We Are All Danes Now

[PreatorX]

Jyllands-Posten said on January 30 it regretted it had offended Muslims and apologised to them, but stood by its decision to print the cartoons, saying it was within Danish law. Two days later, Juste said he would not have printed the cartoons had he foreseen the consequences.

Look TQ, they're already backing down. I guess the Dutch have less of a backbone than you'd like.

I think the Iranians are way off in printing holocaust cartoons. If they want something equivelent they should be printing cartoons of Jesus. Maybe him with a huge sword killing all the "heretics" or "pagans" or something. The problem is if they printed such things they would be happily reprinted in many Western newspapers. The bible belt in the U.S. would react strongly, but it wouldn't matter.

 

[SilentBtViolent]

Newspapers aren't government offices. Anyone who wants to can start their own newspaper.

Noboy should be able to force a private company (or publicly held corporation, for that matter) in the media to broadcast anything they don't want to. Which is to say, if the TQ or the Iranians or the Fruit of the Loom mascots want to get something into print, they can buy appropriate equipment and circulate to their heart's content.

It's the self-regulation that comes with market forces that keeps everyone in check. Really, it is free speech itself teaching the Danes a painful lesson in "don't be an asshole."

(Once again, the terrorist bullshit is crap politics and I don't support it at all.)

 

[TJHairball]

Look TQ, they're already backing down. I guess the Dutch have less of a backbone than you'd like.

I think the Iranians are way off in printing holocaust cartoons. If they want something equivelent they should be printing cartoons of Jesus. Maybe him with a huge sword killing all the "heretics" or "pagans" or something. The problem is if they printed such things they would be happily reprinted in many Western newspapers. The bible belt in the U.S. would react strongly, but it wouldn't matter.

In the Bible belt, such cartoons of Jesus smiting down the "heretics" and "pagans" would actually come off fairly well among certain corridors of the faithful, IIRC. It's not too far from what's preached in some places.

They'd have to really use something else to piss off the Christians of the American South. Personally, I recommend pictures of Jesus having sex with his apostles if you really want to work at it, but I think a Muslim paper might consider such images obscene...

 

[The Question]

Two days later, Juste said he would not have printed the cartoons had he foreseen the consequences.

Juste works in the press, and it's unlikely he missed the whole flap of similar behavior on the part of militant muslims at the news alleging that GIs flushed a Q'uran down a toilet. His claim that he hadn't foreseen the consequences of printing those cartoons marks him as either an utter moron or a bald-faced liar.

Look TQ, they're already backing down. I guess the Dutch have less of a backbone than you'd like.

What do the Dutch have to do with it?

I think the Iranians are way off in printing holocaust cartoons. If they want something equivelent they should be printing cartoons of Jesus. Maybe him with a huge sword killing all the "heretics" or "pagans" or something. The problem is if they printed such things they would be happily reprinted in many Western newspapers. The bible belt in the U.S. would react strongly, but it wouldn't matter.

Exactly. They believe that the Mohammed cartoons were a deliberate affront, and they intend to respond with a deliberate affront of exactly the same type to see how many in the West will still stand up and defend freedom of speech when what's being spoken is something the West doesn't like.