Geert Wilders' Trial

UPDATE:  Makes sense to me. Note, the interviewee compares Wilders to Dawkins. All he's doing is speaking out against a belief system.

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Dutch Anti-Islam MP' hate speech trial adjourned

"After a brief initial statement in the morning in which he defended his right to free speech, Wilders announced to the court that he would invoke his right to remain silent and not answer any questions.

This moved presiding judge Jan Moors to observe that Wilders has often been accused in the media of making wild statements and then avoiding the discussions they evoked, adding "it seems as if you're doing it again".

Wilders then sought the recusal of Moors and his two assistants, claiming they had demonstrated bias against him.

"Inappropriate, even scandalous", Wilders told the court of the statement, adding: "In my opinion, a fair trial is no longer possible".

His lawyer Bram Moszkowicz said the incident has "created an impression of partiality"."

More: Geert Wilders trial halted as lawyer accuses judge of bias

"Relishing a role as a martyr for liberty and free speech, he stated: "I am standing trial … because of my opinions on Islam … and because the Dutch establishment – most of them non-Muslims – wants to silence me. I have been dragged to court because in my country freedom can no longer be fully enjoyed.

"In Europe the national state, and increasingly the EU, prescribes how citizens – including democratically elected politicians such as myself – should think and what we are allowed to say."

Meanwhile:

Dutch Liberalism and the Freedom Party

"Today Dutch lawmakers are expected to approve a coalition that will give Geert Wilders's Freedom Party a share in government for the first time since he founded it in 2005 to push measures such as restricting Muslim immigration and taxing headscarves."

And this morning, there is news the judges will not be removed and the trial will proceed. Oh, the irony of it all.

And now for our "well, duh!!" moment:

Nation of Anti-Islam

"The international media plays a role in publicizing the rhetoric, too. The sensational killings of Van Gogh and Fortuyn highlighted religious tensions in Holland over other European countries. The Dutch activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who now resides in the United States, has also been a strong critic of Islam. But what makes the anti-Muslim story so juicy is Holland's reputation for pluralism and tolerance, with its famous red-light districts and cannabis cafes. As it turns out, permissiveness when it comes to drug use does not always translate into accommodation for any and all lifestyles and religious views."

Elephant. Meet room. This is beginning to look like the trail of Alfred Dreyfus except this time they're going after blond, Christian men. Ha! Who am I kidding. It's looked like that all along. I just wonder, though. Who will stand up and say J'accuse? And when?

Meanwhile, across the pond, there's good news: Times Square bomber gets life

I just hope in America life actually means life. And BTW, how did that trial proceed so quickly whereas a trial held in Dutch Kangaroo Courts seem to drag on and on and on?