Did you catch that bit? The one where the only judge who criticized publicly a former court decision in Geert’s favour is now one of the three judges he faces in this case?
And that does not even scratch the surface of the selective enforcement of the law when it comes to the prosecution…
The rule of law in Western Europe is done, gone, lost… Let’s hope not for ever, but I’m not holding my breath!
EDIT: CodeSlinger has made a most excellent comment which I would like to add into the text of this post in its entirety:
Xanthippa:
Geert Wilders deserves our utmost respect. He is a man of courage and integrity. He stands before a court that has the power to impose severe penalties on him, and he rebukes them:
“Freedom of speech is the only freedom I still have. And, forgive me, I will never give it up. So I stand here again. And I honestly think it is a disgrace that I have to stand here.”
And he is right. It is a disgrace.
However, the disgrace is not that the rule of law has broken down, but that it has become absolute.
The disgrace is that the law has broken free of all moral restraint and lost all contact with the ideas of right and wrong.
The disgrace is that the concept of crime has become divorced from the concept of sin.
Consequently, the law has become an instrument of oppression.
Ask a typical Westerner to define right and wrong, and you will get back definitions of legal and illegal. You will hear that rules of conduct are established by decree or consensus, and whatever is against the rules is wrong.
But this is exactly backwards. Right and wrong cannot be determined by decree or consensus.
Just as rights are inherent in our nature, so are wrongs.
A religious man would say these things are given by God.
But the crucial realisation is that these things are not given by man.
Once we lose sight of that truth, the perversion of the rule of law – as epitomized by the persecution of Geert Wilders – is inevitable.
But it is not limited to Europe. It is rampant everywhere in the West.
Indeed, CodeSlinger, indeed!
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 
March 22, 2016 at 01:43
Xanthippa:
Geert Wilders deserves our utmost respect. He is a man of courage and integrity. He stands before a court that has the power to impose severe penalties on him, and he rebukes them:
“Freedom of speech is the only freedom I still have. And, forgive me, I will never give it up. So I stand here again. And I honestly think it is a disgrace that I have to stand here.”
And he is right. It is a disgrace.
However, the disgrace is not that the rule of law has broken down, but that it has become absolute.
The disgrace is that the law has broken free of all moral restraint and lost all contact with the ideas of right and wrong.
The disgrace is that the concept of crime has become divorced from the concept of sin.
Consequently, the law has become an instrument of oppression.
Ask a typical Westerner to define right and wrong, and you will get back definitions of legal and illegal. You will hear that rules of conduct are established by decree or consensus, and whatever is against the rules is wrong.
But this is exactly backwards. Right and wrong cannot be determined by decree or consensus.
Just as rights are inherent in our nature, so are wrongs.
A religious man would say these things are given by God.
But the crucial realisation is that these things are not given by man.
Once we lose sight of that truth, the perversion of the rule of law – as epitomized by the persecution of Geert Wilders – is inevitable.
But it is not limited to Europe. It is rampant everywhere in the West.
April 3, 2016 at 18:14
Xanthippa:
What is Wilders’ position on the idea of inalienable individual rights?
Does he support the right to bear arms? Limited government? The free market?
As much as I respect his courage in standing up to the corrupt establishment in regard to freedom of speech and preserving the culture and sovereignty of European nations, his general stance seems to lean towards a rather severe police state.
Not to single him out, this seems to be a common trait of all the high-profile politicians of the European right wing: the all have an authoritarian streak a mile wide.
The concept of the libertarian right seems to be unknown in Europe outside of the Czech Republic.
This must rectified – and soon! – or Europe is doomed.
April 8, 2016 at 13:25
CodeSlinger,
Not having spoken with him personally, and not speaking Dutch to follow his general speeches, I truly and honestly don’t know his stand on inalienable individual rights etc. Yet, freedom of speech is a necessary pre-condition for these, so he is a good starting point.
However, I do know that many of the people in Europe who are his allies do have a very strong right libertarian streak. They do exist…just that they are shunned and ostracized by their society. And that needs to change.
I am trying, one baby step at a time – when we need giant leaps! But, that is all I can do.