Politics and the Press

The recent maelstrom over freedom of press and how it has played out internationally is amazing. On the one hand, cartoons are published in the Danish press (the Jylllands-Postland newspaper), which everyone knows has the potential to inflame Muslims everywhere. Yet, these same cartoons, orginially published in Oct 2005, at the start of Ramadan, were given new life last month and purposely used to inflame the masses by a select few Muslim clerics. Perhaps not too surprisingly, mob mentality takes over--embassies are burned, people are killed. There are a few voices of moderation, especially in the United States, but few and fare between...

Meanwhile, in countries that reprint the photos, editors are fired, newspapers are pulled etc...The Danish newspaper that originally published the ads issues full paid apologies in all the major Arab publications...Yet, I have seen throughout the years many anti Western, and especially anti Semitic, cartoons published in the Arab press, without much attention by the Arab world or the Western world! By the way, isn't it a bit strange that the Iranian response to the Danish cartoons, a contest for anti-Western cartoons were all against the Jews. How many Jewish people were involved in the Danish cartoons? Now many Jewish people are in Denmark?

The Organization of the Islamic Conference calls an emergency meeting last week to talk about say...the genocide in Darfur...wrong--the cartoons of course.

The American Press, with a few exceptions, refuses to publish the cartoons In fact, the New York Times, in covering the cartoon controversy, not only refuses to publish the photos, but publishes a photo of the Virgin Mary covered in dung!!!! By the way, isn't Mary also revered by Muslims? Didn't hear too much protests by any religious group on that cartoon...


Then last week, there is release of new pictures (apparently there are over 1000 new photos) of Abu Gharaib humiliations, tortures, and killings. Not the greatest timing with the cartoon controversy still in full swing. As these images are flying throughout cyberspace at many Arab oriented webstites, the American Press (with the exception of salon.com) refuses to publish these.


Then yesterday, an Austrian historian who denies the Holocaust existed gets a three year prison term. (He did break the Austrian Holocaust law enacted shortly after WWII to prevent further Nazi activity).

Today, the New York Times reports that the National Security is removing over 55,000 documents from public access that had been previously declassified...

The intersection of politics and freedom of press can sure make your head spin...