(no subject)

[coldblossom.livejournal.com]

I keep hearing about this guy in the Netherlands who wants to broadcast a 10 minute movie he made about the Islamification of the Western world, and today Iran threatened the Netherlands that if it gets broadcast, Iran will "rethink" their relationship with the country and will not be responsible for any violence which may erupt (and you know there will be). The Netherlands, which has been keeping this gentleman under government protection, has warned him they might not be able to protect him from the repurcussions. The full article is here.  Everything seems to be setting this guy up as the next Theo Van Gogh.

I guess my problem here is that firstly, the entire thing is riduculous and all of these threats and warnings only serve to illustrate this filmmaker's point: that Islamists are intolerant and react with extreme violence any time they feel they have been wronged (and they're encouraged to do so by their leaders). Secondly, the fact that the Netherlands government is even considering censoring the work is outrageous: issues like this need to be brought into the open so they can be discussed and so that solutions can be reached. As it is now, the Islamists get their way or its the (bloody) highway. My friend in Germany constantly complains to me about them and we agree that its only going to get worse because of attitudes such as this. 

I'm posting this because this movie is expected to be broadcast this week and I guess I'm bracing for the worst (which is an absolute shame). Making this more relevent, I am concerned because here Iran is demanding another country censor its citizens and threatening violence (a threat they can easily make good on, see Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoonists, etc), and who knows if we could be next and if our leaders would capitulate (especially if one of the Democrats now running for office should win...I wouldn't have been worried about a Democrat like President Kennedy standing up for our best interests, but I damn sure worry about the Democrats now). 

So, had anyone else heard of this? I'm wondering why its not gotten any mention in the MSM considering the reaction to the Danish cartoons, the murder of Van Gogh over a similar film, and the extreme threats issued by Iran to a (major) European nation. It seems newsworthy to me. Thoughts?