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Down Under
Australia bends over and grab their ankles.
2008-03-30
AUSTRALIA has added its voice to the international chorus of outrage over an anti-Islam film posted on the internet by a right wing Dutch politician.
Oh, bother ...
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith today said Geert Wilders' film Fitna equated Islam with acts of terror and violence and was "highly offensive". "It is an obvious attempt to generate discord between faith communities," Mr Smith said. "Like leaders in the Muslim world and in Europe, I strongly reject the ideas contained in the film and deplore its release.
Even though he hasn't seen it ...
"In Australia we believe in the right to freedom of expression but we don't believe in abusing that right to incite racial hatred."
You're free to stand against racial hatred: that's right and noble. However, you can't use the power of government to silence dissenting voices, and you haven't yet proven that Fitna is racist.
Muslim nations, the European Union and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have all expressed outrage over the film, posted on the internet last week.

Iran and Bangladesh warned the film could cause grave consequences and Pakistan has protested to the Dutch ambassador. Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for Muslim nations to boycott Dutch products.

But Mr Smith echoed Dutch Muslim leaders' calls for restraint, saying the best response was a "calm and responsible one".
A rare commodity in the Unmah these days.
Fearing a repeat of violent clashes in 2006 that followed the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in Danish newspapers, the Dutch government has distanced itself from Wilders' 17-minute film.

The head of the Freedom Party, which has nine seats in the Dutch parliament, Wilders has also called for the banning of the Koran in the Netherlands, calling it "fascist".
Posted by:tipper

#24  I downloaded and viddied as well - thanks lotp. Also, CVF is currently working on translations. It'll be crude to some degree, but they're putting in their best effort. Euro speaks first (they're on the front lines)...English soon to follow. We have not yet begun to fight!
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2008-03-30 21:19  

#23  If your enemy is prone to anger, insult him.
Posted by: Neville Grusolet   2008-03-30 18:45  

#22  Imagine... no lefists around...

Leftism after age of 25 years is a mental disorder.
But it is not an infection, it is a self-inflicted contruct. One day, they would have to face the consequence of their refusal to mature. The times that are coming won't be "nice" and the consequences would be brutal.
Posted by: twobyfour   2008-03-30 18:06  

#21  " where is the Aussie pushback against this abject surrender?"

Howard gone, leftists in. There's your explanation.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-03-30 16:11  

#20  Zebulon - grunting out words does not make a thought.
Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967   2008-03-30 16:07  

#19  Australia is run by leftists and socialist and has been for a long while. Why would one expect anything different? Hell they don't even allow toy guns. (Airsoft)

Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom   2008-03-30 16:04  

#18  The Memphis Belle was propaganda too, doesn't make it wrong.
Posted by: Zebulon Angavick7428   2008-03-30 15:29  

#17  I saw a copy of the film that I downloaded last night. In some ways it is formatted like a propaganda piece, but mainly Geert Wilders has taken it and held it up like a mirror to show what so-called radical Islam really is. And the reaction from Islamists shows that he is fundamentally right in his assertions.

At the end of the film, he, in effect issues a challenge to Islam to reform itself and take the murderous tenants out of the Koran.

If the Islamic people don't do it, others will, once this madness hits a crescendo, and it will be settled, once and for all.

Like the Fram filter guy sez, "pay me now, or pay me later."
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2008-03-30 15:06  

#16  We can hope, TW. But if the Gorebot gets nominated and those on the right who hate McCain stay home, who knows?
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-30 14:47  

#15  I understand Viet Nam isn't all that enthused
Posted by: Frank G   2008-03-30 14:46  

#14  I think it's fairly safe to assume at this point that John McCain will win in November. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the world responds to that reality.
Posted by: trailing wife    2008-03-30 14:43  

#13  to me, it seems less important what the diplomatic corps says to smooth ruffled feathers and much, much more important whether or not the Dutch allow free speech to see the day.
Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967   2008-03-30 14:43  

#12  I agree that the West is approaching a tipping point. It has been obvious for a long while what Islam is to those willing to look. The rest divide into two categories: 1. those too self absorbed in their own concerns to be bothered or too narcissistic to understand what happened at Beslan or is happening in Israel every day, or 2. are fellow travelers.

The situation with our feckless leaders cannot continue. Nothing will change the fellow travelers, but at some point Muslims will commit an atrocity that cannot be ignored, and the rest will sweep away the leadership and follow any man on a horse who offers security.

What kind of man will he be?
Posted by: SR-71   2008-03-30 13:24  

#11  "It is an obvious attempt to generate discord between faith communities," Mr Smith said.

Mr. Smith has already memory holed Bali. It's them, not us doing the discord bit.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-03-30 12:45  

#10  But the real things have nothing to do with her MBA, only her bach.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-03-30 12:39  

#9  oy, not with the MBA stuff again! LOL

says this MBA who likes to think there are several real things she can do ...
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-30 12:30  

#8  The problem is our leadership cadre in all areas are MBA types. They don't know how to do anything real.
Posted by: 3dc   2008-03-30 11:34  

#7  You go! See, that's what I need to hear to cheer me up. ;-)
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-30 11:13  

#6  I don't think the West is lost yet. We're approaching a tipping point. At some point all these dhimmi's will be OBE, and revealed as wearing no clothes. Islam can't hide much longer.

I've downloaded Fitna in several different formats and I have been emailing to everyone I know. I'm even considering renting a small Art-House theater that seats about 200 and showing it. Anything to wake people up.
Posted by: Gloluper Gonque1016   2008-03-30 10:11  

#5  True, 'moose.

But where is the Aussie pushback against this abject surrender? Or the British? Or the German?

Where is the pushback against the onesided 'protect Muslims from criticism' resolution that was triumphantly cheered on by the Canadian UNcrat?

I'm not seeing or hearing the pushback we need on this sort of thing ... not nearly loudly enough or firmly enough or sufficiently widespread.

Or maybe it's just a bad morning here in Chez Lotp. I wonder: of those who saw Fitna, how many downloaded it and are *showing it to other people*?
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-30 09:48  

#4  Just because they can find one spineless, weak willed dhimmi in every country, does not mean the country as a whole is that way. On top of that, foreign ministers are diplomats who thrive on "deploring" anything that isn't sweetness and nice.

You can spit in one hand and "deplore" in the other...
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-03-30 09:38  

#3  "I strongly reject the ideas contained in the film"

Yeah, me too. Oh wait, I don't think we're talking about the same thing here...
Posted by: Parabellum   2008-03-30 09:25  

#2  Or perhaps that should be: it will be lost if we all don't do something about this sort of dhimmitude3.
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-30 09:11  

#1  Am I the only one thinking the West is pretty much lost about now?
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-30 08:01  

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