Monday, April 07, 2008

Geert Wilders Cleared of Spreading Hate

From Europe News:

Radio Netherlands April 07 2008

The Hague — A judge has ruled in a case against MP Geert Wilders brought by the Dutch Islamic Federation that Mr Wilders is not guilty of spreading hate, although his statements are provocative.

Geert WildersThe Islamic Federation wanted a judgement on the Freedom Party’s leader after he compared the Qur’an to Mein Kampf. However the judge ruled that members of parliament have to be able to express their opinions strongly.

The democrat party D66 want the Lower House to investigate exactly what Mr Wilders told the cabinet about his film Fitna. Two ministers and Mr Wilders disagreed during a Lower House debate on the anti-Qur’an film last week about what was said during a meeting in November.

A record of the meeting says the ministers were concerned about the end of the film in which Mr Wilders said he intended to tear out pages of the Qur’an and burn them in the fireplace. Mr Wilders accused the ministers of lying. D66 leader Alexander Pechtold says it is bad for the image of politics when an MP and the cabinet get into a situation like this. Last week the conservative VVD called for an investigation.


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17 comments:

OMMAG said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
OMMAG said...

I am not impressed! This hardly reinforces the concept of free speech as an individual right.

Politicians may say what they will but they still pass laws that criminalise people who speak uncomfortable truths.

. said...

May I make a friendly suggestion? Please find another picture of Geert Wilders to display on the many threads you create around his antics. The hair really weirds me out on the pic you have. He looks like a spoiled schoolboy. There's got to be a better picture of him somewhere.

Baron Bodissey said...

Actually, Gordon, all of Wilders' photos make him look peculiar, as far as I know. I read an interview with him in which he says he's not going to change his look; that he prefers to be strange-looking. It certainly makes him distinctive, and instantly recognizable.

I've seen photos that make him look much worse than this. If any Dutch readers want to suggest a better one, please send the URL.

Sagunto said...

@Baron,

You asked for suggestions from Dutch readers. So here we go:

How about this one?

Or this one

and this one?

Kind regs from Amsterdam
Sagunto

Baron Bodissey said...

Richard -- thanks for the suggestions. I think I like the first one best. He looks relaxed & natural in that one.

Zenster said...

A record of the meeting says the ministers were concerned about the end of the film in which Mr Wilders said he intended to tear out pages of the Qur’an and burn them in the fireplace.

Is anyone prepared to wager a tidy sum that the Dutch parliament voiced even a minute fraction of the same outrage when Palestinian terrorists seized Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity and tore pages from the altar's Bible to wipe their @sses with?

[crickets]

Speaking as a devout agnostic, Europe's constant appeasement of Islam and knee-jerk condemnation of Christianity is wearing more than a little thin. Moreover, I have become increasingly cynical about how much of this is nothing more or less than a calculated attack upon all things white and male.

Recent studies revealed the following US statistics:

Chances of going to jail:

Hispanics — 2 in 3 or 66%

Blacks — 1 in 3 or 33%

White — ~1 in 5 or 17%

Even more disturbing are the new findings that Latino grade school students in San Jose, CA view high achieving classmates as “whitewashed”. Calling them — Mataditas — dorks. Or — Cerebritas — brainiacs. Quite clearly, smart is mucho uncool. New findings show the following:

Popularity as it Corresponds to GPA (Grade Point Average)

Whites — A Students most popular

Blacks — B Students most popular

Hispanics — C Students most popular

People who gathered the first set of criminal statistics pissed and moaned about how lack of edumahcation and poverty were responsible for the preponderance of minority crime.

I'd love to hear how these bureaucrats reconcile this apparent Hispanic rejection of public education and the prediliction they exhibit for going to jail. Watching the mental backflips they'd have to perform would be worth the price of admission alone.

I’d also love to see the same statistics for European Muslims and where they might fit into such charts. I am rather confident that numerous laws would prevent the gathering and publication of such data on the grounds of casting racial aspersions or some such balderdash.

Henrik R Clausen said...

This hardly reinforces the concept of free speech as an individual right.

No, we're far from that. We just averted a major danger. We're holding our ground against a major assault, not making assertive gains.

But Wilders is off the hook from Muslims trying to misuse the Dutch legal system, and that's good.

. said...

Thank you, Baron. I guess there's only so much poor Geert could do with that hairdo :)

And, by the way, thanks for the updates on Fitna. I haven't watched it yet, but I'll get to it eventually. It's an important message.

And even if it were dreck, it doesn't deserve to be censored.

Homophobic Horse said...

We all should grow our hair like Geert Wilders. Also we should purchase flowing capes. We are the counter-jihadists and we're coming to town.

Dan said...

@ Zenster

Education and intelligence has nothing to do with it there are plenty of affable dolts that will never “find themselves in prison.” Same goes for poverty; it is an issue with their worldview.

Zenster said...

Homophobic Horse: We are the counter-jihadists and we're coming to town.

We're here, we're kafir ... Get used to it !!!

Dan: Education and intelligence has nothing to do with it there are plenty of affable dolts that will never “find themselves in prison.” Same goes for poverty; it is an issue with their worldview.

Dan, please trust me, we're most likely in violent agreement.

Marginalized Action Dinosaur said...

When I saw the movie it said it's up to Muslims to remove the pages not him. I thought,


If he was black no one would complain about his hair.

Paul said...

"... The Hague — A judge has ruled in a case against MP Geert Wilders brought by the Dutch Islamic Federation that Mr Wilders is not guilty of spreading hate, although his statements are provocative.... "

Well, at least someone in the Dutch Judiciary is not a complete vacuum. All Geert did in his film was quote the Koran, or is it the Q'ran'?

This is a good start. However, we need more courage than comes from a basket of old women. We need Dutch judges with Dutch courage. Hello???

Paul said...

Zene: "We're here, we're kafir ... Get used to it !!!"

I hear you. If I may, let me suggest: overlook the American crap. There is an avalanche of crap that comes out of America... just overlook it.

The lefties, despite their loud mouths, are a collection of noisy vacuums. And the problems you referenced regarding statistics amoungst the American racial groups bring attention to real problems yes. But those problems do not stamp the racial groups with indelible properties. They only highlight problems within the groups. There are many other problems.

Let us find common ground, amoungst all the races, in areas of excellence, intelligence, nobily, etc.... This is the reality.

By the way, I caught your reference to licorice. I saw some Danish Licorice in my nearby favorite store; but it was sweet... My preference is Salmiak, but not too much. Strong, but not too strong.... The German, Katjes "Steif Breiz" is my favorite. I am sure I mispelled that. I think in English the translation of the Katjes is 'Stiff Breeze'.

Kiddo said...

Gordon--the only solution is to suggest to him that he do what Pim Fortuyn did when his hair started looking goofy--SHAVE IT OFF! There are no pics of Wilders that make it look any better. Actually Baron, you're quite right, this one even tones it down. It tones it down very much in fact. And that's saying something. Raining that day perhaps?

Zenster--one of my favorite linguists writes on this subject, and oddly enough I just left a link on another site. John McWhorter's first non-linguistics work and instead a work on race is an excellent read. An excerpt and overview or Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America" are thankfully available online. Actually, that is the beginning of the book.

Being a linguistics nut myself though, I must recommend his Word on the Street, possibly the most humorous and entertaining book on linguistics aimed at a lay audience yet written. Still, his works on being black in the U.S. and insistence that doing good in school being seen as a negative and a "white thing" are all the more enlightening not just because he went through it himself, but for the large amount of support and response he got from blacks in America. He adds to this in Authentically Black and some others.

disclaimer: despite being a fan, I in no way work for Dr. McWhorter, his publisher, nor am paid to praise his work...I just love it.

Unique_Concept said...

Please Humanity
Do not listen to men with such arrogance. He claims Islam is wring. Though read our laws, what is forbidden. We do our part for society, we want global partnership. It is men like this who anger us. He compares the holy book to Mein Kampf! Does mein Kampf not show ideology of mass killings. Does it not project its hate of social groups. Humanity we are already in tight place. Follow men like this and things can only get worse. Do not hold extremists actions to the whole of the muslim society. Should that not be compared to Mein Kampf? A hate strongly targeted towards a religous group? Humanity let us focus what is realy changing the world. We have killers, rapists, drug users on the street, though society doesn't want to target them do they? I have issues my belief. Please i ask of you, do not follow men with hatred. Hatred is not a trait of humanity that should be followed, we all know that.
Thankyou Shraz Ali