Geert Wilders has had his website, which promotes his anti-Islam film,
Fitna, shut down by it's host, Network Solutions. While I don't agree with some of Mr. Wilders
views*, I don't like what's going on here. Of course, he can move to a different host, though they aren't the only providers with clauses about "hate speech".
What I like even less is
this story (from January) that Network Solutions is registering domain names entered into their search site, to force interested parties into purchasing said domains from them instead of from a (less expensive) competitor.
However, when trying this myself with a couple of bullshit names (soundofnmnmnm, jesusisgoogly), both remained available after leaving and returning to the site. Either they've changed their tune, or have become good at filtering out bullshit names. The latter is unlikely since so many domain names sound silly to begin with (including my own).
Jesusisgoogly might have a couple of decent uses, but I'm gonna pass. As of this writing, though, it's up for grabs.
* www.fitnathemovie.info is still online and was linked above. It appears to be a mirror to www.fitnathemovie.com, though I never saw the offending site, so I guess I can't really say. Supposedly, the fifteen minute film will be viewable there.Labels: bullshit, Islam, movies, religion, terrorism, World Affairs
This is a bit disturbing.
The BBC has posted a story about a woman who has been convicted (in the UK) of possessing terrorist manuals and writing Jihadist poetry.
She had posted her poems on websites under the screen name the Lyrical Terrorist, prosecutors said.
Malik said the poems were "meaningless", but prosecutor Jonathan Sharp said: "These communications strongly indicate Samina Malik was deeply involved with terrorist related groups."
Police said they had found a "library" of Islamist literature in her bedroom including The Al-Qaeda Manual and The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook.
Sounds like guilt by association or consorting with witches. Not that I'm a big fan of Islamist groups, but I don't like this at all.
However... buried deep in the story was this little tidbit;
She also tried to donate money to a terrorist group.
That does seem like a serious charge and one worthy of jail time. The other stuff at best, should have inspired the authorities to keep a watch on her activities and those of her friends.
I just wonder if the other stuff was over played to generate more sympathy.
"She had the ideology, ability and determination to access and download material, which could have been useful to terrorists. Merely possessing this material is a serious criminal offence."Hmmm. Or not.
Labels: bullshit, civil rights, Fascism, Islam, media, politics
I tuned in last night to
Joe Scarborough's MSNBC show last night to watch my favorite radio talk show host,
Lionel. I got home about quarter after the show began, but didn't miss anything. Lionel's appearance wasn't until the last ten minutes or so, and while somewhat amusing, not a big deal. He was doing it during his show, and it was interesting to hear the same exchanges from the other side when I listened to the
podcast of last night's radio show, this morning, on the way to work.
An unexpected bonus was seeing one of my favorite bloggers,
Grady Hendrix of
Kaiju Shakedown on the show to "discuss" some ridiculous
Turkish film which includes "Big Hollywood Stars",
Gary Busey and
Billy Zane cast as unsimpathetic Americans during the war in Iraq, or something. Busey is (from accounts) a Jewish doctor who harvests the organs of Iraqi casualties. Funny. He doesn't look Jewish. He kinda looks like
Nick Nolte's mugshot, if Nolte would open his mouth a little bit and breath through it.
Anyway, it wasn't pretty. Hendrix was pit against that guy from
The Catholic League whom you may've seen on other shows like this, and he (
William Donohue) was in mad dog form. Hendrix managed to keep his wits about him, kinda, but the exchange and Scarborough's douchebaggery reminded me why I don't normally watch this crap. Not every day, anyway. You know, sometimes.
Click here to read Mr. Hendrix's account of the behind the scenes goings on at Scarborough Country. There's also a link to the video, if you scroll down on that page.
January 14th, 2008 - Those links are dead. Fortunately, I emailed the text to a friend which I still have, so here it is. Not the video, though.---------------------------------------------------------WHERE'S MY COOKIE?
They told me there’d be cookies. That’s what the producers promised me. “Oh, you’re in Media 3? We’ve got great cookies there.” But when I showed up what did I find? Three lone chocolate cjhip cookies on a paper plate sitting at the reception desk like something left out for Santa Claus. With only three cookies I couldn’t bring myself to take one, it would be like taking the last piece of cake. These cookies weren’t a yummy treat. These cookies were a trap for the unwary. Sort of like the show itself.
When a producer called me on Thursday morning and asked me to be on MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country” that night I figured “why not?” I’m a relentless whore for attention and the glamour of being on television has seduced weaker minds than mine. There was no pay involved but they would send a car to pick me up and bring me home like I was some kind of high-class call girl.
The segment was about a new Turkish movie, VALLEY OF THE WOLVES: IRAQ which is basically a Turkish Rambo where the bad guys are the Americans in Iraq, played by Gary Busey and Billy Zane. Zane plays an evil US soldier who sounds like a Christian version of Ron O’Neal’s Colonel Bella in RED DAWN. Gary Busey plays a doctor at Abu Ghraib listed on the movie’s official website as “a Jew” who harvests organs from dead Iraqis and sells them on the black market. For Busey this is a step up from his role in last year’s GINGERDEAD MAN and for Zane, well after he slapped around Kate Winslett in TITANIC doesn’t everyone think he’s evil anyways?
The day was spent being fattened up like a lamb for the slaughter. A producer called and told me that host Chuck Scarborough “responds well to facts” and that the other guest was going to be William Donahue, president of the Catholic League. The make-up woman told me my skin was very well moisturized and problem-free.
“Ooh,” she cooed. “It’s so rare to find a gentleman who is comfortable with skin care.”
While I waited I called every number in my cell phone to calm my nerves but no one was home, not even my mother. Actually I did talk to two of my sisters but I’m not sure it helped. I love my sisters but they’re way too smart for their own good.
“Keep your mouth closed so you don’t look like stupid,” said one. “Don’t touch your face or clear your throat. It’s called ‘respiratory avoidance’ and it makes it look like you’re lying.”
Great. Respiratory avoidance. Another thing to worry about. My other sister was even more encouraging. “Either it’s going to be really funny, or else you’re going to get destroyed on national TV. I can’t wait!”
I don’t have cable, not because I’m smart but because I would never get anything done if I had easy access to the Home Shopping Network, so sitting in the bathroom-sized lounge while I waited to go on the air was the first chance I had to see the show.
The host, Joe Scarborough, was talking about the Murder in Massachusetts but it wasn’t his intensity or his “power fingers” that riveted me, it was his vast, immobile forehead. How much willpower does it take to keep one’s forehead completely motionless? Was it Botox? An ancient martial arts technique? I still don’t know, but I do know that Joe Scarborough will never be trapped inside a burning building because he can always batter his way to safety with his mighty forehead.
The talking heads would finish their segments and then come back to the teeny weeny little lounge to get their coats. On TV they were all bug-eyes and weird teeth like some race of earnest goblins, but in person they looked completely normal. The camera was like a funhouse lens twisting their faces into caricatures. At that point I knew my goose was cooked since my face is already twisted into a caricature. To have it further distorted on TV would be like pouring gasoline on a roaring bonfire.
Before I could panic a producer bustled in and took me to a tiny broom closet. There were a few lights clipped to the ceiling and a pull-down backdrop of New York behind me. There wasn’t even a camera, just a lens on the wall. A long, dildo-like earpiece, covered in alcohol, was inserted into my right ear; an experience akin to getting a Wet Willie that just won’t stop. William Donahue was down the hall in another broom closet, and Joe Scarborough was in Washington DC presumably in a broom closet of his very own.
“Look into the lens,” the producer said. “Don't ever look away from the lens. And try not to let them bulldoze you.” And then I was shut in. My only connection to the show was the Wet Willie, which was barking instructions at me: “Don’t look away from the lens. Sit up!” In the background I could hear Scarborough’s voice talking about anti-American extremists and that’s when I realized what I was: the designated extremist.
Suddenly he was talking to me. Between not slouching, trying to keep my hands away from my face, avoiding clearing my throat and staring directly into the lens I barely heard what he was saying. But it was exactly what I had figured: they were out to crucify Gary Busey and Billy Zane. They “had a problem” with Zane and Busey’s career choices. I’m sure Gary Busey’s agent can empathize.
The first thing I said was that as a patriotic American I believed in freedom of speech and of association and that these guys could do whatever they wanted as long as it wasn’t illegal even if I didn’t agree with it. Then Bill Donohue launched into a tirade and I interrupted him.
“I think it’s important for the viewers to know that none of us have actually seen this movie,” I said.
“Shut up, pal,” Donohue snarled. Then he said that most actors would sodomize their mothers to get a paycheck. Trust the Catholic to bring up sodomy right off the bat, the less charitable side of my nature thought. Then they sprung the trap. The movie was anti-Semitic. How could I defend anti-Semites?
To hear William Donahue, the man who had appeared on this very same show a while back to say, “Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular,” getting upset about anti-Semitism was like getting punched so hard by Superman that I had ripped through the fabric of space and time and landed in Bizarro World. My wife is Jewish and if she’s representative of Jews in general, I think they’re more than capable of defending themselves.
Then Scarborough brought the end game. “So you’re telling me that if Errol Flynn made a movie in the 30’s that was pro-Nazi you wouldn’t have a problem with that?” Nazis are to debate what the atom bomb was to World War II: the end. When Nazism comes up in a conversation a bell should ding and everybody should be allowed to go home. If the only way to defend your position is to resort to the Nazi analogy then you need to accept that you can't actually defend your position.
But I failed. I was weak. I answered him. “No, I wouldn’t. I think he has a right to do what he wants no matter how objectionable I find it.” Then Scarborough said it. The other conversation killer. “Whatever.” I was stunned. This was a political debate and he had just said “Whatever”? The word that makes parents see red. The word that is the conversational nuclear option for tweens?
“Whatever? What are you guys?” I asked “A couple of teenage girls?” I began to laugh and threw the “whatever” W but the camera had cut away and the conversation was over. I would like to take this moment to apologize to teenage girls. I know teenage girls and Donahue and Scarborough are no teenage girls. The producer dashed into the room, “That was great, that was great,” she said, sponging blood from the walls. “Look, you should know that Bill Donohue is in these same offices so you might run into him. I’m just warning you.”
I scrammed. A friend called my cell phone and as we chatted the elevator door opened and I was confronted with an impassable wall of garbage. Bill Donahue sprung up behind me and I froze.
“That’s the service elevator,” he said. “The one you want is around the corner.”
I hung up and went and waited for the elevator with him.
“That was fun,” I told him. “Next time they should just dig a pit and let us wrestle for it.” He laughed and shook my hand.
“Usually I’m the one they tell to shut up. I almost never have to tell the other guy to shut up. You just have to start yelling and get in there first.”
And then we had a very nice elevator ride, both of us pumped up on adrenaline and laughing and chatting. And I have to say that he was a very decent fellow, offering some tips and saying that he thought it went well. And that’s when I realized: this was professional wrestling. Public discourse has become a sport where everyone takes on a personality and acts outrageously because they want to be invited back. It wasn’t about debating the topics, it was about making yourself the best guest possible.
Who knows if Bill Donahue believes the things he says? But they’re good TV and that’s why he says them. Even if he responds to this post who knows if it’s how he really feels or if he’s merely maintaining his public image? And realizing this makes me depressed. It depresses me for the same reason the “Would you have a problem with Errol Flynn in a pro-Nazi movie” question depresses me.
What do they mean “would I have a problem”? Would I lose sleep over it? I don’t know. Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh were both Nazi sympathizers and I don’t stay awake at night because I’m tormented by that thought. I find Nazi-ism reprehensible, but if “having a problem” means that I have to accuse Errol Flynn of incestual sodomy and scream about his career choices then no, I don’t have a problem. An individual vocally condemning racism, or any of the other isms, is making a meaningless gesture. Racism is something you choose not to paricipate in, or you choose not to encourage, it's not something you dust off your soapbox and stand on to denounce. That's like proclaiming that ice cream is yummy: it's a "duh" argument. It makes you feel righteous and gives you the illusion of being moral, but it doesn't accomplish the American ideal of bringing people together despite their differences. So within the context of the show I didn't have “a problem" with Errol Flynn in a pro-Nazi movie because "having a problem" is meaningless. That's like asking someone if they'd “have a problem" with someone who killed their parents. Of course they would, but there are people who seek to forgive those who've done them harm and engage them in a dialogue despite their personal pain and I find those individuals far more worthy of praise and far more admirable than people who begin and end with "having a problem".
But because I don’t “have a problem” I’m the one with a problem. It means I’ll never be invited back to “Scarborough Country”. And if I never get invited back, I’ll never get my cookie.
Labels: Awesome, blogs, dead links, funny-ass shit, Islam, movies, Truth, tv, World Affairs
From DailyKos.com
How the Islamic crazies are like the Right
Mon Jul 4th, 2005 at 23:47:07 PDT
Funny how the wingers try to claim American liberals are in league with crazy fundamentalist Muslims.
Reality is, we hate everything Islamic fundamentalism stands for. On the other hand, the Dobson's of the Republican Party -- you know, the people running the show -- have far more in common with the enemy than they'd ever like to admit.
Religion in government
Al Qaida/Taliban: One and the same
American Taliban: One and the same
Liberals: Separation of church and state
Schools
Al Qaida/Taliban: Religious indoctrination. Run by clergy.
American Taliban: School prayer. Religious indoctrination (creationism and "intelligent design"). Private religious school system.
Liberals: Leave religious teachings to parents and sunday school.
Women
Al Qaida/Taliban: No school, must cover entire body, no rights
American Taliban: Government control over reproductive freedoms, hostility to Title IX, hostility to working women
Liberals: Equality of the sexes
Religious freedom
Al Qaida/Taliban: 'Think like us, or we'll whiip you and/or chop off your head'
American Taliban: 'Think like us, or we'll condemn you to hell'
Liberals: To each her own
Homosexuality
Al Qaida/Taliban: Eradicate them from society
American Taliban: Eradicate them from society
Liberals: Equality under the law
You guys can take it from here.
Update (from the comments):
Torture
Al Qaida/Taliban: Torture them or chop off their heads
American Taliban: Torture them or homosexually rape them.
Liberals: No torture
Medicine and Science
Al Qaida/Taliban: Faith-based world view
American Taliban: Faith-based world view
Liberals: Reality-based community
and part two
They are more like our enemy, Part II
Tue Jul 5th, 2005 at 12:56:25 PDT
Last night I wrote "How the Islamic crazies are like the Right" to hammer home how fundamentalist Islam has more in common with the radical religious right, the American Taliban, than it does with the American Left.
This is a key point-- it was easier for the Right to tie the American Left with our previous boogeyman, the communists, since we technically were nearer to the extreme left than where conservatives.
But today, things look quite different. I started the ball rolling on similarities on that previous post. Here are more similarities, as submitted by readers:
Foreign Policy
Al Qaida/Taliban: World domination - do it our way or we attack
American Taliban: World domination - do it our way or we attack
Liberals: Peace and international cooperation
Executing Minors
Al Qaida/Taliban: Executing Minors OK
American Taliban: Executing Minors OK
Liberals: Find this to be a barbaric and embarrassing practice
Pop Culture
Al Qaida/Taliban: Hate it... kill it
American Taliban: Hate it... ban it
Liberals: Laugh at it... boycott it
Self-image
Al Qaida/Taliban: Belief in their own infallibility
American Taliban: Belief in their own infallibility
Liberals: Willingness to consider other viewpoints
God
Al Qaida/Taliban: God is on our side and will help us kill our enemies
American Taliban: God is on our side and will help us kill our enemies
Liberals: God may or may not exist and will not help us kill anyone
Stem Cell Research
Al Qaida/Taliban: No Stem cell research
American Taliban: No Stem cell research
Liberals: Stem cell research
Leaders
Al Qaida/Taliban: God choose Osama Bin Laden to defeat the Great Satan
American Taliban: God choose George W. Bush to lead us
Liberals: God didn't choose anyone
Use of Force
Al Qaida/Taliban: As a means of propagating a world view
American Taliban: As a means of propagating a world view
Liberals: As a last resort
Bush's War in Iraq
Al Qaida/Taliban: Love it!
American Taliban: Love it!
Liberals: It's a disaster
Press
Al Qaida/Taliban: Control of the Press
American Taliban: Manipulation of the Press
Liberals: Freedom of the Press
Free Speech
Al Qaida/Taliban: Anyone who disagrees with us is an infidel and must be silenced
American Taliban: Anyone who disagrees with us is a traitor and must be silenced
Liberals: Anyone who disagrees with us is in for a spirited discussion
Individuals
Al Qaida/Taliban: Conform or else
American Taliban: Conform or else
Liberals: Embrace diversity
Cooperation
Al Qaida/Taliban: You're either with us or against us
American Taliban: You're either with us or against us
Liberals: We're all in this together
Tolerance
Al Qaida/Taliban: Death to the infidels
American Taliban: Kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity
Liberals: Live and let live
Conscience
Al Qaida/Taliban: Obedience to authority
American Taliban: Obedience to authority
Liberals: Critical reflection
Origins
Al Qaida/Taliban: Universe and man created 6,000 years ago by God
American Taliban: Universe and man created 6,000 years ago by God
Liberals: The Universe began as we know it at least 14 billion years ago, maybe more
Leaders
Al Qaida/Taliban: Subservient to will of its leaders
American Taliban: Subservient to will of its leaders
Liberals: Will served by Representative government
Fear
Al Qaida/Taliban: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in moral absolutes and scorn those that threaten those absolutes
American Taliban: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in moral absolutes and scorn those that threaten those absolutes
Liberals: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in accepting that respect for our fellow man and the individual choices he/she makes is eminently moral
Women
Al Qaida/Taliban: A woman's place is in the home
American Taliban: A woman's place is in the home
Liberals: A woman's place is wherever she wants it to be
Marriage
Al Qaida/Taliban: Marriage is only between a man and a woman
American Taliban: Marriage is only between a man and a woman
Liberals: Marriage is between any two people who love each other
We could keep this up all day, I suspect. Remember, the point isn't that the American Taliban is just like Al Qaida (though given the chance...), the point is that there's no reason that liberals would ever "root" for Al Qaida or the Taliban or any of the crazies in the Islamic fundamentalist world.
The reasons we hate the American Taliban are the same reasons we hate fundamentalists of all stripes -- they seek to impose their own moral code on the rest of society, and do so with the zeal and moral absolutism possible only from those who believe they are doing "God's work".
Labels: civil rights, funny-ass shit, Islam, politics, religion, terrorism, Truth