Geert Wilders News Roundup

The first law of holes (stop digging).
On October 26, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial calling for all charges against Geert Wilders to be dropped: The Lost Cause Against Wilders. Quote from the editorial: "It's time to drop the charges against Mr. Wilders before it further undermines the credibility of the Dutch legal system and the country's tradition of free political discourse."

With friends like these . . . .
On October 30, the English Defense League organized a demonstration in Amsterdam "in support of Geert Wilders." Wilders told de Telegraaf: "I have no involvement with this demo, I've never been in touch with the EDL." Concerning the EDL demonstration, he was also quoted by the DutchNews.nl website as saying: "This demonstration means nothing to me. It is nothing to do with me, nor is the EDL. I only know the group from the newspapers and I have never had any contact with them."

"They may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one."
Dutch rapper Mosheb came out with a song in 2007 called "Who is next?", in which he brags that all those who criticize Islam will be killed. The song names Pim Fotuyn (murdered in 2002)  and Theo van Gogh (murdered in 2004), and then asks, "Who is next?" Mosheb doesn't want to leave too much to the imagination, though: "Listen Geert, this is no joke, last night I dreamed that I had cut off your head." On November 9, the appeals court in the Hague acquitted Mosheb of any wrongdoing "because it did not consider the text of his song constituted an offence," according to NisNews.nl.

"We have no problems with other skin colors, nor with Muslims -- our problem is with Islam."
Also on November 9, Der Spiegel published an English language translation of an interview with Wilders. Read the damn thing, already. It's quite fucking awesome.

Duh.
Also on November 9, DutchNews.nl announced that a new poll by the gay Dutch newspaper Gay Krant had found that among its readership Geert Wilders' PVV is now the most popular political party.

But what does he really think?

Yesterday, November 10, godless comedian Pat Condell released upon an unsuspecting world yet another spoken word broadside, this time on the subject of "Free Speech in Europe". It is primarily devoted to the trials of Geert Wilders and Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff . Here's a taste: "Whatever happens at these two trials, this is just the beginning. The genie is out of the bottle, and no multicultural diversity fascist is going to put it back. Already, thousands are speaking out and making their voices heard in opposition to the relentless Islamization of our society. And soon, it's going to be millions. People who've had enough of political correctness, of being told what they're allowed to think and say, of being told to respect a religion that respects absolutely nobody. And they're finding out as they do speak out that they are not alone, and that they are not in fact fascists, hate-mongers, or racists at all, despite what they're told."

One more time with feeling.
Then today, November 11, it was suddenly announced that the new judges for Geert Wilders' new trial had been selected. As usual, the best place to get the low-down on this is at the Klein Verzet blog.

Toward a Liberal Critique of Islam

Adil Doukali, A Muslim chosen to represent Spain
in the 2007 International Bear Rendezvous.

The word liberal covers a great multitude of sins. But common to all the different uses and misuses of liberal is the underlying idea of liberality: "The quality of being open to new ideas and free from prejudice" (from the Oxford Online Dictionary). More mundanely, liberality can also simply mean generosity; in fact the Roman Goddess Liberalitas was the deified representation of the virtue of generosity.

Liberal opposition to Islam emphasizes the fact that Islam has, from its beginnings to today, always and everywhere been the enemy of individual freedom. The debased and degrading status of women in Muslim societies is Exhibit A in this critique. The criminalization of homosexuality and the brutalization of LGBT people is also a central issue, and so is the lack of freedom of speech in Muslim societies, as well as the absence of separation between church and state. Once upon a time such things as individual liberty, women's equality, sexual freedom, gay rights, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state were all core liberal values.

"I Can't Think Straight", the movie.

Reactionary opposition to Islam, on the other hand, is a very different animal. It is characterized first and foremost by an "us versus them" xenophobic attitude that is usually explicit, and that often proclaims itself proudly and crudely. To these close-minded reactionaries, the main problem with Islam is that it is foreign, and/or that it is not Christian. The oppression of women and lack of freedom generally in Muslim majority societies might be included in the reactionary critique of Islam, but only as a secondary consideration. This critique comes almost exclusively from fundamentalist Christians, and, therefore, the oppression of LGBT people under Islam is not even a peripheral issue. Freedom of speech is also not a genuine concern of these reactionary Christians, because they don't want their own religion subjected to public criticism. And separation of church and state is also a foreign concept to the right-wing Christian critics of Islam.

It is very easy, at least in theory and at least on paper, to clearly distinguish these two very different positions as I have above. But today it seems as if all criticism of Islam is automatically assumed to originate from the "far right", while the leftists have adopted a perverse lockstep apologetics in which Islam is mindlessly defended against all criticism, thus validating right-wing claims to ownership of opposition to Islam. How did this happen?

More Adil

After all, the rampant misogyny and homophobia, and the total lack of even a pretense of basic human rights in Muslim majority societies is hardly a well kept secret. Nevertheless, many progressives, liberals, and leftists have stupidly talked themselves into believing that the adherents of the world's second largest, and demonstrably most violent, religion are somehow the pitiable members of an oppressed minority group! This self-imposed delusional thinking is exacerbated by the way in which leftist parties and organizations have adopted pandering to Muslims as a strategy for gaining members and votes.

Several specific phenomena have fed into the Left's embrace of Islam and even of Islamism. First there was the invasion of Iraq, which succeeded in casting reactionary thugs in the role of "freedom fighters." Then there was the mother of all internet memes: "Obama is a Muslim", which succeeded in training progressives to associate negative representations of Islam with right-wing bullshit. To this has now been added the hysterical misrepresentations of the Israeli response to the so-called "peace flotilla", during which progressives proved that they had totally lost all contact with reality to such an extent that openly anti-Semitic, martyrdom seeking Jihadists were transformed into victimized "peace activists." And then to top it all of was the ludicrous progressive defense of the Ground Zero Mosque, led by that arch-progressive, Michael Bloomberg.

Probably more important than any of the above, though, has been the near total collapse of the secular left in the Arab and Muslim worlds. This collapse (greatly accelerated by the end of the Cold War) created a political opening that has allowed reactionary Islamists to go from strength to strength in terms of popular support among the Arab and Muslim masses. This has essentially silenced what should be the most important voice against Islam: those who know first hand what it means to live in "submission" (the literal meaning of "Islam").

Kiana Firouz, Iranian lesbian activist

It's gotten to the point where the "Religion" section at the Huffington Post is now dominated by thinly disguised (if that!) Islamic apologetics and Islamophobia-baiting, while politically progressive Pagans (whom Muslims have sworn to wipe off the face of the earth) line up to voice their clueless "Solidarity with Islam."

But I honestly do think that it is possible to make headway against this stream of mindless "sharia compliance" among supposed liberals. There are even positive signs, if one looks hard enough for them. For example, a recent poll found that the most popular political party in the Netherlands among gays is Geert Wilders PVV, according to the Dutch gay newspapaper Krant (as reported in the English language version of the DutchNews.nl website).

I suppose, though, that the real issue is for liberal-minded individuals to think for ourselves, regardless of the party-line being promoted by the Glenn Greenwalds, Andrew Sullivans, etc. Gee, what a concept. Independent thinking from the very people who claim to support the freedom of individuals to think for ourselves and to freely express own own individual opinions!

Gay victims of Islamist death squads in Sadr City, Iraq

Links:

• Geert Wilders and Islam: Beyond Left & Right
• Danish Socialists Denounce Islamist "Rubbish About No Freedom"
• "And if they don't meet these demands then you can send them back"
• "A religious axis of evil"
• "The Islamic Exception"
• The right to oppose Islam
• Melanie Philips on Lars Hedegaard
• A plague on both their houses: Notes toward a renewal of liberal anti-clericalism
• Getting Beyond Gingrich
• Islam, Free Speech, Tolerance, and Politics
• Spanish "bear" Adil Doukali at progressiveislam.org
• "Just another British, Indian, Muslim, Arab, Christian lesbian romantic comedy"
• The trials of an Iranian lesbian activist
• Iraq: Gay murders surge

"Horns Up!" (Nergal Update: Bone Marrow Match Found for Behemoth Frontman)

.

"Yes, we’ve found a donor!"

The following message was posted by Nergal (Adam Darski) on the official Behemoth website. It is translated from Polish (the translation is now up at the English version of the Behemoth website):

"Hello everyone! I’m still in the hospital but in quite a good shape so I write to let you know about my health and the further stages of treatment.

"I’ve been through four planned chemotherapies and have stayed in hospital for over 3 months now. I’ve gone through the whole therapy smoothly, though I also had a couple of difficult moments. All this means I finish the stage of pharmacological treatment and I am about to start the irradiation and then the marrow transplant.

"Yes, we’ve found a donor!

"Having searched for months, the fundation has found a person whose genotype is identical to mine. It would have been difficult to achieve if it wasn’t for the support of so many people.

"Most of all, I want to express my admiration for Dorota - my wonderful and devoted fiancée. She did everything she could to help me and many other people, regardless of adversities and comments which were often unfair. Your help is invaluable! Thank you! I love you.

"On behalf of me and all other people ill I thank everyone who registered in the bone marrow bank regardless of origin, skin colour or religion. The concerts for charity have been organised all over the world and people of show business, bands and, most of all, the fans got deeply involved. You are beyond great! One of you made my transplant possible, but remember, your attitude may save many others in need.

"So I appeal to everyone: don’t stop the madness! The march for victory continues! Horns up!"

Also: The new Evangelia Heretika set (2 DVD's, 1 CD) goes on sale in the US tomorrow. Check out the MetalBlade.Com website for details.

And if you are not familiar at all with Nergal, or only know a little and would like some background information, check out these three posts:

• Nergal: "Po moim trupie!" ("Over my dead body!")
• More on Nergal's Case
• "Music that is so extreme, so politically incorrect and so evil."

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "the immense pressure by political Islam on the freedom of expression in the West"

From Ayaan Hirsi Ali's AHA Foundation:

We will be releasing a report on November 25th regarding the immense pressure by political Islam on the freedom of expression in the West. This report demonstrates how, through means of actual physical violence, threats and intimidation, legal action, and political pressure, political Islamists are targeting in particular the freedom of expression that is a fundamental right of human beings. Watch here or our website for more details. www.theahafoundation.org

The above was posted on Facebook yesterday. So far, nothing about the report has actually been posted to the AHA Foundation website, but hopefully there will be soon.

For those who don't know, the AHA Foundation was founded in 2007 "to help protect and defend the rights of women in the West against militant Islam." To learn more, look here.

The recent Pew report on "Muslim Networks and Movements in Western Europe" has already shown how "political" Islam, the form of Islam that openly seeks political dominance and control, is extremely influential among the Muslim population in Europe, while recent elections in Turkey, Iraq, Bahrain, Malaysia, etc, have shown the great breadth and depth of support for openly misogynistic (and all-around reactionary) political Islamism in Muslim majority countries.

The upcoming report from the AHA Foundation will contribute yet another data point demonstrating the very real growing global threat posed by Islam to liberal democracy, human equality and individual liberty.

The fact is that Fareed Zakaria was right when he said that "The problem is not that Osama bin Laden believes that this is a religious war against America. It's that millions of people across the Islamic world seem to agree."

Even worse is the fact that those tens of millions of Muslims who "seem to agree" with Osama bin Laden are only the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of millions of Muslims disagree with bin Laden only in terms of his tactics, if even that, while sharing his vision of a world dominated by Sharia law.

Sex + Violence + Goggles ("High Concept" Meets "Sucker Punch")

If you're anything like me, you just might be in the market for a full-bodied, full-strength, full-bore psychic palette cleanser, in order to begin the process of purging the traumatized synapses of your visual, auditory, and frontal cortices of anything and everything in any way related to Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, Joe Miller, and Carl Paladino, now that we will hopefully never, ever, have to see, hear or think about them ever again. Ever.

Depending on your tolerance level for highly stylized violence, gothic/steampunk dark fantasy post-apocalyptic aesthetics, and hollywoodishly prurient, gratuitous (and highly stylized) sexuality, you just might be in luck.

All this by way of letting you know that a new trailer for "Sucker Punch" is now available for your viewing (and psychic purging) pleasure (here at apple.com).

One thing you can be sure of is that this is the kind of movie that the Tea Partiers think is destroying America.

If you haven't heard of it yet, wintle at filmjunk.com describes "Sucker Punch" as "Zack Snyder’s big-budget female juvenile delinquent follow-up to Watchmen."

And if you don't know who Zack Snyder is, he's the guy who made 300 and, obviously, Watchmen.

Noted blogger and comic book writer Valerie D'Orazio has already offered up the first (that I know of) of what will undoubtedly be a very great many High Concept One-Line Distillments:

"Sucker Punch" Looks Like "Kill Bill" + "Girl Interrupted" + "The Matrix" On Crack

Having looked at the same trailer, and the same buzz (scroll down for some links), as everyone else, I would offer the following:

"Sucker Punch" Looks Like:

• "Angel at My Table" + "Dark City" + "Showgirls"
• "Chained Heat" + "Battlestar Galactica" on acid
• "Alice in Wonderland" + The Military History Channel + "Porky's"
• Steampunkified "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" + the "Suicide Girls" website
• "Avatar" + "Aeon Flux" + "Donnie Darko" + "American Pie" + Nazis
• A Victoria's Secret commercial + guns + swords + gas masks
  
• "Kung Fu Hustle" + "Pan's Labyrinth" + the "Glee" GQ photoshoot
  
• "Hellboy" + "Metropolis" + "Cruel Intentions"
• "Severance" + "District 9" + "Wildthings"
• "Ink" + "Xena" + Two Hundred Million Dollars

Linkage:

• Thrilling new trailer (cinetopia)
• Comic-Con 2010: Sucker Punch Panel and Footage (ugo.com)
• Detailed Look at Zack Snyder's SUCKER PUNCH Characters including a Mech Suit (geektyrant.com)
• Zack Snyder Gets In a Sucker Punch (filmjunk.com)
• 2010 Comic-Con: Zack Snyder goes for grrrrrl power (latimes.com)
• Early split reviews for "Sucker Punch" (screenrant.com)
• Valerie D'Orazio's blog
• The Trailer
  

The Economy, Stupid. (DON'T FORGET HEALTHCARE)

The sign went up early, within the first couple of days, as soon as somebody could go to the store and get the dry erase board to write it on.

I wanted to say something concise that people would remember. I wrote:

Change vs. more of the same

The economy, stupid

Don't forget healthcare

I hung it on a post near my desk. It was not any big deal, just a reminder of what we were about. It had two essential elements: It was simple and it was self-effacing. I was trying to say: "Let's don't be too clever here, don't come down here thinking we're too smart. Let's just remember the basics."

[James Carville in All's Fair: Love, War, and Running for President]

...

Sakineh Update: "Authorities give go ahead" for execution

Go here to send a letter to Iranian officials asking for Sakineh's freedom:
http://freesakineh.org/letter/

The latest from CNN:

Report: Iranian authorities give go-ahead to execute woman
From Mitra Mobasherat, CNN
November 2, 2010 2:57 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Authorities in Tehran, Iran, have given the go-ahead to execute a woman who initially was sentenced to death by stoning, according to an activist working on her behalf.

However, what method will be used to execute Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is unclear, said Mina Ahadi, spokeswoman for the International Committee Against Stoning. The execution could happen as soon as Wednesday, she said, citing information received from a source in Tabriz, Iran, who is close to Ashtiani's family.

Ashtiani initially was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. The Iranian government later said she was also convicted of murdering her husband, but her lawyer and family dispute that.

A letter from Tehran was delivered to the prison in Tabriz where Ashtiani is being held three days ago, Ahadi said, giving the go-ahead for Ashtiani's execution.

Ashtiani, 43 and a mother of two, drew international attention when she was sentenced to death by stoning. She concedes that she was convicted of adultery, as initially reported, but says she was acquitted of murder. "The man who actually killed my husband was identified and imprisoned, but he is not sentenced to death," she said in August.

The Iranian government's claims that she was convicted of murder are a lie, she told the Guardian newspaper through an intermediary. "They are embarrassed by the international attention on my case, and they are desperately trying to distract attention and confuse the media so that they can kill me in secret."

Ashtiani's son and her attorney are still in jail after being arrested last month, Ahadi said. Also still detained are two German journalists.

"The International Committees against Stoning and Execution call on international bodies and the people of the world to come out in full force against the state-sponsored murder of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani," as well as the release of the others, Ahadi said in a statement.

Before his arrest, Ashtiani's son, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, said court officials stole documents and files pertaining to the murder of his father in order to "promote his mother as a murderer." And Ahadi's committee said the murder charges are "fabricated" by the Iranian regime.

In August, Ashtiani appeared on state TV confessing that she knew about a plot to kill her husband but felt she had been misled. Amnesty International condemned the interview.

Ghaderzadeh and attorney Hootan Kian will not be issued an attorney, because the government claims they do not need one, according to Ahadi.

Ashtiani's other lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, is being protected by European diplomats after he fled to Turkey from Iran.

Mostafaei claims that Iranian authorities tried to arrest him without cause.

L’exécution de Sakineh Ashtiani est imminente

I don't think you really need to know French to understand this headline at the Iran Human Rights website (which posts in English, French and Farsi):

L’exécution de Sakineh Ashtiani est imminente

Other coverage:

• Iranian woman to be hanged Wednesday - rights group (MSNBC & Reuters)
• Iran Plans to Execute Woman in Stoning Case (FOX News)
• Fears that alleged adulterer's execution by hanging 'is imminent' (The Australian)
• Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, Iranian Mother, could be put to death at any moment (FreeSakineh.org)

And here is the full story in English from the Iran Human Rights website:

Sakineh Ashtiani at imminent danger of execution - Authorities confirm arrest of her lawyer

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Iran Human Rights, November 2: According to unconfirmed reports Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the 43 years old woman sentenced to death by stoning, could be at imminent danger of execution.

Iranian authorities have repeated their murder allegations against Sakineh Ashtiani during the past weeks. According to the daily newspaper Quds, Hassan Ghashghavi and Iranian foreign ministry official, said at a meeting that "Mrs. Sakineh Ashtiani is convicted of adultry and murder of her husband, and the family of the offended have requested (Qesas) retribution". He added:"Iran defends the victim and his family, while the West defends the offender".

On the other hand the Iranian authorities confirmed for the first time that Sakineh Ashtiani’s lawyer (Javid Houtan Kian) is in detention. Spokesman of the Judiciary and Iran’s chief prosecutor Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said at a press conference yesterday that "the lawyer had three ID cards and his case is in relation with some counter-revolutionary exile groups and is under consideration".

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights expressed his concern about Mrs. Ashtiani’s situation and said:"The allegations by the Iranian authorities regarding Mr. Ashtiani’s murder conviction, and especially their claims about the family of the offended demanding retribution, are fabricated by the regime in order to make her execution more acceptable for the world community". He added:" The offended’s family are also Sakineh’s children, and they started the campaign to save their mother’s life, so how could they demand her execution?". He continued:"The signals sent by the Iranian authorities might indicate that Mrs. Ashtiani is at imminent danger of execution".

Regarding the arrest of Mrs. Ashtiani’s lawyer and son, Amiry-Moghaddam said:" There are no news about Mrs. Ashtiani’s son Sajjad, and her lawyer Javid Houtan Kian. Iranain authorities have for the first time confirmed that the lawyer is under detention, but we don’t know where and under what conditions they are right now".

Regarding the international attention around Mrs. Ashtiani’s case, Amiry-Moghaddam said: "It is thanks to the international pressure that Sakineh Ashtiani wasn’t stoned to death last summer, but unfortunately the attention around her case was temporary and we had earlier warned that once the attention is gone she will be at imminent danger of execution". "Where are all the leaders and the personalitis who spoke about Sakineh Ashtiani few months ago?" He asked.

"We ask the world community, the governments and the civil socity to give urgent attention to her case now. She is at imminent danger of execution and tomorrow could be too late" Amiry-Moghaddam ended.

More on Hypatia (and Christians, and atheists, and Ptolemaic science)

A lot of the stuff on Hypatia out there on teh interwebs is (surprise!) misinformed, misleading or just out and out disinformation. A lot of this is due to Christians desperately trying to rewrite history. Also, the portrayal of Hypatia in the film Agora, while sympathetic after a fashion, is more fiction than fact -- and that is largely due to the fact that Alejandro Amenábar's atheism is nearly as hostile to Hypatia's Paganism as Christianity is.

Anyway, here are a few links that won't steer you too far wrong:

• Ypatia of Alexandria (a mathematician's appreciation of Hypatia)
• Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher (from the Alexandria Journal folks)
• Hypatia, Ancient Alexandria’s Great Female Scholar (Smithsonian Magazine)
• Hypatía of Alexandria: Pagan philosopher, scientist, mathematician, and civic leader (Max Dashu)
• Synesius of Cyrene (includes extensive collection of Synesius' writings)
• Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher an article by Nancy Nietupski published in Number 2 of the Alexandria Journal, starting on page 57.
• Hypatia: The Martyr of Pagans and the feminist movement (a somewhat idiosyncratic site hosted at polyamory.org)

One of the worst thing about the film Agora is the way in which the scientific achievements of ancient Pagandom are inexcusably distorted to fit Amenabar's atheist agenda. Anyone interested in actually understanding the tremendous accomplishments and intellectual sophistication of ancient Pagan science should check out Andrew Barker's study Scientific Method in Ptolemy's Harmonics. In that work, and as the title implies, Barker argues that in his Harmonics, Ptolemy "announces and seeks to justify at the outset a sophisticated set of procedural principles which scientists in this field, so it argues, must follow if they are to produce defensible results." [p. 1] Barker goes on to say that:

The complex combination of rationalism and empiricism which Ptolemy professes to adopt insists, among other things, on a crucial role for experimental tests of provisional theory-based results. Here, as we shall see, the word 'experimental' is to be construed in a strict sense that will seem surprisingly modern. I hope to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Ptolemy understood very well what conditions must be met if experimental tests are to be fully rigorous, and that he had a clear and persuasive conception of the roles they should be assigned in a well conducted scientific project.
[p. 2]

In other words far from being simply an authority figure whose views were accepted uncritically, Ptolemy was an outspoken proponent for open ended scientific research in the full modern sense. This is precisely the opposite of the view of Ptolemaic science that is presented in Agora.

[This is a follow up to the post: Hypatia (Honoring Our Pagan Ancestors, Part Two).]