A Victory For Freedom Of Speech!

The law suit against Joe Kaufman has been dismissed!

Such wonderful news as we approach this coming weekend's celebration of Independence Day!

The last paragraph of the press release:

From the start of the case, Kaufman has called the lawsuit “entirely frivolous” and stated that it was only brought to harm Kaufman financially and to stop him from writing about the terrorism ties of the plaintiffs’ friends. In the end, the case was an important victory for Freedom of Speech.

Read the details about the case HERE.

Just last Friday, June 26, WC and I interviewed Joe on The Gathering Storm Radio Show and discussed the case. You can listen to the interview HERE, during the last half hour of the show.

Addendum, June 29: Joe's interview today about the case - in Front Page Magazine.

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Investigative Reporter Joe Kaufman Targeted For Silencing

I occasionally get email notifications of donations needed from the David Horowitz Freedom Center. One such email arrived to me yesterday. Rather than posting an excerpt, here is the whole thing:

Radical Muslims Target Investigative Reporter!

An urgent message from David Horowitz

Dear Friend,

Radical Muslims are using our court system to try to silence those who expose their terrorist connections. They've done it in Europe and Canada - and now they're trying it here in America.

In the case of investigative reporter Joe Kaufman, so far they've been successful.

Seven Muslim groups claim that Joe is a threat. They convinced a court that Joe "intends to threaten to take unlawful action...cause bodily injury...or threaten Plaintiffs or their members with immediate bodily injury."

On those grounds the court imposed a restraining order on him. And they are suing Joe for defamation to stop him from writing about Muslims in the future and to close down his web sites [here].

Joe reports and writes for my web site FrontPageMagazine [index to Joe's articles here] and for his own web sites. He has never threatened a Muslim in his life. But he has exposed facts they want to hide.

If Joe Kaufman loses, radical Muslims will know they can stop anyone from investigating and writing about any Muslim groups and individuals.

This is why I am urgently asking you to help the Freedom Center pay for Joe's defense.

The reason Joe Kaufman is being targeted by these Muslim groups is that he monitors web sites run by Muslim charitable organizations, and he has identified money trails leading from some of these groups to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

He discovered that funds from a group called the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) were going to Hamas, and he wrote about this on FrontPageMagazine. He also wrote that this group was sponsoring "Muslim Family Fun Day" at Six Flags Over Texas.

And he announced that he was going to hold a peaceful demonstration outside Six Flags on that day to expose this terrorist financing to the public.

Joe went ahead with his protest. It was peaceful and he broke no laws. He carried a sign which read, "Six Flags Over Terrorists," and he gave a speech to a small group of fellow demonstrators.

Within minutes of arriving at the park Joe was served with a restraining order, the result of a lawsuit brought by seven mosques and Muslim organizations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

ICNA - the group he was protesting - was not even one of the groups. These seven organizations claim that they were defamed by Kaufman's reports simply because their members are Muslim. Their lawsuit alleges that by reporting ICNA's financial activities and its links to terrorism, Kaufman harmed their reputations and the reputations of their members.

That was a year-and-a-half ago. But the court refused to throw out the lawsuit, so the case continues. Joe is being represented by a team of lawyers who are generously donating their time. But the other legal costs are considerable.

My Freedom Center has provided almost $20,000 towards these costs already. But now Joe's lawyers are trying to end the case in the appellate court. We need to raise an additional $25,000 for the immediate upcoming costs of Joe's defense. Please help us fight this case by clicking here to give.

Joe Kaufman has no money to spend on his defense. He has made a career of investigative journalism focusing on terrorism - something the mainstream media doesn't want to touch with a 10-foot pole, and therefore not a high-paying profession. He needs our help.

And there are other good reasons to support Joe's legal defense: all the other people working to fight Islamic terrorism - including me and my colleagues, other writers at FrontPageMagazine, and many other people who are doing this out of their passion for freedom and their desire to help protect America from the Islamo-Fascist threat.

A victory by the Muslim groups would be the first step in silencing all of us. This is a free speech issue and nothing more: Joe has not lied about, threatened, or touched any of the Muslims who are suing him, or any other Muslims for that matter. He simply reported the truth, and for that these groups are doing their best to silence him - and to intimidate the rest of us.

The lawsuit against Joe Kaufman is part of a strategy by these Muslim groups to bully us into silence. That's why we cannot let them win.

I am asking you to make a contribution of $25, $50, $100 or even more if you can, to help us raise the $25,000 we need right away to pay for Joe Kaufman's defense. Any amount you can send will help. Just click here to give. It's urgent!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

David Horowitz
President and Founder

P.S. The outcome of this case is by no means predictable. Too many judges have shown themselves to care more about not offending Muslims than about free speech. We must raise the money to fight this case to the end!

So, you see, the threat to freedom of speech doesn't apply only to Geert Wilders, about whom many of us are blogging with a frenzy. The threat is right here in America, and Joe, with whom I am registered to co-blog, is on the front lines of this battle. Here. In the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Never mind the First Amendment to our Constitution.

This posting isn't a plea for donations, though contributing to Joe's defense fund is a good and important action to take.

What I want to point out is this....Right now, it is Geert Wilders who is being muzzled. Tomorrow, or another day not far in the future, the muzzle will be fastened upon us. Who will contribute to our defense funds?

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Attempts To Ban Fitna The Movie

Transcript from this link:

Islamic leaders in the Netherlands will ask a court later today to ban a film which accuses the Koran of inciting violence. Dutch MP Geert Wilders launched his film on the internet after local distributors refused to release it. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende added his criticism of the film, saying it was offensive to Muslims.

"The film shows images of violent acts, and holds Islam and the Koran responsible for them. The government condemns such acts and those who commit them. The film equates Islam with violence, and we reject this interpretation. The vast majority of Muslims reject extremism and violence. In fact the victims are often also Muslims."

The film is called "Fitna", a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife."

It intersperses shots of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, and other bombings blamed on Islamic radicals, with quotations from the Koran.

There have already been widespread protests against the film, and the governments of Pakistan and Iran have made their displeasure very clear.

NATO fears an explosion of Muslim anger could threaten the security of foreign forces in Afghanistan, which include some 1,600 Dutch troops.

Carl in Jerusalem said the following at his post, where I found the above video:

First of all, as far as I know, LiveLeak is housed on servers in the US or UK. How does anyone think a Dutch court is going to order a server in the US or UK to take it down? They might be able to order a UK server to take it down because of the EU, but I doubt most US-based servers would listen. Then again, given that Network Solutions declined to run the film and took down Wilders' site, I suppose anything is possible.

More important, at this point, I am sure the film has been downloaded to dozens, if not hundreds of computers throughout the world. While I'm not much of techie, there are many other bloggers who are techies, and I am sure they would continue to host the movie. And no Dutch court can stop them.

However, we also have this in yesterday's Washington Post, apparently before the release of Fitna: The Movie:

The top U.N. rights body on Thursday passed a resolution proposed by Islamic countries saying it is deeply concerned about the defamation of religions and urging governments to prohibit it.

[...]

The document, which was put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, "expresses deep concern at attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations."

[...]

The resolution "urges states to take actions to prohibit the dissemination ... of racist and xenophobic ideas" and material that would incite to religious hatred. It also urges states to adopt laws that would protect against hatred and discrimination stemming from religious defamation.

Also, this appeared at Reuters this morning:

It ["Fitna: The Movie"] starts and finishes with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban, originally published in Danish newspapers, accompanied by the sound of ticking.

Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who drew the image, said he planned to take legal action on Friday to have it removed from the film, saying it was taken out of context.

"(The cartoon) is aimed at the fanatical terrorists that use interpretations of Islam and the Koran as their spiritual dynamite," he told Danish news agency Ritzau on Thursday....

But take heart, infidels. Read this posting at Infidel Bloggers Alliance. Another film, "The Life of Mohammed," is supposed to be released on April 20. Of course, the objections have already begun.

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Robert Spencer On The OIC

Hat-tip to Reliapundit of THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, where I found the following video, about four minutes in length:

YouTube Link
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Additional reading about the OIC, which is brazenly threatening freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the Western world with the organization's push toward litigation-ifada.

Yesterday afternoon, on Fox News Network, I caught an interview of Brigitte Gabriel. The topic was the Pope's recent baptism of Magdi Allam:

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Italy's most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic extremism and defended Israel, converted to Catholicism Saturday in a baptism by the pope at a Vatican Easter service.

An Egyptian-born, non-practicing Muslim who is married to a Catholic, Magdi Allam infuriated some Muslims with his books and columns in the newspaper Corriere della Sera newspaper, where he is a deputy editor. He titled one book "Long Live Israel."

As a choir sang, Pope Benedict XVI poured holy water over Allam's head and said a brief prayer in Latin.

[...]

Vatican Television zoomed in on Allam, who sat in the front row of the basilica along with six other candidates for baptism. He later received his first Communion....

Magdi Allam took the name Christian for his baptism and later stated the following:

"I realize what I am going up against but I will confront my fate with my head high, with my back straight and the interior strength of one who is certain about his faith."

But cowardice and dhimmitude made their appearance yesterday afternoon, when a Fox News Channel anchor said something like this to Ms. Gabriel: "Don't you think that the Pope's baptism should have been done in a less visible manner? Some people might get upset."

In other words, Christianity should tone itself down so as not to offend Muslims.

Huh? What's that?

Turn the situation around, and just imagine the furor if a news anchor suggested during Ramadan season, "How about toning down the Hajj? It upsets non-Muslims." I can see the reaction in my mind's eye right now.

Just take a look at this list of things offensive to Muslims. What doesn't offend them?

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Insult Islam, Get Sued

As I mentioned here at Infidel Bloggers Alliance last week, the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference), is taking a stand against freedom of speech for the West. Apparently our own United States government is supporting the proposal.
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Consider the following information from the Center for Vigilant Freedom, and be sure to follow the links:

Sada Cumber, Special Envoy to Enforce Sharia Law in the U.S.

Sada Cumber is the Bush-appointed Special Envoy to the abysmal Organization of the Islamic Conference. The Sada Cumber Watch blog is tracking the OIC, where a meeting this week (March 13 and 14) will vote on the OIC Ten Year Plan. Read more here:
H/T Sada Cumber Watch

The OIC supports the appalling Cairo Declaration of Human Rights (meaning imposition of Sharia Law in violation of all human rights), and the Ten Year Plan Sada Cumber will be agreeing to this week proposes that all countries must protect Muslim minorities’ rights based on the Cairo Declaration definition of those rights.

The Ten Year Plan also proposes “deterrent punishments” for Islamophobia…

Now, read the following from Sada Cumber Watch, quoting from Examiner.com:

Muslims Nations: Defame Islam, Get Sued?
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI, The Associated Press

The Muslim world has created a battle plan to defend its religion from political cartoonists and bigots.

Concerned about what they see as a rise in the defamation of Islam, leaders of the world’s Muslim nations are considering taking legal action against those that slight their religion or its sacred symbols. It was a key issue during a two-day summit that ended Friday in this western Africa capital.

The Muslim leaders are attempting to demand redress from nations like Denmark, which allowed the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in 2006 and again last month, to the fury of the Muslim world.

[...]

Delegates were given a voluminous report by the OIC that recorded anti-Islamic speech and actions from around the world. The report concludes that Islam is under attack and that a defense must be mounted.

[...]

The report urges the creation of a “legal instrument” to crack down on defamation of Islam.

[...]

Read the entire article in the Examiner HERE. There is a lot more to the story.

Considering the latest from Osama Bin Laden — the message in which he says that the Motoons are worse than the slaughter of Muslims — one wonders if the OIC and OBL are in cahoots.

Nah. Couldn't be.

I mustn't let my paranoia kick into overdrive. Right?

Still, Dr. Anis Shorrosh's Twenty Year Plan: Islam Targets America keeps coming to my mind, especially Points 1, 7, and 19:

1. Terminate America's freedom of speech by replacing it with hate crime bills state-wide and nation-wide.

7. Yell, "foul, out-of-context, personal interpretation, hate crime, Zionist, un- American, inaccurate interpretation of the Quran" anytime Islam is criticized or the Quran is analyzed in the public arena.

19. Send intimidating messages and messengers to the outspoken individuals who are critical of Islam and seek to eliminate them by hook or crook.

Litigation is a tool used to silence voices. And sometimes just the threat of litigation is enough to shut people up.

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Motoons An Issue At The OIC

The letters "OIC" stand for the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which just wrapped up a two-day summit in Dakar Senegal.

From the AP article "Muslims Nations: Defame Islam, Get Sued?":

The Muslim world has created a battle plan to defend its religion from political cartoonists and bigots.

Concerned about what they see as a rise in the defamation of Islam, leaders of the world's Muslim nations are considering taking legal action against those that slight their religion or its sacred symbols. It was a key issue during a two-day summit that ended Friday in this western Africa capital.

The Muslim leaders are attempting to demand redress from nations like Denmark, which allowed the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in 2006 and again last month, to the fury of the Muslim world....

Read the entire AP article HERE.

Apparently a larger group than Islamic activists in Jordan may resort to some form of litigation-ifada.

At the summit, Sada Cumber, the U.S. envoy to the OIC emphasized how much America respects Islam.

2008 grinds on as the The Year of Silencing Voices.

Additional reading on the topic of the OIC.

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Islamic Group In Jordan Objects... (With Update)

(All emphases by Always On Watch)


...to the Danish Motoons. From Velvet Hammer, citing the Associated Press:

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - A group of Islamic activists in Jordan says it plans to file lawsuits against nearly 20 Danish newspapers and magazines for republishing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.

The group says it also plans to sue the editor-in-chief of the Danish newspaper that first published the drawings in 2005 and the daily’s cartoonist.

Last month, Denmark’s leading newspapers reprinted 1 of the 12 original cartoons after Danish police said they had uncovered a plot to kill the cartoonist. The papers said the reprint was meant to promote freedom of speech.

The group says it will file the lawsuits in Jordanian courts because the country’s penal code says publicly slandering religious figures is an offense that carries up to three years in prison.

Velvet Hammer's post goes on to give more history on the Muslim ire at the Danish Motoons. Apparently, the flag-burning, fire-throwing cartoonifada has graduated to litigation-ifada.

According to Ali Sina, founder of Faith Freedom International, ridicule is exactly what is needed, whether Muslims like it or not:

o Muslims committed the huge blunder of revealing their vulnerability [cartoon flap]. Now the world knows what hurts them. When you find your opponent's weak spot, it is exactly where you want to hit him. If Islam is ridiculed publicly and systematically, it will be defeated.

o Muslim psychology is all pomposity and bravado. I give you my word that if Islam is ridiculed publicly and systematically, it will be defeated. Shame is a great motivator as well as deterrent. Do not underestimate the power of ridicule. This is serious stuff not a laughing matter.

o How much ridicule is enough? Until it hurts. The pain of shame must become bigger than the comfort of clinging to this false fetish. When you see their eyes are popping out of their eyeballs, their veins bulging in their necks, foam forming at their mouths, and they are ready to explode, you know that the remedy is working. Give them more. They will either die of heart attacks or they will come to their senses and recover from this insanity.

o Every one of us must become a cyberwarrior and mock Muhammad, Islam and the Muslims. Use your talent. Draw cartoons based on the hadith and the Quran. You can find tons of ridiculous stuff in these books to lampoon. Write articles, lyrics, jokes, plays, do whatever you can to ridicule Muhammad the prophet pretender and Muslims. Don't heed to their howls and cries.

The West has a long tradition of satire and in the form of cartoons. Thomas Nast is but one famous example of such a cartoonist:

In general his political cartoons supported American Indians, Chinese Americans and advocated abolition of slavery. Nast also dealt with segregation and the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, which was detailed in one of his more famous cartoons called "Worse than Slavery", which showed a despondent black family having their house destroyed by arson, and two members of the Ku Klux Klan and White League are shaking hands in their mutually destructive work against black Americans. His cartoons frequently had numerous sidebars and panels with intricate subplots to the main cartoon. A Sunday feature could provide hours of entertainment and highlight social causes.

One has to ask, "Why are Muslims so incensed about a bunch of CARTOONS?" After all, if Muslims don't like the Motoons, they don't have to look at those images. After all, most of the Western press has refused to publish the illustrations, although fearless Denmark will.

As far as Jordan is concerned, how many Jordanians read the Danish press, anyway.

Muslims seem to feel that they have the RIGHT not to be offended. Since when is that "right" a Western one? In fact, the West is famous, or infamous, for exactly the opposite.

Make the following your mantra, and stand up for Western freedoms, while you still have them:



UPDATE via a comment by Krishna at Velvet Hammer's site, from this source:

...[T]he Egyptian Newspaper Al Fagr had published the Danish cartoons of Mohamed - back in October 2005, in the middle of Ramadan, and nothing happend. There was no outrage, no protests, nothing in the way of a Muslim reaction:

Egyptian Sandmonkey says that this proves once again that the entire campaign "of outrage" was instigated by the Danish imams and our arab islamic governments for their own political purposes....

...In other words, we've been had, and the American media bought it all - hook," lying," and sinker!!!...

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