9 posts tagged “freedom of speech”
I received an email from Allyson of Shariah Finance Watch. The name of the blog alone should be a hint to the nature of the email.
Allyson writes that the Governor of New York signed in to Law the Libel Terrorism Protection Act. I will hence forward refer to LTPA as Allyson does – Rachel’s Law.
There is a good reason for Rachel’s Law. Rachel Ehrenfeld wrote a book entitled Funding Evil. The book is an exposé on Islamist networks funding terrorist activities from the West that go toward the agenda of violent jihad, which means the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).
I say “The West” but the brains of much the Western Terrorist fund raising originates from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Muslim Brotherhood’s loose offshoots like Hamas of Palestine and Jamaat ul-Fuqra of Pakistan (a mere few).
Rachel’s Law emerged because a Saudi billionaire – Khalid bin Mahfouz – sued Ehrenfeld for placing his name among the funders of evil. In America bin Mahfouz would have to prove his case as the plaintiff that Ehrenfeld tarnished his name. Of course that would not happen and Mahfouz would risk American scrutiny of his operations by being forced to divulge discovery documentation or witnesses that the defense would ask for (Hello CAIR and Andrew Whitehead). So what did bin Mahfouz do?
He sued Ehrenfeld in the United Kingdom where the book Funding Evil was never published thus was not on the British Market. BUT some correctly curious British citizens purchased the book somehow (I forget the details; it was by Internet or other means). At the time I believe we are talking less than ten.
Bin Mahfouz utilized British Civil Law to sue Ehrenfeld who is NOT a British citizen for defamation. Guess what? In Britain (and much of Europe) the Defendant has to prove they did not injure or defame the Plaintiff rather than the other way around as in America.
Ehrenfeld is not a British Citizen and chose not to raise the money for an expensive lawsuit in a foreign nation that was backed by a billionaire’s money. She did not show up.
The British moronic Judge (or whatever they call them in the UK) decided to sock it too Ehrenfeld with a heavy financial judgment in favor of bin Mahfouz.
Now International Law comes into play. Can the International Community (that would be the auspices of the UN) force a U.S. citizen to pay damages awarded a foreigner in a foreign Court under proceedings that would be Unconstitutional in America?
The Law was (and still is in other States) murky in America.
Ehrenfeld began to fight back in America. First she went to the New York State Court system seeking legal protection. The New York Courts ultimately ruled they had no jurisdiction over a foreign Court.
Then politicians in the State of New York got behind Ehrenfeld because bin Mahfouz’s British Judicial Award affected publishing houses in New York (and America) that did business Internationally at least in marketing. Publishing houses would not publish anti-Jihad or anti-Islamist books for fear of a foreign Civil Suit.
Thank God the New York Legislature stepped up to the plate and passed Rachel’s Law which was signed into law on May 1st.
It doesn’t stop in New York though. There are 49 other States in America’s Union. The fight is going on to make Rachel’s Law a national law.
Here is the email I received from Allyson:
Want to Protect your First Amendment Rights? Then please help preserve them, by making a contribution to support the hero behind Rachels Law! This is very important!
Email Sent: Wed 5/7/2008 7:14 PM
Dear Journalists, Blogers, Writers and Readers: Please help preserve our First Amendment rights - the cornerstone of American democracy!
Is preserving Freedom of Speech worth $10, $15, or $20.00 to you?
Please consider making a small donation to the efforts of Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, the force behind the recently enacted Rachel’s Law, New York’s Libel Terrorism Protection Act which was signed by New York Governor David Patterson on May 1, 2008. Dr. Ehrenfeld has struggled on behalf of all of us for the past four years to pass a bill protecting the First Amendment from foreign libel lawsuits. According to R. James Woolsey, former Director of the CIA: “Rachel Ehrenfeld has done all serious students of this long war in which we are engaged a great service…”
Simply click here: http://www.acdemocracy.org/support.php#donate to contribute. If everybody will make a small contribution, it will allow Dr. Ehrenfeld to continue her critically important work. This law is only the start of what is required to ensure that American authors and publishers can write and distribute works that deal with funding terrorism and publish work vital to our national security without fear of being driven to bankruptcy.
Background
Following the publication of her book Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed - and How to Stop It, published in the U.S. in 2003, Dr. Ehrenfeld identified Khalid bin Mahfouz, a billionaire banker to the Saudi royal family as a leading terrorism financier. In 2004, Bin Mahfouz responded by suing Ehrenfeld — not in the U.S., but in England, which is friendlier to libel claims because 23 copies of Funding Evil had entered England through on-line sales.
Rather than back down, Ehrenfeld courageously chose to fight the false charges and worked to preserve the First Amendment rights that are the cornerstone of American democracy. Rachel’s Law will protect American journalists and authors from foreign lawsuits that infringe on First Amendment rights. This law, however, is only the start of what is required to ensure that American authors and publishers can write and distribute works that deal with funding terrorism and publish work vital to our national security without fear of being driven to bankruptcy.
(attention other bloggers, please post this, and lets support this effort which affects all of us. This is the first time on my blog I have requested a donation, because this is an effort that protects us too.)
I went to check out Allyson’s blog and have discovered that there is now a national move in Congress to enact a Federal version of Rachel’s Law. You need to read it to keep informed on keeping our First Amendment rights untouchable from foreign Courts, foreign Islamists funding evil and local Islamists in America that support Libel Terrorism.
Okay let us try to at least pretend to be observant.
Secular Humanism under the guise of moral relativist organizations have been warring against Christianity, against Christian morality and the Christian inspiration for the rule of law in America for over half a century. Some of my fellow zealots may even place this Leftist war on Christianity at an even greater length of time, but I personally don’t have the time to do the research to pin point Secular Humanistic slow erosive acts against Christianity in America. Let us just say that legal actions that would have been unthinkable fifty years ago are becoming common in this early part of the 21st century.
Just a few days ago I posted about a Christian business was fined over six-thousand dollars for refusing to do a photo op for a same sex union ceremony in New Mexico. Evidently the State of New Mexico has made State level anti-discriminatory laws which unconstitutionally override the Federal Law in the First Amendment in which is stated specifically that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion (thereof).
Let’s see if I can find some anti-Christian legal battles either instituted by the Government, the ACLU or the various deviant homosexual rights organizations (not necessarily in order).
Navy Lt Gordon James Klingenschmitt was court-martialed and booted out of the Navy for praying in the NAME OF JESUS.
Tyler Chase Harper in 2003 chose to wear tee shirts that said “I will not accept what God has condemned” and “Be ashamed, our school has embraced what God has condemned.” The Poway Unified School District chose to punish Harper for expressing Constitutional First Amendment Right to freely exercise his religious beliefs.
Mohammedans are provided special rooms and/or occasions to pray in Public and Collegiate level schools; however Brittany McComb was prevented from giving her Valedictorian speech in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2006 because it was known she was going to express her faith in Jesus Christ.
In 2007 the American Family Association sends out an Action Alert about the Senate and the House of Representatives working on legislation that would Pastoral or Ministerial sermons on the sinfulness of homosexuality a hate crime.
Here we are AGAIN with the Day of Silence garbage in 2008 in which many Public Schools across the nation will force student to learn that homosexuality and transgender lifestyles are not deviant. This is happening with impunity knowing the big money for litigation is with the homosexuals via homosexual organizations and especially the ACLU (the King pen of anti-Christianity).
I could on and on; nonetheless I have to mention Secular Humanist war against one of the most Holy Days of Christianity – Christmas. Way too many corporate store chains are falling into the same pit the Left has forced the government into, viz. censoring Christmas because it is Christian. The big Capitalists (and I not against Capitalism) want to be Leftie Politically Correct and make their Christmas dough at the same time. Every Christmas comes a controversy: no Santas; no Salvation Army bell ringers, the replacement of “Merry Christmas” with “Merry X-mas” or “Happy Holidays” and so on.
Is there a war on Christianity in America? You’re darn toot’in!
The latest stupidity in battling Christianity is an ACLU legal win in banning a quarter century school tradition of praying before Football Games at East Brunswick High School located in New Jersey. The Coach even tried to accommodate the ACLU by refraining from verbal prayer but having a student lead in a moment of silent prayer. The Court said NO!
I have found an English subtitled and English language version of Geert Wilders’ Movie Short Fitna at the Exposing Islam blog. Whatever you think about Wilders’ politics as to place on the political pole – Rightwing or fringe Rightwing – Fitna utilizes the words, pictures, sound bytes and film excerpts of what Islamic people holy men following the Quran.
Global Islam (radical and so-called moderate) has worked hard to squelch this Movie Short to be broadcast on television. Islamic pressure even pressured Wilders’ webhost to not allow Fitna to be shown under its ISP. It will be interesting how long LiveLeak will allow having Fitna shown since the West seems to be dhimmified into petrification at the complaint of Islamic organizations in the West and in the Middle East.
Fitna was put together under the sponsorship of a Dutch citizen however it is a Wake-up America, nay a Wake-up World moment. Wake-up for Islam is using victimization as an excuse to curb Freedom of Speech. Republican Representative Peter Hoekstra has made this clear in his opinion about how Islam threatens the Constitutional Right of Freedom of Speech in America. Insults and critical speech has been allowed against questionable faiths that are more like cults and political ideologies from the Left and the Right in America for quite some time. It has only at the cry of Islamophobia (i.e. the accusation of hate speech) by Islamic organizations as well as domestic and foreign mullahs and imams has Freedom of Speech has been criticized.
What is the worry of the West and Freedom of Speech critical of Islam? It is the dhimmified fear of global rioting and violence by the so-called religion of peace when offense is taken. Our modern sense of political correctness has allowed the criticism of Christianity, Judaism, Capitalism, Communism, Nazism, Democracy and other faiths. Yet when the potential of malicious violence looms at criticism of Islam the West slinks under a rock rather than stand for hard fought principles of Democracy and Liberty.
AGAIN I SAY, “WAKE-UP!’
LIVELEAK VERSION. (I had to hit refresh to get the page to come up on my browser.)
Something that is not getting a lot of play on the media is the Free Speech persecution of a British Blogger known as Lionheart.
The last I heard he was flying back to Britain knowing that he was to be arrested as he stepped off the plane. Why the arrest? Lionheart is an ex-miscreant who turned his life around by becoming a Christian. Stories of turning one’s life around by becoming a Christian are rare stories in Europe these days.
I am unaware what Lionheart does to pay the bills; however his trouble with the British law is over his Blog’s writing about the threat of Islamism to Western society. Evidently a Mohammedan complained to the authorities in Britain that Lionheart’s blogs were incitement to hate-speech. You see there is no First Amendment right of freedom of speech in Britain as it is protected in America. In Britain a simple act of Parliament can redefine the parameters of Freedom of Speech.
This is what Lionheart is a victim of. Britain has a hate crimes law that if publications or speech is offensive to a race, creed, religion, gender etc.; then it is an equivalent of an American felony. That means if you point out acts of hatred as part of a religion, an offended member of that religion can press charges for hate speech.
Not being from Britain this may not be the precise definition; however it is the essence of Lionheart’s legal problems. Lionheart is anti-jihadi and anti-Islamist. Lionheart’s exposés of the jihad-Islamist mentality of much of the British Muslim population is criminal in Britain.
I have not run into any news about what has happened to Lionheart after he stepped off that plane; however I have ran into some information about what Lionheart is doing that the British law enforcement has determined enough to warrant an arrest.
This information comes from the Jillosophy blog. I will post her information with a few formatting changes at this blog.
In America Islamist organizations similar to CAIR use litigation to throw down First Amendment Free Speech by the intimidation of it costs money for lawyers to stand by the truth. Is there a time when litigation becomes irrelevant and the First Amendment is revoked by Judicial Tyranny by making the truth a felonious crime known as hate speech?
That is what is happening to a British Blogger known as Lionheart who is a plane to jolly old England certain to be arrested for hate speech for blogging about Islamic Jihad.
I am growing weary of Islamic organizations whining about prejudice and hate when Western writers and bloggers are merely reporting what is in Islamic sources or public record. These Islamists or these Mohammedans or these Mohammedan organizations utilize Western Laws to effectively squelch Freedom of Speech and silence Western critics of the reality of violence inherent in that Theo-political cult known as Islam (I prefer Mohammedanism after their psycho-prophet).
In America Andrew Whitehead successfully withstood litigation intimidation with CAIR. When CAIR sued Whitehead for making false statements on his website Anti-CAIR, Whitehead’s lawyer asked for discovery documentation from CAIR about donations among other items. CAIR chose not to give up that information and dropped the suit. Speculation would assume the reason for not giving up the Discovery Requests is because it would connect terrorism to CAIR.
On the other hand foreign Islamists with a ton of money have found a way to circumvent American litigation laws. Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz of Saudi Arabia sued American author Rachel Ehrenfeld for using his name (which was documented) as a funder of terrorism in her book American published book, Funding Evil. Bin Mahfouz did not sue in America where the burden of proof would be on him, he went to the UK where the defendant in litigation has to prove the plaintiff wrong. The hypocrisy of it all is the Funding Evil was never published or marketed in the UK however a number of books (like approximately seven) were purchased on the Internet. Ehrenfeld is an American and NOT a British citizen and felt no legal obligation to pour money into lawyers (or in the UK’s case – barristers) to satisfy a litigious Islamist.
Bin Mahfouz won by default for the Ehrenfeld no show. Ehrenfeld has since written an exposé on the Muslim Brotherhood. American Publishers won’t publish it for fear of offending foreign Muslims who might litigate in foreign courts. Ehrenfeld is not the only American having their First Amendment Rights squelched by foreign courts – READ HERE.
Ehrenfeld tried to use the New York State Judiciary system to protect her First Amendment rights from foreign courts; however at the Appellate level she was shot down claiming the State Judiciary had no jurisdiction. Ehrenfeld has other options which include fighting bin Mahfouz if he has the audacity to collect in American Courts the judgment leveled by the dhimmi judge in the UK.
Blogmeister USA weighs in with about Lionheart’s legal persecution by Islamofascism in Britain:
My fellow Americans of all races, creeds and religions: America is at war with Terrorists that tell the world their religion is Islam and the school of Islam they follow represents the true interpretation of their prophet Mohammed. Indeed every modern terrorist attack is a 21st century tactical upgrade of Mohammed’s own tactics to spread his cult and to aggrandize power first for himself and later to the ruling elites that admired Mohammed’s techniques of conquest and enforced submission.
It has been said that a majority of Mohammedans denounce or disagree with Islamist Terrorist claims they represent the true religion of Islam/Mohammedanism. This majority of Mohammedans labeled moderate is said to account for 90% of the Mohammedan belief system.
The difficulties with that claim are that of the 90% only a fraction actively and vocally denounce the actions of Islamist Terrorists. In Europe and America (especially America), the majority of the funding of Mosques and Imam/Mullah or whatever the Mohammedan clerics are called receive funding from Saudi Arabia.
Hello! The dominant school of thought among Sunni Mohammedans in Saudi Arabia is Wahhabi. Wahhabi/Muslim Brotherhood is the vile ideology of terrorists like Usama bin Laden (mentioned for notoriety, there are many factions of terrorists).
Let me ask you: Who was responsible for the deaths of American citizens in the thousands on September 11, 2001? If you said Usama bin Laden and his al Qaeda transnational Islamist terrorist organization, at least you know why there is a War on Terror.
Now here is the thing. Local Mohammedan non-profit organizations primarily represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) receive their funding and teaching materials from either Islamist terrorists such the vile murderous group known as Hamas (Arabs calling themselves Palestinians) and/or Wahhabi Saudi Arabia.
It is politically correct to look the other way if a potential offense from a group of ideologues who claim to be a religion of peace is a finger of evil. This is obviously the case with terrorist supported and terrorist supporting CAIR.
If anyone who has become enlightened to understand the goals and the instrumentality to execute those goals and to perpetuate a community where freedom and liberty is non-existent (hence “Islamofascism”), then those fakir become a target for character assassination. The very intolerant racist bigoted hate of Islamists is deceptively implicated on the enlightened. The actuality is bigotry and racism is not the issue for that is what the Mohammedan has towards all non-Mohammedans; the issue is exposing the Mohammedan agenda as dangerous to American or Western Culture.
The dumb moonbat Lefties have fallen for the race card hook, line and sinker because their touching faith in civil rights as an absolute; even if the enemy uses those civil rights to perpetuate the destruction of a non-Mohammedan culture.
Michael Savage is currently experiencing this attack when the intolerant bigots of Mohammedanism have the audacity of calling Savage a hate-mongering racist bigot (I kind of pushed the envelope on that description). CAIR wants Savage out of Talk Radio and is actively contacting sponsors of his programming to drop him. If there are no sponsors then Savage’s employers cancel his Talk Radio program. If CAIR succeeds, they will have effectively convinced sponsors that CAIR links to Hamas is a non-issue thus preventing Free Speech efforts of exposing Mohammedanism from occurring.
Effectively local American Islamists that act as a Fifth Column will have silenced a critic relying on the current American mindset of being Politically Correct. Michael Savage is not the first to experience this; however the notoriety of his name among the extreme Right is like a prize kill in a safari.
Brave bloggers like Andrew Whitehead were threatened with extreme litigation to end their efforts to expose Islam and CAIR in particular as a threat to American society. Whitehead was the David having little original funding to fight CAIR – the Goliath – who has the funding of rich Islamists from Saudi Arabia and Hamas. In America David/Whitehead spanked CAIR/Goliath in the Courts for CAIR dropped the suit when they began to realize that in the course of a civil trial, CAIR’s true nature would become public. I am certain some of those things CAIR feared to be publicly revealed might have led to criminal charges.
In the case of Michael Savage you need to read the Cybercast News Service for the details on the CAIR attack on Savage’s livelihood with the racist/bigot card that Islamists nearly hold the monopoly on.
The Blogger “Vanderleun” of American Digest weighs in on all the talk about Ahmadinejad being invited and speaking at Columbia University.
Vanderleun says he was against before he was for it.
Just kidding! Really, no “seriously” is a better word.
The Conservative Blogs (of which I am a part of by association) skewered Columbia University’s President Bollinger for inviting and giving Ahmadinejad a forum to validate the extreme radical Shia/political Mohammedanism of which the Iranian President represents.
Although I never blogged on the issue, I did read plenty who did. And I have to admit I joined in the realm of outrage and agreed with the criticism Bollinger was receiving. I even came close to signing an Internet petition to vent my displeasure over Ahmadinejad’s appointment on American soil by invitation of an esteemed Ivy League Academic institution known as Columbia University.
Unlike Vanderleun, I did not watch the whole affair feeling it would accomplish little.
However if Vanderleun is correct (I have not corroborating reports as yet), Bollinger was the victim (at least in this case) of judgment before actual assessment.
Apparently Bollinger asked some to the point precise questions that answers would demonstrate the true nature to Americans of Ahmadinejad’s way of thinking.
Here is Vanderleun’s blog post:
Left Coast State Oregon is getting set to enact laws that will force Christians to choose between faith and obeying the law relating to homosexuals. If Oregon passes “Senate Bill 2,” Christian morality will become a hate crime thus opening Christians to civil suits and criminal prosecution. This would be in direct violation of the First Amendment to the American Constitution which is about free speech and the U.S government not allowing legislation that would prohibit the free practice of religion.
In the old Soviet Union Christian activists were sent to jail or the nut house. Oregon Left Coasters appear to be following in the old Stalinist foot steps.
Oregon is actually one of many States that passed a citizen Initiative to define marriage as between a male and female. Oregon is also one the most Leftist States in the American Union, however even a majority of its citizens recognized the immorality of State sanctioned homosexual marital unions.