About Me

Name: Lynn Ward
Biography
Loading...

Create Your Own Blog Find Other Townhall Blogs

Comments

Blog Roll

 

Speak NOW or be Silent FOREVER

Speaking of…our freedoms. People, we had better start paying closer attention to what is going on. We speak of the Constitutionally protected Freedom of Speech, but the fact is, we have already lost it to a certain degree, under the guise of Political Correctness, Human Rights and Hate Laws. A new McCarthyism is alive and well in one of our closest neighbors, Canada, and should be more than a cautionary tale – it should be call to arms.

I’m sure most are aware of Canada’s infamous Human Rights Commission, who, for the crime of saying one thinks homosexuality is against God’s Law, or for drawing a link between Islam and terrorism, can fine, and ensure that an author is never published or able to write or be read in Canada again. You don’t even have to live in Canada, or the piece have originated in Canada, as has been shown by the current case of Mark Steyn. After excerpts of his book, America Alone, were published in a Canadian magazine, he was accused of “subject[ing] Canadian Muslims to hatred and contempt” and being “flagrantly Islamophobic.” If the writing, not even the author, appears in Canada, it’s fair game for the CHRC.

If found guilty by the CHRC Tribunal, which he surely will be, as they have a 100% conviction rate, among other things, Steyn will no longer be able to write anything that is published or heard in Canada. While the determination has yet to made on what turned out to be a kangaroo court, Steyn has commented, “I’m done in Canada.” Nor will the magazine, Maclean’s, who excerpted his book and published his column, be allowed to publish it, or any other articles, which may be ”likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt.

Note the word “likely.” They may as well have used the word “might.” No one has to prove the writings or words inspired any crime, any assault – or that they are even the genesis of a “hate crime.” Just that perhaps, sometime in the future “maybe” they would. That something that person wrote or said “may” make another look disparagingly at the group or person in question.

In his book, Steyn eloquently discusses the challenges and issues facing the West by Islamic fundamentalism. Many of his columns addressed the same issues.

Rev. Scott Boisoin, a Canandian, was convicted last November by the CHRC because he sent a letter to the editor of a local newspaper critical of the active homosexual agenda. “…this is aimed precisely at every individual that in any way supports the homosexual machine that has been mercilessly gaining ground in our society since the 1960s. I cannot pity you any longer and remain inactive. You have caused far too much damage…Your children are being warped into believing that same-sex families are acceptable; that men kissing men is appropriate.

Just recently the “remedy” was ordered: Boisoin, a pastor, and his organization, The Concerned Christian Organization, have been banned for life to speak or publish “in the newspapers, by email, in public speeches, or on the internet, in future, disparaging remarks about gays and homosexuals.. they … are prohibited from making disparaging remarks in the future about … Lund [the complainant] or … Lund's witnesses relating to their involvement in this complaint. Further, all disparaging remarks…[regarding] homosexuals are directed to be removed from current Web sites and publications of Mr. Boissoin [sic] and The Concerned Christian Coalition Inc.,” by the quasi-judicial group, the CHRC.

Boisoin and his group, jointly and severally, must also pay a $5,000 fine to the complainant and $2,000 to the “judge” for her time. Additionally, while he has said he will not do it, Boisoin and his group have been ordered to write a public apology to the complainant, and publish it in the same newspaper that published his letter to the editor.

The funny thing about this is, according to the CHRC, there was “no specific individual who can be compensated as there is no direct victim who has come forward.

Get that? No actual victim. So the complainant, who alleges he is not gay, and no harm was actually done to him, was compensated, as was the “judge,” a divorce attorney, who laid down the punishment. Curiously, a prominent gay group, and a gay magazine, while not supportive of Boisoin’s sentiments, have both supported his right to express them. Certainly, if anyone would have been a “victim” of Boisoin’s letter, it would have been someone actually in the homosexual community.

 Notice also, no disparaging remarks about homosexuals. That means no disapproval, no reproach, nothing critical or, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, to not “speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way.” The means, Boisoin cannot even read verses from the Bible, which speak against homosexuality.

The CHRCs were established in the 1970s to initially address discrimination in housing and employment. They soon began using their authority, however, “to silence citizens who declined to embrace the new vision of Canada … by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau: multicultural and pacifist; blindly tolerant; anti-tradition, anti-family and anti-life.”

But, don’t get this wrong – this isn’t about Canada, sexual preference, or religion, or even the people who have been hauled in front of this egregious tribunal. This is about free speech. The right to express one’s thoughts and opinions, even if they go against the grain. Or, “hurts someone feelings.”

This is about the United States, and what is, and has been happening here. While we don’t yet have anything like the CHRC, we have the government and our “anti-intimidation laws”, now in place in 47 states, the courts, and our educational monitors. And, we are hobbled with political correctness – to the point where one cannot tell the truth and must couch it in ambiguities, or fear public or judicial reprisal. 

Generally, it is conservatives who are targeted.

The people, who are concerned about the many problems illegal immigration brings, and want secure borders, are considered racist. Somehow the concerns about the one are translated into a bias against all Latinos.

 Those who question the current global warming hysteria, and “refuse to join the fight,” have been likened to Hitler or to Josef Fritzl in Austria, who locked his daughter and her children in a cellar for 24 years. To be skeptical “about the conventional wisdom on climate change is akin to the monstrous crime committed by Fritzl.” Those who question the veracity of global warming have also been likened to Holocaust Deniers.

The people who fear the encroaching Islamic jihad are called Islamophobic. Those who speak about or discuss the negative and frightening aspects of Islam are accused of religious intolerance, or xenophobia, and are accused of hating all Muslims and all of Arab descent. One must question why Muslims are so sensitive to concerns regarding their beliefs. Christians’ beliefs are questioned and bashed all the time. “It is illogical for a member of a religion to fear the articulation of other beliefs if he is certain of its truth.”

Portions of the Bible are considered by many to be hate speech. Christians are considered to be purveyors of hatred and intolerance if they follow their beliefs. They are often considered extremists and fundamentalists if they believe and follow their scriptures. Historical information becomes a hate issue, rather than what it is – historical fact or detail.

A recent report to congress, the U.S. State Department “Office of Global Anti-Semitism, said “the New Testament record that the Jews had Christ crucified is ‘classical anti-semitism.’ This edict makes millions of bible-believing Christians into ‘anti-semites – potential ‘hate criminals.’ Anti-semitisim is…a hate crime in Canada, Australia, and most European countries, punishable by harsh fines and imprisonment.” The one question one must ask, is why is it anti-Semitism to record historical facts?

In some countries, to deny the Holocaust is a crime, punishable by fines and imprisonment. Frankly, while I cannot understand how one could deny that it took place in the face of masses of historical data and substantiation, it should not be a crime to deny a historical event or evidence.

To think a certain way, and to publicize those thoughts, when not censured due to political correctness, and the fear that it might incite violence, “hurt someone’s feelings” or put someone in a bad light, even if justified, has become a crime. Such nonsense is being bolstered by the judicial system; with the effect that rational dialogue on a number of issues is being quashed.

The courts are being used more effectively than ever before to stifle the dissemination of thought and public discourse on issues. While this is not specifically about Islam, “lawfare,” a legal jihad, which is being waged, is a prime example. The practice is predatory, often without a serious expectation of winning, but used as a means to “intimidate and bankrupt defendants.” It is a method, using the Western democratic court systems to “suppress freedom of expression [and] abolish public discourse critical of Islam…”

“Forum shopping, whereby plaintiffs bring actions in jurisdictions most likely to rule in their favor, has enabled a wave of ‘libel tourism’ that has resulted in foreign judgments against European and now American authors mandating the destruction of American-authored literary material.”

Rather than face lengthy and expensive litigation, regardless of the merit of the works, “most authors and publishers targeted have issued apologies and retractions, while some have paid fines…” The recent case of Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of Funding Evil, published in the United States, who alleged financial ties between wealthy Saudis and terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda, is a good example.

Ehrenfeld, an anti-terrorism analyst and director of the American Center for Democracy, was sued in a UK court, because something like 23 copies of her book were sold online by Amazon. com to people who live in the UK. This is despite the fact neither she nor her accuser lives in the UK. “Ehrenfeld lost on default and was ordered to pay heavy fines, apologize, and destroy her books -- all of which she has refused to do.” Instead, she counter-sued in a New York State court in an attempt to have the UK judgment declared unenforceable in the United States.

She lost the case because the NY court ruled that it “lacked jurisdiction over the Saudi resident who, the court said, did not have sufficient connections to the state.” Afterwards, the Association of American Publishers criticized the ruling “as a blow to intellectual freedom and ‘a deep disappointment for publishers and other First Amendment advocates.’"

When Cambridge Press was threatened with a lawsuit for publishing Alms for Jihad by American authors Robert Collins and J. Millard Burr, the “publisher immediately capitulated, offered a public apology…pulped the unsold copies of the book, and took it out of print.”

There is a real danger in censuring thought and the verbal or written expression of it. We are quickly moving into an Orwellian society. What many in the United States and other Western nations don’t seem to understand yet, when some ideas are censured, others will surely follow. This excludes those who are waging jihad against us, because they clearly understand that. It is their purpose to quash anything that may be perceived as derogatory.

Basically, what has already happened in Europe, Australia and Canada (all which used to have the freedom to express one’s thoughts and ideas), is happening here in the United States. To think a certain way, and to express those thoughts, are fast becoming crimes – or dangerous. Making a statement of fact, if it wounds someone’s sensibilities, can be cause to be fired, fined, and perhaps even jailed. In some cases, people sometimes actually fear for their lives due to community response.

Take, for example, what happened to a teacher several years ago, when, during a public forum, he explained that at his school, it was the male black teenage boys who were causing the bulk of the problems. The audience was aghast, and he was promptly accused of racism. He lost his job, and the media had a field day with him. Ultimately, he was vindicated, but the whole event made one thing clear – even if it was the truth, substantiated by facts, making such a statement could be dangerous and have severe consequences.

It wasn’t politically correct to state, or even imply, that one group was causing problems over another, even if it was true. Rather than being a statement of fact, which it was, it was seen as racist. Which is what has happened with illegal immigration. Rather than recognizing that people are concerned about illegal immigration, which coincidentally happens to be primarily from Mexico, it becomes an indictment of all Latinos. That’s like assuming because a women fears rape, she hates all men. An equally absurd conclusion.

Public opinion isn’t always right. It wasn’t right when people thought African Americans were less than human. It wasn’t right when people thought the earth was flat. Just because a segment of the population, including much of the media, thinks certain things shouldn’t be said because they may somehow physiologically injure someone else, doesn’t make it right. Just because many are convinced of the veracity of global warming, doesn’t make it right. And, just because the courts have decreed someone’s feelings might be hurt by saying something, doesn’t make it right. The intolerance we are now seeing towards “alternative and dissident opinions betrays the powerful anti-democratic impulse” now prevalent in our society.

What is right, however, is to uphold and defend our Constitutionally protected First Amendment right of Free Speech. The expression of our thoughts. Our country was founded on controversy. We broke from the subservience of European thought and edicts when we became a free nation. If we don’t fight for this right on every front, for the right to express our thoughts, we will lose it. It will slip away, unnoticed by many until it’s too late – and the expressions of our thoughts, our words, and our every deed, will be governed by whoever is in power.

Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Immigration Brings Yet Another Epidemic – part two

Speaking of  Immigration and sexual assault. This is part two. In part one, I focused on problems facing the United States regarding immigration, specifically illegals, and sexual assaults. During this article, I will focus on issues facing other countries due immigration. While the problem in the Unites States appears to be worse due to illegal immigrants, in other countries it appears to be from those who have often legally emigrated.

The topic is difficult to write about, abhorrent to read about. And, I warn you; some of it may shock and disgust you. If you are easily offended, perhaps you should read no further. But, note that the offense isn’t mine, but rather of those who have most foully betrayed the hospitality offered them. My offense is merely in the relating of information and statements from perpetrators of the vile crime of sexual assault – perpetrated not only against their own kind, but most often against those in the country they have chosen to emigrate to.

There is something else that must be considered. In most of Europe, sex has been looked at differently than it is in the Untied States – except for predominantly Catholic countries or areas, such as Italy. In Europe, consensual sex has often been looked as just another part of life – part of a relationship. Unless there are religious considerations, pre-marital sex is common, and is looked at as just another part of the dating world, or a relationship. For the most part, it as looked at as a source of pleasure, rather than commitment. Virginity, as it is looked upon by Christians, is often not a commodity that is considered necessary, or even advantageous. Fidelity among certain groups in Europe is not commonplace. In fact, fidelity amongst younger people is often looked at as an oddity. I know things have changed in the U.S., but these are attitudes, which have been held by many Europeans for a long time. They were that way when I lived there, and were that way long before. Not much has changed in that regard.

But, one should not confuse the different sexual mores as an invitation to unwanted sex. One is consensual, the other is not. And, I reiterate, sexual assault is not about sex – it is about power. It always has been, and always will be. Men will often excuse their behavior, saying it is a biological imperative. Perhaps it once was, thousands of years ago. But, most cultures evolved beyond that point. Regardless of a man’s excuse, regardless of how he felt “she was asking for it,” or they “couldn’t control themselves,” it breaks down to power – they are stronger and decide to take what they like. And have no regard for their victim. She is merely a means to an end.

If there is one set of fundamental functions of rape, civilian or martial, it is to display, communicate, and produce or maintain dominance, which is both enjoyed for its own sake and used for such ulterior ends as exploitation, expulsion, dispersion, murder. Acts of forcible rape, like other instances of torture, communicate dominance by removing our control over what enters or impinges on our bodies. Rape is a cross-cultural language of male domination…” (Rape as a weapon of War)

The genesis of this article was some information I read about Sweden in To the Readers of Little Green Footballs. In little more than one generation, the number of rapes in Sweden has risen approximately 400-500 percent, and sexual assaults involving children under the age of 15 are six times as common. The increase in sexual assaults mirrors the influx of immigrants. As in the U.S., in other countries the increase in rapes is attributed to more being reported. This rationalization does not come even close to explaining what is going on, however. In Sweden, Muslim men of Arab ethnicity dominate the group of rape suspects.

In some countries, the ethnicity or country of origin of perpetrators is not often reported due to what is often considered an informal censorship. In others, frankly, the censorship is not so informal – it is quite blatant and often falls under the purview of “hate speech.” This is due to concerns that one group or another may be discriminated against, although this may not be not commonly known outside the particular country. Specific data, therefore, is often difficult to obtain. Additionally, there are no international standards on how crime statistics should be produced or presented, therefore making international comparisons difficult.

In France, for example, ethnicity-based censuses are banned. According to researcher Farhad Khosrokhavar in his book “Islam in Prisons,” Muslims make up some 70 percent of the prisoners in France. He said, “… complexion, names and religious traditions like prohibition of pork indicate that Muslims constitute an overwhelming majority in prisons.” It is often only through such information that one is able to glean what population is perpetrating what crimes.

In some communities in France, gang rapes of teenage girls and young women have become commonplace. These horrific crimes are called “tournantes” (pass-arounds) or basement plans, as that is often where the crime occurs. The government has initiated training to recognize the special circumstances of domestic violence, including the fact that some women immigrants may face further violence (or death) if sent back to their countries of origin… (Violence Against Women in France)

Such crimes often occur in the areas populated primarily by immigrants, “mostly from France's former colonies.”  According to sociologists and prosecutors, teenage boys “often loosely organized into gangs, prey on neighborhood girls. Many of the boys are raised in closed, traditional families and are hopelessly confused or ignorant about sex; others are simply street toughs. In this world, women enjoy little respect; often girls who appear weak, or wear tight-fitting clothing, or go out unaccompanied by their fathers or brothers, are considered fair game.” While it is not directly stated – because it is illegal in France - it is implicit as to which population this is directed towards.

According to a study from the Swedish National Crime Prevention Council, Brå,

it is four times more likely that a known rapist is born abroad, compared to persons born in Sweden. Resident aliens from Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia dominate the group of rape suspects. Commonalities between the four countries cited include Islamic religion and Arab ethnicity. According to these statistics, almost half of all perpetrators are immigrants. In Norway and Denmark, we know that non-Western immigrants, which frequently means Muslims, are grossly overrepresented on rape statistics. In Oslo, Norway, immigrants were involved in two out of three rape charges in 2001. The numbers in Denmark were the same, and even higher in the city of Copenhagen with three out of four rape charges. Sweden has a larger immigrant, including Muslim, population than any other country in northern Europe. The numbers there are likely to be at least as bad as with its Scandinavian neighbors. The actual number is thus probably even higher than what the authorities are reporting now, as it doesn't include second-generation immigrants. Lawyer Ann Christine Hjelm, who has investigated violent crimes in Svea high court, found that 85 per cent of the convicted rapists were born on foreign soil or by foreign parents. (Fjordman: Immigrant Rape Wave in Sweden)

It should be noted that although between 65% and 70% of the rapes committed in Denmark and Norway are by Muslims; they are less then 5% of the population.

Muslims are clear about their take on the issue. A Mufti in Copenhagen sparked a political outcry after he publicly declared that women who refuse to wear headscarves are "asking for rape." Australia’s most senior Muslim cleric blamed “immodestly dressed women who don’t wear Islamic headdress for being preyed on by men and likened them to abandoned ‘meat’ that attracts voracious animals.”

This attitude is prevalent among Muslims, as was elucidated by four young men with immigrant backgrounds. One of them, Hamid, a Muslim immigrant, explained their take on the issue. "It is not as wrong raping a Swedish girl as raping an Arab girl," he said. "The Swedish girl gets a lot of help afterwards, and she had probably fu**** before, anyway. But the Arab girl will get problems with her family. For her, being raped is a source of shame. It is important that she retains her virginity until she marries." He said, it was no coincidence that it was a Swedish girl that was gang raped by immigrants in Rissne. "It is far too easy to get a Swedish whore….. girl, I mean;" and laughed over his choice of words. "I don't have too much respect for Swedish girls. I guess you can say they get fu**** to pieces." (Fjordman: Immigrant Rape Wave in Sweden)

In Sweden, as in a number of other European countries, it is "racist" and therefore illegal to even suggest that certain ethnic or religious groups are worse than others. If one criticizes oppression of women, one must state that all men are equally bad. In a speech in 2002, Swedish politician Gudrun Schyman posited that Swedish men were just like the Taliban. A male columnist in newspaper Aftonbladet agreed with her. During a rally in March 2007, a man carried a sign that read, "While Swedish girls are being gang raped by immigrant gangs the SSU is fighting racism." He was arrested and later sentenced by the local court because he "expressed disrespect for a group of people with reference to their national or ethnic background." The court felt free speech had its limits, and he had acted in a provocative manner.

No matter what country one looks at, which Western nation, the number of rapes committed by Muslim immigrants, or those born to Muslim immigrants, is exceptionally high. It becomes difficult to view them as random acts. Rather, they are the acts of an invading or conquering army. Conquering armies throughout history have taken and used the women (under Islamic standards, young girls and teenagers also frequently fit into that category), not only as part of the humiliation of the men, but also because they considered them booty, or property, to be used as they saw fit.

It has been done at times of war by the Vikings, the Mongols, the Germans and the Russians during WW2, and all the way up to the Balkans in the 1990s… [their actions] …resembles warfare. This happens in most Western European countries, as well as in other infidels countries such as India. In Bradford, England, Channel 4 pulled a documentary about Pakistani and other Muslim men sexually abusing white English girls, some as young as 11. Writer Theodore Dalrymple thinks that "thanks to their cultural inheritance, (Muslim) abuse of women is systematic rather than unsystematic…" (Rape: Nothing to do with Islam?)

However, in Islam, it is not only a political ideology, but also part and parcel of their current religious beliefs. This behavior is sanctioned in the Qur’an and explained in the hadiths. It is against Islamic law to rape [Muslim] women, but is encouraged for women captured in battle. So, despite what the Muslim apologists say, the behavior is condoned, and even encouraged by their most holy book and the hadiths.

This hadith provides the context for the Qur’anic verse (4:24):

The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain.  They met their enemy and fought with them.  They defeated them and took them captives.

Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers.  So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Sura 4:24) "And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess." (Abu Dawud 2150)

There are several hadith in which Muhammed is asked for his opinion on how women should be raped following their capture. Bukhari 34:432 speaks to the fact that Muhammed told his men it was acceptable to rape them as long as they ejaculated within the women. Female slaves were bought and sold by Muhammad and his Muslims (Ibn Ishaq 693), traded like any other simple commodity. (The Myths of Muhammad)

Because non-Muslims are considered infidels, they are exhorted to either conquer us or destroy us. In Muslim eyes, crimes against infidels do not really constitute crimes. Rather, they are considered following their religious imperative. The actions of the Muslim immigrants in Europe clearly show they feel entitled. If they are viewed as a conquering army, their actions in Western nations not only make sense, but is in full accordance with Islamic law.

From Robert Spencer on rape and jihad,  It is not understood that Western women are not so much regarded by most Muslims as individuals, but as "their women," the women who "belong" to hostile Infidels. They are booty, to be taken, just as the land of the Infidels someday will drop, it is believed, into Muslim hands

They find Western culture and mores to be offensive. They recognize Islamic law. If they “act, in accordance with the local laws” it is “ only insofar as they do not contradict Islam -- that is only because of darura, the doctrine of necessity -- and that necessity, that darura, is of course only temporary.”

Bernard Lewis, perceived by many as  “the intellectual godfather behind the administration’s decision to invade Iraq,” warned in a lecture that “the Islamic world was now attacking the West using two tactics: terrorism and migration....”

If rape isn’t considered terrorism, I don’t know what is. If the number of Muslim immigrants committing these crimes versus the number of the indigenous population doesn’t say something, I don’t know what does.  If the staggering rise in the number of rapes, which mirror the influx of this population doesn’t say something, I don’t know what does. The fact that Muslims get away with behavior not acceptable from other cultures and religions should speak volumes.

I’ll end this with a statement from Appeasement is not working:

“…the current strategy is not working for us infidels, i.e. APPEASEMENT. But it is working to the benefit of Islam… The invasion by Islam continues. So do we fight it? Or this time surrender? It seems our leaders has chosen to do the latter. But I don't believe the good people of Europe will. There will be a straw that will break the camel's back and when that happens then all hell will break lose. I'm rooting for the infidels.

Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive
« Previous1Next »