Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Shaykh al-Huwayni Explains Jihad and Taking Sex-Slaves
After Egyptian Shaykh Abu-Ishaq al-Huwayni's controversial comments about jihad and slavery (see here) were published on YouTube, Facebook, and also in Egyptian press, he was given the opportunity to respond in a telephone interview aired on the Islamic satellite television station al-Hikma on 22 May 2011. In his approximately 20-minute response, he contended that his words in that clip were taken out of context--he was talking within the larget topic of offensive jihad. In this interview he explained the meaning of offensive jihad, and established through sources in the Qur'an and sayings of Muhammad that both offensive jihad and the taking of spoils of war, namely slaves and "sex-slaves," are legitimate under Islam.
I condensed the 20-minute interview down to about 8 and a half minutes, and subtitled the video in English.
Uploaded by translatingjihad on Jun 10, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Obama Laughing at the American's Naivete about Jobs
Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness met today in Durham, NC at Cree Inc., a company that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting. One of the Council's recommendations to President Obama was to streamline the federal permit process for construction and infrastructure projects. It was explained to Obama that the permitting process can delay projects for "months to years ... and in many cases even cause projects to be abandoned ... I'm sure that when you implemented the Recovery Act your staff briefed you on many of these challenges." At this point, Obama smiled and interjected, "Shovel-ready was not as ... uh .. shovel-ready as we expected." The Council, led by GE's Jeffrey Immelt, erupted in laughter.
The Obama administration promised the Recovery Act ("the stimulus") would prevent the jobless rate from going over 8%. It now stands at 9.1%.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Do You Have the Fluency of a Digital Native? Take this test to find out by Lisa Nielsen.
There's been a lot of talk about the appropriateness of the terms Marc Prensky came up with at the turn of the century, Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. Some argue, the students aren't "really" native speakers of the digital language of computers, cell phones, video games and the Internet. In fact they argue, often their students know very little about technology.
Gates Notes Obama's Lack of NATO Leadership
America's military alliance with Europe - the cornerstone of U.S. security policy for six decades - faces a "dim, if not dismal" future, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday in a blunt valedictory address.
The post-American "leader from behind," Obama, has failed to elicit productive support from our NATO allies. "While every alliance member voted for the Libya mission, less than half have participated, and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission," Gates stated. "Frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate, but simply because they can't. The military capabilities simply aren't there."
China ratings house says US defaulting: report
China ratings house says US defaulting: report.
Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday joined Moody's and Standard & Poor's to warn the United States could lose its first-class credit rating if it fails to raise its debt ceiling to avoid defaulting on loans. China is by far the top holder of US debt and has in the past raised worries that the massive US stimulus effort launched to revive the economy would lead to mushrooming debt that erodes the value of the dollar and its Treasury holdings.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Napolitano: No "Logic" In Profiling Muslim Men Under The Age Of 35
Napolitano: No "Logic" In Profiling Muslim Men Under The Age Of 35
"You're not using good logic there. You've got to use actual intelligence that you received. And, so, you might -- all you've given me is a kind of status. You have not given me a technique for tactic or behavior. Something that would suggest somebody is not Muslim, but Islamic, that has actually moved into the category of violent extremists," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at a forum on U.S. security and preventing terrorist attacks.
"We have ways to make some of those cuts. And they involve the intel that comes in, the analysis that goes on. For example, we often times, for travelers entering the United States, we won't not do what is called a secondary inspection just because they are a 35-year- old male who appears to be Muslim, whatever that means. But we know from intelligence that if they have a certain travel pattern over a certain period of time, that should cause us to ask some more significant questions than if we don't."
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Huma Abedin
Abedin, an American of South Asian descent, was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her father was an Indian-born Islamic and Middle Eastern scholar who died when she was 17 years old, and her Pakistani-born mother, Saleha Mahmood Abedin, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the age of two, her family relocated to Jeddah. Abedin returned to the United States to attend George Washington University.
Only 24% of American Voters as Radical as Obama
Twenty-four percent (24%) say their political views are about the same as Obama's.
Most mainstream voters (65%) say Obama is more politically liberal than they are, while those in the active political class tend to view the Anointed One's views as more liberal or about the same as theirs.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Pamela Geller, Fox Business: Mainstreaming Sharia and Islamic Gender Apartheid in America
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pamela-Geller/193266897438
On Fox Business to discuss the article of a Muslim woman, Shamci Rafani of Visalia, California, that appeared in yesterday's Visalia Times-Delta. Rafani calls for the stoning of women who engage in infidelity.
The very idea that this ran in a California newspaper speaks more to the issue than this Muslima's ardent belief in the Sharia. It is astounding that an American newspaper published this. Are they being paid to mainstream Sharia?
This article is an effort to justify a barbaric practice, a practice that is regularly carried out in Iran and elsewhere in the Islamic world, with women being stoned to death for adultery.
This is in full accord with the Islamic law that we're always told is compatible with Western law, and that we need not and should not outlaw. Unfaithful wives should be put to death
Lamestream Media Washington Post Promoting Progessive Republican Romney
POLL: ROMNEY TOPS OBAMA
The progressive Republican is promoted because of his Romneycare Massachusetts health plan. People will be able to decide between the progressive Obamacare, or the progressive Romneycare. Both are mistakes. Despite Romneycare's unpopularity, in fact, the Post notes that by nearly a 2 to 1 majority, Republicans oppose the plan, with strong detractors far outnumbering solid supporters, the liberal media is promoting one of two options in order that the U.S. can imitate failed European health policies, which is the bias of the Post. Moreover, Republicans may be asleep, almost four in 10 Republicans expressed no opinion about Romneycare. The liberal, lamestream media will exploit their ignorance.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Get Out of Libya, Get Out of NATO
Libya serves as a key example why the NATO mission is a dangerous permanent alliance. The United States provides defense for Europeans who are more than capable of defending themselves. Cato's Christopher A. Preble, Benjamin Friedman and Justin Logan provide analysis.
Be sure to check out Cato's body of work on NATO and other Transatlantic policy issues: http://bit.ly/mU44Ci
Video produced by Caleb O. Brown, Austin Bragg and Lester Romero.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
81% of US Mosques Promote Jihad
The landmark study just published, “Sharia and Violence in American Mosques” (Kedar M, Yerushalmi D. The Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2011, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 59-72) sought to expand considerably upon the NYPD’s post-hoc, case study approach—systematically gathering objective survey data, with much greater methodological rigor—and address these two a priori questions: I) Is there a robust association between observable measures of religious devotion, coupled to Sharia-adherence in US mosques, and the presence of violence-sanctioning materials at these mosques?; and II) Is there a robust association between the presence of violence-sanctioning materials at a mosque, and the advocacy of jihadism by the mosque’s leadership via recommending the study of these materials, or other manifest behaviors?
Teen unemployment 24 percent
The Labor Department says the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 19 last month was more than 24 percent. Compare that to May of 2000, when the rate was less than 13 percent.
Instead of waiting to be hired, some teens are creating their own businesses. A year ago, while still a senior in high school, Joaquin Horton developed a line of toys made from pipe cleaners. The young entrepreneur has already earned about a thousand dollars.
"Age doesn't matter at all. If you're just passionate about something, go for it, do it," Horton says.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Camp FEMA: American Lockdown - FULL MOVIE - 86 min
Recent legislation attempting to legitimize the use of internment camps to detain U.S. citizens in the event of an uprising or civil unrest has many people asking what nation they live in.
In a country born out of political dissent, we watch our leaders in Washington slowly pass bills that label ordinary Americans as thought criminals and potential domestic terrorists for simply questioning the actions of their government. We see third party candidates and their impassioned supporters listed in secret government reports that call their allegiance into question and brand them as fanatics and extremists.
Senate committee hearings and official FBI documents further illustrate the mindset of our elected officials as they classify homeschoolers, gun rights activists and anti-abortionists as threats against the existing social and political order; by default creating an entire nation of radicals and revolutionaries - where everyone is a suspect equally guilty until proven otherwise.
How has our government shown that they will deal with these people? The same way as every other totalitarian regime throughout history - marginalize their activities then lock them up. Prisons are being built; internment camps constructed and laws passed that deal severely with anyone who dares to step out of line or ask too many questions.
Who are the potential domestic terrorists that will end up in these camps?
Read the documentation for yourself and hear what our experts have to say. States rights take a front row seat in this new political thriller that is guaranteed to send shivers up your spine. Find out where the true power of the people rests in halting these treasonous activities NOW!
An excerpt from CATHOLICISM
Here is a sneak peak at Episode 1 of Word On Fire's CATHOLICISM series by Father Robert Barron - due to be released in the Fall of 2011.
Bio Station Alpha on Mars. The latest discovery by David Martines
This could be the most important discovery on Mars yet! This structure is 700' x 150', and is colored white with blue and red stripes against the red Martian soil. This is not a rock or mountain. It is a manufactured structure. This is not something that I created, this is something that is currently on Google Mars. NASA wont talk to me about it. I've sent them a few emails, and no reply. Go see for yourself. The coordinates are: 71 49'19.73"N 29 33'06.53"W
Friday, June 3, 2011
Progressive Leftists Embrace Muslim Brotherhood Co-Conspirators at UCF - Free Speech Denied
The Muslim Students Association (MSA) at the University of Central Florida invites Jamal Badawi, listed as #20 on the Hamas conspirators list, and is welcomed at UCF. Police forcibly drag out attendee for simply asking a question.
Neal Cavuto Chaka Fattah: Put the Shovel Down – Talking to Idiots
Neal Cavuto Chaka Fattah: Put the Shovel Down
Islamists Engaged in Christophobic Behavior
I spoke in Stuttgart, Germany at the invitation of the human rights group Pax Europa. The event was well advertised, and so the thuggish Leftist/Islamic supremacist alliance mobilized and was out in full force.
About 1000 Antifa protesters showed up, banging drums, holding signs with the usual accusations of racism and "Islamophobia," blowing whistles, and menacing people who came out for the Pax Europa event. There were also about 500 German police on hand in riot gear. The Pax Europa organizers told me, "This is all for you" -- because they had publicized that I would be there. One young man came up to me as I was standing right in front of a line of German police and said, "You're lucky there are so many police here today."
Pax Europa had planned a full program featuring Middle Eastern Christian musicians, a Coptic Christian activist, and others, so as to highlight the hollowness of the Islamic supremacist narrative of Muslim victimhood and anti-jihadist racism. But the police ordered the Pax Europa organizers to drastically reduce the scope of their event. Everyone was restricted to ten minutes only. Several participants opted not to appear, in light of the manifest danger. Antifa people were attacking supporters of Pax Europa. I saw several individuals being chased by rabid Leftist gangs. At least one man went to the hospital.
The police used loudspeakers to call on Antifa twice to disperse, as Pax Europa had lawfully reserved the space for their event. The Antifa people responded only by moving forward, chanting slogans, banging their drums, and holding aloft the usual Leftist kitsch -- Che Guevara, the hammer and sickle, the Palestinian flag, signs denouncing Islamophobia, etc. The police moved them back a bit but did not ask them again to disperse, and allowed the Pax Europa event to begin.
It was an incredible din. We had loudspeakers that appeared to be able to reach the considerable crowd behind the protesters, but the Antifa thugs did all they could to drown us out: the drums got louder, the vuvuzelas came out, they were blowing whistles, and of course they were screaming and yelling.
They started throwing things: bottles, eggs, excrement and more. One bottle narrowly missed the Coptic activist's head and crashed onto the stage -- other bottles crashed at our feet. Several speakers were hit with eggs. The manure they threw was all over the stage floor.
I stood right in front (they missed me; I dodged a few projectiles) and watched them as they screamed and gestured and threw things -- it was like looking into the pit of hell. Here were young people passionately committed to their cause and believing it to be that of justice and freedom, and they are eager and willing useful idiots for the most radically intolerant ideology on the planet. So when my turn came to speak, I addressed them, and told them just that. I told them they wouldn't like what happened to them when their friends took power, but by then it would be too late.
And it may be already, for Europe. But I was glad to be there yesterday, and to stand against what was so obviously a force for oppression, hatred, and evil.
OBAMA SUFFERS 'STUNNING REBUKE' ON LIBYA
Bipartisan Congress rebuffs Obama on Libya mission
Crossing party lines to deliver a stunning rebuke to the commander in chief, the vast majority of the House voted Friday for resolutions telling Obama he has broken the constitutional chain of authority by committing U.S. troops to the international military mission in Libya.
Congress escalated the brewing constitutional clash over whether he ignored the founding document’s grant of war powers by sending U.S. troops to aid in enforcing a no-fly zone and naval blockade of Libya.
On the other hand, another non-binding resolution was defeated. The Kucinich resolution failed 148-265. In a telling signal, 87 Republicans voted for Kucinich’s resolution — more than the 61 Democrats that did.
Still, taken together, 324 members of Congress voted for one resolution or both resolutions, including 91 Democrats, or nearly half the caucus.
The Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress, but the power to manage the armed forces to the president. The War Powers Resolution, enacted in 1973, tries to bridge that gap by allowing the president to commit troops for up to 60 days, but requires him to seek congressional approval if he wants to extend the commitment beyond that period.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Anti-Semitic Anthem Supported by Coldplay: Freedom for Palestine - OneWorld
A group of international pop singers has just collaborated on an anti-Israel, pro-Palestine song that accuses Israel of “crimes against humanity” and “illegal occupation,“ and demands ”freedom for Palestine.” And the song is being publicly supported by the likes of British powerhouse group Coldplay.
The song is the work of the pro-Palestine group OneWorld and includes an international ensemble. The site Mondoweiss explains:
OneWorld has produced a fantastic hit, all proceeds supporting projects in Palestine. The song features an all star ensemble of musicians from around the world including Randall, Jamie Catto (1 Giant Leap), Maxi Jazz (Faithless), LSK, Harry Collier (Kubb), Andrea Britton, Sudha (Faithless), Andy Treacy (Faithless/Moby/Groove Armada), Attab Haddad and Joelle Barker plus over the top Durban Gospel Choir and members of the London Community Gospel Choir and comedian Mark Thomas, rapper Lowkey and poet Michael Rosen.
The song is also getting an endorsement from one of the world’s most popular bands. The group Coldplay sent out a message to its fans via Facebook telling them to listen to the song.
The song is the work of the pro-Palestine group OneWorld and includes an international ensemble. The site Mondoweiss explains:
OneWorld has produced a fantastic hit, all proceeds supporting projects in Palestine. The song features an all star ensemble of musicians from around the world including Randall, Jamie Catto (1 Giant Leap), Maxi Jazz (Faithless), LSK, Harry Collier (Kubb), Andrea Britton, Sudha (Faithless), Andy Treacy (Faithless/Moby/Groove Armada), Attab Haddad and Joelle Barker plus over the top Durban Gospel Choir and members of the London Community Gospel Choir and comedian Mark Thomas, rapper Lowkey and poet Michael Rosen.
The song is also getting an endorsement from one of the world’s most popular bands. The group Coldplay sent out a message to its fans via Facebook telling them to listen to the song.
Photography Not Allowed in Baltimore
This incident occurred at the Cultural Center station in Baltimore, Maryland on March 21, 2011. I was visiting from Oregon, and as part of my career interests, I explored the transit systems of Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. In each and every one of those cities, except for Baltimore, I had no problems photographing these amazing systems.
This incident in Baltimore started with me enroute from the B&O Railroad Museum to Penn Station. I had boarded a light-rail train at the Convention Center, but realized that I needed to be on a "Penn Station" bound train, so I stepped off at Cultural Center Station in order to board the correct train. While waiting for my train, I snapped a photo or two of passing trains, and was immediately inundated with police officers confronting me about my photography. I also had a video camera on hand, so this entire incident, except for the last bit at Penn Station, was recorded.
MTA Police finally gave back my farecard and ordered me to "cease and desist," but continued to surround and bother me until I boarded the next Penn Station train. They followed me to Penn Station and got Amtrak Police involved. I felt at that point I had no choice but to give Amtrak Police my ID so they could conduct a warrant check. If the MTA Police hadn't followed me, Amtrak Police most likely would have not conducted this security check based on my experiences at various Amtrak stations between Washington DC and Boston. The Amtrak Police Officer was truthful about the fact that there was no prohibition against taking pictures of trains or train stations, so his honesty is what also compelled me to give my ID. He was, in my opinion, dragged into this fiasco because of MTA Police.
I have no qualms with MTA Police inquiring what I'm doing, but the fact that they took it to the next level with so many lies, unreasonable detainment, denying my boarding of my train that caused me to be delayed and following me to delay me further; this whole episode of theirs was unprofessional and perhaps unconstitutional. I am posting this video in hopes to further strengthen photographer's constitutional rights.
I am also being represented by ACLU of Maryland.
Photography is not a crime. As long as you're on public property, or in a publicly accessible place like a subway station, you are allowed to take photographs.
It's your First Amendment right!
You do not have to stop recording, or delete anything from your camera. Police must have a warrant to search or seize your camera. Do not let ill-informed police officers deter you from enjoying your hobby of photography.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
NYT Alters Spin on Obama as Patriot Image
Originally, the New York Times reported Obama’s visit to Dover AFB and the arrival of the eighteen recently fallen serviceman as:
The New York Times stated that the Obama appearance was a photo op. Thereafter, the quote from the New York Times changed to cast a different spin on the story:
The images and the sentiment of the president’s five-hour trip to Delaware were intended by the White House to convey to the nation that Mr. Obama was not making his Afghanistan decision lightly or in haste.
The New York Times stated that the Obama appearance was a photo op. Thereafter, the quote from the New York Times changed to cast a different spin on the story:
The image of the commander in chief standing on a darkened tarmac, offering a salute to one of the soldiers, highlighted the poignancy of a decision he is facing.
Along these lines, in fact, seventeen of the eighteen families refused the photo op. Only one family agreed that Obama could be photographed with their family member.
The change is one noted in 1984 where lies become truth and the truth is a lie.
Higher Education Bubble
Is Higher Education Ready for "The Education Bubble"? By Trent Batson
Simple, students can just be active in their learning. Have you ever sat in a high school classroom to observe just how active kids are?
"Using technology, the classroom can extend to the world. Using technology, students can be active in their learning. Using technology, students can be more in charge of their learning and can create valuable evidence of their accomplishments for the sake of a much more valuable resume for getting a job. Using technology, faculty can guide a larger number of students. Using technology, assessment and evaluation no longer needs to be the exclusive province of the faculty member doing the guiding. Using technology, undergraduate education can be transformed to fit with current research-based learning models developed in the fields of cognitive science, psychology, anthropology, linguistics, and other fields. Using technology, undergraduate students can provide much more of the energy needed for their own learning progress. Using technology, in sum, means students do more of the work of learning and fewer faculty members are necessary. Technology can take on the management work of faculty while leaving faculty members to design and guide."
And we know that higher education is not resulting in graduates who are getting hired. What skills do they have that make them employable?
"We also know through an oft-cited Association of American Colleges and Universities study that most employers are not happy with college graduates today. The study points out a number of failings: inability to work with unstructured problems, inability to work in teams, inability to write convincingly or even relevantly, and other issues."
Larry Jaffee on Visual Radio Live May 27, 2011 with Joe Viglione
Walford State of Mind and Eastenders!
Larry Jaffee talks about Mott The Hoople, Dylan and his fanzine and more.
John Byers Sports Report and Frank Dello Stritto on movies.
Academic Fascism: Islamic Supremacism and Ignorance at Ohio University
ANATOMY OF A THOUGHT CRIME/part two
When two well known media figures are invited to screen their documentary at a university in the Midwest the campus newspaper attacks the film with a fake "review"... published BEFORE the screening. A chilling look at political correctness run amok and the sad state of critical thinking in the modern university.
Geert Wilders Final Words at The Amsterdam Trial - English Subtitles
Final remarks of Geert Wilders at his trial in Amsterdam, June 1, 2011
Mister President, members of the Court,
I am here because of what I have said. I am here for having spoken. I have spoken, I speak and I shall continue to speak. Many have kept silent, but not Pim Fortuyn, not Theo Van Gogh, and not I.
I am obliged to speak. For the Netherlands is under threat of Islam. As I have argued many times, Islam is chiefly an ideology. An ideology of hatred, of destruction, of conquest. It is my strong conviction that Islam is a threat to Western values, to freedom of speech, to the equality of men and women, of heterosexuals and homosexuals, of believers and unbelievers.
All over the world we can see how freedom is fleeing from Islam. Day by day we see our freedoms dwindle.
Islam is opposed to freedom. Renowned scholars of Islam from all parts of the world agree on this. My witness experts subscribe to my view. There are more Islam scholars whom the court did not allow me to call upon to testify. All agree with my statements, they show that I speak the truth. That truth is on trial today.
We must live in the truth, said the dissidents under Communist rule, because the truth will set us free. Truth and freedom are inextricably connected. We must speak the truth because otherwise we shall lose our freedom.
That is why I have spoken, why I speak and why I shall continue to speak.
The statements for which I am being tried are statements which I made in my function as a politician participating in the public debate in our society. My statements were not aimed at individuals, but at Islam and the process of islamization. That is why the Public Prosecutor has concluded that I should be acquitted.
Mister President, members of the Court,
I am acting within a long tradition which I wish to honour. I am risking my life in defence of freedom in the Netherlands. Of all our achievements freedom is the most precious and the most vulnerable. Many have given their lives for freedom. We have been reminded of that in the commemorations of the month of May. But the struggle for freedom is much older.
Every day the armoured cars drive me past the statue of Johan de Witt at the Hofvijver in The Hague. De Witt wrote the “Manifesto of True Freedom” and he paid for freedom with his life. Every day I go to my office through the Binnenhof where Johan van Oldenbarneveldt was beheaded after a political trial. Leaning on his stick the elderly Oldenbarneveldt addressed his last words to his people. He said: “I have acted honourably and piously as a good patriot.” Those words are also mine.
I do not wish to betray the trust of the 1.5 million voters of my party. I do not wish to betray my country. Inspired by Johan van Oldenbarneveldt and Johan de Witt I wish to be a politician who serves the truth end hence defends the freedom of the Dutch provinces and of the Dutch people. I wish to be honest, I wish to act with honesty and that is why I wish to protect my native land against Islam. Silence is treason.
That is why I have spoken, why I speak and why I shall continue to speak.
Freedom and truth. I pay the price every day. Day and night I have to be protected against people who want to kill me. I am not complaining about it; it has been my own decision to speak. However, those who threaten me and other critics of Islam are not being tried here today. I am being tried. And about that I do complain.
I consider this trial to be a political trial. The values of D66 [a Dutch leftist liberal party] and NRC Handelsblad [a Dutch leftist liberal party] will never be brought before a judge in this country. One of the complainants clearly indicated that his intentions are political. Even questions I have asked in parliament and cooperation with the SGP are being brought as allegations against me by Mr Rabbae of GroenLinks [the leftist Dutch Green Party]. Those on the Left like to tamper with the separation of powers. When they cannot win politically because the Dutch people have discerned their sinister agenda, they try to win through the courts.
Whatever your verdict may be, that is the bitter conclusion of this trial.
This trial is also surrealistic. I am being compared with the Hutu murderers in Rwanda and with Mladic. Only a few minutes ago some here have doubted my mental health. I have been called a new Hitler. I wonder whether those who call me such names will also be sued, and if not, whether the Court will also order prosecution. Probably not. And that is just as well. Because freedom of speech applies also to my opponents.
My right to a fair trial has been violated. The order of the Amsterdam Court to prosecute me was not just a decision but a condemning verdict by judges who condemned me even before the actual trial had begun.
Mister President, members of the Court, you must now decide whether freedom still has a home in the Netherlands
Franz Kafka said: “one sees the sun slowly set, yet one is surprised when it suddenly becomes dark.”
Mister President, members of the Court, do not let the lights go out in the Netherlands.
Acquit me: Put an end to this Kafkaesque situation.
Acquit me. Political freedom requires that citizens and their elected representatives are allowed to voice opinions that are held in society.
Acquit me, for if I am convicted, you convict the freedom of opinion and expression of millions of Dutchmen.
Acquit me. I do not incite to hatred. I do not incite to discrimination. But I defend the character, the identity, the culture and the freedom of the Netherlands. That is the truth. That is why I am here. That is why I speak. That is why, like Luther before the Imperial Diet at Worms, I say: “Here I stand, I can do no other.”
That is why I have spoken, why I speak and why I shall continue to speak.
Mister President, members of the Court, though I stand here alone, my voice is the voice of many. This trial is not about me. It is about something much greater. Freedom of expression is the life source of our Western civilisation.
Do not let that source go dry just to cosy up to a totalitarian ideology. “Freedom,” said the American President Dwight Eisenhower, “has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.”
Mister President, members of the Court, you have a great responsibility. Do not cut freedom in the Netherlands from its roots, our freedom of expression. Acquit me. Choose freedom.
I have spoken, I speak, and it is my duty – I cannot do otherwise – to continue to speak.
Thank you.
Palin: "in breach of a federal law because the United States Flag Code establishes important rules for the use and display of the stars and stripes"
Do people actually listen to these commentators? It seems to me the flag is used in many ways by a wide variety of Americans.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
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