Thoughts on Freedom

Well, Fitna is out. You can watch it here.

Some thoughts on the movie -

It’s a much more professional production than i had been expecting.

Geert Wilders is either a very brave or a very suicidal man.

It is quite likely to provoke a wider and more violent reaction than the cartoons.

It doesn’t pull any punches and is very graphic.

Further comment from Andrew Bolt.

Update I – Wilders may be in hot water from places he didn’t expect.

1. Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist of one of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Muhammed is upset because his cartoon is used in the film without his permission. He believes this is a copyright infringement, and has asked the newspaper Jyllands-Posten to take legal steps.

2.Wilders mistakenly used a photo of Dutch-Moroccan rapper Salah Edin instead of Mohammed Bouyeri, Theo van Gogh’s murderer. He is also suing.

The video has now been uploaded 2.2 million times.

Update II - Liveleak have now pulled the movie from their website citing “threats of a serious nature made to staff”. Wilders appears to have made his point loud and clear. However, it is still available here. (thanks Skeptic)

The EU and the UN have both somewhat predictably called it a ‘hate film’ and are trying to get it banned (hell, who cares about free speech anymore). Despite this, Dutch legal authorities have claimed the film breaks no Dutch laws.

Update III – Australia’s Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, shows his total lack of understanding of the concept of free speech. “In Australia, we believe in the right to freedom of expression, but we don’t believe in abusing that right to incite racial hatred.”

Translation – we don’t believe in free speech.