'It's unacceptable provocation'
04/02/2006
www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1875295,00.html
Vatican City - The Vatican has made its first official comment on the caricatures of the prophet Muhammad that have sparked outtrage among Muslims, saying "certain forms of criticism" represent an "unacceptable provocation".

The Vatican statement read: "The right to freedom of thought and expression ... cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers.

"Human co-existence demands a climate of mutual respect, to favour peace between men and nations.

"Furthermore, certain forms of extreme criticism or derision of others shows a lack of human sensitivity and can in some cases constitute an unacceptable provocation."

The cartoons, first published by a Danish newspaper, have caused a furor across the Muslim world. Islamic law is interpreted as forbiding any depictions of Islam's holiest figure.

Papers in several European countries have reprinted the cartoons in support of freedom of expression.

In Gaza City, hundreds of Palestinians marched through the streets on Saturday, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags to protest the cartoons.

The Vatican condemned such protests: "The offense caused by a single person or an organ of the press cannot be blamed on the public institutions of the relevant country.

"Violent actions of protest are therefore likewise deplorable."

And now, for something completely different

Cartoons, Clinton, Kofi, Allah,
Absence of humor
John Burtis
February 4, 2006
www.canadafreepress.com/2006/burtis020406.htm
It is now reported that protests have broken out all over the Arab world demanding immediate redress over the increasing problem of free speech and the publication of a series of cartoons which depict, so I’m told due my lack of fluency in both Danish and Arabic, Islam in an unfavorable light.

These cartoons, which were originally posted last September in Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten, caused quite a stir at the time and have been picked up for reprints in a growing number of European countries, brave enough to defy intimidating Muslim calls for their further banning.

Normally cartoons are relegated daily to the in-and out-boxes of free speech, but in the case of anything having to do with Islam, increasingly so even in America, freedom of expression need not apply and encroaching political correctness dictates that the wishes of the local Muslim leaders should be allowed to trump free expression in every case.

Islam, happy go lucky Islam and its associated cross-currents of Wahhabism and radical Islamist thought, seems to be associated of late, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, with televised beheadings, kidnappings, the bombings of weddings and tourist destinations, improvised explosive devises designed to kill indiscriminately, Fatwas and calls for mass murder by imams and commoners alike, the trampling of human and civil rights across their sphere of influence, the traffic in human slavery, public executions and other sordid goings on.

And thanks to the like of al-Jazeera, these lurid clips are routinely brought into our homes for our viewing pleasure. In our slippers, with the kids in bed, with a beer and chips on a side table, and with the use of TiVo we can discern the latest in the techniques employed in Islamist slaughter, judge them for their degree of difficulty, note the wry camera angles, discern the growing abilities of the producers, gape at the latest habiliments of the executioners and delight in the many replays of a deft beheading.

We are also bombarded for weeks on end with the promised atrocities and the plans for a promised 12th century feudal system to be visited on us by the triumvirate of Messrs. Zarqawi, al-Zawahiri and Br’er Osama of the bin-Laden family. These cruel jokesters continually offer our gruesome destruction, further attacks on our homeland and the enslavement of our people on VHS tapes, all to the tune of a cheery background set of Pan pipes and in front of a nice clean, and probably freshly ironed, silk sheet.

But toss a cartoon or two into this wild, wooly and volatile mix of mayhem, murder and threats of untold violence and, bingo, Islam has a problem with the West for casting their religion in an unfair light and for, oops, letting that dreaded double-secret bugaboo, that favored tool of the Democrats, discrimination, out of the bag.

The imams advised the Danish government that they’d like to practice their religion without, "being provoked or discriminated" against, in other words, for the Danes to apologize for the publication of the dreaded cartoons and stop any further ideas of future caricatures along the same line and to admonish the artists. There were unverified reports that calls for their public stoning by the zealots were downplayed by the more relaxed of the least exercized imams involved, who later said that similar demands for an immediate beheading were way off the mark.

So, let’s see if I get this right. Saw off a guy’s head on TV with a long knife --excellent. Show a sobbing kidnapped woman on TV and threaten to kill her--fine. Chop off a few heads in the square--neato. Bury a few thousand folks in a mass grave--delightful. Use poison gas on indigenous people--a simple demonstration of power. March through town with missiles on the way to slaughter the unfortunate--just great. Threaten to destroy Israel-- terrific. Read a few verses from the Q’uran on TV then blow up a bus of commuters--a martyrdom operation and all part and parcel of the good book. Raise your children to kill the Infidels, unbelievers and apostates--a wise and beautiful choice. See all of this day after day--no complaints from the imams.

But print a few cartoons in the local paper--a horrifying and unnerving experience and one that must be stamped out by using what ever means, coalitions and forces necessary by the same imams, with no humor at all.

And just when you thought the whole idea of the pot calling the kettle black couldn’t get any more weird, along comes that overly talkative and omni-present eminence gris himself, the big he, Bill Clinton, to join the growing fray about free speech--and coming down against it, of course.

Fresh from his lengthy and delicious power nap through the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Khobar Towers and the USS Cole (and not remaining content to call President Bush to task for starting democracy in Iraq, as he did in Dubai last November, where he stated, "I don’t agree with what was done."), Big Bill has now gone on record this past Monday in Doha, Qatar, condemning the use of the cartoons, calling them, "…anti-Islamic prejudice," and, "appalling."

Bill, come on, buddy, oh, sorry, I know, the poor dog. But Bill, seriously, are you really going to tell us that you honestly don’t see a psychic disconnect in the madcap rumpus over a few paltry cartoons and the wasting of untold thousands of people in the recent name of Islam, or are you playing to the crowd again for your needed fix of immediate worship, to be garnered this time from the anti-American Arab street?

Adding his own timely and acute wisdom to the set-to and to the demonstrative genius of President Clinton, the often troubled Kofi Annan -- dogged of late by his blue bereted hoodlums and their rape accusations, his increasingly scandal plagued procurement organization, the heedless mountebanks in the monstrous Oil-for-Food disgrace and his son’s own rampant, repetitive and unrepentant flim-flams--has now advised the world community that freedom of the press and expression is to be curtailed rather than risk needling a religion with the acute sensitivity of an Islam.

Of course Kofi has dozed through so many inconceivable acts of genocide, has slept through so many astonishing acts of Islamic barbarism and has ignored so many heart-wrenching and piteous calls for help from the disaffected that his ears are, by now, only attuned to those crises which pass muster on the scale of the truly enormous--like cartoons.

So here we are, damning cartoons while the murderous zealots associated with Islam slit throats, behead and perform other brands of torture to their hearts’, if they have them, content.

Sadly, in tossing freedoms--won at such high cost against similar blood thirsty pariahs of the past--around like so much cheap shoddy disposable baggage, we find our two old friends united in common cause again--Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan.

The former wants to be Secretary General and would offer the world nothing better in administration, would say anything and think nothing of tossing away a liberty or two for empty applause, however reed thin and fleeting; while the latter has become a joke, a smiling banal bounder in a tailored suit, who remains indifferent to the monumental corruption and unbounded greed of his own criminal organization, deaf to the cries of the murdered, and as a result of his own dismal failures in stewardship, ever more sensitive to the feelings of the killers.

Yet, in the end, both Bill and Kofi share an increasingly vital concern over the use of cartoons and their absence of humor.

John Burtis is a freelance columnist living in New Hampshire.

Yeah - I saw those statements a few days ago, and took both Bill Clinton and the Pope off my Christmas card list.

The Vatican statement read: "The right to freedom of thought and expression ... cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers.

Wow, no freedom of THOUGHT?

Christ, I have to write another letter to the archbishop?

First about my new fucking stupid Bishop and now over this.

Well, I just lost respect for the man in the coolest hat ever.

I want to see the Vatican's statement on mulsims everywhere burning of the Danish flag, which is a Christian cross!



Of course, I'm not going to hold my breath.  The papists have always hated us, ever since we joined the Reformation.  There are WAY more muslims in Denmark than there are Catholics, after all.  

Reason #97 why I don't go to church.  And I am happier for it.

My guess is that it is just the Catholic clergy trying to draw attention away from their proclivity for sexually assualting young boys.

So, let’s see if I get this right. Saw off a guy’s head on TV with a long knife --excellent. Show a sobbing kidnapped woman on TV and threaten to kill her--fine. Chop off a few heads in the square--neato. Bury a few thousand folks in a mass grave--delightful. Use poison gas on indigenous people--a simple demonstration of power. March through town with missiles on the way to slaughter the unfortunate--just great. Threaten to destroy Israel-- terrific. Read a few verses from the Q’uran on TV then blow up a bus of commuters--a martyrdom operation and all part and parcel of the good book. Raise your children to kill the Infidels, unbelievers and apostates--a wise and beautiful choice. See all of this day after day--no complaints from the imams. But print a few cartoons in the local paper--a horrifying and unnerving experience and one that must be stamped out by using what ever means, coalitions and forces necessary by the same imams, with no humor at all.

Beautifully put.  This sums up the entire situation nicely.

Quoted: Quoted: I want to see the Vatican's statement on mulsims everywhere burning of the Danish flag, which is a Christian cross! www.livefoods.co.uk/images/mixed.jpg

TOO funny.....chirp

What's funny is that if it had been a cartoon of the Pope with wolf-ears guarding a flock of wool-covered boys, they and everyone else who was offended would be called zelots, religious crusaders, extreamist anti-speech madmen, Christian Taliban, etc... if they were to call it the same when it was aimed at them.  The press would have collectively told them to "shut-up" and this would be a non-issue.

Free speech is good... unless it's too critical of religion.   Sounds like a little of the 'ol "the enemy of my enemy.....".

What Would Reagan Do?

Quoted: So, let’s see if I get this right. Saw off a guy’s head on TV with a long knife --excellent. Show a sobbing kidnapped woman on TV and threaten to kill her--fine. Chop off a few heads in the square--neato. Bury a few thousand folks in a mass grave--delightful. Use poison gas on indigenous people--a simple demonstration of power. March through town with missiles on the way to slaughter the unfortunate--just great. Threaten to destroy Israel-- terrific. Read a few verses from the Q’uran on TV then blow up a bus of commuters--a martyrdom operation and all part and parcel of the good book. Raise your children to kill the Infidels, unbelievers and apostates--a wise and beautiful choice. See all of this day after day--no complaints from the imams. But print a few cartoons in the local paper--a horrifying and unnerving experience and one that must be stamped out by using what ever means, coalitions and forces necessary by the same imams, with no humor at all. Beautifully put.  This sums up the entire situation nicely.

Indeed it does.  But I've been assured by every limp-wristed public figure to deal with these issues that this is only a "tiny minority" involved.  It's as funny to me as adding "not that there's anything wrong with that" to every sentence that mentions a gay person.

Hmmm, these same people who are crying for tolerance and not to offend certain religious factions...I wonder if they'll still be blabbing when some mohammed is lopping off their head, slowly and painfully.

I wonder as that last gasp of air floats over their voicebox, if they'll still be defending them?

Sad days...deadly days....

The next Crusades I believe will be here soon....

Quoted: What Would Reagan Do?

... ah.. ah..

better.. what would ghengis khan do....

delenda est islamo...

Quoted: What Would Reagan General "Blackjack" Pershing do?

There, I fixed it for you.

I guess the Pope won't like this either.  

Fuck 'em I than think things and say anything I want about a particular religion, culture or race.  

yeah, but it's still free speech, protected free speech.  Surely the Pope doesn't get un-nerved everytime some muslim depicts him with devil horns.  Gimme a break, half of the outrage was manufactured by the imans and the rest were just unemployed and pissed about life in general.  You could reproduce the same thing in South Central if enough gang bangers were sober.

The offensive cartoons were not an indictment of mohammed, there were an indictment of the followers of mohammed that have demeaned any good in islam through their acceptance and encouragement of barbaric beheadings and suicide bombings of innocents, "in the name of islam".  Israelis and the US may have killed innocents but they are not targeting them.  If you're of the ilk that says, what's the difference, well, Western society may take a while but they'll eventually get fed up with it and deal with it in a way that's crystal clear.

Quoted: The papists have always hated us, ever since we joined the Reformation.  There are WAY more muslims in Denmark than there are Catholics, after all.

You give yourself a bit too much credit.

No offense, but if I went to my church and did a poll, I don't think anybody would be thinking anything about Denmark. I mean, other than this recent stuff, Denmark ain't really on the radar for most of humanity.

Saying "the papists hate us 'cause of the reformation" if like saying "we shouldn't annoy the Muslims because of the Crusades". It was a long time ago. Most of us don't care.

Quoted: Quoted: The papists have always hated us, ever since we joined the Reformation.  There are WAY more muslims in Denmark than there are Catholics, after all.   You give yourself a bit too much credit. No offense, but if I went to my church and did a poll, I don't think anybody would be thinking anything about Denmark. I mean, other than this recent stuff, Denmark ain't really on the radar for most of humanity. Saying "the papists hate us 'cause of the reformation" if like saying "we shouldn't annoy the Muslims because of the Crusades". It was a long time ago. Most of us don't care.

It was meant partly in jest, and I guess I used the wrong smiley  Sorry - at least I know I can offend you without you burning down my house or cutting my head off.  

I'm not saying Catholics dislike Danes, I'm saying the Vatican leadership don't really care very much at all about a country that turned its back on them hundreds of years ago, and only has a few thousand Catholics living there.  Do you REALLY think the Vatican would have responded in the same pussy PC-manner if these cartoons had been published in Spain, or some other majority-Catholic country?

Of course the Vatican doesn't REALLY hate Denmark , but I've never seen any evidence that they care much more about the Danish Protestants than they do about Muslims, and that's too bad - because in many ways this IS a clash of cultures and religions, and I'd like to see the Christians stick together, and agree on things like the importance of individual liberty and freedom of the press.  

Burn baby, burn.

Wonder which Arfcommer's gonna be the first to make a website, slander their prophet, and post his home address to see what they do.

Hmmm........

Why is it that non-Islamic countries are told to be more tolerant and to change their behavior anytime they talk about Islam. While at the same time it seems the Islamic people are encouraged to march in the streets with signs advocating death to everyone that isn't muslim.  Why are the muslims 100% exempt from having to be tolerant towards others?  Which is easier to be tolerant of "free speech" or "killing everyone who isn't muslim"?  If the muslims can't even tolerate free speech then there is no point in ever making deals with them or trusting yet.

I dont understand why so many people give a rat's ass what the Pope or Bill Clinton think about anything.
One is only the figurehead of a religion, and the other is the blowjob president. Why does anyone give a flying fuck what they think?  

Quoted: Why is it that non-Islamic countries are told to be more tolerant and to change their behavior anytime they talk about Islam. While at the same time it seems the Islamic people are encouraged to march in the streets with signs advocating death to everyone that isn't muslim.  Why are the muslims 100% exempt from having to be tolerant towards others?  Which is easier to be tolerant of "free speech" or "killing everyone who isn't muslim"?  If the muslims can't even tolerate free speech then there is no point in ever making deals with them or trusting yet.

What he said.

What I don't get is that the news keep saying that the cartoons insult Mohammed.  How can he be insulted -- he's dead.

Religious fundementalism makes people say and do weird things.  

Quoted: at least I know I can offend you without you burning down my house or cutting my head off.

I do get really bored on Thursday sometimes.

Wow.  Catholic church is pro- Free Speech!

Er, well as long as you don't say or think anything that might be offensive to someone else anyways...

Quoted: Quoted: I want to see the Vatican's statement on mulsims everywhere burning of the Danish flag, which is a Christian cross! www.livefoods.co.uk/images/mixed.jpg

Good one, Vito!

Quoted: Quoted: at least I know I can offend you without you burning down my house or cutting my head off.   I do get really bored on Thursday sometimes.

In any event, please accept my apology for poorly wording my post earlier.  

Quoted: Wow.  Catholic church is pro- Free Speech! Er, well as long as you don't say or think anything that might be offensive to someone else anyways...

Gotta disagree with this, are you really worried about riots or beheadings if you say the wrong thing to a Christian?

Quoted: Wonder which Arfcommer's gonna be the first to make a website, slander their prophet, and post his home address to see what they do. Hmmm........

Hmmm........what are the laws regarding ambush of criminals?

or

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