Defend Geert Wilders and Freedom of Speech

January 22, 2009 - Washington, DC and Copenhagen, Denmark: A Dutch court yesterday ordered the criminal prosecution of Geert Wilders, Dutch parliamentarian and leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), for his statements - written, spoken and filmed -regarding Islam. The Amsterdam Court of Appeals has deemed such statements “insulting,” declaring that they “substantially harm the religious esteem” of Muslims.

Clearly, the effect of this Dutch court order is to set new limits to public debate in Dutch society, in this case about the highly controversial but nonetheless crucially important subject of Islam. This makes the prosecution of Geert Wilders an unacceptable breach of the sanctity of freedom of speech in Western society.

Having ordered a criminal prosecution for the opinions of a duly elected leader of a legitimate political party, Dutch authorities have dealt a devastating blow to political expression. While Dutch prosecutors prepare their indictment and Geert Wilders’ future hangs in limbo, who in The Netherlands will dare discuss political and cultural matters related to Islam - Islamic law, Islamic integration, Islamic crime, Islamic policy - openly, freely and fearlessly? The chilling effect is instantaneous. If, indeed, Wilders is ultimately convicted, free speech will cease to exist in the heart of Europe.

The International Free Press Society believes this court-ordered prosecution against Geert Wilders, a central figure in the fight against the Islamization of the West, amounts to a dangerous concession to the strictures of Islamic law, which prohibits all criticism of Islam, over Western traditions of, and rights to robust and unfettered debate. As such, it is tantamount to a surrender to totalitarian influences that undermine all Western freedoms. And as such, it must be resisted.

It is important to recall recent history. Two Dutchmen, Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh, have been murdered for their outspoken opposition to Islamization in The Netherlands. Another Dutch politician, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, has been infamously forced into exile. Wilders alone now carries this debate over Islam in Dutch society forward - forcefully but logically, outspokenly but reasonably, and always peacefully. In order to do so, this member of Dutch parliament lives in a virtual prison, consigned to 24-hour guard by Islamic death threats against his life. Now, Dutch authorities have ordered him to be prosecuted for the Orwellian crime of committing “insulting” words.

As Wilders puts it, “If I have to stand trial, I will not stand trial alone, but also with the hundreds of thousands of Dutch people who reject the Islamization of The Netherlands.” He will also stand trial with those in The Netherlands and beyond who reject government prosecutions of free speech. In recognition of this dire situation, the IFPS immediately calls on every supporter of free speech to come to the aid of Geert Wilders. To assist in this effort, the IFPS has launched an international campaign in defense of Geert Wilders and his freedom of speech.

To support these efforts, we urge you to contribute to the Geert Wilders Defense Fund. Donation information can be found at the IFPS website at http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org.

Austria’s Fascist Renewal

A young dark-haired blue-eyed Austrian with fascist ambitions rises through the ranks. Does that sound familiar? It is quite understandable if it does. However, we are not talking about Adolf Hitler but his possible reincarnate Heinz-Christian Strache. Not only is he the charismatic leader of the far right Freedom Party, but he is a mentee of the party’s former leader, Jörg Haider. Before we draw conclusions on the ideological posture of Strache, there is one pivotal question that must be asked. How can a country that should have learned from the horrors of World War II vote 18% in favor of a party susceptible to fascism? Together with Jaider’s Alliance for the Future of Austria taking 11% of the votes, it amounts to 29% supporting far right ideologies. Keep in mind, the nation in question is Hitler’s homeland. Therefore, it has to be said that Austria itself is susceptible to reverting back to the sentiments of its most notorious son. If that were not the case, neither the Freedom Party nor the Alliance would have gotten the second highest number of votes combined.

The percentage of votes may sound like very little until you put them in perspective. Here are the results including other political parties:

The Social Democrats, a centrist party, won approximately 30% of the votes along with the election itself.

The conservative People’s Party took 26%

The Freedom Party took 18%*

The Alliance for the Future of Austria, 11%*

These numbers alone tell us that in Austria, fascist principles are second only to centrist ideals. Therefore, the world should be vigilant.

Should we be concerned about Strache? We are talking about a man who calls Muslim women who wear the burka female ninjas. There are also claims that he insults homosexuals in his spare time. The accusations do not end there. He is a man believed to be closely tied to neo-Nazis. He does of course deny any such link. The primary evidence at this time appears to be a picture of Strache giving a three finger Nazi salute. He defended himself by claiming it was simply of picture of him ordering three beers. That “evidence” itself cannot tell us if this man is in fact a Nazi. Further observations of his actions as a politician will.

Daughter Of Vice Presidential Candidate Is A Teenage Mother To Be

Bristol Palin, the 17 year old daughter of VP candidate Sarah Palin, is 5 months pregnant. She is engaged to marry the father who is identified as Levi. We cannot deny that it is a wonderful show of conviction to have the child instead of having an abortion. But is it a wonderful example of family values or abstinence education? One should think not. What we are seeing here is the blatant hypocrisy of the right.  There should not be any doubt how they would react if this were either or the Obama girls, Biden’s children, or Chelsea Clinton. Where is their outrage? Out rage is only reserved for the left.

Plane Crash In Madrid

Vacationers bound for the Canary Islands met a terrible fate instead. Spanair Flight JK5022 crashed upon takeoff killing 153 people. One can only imagine how distraught the surviving family members must have been. Only 28 people are known to have survived.

Is The Iraq War An Insult To The American Troops?

Phil Donahue seems to think so and I concur 100%. Below is a video courtesy of The Young Turks (TYT) where Donahue discusses his view:

I do think that an important point deserves mentioning. We can be against this futile war, but it is important not to bash the troops in the process. Remember, they are for the most part young kids who simply thought of the military as a way out of difficult circumstances. Even for those who felt called to do military service, respect is deserved. I didn’t make up the following quote, but it is fitting here:

“If you can’t stand behind our troops then stand in front of them.”

The Troop Surge: Benefit or Wishful Thinking?

I still remember when it was announced that there would be a surge in troop levels in order to squash the violence in Iraq. One cannot deny that for a time after the surge, violence decreased. But was progress due to the surge? Many would answer absolutely not. The sudden calm, if we can call it that, was likely due to other factors. An article titled, Sizing Up Petraeus on Iraq, attributes the “success” to cease fires established by Muqtada Al-Sadr. The decrease in violence could also be attributed to the fact that Sunnis no longer reside in many Shiite areas where they were often targeted. So was Petraeus giving credit where it wasn’t due? Perhaps. Even if the decrease was a result of the surge, that would not prove much. After all, we are talking about the United States military. We have possibly the most effective military in the world. Wherever we go, success will likely follow…the futile nature of this war does not change that.

Beware! The Children Of The Corn Are Back…

…In a little school house in Georgia. These kids were so pissed off at their disciplinarian that they planned her kidnapping and murder to a T. It wasn’t just one child, not even two. But nine children were in on it. And boy were these kids prepared for their kiddy crime. Note, I did not say the children knew how to spell the names of the items they brought, but they sure were prepared. Just think about it. Their “materials” included a steak knife without the handle, duct tape to keep her quiet, electrical and transparent tape, ribbons (for her hair?), and…gasp…steel handcuffs.

As a teacher, it makes me wonder. If one student or possibly 2 plot against a teacher, something is seriously wrong with those students. But if almost an entire class plots her, I’d begin to wonder about the teacher. Could it be that she was way too extreme with her discipline? After all, this did take place in the south. It is important to look at this from that angle as well.

Oh Well, I thought teaching in the Bronx was bad enough.

Wanna Have A Drink At An English Pub Named After A Brutal Slave Trader?

Apparently, the natives of a Devon city centre in England would like to. The BBC reports that there’s a pub (aka, a bar to us yanks) named after John Hawkins who used the worst type of violence you can think of to keep his slaves captive. But according to the locals, the evils of slavery are only a small part of what made Hawkins. They’re probably right. In fact, I’m sure you could find an SS officer for whom Nazism was only a small part of his being. As sarcastic as I am attempting to be, I’d have to side with the Caucasian owners of the pub. If Hawkins was a great historical figure for their country, not to mention the pub sits near his birthplace, why not name the pub after him? This is a PRIVATE business, correct? I’m quite sure that Esther Armah, a black British journalist and Thursday morning co-host of Wake Up Call on WBAI, would disagree with that. She implied that naming the pub after Hawkins is nothing more than blatant disrespect toward black people.

History shows us that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson slaves. Yet, there are plenty of public schools named after them. So I ask what’s the difference? Was not Queen Elizabeth I a horrid racist? Also, should we be seeking formal apologies from African governments since they were involved in the slave trade? Why not erase every Malcolm X or Marcus Garvey BLVD’s from every street corner where they exist? Get my drift? There is likely a lot of racism in Britain that should be fought against. Particularly those who want to make racism the dreaded law of the land like the BNP (which stands for British National Party). But the name of a pub is not one of them. So I’d say to the Plymouth Racial Equality Council to carefully pick your battles.

Or you could simply just apologize for something you didn’t do. One of John Hawkins’ descendants decided to go all the way to Africa in order to apologize for slavery. But there’s one missing…an apology from the Africans (which actually did occur btw), it has simply never been done formally. Is there anyone who would like to apologize to me personally?

Osama Bin Forgotten Is At It Again

It looks like Osama is still having a hissy fit over cartoons containing caricatures of the “prophet” Mohammed. They were first published in a Danish newspaper called Jyllands-Posten back in 2005. This time, the world’s most wanted man is threatening Europe. But why do I have a feeling that Europeans will take this threat lying down? Whatever the case, we can respect other religions if we wish…but respect does NOT = submission.

So Castro Is Out, But Bro Is In

So I have to ask, what difference will it make? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an expert on all things Cuban. Based on what I do know, I see nothing to be happy about. According to this article, brother Raul Castro is the Caribbean islands new leader. And what a “great advocate for human rights” he is. No? Some say that this man will usher in a new wave of democracy. How did he get into office anyway? Through a democratic process? So what we have are two brothers with “Conquistador blood” running through their veins passing power from big bro to lil bro. It should not work that way in a modern world. Hopefully, there will be a radical change in Cuba.

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