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| Europe |
| Dutch businesses mull suing Wilders over anti-Islam film |
| 2008-03-30 |
| Dutch businesses warned on Saturday that they would consider suing far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders if his anti-Islam film led to a commercial boycott of Dutch goods, while police said cars were set ablaze and graffiti called for Wilders to be killed. “A boycott would hurt Dutch exports. Businesses such as Shell, Philips, and Unilever are easily identifiable as Dutch companies. I don’t know if Wilders is rich, or well-insured, but in case of a boycott, we would look to see if we could make him bear responsibility,” Bernard Wientjes, the chairman of the Dutch employers’ organisation VNO-NCW, told the Het Financieel Dagblad newspaper. Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Muhammad on Saturday suggested a boycott of Dutch goods. “If Muslims unite, it will be easy to take action. If we boycott Dutch products, they will have to close down their businesses,” he told reporters. The media in Jordan has also called for such a boycott. Two days after the Internet release of the long-awaited 17-minute documentary “Fitna”, Muslim nations, including Malaysia and Singapore, and the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned it. Although there were no mass disturbances in the Netherlands, two cars were set ablaze in Utrecht overnight, with a slogan calling for the death of Wilders. Police said they could not say with certainty that it was connected to the release of “Fitna”. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 Anyone who has seen the film know they can go piss up a rope. Everything in the film is Muslim preachers talking, directly out of the Koran or actions taken by Muslims in accordance to their beliefs. There is very little out side commenting. These people ought to be boycotting their own religious leaders and beliefs then. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2008-03-30 16:19 |
| #8 Dutch businesses warned on Saturday that they would consider suing far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders if his anti-Islam film led to a commercial boycott of Dutch goods, while police said cars were set ablaze and graffiti called for Wilders to be killed. “A boycott would hurt Dutch exports whoa - talk about frick'n stupid! Were any business to sue Wilders because of a boycott resulting from his film, it would only result in a futher boycott of their own products by the Western world angry over their attempt to silence free speech. There is no amount of money they could get from Wilders that would justify the loss of sales and bad PR these companies would endure from their attempts to silence free speech. So in effect, they would lose both their Mulsim markets (due to boycotts due to the film) AND any remaining Western markets due to their attempts to silence free speech. Where do they find people this stupid? |
| Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967 2008-03-30 14:51 |
| #7 Wilders was wise to highlight the hatred of gays. Assuming any Dutch actually saw the video, that should catch their attention. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-03-30 14:48 |
| #6 Gee, the whole "Freedom of Speech and Expression" thingy in the Netherlands really went to shit in the last couple of years. I thought that was one of their core beliefs. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-03-30 14:46 |
| #5 Funny how they consider suing an elected representative arguing for their freedom but not the men calling for their death and ruin. And by "funny" I mean I hope they all die in a fire. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-03-30 14:04 |
| #4 It's a combination of fear and ostrichitis. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-03-30 07:55 |
| #3 I used to think that Euro support for Paleos derives from antisemitism. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-03-30 07:02 |
| #2 How can they call it anti-Islam? The film presents Islam in its own words. If anything, it reveals the anti-Western sentiments of Islam. The Euro's have a terminal case of denial and PC. |
| Posted by: Hupolurt Big Foot5682 2008-03-30 06:02 |
| #1 Dutch businesses warned on Saturday that they would consider suing far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders if his anti-Islam film led to a commercial boycott of Dutch goods And I thought US businesses were shortsighted. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-03-30 03:38 |