Facebook Transplant Part 2 - Originally posted 13/4/09 - The Geert Wilders Affair

Here is another early rant - it was posted around the time of the Geert Wilders incident and is actually the first one that I posted after previously ranting on my daily status updates.

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I dont know how many of you are familiar with the story of an elected Dutch MP being denied access to Britain even though he was invited by a member of the House of Lords to screen and discuss a short film he had made to support his manifesto of Islam being a dangerous religion that exhorts its followers to violence through the words of the Koran. Our Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, decided that he would be too dangerous to host here due to threatened Moslem protests and promises of Violence. This has, of course, incensed me beyone all measure. Not wanting to spout too much bile and vitriol, I thought that I would just send you some links.

First up is a link to the movie that has caused all the trouble. Its around 15 mins long and worth watching even if you dont agree with views espoused in it. No point in agreeing with him being banned if you havent even bothered to see why (take note Miliband and Brown - watch the film before commenting on its content).

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=216_1207467783

Then here are a couple of articles that I found quite good referring to it, and of course to what banning Geert Wilders (the MP in question) means for us all.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDVhODU5MDQ2OTg5OGNmOWJkNjk3MTRlYTg4MGJjZjM=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/4604985/Whatever-happened-to-free-speech.html

The Telegraph article is excellent, and the comments below by members of the public hide some gems as well, especially regards the argument for banning the Koran completely due to its incitement to racial and religious violence, which contravenes EU and most national law. A ridiculous idea of course, but a good example of how far the double standards and appeasement goes.

And in case you want to see a bit more about Geert Wilders himself, here is his Wiki link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geert_Wilders

He is that particularly Dutch type of "right-winger". He is gay friendly, libertarian and vehement in his pursuit of the freedoms that Western Civilization and the traditional permissiveness and liberalism that is part of Dutch culture and history. He is not especially reactionary and religiously conservative, traits that are normally applied to the "right". Nor is he overtly racist - his problem is with a religion and its followers, with the culture of Islam, not the colour of its adherents. He is also not at all anti-semitic, but of course these days, and in one of the ironies of history, that makes him extremely right wing since anti-semitism seems to be the purview of the left these days (witness shameful media coverage of the recent Gaza incidents).

I would also hasten to point out that I do not especially like the fellow or agree with everything that he has to say - I am rather to left of him in most things myself, but the controversy surrounding his quite legitimate right to have his views and express them in the way that he has, not to mention the legality of barring a democratically elected politician from an EU country from the UK, highlights a lot of what is wrong both with the country as a whole and the Labour government in particular. I may have certain un-pc and unfashionable views on the Islamisation of Europe and the perils of multi-cultural hypersensitivity and non-assimilation, but I am no Haider, Le Pen or Griffin myself. Even if you do not agree with ANYTHING that Wilders has to say, I am sure that you agree that he not only has the right to say it, but indeed should be protected from those that would curtail that right.