Andrew Sullivan on Danish Cartoon Crisis

Andrew Sullivan's on a roll today, with a good link to this British Muslim blogger speaking out against the protest movement, a history of Denmark during the Holocaust, and this email from a Dane disappointed at official American and British responses to the plight of an ally under attack:

As a Dane, I am very much apalled by the state of mind in much of the Muslim world. But I am frankly disgusted by such a comment as "frankly, it was a nice "fuck you" to Europe. I LOVED it". Denmark has been a steadfast NATO ally for half a century. My father sailed in the Danish navy, my uncles served in the Danish army, most of my friends were conscripted to serve in armed forces arrayed alongside America against Soviet despotism. I myself served as an artilleryman and was on watch on the eve when the Soviet Union finally fell.

Denmark was one of only four nations who answered the call, when the United States of America asked for the world to overthrow Saddam Hussein's violent regime. This very day our troops serve alongside yours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Quite frankly I expected that a Danish prime minister, who has invested considerable political goodwill in standing by an old ally, should have received more support from the American government and the American people. Learn some geography, history and diplomacy before you insult a nation committed to the fight for liberty and justice alongside the United States of America. Europe is not a single entity and some of us should have earned more respect than this. Despite our small size we try to hold our head high in the face of this anti-democratic onslaught. Will you not stand by us, as we have stood by you?"

Michelle Malkin on the Cartoon Jihad

Michelle Malkin has some more thoughts about the meaning of worldwide protests against the Danish Cartoons. Meanwhile, the BBC is reporting four are now dead in cartoon protests:

Demonstrators shouted "death to Denmark" and "death to France", and called for diplomats and soldiers from both countries to be kicked out of Afghanistan.

Both France and Denmark sent troops to Afghanistan as part of international efforts in the US-led "war on terror".

"They want to test our feelings," protester Mawli Abdul Qahar Abu Israra told the BBC.

"They want to know whether Muslims are extremists or not. Death to them and to their newspapers," he said.

Whew!

I was a little nervous picking a Super Bowl winner earlier. It made watching the Big Game with my family and friend (a former HS quarterback, and Seahawks fan) even more exciting. Even allowing for bad calls, and officials who must hail from Pittsburgh, the Steelers really won--by more than 6 points, too.

"Beginner's luck..." my friend said afterwards.

Daily Kos Blames Saudi Arabia for Danish Cartoon Crisis

While I've been speculating about Iran, the Daily Kos has posted charges that Saudi Arabia may be behind the Danish Cartoon crisis. I don't usually believe much I read on the Daily Kos, but this time I'd say the theory bears some looking into. It's not impossible--and if true, the Saudis and their agents would have committed acts of war in fomenting assaults on the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus and Beirut. In the old days, Gunboat Diplomacy doctrine would have called for Danes and Norwegians (and perhaps even the EU and/or NATO) to drop MOABs on Riyadh in a punitive response...

The Mohammed Image Archive

For some historical background to todya's Danish Cartoon Crisis, Roger L. Simon tipped us off to this online gallery of images of Mohammed--many done by Islamic artists.

Mark Steyn on Danish Cartoon Crisis

From the Chicago Sun-Times (ht Michelle Malkin):

Jyllands-Posten wasn't being offensive for the sake of it. They had a serious point -- or, at any rate, a more serious one than Britney Spears or Terence McNally. The cartoons accompanied a piece about the dangers of "self-censorship" -- i.e., a climate in which there's no explicit law forbidding you from addressing the more, er, lively aspects of Islam but nonetheless everyone feels it's better not to.

That's the question the Danish newspaper was testing: the weakness of free societies in the face of intimidation by militant Islam.

One day, years from now, as archaeologists sift through the ruins of an ancient civilization for clues to its downfall, they'll marvel at how easy it all was. You don't need to fly jets into skyscrapers and kill thousands of people. As a matter of fact, that's a bad strategy, because even the wimpiest state will feel obliged to respond. But if you frame the issue in terms of multicultural "sensitivity," the wimp state will bend over backward to give you everything you want -- including, eventually, the keys to those skyscrapers. Thus, Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, hailed the "sensitivity" of Fleet Street in not reprinting the offending cartoons.

Mob Burns Danish Embassy in Lebanon

Yesterday Damascus, today Beirut. BBC coverage here.

Amerikan Turk: Danish Cartoons Prove Pen Mightier Than Sword

This Turkish-American blogger says the Danish Cartoon crisis is tilting in favor of the Danish Cartoons.

My Super Bowl Pick

I don't know much about football, but I did watch the playoffs after the Army-Navy game. My pick is Pittsburgh to win, by at least 6 points. I really am not up to figuring out a better point spread. (Just checked online oddsmakers to learn Pittsburgh is favored by 4 points). My rationale is that Steelers just seem bigger and heavier. Of course, we'll all find out what happens tomorrow at 3 pm Pacific Time...

Link Between Iran Nuclear Crisis & Danish Cartoon Crisis?

Others may have already thought of this, but it seems to me that there may be a link between growing pressure on Iran over the nuclear question and growing violence and pressure against Europe on the Danish Cartoon issue.

Anyone who has seen the cartoons knows they are "tame" and not on their face offensive. Yet the organized and international nature of the protest would indicate state support as well as religious sensitivity. Given that the original offense took place four months ago, the outbreak of violence at this point raised the question:

What if this is a shot across the bow to the EU and the non-Muslim world that an attack on Iran could lead to the Muslim "street" exploding around the world?

Just a working hypothesis at this point--but all the more reason for the US and UK to take a stronger stand in support of the Danes, if true. For if this was a test, then the US and UK look like they have failed the test. They have been intimidated. And the Europeans, so far have not.

Which means military action, if it does take place, will require a great deal better diplomatic and public relations support than the Iraq war.

America and the West look like they are losing to the Islamists (whether they are really losing according to DoD "metrics" is not relevant). Embolded in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine; Iran and her extremist allies are no doubt feeling very cocky. Which would explain why embassies are burning in Damascus (anyone out there remember the recent signing of Syrian-Iranian defense agreements?)

Bush and company should not make the same mistake twice. They cannot afford to take America to war again while divided. That means US Democrats must be on board before any action takes place. One good move might be for Rumsfeld to resign in favor of a Democratic secretary of defense, someone like former Senator Sam Nunn, or Zell Miller, before starting any more wars.

Or, barring that, at least a totally competent and trustworthy Republican. My candidate--Rudy Giuliani.

UPDATE: This story from India's Sunday Express provides evidence for an Iran Nuclear-Danish Cartoon link:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today ordered the cancellation of economic contracts with countries where media have carried the cartoons, the isna news agency reported. The report said Ahmadinejad had ordered the creation of an official body to respond to the cartoons, saying the regime “must revise and cancel economic contracts with the countries that started this repulsive act and those that followed them.”

The decree also condemned the “the insult by certain western media of the prophet which shows the hatred towards Islam and Muslims of the Zionists who govern these countries and the absence of serious action by the leaders of these countries”. The body looking into reprisals will be headed by Iran’s commerce minister and include a deputy foreign minister, a deputy oil minister and a deputy industry minister, isna said.

Klinghoffer: A Letter from Denmark

Judith Apter Klinghoffer' Danish email correspondent isn't very happy with US waffling on the cartoon crisis:

A DANE TO US: WE STOOD BY YOU . . .

I received a very bitter email this morning from a Danish friend.

It hurt:

Thank you very much for your support, but alas there is aboslutely no reason whatsoever to thank the official US. Join the coalition of the "willing" (become a prostitute, it seems like now) as one of the very few civilized nations, get your young men killed in Basra and receive a knife in the back from the Bush-administration as a most civilized thank you. Shame on that crooked administration of slow readers in The White House.

And shame not only on Labor but on the British press, calling Jyllands-Posten "Der Stürmer" planning a new Holocaust, while Jack Straw is condemning us. Not exactly a new Churchill.

Shame on our two disloyal ex-allies. And shame on weak and fearful Annan and the UN The world's gone topsy-turvy: Germany and France show common sense, backbone and true loyalty. Our warmest thanks fly in the direction of Wolfgang Schäuble.

In London the demonstrators now emphasize, that there is no reason to apologize, we don't have to, it is not required, and it won't make any difference. The 12 cartoonists just must be executed - by us or else they can fix it, it will be beheading, they explain, sooner or later. Perhaps in ten years time. And then the whole matter is forgotten and DK can live in peace again.

Do not forget: Buy Danish!

Michelle Malkin Video on Danish Cartoon Crisis

You can download it here. (ht Instapundit)

Piss Christ v Danish Cartoons: Which Is More "Offensive"?

Ed Driscoll found out that the NY Times not only printed pictures of "Piss Christ"--the editors hired photographer Andres Serrano to work for the newspaper...(ht Instapundit)

Wikipedia on Danish Cartoon Crisis

There's a big Wikipedia website devoed to the Danish Cartoon controversy, here.

London Protester Baby Bonnet: "I Love Al Qaeda"

Jihad Watch posted this report on London's Danish Cartoon protest (ht Free Republic):

From the UK's Sun tabloid, covering the London cartoon rage demonstrations:

More than 400 protesters — including small children — carried placards scrawled with messages of hate. A baby girl even had “I Love al-Qaeda” on her bonnet.

The parents of pretty Farisa Jihad, 20 months, proudly proclaimed she is the youngest member of the terror group.

She was brought to the protest by her father Abu, 38. Next to her was a huge poster exclaiming: “Whoever insults a prophet, kill him.”

Another placard nearby said: “Britain you will pay — 7/7 is on its way.”

What will Britain pay for? The UK papers didn't reprint the cartoons.

The American Thinker on the Danish Cartoon Crisis

Martin Ostergaard reports from Denmark:

In September 2005, Jyllands Posten decided to publish 12 caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Muhammed, as a response to criticism of depictions of the Prophet in a book about his life. Several of the artists presented in that book did not want their names published along with it, for fear of retribution. The thinking behind Jyllands Posten’s bold move, was to show support for the artists and to make a statement about free speech.

Since then a small delegation of Muslim religious leaders who reside in Denmark have been on a tour of various Muslim states in order to bring attention to this fairly straightforward case. Unfortunately they did not stop at the facts.

Disinformation was fabricated in order to characterize the Danish population and government as fiercely anti-Muslim. Several new drawings were added likening Muhammed to a pig, as well as statements to the effect that Danish citizens were under the impression that the Prophet was a violent pedophile.

Suddenly a display of free speech had turned into blasphemous slander, which naturally enraged all of the Muslim world. Throughout all of this, several of the religious leaders responsible for the disinformation, had been feeding sweet words of reason to the Danish press with one hand and more disinformation to the Arab press with the other.

This has further outraged the Danish population, and with it, most of Europe, invoking many newspapers to print the caricatures or versions of them in protest. Even Muslim residents in Denmark felt like targets of unfair attention for what a small handful of men had done. In general most Danes seem to take comfort in the fact that news media and private citizens of other countries sympathize with us in this situation.

As of yesterday, February 3rd 2006, Abu Laban, one of the imams in the infamous disinformation delegation, spoke out in his weekly prayer meeting to hundreds of Muslims and representatives of the press, about calming the waters and working in unison to reach a mutually beneficial goal. A statement that is bound to be met with skepticism, considering his track record. Only time will truly tell if this turnaround is as sincere as the words indicated. In the meantime the Danish government will be looking into deportation and/or denial of reentrance for some of the imams in the delegation. Also further restrictions on immigration are possible within the near future.

Finally, rumors of new terrorist attacks being planned are reaching the news, and in light of recent events, many Danes have more than a passing fear that these will be brought against us. Paradoxically we are oddly distanced from the possibility at the same time, since this kind of threat has never before been a serious consideration.

It seems the gloves will be coming off.

Roger L Simon on the Burning of Syria's Danish Embassy

Roger L Simon argues that the burning of the Danish embassy in Damascus, Syria might prove to be a watershed.

Daryl Cagle on the Danish Cartoon Crisis

Reaction from working cartoonists can be found on Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index. He even has a letter from the editor of the Danish newspaper at the center of this storm:

Jyllands-Posten reporter Anders Raahauge was very helpful in getting us up to speed with the Muhammad cartoons story early on. I asked Anders for his comments from the center of the storm, about how things look from Denmark and the Jyllands-Posten now that the Muhammad cartoons story has evolved into a hurricane.

Hi Daryl

Well, apart from the major events, that you now finally get from the (news) agencies (latest is the embassy-fire in Damascus, with Syrian police not protecting the building), I can tell about the climate: the most liberal-left wing Danes can understand the Muslim reaction (suffering discrimination for so long etc.). Industry owners are wringing their hands about the trade-boykott, urging for apologies, they also - well some of them, (and) other "capitalists," stand tall and declare that any bill should be paid without whimpering; some principles are too dear to be sold out. And apart from that, they hold (that) the situation is like negotiating with terrorists who take hostages -you'll never see the end of it but only (see) new demands. So one may as well decline any surrender from the outset.

And the many Danes? Well, judging from the letters to the newspapers, the vast majority take this second stance. Enough is enough. We won't be dictated (to about ) How to behave in our own country; we are not going to settle things like they do in the Middle East-dictatorships ... Of course some Danes are pretty anxious, terror threats have been launched, but the mood is predominantly defiant, and people consider the case an eye-opener.

Your poor colleagues though: In London the demonstrators now emphazise that there is no reason to apologize, it is not required, and it won't make any difference. The 12 cartoonists just must be executed - by us or else they can fix it (themselves), preferably (by) beheading, they explain. And that can, as in the case of Rushdie, be sooner or later; perhaps in ten years time. Will the cartoonists ever get their lives back? ...

best

Anders

Roger Kimball on the Danish Cartoon Crisis

He quotes from The Belmont Club's analysis in The New Criterion.

There's also interesting stuff at Sisu

Ibn Warraq: Do Not Apologize

Just Observing quotes advice on how to handle the Danish Cartoon crisis, from a leading anti-Islamist in the Middle East:

A democracy cannot survive long without freedom of expression, the freedom to argue, to dissent, even to insult and offend. It is a freedom sorely lacking in the Islamic world, and without it Islam will remain unassailed in its dogmatic, fanatical, medieval fortress; ossified, totalitarian and intolerant. Without this fundamental freedom, Islam will continue to stifle thought, human rights, individuality; originality and truth.Unless, we show some solidarity, unashamed, noisy, public solidarity with the Danish cartoonists, then the forces that are trying to impose on the Free West a totalitarian ideology will have won; the Islamization of Europe will have begun in earnest. Do not apologize.

Charles Moore: Face Down Cartoon Terror Campaign

Writing in the Telegraph, Charles Moore points out that Jack Straw and Sean McCormack simply don't know the history of Muslim attitudes towards pictures of the Prophet:

There is no reason to doubt that Muslims worry very much about depictions of Mohammed. Like many, chiefly Protestant, Christians, they fear idolatry. But, as I write, I have beside me a learned book about Islamic art and architecture which shows numerous Muslim paintings from Turkey, Persia, Arabia and so on. These depict the Prophet preaching, having visions, being fed by his wet nurse, going on his Night-Journey to heaven, etc. The truth is that in Islam, as in Christianity, not everyone agrees about what is permissible.

Some of these depictions are in Western museums. What will the authorities do if the puritan factions within Islam start calling for them to be removed from display (this call has been made, by the way, about a medieval Christian depiction of the Prophet in Bologna)? Will their feeling of "offence" outweigh the rights of everyone else?

Obviously, in the case of the Danish pictures, there was no danger of idolatry, since the pictures were unflattering. The problem, rather, was insult. But I am a bit confused about why someone like Qaradawi thinks it is insulting to show the Prophet's turban turned into a bomb, as one of the cartoons does. He never stops telling us that Islam commands its followers to blow other people up.

If we take fright whenever extreme Muslims complain, we put more power in their hands. If the Religious Hatred Bill had passed unamended this week, it would have been an open invitation to any Muslim who likes getting angry to try to back his anger with the force of law. Even in its emasculated state, the Bill will still encourage him, thus stirring the ill-feeling its authors say they want to suppress.

On the Today programme yesterday, Stewart Lee, author of Jerry Springer: The Opera - in which Jesus appears wearing nappies - let the cat out of the bag. He suggested that it was fine to offend Christians because they had themselves degraded their iconography; Islam, however, has always been more "conscientious about protecting the brand".

The implication of the remark is fascinating. It is that the only people whose feelings artists, newspapers and so on should consider are those who protest violently. The fact that Christians nowadays do not threaten to blow up art galleries, invade television studios or kill writers and producers does not mean that their tolerance is rewarded by politeness. It means that they are insulted the more.

Right now, at the fashionable White Cube Gallery in Hoxton, you can see the latest work of Gilbert and George, mainly devoted, it is reported, to attacks on the Catholic Church. The show is called Sonofagod Pictures and it features the head of Christ on the Cross replaced with that of a primitive deity. One picture includes the slogan "God loves F***ing".

Like most Christians, I find this offensive, but I think I must live with the offence in the interests of freedom. If I find, however, that people who threaten violence do have the power to suppress what they dislike, why should I bother to defend freedom any more? Why shouldn't I ring up the Hon Jay Jopling, the proprietor, and tell him that I shall burn down the White Cube Gallery unless he tears Gilbert and George off the walls? I won't, I promise, but how much longer before some Christians do? The Islamist example shows that it works.

There is a great deal of talk about responsible journalism, gratuitous offence, multicultural sensitivities and so on. Jack Straw gibbers about the irresponsibility of the cartoons, but says nothing against the Muslims threatening death in response to them. I wish someone would mention the word that dominates Western culture in the face of militant Islam - fear. And then I wish someone would face it down.

Indigo Lake on Danish Cartoon Crisis

Jen's blog points out that blasphemy is everywhere in the US (not just in South Park), for example: Rock the Casbah is offensive to Islam.

So, Sean McCormack, Condoleeza Rice, and George Bush, fasten your seatbelts--it's going to be a bumpy ride...

Andrew Sullivan: Media Lie About Danish Cartoons

Andrew Sullivantells it like it is:

The Lie

One meme that deserves to be nipped in the bud is that the original Danish cartoons were somehow intended purely for offense. Since most American papers and magazines will not publish the cartoons, many people might actually believe this. In fact the context of the publication reveals a much more important point. From Wikipedia's summary:

The drawings, which include a depiction of Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, were meant as satirical illustrations accompanying an article on self-censorship and freedom of speech. Jyllands-Posten commissioned and published the cartoons in response to the difficulty of Danish writer Kåre Bluitgen to find artists to illustrate his children's book about Muhammad, for fear of violent attacks by extremist Muslims.

The point was to expose the bullying of Islamists. And boy, have the cartoons succeeded.

Michelle Malkin on Danish Cartoon Crisis

Her Washington Times column is directly on target in its explanation of why a Danish newspaper printed cartoons of Mohammed:

The newspaper was making a vivid editorial point about European artists' fear of retaliation for drawing any pictures of Muhammad at all. (Remember: It's been little more than a year since Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by an Islamist gunman over his movie criticizing violence against women in Islamic societies.)
A Danish author had reported last fall he couldn't find an illustrator for a book about Muhammad; the Jyllands-Posten editors rose to the challenge by calling on artists to send in their submissions and publishing the 12 entries received.
The reaction to the cartoons resoundingly confirmed fears those artists expressed about radical Islamic intolerance and violence. The Jyllands-Posten reported two illustrators received death threats and went into hiding. The Pakistani Jamaaat-e-Islami Party put a 5,000-kroner bounty on the cartoonists' heads. A terrorist outfit called the "Glory Brigades" threatened suicide bombings in Denmark over the artwork.
Despite how relatively tame the pictures actually are (compared not only to Western standards, but also to the vicious, anti-Semitic propaganda regularly churned out by Arab cartoonists), the drawings have literally inflamed the radical Muslim world and its apologists...First, they came for the cartoonists. Then, they came for the filmmakers and talk show hosts and namers of evil. Next, who knows?

She has more photos on her blog, http://www.michellemalkin.com.

More Forbidden Images of Mohammed...

...like this one from South Park, can be found on The Religious Policeman's website.

NY Times: We Won't Print Danish Cartoons

Well at least we know whose side people are on.

The NY Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, among other papers, published photos of "Piss Christ." At the time of the NEA controvery, their editorials denounced Christian fundamentalists. Today, they side with Islamist fundamentalists.

Here's Joel Brinkley's apologia in the New York Times:

Major American newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, did not publish the caricatures. Representatives said the story could be told effectively without publishing images that many would find offensive.

"Readers were well served by a short story without publishing the cartoon," said Robert Christie, a spokesman for Dow Jones & Company, which owns The Wall Street Journal. "We didn't want to publish anything that can be perceived as inflammatory to our readers' culture when it didn't add anything to the story."

In a midafternoon meeting on Friday, editors at The Chicago Tribune discussed the issue but decided against publishing the cartoons. "We can communicate to our readers what this is about without running it," said James O'Shea, the paper's managing editor.

Kudos to Brit Hume for showing the pictures on his Fox News show, shame on CNN for pixillating them. If I hadn't already cancelled my NY Times subscription a few years ago, I'd cancel it now.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Danish Cartoon Crisis

Theo van Gogh's collaborator posts these and other photos of posters from recent anti-Danish demonstrations on her website. She takes these threats very seriously...

Italian Newspapers Reprint Danish Cartoons

Links at FreeThoughts.com.

US State Department Q&A on Danish Cartoons

From Little Green Footballs:

QUESTION: Yes? Can you say anything about a U.S. response or a U.S. reaction to this uproar in Europe over the Prophet Muhammad pictures? Do you have any reaction to it? Are you concerned that the violence is going to spread and make everything just —

MR. MCCORMACK: I haven’t seen any — first of all, this is matter of fact. I haven’t seen it. I have seen a lot of protests. I’ve seen a great deal of distress expressed by Muslims across the globe. The Muslims around the world have expressed the fact that they are outraged and that they take great offense at the images that were printed in the Danish newspaper, as well as in other newspapers around the world.

Our response is to say that while we certainly don’t agree with, support, or in some cases, we condemn the views that are aired in public that are published in media organizations around the world, we, at the same time, defend the right of those individuals to express their views. For us, freedom of expression is at the core of our democracy and it is something that we have shed blood and treasure around the world to defend and we will continue to do so. That said, there are other aspects to democracy, our democracy — democracies around the world — and that is to promote understanding, to promote respect for minority rights, to try to appreciate the differences that may exist among us.

We believe, for example in our country, that people from different religious backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, national backgrounds add to our strength as a country. And it is important to recognize and appreciate those differences. And it is also important to protect the rights of individuals and the media to express a point of view concerning various subjects. So while we share the offense that Muslims have taken at these images, we at the same time vigorously defend the right of individuals to express points of view. We may — like I said, we may not agree with those points of view, we may condemn those points of view but we respect and emphasize the importance that those individuals have the right to express those points of view.

For example — and on the particular cartoon that was published — I know the Prime Minister of Denmark has talked about his, I know that the newspaper that originally printed it has apologized, so they have addressed this particular issue. So we would urge all parties to exercise the maximum degree of understanding, the maximum degree of tolerance when they talk about this issue. And we would urge dialogue, not violence. And that also those that might take offense at these images that have been published, when they see similar views or images that could be perceived as anti-Semitic or anti-Catholic, that they speak out with equal vigor against those images.

QUESTION: That the Muslims speak out with equal vigor when they see — that’s what you’re asking?

MR. MCCORMACK: We would — we believe that it is an important principle that peoples around the world encourage dialogue, not violence; dialogue, not misunderstanding and that when you see an image that is offensive to another particular group, to speak out against that. Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images, as anti-Christian images or any other religious belief. We have to remember and respect the deeply held beliefs of those who have different beliefs from us. But it is important that we also support the rights of individuals to express their freely held views.

QUESTION: So basically you’re just hoping that it doesn’t — I’m sorry I misspoke when I said there was violence, I meant uproar. Your bottom line is that both sides have the right to do exactly as they’re doing and you just hope it doesn’t get worse?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I —

QUESTION: You just hope it doesn’t escalate.

MR. MCCORMACK: I gave a pretty long answer, so —

QUESTION: You did. I’m trying to sum it up for you. (Laughter.)

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah. Sure.

QUESTION: A couple of years ago, I think it was a couple of years ago when, I think it was the Syrians and the Lebanese were introducing this documentary about the Jews — or it was the Egyptians — this Administration spoke out very strongly about that and called it offensive, said it was —

MR. MCCORMACK: I just said that the images were offensive; we found them offensive.

QUESTION: Well, no you said that you understand that the Muslims found them offensive, but —

MR. MCCORMACK: I’m saying now, we find them offensive. And we certainly understand why Muslims would find these images offensive.

Yes.

QUESTION: One word is puzzling me in this, Sean, and that’s the use of the word “unacceptable” and “not acceptable,” exactly what that implies. I mean, it’s not quite obvious that you find the images offensive. When you say “unacceptable,” it applies some sort of action against the people who perpetrate those images.

MR. MCCORMACK: No. I think I made it very clear that our defense of freedom of expression and the ability of individuals and media organizations to engage in free expression is forthright and it is strong, you know. This is — our First Amendment rights, the freedom of expression, are some of the most strongly held and dearly held views that we have here in America. And certainly nothing that I said, I would hope, would imply any diminution of that support.

QUESTION: It’s just the one word “unacceptable,” I’m just wondering if that implied any action, you know. But it doesn’t you say?

MR. MCCORMACK: No.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

Danish Cartoonists Go Into Hiding

According to The Times of London, Danish cartoonists have gone into hiding, afraid for their lives as a result of the international agitation against their published cartoons of Mohammed.

Strangely, I didn't hear any condemnations of the threats from Britain's Jack Straw or US State Department Sean McCormack.

Margaret Thatcher, on the other hand, stood up to terror and offered Salman Rushdie full-time police protection. She remembered what Bush and Blair have forgotten: Appeasement breeds aggression.

Roger L Simon on Denmark

From Astute Blogger:

WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE .... on the part of artists and writers!?

Has the WGA or PEN (or any other artists' or writers' organizations) voiced ANY support for the Denmark?

NOPE. They are as silent about this afront to freedom of expression as they were about the murder of Theo van Gogh. They SHOULD be as supportive to Denmark as the dozen or so European newspaper which have reprinted the cartoons in a fabulous display of solidarity with Denmark.

This blogger happens to be a former official of the WGA and PEN. That they are both silent on this issue does not suprise me in the slightest. Much of their membership is probably not even aware of it.

Clash of Civilizations Continues

Ghe Financial Times says rage against Denmark is still spreading:

Angry protests over newspaper cartoons of the prophet Mohammad continued to spread globally on Friday as Muslim leaders and politicians in Europe expressed mounting concern that the outrage could destabilise the multicultural continent.

In Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, protesters stormed the lobby of the Jakarta high-rise building housing the Danish embassy. Other incidents and protests were reported from Pakistan to the Darfur region of Sudan and the Palestinian territories, where European Union observers evacuated Danish and French nationals after gunmen had briefly held a German man in the West Bank on Thursday night.

In London, hundreds of Muslims marched from the Regent's Park mosque, one of the biggest Islamic centres in Europe, to the heavily protected Danish embassy, bearing placards declaring “Behead the one who insults the prophet” and “Free speech go to hell”.

The most serious religious clash since the 1989 Salman Rushdie affair erupted last September when Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten published 12 caricatures of Mohammad, the seventh-century founder of Islam, in protest at what it called “the rejection of modern, secular society” by some Muslims.

The debate only boiled over last month when European newspapers began reprinting the cartoons, considered blasphemous by many Muslims, sparking a fresh wave of protests in the Muslim world, including boycotts of Danish products and the recalling of ambassadors to Copenhagen.

Islamik Trossamfund, a small Danish Muslim organisation, has been accused of throwing petrol on the fire after its leaders toured the Middle-East circulating highly offensive pictures of Muslims that had never appeared in the Danish press.

Support Denmark.com

It's the pen v. the sword; bloggers and writers v. mobs and their fanatic leaders; free speech v. submission.

Denmark's supporters are rushing to their electronic pens, as one can see at websites like Support Denmark.com.

Palestinians Rage Against Denmark

Reuters reports from the Palestinian Authority:

"Whoever defames our prophet should be executed," said Ismail Hassan, 37, a tailor who marched through the pouring rain along with hundreds of others in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"Bin Laden our beloved, Denmark must be blown up," protesters in Ramallah chanted.

In mosques throughout Palestinian cities, clerics condemned the cartoons. An imam at the Omari Mosque in Gaza City told 9,000 worshippers that those behind the drawings should have their heads cut off.

"If they want a war of religions, we are ready," Hassan Sharaf, an imam in Nablus, said in his sermon.

About 10,000 demonstrators, including gunmen from the Islamic militant group Hamas firing in the air, marched through Gaza City to the Palestinian legislature, where they climbed on the roof, waving green Hamas banners.

"We are ready to redeem you with our souls and our blood our beloved prophet," they chanted. "Down, Down Denmark."

Will Danish Cartoons Spark World War III?

The BBC is reporting here and here and in a reader's forum here a worldwide "clash of civilizations" over those famous Danish cartoons of Mohammed.

Could this really spark World War III? It seems hard to believe that matters will get so out of hand--yet one remembers that a simple visit by Ariel Sharon to Jerusalem's Temple Mount sparked the Palestinian Intifada; the National Endowment for the Arts' funding of "Piss Christ" led to a Republican takeover of the US Congress; and Paris's kidnapping of Helen of Troy led to the Trojan War-- as well as a line that seems appropriate in relation to the Danish cartoon crisis:

"Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?"

Little Green Footballs has a slideshow of the cartoons, here. Bigger than what we posted below, and makes clear that they are not very nasty, as Andrew Sullivan described them, "tame" by American standards.

For another historical reference, see Voltaire's play Le fanatisme, ou Mahomet le prophète. Background on a banned Geneva revival, here.

More about today's calls to war at Little Green Footballs.

Human Events has posted a cartoon gallery here.

Financial Times story here.

Telegraph stories here and here.

More reason to like Sarkozy:

This from the Guardian: But not everyone was acquiescent. France's interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, said he preferred "an excess of caricature to an excess of censure".

African American Lives

I just loved watching this Henry Louis Gates PBS show tonight, part detective story, part science program, part inspirational saga, part history, part autobiography of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I am happy that PBS made it, every segment is interesting in a different way. Congratulations to everyone involved in a wonderful television series that has so many different levels that it is hard to talk about.

Putin Meets the Press

Meanwhile, back in the Kremlin, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin held a 3-hour press conference. You can read the full transcript here. Of particular interest to me was his answer to a question about Uzbekistan:

STEVEN GUTTERMAN (correspondent for the Associated Press, USA): During your presidency you said that Russia is a European country that shares European culture and values. But sometimes Russia supports certain opinions or a certain regime in the former Soviet Union which obviously does not share these values. For example, events in Andizhan and Russian support for Uzbekistan's actions during these events. Do you not think that these approaches are incompatible?

Thank you.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I do not think that these approaches are incompatible, especially since we know better than you do what happened in Andizhan. And we know who trained the people who ignited the situation in Uzbekistan and in that city in particular, where they were trained, and how many of them were trained. This does not exclude the fact that there are a great many problems in Uzbekistan, but it does exclude the fact that we take an approach in which we oscillate, or in which we could allow ourselves to shake up the situation in that country.

You probably know what the Fergana valley is and you know how difficult the situation is there, the population's situation and their level of economic well-being. We do not need a second Afghanistan in Central Asian and we shall proceed very carefully. We do not need revolutions there, we need an evolution which will lead to establishing those values you spoke about, but that will not encourage explosions like the ones we faced in Andizhan.

Also interesting was Putin's analysis of the Hamas victory in Palestinian elections:

MOHAMMED AMRO (Al-Jazeera): Mr President!

After Hamas' victory in the Middle East there have been certain statements from the west threatening to stop or diminish the help they give the Palestinian population.

Will your position on this issue change? And do you agree with the opinion that what is happening now in the Middle East is the failure of American diplomacy?

Thank you.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It is a big setback, an important setback for American efforts in the Middle East. A very serious setback.

I think that if we want to resolve these difficult global problems than we must only do so together and not invite the participants in the process to pull the chestnuts out of the fire, but rather sit down together and to listen to each other right from the beginning and to take corresponding decisions.

Our position concerning Hamas differs from the American and western European positions. The foreign ministry of the Russian Federation never declared that Hamas is a terrorist organization. But this does not mean that we approve and support everything that Hamas does and all the declarations that they have made recently. We think that it is one thing when this political force was the opposition and trying to get into power and we know that throughout the whole world very often the opposition makes very radical statements. It is another thing when it receives the people's vote of confidence and must make sure that the people who believed in this movement feel the positive results of their authorities' work. ves the people's vote of confidence and must make sure that the people who believed in this movement feel the positive results of their authorities' work. And for this it is necessary to leave behind the extremist positions, to recognize Israel's right to exist and to have relations with the international community.

We call on Hamas to do these things. In any case we would consider refusing to help the Palestinian people a mistake.

Of course, he spoke about the Russian-Ukranian gas showdown:

OLGA SOLOMONOVA (Trud newspaper): I have a question concerning Russian-Ukrainian relations in the gas sector.

It seems that everything had been resolved at the beginning of this year, that you agreed on everything. You met personally with Yushchenko. Everything seemed normal.

Now, as is well-known, Ukraine is once again starting to take gas outright and Gazprom is constantly increasing deliveries to Europe.

What is your impression of this situation?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: First of all I consider very positive the fact that we were able to agree with Ukrainian leadership on a common approach towards supplying Ukraine with Russian energy. It is positive both for our bilateral relations and for the energy situation in Europe and in the world.

And I consider that Ukrainian leadership took a courageous and correct step when it accepted these agreements. These agreements were a compromise and each party is satisfied with them. Along with this, you are correct. We agreed on everything, signed everything regarding prices, fixing prices, the volumes of deliveries. And despite all of these agreements and without any conflicts, we were faced with the situation in which a large amount of Russian gas is being siphoned off from the pipelines through which it is exported to Europe. During a cold period in Ukraine this amounted to 34-35 million cubic metres of gas per day. Gazprom wanted to remake these losses for western European consumers and unilaterally increased daily deliveries by 35 million. What happened next? Our Ukrainian partners continued to take 35 million daily in addition to the supplementary amount that Gazprom was delivering, that is 70 million cubic metres a day.

And now I would like to ask a question to those sceptics who didn't believe it was necessary to construct the Northern European Gas Pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Is this pipeline necessary to ensure a stable gas supply to western Europe or not? Whoever talks about this theme in the future must reflect on whose interests they have at heart, the interests of their own population or other interests that are difficult to justify. 

We expect that we shall be able to find an equilibrium in our relations with our Ukrainian partners. I am happy about the fact that, in contrast to previous years, our Ukrainian partners said straight out that they were taking this gas, there was no tentative to cover up, nor to distort the fact. It is important to us that we are paid for this gas according to the prices we agreed on. This can be done either at the end of February or in another way, seeing as the quantity of gas delivered to Ukraine, the quantity of Russian gas, is limited to 17 billion cubic metres a year. This means that at one point the total volume shall be determined and then we must agree on the new volume. But it is important that this is not hidden but discussed openly. I hope that these discussions will lead to a positive result.

The most Russian moment seemed to be this exchange with a reporter who covers the Russian automobile industry and asked to test drive the President's car:

FEDOR BYSTROV (Volga Press): ...And I have a second question if you do not consider it out of place: would it be possible to use your private car for a test drive? I think that many Russians would be interested to know what is in the President's car.
Well, using this opportunity, I would like to invite you to drive in a Togliatti.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Thank you, thank you for the invitation.
Which car would you like to receive? (excitement in the room)
FEDOR. BYSTROV: A Volga.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: A Volga?
FEDOR BYSTROV: Yes, I would like to do an article on a Volga.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Okay, fine, we agreed.

Like Putin, I'm surprised any reporter wants to test-drive a Volga . . .

We Have Lots More Danish Readers Now . . .

Buy Danish! Campaign Grows

From Little Green Footballs. The Danish article mentions Bang & Olufsen, perhaps of interest to some of our more affluent audiophile readers...

Ann Althouse on the State of the Union

Ann Althouse:

A nice, vigorous speech. Full of optimism and courage. Ack! Now the NBC commentators come on and talk first about the "deep divisions" in the room. The Republicans applauded a lot more than the Democrats. Isn't that disturbing? "We just plain disagree on every fundamental issue that is confronting this country," Tim Russert says in a dire tone. What can Bush get done? Very little! Hey, forget your damned optimism and get depressed fast, people.

Enough for me. I'm switching over the the TiVo'd "American Idol."

Switchgrass?

Listening to Bush's State of the Union speech, according to the New York Times written by my old contact at the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Bill McGurn (better than the average Bush speech, Bill!), the word switchgrass sounded strange.

Luckily, Jim Lehrer, who is from Texas, explained it to David Brooks on PBS afterwards, and I looked it up. Yep, it's a biomass fuel that can be made into pellets or ethanol and burned for energy instead of oil, coal, or gas. There's more at this University of Kentucky website

How do I invest?

Jill Carroll Still Alive

According to this CNN report, she's been shown crying and pleading on Al Jazeera television, asking for more Iraqis to be released in exchange for her life.

It's painful to watch . . .

James Na on Google's China Deal

The Asianist has some harsh words for the search engine giant's Chinese censorship plan, along with a link to this stinging animated cartoon by Mark Fiore

New Twist in Abu Hamza Case: Judge's Home Burgled, Laptop Stolen

And according to this story in the Daily Mirror, the laptop contained the judges' case-notes on Abu Hamza. Accordig to the Glasgow Daily Record, the judge maintains the theft is not related to Abu Hamza's case. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard is investigating.

Montgomery, Alabama Mourns Coretta Scott King

From the Montgomery Advertiser:

Montgomerians of all ages and races mourned Mrs. King, both as a neighbor in the late 1950s and as a leader advancing the cause of civil rights for decades after her husband’s death.

Thomas McPherson, vice-president of the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Foundation, said he was saddened by Mrs. King’s death, but glad for the work she’s done.

“I’m proud of the fact that Mrs. King, in her own right, has left a legacy that will serve as a guide and a motivator in the continuing struggle for equality,” McPherson said. “She was a woman of true character, of commitment and of loyalty to her husband.”

The Rev. Michael F. Thurman, pastor of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, recalled Mrs. King as a woman of incredible strength.

“My first meeting with Mrs. King was 25 years ago when I was in college at Morehouse in Atlanta, her husband’s alma mater,” Thurman said. “She was a very stately woman, very poised. I remember thanking her for the contributions she had made, the sacrifices she had made for this nation.”

Thurman said Americans will remember Mrs. King for her leadership in her years after her husband’s death and for the dignity she showed during her husband’s funeral.

“The footage from the funeral is etched in the nation’s mind,” he said.

Thurman said Mrs. King was left to pick up the pieces when her husband was assassinated.

“We failed to realize that his family paid a price. He was taken from his family at the age of 39. They had a dad and a husband who was the victim of a crime, who sacrificed his life. I’m sure his family endured a feeling of ‘Why us? Why did my family have to be the chosen one?’ For Mrs. King, it meant that she was left to rear her children as a single parent. She showed incredible strength to not only tackle the task of being a single parent but in the course of tremendous grief, she was able to make a contribution to further her husband’s vision, to continue to give life and meaning to his values.”

Danish Boycott Crisis Grows

According to this BBC report, the Danish paper in question has now apologized for offending Muslims, while defending its right to free speech. Here's the text of the apology (ht lgf):

Honourable Citizens of The Muslim World

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten is a strong proponent of democracy and freedom of religion. The newspaper respects the right of any human being to practise his or her religion. Serious misunderstandings in respect of some drawings of the Prophet Mohammed have led to much anger and, lately, also boycott of Danish goods in Muslim countries.

Please allow me to correct these misunderstandings.

On 30 September last year, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten published 12 different cartoonists' idea of what the Prophet Mohammed might have looked like. The initiative was taken as part of an ongoing public debate on freedom of expression, a freedom much cherished in Denmark.

In our opinion, the 12 drawings were sober. They were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize.

Since then a number of offensive drawings have circulated in The Middle East which have never been published in Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten and which we would never have published, had they been offered to us. We would have refused to publish them on the grounds that they violated our ethical code.

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten attaches importance to upholding the highest ethical standards based upon the respect of our fundamental values. It is so much more deplorable, therefore, that these drawings were presented as if they had anything to do with Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.

Maybe because of culturally based misunderstandings, the initiative to publish the 12 drawings has been interpreted as a campaign against Muslims in Denmark and the rest of the world.

I must categorically dismiss such an interpretation. Because of the very fact that we are strong proponents of the freedom of religion and because we respect the right of any human being to practise his or her religion, offending anybody on the grounds of their religious beliefs is unthinkable to us.

That this happened was, consequently, unintentional.

As a result of the debate that has been going on about the drawings, we have met with representatives of Danish Muslims, and these meetings were held in a positive and constructive spirit. We have also sought in other ways to initiate a fruitful dialogue with Danish Muslims.

It is the wish of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten that various ethnic groups should live in peace and harmony with each other and that the debates and disagreements which will always exist in a dynamic society should do so in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

For that reason, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has published many articles describing the positive aspects of integration, for example in a special supplement entitled The Contributors. It portrayed a number of Muslims who have had success in Denmark. The supplement was rewarded by the EU Commission.

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten takes exception to symbolic acts suited to demonise specific nationalities, religions and ethnic groups.

Sincerely yours
Carsten Juste
Editor-in-Chief

My own two cents is, why such sensitivity to hurt feelings over a Danish newspaper cartoon--but none to sermons in mosques, fatwas against Americans and Jews, and articles and cartoons in the Islamist press making all sorts of offensive statements? Is this a one-way or a two-way street? Does Denmark, or the US, or Israel, now have a right to demand that Saudi Arabia muzzle its imams, and censor Arab media? If so, when will this sensitivity begin to show itself?

Or, is the Danish case really more about an imposition of submission and craven kow-towing to Islam? In which case, it is not only a violation of freedom of speech, it is also a violation freedom of religion--the right to live free from Islamic law.

UPDATE: Here are the cartoons in question, from Samizdata.net:(ht AndrewSullivan.com)

Jeff Jacoby: Bush is Delusional

About Hamas' victory in Palestinian elections, says Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe (ht lgf):

Some of that delusion was on display at the White House on Thursday, when President Bush painted the Palestinian election as a ''healthy" exercise in civic reform:

''Obviously, people were not happy with the status quo," Bush explained. ''The people are demanding honest government. The people want services. They want to be able to raise their children in an environment in which they can get a decent education and they can find healthcare. And so the elections should open the eyes of the old guard there in the Palestinian territories. . . . There's something healthy about a system that does that."

Spare us, Mr. President. If a slate of neo-Nazi skinheads swept to power in a European election, would you say that the voters were seeking ''honest government" and ''services"? Palestinians are not stupid, and it insults their intelligence to pretend that when they vote to empower a genocidal organization with a platform straight out of ''Mein Kampf," what they're really after is better healthcare. Islamist extremism isn't needed to fix Palestinian hospitals any more than fascism was needed to make Italian trains run on time in the 1920s. If Palestinians turned out en masse to elect a party that unapologetically stands for hatred and mass murder, it's a safe bet that hatred and mass murder had something to do with the turnout.

By the same token, Hamas's new duties are not going to turn it into a moderate group of diligent civil servants. When violent Islamists win political power, their brutality and zealotry do not diminish. (See Khomeini, Ayatollah and Taliban, Afghan). The notion that Hamas now has ''a choice to make" is just another example of the delusional thinking that is so pervasive when it comes to the Palestinian Authority.

Konstantin: Punish Ukraine , Georgia for Supporting Dictators!

Konstantin's Russian Blog takes Anthony Robinson's anti-Gazprom Prospect Magazine article to task for supporting Turkmenbashi and Iran's Ayatollahs over Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin:

Gazprom’s compromise with Ukraine came at the expense of central Asia, whose gas can only reach western Europe through Gazprom’s Russian pipelines. While Russia is no longer subsidising Ukraine, the Turkmens and Kazakhs are.

Hold on, Anthony! Do you mean now that Ukrainian democratic government is helping dictators like Turkmenistan’s Saparmurat Niyazov remain in power as you stated in the previous passage? Shouldn’t the civilized world punish Yushchenko for his support of dictators? Should we condemn Saakashvili the Georgian for buying natural gas from Iran?

Interestingly, last time I checked, Stalin was more popular in Georgia than in Russia . . .

Support Free Speech--Buy Danish!

Little Green Footballs has suggested a "Buy Danish!" campaign to offset a threatened Islamist boycott against Danish goods. Fundamentalists objected to a published newspaper cartoon depicting Mohammed. The newspaper refused to apologize, citing freedom of the press and free speech principles. Next thing you know, reports came in that Saudi Arabian supermarkets were blacklisting Danish goods. Here's a link to an Arab News story about the boycott.

Meanwhile, I feel like joining the Buy Danish! campaign started by some contributors to the History News Network.

"BUY DANISH" ASK MY DANISH FRIENDS/ UPDATE

John Zimmerman is right. The Muslim countries have chosen to pressure liberal little Denmark in order to teach the media and governments, which stand by them, a lesson which does not bode well for free speech or satire. Kuwait has joined the Saudi boycott (the Saudi market alone is worth 1.2 billion) and I suspect the rest will follow. So, here is a plea from my Danish friends:

"If you Americans look with this great sympathy on our case, couldn't you then raise a consumer support of DK in the US? The opposite of a boycott. A movement of: "Buy Danish!" Please?

You can easily eat and digest all our famous Danish cheese at your millions of breakfast-tables from Seattle to Atlanta. Then the boycott (which is escalating fast down there now) will be harmless.

Well, we can and should. In fact the idea immediately occurred to the readers of Charles of LGF who was kind enough to post the news about the Saudi boycott on his popular site. They recommended you buy not only the always delicious Danish butter cookies but also:

Danish Havarti cheese

Carlsberg and Tuborg Beers.

Arla owns White Clover Dairy, a Wisconsin company so buy that brand. It comes under White Clover and Holland Farm.

Danish Crown hams ( DAK (sold at Sam clubs)... baby back ribs, because they come from Denmark.

You shop online at The Danish Foodshop and Danish Deli Foods.

You can also buy gorgious Danish porcelain and LEGO for the kids.

Gevalia coffee

So, I'll think I'll buy Carlsberg beer and Havarti cheese next time I'm in the supermarket. And LEGO makes a nice gift for children. To help out finding Danish products, here's a link to New York's Danish-American Chamber of Commerce for information about big-ticket items, if any of our readers have their own businesses and want to help the Danes out (Maersk shipping comes to mind)...

30 Years In The Making . . .

Ruth Caplin's new film Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, starring Joan Plowright, has just opened in Washington, some three decades after the writer first started work on her screenplay, based on a novel by Elizabeth Taylor (the British writer, not the actress). Moral of this story: Persistence does pay off.