Dear Friends, it's a sad and dangerous day!
In a stunning decision, a Dutch court has ruled that Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders has committed criminal “hate speech” due to his public criticisms of Islam, and should be prosecuted. (See the International Free Press Society release below).
When a court takes such a step in a country as “progressive” as the Netherlands, every person who cherishes liberty and the right of free speech should shudder.
Mr. Wilders has, at the risk of his own life, courageously spoken out against Islamofascism and everything that comes with it. The decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals is a crushing blow to free speech and a victory for radical Islamists who are bent on suppressing any public criticism of their ideology.
This is why we keep issuing warnings and action alerts to you about how politically correct governmental actions, in league with radical Islam, are moving us ever closer to the day where we cannot speak out against an evil that has produced 270 million deaths and caused untold suffering over the past 14 centuries.
This is why we must build a powerful, informed and organized citizen action network that will stand in unity against the evil of Islamofascism and the political correctness that aids and abets it. Whether we are Democrats, Independents or Republicans…conservatives, moderates or liberals…there is no choice. We cannot allow America to sink to a place where an American prosecutor would obtain an indictment against a Member of Congress for criticizing Islam.
If you would like to help us further this effort, whether by making a contribution or helping to start or get involved in a local chapter, please log on to www.actforamerica.org today.
While the Dutch court seeks to censor, through unjust criminal prosecution, the kind of political speech that has been the hallmark of free countries, it looks the other way when radical Muslims in its country call for the death of infidels and praise Hitler for what he did to the Jews.
The message is clear. It’s okay for a radical Muslim to call for your death, but don’t you dare criticize the Muslim for doing so.
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The International Free Press Society
www.internationalfreepresssociety.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
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.
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ACT for America
P.O. Box 6884
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
www.actforamerica.org
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HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION in the United States
Hardhitting Patriot Preacher Warns Of Fresh Threat From New Congress
By John Tiffany
On Jan. 5, liberal Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (DTexas) reintroduced so-called hate crimes legislation in Congress. The bill is numbered H.R. 254.Hate crimes laws the brainchild of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of Bnai Brith are found in states and locales across America, but this new measure in Congress would enact a federal hate crime statute.
Essentially, hate crimes laws would add additional criminal penalties upon anyone convicted of a crime against an individual when that crime, according to the proposed legislation, is motivated by the actual or PERCEIVED race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability of the victim.
In short, although there are already laws against shooting someone and killing them it's called murder if a perpetrator is found to have committed that crime because of an ALLEGED bias against the victim, it would now be considered a federal crime because of that bias. There will be at least an additional 10 year federal penalty applied, even if for example someone only punched another person. If death results in the course of such a so-called hate crime being committed, a life sentence in prison is provided for under this federal legislation.
This is thought control legislation and a piece of police-state-style social engineering disguised in the mask of fighting hate. And it constitutes not just a toe in the door, but a veritable jackboot, for, in other countries where the ADL and its allied groups have forced the enactment of hate crimes laws, legislation outlawing even criticism of minorities has traditionally followed.
The new hate crimes measure is entitled The David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Actor, as it's being popularly called by its proponents, David's Law. The law is named in memory of a young man who was brutally murdered, sodomized with a lead pipe by his attacker who apparently committed the crime against Ray because Ray was a homosexual.
A hate crimes measure was approved by the House of Representatives in the previous Congress, despite the fact that Republicans were in control of the House at that time. And what many do not realize is that the single use of a racial pejorative, for example, such as the so-called "n" word, can be construed as evidence of a hate crime, even though nasty words are often traded by people engaged in simple fisticuffs.
Or, if a black youth, fighting in the street with a Latino schoolmate, used a racial slur offensive to Latinos, that black youth could be held responsible for a federal hate crime if he struck the Latino in the course of using the inappropriate slur.
Rev. Ted Pike, who has been spearheading opposition to the federal hate crimes laws and who has done so successfully in the past points out that, in other countries, socalled hate crimes legislation has been the toe in the doorway for additional thought control legislation aimed at limiting freedom of speech in general.
For example, if an individual, citing Biblical exhortations against homosexuality, is found to have offended the sensibilities of homosexuals, then that person may be punished for having done so. This is happening today in Canada, in France and in any number of other countries where antihate legislation is in force. Or, if someone criticizes the policies of the Anti-Defamation League or the state of Israel, they may be found to have offended Jewish supporters of Israel and therefore punished for having done so.
The fact that Arab-American organizations have repeatedly joined the ADL-led chorus demanding hate-crimes legislation in America is rather thought-provoking, considering the fact that Arab Americans who frequently criticize Israel would be among the first targeted by the kind of thought control legislation that has traditionally come in the wake of the kind of hate crimes legislation that the ADL is now trying to have enacted at the federal level in the United States.
Now, in the judgment of Pike, because the Democrats are in control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, there will be an even greater push to get the legislation enacted.
That�s why Pike is urging those who oppose this insidious legislation to redouble their efforts to block H.R. 254 so that it never reaches the floor of the House. H.R. 254 has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and Pike suggests that people contact all members of the committee and urge that they oppose the legislation.
Pike suggests that you keep your message short and to the point: �Please don't vote for the David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act, H.R.254. Hate laws have taken away free speech in Canada and many European countries.
You can write all of the representatives in question (as well as your own representative and every member of the House) in care of the following general address: U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. To telephone members of the House, you may use the regular number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 1-(202) 224-3121. Or there is a toll free number you may use: 1-877-851-6437.
(Issue #8, February 19, 2007)
Not Copyrighted. Readers can reprint and are free to redistribute - as long as full credit is given to American Free Press - 645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 100 Washington, D.C. 20003
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