Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter to speak at ‘anti-Islamist’ conference.
Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter to speak at ‘anti-Islamist’ conference.
The Washington Independent’s Dave Weigel notes that on May 19, a coalition of conservative legal groups will be hosting a conference titled, “Libel Lawfare: Silencing Criticism of Radical Islam.” Here’s a description of the event:
Islamists have launched a two-pronged effort to suppress free discourse on such subjects as Islam, radical Islam, terrorism, and terrorist funding:
* By filing predatory lawsuits.
* By passing “hate speech” and defamation laws.Victims of these “lawfare” attacks have included the famous and the obscure, politicians, journalists, analysts and plain citizens. This inhibition has great consequences, for when discussion of Islam and terrorism are limited, radical Islam is empowered and Western civilization is imperiled.
Issues to be discussed on May 19 include: A close analysis of Islamist methods; the possible need for legislation to protect free speech on these topics; a comparison of the situation in Europe and the United States; and ways to prevent the United Nations from curtailing discussion of Islam.
Speakers include Frank Gaffney, Daniel Pipes, and…Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), who will be giving the opening speech.
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Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter to speak at ‘anti-Islamist’ conference.
– - Specter: “Oh…it’s what? I mean the otheranti-Islamist conference. You know, the proanti-Islamist conference. Isn’t that right? Yes? Hello…..what party am I in again? Hello?….”
May 12th, 2009 at 4:52 pmLol, once a dipsh*t, always a dipsh*t. I really have problems with ignorance, intolerence and bigotry.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:57 pmhilarious
when right wingers can’t find something to fear, they make something up
May 12th, 2009 at 4:58 pmWhat?! Is Specter confused about what party he’s in now? Anything Anti = GOP.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:59 pmArlen: “I’m announcing that me and my good friends Grampy McSame and Joe Liberheimersteinerberger are forming a new party, the ‘Washington Area Conservative Old Fart Fringe’(WACOFF) Party. Please join us as we hunt for our teeth and try to take a bite out of terrorism.”
May 12th, 2009 at 5:01 pmAnd yet Specter is passing up the Save The Unicorns conference and the Bigfootofascism Awareness conference?
Where are this man’s priorities?
Why is he only choosing some made-up hypothetical threats to fearmonger about?!?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:02 pmI am confused. Is this group saying we should limit discussion about Islam? Or we should have more discussion about the possible ramifications of the radical segment of Islam? Or we should tell all Islamists to STFU?
Whatever the case is, we still have freedom of speech in this country and freedom of religion. Sounds to me like the Christian version of imams is calling the kettle black.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:03 pmWhat about Zionism, radical Zionism, terrorism, and terrorist funding?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:05 pmDogfather, you owe me a beer for the one I just spewed all over my monitor. Wacoff, indeed.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:06 pmSen. Arlen Specter has every right to speak at this conference and I applaud his ideas on strenghtening all citizens 1st Amendment rights. It is also very good to see that he has found something useful to do since Sen. Harry Reid wisely seated him last on all the important committees and subcommittees associated with a progressive agenda. The further we can keep Arlen away from sharp objects the better off we’ll all be.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:06 pmFrom Pipes website:
Ohhh Noesss!! Under the bed quick! Islams in dragsters are going to destroy Nascar!!!!!
May 12th, 2009 at 5:07 pmAnd dragsters!!
May 12th, 2009 at 5:09 pm“Islamist” is not a word. The word everybody (who uses “Islamist”) wants is “Islamic.” Then again, most people who use the word “Islamist” have no intention of showing the religion any respect.
Speaking of not showing respect, Frank Gaffney is a liar, and he should never be heard in public again. Why does anyone care what he thinks?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:10 pmSay, dont dragsters use aluminum tubes!!! And racing fuel!! Oh noes they will crash them into the crowds!! Mushroom clouds of tire smoke!! Superchargers flying into the air!!!
Right Mr Pipes?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:12 pmThe Islamics in dragsters want to destroy our redneck traditions, no more throwing chicken bones on the track!! No beer swilling, pork eating BBQ in the stands!! No more Jeff Gordons doing donuts at the finish line! No more Earnhardt stickers on the back of our pickumup trucks!!
America is dooooomed!! Doomed I say Dooooomed!!
May 12th, 2009 at 5:15 pmAs usual not offering solutions to any REAL problems of the day…their favorite activity is FEARMONGERING
Of course there are extremists in any group. But the repubs do not use facts they use generalities and paint everyone with the same brush…in short to the repubs if one follows ISLAM then they are a terrorist…which of course helps them compare a religion with an act which is completely false and misleading…but that is their modus operandi
May 12th, 2009 at 5:16 pmChill out. Dragsters are not part of Nascar. Turn left, go fast is safe.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:19 pmOkay, who kissed an Islamic?
Hint: Its spelled like Rush.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:19 pmOf course, I could be wrong.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:20 pmWayne Ant Schneider Says:
“Islamist” is not a word. The word everybody (who uses “Islamist”) wants is “Islamic.” Then again, most people who use the word “Islamist” have no intention of showing the religion any respect.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
_______________
That’s not true. Islamist is a word, and one that’s been in use for several centuries now by Orientalists and Muslims alike, (though in Arabic it’s more accurately translated as “political Islam.”)
Whereas “Islamic” refers to anything related to the religion of Islam, “Islamist” refers specifically to an ideology that intrinsically combines the Islamic faith with a political system, as opposed to those who favor a more secular separation of Masjid and State. Though many Islamophobes do tend to use the term as a derogatory term, it isn’t one necessarily.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:22 pmOh sure, it starts with dragsters, but then, insidiously, it creeps into Nascar then sponsors of both and soon team owners of road rallies, open wheel racing, Nascar, Grand Am, MONSTER TRUCKS AND TRACTOR PULLS!!
/snark
May 12th, 2009 at 5:23 pmXisithrus Says: Okay, who kissed an Islamic?
If there was no tongue (or cigar) involved it doesn’t constitute sex.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:23 pmNooooo, not tractor pulls!
May 12th, 2009 at 5:24 pmWhere there is oil there is sex.
Heh
May 12th, 2009 at 5:24 pmI can’t believe I’m doing this but…crude oil?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:27 pmArlen, dont you have something to do…you know like LISTENING to your constituents?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:28 pmXisithrus Says:
The further we can keep Arlen away from sharp objects the better off we’ll all be.
And dragsters!!
Hey, Rudi JuliaAnnie is an old friend of Arlen’s, and he’s been around other GNOP queens for years. You can’t ask him to stay away from all dragsters.
What? Oh, my bad…
PEACE
May 12th, 2009 at 5:30 pmHoodathunktick Says: I can’t believe I’m doing this but…crude oil?
Sweet crude =P
May 12th, 2009 at 5:37 pm.
Q U E S T I O N:
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Jewish conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Buddhist conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Catholic conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Hindu conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Wiccan conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Confucianism conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Shinto conference?
… Need I go on?
Got narrow minded, bigoted anti-religious hatred, Arlen?
.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:49 pm.
Because Alen could use some…
http://www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:52 pmOops, Alen = Arlen.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:53 pmIf the Magic Bullet man Specter does what he did explaining how one bullet travel a long distince and went in/out of metal and steele to kill JFK, this new one with Islam should be interesting. Specter would know the truth if it slap him in the face. His soul belongs to Satan, as he even tried to use Cancer donations for his campaign. Hell has a space waiting for him and his friends.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:03 pmAnd not being able to use the N-word interfered with discussing race back in the 60s too.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:26 pmI hate to say it, but this -is- a real problem, for a case in point..
“The Ehrenfeld/Mahfouz Case: How “Libel Tourism” Undermines the First Amendment and, in the Internet Age, Compels An International Solution”
“Ehrenfeld’s book Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed – and How to Stop It, published in 2003, claimed that Mahfouz is an al Qaeda financier. He is adamant, however, that he has nothing to do with al Qaeda. If he is right, one can hardly imagine a more damaging allegation. He has used, or threatened to use, the British courts dozens of times to sue writers and publishers who have claimed such a connection. ”
This isn’t just a problem for folks writing about terroism either, remember this one?
Richard Perle Libel Watch—The Finale
“A little over a year ago, as readers of this series know, Richard N. Perle vowed to sue New Yorker staff writer Seymour M. Hersh in England for Hersh’s investigative feature, “Lunch With the Chairman.”"
May 12th, 2009 at 6:37 pmI don’t know what these people mean when they say ‘Islamist’.
There is no such thing called ‘Islamist’.
There is such thing called a ‘Moslem’.
Are paranoid Neocons then attacking all Moslems ?!!, the 1.4 billion people living on this planet in all continents ?
Whom are they referring to as Islamist? !!
[Islamists, they say ...Supressing discourse on subjects as Islam ] !! Laughable.
Islam is not a secret religion…there is no supression here
Is it open to anyone who wants to know.
The term Islamist was coined by Neocons, but still remains meaningless regardless of NeoCons push to cirulate it.
Only in America you hear the word Islamist.
If one tries to use this term ,outside Israel, in the Middle East or any Moslem country, he’ll get the biggest laugh
Arlen Specter is another Joe Liebrman.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:44 pmFor another example..
The Noxious Fruits of Hate Speech laws
“I’ve written several times before about the oppressive, dangerous hate speech laws which are common — increasingly so — in both Canada and Europe, whereby the Government is empowered to punish as criminals citizens who express offensive or otherwise prohibited political views.” – Glen Greenwald
One can make a big deal about the use of the term “Islamist” in the panel title, but that shouldn’t stop us from considering what’s happening out there and how it threatens free speech and how to stop it before it turns around and bites us.
May 12th, 2009 at 7:25 pmGMAFB. It’s ok to gather around and talk about the people of the Middle East, but letting some Islamist denied ww2 holocaust is unacceptable at the table.
HYPOCRITE.
May 12th, 2009 at 7:49 pmDo the wingnuts understand Mohammad Ali the famous boxer was also a Muslim? Jees. Idiots.
May 12th, 2009 at 8:23 pmhappily liberal Says:
Didn’t you loons just hoist this prick up on a big giant soap box about a week ago?
May 12th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
First, we’re not loons. Second, NO. Go back in the archives and read the comments.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:45 pmJane,
May 12th, 2009 at 10:11 pmIt’s that billdohbro that hijacked another handle to appear like ‘happy liberal’. The clown troll is just kiddin’ around pulling our wankers. Remember, he was gonna shut this place down and hack the website? Even when he was being WAYNEBRO, the real WAYNEBRO caught him? It’s the same jackoff.
ConservativePUNK you ignorant worthless coward. Dont you ever just get despondent that you are so stupid you never think for yourself and can do nothing but repeat back the idiocy that Rush TOLD you to think? Isnt it just sad how pathetic you are?
May 12th, 2009 at 11:01 pmHappily Ignorant you are a worthless piece of garbage
May 13th, 2009 at 2:47 am______
Max Anax junius -1 Says:
Q U E S T I O N:
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Jewish conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Buddhist conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Catholic conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Hindu conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Wiccan conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Confucianism conference?
What does it make a person when they attend an anti-Shinto conference?
… Need I go on?
Got narrow minded, bigoted anti-religious hatred, Arlen?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
But is it ok if they are anti-nuisance lawsuits? ;)
May 13th, 2009 at 8:33 am______
tarazan Says:
The term Islamist was coined by Neocons, but still remains meaningless regardless of NeoCons push to cirulate it.
Only in America you hear the word Islamist.
If one tries to use this term ,outside Israel, in the Middle East or any Moslem country, he’ll get the biggest laugh
May 12th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
______
Toasterhead disagrees:
chiroptera toasterhead Says:
That’s not true. Islamist is a word, and one that’s been in use for several centuries now by Orientalists and Muslims alike, (though in Arabic it’s more accurately translated as “political Islam.”)
Whereas “Islamic” refers to anything related to the religion of Islam, “Islamist” refers specifically to an ideology that intrinsically combines the Islamic faith with a political system, as opposed to those who favor a more secular separation of Masjid and State. Though many Islamophobes do tend to use the term as a derogatory term, it isn’t one necessarily.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
May 13th, 2009 at 8:39 amHey folks, maybe you should take a half-second to understand what this conference is all about. It’s a real problem. Here’s a bit discussing how the work of Craig Unger has been attacked:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/22/books/are-saudis-using-british-libel-law-to-deter-critics.html
Here’s another more recent article on the topic:
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/mar/17/news/chi-libel-tourismmar17
If you care about freedom of speech, this should be a legitimate concern regardless of whether the wingnuts are getting razzed about it.
And for more on what the Saudis are tyring so hard to obfuscate:
http://www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com
May 13th, 2009 at 11:01 amMossad’s #1 rule of deception: Accuse your enemies of doing exactly what you’re doing.
To wit, from Arlen Specter: “Islamists have launched a two-pronged effort to suppress free discourse on such subjects as Islam, radical Islam, terrorism, and terrorist funding.”
Replace Islamists and Islam with “Zionists” and you have a true statement.
Shalom.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:53 pm