New Dark Age Alert! Geert Wilders’ Witness List Cut Down To Three In Medieval Amsterdam Trial
The Grim Reaper. Image: News Real Blog
DAVID HOROWITZ’S NEWS REAL BLOG: The Grim Reaper of Sharia is alive and well. His blade is still sharp. The fix is in at the Amsterdam Criminal Court. Today, the Judges hearing the “Inciting to Hatred” trial (read that: No more political free speech in The Netherlands – ever) of Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders slashed the number of witnesses he may call to testify in his defense from eighteen – to three. It’s all right out of the Dark Ages. It’s 632 A.D. again in The Netherlands. >>> John L. Work | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Anti-Islam Dutch Lawmaker Says He’s Being Denied a Fair Trial; Court Rejects Most of His Witness List
CNS NEWS: The Dutch lawmaker on trial for his provocative views on Islam said Wednesday he was being denied the right to a fair trial after the court rejected most of his requested defense witnesses, including a convicted murderer who invoked the Koran to justify his actions.

The Amsterdam District Court ruled that Geert Wilders could only call three witnesses out of the 18 he wanted. Among those it turned down was Mohammed Bouyeri, imprisoned for life in 2005 for murdering a Dutch critic of Islam, filmmaker Theo van Gogh, on an Amsterdam street the previous year.

In a statement released after the brief hearing, Wilders said, “This court is not interested in the truth. This court doesn’t want me to have a fair trial. I can’t have any respect for this. This court would not be out of place in a dictatorship.” >>> Patrick Goodenough, International Editor | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Muslim Women 'Radicalised' in UK
If Muslims cannot live by civilized norms of behaviour, then why should we, the peace-loving majority, accept them here? – © Mark

BBC: On 1 February, a female suicide bomber killed 54 people in north-east Baghdad.

The attack may have happened on another continent, but there are increasing concerns that violent extremism among women may now also be increasing in the UK.

It is believed that the process of radicalisation often takes place at universities.

One Islamist group linked with this practice is Hizb ut-Tahrir.

While not itself connected to any terrorist acts, Hizb ut-Tahrir has courted controversy and politicians have seized on some of its more inflammatory views.

The Conservative Party has said it would ban the organisation altogether.

Nazreen Nawaz is a spokeswoman for the group. She became a member while studying medicine at King's College London.

Today, sitting at her dining table in south London, she teaches her four-year-old daughter how to spell and explains her decision to join.

"The philosophy of Hizb ut-Tahrir offered me a view of Islam that could solve many of the problems in the Muslim world," Dr Nawaz says.

"We don't advocate that British Muslims go over and fight in Palestine and occupied countries.

"What we say is that people in lands such as Afghanistan, Iraq and occupied countries have the right to defend themselves."

'Naive'

There are concerns that hundreds of British Muslim women have been radicalised, many while being students.

Recent intelligence reports about terror plots involving women, and the growing trend of al-Qaeda's use of female suicide bombers, have ignited concerns that some may turn to violent extremism in Britain. >>> Rahila Bano, BBC World Service | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Massachusetts: Asylum Request Redux
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Barack Obama’s aunt Zeituni Onyango will make a second bid for political asylum as she goes before an immigration judge in Boston on Thursday. Ms. Onyango moved to the United States in 2000. Her first asylum request was rejected, and she was ordered deported in 2004, but she continued to live in public housing in Boston. A judge later agreed to reopen her asylum case. [Source: The New York Times] The Associated Press | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Obama's aunt fights deportation: The Kenyan aunt of President Barack Obama, Zeituni Onyango, is to appear before an immigration judge to fight deportation. >>> | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Perez Hilton Holds Off TechCrunch, Mashable and Twitter Founders in Web Influence List
THE TELEGRAPH: Perez Hilton, the celebrity blogger, has been named the most influential person on the internet - ahead of the founders of TechCrunch, Mashable, Twitter and Digg.

Perez Hilton. Photo: The Telegraph
Forbes magazine's fourth annual web celebrity ranking praised Hilton - real name Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr - for his "off-colour blend of humour, opinion and immature humour".

It noted that his celebrity had begun to spill over into the non-virtual world, following a fracas last year in which he was allegedly assaulted by a manager of the band Black Eyed Peas. >>> Matthew Moore | Thursday, February 04, 2010

Barack Obama Tells Americans 'Don't Go to Las Vegas'
THE TELEGRAPH: A careless remark by President Barack Obama about Las Vegas has triggered a furious backlash from Nevada’s cash-strapped gambling city and a key Democratic ally fighting a tough re-election battle in the state.

Bright lights of Las Vegas cast a shadow over its burgeoning poverty. Photograph: The Telegraph
Speaking about the economy at an event in New Hampshire, Mr Obama told Americans: “When times are tough, you tighten your belts.

“You don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college. You prioritise. You make tough choices.”

The economy of the world’s most famous gambling and entertainment destination is heavily dependent on tourism and Las Vegans were already incensed by a comment from Mr Obama last year that companies should not use federal bail out money for trips to the city.

Tourism and casino officials said the comment hurt the city after companies cancelled meetings in Las Vegas and re-arranged them elsewhere.

Mr Obama’s latest remark about Las Vegas prompted a swift and angry retort from Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, who has an uphill battle to win re-election in Nevada, which has an unemployment rate of 13 per cent, in the November mid-term elections.

“The President needs to lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn’t be spending their money,” he said in a statement. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

La Chine menace Obama
lePARISIEN.fr: Pour les dirigeants chinois, le dalaï-lama reste un ennemi. La semaine dernière, des émissaires du leader spirituel tibétain sont venus en Chine dialoguer avec des responsables du Parti communiste. Comme en novembre 2008, ils sont repartis en Inde sans résultat. Hier, en conférence de presse, les délégués chinois à ces conversations se montrent inflexibles.

« Le dalaï-lama ne doit pas se définir à l’étranger comme le représentant légal du peuple tibétain. Il n’est pas habilité à parler avec le gouvernement chinois du bien-être des habitants du Tibet. » Cette fermeté s’accompagne d’un message : une rencontre entre Obama et le dalaï-lama « minerait sérieusement » les relations sino-américaines. Le dalaï-lama sera à Washington autour du 16 février. Hier, la Maison-Blanche a confirmé cette visite. >>> Richard Arzt, à Pékin | Mercredi 03 Février 2010

Irak – Bagdad : 41 pélerins tués par une femme kamikaze
lePARISIEN.fr: L'attentat-suicide qui a tué lundi 41 pèlerins chiites - dont au moins 11 femes et enfants - et blessé 106 autres, lundi, près de Bagdad, a été perpetré par une femme. Celle-ci s'est mêlée aux pèlerins lors d'une étape dans leur procession religieuse à Boub al-Cham, dans la banlieue nord de la capitale, et a actionné la ceinture d'explosif qu'elle portait.

Selon le commandement militaire de Bagdad, les pélerins se rendaient à Kerbala et l'attaque s'est produite à 11h45 locale (9h45 en France). «L'attaque perpétrée par la terroriste qui portait une ceinture d'explosif a eu lieu à l'intérieur d'une cabine de fouille corporelle réservée aux femmes», a précisé l'armée.

Des dizaines de personnes étaient rassemblées près des tentes dressées par des bénévoles pour servir des rafraîchissements et des collations aux pèlerins qui convergent depuis plusieurs jours vers la ville sainte, située à 110 km au sud de la capitale irakienne.

«Nous servions les gens quand l'attaque a eu lieu à l'intérieur de la tente de fouille pour les femmes», a affirmé l'un de ces bénévoles, Allawi Hassan, blessé aux jambes et soigné à l'hôpital al-Kindi de Bagdad. «Quand l'explosion a eu lieu, je me suis senti propulsé dans les airs. J'ai vu de nombreux enfants et femmes blessés avant de m'évanouir. Je me suis réveillé à l'hôpital», a-t-il ajouté. Des explosifs impossibles à détecter >>> Leparisien.fr | Lundi 01 Février 2010

Anti-Muslim Dutch Lawmaker's Trial Tests Freedom of Speech
TIME: A flamboyant populist and founder of a virulently anti-immigrant political party, Geert Wilders sees himself as a champion of free speech in the Netherlands. Others would disagree. Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament, is in court this week to face five counts of inciting hatred and discrimination for describing Islam as a fascist religion and Moroccan youths as violent, and for calling for the banning of the Quran. The trial, which resumed Wednesday after a two-week break, is being seen as a test of the limits of free speech and the famously tolerant country's commitment to protecting minority rights.

Wilders, a 46-year-old with bleach-blond, bouffant hair, made international headlines in 2008 when he made a short film called Fitna, in which verses from the Quran were displayed against a background of violent film clips and images of terrorism by Islamic radicals. Described as "offensively anti-Islamic" by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the film led to protests in the Muslim world and prompted Britain to ban Wilders from entering the country. But it also brought Wilders more popularity at home. His Party for Freedom finished second in last year's European Parliament elections, winning 17% of the Dutch vote. His party also holds nine seats in the Dutch parliament.

Because of his extreme anti-Muslim views, Wilders is often compared to the leaders of Europe's other far-right parties, such as Nick Griffin of the British National Party and Jean-Marie Le Pen of France's National Front. But he claims (though his opponents strongly disagree) that his policies are rooted in the Dutch tradition of tolerance: he says that Islam is a threat to women's rights and he criticizes Muslims' anti-gay rhetoric. Now under 24-hour surveillance because of the many death threats he's received, Wilders told TIME last year that Islam itself stirs hatred. "The Quran is full of incitements to violence," he said. "Islam wants to dominate every part of life and society. It does not want to integrate or assimilate, but to dominate. It should not be compared to other religions, but with totalitarian ideologies, like communism or fascism." >>> Leo Cendrowicz | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

The Dividing Lines of Uganda's Anti-gay Row
BBC: Newsnight's Tim Whewell has travelled to Uganda where an attempt to punish "aggravated homosexuality" with the death penalty has caused outrage across the world.

Preacher Martin Semper uses his popularity to deliver a vehement message of anti-gay rhetoric to an enthusiastic congregation at a Kampala University. Watch BBC video >>> | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Bram Moszkowicz, Geert Wilders' lawyer. Photo: De Telegraaf
Wilders’ Lawyer Speaks Out
GATES OF VIENNA: Moszkowicz: Court is overestimating itself

The lawyer for Geert Wilders, Bram Moszkowicz, finds that the court overestimates itself, now that it has found it unnecessary to hear some legal experts. “That is quite something, that a court finds that no legal experts are needed,” Bram Moszkowicz said. “With this the court overestimates itself, and when a judge overestimates himself, I start to be afraid.” >>> Baron Bodissey | Translation by VH | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Original article in Dutch in De Telegraaf

Interessante Meldung: Otto Habsburg: Ehefrau starb im Familienkreis
DIE PRESSE: Regina Habsburg ist im Kreise ihrer Familie im bayerischen Pöcking gestorben, sie soll bereits länger an Herzbeschwerden gelitten haben. Sie wurde 85 Jahre alt.

PÖCKING/WIEN. Regina, die Ehefrau Ottos von Habsburg-Lothringen, ist am Mittwoch nach langer schwerer Krankheit im 86. Lebensjahr in ihrem Haus in Pöcking am Starnberger See gestorben. „Sie ist friedlich im Kreis ihrer Kinder eingeschlafen“, berichtet Eva Demmerle, die Büroleiterin Habsburgs. „Mit meiner Mutter verlieren wir eine großartige Persönlichkeit, die uns durch ihren unerschütterlichen Glauben und ihre positive Lebenseinstellung geprägt hat“, erklärt ihr ältester Sohn Karl.

Regina wurde am 6. Jänner [Januar] 1925 als Prinzessin von Sachsen-Meiningen (aus dem Haus Wettin) in Würzburg geboren. Ihr Vater starb 1946 in russischer Gefangenschaft im Alter von 53 Jahren.

Da sie aus einem „ehemals regierenden Hause“ stammte, kam sie für eine Hochzeit mit dem um 13 Jahre älteren Otto von Habsburg in Frage, dem ältesten Sohn des letzten österreichischen Kaiserpaares. Nicht nur seine Mutter Zita, sondern auch die Monarchisten sahen in ihm lange Zeit den österreichischen Thronprätendenten. >>> Von Hans Werner Scheidl, Die Presse | Mittwoch, 03. Februar 2010

Granada: The Magic of the Moors
THE TELEGRAPH: Now's the time to enjoy the stunning sights of Granada, says Anthony Jefferies.

The Alhambra is Spain's most visited tourist attraction but will be relatively quiet in February Photo: The Telegraph
The Alhambra is heart-flutteringly beautiful at any time but with southern Spain warming up in the early spring sunshine and the crowds yet to arrive, this is the perfect season to visit the great Moorish palace complex and the lovely city fanning out from its flanks. Old Moorish and gipsy quarters, vast cathedrals and churches, tree-lined plazas and great restaurants will provide an antidote to the cold British winter. >>> | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Geert Wilders: Israel Protecting West
ARUTZ SHEVA: (IsraelNN.com) In a recent speech in New York City, Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders, who became famous for a film on radical Islam, credited Israel with protecting the West.

“The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel , Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.”

Wilders has since been put on trial in the Netherlands for his film, which opponents have accused of being "hate speech". [Source: ArutzSheva] | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Muslim Demographics

Shocking: Europe Will Become Muslim Eurabia Within 20 Years


Muslim Scholar Says Islam Will Conquer Europe and World

Opinion – Leon de Winter*: Stop the Trial of Geert Wilders
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: A Dutch court is forced to compare Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' and the Quran.

What started as a trial against Geert Wilders for alleged Islamophobia has nearly turned into its opposite: a historical case about the message of the Quran. The Amsterdam court trying the controversial Dutch politician is now preoccupied with the question of whether this book, sacred to more than a billion believers, can be compared to one of the most vile publications in the history of Western civilization—Hitler's "Mein Kampf." What could possibly go wrong?

In his writing and speeches, Mr. Wilders has found these two works to be similar in terms of their anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred, and has thus called for a publishing ban on the Quran similar to the one in place for "Mein Kampf." This is what triggered Mr. Wilders's prosecution for discriminatory and insulting remarks against Muslims and Islam. The Dutch politician, though, denies having insulted Muslims. He insists his focus is on radical Islam and the Quran, which he considers to be not only a religious text but also a political pamphlet encouraging Muslims to discriminate against and, if necessary, kill Jews, Christians, apostates and other unbelievers. That's why Mr. Wilders claims the right to criticize and condemn Islam.

Following complaints brought by mostly Muslim and radical leftist activists, Amsterdam's district attorney in 2008 at first found no legal basis for prosecuting Mr. Wilders. Prosecutors were forced to change course only after an activist appeals court last year ordered Mr. Wilders's prosecution—basically condemning the politician before any trial could even begin and before Mr. Wilders had a chance to defend himself. The court's unusual intervention illustrates the Dutch confusion about the conflict between two essential rights: the right to free speech and the right to protection from discrimination. >>> Leon de Winter* | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

*Mr. de Winter is a Dutch novelist and adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Sicherheits-Warnung! Terrorgefahr in den USA «sehr gross» : US-Geheimdienste rechnen mit bevorstehendem Anschlagsversuch der Kaida
NZZ ONLINE: Die US-Geheimdienste stufen die Gefahr eines Anschlags des Terrornetzwerks al-Kaida in den kommenden Monaten in den USA als sehr hoch ein. Er rechne fest mit einem Anschlagsversuch, sagte US-Geheimdienstkoordinator Dennis Blair am Dienstag.

«Sie werden es versuchen», sagte Blair vor dem Geheimdienstausschuss des US-Senats. Solange Kaida-Chef Osama bin Laden und die Nummer Zwei des Terrornetzwerks, Aiman al-Sawahiri, nicht «festgenommen oder tot» seien, werde al-Kaida am Versuch eines Angriffs in den USA festhalten.

Al-Kaida plane weiterhin, mit einer «grossangelegten» Aktion viele Menschen oder die US-Wirtschaft «oder beides» zu treffen, sagte Blair. >>> sda/afp | Mittwoch, 03. Februar 2010

What Will Muslim Scholars Make of This? Muslims Cannot Eat the Meat from Pigs, But Will They Be Allowed Lung Transplants from Them?
THE TELEGRAPH: The use of pig lungs in transplants into humans has moved a step closer with a medical breakthrough.

Scientists in Melbourne, Australia, used a ventilator and pump to keep the animal lungs alive and "breathing" while human blood flowed in them.

Experts estimated the work could lead to the first animal-human transplants within five years.

Dr Glenn Westall, who helped conduct the experiment, said: “The blood went into the lungs without oxygen and came out with oxygen, which is the exact function of the lungs.

"It showed that these lungs were working perfectly well and doing as we were expecting them to do.

“This is a significant advance compared to experiments that have been performed over the past 20 years."

The breakthrough came after scientists were able to remove a section of pig DNA, which had made the pig organs incompatible with human blood. Pig lungs in human transplants moves step closer >>> | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Geert Wilders Doesn’t Get His Way in Court
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Dutch politician Geert Wilders was visibly annoyed when he failed to get what he asked for from the three judges hearing his case at the Amsterdam District Court.

Mr Wilders, through his lawyer Bram Moszkowicz, had requested that 17 witnesses testify as part of his defence against charges that include inciting hatred of Muslims and non-western immigrants.
 


Murderer


Among others, Mr Wilders had asked that Mohammed Bouyeri, the convicted murderer of Theo van Gogh, be called as a expert witness.
 


The judges, however, will not allow Bouyeri to testify. They have also ruled that other 'Muslim extremists' on Mr Wilders' 'wishlist' will not be allowed to testify. The list includes Fawaz Jneid, imam at the Soennah Mosque in The Hague, and Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, chairman of the Guardian Council in Iran.

Ex-Muslims

Mr Wilders will be permitted to call three experts on Islam, out of the total of eight he had actually asked for. However, two ex-Muslims called by his defence team - in part to give their personal view about the impact of Islam - were also rejected.
 


In their ruling, the judges say Mr Wilders will have ample opportunity to tell the court whether he agrees with their decision to disallow some of his chosen witnesses[.] Staying in Amsterdam >>> John Tyler | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Court Limits Wilders' Witness List
DUTCHNEWS.nl: The killer of Theo van Gogh and 14 of the other witnesses anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders wanted to call in his defence against charges of discrimination and inciting hatred have been ruled inadmissible by Amsterdam district court.

But three Islam experts proposed by Wilders will be heard behind closed doors, the judges said on Wednesday afternoon. They include American Syrian psychiatrist Wafa Sultan who believes the world is witness to 'a battle between modernity and barbarism which Islam will lose'.

The court also turned down Wilders' request to hear five legal experts on the grounds that the MP will have ample opportunity to say whether or not he agrees with them during the trial. He had wanted to call 18 experts and Muslim radicals. Truth >>> © DutchNews.nl | Wednesday, February 03, 2010