Pope Attacks Media for ‘Distorted Morals’
TIMESONLINE: Pope Benedict XVI today said the media were too often used irresponsibly to spread "violence and vulgarity" and impose "distorted models" of social and family life. He urged the world's communicators instead to adopt what he called "info-ethics".

In a message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Communications Day, Pope Benedict said the media often sought to create reality rather than report it, with agendas dictated by "the dominant interests" of the day. "This is what happens when communication is used for ideological purposes or for the aggressive advertising of consumer products. When communication loses its ethical underpinning and eludes society's control, it ends up no longer taking into account the centrality and inviolable dignity of the human person" he said.

He added "For this reason it is essential that social communications should assiduously defend the person and fully respect human dignity. Many people now think there is a need, in this sphere, for 'info-ethics', just as we have bioethics in the field of medicine and in scientific research linked to life." He said the media "in order to attract listeners and increase the size of audiences, do not hesitate at times to have recourse to vulgarity and violence and overstep the mark". Pope attacks media for ‘distorted morals’ >>> By Richard Owen in Rome

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Pat Condell: O Dhimmi Canada!

Hat tip to Always On Watch for this excellent video.

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Cowardice at the Highest Level: Holland ‘Governed by Fear of Islam’
THE TELEGRAPH: A politician has warned that a "fear of Islam" is governing Holland after he delayed the release of a short film attacking the Koran.

Geert Wilders, 44, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, who compares the Muslim holy book to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, sparked government panic after saying the anti-Islam film would be released tomorrow.

As Dutch police prepared for a weekend of riots and Mr Wilders was told by the authorities that he would have to leave country, he launched a new attack on "intolerant" Islam while announcing that his 10-minute film attacking the Muslim faith would be postponed for two weeks. Holland 'governed by fear of Islam' >>> By Joan Clements in The Hague

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

”Sarkonami”
Photo of Carla Bruni courtesy of Google Images
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Sex, politics, fame and public office: Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, the president and the pop star, are everywhere these days. It's the latest soap opera from the cradle of modern democracy.

Every French television news program is reporting the same story these days, while a look at the Internet or the morning papers offers fewer surprises than a croissant and a café au lait: "Are they married?" "Will Carla travel with him to India for a state visit?" "A secret honeymoon in Italy?"

The stories about the private amours of French President Nicolas Sarkozy continued to circulate (more...) over the weekend. There wasn't a single rumor or bit of speculation about the president and his new girlfriend that wasn't being printed, broadcast or downloaded somewhere in France. By this point, it should come as no surprise that the French president's omnipresence in the media has finally reached a saturation point. "It's a veritable 'Sarkonami,' a tidal wave that washes away everything in its path; his appearances are practically drowning us," the Catholic newspaper Le Croix wrote derisively. "Soon we will need only three television shows every day: Sarko in the Morning, Sarko at Noon and Sarko in the Evening."

Nevertheless, the spin doctors at the Élysée Palace continue to dream up new episodes of the Sarko Show, using the marketing rules of the previous evening's programming as their guideline. "We are here so that we can spend the next five years writing a story with the French," says Cathérine Pégard, the president's PR advisor and media trendsetter. The script for this love story between the people and their sovereign is updated daily. "To be truly in touch with the French people, Sarkozy must be as mobile as possible," says Pégard, "which is why he is compressing the episodes, thus creating the impression of doing many things at the same time, or at least more than most people." 'Sarkozy Is Busy Dismantling the Fifth Republic' >>> By Stefan Simons in Paris

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Barack Hussein Obama? Just Another “Machine Politician”!
Barack Hussein Obama
THE FIRST POST: Hope and change? The Illinois senator is offering nothing new, argues CHARLES LAURENCE

So, Barack Obama looks more and more like a Hillary Clinton-beater after a national Zogby poll published yesterday puts him within a tantalising point of the former First Lady. And his prospects seem all the better because he is taking votes from Hillary's core support of women and blacks, while appealing to a new generation of young voters.

Obama has hijacked Bill Clinton's pitch of 'Hope and Change', and it is working on Americans who take their politics from bumper stickers and paid TV spots. But do they know really who they are voting for?

The 46-year-old Senator from Illinois says he is the Washington outsider. Really? He may have only a couple of years' Senate experience, but his greatest asset is a well-calculated role in the Democratic Machine. From Illinois to Iowa, he has always kept ahead by staying in line with the power brokers and casting the right vote, or none at all.

He claims to be committed to change. But he flip-flopped on President Bush's 'war on terror' Patriot Act, which curbs civil liberties, targets immigrants and has unleashing domestic spying. At first - in 2003 - he joined the chorus condemning it as a step towards the prediction that "when fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." By 2006 he was voting for its re-authorisation.

At least he voted: he has abstained on an astonishing 166 issues to avoid leaving a trial which might impede his presidential ambitions.

He once told the National Organisation of Women that he did "not support" the repeal of the Defence of Marriage Act. But with gay and new-generation votes at stake, he now believes "in the need to fully repeal the Defence of Marriage Act". In Chicago, he wanted to ban handguns. Now he supports gun 'freedom'. Once he opposed capital punishment. Now, inevitably, he wants more care taken with the lethal injections.

This is not change; this is business as usual, the careerist maneuvering of an oily old-style politician, albeit dressed in a fresh coat of paint. Obama is just another machine politician >>> By Charles Laurence

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death for Insulting Islam
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The Taliban-style intimidation of Afghan newspapers came to the surface after a journalist was sentenced to death for distributing an article deemed to have "insulted Islam".

Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh's crime was to have passed around a piece taken from a website questioning why Muslim women cannot have multiple husbands in the same way as their menfolk can legally take four wives.

Mr Kaambakhsh, who works for "The New World", a newspaper in Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, was prosecuted for downloading this article, apparently gleaned from an Iranian website, and distributing it to his friends.

On Tuesday, a court found him guilty of "insulting Islam" and sentenced him to death. Afghan journalist gets death for insulting Islam >>> By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Government-Backed Awards Rejects 'The Three Little Pigs'
DAILY MAIL: A story based on The Three Little Pigs has been rejected by a Government-backed awards event because it might offend Muslims... and builders.

The digital book, retelling the classic children's tale, was criticised by judges who said "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

They also claimed the award-winning CD-rom, entitled The Three Little Cowboy Builders, might "alienate parts of the workforce (building trade)".

The "virtual" book is designed for use on computers and interactive whiteboards and aimed at primary school children.

Its publishers, Shoo-Fly, insist there is nothing offensive in it. 'Three Little Pigs CD' banned from Government-backed awards for offending Muslims and builders >>> By Sarah Harris

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Dutch Unilever Director Wants Wilders Stopped
BRUSSELS JOURNAL: “Geert Wilders is evil, and evil has to be stopped.” These are the words of Doekle Terpstra, a member of the board of directors of Unilever Nederland. Last week Mr Terpstra founded an Anti-Wilders Movement. He told De Telegraaf newspaper (2 December): “It is important that the indigenous Dutch, too, rise in order to stop Wilders.” Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch multinational which manufactures and sells nutrition, hygiene and personal care products on five continents.

Geert Wilders is the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV). He is an outspoken opponent of Islam and is living in hiding following death threats by Jihadists. Mr Wilders was one of the victors of the November 2006 general elections when his new party won 9 out of 150 seats in the Dutch Parliament. Recent polls indicate that the popularity of Geert Wilders’ PVV is increasing.

Mr Wilders has been accused of “Islamophobia” after calling the Koran a “fascist” book. He wants the Koran to be outlawed in the Netherlands because it “incites to hatred and killing and therefore has no place in our legal order.”

Last week Mr Wilders announced that he is launching a movie about Islam next month. Doekle Terpstra responded, saying the politician was abusing freedom of speech. Mr Terpstra launched an appeal to his countrymen to stop the PVV leader from preaching his “evil message.” To De Telegraaf, the largest paper in the Netherlands, he said that “Geert Wilders is evil, and evil has to be stopped.” Following Mr Terpstra’s appeal the death threats against Mr Wilders have intensified dramatically. In Gouda anti-Wilders activists painted swastikas and the slogan “Wilders must die” on the walls of a school.

Meanwhile pro-Wilders groups have begun a boycott of Unilever products because Mr Terpstra, though a former leftist trade unionist, is today a member of the board of directors of Unilever Nederland. Dutch Unilever Director Wants Wilders Stopped >>> From Thomas Landen

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Wilders: Cabinet Fears Prove Islam's Intolerance
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE, 24/01/08 - In an open letter in newspaper De Volkskrant yesterday, Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders criticised the commotion over his Koran film. With their panicky reactions, politicians and authorities are proving that Islam is an intolerant ideology, in his view.

Wilders uses half of his letter to sketch a contrast between Islam and Christianity. "Imagine that (...) it became known that I was going to make a film to demonstrate the Fascist character of the Bible. Say that I had urged in a letter a few months earlier that the Bible should be banned. (...) Would Premier Balkenende then (...) have spoken of a serious crisis with international effects? Would there (...) have been a special meeting of ministers? Would the chief editors (...) in public broadcasting have conferred about how to deal with the film?" (...) "Of course not."

Wilders summarises a further catalogue of things that would "of course not" have happened if he had criticised the Bible. "But now that my film is not about the Bible but about the Koran, government, media, Muslims and others have been in a state of hysterical panic for weeks." There are two explanations for this, according to Wilders.

"Firstly, Islam is an intolerant ideology (...), within which there is no room for matters like self-reflection and self-criticism. Nor does there appear to be any room for individual responsibility and self-control. (...). Secondly, there is a question of fear. The emergency scenarios (of authorities) illustrate the state of panic within the Dutch government at the moment." (...) "It is not the cabinet (....) but the fear of Islam that governs the Netherlands."

"The fact that a not yet shown film of about 10 minutes could according to some lead to economic boycotts, riots and other horrible things says everything about the nature of Islam. Nothing about me. The cabinet acknowledges with its panicky reaction that Islam is not comparable to Christianity, but is a unique ideology. And this ideology thus demands a separate, unique approach. The Koran film has thus already demonstrated its usefulness."

The National Anti-terrorism Coordinator has warned Wilders that he may have to leave the Netherlands temporarily after the appearance of his anti-Koran film, Wilders added in the letter. The film will appear in "a few weeks," said the PVV leader. [Source: Wilders: Cabinet Fears Prove Islam's Intolerance >>>]

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Saudi Arabia Eases Laws on Solo Women
BBC: The authorities in Saudi Arabia have decided to end a ban on unaccompanied women staying in the country's hotels.

A woman can now stay in a hotel alone as long as she carries identification.

Based on a royal decree, the move marks a break from religious codes requiring women to be accompanied by a male guardian at all times.

The decree allowed the Ministry of Trade to outline new regulations simply requiring women to show photographic ID to hotel managers.

This must then be registered with local police.

The decision was reported by the local daily al-Watan newspaper, which is considered close to the Saudi government, on Monday. S Arabia eases laws on solo women >>>

THE TELEGRAPH:
Saudi Arabia to lift ban on women drivers

BBC:
Senior Saudi royal demands reform

BBC:
Campaign for release of Saudi blogger

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Omar bin Laden Wants Bush – bin Laden Talks
MSNBC: CAIRO, Egypt - President Bush doesn’t need to capture Osama bin Laden, he needs to talk to him, the terrorist leader’s son, Omar bin Laden, told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer on Tuesday.

Wearing a black, leather biker jacket, black polo shirt and faded blue jeans and with his long hair pulled back in tightly braided dreadlocks, Omar bin Laden, 26, spoke via satellite from Cairo with his 52-year-old British wife at his side. The fourth-oldest son of the world’s most wanted man has recently been in the media, saying he wants to use his name to be an “ambassador for peace” between Islam and the West. While he has renounced his father’s methods, he does not call him a terrorist.

“They do some meeting and talk together,” he said in heavily accented English of Bush and Osama bin Laden, suggesting that a meeting could be facilitated by other world political and religious leaders. “Find the middle ground between everybody – that’s my goal, to find it for every civilian people,” he said. Bin Laden’s son urges talks to bring peace: Al-Qaida leader’s kin says dialogue may be best way to end violence >>>

MSNBC INTERVIEW:
Omar bin Laden Wants to Bring Peace to the World!

PRESS TV:
Bin Laden son wants dad-Bush talks

ABC NEWS:
Bin Laden's Son Wants to Make Up for Father's 'Mistake': Omar bin Laden Left Afghanistan After Six Years' Training as al Qaeda Fighter

NEWSBUSTERS:
ABC Reporters Fawn Over Bin Laden Son and His 'Curious Proposal'

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

The Myth of Islamic Civilization

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

”Wilders Should Leave the Netherlands”
EXPATICA: The National Coordinator for Anti-terrorism advised politician Geert Wilders that it might be a good idea for him to leave the Netherlands temporarily after the release of his film on the Koran.

AMSTERDAM - National Coordinator for Anti-terrorism Tjibbe Joustra has advised politician Geert Wilders that it might be a good idea for him to leave the Netherlands temporarily after the release of his film on the Koran. ”Wilders should leave the Netherlands” >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Let Us Reason Together

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Does ‘Islam’ Mean Peace?

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Who Is Allah?
Hat tip: Always On Watch for drawing this to my attention:


Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Nervousness in the Dutch Expat Community because of Geert Wilders’ Film
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Dutch people living abroad are worried about the effects of right-wing politician Geert Wilders' anti-Qu'ran film. In recent weeks Dutch embassies have been busy making emergency plans, a move which many people have judged as an over-reaction. However, Dutch expats in Islamic countries in particular say that they are already having problems as a result of comments made by Wilders and that they are beginning to fear for their personal safety.

More than 1000 Dutch participants in Radio Netherlands Worldwide's World Panel - all of them living outside the Netherlands - have responded to questions put to them about the commotion surrounding the Wilders' film, which has yet to be released. 

The Dutch embassies' fears of a possible violent reaction seem to have escaped the attention of the majority of the respondents. However, of those living in Islamic countries, nine percent say they had been approached by or received relevant information from their embassy.

For the rest, most of the Dutch expats seem fairly calm and believe the media have devoted too much attention to Mr Wilders' comments. Furthermore, there was no talk of any of them returning - temporarily or otherwise - to the Netherlands in connection with this issue.



Danger


Geert Wilders, leader of the new Freedom Party, has been major news in the Netherlands for weeks with his anti-Qu'ran film, even though no one has seen a single second of it and it's not yet known where and when it will be released. 



For many people, though, they simply have think back to what happened following the release of Theo van Gogh's film Submission in 2004. He was killed by an extremist Muslim several months later. 



Many Dutch expats are concerned about their own position and no fewer than nine out of ten believe that Wilders' has put his own life in danger too. Around half of the respondents to the RNW survey warn that Dutch firms could soon be boycotted as a result of the film. 



A somewhat smaller percentage fears that there could also be attacks on Dutch targets. However, the most remarkable finding concerns the number of Dutch citizens in Islamic countries who say they are already facing problems or even danger in connection with Geert Wilders: 43 percent.

Politics

Even in Islamic countries, however, the majority of the expats who responded to the survey believe that Wilders should be able to say whatever he wants and that the Dutch government should not take action against the film. While they think that his statements are indeed polarising Dutch society and offensive to a large group of people, nearly two-thirds believe that he is only saying what most people think. Wilders and his film worry Dutch expats >>> By Perro de Jong

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

On Geert Wilders
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: "Wilders, Wilders, Wilders" screams another full-page article over Dutch Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders in today's Volkskrant. This time however de Volkskrant is not reporting about the Dutch media, but about the media in Muslim countries.

According to Gulsen Devre who has been working in the Egyptian capital Cairo for the past year as correspondent for islamonline.net, an international Islamic website, "Here they hardly know anything about the film made by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wilders is getting all the attention". She says the Wilders effect first surfaced last February when he introduced his ‘ripping up the Qu'ran plan': "If Muslims wanted to remain in the Netherlands they had to rip up the half of the holy book."

De Volkskrant writes that the Dutch woman of Turkish origin was surprised how well-informed Egyptians were about Wilders. Now his plans to make a film about the Qu'ran have led to even more attention in the Egyptian media. She says much of the image of the Netherlands is being formed by the Freedom Party leader. "While many Dutch people have an extreme image of the Muslim world, many Egyptians have the same kind of image of the Netherlands. They think it must be really awful for Muslims to live in the midst of people such as Wilders."

Wilders spreading through virtual Muslim world at 'speed of lightning'


De Volkskrant reports that Wilders' ‘provocations' are spreading through the virtual Muslim world ‘at the speed of lightning'. "All of his statements - from the banning of the Qu'ran to that comparing the Prophet Muhammad with Hitler - are getting a lot of attention. They are being reported in quality newspapers and forum users air their rage on the Internet. " The paper writes that while coverage in serious media such as Al Jazeera is usually fairly balanced "the Netherlands still doesn't look so good".

The ultra-conservative Iranian newspaper Keyhan had a full-page anti-Dutch article in December that described the Netherlands as "the cultural NATO against Islam". A member of a pro-democracy and human rights group in Iran told de Volkskrant that people in Iran and dictatorial Arab countries "don't make a difference between the government, parliament, political parties and the media. They don't understand that governments can't ban a cartoon or film."

Wilders scores big in hits on Arabic-language Internet


The newspaper Trouw has scanned the Arabic-language Internet and writes that "Wilders doesn't have anything to complain about when it comes to having his name recognised in the virtual Arab world." So far the populist MP can claim 66,000 hits on the Arabic-language version of Google, most of them concerning his controversial statements about Muslims and the Qu'ran. Dutch Press Review (January 22, 2008) >>> By Frank Scimone

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Simon Heffer Wants Out of the “Neo-Soviet Cartel” that is Europe
THE TELEGRAPH: For the avoidance of doubt - and I would never want you to have any of that - let me state where, for what it is worth, I stand on the European Union. I am against it. This is not a johnny-come-lately position. I have been against it since before we were in it.

I was against it when many of those now against it were actually rather for it. I can still recall the visceral disappointment when, in June 1975, we missed the chance to come out of it. I look at Third-World and collapsing economies such as Norway and Switzerland, and think wistfully of what might have been.

The root of my opposition is straightforward. I wish to live in a country that governs itself. I wish to vote for people who, if elected, have power to take decisions and to alter the policies with which we are governed. I am not sure that is too much to ask.

I grew up believing that was why my father and grandfather fought in two world wars. I have never understood why so many of our politicians, who bang on about "rights" and "democracy" when they stand in our elections seem quite happy to forgo the same where Europe is concerned.

What is the point of electing governments, if there are vital policies that they cannot alter? That to me has always been the clinching argument against our entering the single currency. We would be slaves to someone else's economic policy. David Cameron must take us out of EU treaty >>> By Simon Heffer

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
'Neo-Soviet Carte

Great Radio Broadcast!
Gathering Storm Radio Broadcast, last Friday, with Brigitte Gabriel
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Anti-Islam Film Scares the Hague
MIDDLE EAST TIMES: BERLIN, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The Dutch government is bracing for widespread violence that could be sparked by an anti-Islam film that its producer wants to broadcast sometime this week.

The film, financed by right-wing politician Geert Wilders, will reveal the Koran as a source of "inspiration for intolerance, murder and terror," Wilders said.

The anticipated screening has already sparked international protests.

Although no one has seen the film yet, there are rumors Wilders will tear up or burn the Koran in it. If that was true, Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, the Grand Mufti of Syria, said earlier this month at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, "this will simply mean he is inciting wars and bloodshed. ... It is the responsibility of the Dutch people to stop him."

On Monday, an Iranian lawmaker warned The Hague not to allow the screening of the film.

"If the Netherlands will allow the broadcast of this movie, the Iranian Parliament will request to reconsider our relationship with (the Dutch government)," said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the Iranian security and foreign policy commission, according to Iran's federal news agency IRNA. "In Iran, insulting Islam is a very sensitive matter and if the movie is broadcast it will arouse a wave of popular hate that will be directed towards any government that insults Islam."

The Dutch government seems to think in the same terms. It fears a crisis similar to the one sparked by the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in Danish -- and later European -- newspapers two years ago, when Danish products were boycotted, Danish embassies set on fire and dozens of people died in violent protests all over the world.

To be prepared for all eventualities, the Dutch government over the past days summoned its key ministers and officials linked to security issues. The Hague has compiled a secret document (which the Dutch media said it has obtained) detailing emergency measures in case of riots or attacks, including short-term evacuations of Dutch embassies and citizens from the Middle East. Apparently, imams in several large Dutch cities have already had to calm Muslims angry over the news of the film.

"We are ready to react quickly, it is our role to be prepared for calamities," Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende told journalists at his weekly news briefing.

While a state-funded TV station has already recalled its promise to air the movie, Wilders, the most prominent member of the far-right Freedom Party, or VVD, has vowed to broadcast his film -- on a smaller TV station or on the Internet via YouTube -- whatever the pressure may be. Analysis: Anti-Islam film scares The Hague >>> By Stefan Nicola

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Is this Sultry ‘Lady’, Carla Bruni, REALLY to Become the ‘First Lady of France’?
Photo of Carla Bruni courtesy of Google Images

EL PAÍS:
Carla Bruni

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Islam-West Rift Widens
BBC: Most people in Muslim countries and the West believe divisions between them are worsening, a Gallup poll for the World Economic Forum (WEF) suggests.

The poll also suggested that most Europeans thought more interaction with Islam would be a threat - though most Americans disagreed.

WEF chairman Klaus Schwab said the poll pointed to "an alarmingly low level of optimism" over dialogue.

It surveyed about 1,000 people in each of 21 countries, mostly in mid-2007.

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum begins in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

Cartoon controversy

Respondents were asked how they thought relations were now and how they thought they would develop.

Describing the position now, majorities on both sides said they did not believe the two sides were getting along.

This belief was strongest in the US, Israel, Denmark - where the publication of cartoons about the Muslim Prophet Muhammad caused worldwide controversy - and among Palestinians. Islam-West rift widens, poll says >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)