Sunday, November 18, 2007

Like Sheep to the Slaughter

The First Amendment's Freedom of Speech and of the Press was intended to give broad protections to those who wish to speak out about political issues, and especially about government. In the realm of international affairs, the policies and politics of foreign nations and their governments need to be discussed, as well.

In recent years, nation-states have avoided the consequences of their policies by seeking terrorist groups as proxies for their violence, beginning a trend away from governments as the only actors in the international arena.

However, what we are seeing increasingly, as I addressed in posts on the 'Ndrangheta earlier this month (see 'Ndrangheta and The Major League) and in my series entitled The Shadow Realm (see sidebar), is non-governmental players influencing international affairs. A perfect example of this is the case of Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz, Financier of Holy Terror.

Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld's legal battle against Sheikh bin Mahfouz continued in court on the 15th. This case is incredibly significant -- it is quite possible that upon its outcome hinges our legal protection to speak out about terrorism.

Despite the significance of this legal battle, the media is either so foolish that they do not understand the ramifications, or so cowardly that they do not wish to risk Sheikh bin Mahfouz's wrath by covering it, and so, they do not use their Constitutionally-protected freedoms to defend against infringements of their Constitutionally-protected freedoms, but rather, they leave that task to others.

The Constitution means nothing without the will to abide by it, and to defend and enforce its provisions. If we do not defend and enforce its provisions through peaceful, legal proceedings now, then the day is fast approaching when we will have to regain our freedoms through force of arms, just as we established them on this continent early in the third quarter of the Eighteenth Century.


"If the freedom of speech is taken away
then dumb and silent we may be led,
like sheep to the slaughter."


George Washington




There is now a movie wherein Dr. Ehrenfeld speaks out for the first time on film.

About the film:

"The Libel Tourist" is a short-form documentary film produced by the Moving Picture Institute. MPI's short film program seeks to provide filmmakers with the opportunities to display their filmmaking skills while making an impact on behalf of human freedom.

Though it addresses one of the gravest subjects of contemporary political life, it is only 8 minutes long. In those 8 minutes, our eyes are opened to a new and chilling threat: the story of how Saudi petrodollars have cowed, silenced, and almost broken freedom of speech in the West.

The film documents the true story of how an American-Israeli author Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld was ordered to destroy all copies of her book in a country where it had never been published- England—after a notoriously litigious Saudi billionaire sued her in a British court. Ehrenfeld's book Funding Evil; How Terrorism is Financed – and How to Stop It, accuses the Saudi billionaire of funding of terrorism.

Now Ehrenfeld is fighting back, counter-suing him in the New York, to defend her and our First Amendment rights. She speaks on film for the first time in "The Libel Tourist."

"This film is an eye-opening exposé," says Jared Lapidus, the film's director. "It deals directly with the issues of terrorism, Islamo-fascism, and how it is infringing on our rights in the West, and the U.S. in particular."


You can learn more about Dr. Ehrenfeld's case by reading the other posts I have done, which are linked in a special widget in the sidebar.

More importantly, I encourage you to visit Rachel's website, The American Center for Democracy, and learn about her important work and this legal battle there. In particular, you can read some of the only media coverage of the November 15th proceedings (NewsDay.com also ran a story).

While at The American Center for Democracy, you can make a financial contribution to this legal battle that Dr. Ehrenfeld is fighting for all of us.

Don't wait for the mainstream media to speak out in defense of our rights -- they long ago traded in their souls for ratings and profits....

2 comments:

Kali said...

Ah, maybe the first blog post I have read in a month and I was hoping for some good news :) Thank you for posting this article. I'd really like to see the short film.

WomanHonorThyself said...

thank God for the fearless ones among us my friend!