Muslim Outrage

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Syria behind torching of Danish buildings?

Lebanese leader accuses Damascus of using undercover soldiers in cartoon-protest attacks
Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily

The burning this past weekend of Danish government offices in Damascus and Beirut in protest of newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad were directed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad in part using undercover soldiers acting as rioters, Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt charged today during an exclusive WorldNetDaily interview.

"Syria is stirring trouble in the region. Regarding the burnings and protests in Damascus, it is very bizarre that a so-called secular totalitarian regime that controls everything was not able to control these demonstrations," said Jumblatt, Druze leader and head of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party.

"The violence and burnings in Lebanon were the work of Syrian soldiers and workers dressed in civilian clothes."

On Sunday, thousands of Muslim demonstrators in Beirut clashed with police, storming the city's Danish consulate and setting it ablaze in protest over cartoons in Danish and other European newspapers that mocked Muhammad. A nearby Maronite Catholic church was also attacked, prompting fears the protests could turn into a sectarian clash.

In Damascus on Saturday the evacuated Danish and Norwegian embassies were burned during protests that also damaged the Swedish embassy. Rioters reportedly tried to storm the city's French mission but were held off by police.

'Remember Assad's warnings'

Jumblatt accused Syria of using plain-clothes soldiers to torch Beirut's Danish consulate.
"Those involved, including some arrested, were found to be people working for Syria, including Syrian soldiers disguised as civilians," said Jumblatt.

"They were sent from remote areas in the south, a kind of orchestration. Even though clerics of al-Jamal Islaimya (an extremist Lebanese splinter faction) denounced violent protest, they couldn't control the Syrian saboteurs," he added.

Jumblatt contended Assad used the protests to stir regional violence alongside the continuing probe into the assassination last February of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri for which Damascus has been widely blamed. The United States and some European countries are calling for United Nations sanctions against Syria.

"Remember Assad's warnings to the international community that if he is put under pressure, chaos will prevail in the region," said Jumblatt.

"Also, I think Assad doesn't want to be isolated in the Muslim world, so he is pretending to be on the side of the Muslim cause by rioting against the cartoons."

Syrian, Lebanese protestors most violent

The cartoon controversy erupted a week ago following a request by Denmark's Jyllands-Posten for cartoonists to create satirical drawings of Muhammad. Muslims are prohibited from creating images of Muhammad. Some Muslims consider caricatures to be particularly blasphemous.

The Muhammad cartoons have been reprinted in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Jordan, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway and Poland.

Muslims protested throughout the Middle East. Protesters in Turkey marched outside the Danish consulate. Terror groups in the West Bank threatened Danish and European interests. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, briefly kidnapped a German in the Balata refugee camp on Thursday but released him hours later.
The Syrian and Lebanese protests were the most violent so far.

"Assad is playing with fire (with these burnings and riots). It can turn into massive violence around the Middle East. This is beyond irresponsible. These are reckless acts by a terrorist regime," Jumblatt said.

Reprinted by permission of WorldNetDaily

(02.07.06, 11:28)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...212358,00.html

[catfish]

The president of Iran has called for cartoons about the holocaust, the winners will be paid two gold coins. After the publication of these cartoons lets count the number of Jewish riots, people killed and embassies burned by Jews.

[catfish]

I just had a thought. If the holocaust never happened as president alphabet claimed, how can you satirize in a cartoon?

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http://www.pmw.org.il/ It is nothing new for Muslims have a recorded history of dehumanizing Israel and Jews.

AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, WILL YOU PLEASE STAND UP?
By Michelle Malkin · February 07, 2006 08:43 AM
Kudos to the Philadelphia Inquirer for braving the forces of political correctness, foreign and domestic, and publishing one of the forbidden Muhammad cartoons. The point that needs to be hammered again and again is that the newspaper did not publish the cartoon to deliberately offend Muslims or to make an anti-Islamist statement, but to inform. Which is what newspapers, may I remind them, are supposed to do:

The Philadelphia Inquirer became the first major American newspaper to publish any of the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad on Saturday, prompting a small protest outside the newspaper's offices yesterday morning. About two dozen demonstrators, holding signs reading "No to Hate" and "Peaceful Protest for Religious Tolerance," dispersed after about an hour. The organizers said they would be back on Friday unless they received an apology...
...When it became clear that the caricatures were becoming "more, not less, newsworthy," Ms. Bennett said, the editors decided to publish the cartoon on Saturday so that readers would be better informed about the controversy.
"There's been a whole history of newspapers publishing things that people would find controversial and offensive," Ms. Bennett said. "My view is that we need to publish it for a good news reason, we need to publish in context and we need to explain to readers why we did it."

The New York Sun, as I noted last week, was the first American newspaper to publish any of the cartoons. The paper published two.

http://www.michellemalkin.com/

Check out Michelle's site, lots of news on this there. Including that YES, the Catholic priest was shot because of the cartoons!!!

They are now burning American flags folks. And the demonstration noted above. Plus the prez is standing in solidarity with Denmark. There is one good thing coming out of this craziness and that is that their behaviour is being shown on the news. Helps to explain visually the religion of peace!

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Oh boy...here we go...

Sweden: Muhammad cartoon contest initiated

Playing with fire? Online paper representing radical rightist party invites readers to participate in competition, expresses support for Danish newspaper that touched off controversy
Roee Nahmias

Playing with fire in Sweden? A radical rightist online newspaper in Sweden has joined the cartoon fray Tuesday after initiating a prophet Muhammad cartoon contest.

Iranian Reaction

Iran presents: Holocaust cartoon contest / Roee Nahmias Leading newspaper presents contest in response to cartoons disparaging Muhammad Full Story

The paper, Sd-Kuriren, justified its decision by saying it supports freedom of expression and backs the Danish newspaper that touched off the controversy by publishing Muhammad cartoons.

"Freedom of expression in Sweden outweighs the Islamic ban regarding prophet Muhammad," the paper's editor wrote.

The online publication operates in southern Sweden and represents a far right party characterized by xenophobia.

In his remarks, the editor addressed Muslim protests across the world and the anti-Denmark boycott announced by several Muslim countries, while noting the paper will continue to respect freedom of speech and calling on all those who find the issue important to take part in the cartoon contest.

Although the website in question is a marginal one, research institute "Global Justice Group" already identified radical Islamic online forums calling for the Swedish site to be destroyed.

The latest cartoon contest may push Sweden, which so far adopted a cautious line over the cartoon affair, into the eye of the storm as well. Currently, there are about 350,000 Muslims living in Sweden, with Stockholm being home to Scandinavia's largest mosque.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...212671,00.html
Holy cow, they are NOT kidding either. Here's the site link: http://www.sd-kuriren.info/

[PsycoJoe]

RIGHT ON!!!!

Information is power. Control the information, control the power. Intimidate the media (where most get their information) into doing what you want and you've effectively gained control.

Way to go you guys!

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Hey Catfish, I found something you might like. http://www.thebricktestament.com/boo...y_trinity.html

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Download and watch the video You go Michelle! Like it or not, Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes just showed all 12 of the published cartoons.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/09/in...l?pagewanted=1
The New York Times is reporting that the Cartoon Outrage was Crystallized in December in Mecca. After reading that piece I became so understanding about how Muslims operate in order to bring some sensitivity to the West. They have worked hard and had only peaceful intentions and their fabrications, well, they had nothing to do with the violence...

More of all that to come...

http://tinyurl.com/96msm
Taleban say 100 enlist for suicide attacks over cartoons
(AFP)

9 February 2006



KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - One hundred militants have enlisted to become suicide bombers in Afghanistan since the appearance of “blasphemous” cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, a top Taleban commander said on Thursday.
Mullah Dadullah, one of the Taleban’s most senior military commanders, said his Islamic militant group had also offered a reward of 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of gold to anyone who killed people responsible for the drawings.
“More than 100 mujahedin (holy warriors) have enlisted to carry out suicide attacks,” the fugitive Dadullah told AFP by telephone from an unknown location.>>
The targets would be “infidels”, said the commander, who is believed to be close to the Taleban’s wanted leader Mullah Omar.>>
He added: “The Taleban will give 100 kilograms of gold to one who kills the cartoonist.”>>
Five kilograms of gold would go to anyone who killed a soldier from Denmark, Germany or Norway - among the countries where the cartoons have appeared.>>

Not good for non-Muslims, especially considering things like this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...ixnewstop.html
100,000 Muslims to vent anger in London at cartoon protest
By Nick Britten
(Filed: 09/02/2006)

A mass demonstration of 100,000 Muslims will take place in London next weekend as anger continues over publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella group which claims to represent more than a million Muslims, said it would do as much as it could to prevent the ugly scenes seen last week when protesters carried placards issuing death threats and one man dressed as a suicide bomber.

But they said they needed to "channel" growing anger felt by communities across Britain that Muslims were being persecuted and made to feel like "second class citizens".

Faiz Saddiqi, the committee convener, said: "It is a peaceful protest. We will not let it be hijacked by the fringe elements.

"It is a way of showing the depth of anger that Muslim communities feel about being continually insulted by the publication of these images."
The march, on Feb 18, will go from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park. Mr Saddiqi said that only banners and placards issued by the committee would be allowed.

It will be the fifth demonstration in three weeks. Around 3,000 members from Britain's Shia Muslim community will congregate in London today for the Ashura Festival, while several thousand Muslims are expected in London on Saturday for a rally. The Metropolitan Police will patrol the events as normal but said they "had plans" in place should trouble break out.

The Muslim Action Committee was convened specifically to co-ordinate a response to the growing crisis over the publication, initially in Denmark, of cartoons depicting Mohammed, which have led to worldwide protests.

Anybody care to place some bets on the religion of peace vs the religion of pieces???

And the Philadelphia Enquirer is due an additional protest tomorrow. Oh joy!

[Ervil]

No Danish Treatment for an Egyptian Newspaper


Hi to everyone (this is my first post in this great forum)

As you can see, those cartoons were published in an egiptian newspaper (Al Fager) FOUR months ago (and it was Ramadan ):











You can read more in:

http://freedomforegyptians.blogspot....ures-that.html



Ervil

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Welcome Ervil!
You're exactly right. Posted in Egypt newspapers without a problem? Yep. So much for the claim that their religion does not allow any representations of Mohammed.

...and get this...Sweden has now submitted to fear...

Sweden shuts website over cartoon

Sweden has largely avoided the anger Denmark has suffered The Swedish government has moved to shut down the website of a far-right political party's newspaper over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The site's host, Levonline, pulled the plug on the website of the Swedish Democrats' SD-Kuriren newspaper after consulting with the government. It is believed to be the first time a Western government has intervened to block a publication in the growing row. Kuriren editor Richard Jomshof said the government was breaking the law. "We have to do something about it. This is illegal. They can't do this just because we are a small magazine," he told the BBC News website. The Swedish Democrats are a small anti-immigrant party with no representatives in parliament, but a few local elected officials. Jomshof said the newspaper had a print run of about 30,000. Call for cartoons He had asked readers to send in their own Muhammad cartoons, but he denies intending to offend Muslims. His website briefly posted a picture showing Muhammad from the rear, looking into a mirror, with his eyes blacked out - an image he said was about self-censorship. It seemed like it could be a bad for us and for others to have the site up Levonline CEO Turkel Nyberg "It was directed at the Swedish government and Swedish magazines," Jomshof said. "They are cowards for not standing by the Danish people and Jyllands-Posten [Danish newspaper which first published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad last year]." Muslims around the world have demonstrated against the cartoons since they were republished in a number of European newspapers at the end of January. Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds described Kuriren's move as "a provocation" by "a small group of extremists". "I will defend freedom of the press no matter what the circumstances, but I strongly condemn the provocation by SD-Kuriren. It displays a complete lack of respect," she said in a statement. Site back up Levonline CEO Turkel Nyberg told the BBC News website his company had pulled the plug on the site after discussions with the foreign ministry and the security police. "It seemed like it could be a bad for us and for others to have the site up. The problem was the content, which was these Muhammad pictures," he said. He said he had been told by the government that Arab media were carrying reports about SD-Kuriren's call for cartoons about Muhammad. Sweden - which opposed the war in Iraq and is a leading donor to the Middle East - has largely avoided becoming the target of Muslim anger over the cartoons. The SD-Kuriren website is currently back online via a back-up server. "All they did was close down some links to the server. We have other links that are still working," Jomshof said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4700414.stm

And so it begins...Poland, Norway...defeated by jihad on free press

Norway Apologizes over Muhammad Cartoons

From the desk of Filip van Laenen on Fri, 2006-01-27 10:49

The left-wing government in Norway apologizes to Muslims worldwide for the publication of twelve Muhammad cartoons [see them here] in the Norwegian newspaper Magazinet. Oslo sent out instructions to all the Norwegian embassies on how to respond to queries about the cartoons. Unlike the Danish government, the Norwegian government is not concerned about safeguarding the right to freedom of expression. Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, a leading member of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s Workers’ Party, wrote the following e-mail to the Norwegian embassies:

I am sorry that the publication of a few cartoons in the Norwegian paper Magazinet has caused unrest among Muslims. I fully understand that these drawings are seen to give offence by Muslims worldwide. Islam is a spiritual reference point for a large part of the world. Your faith has the right to be respected by us.
The cartoons in the Christian paper Magazinet are not constructive in building the
bridges which are necessary between people with different religious and ethnic backgrounds. Instead they contribute to suspicion and unnecessary conflict.
Let it be clear that the Norwegian government condemns every expression or act which expresses contempt for people on the basis of their religion or ethnic origin. Norway has always supported the fight of the UN against religious intolerance and racism, and believes that this fight is important in order to avoid suspicion and conflict. Tolerance, mutual respect and dialogue are the basis values of Norwegian society and of our foreign policy.
Freedom of expression is one of the pillars of Norwegian society. This includes tolerance for opinions that not everyone shares. At the same time our laws and our international obligations enforce restrictions for incitement to hatred or hateful expressions.

Opposition politicians reacted to this message with indignation. Jon Lilletun, the spokesman on foreign policy for the Christian-democrat Kristelig Folkeparti, points out that it is not the ministry’s task to express an opinion on the content of the cartoons. Carl I. Hagen, the leader of the Progress Party, fears that freedom of expression is being swept under the carpet.

Magazinet published the cartoons in support of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which after publishing the drawings last September has been threatened with revenge by Muslim extremists. According to Islam it is blasphemy to depict Muhammad. The Danish government has consistently refused to give in to demands from Islamic countries that it apologize for the publication of the cartoons and introduce censorship.
As we noted before it is striking to see how Norwegian politics differs from Danish politics. The Norwegian Foreign Minister’s e-mail was meant to be confidential and not to be disclosed to the Norwegian public, “because,” as the Foreign Ministry wrote, “that would look rather stupid in the Norwegian press.” Apparently Muslims abroad are more deserving of respect than one’s own citizens.
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/722

Oops, messed up the formatting. But at least we are still allowed to post the truth by our government.

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	From: jen_m Feb-7 4:35 pm To: ALL Poll (1 of 79)
	5350.1
	Do you think it was appropriate to publish one of the cartoons from the Danish newspaper? Yes 120 votes (85%) No 22 votes (15%) 142 people have voted so far Your vote was Yes on 2/10/2006 3:47 pm

I was trying to find out how the protest turned out today for the Philadelphia Inquirer. No news. But there is a poll. Just added one more "yes" vote for free press.

[ExplodedMind]

Aplomb: It's now 124 yes, 22 no.

We are "Trans-Axing" the poll.
Heh.
I like it.

EM

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Good advice printed in The Brussels Journal:

The Welsh flag maker, Mr Flag, has issued a warning to the fanatics,

“We have experienced a rise in orders for the Danish colours,” owner Robin Ashburner confirmed. But he warned, “It has to be pointed out though that a number of modern flags are now made largely of polyester and when they burn they melt. That means if they are whirled around by a protester, his or her fellow protesters could be splashed by flying pieces of burning material. If it got into the eye it could do serious damage so we are about to issue a warning to this effect on our website.”

Indeed here is the warning:

For safety reasons we don’t recommend that you burn our flags, but if you absolutely MUST, please do so with due regard to those around you. Polyester fabric melts when put to the flame and will spatter high-temperature droplets of molten polyester if swung around.

That such a thing might happen, blinded by their own rage perhaps?

http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/800 Was that written in English?

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Thanks for voting EM. I don't know how that works but I hope that nobody can change my vote from my post. I haven't hit it myself just in case it works.

I remember that many years ago we called newsprint cartoons "funnies". Well, it's not so funny to insult people or religion, it's rude and hurtful and sometimes deadly. I don't know when that term stopped being used, but I haven't found much funny in cartoons for years. What is funny is that these terrorists are insulted by having their prophet/spiritual leader depicted as a terrorist and then they, themselves proving the point.

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Brian wanted to hear from some moderate Muslims. Thanks to The Jawa Report http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/156601.php there is commentary from and about them. Distinctions are made among liberal, moderate, and extremist Muslims. I can't seem to get a portion of it posted here, so if the subject interests you, please read it there. A link from the site:

Posting in fairness to the otherwise fearful silenced Muslim voices: http://www.sorrynorwaydenmark.com/

We Are Sorry

In the middle of all the mayhem surrounding the Danish cartoons controversy, a group of Arab and Muslim youth have set up this website to express their honest opinion, as a small attempt to show the world that the images shown of Arab and Muslim anger around the world are not representative of the opinions of all Arabs. We whole-heartedly apologize to the people of Denmark, Norway and all the European Union over the actions of a few, and we completely condemn all forms of vandalism and incitement to violence that the Arab and Muslim world have witnessed. We hope that this sad episode will not tarnish the great friendship that our peoples have fostered over decades.

The problem with media representation of such issues tends to be that the media only picks up the loudest voices, ignoring the rational ones that do not generate as much noise. Voices that seek tolerance, dialogue and understanding are always drowned out by the more sensationalist loud calls, giving viewers the impression that these views are representative of all the Arab public’s view. This website is a modest attempt at redressing this wrong. We would appreciate it if you could forward the word to as many of your friends as possible.

We will note that we find the cartoons to be incendiary, insulting and very abrasive. We also take issue with the general stance of the Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which has a reputation for publishing inflammatory material. Yet, it would be wrong to take away their freedom of expression, regardless of how horrid their material is. We affirm our belief in freedom of expression and people’s right to express whatever opinions they hold. However, at the same time there is a need to realize that freedom of expression is a responsibility that should not be used to gratuitously insult people’s beliefs.

When confronted with such a situation, we deplore the use of violence in all its forms, as well as threats of violence and derogatory and racist remarks being thrown in the opposite direction. We condemn the shameful actions carried out by a few Arabs and Muslims around the world that have tarnished our image, and presented us as intolerant and close-minded bigots.

Anyone offended by the content of a publication has a vast choice of democratic and respectful methods of seeking redress. The most obvious are not buying the publication, writing letters to the editor or expressing their opinions in other venues. It is also possible to use one’s free choice in a democracy to conduct a boycott of the publication, and even a boycott of firms dealing with it. Yet an indiscriminate boycott of all the country’s firms is simply uncalled for and counter-productive. We would be allowing the extremists on both sides to prevail, while punishing the government and the whole population for the actions of an unrepresentative irresponsible few.

We apologize whole-heartedly to the people of Norway and Denmark for any offense this sorry episode may have caused, to any European who has been harassed or intimidated, to the staff of the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Embassies in Syria whose workplace has been destroyed and for any distress this whole affair may have caused to anyone.

There is a strong tradition of friendship and cooperation between the Norwegian and Danish people and Arab people. Of most note is the continued support that these governments give to the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom and liberation, and the brave stance that these governments have often taken to defend Palestinian rights. We sincerely hope these special bonds will not be broken. We hope that our Scandinavian friends would not be convinced by the actions of a few to believe that this is how Arabs and Muslims feel about them. There are racists, bigots and criminals in all countries, and it is the duty of the respectful and reasonable to reach out to each other.

Let us hope that instead of emboldening the bigots, this sorry affair will bring all open-minded, tolerant and reasonable people from the Arab, Muslim, Norwegian, Danish and European communities together to unite in a continued struggle of reason against prejudice, open-mindedness against bigotry and humanity against racism.

Good apology, if you can believe it. Well-worded for a bunch of teens, though. Not to mention appreciating ties with other countries not generally the thing on the minds of young people.

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So there is this cartoonist in Ohio critical of the supression of the news...
Fair and Bland

Click image to enlarge.
CNN pixilated the cartoons that set off a world wide Muslim temper tantrum. If the cartoons are a distortion of Muhammad then CNN has distorted a distortion. Guess we'll never know what all the fuss was about.
Most of the mainstream media in the U.S., other than Fox News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York Sun, took a pass on showing the cartoons. Editor and Publisher has a story on the media refusal to publish the cartoons.
It seems little arrogant for a religion to demand that the whole world play by its rules. And a little wimpy for most of the American media to go along with it.
Christopher Hitchens considers the incident proof of "an aggressive intent". http://blogs.ohio.com/chip_bok/2006/...and_bland.html

...In addition to several comments on his blog which appear to be written by people who haven't read the cartoon and who are responding as part of an organized campaign or who are willfully obtuse, he's coming under fire from the local CAIR committee:

Several Northeastern Ohio Muslims and community leaders met Friday to express their concerns about the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have ignited outrage and violence.

At issue are the caricatures published in the European press -- work that many U.S. newspapers decided against publishing. The group also took issue with a cartoon inked by Beacon Journal editorial cartoonist Chip Bok.

Bok said he did not draw his cartoon with intentions of offending Muslims and has defended his right to free press.

But Muslims on Friday said Bok's cartoon was disrespectful and demeaning.

The level of hurt, they said, was deeper since it was in the local paper.

``It pained me to know that the Beacon Journal printed its own editorial cartoons that sought to challenge the beauty of our community by bringing hate into its pages,'' said Rabbi David Lipper, of Akron's Temple Israel.

...Julia A. Shearson, director of Ohio's Council of American-Islamic Relations, said they want the Beacon Journal to apologize for running the ``unethical'' cartoon and want the paper to publish their letters to the editor.

And there was nothing "hateful" or "unethical" about that cartoon. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Here it should be noted that not one of the critics seems to be able to explain what it is that makes this cartoon hateful and unethical. They should be held to a higher standard than just name calling if they're going to demand retractions and apologies. Especially since they present themselves as community leaders.

It's pretty clear that the object of Bok's ridicule was CNN, not Islam, and not Islam's respected prophet. So now our community leaders are linking hands with CAIR to demand that people not criticize the media? It should be interesting to see how the paper responds tomorrow in its editorial pages. (They don't run editorials on Saturdays.)

But the most disappointing aspect of the whole ginned up controversy is the intellecutally lazy acquiescence of religious leaders of all faiths from the region. A rabbi is quoted in the newspaper. On Bok's blog, many of the irate commentors describe themselves as mainline Protestant leaders who are saddened that their "long years of hard work" have been ruined by this cartoon. (They all use the same phrase, coincidentally.) We expect hyperbole from activist interest groups like CAIR, but it's a sad day when men and women who pride themselves in reason and understanding let themselves be used like this to promote hatred and intolerance.

UPDATE: In the comments, a request for an address to send support to cartoonist Bok. The letters-to-the-editor email address is vop@thebeaconjournal.com. To be considered for publication, they request your name, address, and phone number. You can send words of support directly to Bok at his blog.


posted by sydney on 2/11/2006 01:54:00 PM2
http://medpundit.blogspot.com/2006/0...-my-towns.html

Thanks Michelle Malkin! This is from her site also:

"Where is the world with all its agencies and organizations? Is there only freedom of expression when it involves insults to Muslims? With one voice...we will reject the apology and demand a trial," Al Riyad, a Saudi daily newspaper, quoted al-Seedes (imam, Mecca) as saying.

Dream on.

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Snip of some of Mark Styen's spot on writing:

Toon-deaf Europe is taking the wrong stand


February 12, 2006


And the good news is that that body's already on its way. The European Union's Justice and Security Commissioner, Franco Frattini, said on Thursday that the EU would set up a "media code" to encourage "prudence" in the way they cover, ah, certain sensitive subjects. As Signor Frattini explained it to the Daily Telegraph, "The press will give the Muslim world the message: We are aware of the consequences of exercising the right of free expression. . . . We can and we are ready to self-regulate that right."

"Prudence"? "Self-regulate our free expression"? No, I'm afraid that's just giving the Muslim world the message: You've won, I surrender, please stop kicking me.

But they never do. Because, to use the Arabic proverb with which Robert Ferrigno opens his new novel, Prayers for the Assassin, set in an Islamic Republic of America, "A falling camel attracts many knives." In Denmark and France and the Netherlands and Britain, Islam senses the camel is falling and this is no time to stop knifing him.

The issue is not "freedom of speech" or "the responsibilities of the press" or "sensitivity to certain cultures." The issue, as it has been in all these loony tune controversies going back to the Salman Rushdie fatwa, is the point at which a free society musters the will to stand up to thugs. British Muslims march through the streets waving placards reading "BEHEAD THE ENEMIES OF ISLAM." If they mean that, bring it on. As my columnar confrere John O'Sullivan argued, we might as well fight in the first ditch as the last.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn...t-steyn12.html

Actually, it's rather "funny". Read it all.

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This is one of the better posts in the forum response to the Philadelphia Inquirer poll that I provided above. Mostly the thread is arguing but not a whole lot of info. I have a reliable source stating that this tidbit of expla
nation is by our Anomalies mod Ace Briggman. Way to go, Ace!

From: Ace01 11:16 pm To: jen_m unread Poll (112 of 112) 5350.112 in reply to 5350.2 In answer to the questions: The point has been proven by the Danish press. Moreso than they probably intended. People are afraid of being killed by radical Muslims. The request was sent to 40 illustrators because there was not anybody willing to do that work for a children's book. Only 12 illustrators took the challenge. And the majority of those did not draw anything to put their lives in danger. Yet they all are now in hiding with bounties on their heads. It truly has been shown all over the world that it is dangerous to say anything that may be offensive to extremists. Yes, it was completely acceptable for this paper to publish one of the cartoons. Actually it would have been proper to publish the 12 and the fakes that were added in by Danish imams to enrage the masses of overseas Muslims which were never even published in Jyllands-Posten's publication. What the Inquirer wished to do was to show what was so upsetting that people would go off kidnapping, rioting, burning down embassies, and killing people over. Islam has shown itself to be the relgion of intimidation. Our press has proved itself to be cowardace in addition to it's usual leftist slant and disrespect toward Christianity and Judaism. While I can agree that to publish the cartoons puts a journalist in danger, I cannot agree with the self-sensorship by our American news media that submits to intimidation when the going gets rough. And think about it; if the freedom of press is no longer free due to fear, that should be all the more reason to boldly expose terrorism and start backing our leaders who are doing something about it. Our soldiers are fighting this war on terror so that we have the freedoms that we take for granted. Freedom isn't free. New York Times, CNN, et al, you are all doing a disservice to your readers and your viewers in giving more respect to terrorists who murder as a part of life than to our soldiers who are dying for you and for your right to speak up.

http://forums.philly.com/n/mb/messag...s&msg=5350.102

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You've gotta see this video. And as you might expect, the presence of the Americans standing there causes a problem. "Someone is provoking us. That's the problem." Having taken part in a number of protests myself, when the opposite view is just standing there, that is not provocation. It is clear that what is preceived as provocation is considered justification for retaliation. http://no-pasaran.blogspot.com/2006/...come-face.html
Sunday, February 12, 2006

Islamic Protestors in Paris Come Face to Face with an Unexpected Counter-Protest

posted by Erik @ 12:49 PM


"An eye for an eye! A tooth for a tooth!" Echoing protests around the world and wearing all kinds of costumes from the Middle East and the Muslim world, 4,000 Islamic demonstrators march through Paris denouncing the cartoons and the alleged (and convenient) lack of respect towards Islam.

When they arrive at La Nation, they are met with two figures wearing slightly different costumes and slightly different signs.

One, in red and white, is (silently) wearing a sign with the Danish flag saying "Support Denmark, Support free speech". Besides (silently) wearing a sign reading "Free Cartoonist" on it, the other, the founder of the BAF protest warrior-type organisation, is holding a (fake) severed hand, a pen among its fingers.

Voices start to ring out. "It's provocation!" "You tread on 1.5 million Muslims!" "Connards!" "Rat faces!"

"Ignore them, they are idiots!" reply others as a crowd starts to press around. A rhetorical question rings out: "Would they be carrying out the same provocations in other types of demonstrations?!" (Actually, Monsieur, yes we would and yes we have.)

The Danish American feels like replying that they have done the same to Chirac, to Mitterrand, to the civil servant salons, and to union demonstrations, but suddenly he and the French American start moving away. What has happened is that a short blonde Frenchwoman has tugged on their sleeves and gently but firmly started pulling them away.

"I will show you my ID 10 meters from here" says the plainclothes cop. "They are going to lynch you!" she adds, as she leads us into another street (in the movie taken by our valiant camera team, you can briefly see her wearing a brown coat, right after a bearded guy in white cap and tan jacket says "They are provoking us" and the camera turns).

"Sons of adultery!" "Hey, you two sons of the whore!" Uniformed policemen join us and start rushing us, more and more quickly down the street (I don't want to run, I tell them), with a growing crowd quickening their steps. A police van's door opens. "Go! Go!" shouts a policeman to the driver, "Foncez!" as sirens wail and the van rushes ahead.

"Are you out of your minds?!" ask the two officers. "Do you know how many of them there were?!" "Somebody's got to stand up for free speech", replies the French protestor. After staying with us for 20-something minutes, they let us out. (As a departing farewell, I say, "You know, right before you came, we almost had them surrounded.")

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