JUDGES IN GEERT WILDERS TRIAL STAYING PUT

On the first day of Dutch politician Geert Wilders' trial, he asked the judges to recuse themselves for being biased against him. They responded by adjourning for 24 hours until they could render a decision. When they came back, they said they weren't going anywhere and that Wilders mis-understood their statements.

First up, via Bloomberg, here is what one judge said that Wilders found objectionable on Day 1:

Presiding Judge Jan Moors yesterday, on the first day of the trial, told Wilders the court “reads newspapers and watches television” and that Wilders has been blamed by others for being “good in taking a stand and then avoiding a discussion.” By choosing not to testify “it seems you’re doing that today as well.”

After Wilders accused the judges of bias, they came back one day later and said they would not recuse themselves; here is their explanation:

“There are no weighty indications that the judges have given the impression of being prejudiced,” Judge Frans Bauduin, who was brought in to rule on the impartiality question, said at the court today. The words used by the presiding judge in that last sentence were chosen unfortunately,” Bauduin said. “They’ve given the requestor a wrong impression.”

Words chosen unfortunately? How about the bias? Was that chosen unfortunately too?

h/t to Weasel Zippers

EVIDENCE OF 9/11 COVER-UP?

For the Truthers out there, allow me to reiterate that I have not come over to your side; not even close. That said, the story of what is known as 'Able Danger' is getting new life courtesy of witnesses and a new document. Lead hijacker on 9/11, Mohammed Atta, according to five witnesses, had been identified as a threat at least one year prior to 9/11.

Via Fox News:

Lt. Col Tony Shaffer, an operative involved with Able Danger, said he was interviewed three times by Defense investigators. He claims it was an effort to wear down the witnesses and intimidate them. Two other witnesses, one a military contractor and the other a retired military officer, said they had the same experience. The two witnesses spoke to Fox News on the condition of anonymity because they said they feared retaliation. A fifth witness told Fox that statements to investigators were ignored.

"My last interview was very, very hostile," Shaffer told Fox News last month before he was ordered by the department not to discuss portions of his book, "Operation Dark Heart," which included a chapter on the Able Danger data mining project.

Here's a video from the "Operation Dark Heart" website on the book burning:



For the record, those who believe the U.S. government orchestrated the attacks on 9/11 are still nuts. The assertion that the Feds were tracking Mohammad Atta well before those attacks and didn't act, is far more believable. This would mean a CYA on the part of the Feds. If true, it would share many similarities to claims made about the Oklahoma City bombing.

h/t to Free Republic

HOLDER IMPLIES CHRIS COATES LIED UNDER OATH

U.S. Attorney Christopher Coates, who used to work in the voting section of the civil rights division of the Justice Department appears to be getting called a liar by Attorney General Eric Holder. On September 23rd, Coates testified that his superiors in the Department made it very well known that cases involving black defendants were not to be brought. Coates named names and did so under oath. His claims corroborated the claims of J. Christian Adams, who testified earlier.

Now Attorney General Eric Holder is basically calling Coates a liar. Via Fox News:

Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday pushed backed against those who accuse the Justice Department of enforcing civil rights laws based on race, saying people need to just "look at the facts."

"The notion that we are enforcing any civil rights laws -- voting or others -- on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender is simply false," Holder said.

It would seem Mr. Holder has a bit of a credibility problem. Unlike Coates and Adams, Holder hasn't testified under oath. Perhaps he should refrain from levying such charges until he does so.

For some reason, this just came to mind..



h/t to Weasel Zippers