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Freedom of speech? Pah. We're losing money here. "Danish Trade Group Challenges Newspaper," from AP, with thanks to Kasia:
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Denmark's main industry organization, fearing a loss of business in the Muslim world, sought to distance itself Friday from a newspaper that published contentious drawings of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.The Confederation of Danish Industries urged Jyllands-Posten to explain its decision to publish the cartoons on Sept. 30 last year.
"Time has come for Jyllands-Posten to use its freedom of speech to explain how it views the fact that the paper's Muhammad drawings have offended large groups of people," the group's head, Hans Skov Christensen, wrote in a letter to the daily....
Skov Christensen said Danish companies faced repercussions this week from customers in the Middle East, including product boycotts, dropped orders, and canceled business meetings. The confederation claims the Middle East accounts for annual sales of at least $816 million for Danish companies.
Danish-based Arla Foods, Europe's largest dairy group, said it had noted sales dropping in Saudi Arabia because of protests over the drawings.
"We are sorry if Muslims have been offended in their faith. It was not the intention," Carsten Juste, Jyllands-Posten's editor in chief, told The Associated Press. "What we did, we did within the constitution, the Danish penal code and international conventions."
Lights out in Copenhagen.
Posted by Robert at January 28, 2006 9:29 AM
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Similar to those Western businessmen who could "do business" with Hitler or with the Bolsheviks, apparently, and unwilling to see that in the end, a little economic discomfort is worth upholding what is, after all, a much more important point: free speech. They should hold on, and think carefully about what is more, and what is less, important in the grand scheme of things. And if they cannot come to the right conclusions, possibly Queen Margrethe can set them right. Other Danish monarchs have on other occasions set the proper tone, given the proper moral example. Why not here?
Posted by: Hugh![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 28, 2006 9:45 AM
It makes no sense for Denmark to stop doing business with the muslem world. If we don't sell them these products then others will, so our loss will just be someone else's gain. What really matters is that we don't apologize or retract the statements about freedom of speech - which we won't. Opinion polls shows that 70-80% of the danish people are against giving apologizing, so that will never happen.
Posted by: odin, king of gods at January 28, 2006 10:30 AM
To paraphrase Harry Truman:
If the Muslims can't stand the freedom of speech they should stay out of the Continent.
(And Civilized world, in general.)
May their Maliki sect stage a worldwide resurgence within Islam, since it forbids immigration outside of the current Muslim regions.
(We're presently suffering under the Hanafi interpretation which permits immigration to the infidel world.)
More cartoons! More lampoons!
The dhimmi-ing Danes should remember that your money don't mean nothin' if you ain't got the freedom to spend it.
Posted by: profitsbeard at January 28, 2006 10:35 AM
Don't worry profitsbeard, the Danish industry is undoubtedly going to loose a lot of money on this but in the long run there's no way that these muslim nations can force us to apologize, after all we're not THAT dependent on the Middle East.
Posted by: odin, king of gods at January 28, 2006 10:39 AM
Profitsbeard ... I was also kind of wondering why the imams didn't consider that they're perfectly free to move out of Denmark if they're offended by the laws there ... there are probably some Danes who'd even help them pack.
Posted by: Caren at January 28, 2006 11:11 AM
The perfect anti terrorism weapon.
Humor.
Bring it on!
Posted by: treehugger at January 28, 2006 11:34 AM
Yo omvi,
There is a difference between 'explaining' something and 'apologizing' something. In the arab world many wild rumors circulate about this case, many things have been made up to aggrevate the situation and create more confusion over what this thing is really about. It doesn't make any sense to refuse to apologize if many of the people who demand an apology don't know what the core of the issue is. So explaining is fine with me. But we will never apologize for this, apologizing is something completely different, you do that if you have made a mistake - which we haven't (depending on how you define a 'mistake' of course).
Posted by: odin, king of gods at January 28, 2006 11:37 AM
odin-
A buddy of mine who is Danish (he designs custom furniture here in the U.S.- ...no kidding) takes your position, and gives it an "apologetic" twist... -
"Explain to the Saudis that Denmark has core freedoms, and if the Saudis don't like it, we're sorry."
The courage Denmark displayed against the Nazis tells me that they may now use some diplomatic fudge to smooth over this absurd issue but they won't give up their liberties just because it sells a little less Havarti in Mecca.
Caren-
The West needs to write into their laws that a 'religion' built on infidel hatred and intolerant global imperialism is less than welcome in the lands of the freedom-loving infidels.
But it will take a WMD in some Western city before that code gets written.
Meanwhile, this cartoon of reality rolls on.
Posted by: profitsbeard at January 28, 2006 12:07 PM
hey Danes,
From this day on i promise to buy only Danish feta cheese (which I've been snubbing, to be honest) instead of Bulgarian or Greek or French, (and that means a lot of feta, it'a a staple of my meals, I can't live without it),
and to stock up on canned ham and butter cookies for an eternity,
only please don't give in to the Muslim thugs. Please.
Heck, I'll eat your dirt if you sell it,
but don't submit to the thugs.
Please.
at January 28, 2006 12:29 PM
Lunapark butter forver!
Posted by: Polish infideless at January 28, 2006 2:09 PM
We need to live in a more moral world, money isnīt always good, money is sometimes blooded money and must be refused.
But we live in a selfish world.
at January 28, 2006 3:01 PM
If The New Duranty Times fails to republish these cartoons, in order to properly inform its readers about what is going on in Denmark -- without seeing the cartoons, how can we judge whether they are offensive, and whether or not cartoons of similar offensiveness would attract world-wide boycotts and threats of suicide bombers from, say, outraged Christians were Jesus to be depicted in a fashion similar to Muhammad, then it is not doing its job. It is censoring itself ahead of time.
And it will lose whatever moral right it possessed to prate about "freedom of speech." Does it want to lose that right? Does it want to be even more of a laughing-stock, as its stock continues to decline, this time perhaps fatally?
Posted by: Hugh at January 28, 2006 8:09 PM
www.memri.org
People who make so many pro-Hitler, anti-semitic, and White Supremicist Cartoons should shut the hell up, the cartoons on Mohhamad are nothing compared to what every Arab Press service does on an hourly basis. I think this is a perfect opportunity for the Danes to confront these Savags head on on the topic of cartoons, you know how the bible says not to remove the speck from your nieghbors eye if you have a log in yours? Great quote for Denmark to use.
Oh and someone should ask the Danish Business community if they would like their freedom to criticize the Press for the Cartoons to be retracted along with Freedom to criticize pedophile prophets.
Posted by: NicephorusPhocas at January 28, 2006 8:56 PM
Bravo, Denmark!
The Vikings will stand their ground, I predict (and hope).
But we in other friendly nations should lend Denmark a hand by following Hugh's suggestion for the New York Times:
PUBLISH the cartoons!
Every major paper that pretends to cover world news should print this story and *include* the cartoons, so we can enjoy them and decide for ourselves how "offensive" they are. This might take some heat off Denmark and open more western eyes ~ a double benefit.
NicephorusPhocas is right, the arab media is loaded with cartoons *far worse* about US. If we yelled about feeling offended would they apologize?
Ah, hahaha
Posted by: corax at January 29, 2006 2:02 AM
BULLY!!! Denmark. BULLY!!! May Odin kick Allah's half moons (or quartermoon), betwixt the crack of them!!!
Posted by: Ironman Hondo at January 30, 2006 12:29 PM
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