therefore limited in scope and easily
amendable. Hence, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's government enacted
the Charter in 1982. One of the most notable effects of the adoption
of the Charter was to greatly expand the scope of judicial review. The
Court system of Canada, when confronted with violations of Charter
rights, have struck down unconstitutional statutes or parts of
statutes. However, the Charter granted new powers to the courts to
enforce more creative remedies and to exclude more evidence in trials.
As a result, the Charter has attracted both passionate support from
liberals and criticisms by opponents of increased judicial power.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1870:
Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opened in
London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Subway)
1903:
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and Bulgarians in
the Ottoman Empire carried out the Ilinden Uprising.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilinden-Preobrazhenie_Uprising)
1934:
Adolf Hitler became Führer of Nazi Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrer)
1990:
Iraq invaded Kuwait, triggering the Gulf War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can
have." -- James Baldwin
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Baldwin)
The Order of the Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic
fraternal service organization. Founded in 1882, it is named in honor
of Christopher Columbus and dedicated to the principles of Charity,
Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. There are more than 1.7 million
members in 14,000 councils, including nearly 200 on college campuses.
Membership is limited to "practical Catholic" men who are at least 18
years old. Councils have been chartered in the United States, Canada,
Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, the Philippines, Guam, Saipan
and most recently in Poland. All the Order's ceremonials and business
meetings are restricted to members though all other events are open to
the public. An oath not to reveal any details of the ceremonials
except to an equally qualified Knight is required to ensure their
impact and meaning for new members; an additional clause in the oath
subordinates the vow to the swearer's legal and religious duties.
Knights are known for their strong Catholicity and have been called
the "strong right arm of the Church." In the 2005 fraternal year the
Order gave $136 million directly to charity and performed over 63.2
million hours of voluntary service.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Columbus
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1774:
Joseph Priestley (pictured) discovered oxygen, corroborating the prior
discovery of this chemical element by Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/oxygen)
1907:
The Scouting movement began with the first scout camp at Brownsea
Island in Dorset, England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting)
1927:
The Nanchang Uprising in China marked the first major hostilities in
the Chinese Civil War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanchang_Uprising)
1944:
The Warsaw Uprising against Nazi occupation began in Poland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising)
1981:
MTV debuted with the song Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV)
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Wikiquote of the day:
And now we meet in an abandoned studio; We hear the playback and it
seems so long ago; And you remember the jingles used to go; Oh, oh - You
were the first one. Oh, oh - You were the last one. Video killed the
radio star. -- The Buggles
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Buggles)