Freedom: if we don’t use it, we’ll loose it!
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Draw Muhammad Day 2011
May 20, 2011 — xanthippaGeert Wilders and Ezra Levant at the National Arts Centre
May 10, 2011 — xanthippaJust came home from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa from an evening with Geert Wilders.
Ezra Levant introduced him in his wonderful, bigger-than-life style.
The next speaker was a most excellent, engaging speaker – and, thanks to Kaffir Kanuck who ‘jogged my memory, I can now tell you his name. It was none other than Rabbi Jonathon Hausman, who came up from Boston for the event, and he shared his experiences with Islam and the dhimmitude of our elected officials and the government bureaucrats, south of the border. His speech was prepared and delivered very well indeed – too bad the content told of so many sad and, yes, tragic things.
Then came the highlight of the evenig – Geert Wilders!
What can I say about it?
It was classical Wilders – we have all heard him speak or read his words. So, it was not unfamiliar territory! But, hearing him speak those words in person felt like being part of history…
During the short Q&A afterwards, I was most happy that he got asked about the one thing he is most infamously misquoted on: thecall for banning of the Koran… And, Geert Wilders DID get a chance to clarify exactly what his position is!!!
Though he is very often quoted as saying that the Koran should be banned, he has never said such a thing!
Rather, we are dealing with an ‘IFF’ siuation here.
‘IFF’ – for those who are not familiar with the expression – stands for ‘IF AND ONLY IF’.
In the Neatherlands, Hitler’s infamous book ‘Mein Kampf’ (which, by the way, translates as ‘My Jihad’) was outlawed under that country’s hate laws. All Wilders did was stand up and say to the legislators:
- IF you have used your power to outlaw ‘Mein Kampf’ on the grounds that it contains anti-semitic hate speech
- THEN you have to outlaw other books that have anti-semitic hate speech that is just as strong, if not stronger
- The Koran is such a book: therefore
- IF you ban one, you MUST ban both
- Otherwise you must not ban either!
In other words – if and ONLY if!
This is not a demand for the Koran to be banned: it is a demand that laws be applied the same way, to everyone.
Not only is this stand moral and principled, it can be interpreted as ‘anti-banning-anything’!
Again, this is not a demand to ban the Koran – it is calling out of the moral relativism that applies laws selectively and a shaming of those who partake in it!
Geert Wilders truly is a hero!
Update: thanks to Kaffir Kanuck, the name of one of the speakers was added.
Pirate Party of Canada is running candidates in th2011 Canadian federal election
April 27, 2011 — xanthippaWho the … is the Pirate Party of Canada?
And, why am I writing about them?
I am writing about them because, for the first time ever, I have come accross so very many people who are so reluctant to give their votes to the ‘traditional’ politicial parties that they are – for the first time in their lives – considering not voting at all. Or spoiling their ballot in protest…
And, the Pirate Party of Canada may be a strategic place to trust one’s vote to. They don’t stand much of a chance to get elected (though, in Sweden, the home of the Pirate Party movement, they have 2 seats in the European Parliament), but the more votes they get, the more their central message will be strengthened, perhaps even reach the ears of the policymakers…
What is theie central message message?
It my never-humble-opinion, it seems to be this:
- Current copyright and patent laws are unbalanced
- Anti-copyright-infringment and anti-terrorism laws are too invasive and can (and will) be tools of oppression. Therefore, these must be reformed, with an eye to privacy rights
But, don’t rely on my imperfect understanding check them out yourself. Even if they are not your cup of grog, their message is worth thinking about.
If you are interested in a bit of the background – the zeitgeist that gave rise to the Pirate Party, it is well described in’Steal This Film‘. Here are Part 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and (better) Part 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5.
Some of these very serious issuess – without the ‘pirate mentality’ – are presented inMichael Geist’s movie, ‘Why Copyright‘.
Why raise this issue now?
Well, the ‘gatekeepers’ who profit from manufacturing ‘culture’ have now began convincing governments that having file-sharing capability on one’s personal computer automatically means they intend to breech copyright laws – and so they are passing laws against this.
According to these laws, my son would be a criminal, for ‘filesharing’ when he submits his homework to his teacher electronically – which he does, because it is easier, neater and he gets immediate feedback…
According to this, my husband and his brother would be criminals because they file-share family photos and have programs on their computers that allow them to back-up store all of each other’s photofiles…
And now, the Conservatives want to pass a law that would give civil servants complete access to all the ‘internet activity’ of Canadian citizens – without judicial oversight!!! As in, any civil servant could listen in to all your VOIP phone calls, read all your emails, follow each click you surf – without telling you…. In Michigan, cops routinely download all information from a person’s phone during a traffic stop…this would, in a very real way, permit each and every civil servant to do the same when your phone is sinked-up to your computer.
Even if you have nothing to hide, do you trust your civil servants not to abuse these new powers?
We need to bring balance to our IP and copyright laws.
Right now, there is not even a pretense, not even a lip service to privacy (not to mention all the other violations of liberty)!
Which is why taking a look at the Pirate Party of Canada – just taking a look – does not seem like a bad idea.
Geert Wilders and Ezra Levant come to Ottawa!
April 26, 2011 — xanthippaWhen: Tuesday, 10th of May, 2011, 7pm
Where: Ottawa
Cost: $20.00
There is also a pre-event, which costs $250.00, before the speaking one – but I suspect this is too expensive for us regular mortals…
More info is here – including info about evenings in London, Ontario (8th of May, 2011) and Toronto, Ontario (9th of May, 2011).
Update: this post has been modifed regarding the location of the event.
ThunderF00t: ‘Why Burn the Qur’an?’
April 16, 2011 — xanthippaLike he says: desensetization!
Liberties are like muscles: the less you exercise them, the more they will atrophy!
Thunderfoot: ‘Burning Half a Million Korans’
April 9, 2011 — xanthippaApril 10th = Delete-a-Koran Day!!!
Koran-burning in the electronic age!
VictimlessCriminal: ‘Choudary Threatens Royal Wedding’
April 1, 2011 — xanthippaI could not have said it better: limiting free speech – ESPECIALLY the ‘lunatic fringe’ and ‘hate speech’ – only drives it underground, where it festers and infects other minds. Out, in the open, everyone can expose and debunk it.
Thunderf00t: “DMD2: THIS TIME IT’S ARMAGEDDON!”
March 21, 2011 — xanthippaMay 20th, 2011 is International Draw Muhammad Day 2.
May 21st, 2011 in Armageddon Day, according to many thousands of Christians.
If you would like to send in contributions for International Draw Muhammad Day, please do. I’ll save them up for publication on May 20th.
BCF: silencing Jason Kenny – ‘Security Concerns’ are the next ‘Shut up, Slave!’ euphemism
March 14, 2011 — xanthippaBlazing Cat Fur has the story on how an MP – and a cabinet minister to boot – was effectively shut up by cries of ‘security concerns’. No matter that he was willing to provide his own security at his speech…
Two Englishmen arrested – for posting videos on the internet
February 10, 2011 — xanthippaA police spokesman said: ‘‘We have investigated a number of incidents across the internet after they were brought to our attention last year. ‘We have yet to analyse what has been seized and will then be in a better to look at what, if any, offences have been committed.’‘
Correct me if I am wrong, but the way I read this is:
- Somebody complained about the videos these guys posted
- the cops arrested them and took their stuff
- only now will they try to look at the evidence to see IF a crime had been committed
Where to start…
Well, perhaps with my yesterday’s post – where, in his speech, John Robson explains the meaning of English common law and how it had been affirmed by the Magna Carta. It looks like the proud Englishmen have turned their back on their heritage…
How corrupt has the system of common law and the liberties it is supposed to guarantee become that something a person says causes him to be arbitrarily deprived of liberty and property?
But, this is even worse…
What about the police officers – how come they are obeying this obviously illegal order?
Because arresting a person and siezing their property first, and only then trying to figure out IF there has even been a crime commited, is contrary to everything the English common law stands for!
What to do?
I don’t know.
Sure, we can all work to post on other people’s behalf and mirror videos and all that, but that is just trying to stick a band-aid over a severed jugular.
But, I have been giving this a lot of thought.
What we need to do, in my never-humble-opinion, is to hold each and every individual police officer criminally and civilly responsible for carrying out orders which are obviously contrary to English common law. And not just in Joly old England, or even the whole Commonwealth: we must do this everywhere where the heritage of English Common Law exists.
Because it is only by making individuals within ‘the system’ accountable can we affect change of the system as a whole!
No, it is not easy.
But is just may be doable.
Let’s try!
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 