Dhiminitude

Dear America..

...I am ashamed. I am sorry.

Oh Dear...

...I am ashamed of my country. Normally, I'm a very proud and patriotic citizen of this great country, but this just makes me sick:

Qur'an-burning pastor turned away at border

What are we? Are we all dhimminies now?

Lest There Be Any Doubt

Today's News...

...from the Religion of Peace:

150 Afghan school girls poisoned

Pianist to turn back on Turkey; disillusioned by rise of conservative Islam, live in exile in Japan

Free Speech Found Guilty By Europe

"The ruling showed that while Judaism and Christianity can be disparaged with impunity, speaking the truth about Islam is subject to swift and hefty legal penalties. The Supreme Court stressed that the substance of the charges -- public criticism of Islam – is still a crime punishable by imprisonment. Under Danish law, it is immaterial whether a statement is true or false. All that is needed for a conviction is for someone to feel offended."

Thank God we are pulling away from that.

Hmmm. Explains How I'm Feeling Today

West, Muslim societies locked in 'irreconcilable' battle, Canadians say

"The survey of 1,500 Canadians, conducted over three days last week for the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies, showed 56 per cent of respondents see Western and Muslim societies locked in an unending ideological struggle, while about 33 per cent - just one-third of the population - held out hope that the conflict will eventually be overcome."

Except I'm more concerned with that part of the spectrum on the left which wants us all to practice dhiminitude. That'd be the same bunch that conducts and interprets these sorts of studies for us, cause we're too stupid or politically incorrect to see the error of our ways.

"Many Canadians have come to believe "nothing will work" to end that conflict, said Jedwab, adding that this grim state of mind will require more scrutiny to fully understand and more carefully crafted public policies to rebuild a sense of optimism about the future of global relations."

[---]

"The survey did offer one notable "ray of hope," Jedwab suggested, pointing to a result showing that a slight majority of Canadians (52 per cent) believe it would be wrong for airport security officials to do "extra checks" of "passengers who appear to be of Muslim background."

While 39 per cent of respondents were open to that kind of profiling, Jedwab interpreted the majority's rejection of the practice as a sign that most Canadians realize such infringements "would make the purportedly irreconcilable conflict even deeper if the enshrined principles of our rights charters are to be disregarded."

See what I mean?

Here's something we should try. Get rid of our kangaroo courts (the Human Rights Commissions) and ask us again just before the twentieth or twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11. We might be less kow-towed by that time.

FTFY

Rights Wrongs groups uneasy over Cameron's riot crackdown

"Tossing rioters out of state-subsidized homes, unmasking young men who hide their faces behind hoods, demanding that phone networks shut off access to messaging services or social networks during unrest. (Ed. Sounds good to me.)

Britain's government has pledged an iron-fisted response to the wide-scale looting and violence that scarred London and other English cities — for some reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher's uncompromising stance against civil unrest. (Ed. Who, dear dingbats, was elected PM three times, two of which were with resounding majorities.)

While there are those who cheer the tough talk from Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, others recall center-left leader Tony Blair's response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States — and the legal missteps that corroded civil liberties and fueled mistrust of authority among young Muslims."

So wide spread destruction and looting have to be allowed in order to appease "young Muslims"? You go, Cameron! And may the courage of your strong stance spread to other Western capitals!

Seriously, though, I'll bet a large majority of Brits agree with their PM. It's only the MSM that wrings its hands and blubbers like a baby, while empowering Islamism. And BTW, did this riot have anything to do with perceived Muslim grievances? I don't think so, but even if it did, appeasement is not the answer.

"Cameron has pledged to hand police, local authorities and the courts sweeping powers to mete out severe punishments to those involved in the unrest. He has also warned that in the future, looters could be met by the rare sight of water cannons, dye sprays and even the country's military deployed on Britain's streets.

"The fight-back has well and truly begun," Cameron declared Thursday in an emergency session of Parliament.

Under one of the most contentious plans, the government will consider whether to make it easier for local authorities to evict people who are convicted of crimes and live in homes subsidized by taxpayers.

Currently, authorities can boot out residents who commit offenses in their own neighborhood only — and evict about 3,000 of Britain's 8 million public housing tenants each year. If the new plans are approved, it won't matter where a person has committed their crime."

Time to give this approach a try.

Let's Face It...

...the Aussies have more backbone than we do.

Er, make that "than Toronto does."

Gee, Canada...

...Maybe you'll have to pull your own weight now.

I can think of a few countries that will be rushing in to fill the void. I'll bet you can, too.

Essential Reading

Ban the Burqa by Claire Berlinski.

"The choice to cover one’s face is for many women a genuine expression of the most private kind of religious sentiment. To prevent them from doing so is discriminatory, persecutory, and incompatible with the Enlightenment traditions of the West. It is, moreover, cruel to demand of a woman that she reveal parts of her body that her sense of modesty compels her to cover; to such a woman, the demand is as tyrannical, humiliating, and arbitrary as the passage of a law dictating that women bare their breasts.

All true. And yet the burqa must be banned. All forms of veiling must be, if not banned, strongly discouraged and stigmatized. The arguments against a ban are coherent and principled. They are also shallow and insufficient. They fail to take something crucial into account, and that thing is this: If Europe does not stand up now against veiling — and the conception of women and their place in society that it represents — within a generation there will be many cities in Europe where no unveiled woman will walk comfortably or safely."

RTWT

Fifty Minutes

...that will ruin your weekend.

More Razor Edged Clarity from Bill Whittle

Must Read for This Morning

Muslim Brotherhood Declares War on American: Will America Notice?

Superb Debate: Islam is a Religion of Peace

ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF PEACE from Intelligence Squared US on Vimeo.

Transcript is here.

What I find amazing is the "before" and "after" ratings. There must have been a lot of people in the audience who knew very little about Islam before they listened.

41% "for" the motion before hand, 36% after.

25% "against" before hand, and it looks like many of those "for" went over to "against" after as it then stood at 55% "against".

34% were "undecided" before the debate, but only 9% were still "undecided" after the debate. It also looks like most of those "undecideds" went to "against" the motion, once the debate was finished.

Taquila! Taqiyya,!

Very interesting post and discussion at Pajamas Media today about Saddam Hussein. I especially like this comment.

To all those practitioners of taqiyya out there, I propose a toast:

"May your taqiyya have swarms of juicy live worms in it."

Allahu Snackbar!

Ayaan Hirsi Ali...

...on Geert Wilders' trial. Some interesting/nauseating details of which I hadn't been aware:

In Holland, Free Speech on Trial

"Imagine if a leader within the tea party movement were able to persuade its members to establish a third political party. Imagine he succeeded—overwhelmingly—and that as their leader he stood a real chance of winning the presidency. Then imagine that in anticipation of his electoral victory, the Democrats and Republicans quickly modified an existing antidiscrimination law so that he could be convicted for statements he made on the campaign trail.

All of this seems impossible in a 21st-century liberal democracy. But it is exactly what is happening in Holland to Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders.

[---]

"But since splitting from the Liberal Party six years ago, his star has only risen. In the national elections held in November 2006, his party won nine seats in parliament. When the Dutch government fell again this year, June elections saw his party take 24 seats in the 150-seat body.

This has spooked Dutch parliamentarians, particularly those wedded to multiculturalism. That's why, in the fall of 2009, they modified Article 137C and 137D of the Penal Code to make it possible for far-left organizations to take Mr. Wilders to court on grounds of "inciting hatred" against Muslims."

[---]

"Historically, the Netherlands has insisted on the idea of "consensus." Though on paper this means compromise, in practice it has meant conformity of thought and a refusal to rock the boat on controversial issues."

[---]

"The bill used to prosecute Mr. Wilders is the national version of what OIC diplomats peddle at the U.N. and EU."

Wow! This is dirtier than I thought, and that says a lot. Read the whole thing and note the parallels with our Human Rights Commissions. Scary, scary, scary.

Further to "Oh, Yes!" (Below)

Here's an interesting piece from The Guardian about the English Defense League. (H/T Pat Dollard)

Using the language of the discombobbulated left, The Guardian makes liberal use of terms such as "extremist" and "far-right" while describing contacts that have been made by the EDL and groups in America. One of the themes of Gates of Vienna's thesis about the English Defense League and its "working class" roots (see previous entry), was the need for the movement to form alliances with Middle Class groups with the same concerns. This article seems to suggest that such contacts are being forged as we speak.

"The English Defence League, a far-right grouping aimed at combating the "Islamification" of British cities, has developed strong links with the American Tea Party movement.

An Observer investigation has established that the EDL has made contact with anti-jihad groups within the Tea Party organisation and has invited a senior US rabbi and Tea Party activist to London this month. Rabbi Nachum Shifren, a regular speaker at Tea Party conventions, will speak about Sharia law and also discuss funding issues.

The league has also developed links with Pamela Geller, who was influential in the protests against plans to build an Islamic cultural centre near Ground Zero. Geller, darling of the Tea Party's growing anti-Islamic wing, is advocating an alliance with the EDL. The executive director of the Stop Islamisation of America organisation, she recently met EDL leaders in New York and has defended the group's actions, despite a recent violent march in Bradford."

According to the article, Geller is bringing "Islamophobia to the Tea Party Movement". It's a "progressive's" worst nightmare, I tells ya'.

"The EDL's website relaunched briefly last week with new US links. Currently shut down for "maintenance", the site featured prominent links to a site called Atlas Shrugs, which is run by Geller [ED. in my blogroll, btw], and another US-based site, Jihad Watch, which compiles negative news coverage of Islamic militancy."

Riiiight. Why doesn't that wascally Jihad Watch website look for positive news coverage of Islamic militancy. Obviously, they are consumed with irrational Islamophobia.

All told, the news that EDL is forging links with disaffected Americans is a good thing. Even better, though, is the bald-faced, head-on exposure of the old guard Lamestream Media's sleeping habits. It couldn't be more obvious who the Guardian, a lefty newspaper, if there ever was one, is in bed with. Nor could their lame attempts to disguise their slander of a movement with which they disagree as news be more transparent. I have a feeling that this too, will backfire on them.

In any case, there is no doubt about it, The (dull-witted) Guardian is appropriately lily-livered and is casting guilt by association aspersions wherever it can make them:

"Another Tea Party-associated grouping, the International Civil Liberties Alliance, which campaigns against Sharia law, confirmed that EDL leaders have made "contacts with members of important organisations within the American counter-jihad movement". A statement said: "It seems now that America and Europe are acting as one, and united we can never fail."

With the Tea Party said to benefit from millions of dollars of funding from conservative foundations, experts warn an alliance between the EDL and extremist elements within the US movement could allow the English group to invest in wider recruitment and activism."

Yup. The leftie elites are running scared and the more they throw their scatter shot in all directions, the less effective they'll be.

23 days

From Tundra Tabloids

The Judge [to the Times Square bomber]: "I do hope you spend time in prison thinking about whether the Koran gives you the right to kill innocent people."

“Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.” Koran 2:191
“Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood.” Koran 9:123
“When opportunity arises, kill the infidels wherever you catch them.” Koran 9:5
“Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.” Koran 3:85
“The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them.” Koran 9:30
“Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam” Koran 5:33
“The infidels are unclean; do not let them into a mosque.” Koran 9:28
“Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies.” Koran 22:19
“Do not hanker for peace with the infidels; behead them when you catch them.” Koran 47:4
“The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them.” Koran 8:65
“Muslims must not take the infidels as friends.” Koran 3:28
“Terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an.” Koran 8:12
“Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.” Koran 8:60

One Step..

...forward: Next Canadian citizenship guide to cover rights

two steps back: CSIS slammed as Muslim leader acquitted of child pornography charges

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.

======original post starts here======
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?