Nothing good in the news today. Almost…
OK, first the boring stuff.
Hillary persevering in the election race for the sake of… I don’t know why, given Obama has it locked up. Certainly not for the good of the Democratic Party.
Omantel profits up, following the Government’s decision to take less royalty. I wish they would stop deliberately screwing with Skype. (and how can that be legal within the Free Trade Agreement and WTO???)
Oh, and of course Mr Wilders finally released his film Fitna last night, and no big riots so far apparently. Reuters
It also seems he has avoided breeching any laws against blasphemy. Well, at least in the eyes of Dutch lawyers. You can watch his film by following this link here:
Fitna video
or just go to google videos and type Fitna Wilders movie. (If your country has blocked youtube and google video you can still watch it this way by selecting to watch it within google itself)
And, hey, its Friday, so here’s some funny Arab themed youtube entertainment for you to cheer you up again.
First, if you haven’t already seen it, the hilarious Ahmed The Dead Terrorist. (I corrected the spelling on the link, btw)
And this guy I picked up via Suburban’s great blog Go Remy A.R.A.B video
That's it guys. I'm off to the beach near the Icon somewhere, wearing my new 'I'm not Dutch' tshirt.
Showing posts with label Dutch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dutch. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Dutch in Oman brace for impact
The Dutch community in Oman is bracing itself for the expected reaction to the infamous Geert Wilders film 'Fitna'. Briefings from the Embassy have taken place, and emergency planning completed in Dutch-related businesses in the Sultanate (like Shell and KLM). After failing to get a TV station to air the film (which he says is now ready), he’s now just going to release it on internet. He has said he will release the film on 28th March.
This is one of those times I’m very glad that the ROP and Oman Internal Security are so damn good. Compared to many other Omani Government Departments, trust me, these guys are world class. Computerised and pretty much state-of-the–art surveillance of communications, good human intel, and a pretty sensible approach to their job too [a special thanks for that, guys]. There are good reasons why Oman spends more than 25% of the Government budget on Internal Security.
Interestingly, Omantel have yet to block the sites, http://www.filmvanwilders.nl/ or http://www.fitna.nl Perhaps they arte waiting for the film to be posted before acting? Although it seems clear that the press in Oman are being encouraged to not report the thing, which is probably a wise use of the considerable powers of censorship the Government have here. After all, freedom of speech in Holland is one thing, but there is also freedom to ignore him, and freedom to make it as hard as possible to get the Omani population to overreact.
There are also many anti-Wilders film sites springing up too, for example this one is pretty cute.
I’ve taken the liberty to post some pretty important facts that might help people that are perhaps less accepting of free speech understand what's going on.
However, if I was Dutch and living in Oman, I'd start stocking up on stroopwafels and Heineken now, before the bans come into place. At least they managed to hold the annual Omani Dutch Community OranjeBall earlier this month, as it was looking like a security nightmare waiting to happen…
This is one of those times I’m very glad that the ROP and Oman Internal Security are so damn good. Compared to many other Omani Government Departments, trust me, these guys are world class. Computerised and pretty much state-of-the–art surveillance of communications, good human intel, and a pretty sensible approach to their job too [a special thanks for that, guys]. There are good reasons why Oman spends more than 25% of the Government budget on Internal Security.
Interestingly, Omantel have yet to block the sites, http://www.filmvanwilders.nl/ or http://www.fitna.nl Perhaps they arte waiting for the film to be posted before acting? Although it seems clear that the press in Oman are being encouraged to not report the thing, which is probably a wise use of the considerable powers of censorship the Government have here. After all, freedom of speech in Holland is one thing, but there is also freedom to ignore him, and freedom to make it as hard as possible to get the Omani population to overreact.
There are also many anti-Wilders film sites springing up too, for example this one is pretty cute.
I’ve taken the liberty to post some pretty important facts that might help people that are perhaps less accepting of free speech understand what's going on.
Geert Wilders is an elected politician who does have a base of support. He is, however, not part of the Dutch government. During the last democratic elections in the Netherlands he received a minority vote and is therefore part of the opposition. The reason that Wilders received support is not only because of his critical view on the Islam. It can also be attributed to the fact that the electorate seems to miss an alternative in the current Dutch political landscape.Basically, he's a right-wing populist politician, using this issue to polarize the Dutch electorate by making a grey issue into a black and white one. He’s also being, politically speaking, pretty cunning. If Islamists react with threats and violence, he is simply getting them to both prove his point and allow him to justify the broadcast with a huge See, I told you how violent they are! If they protest peacefully, he gets publicity; if there are no protests, he can continue and even claim tacit support!
Unfortunately Geert Wilders has done something that we find unwise. He holds the nation hostage by announcing a film that, without even having been released, has begun to start planting hatred and conflict.
We believe in solutions and an open dialogue. We believe in talking with each other, listening to each other and respecting each other. Freedom of speech is a great good. Living together in peace and respecting each other are too.
We have set up this website to give Dutch people an opportunity to show the world that Geert Wilders does not speak on behalf of Holland, but on behalf of himself. So remember, 'Fitna' is not a Dutch Islam film, nor is it a film of the Dutch government. It is a film privately made by Geert Wilders and expresses his views, not that of the Dutch.
However, if I was Dutch and living in Oman, I'd start stocking up on stroopwafels and Heineken now, before the bans come into place. At least they managed to hold the annual Omani Dutch Community OranjeBall earlier this month, as it was looking like a security nightmare waiting to happen…
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I'm not Dutch!
It may soon be a rather bad time to be Dutch - or even blond and Dutch looking - in the Middle East. This has been going around the 'net for a while, (almost 2 weeks) but the response will probably make the Danish Cartoon issue seem trivial by comparison.
Geert Wilders, the Dutch leader of the PVV (a rather right wing) party, is supposedly about to publish a short video on the Quraan and Islaam, which he claims represents a fascist ideology, is not a tolerent or peaceful religion and that the Quraan 'should be banned'. Part of his purpose is to provoke the kind of violent reaction from Muslims to explicitly demonstrate his point that the underlying beliefs and their practice are fundamentally incompatable with Western (and especially Dutch) secular culture, freedom of sppech, and the principal of seperation of Church and State. He's already got 24/7 protection against all sort of death threats, so it won't make a big change to his lifestyle. But if you're Dutch and in a Muslim country, it may change yours!
In the case of Oman, any Dutch readers may wish to purchase key Dutch products they are particularly attracted to now, as it may be some time before they are back on the shelves! Also, if you need to visit the Dutch embassy, do it quick. The Dutch embassies around the world have already been put on alert.
Below is Geert telling his side on Fox News. One indication of his stance is that even Fox seems to find it pretty extreme. And that's saying something!
He essentially touches on issues that have been commented on in many blogs (including this one) about the implications of free speech, secularism and its problem with extremist Islam, political correctness, and what seems to be a firm commitment to religiously motivated violence on the part of many, including people who seem otherwise intelligent, peace loving and kind (but yet are firm belivers that 'mere' insults should be met with assassination).
You can read some right wing Euro-paper comment on his video here
Here's the link from Youtube with the interview with Geert. Caution: just watching this interview may be considered illegal in some countries. Follow the link at your own risk. If you are Muslim, you will find even this interview highly insulting. Don't blame me if you get offended.
part2
Geert Wilders, the Dutch leader of the PVV (a rather right wing) party, is supposedly about to publish a short video on the Quraan and Islaam, which he claims represents a fascist ideology, is not a tolerent or peaceful religion and that the Quraan 'should be banned'. Part of his purpose is to provoke the kind of violent reaction from Muslims to explicitly demonstrate his point that the underlying beliefs and their practice are fundamentally incompatable with Western (and especially Dutch) secular culture, freedom of sppech, and the principal of seperation of Church and State. He's already got 24/7 protection against all sort of death threats, so it won't make a big change to his lifestyle. But if you're Dutch and in a Muslim country, it may change yours!
In the case of Oman, any Dutch readers may wish to purchase key Dutch products they are particularly attracted to now, as it may be some time before they are back on the shelves! Also, if you need to visit the Dutch embassy, do it quick. The Dutch embassies around the world have already been put on alert.
Below is Geert telling his side on Fox News. One indication of his stance is that even Fox seems to find it pretty extreme. And that's saying something!
He essentially touches on issues that have been commented on in many blogs (including this one) about the implications of free speech, secularism and its problem with extremist Islam, political correctness, and what seems to be a firm commitment to religiously motivated violence on the part of many, including people who seem otherwise intelligent, peace loving and kind (but yet are firm belivers that 'mere' insults should be met with assassination).
You can read some right wing Euro-paper comment on his video here
Here's the link from Youtube with the interview with Geert. Caution: just watching this interview may be considered illegal in some countries. Follow the link at your own risk. If you are Muslim, you will find even this interview highly insulting. Don't blame me if you get offended.
part2
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