FREE SPEECH UNIFICATION

According to this article, the attack on Charlie Hebdo may have helped embolden people to rally round the principles of free speech:

From Berlin to Bangkok, tens of thousands took a stand against living in fear, as rallies defended the freedom of expression and honored the victims of a Paris newspaper attack.

Viewing the Paris killings as a cold-blooded assault on democracy, people from all walks of life — journalists and police officers, politicians and students — turned out in cities around the world Thursday, holding up pens and joining hands in an outpouring of silent solidarity.

Many held placards proclaiming "Je Suis Charlie" — "I am Charlie" — a slogan that went viral on social media within hours of Wednesday's terror attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.

Germany's biggest-selling daily, Bild, filled the top half of its front page with the headline "Cowardly Murderers!" and printed a black back page with the words "Je suis Charlie."

"The only thing we can do against this is to live fearlessly," editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann said in an editorial. "Our colleagues in Paris have paid the ultimate price for freedom. We bow before them."

Peter Neumann, a security expert at King's College London, said the attack has won widespread attention on the Internet because it reflects an assault on values — unlike other recent terror incidents, such as those at a cafe in Sydney or outside parliament in Ottawa, which were seen as attacks directed at local targets.

Many people are stepping forward to defend their principles because they see their basic rights threatened.

"It has been framed as an attack on a principle, rather than a specific target," said Neumann, director of the university's International Center for the Study of Radicalization.

Across Britain, police forces paused for two minutes at 10:30 a.m. Thursday — 24 hours after the shootings — to remember the 12 victims in Paris, who included two French police officers.

"Every single person, other than the people manning the emergency lines, came out to show their support," said Mike Barton, Chief Constable at Durham Police.

European capitals including Madrid, London and Brussels and cities in the U.S. saw large demonstrations and candlelit vigils late Wednesday. More rallies were held Thursday from Sarajevo to Athens, where some formed a line and held up a letter each spelling out in Greek: "I do not hate, I am not afraid."

In Rome, several thousand people attended a candle-lit vigil in front of the French Embassy. Rome's municipal government also decided to light up the facade of city hall with red, white and blue lights in honor of the French flag.

Smaller gatherings took place even further afield, from Delhi, India, to the Tunisian capital, Tunis.

In Tunisia, the birthplace of one of the slain cartoonists, Georges Wolinski, dozens paid homage to Charlie Hebdo in a candlelight vigil outside the French ambassador's residence.

Now isn't that odd. Tunisia, now a largely Muslim country, had some people coming out to express their condolences. Or did they?

MURDERERS OF CHARLIE HEBDO STAFF TAKE HOSTAGES

The French authorities have located the two jihadists, who've taken hostages where they're now cornered:

A French official said phone contact has been made with the two suspects in the deadly storming of a satirical newspaper in Paris who are holed up inside a printing house near Charles de Gaulle airport and appear to have taken a hostage.

Hundreds of French security forces backed by a convoy of ambulances streamed into the small industrial town of Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, early Friday in a massive operation to seize the two heavily armed brothers suspected of carrying out France's deadliest terror attack in decades.

We now have to hope the hostages will be saved and those two savages finally brought to justice, dead or alive.

ATTACKS IN PARIS AND ON SONY RAISE FEARS OF CENSORSHIP

The Boston Herald's brought up the valid worries of censorship that could consume Hollywood, not just because they're allegedly afraid of terrorist attacks, but also because they're worried about money:

Freedom of speech is under attack, but, given Sony's initial decision to pull the release of the "The Interview" and its subsequent about-face, it's not clear how rousing a defense the entertainment business is willing to mount in the midst of financial pressures, political dangers and the threat of violence.

"All of this is deeply concerning to me because increasingly we live in a culture of fear," said documentary director Joe Berlinger, whose films include "Paradise Lost" and "Crude." "This culture of fear is economically based and that doesn't mix well with freedom of expression."

Berlinger said it's already difficult to get networks and studios to back politically-charged projects because they are worried about alienating advertisers or sectors of the audience.

In the hours following the Paris attacks, not one of the Hollywood movie or TV studio executives contacted by Variety would comment on the implications for the entertainment industry and potential chilling effect the killings could have on producing controversial content.

That reticence to tackle controversies threatens to calcify, filmmakers and other industry watchers say. Already, CNN has had to justify its decision not to air images of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that may have provoked the attack.

"We were already heading in the direction of possible self-censorship in Hollywood because of the Sony hacking, and this might just reinforce those tendencies," said Ira Deutchman, chair of the film program at Columbia University and co-founder of Emerging Pictures.

Studios routinely edit out scenes and other imagery from films exported overseas so as to not offend local sensibilities or, in the case of China, to pass muster with government censors. The worry among some writers, however, is that projects won't even get to that point.

Novelist Andrew Kaplan, author of the "Scorpion" adventure novels and "Homeland" book tie-ins, said that he sees the Paris attack as "leading to more self-censorship. As a writer or film or TV producer, nobody's looking for more headaches. So people step away from problems."

He said that his book "Scorpion: Betrayal" had a dangerous terrorist character known as "The Palestinian," and "there were strong suggestions from my editor of change this."

Kaplan dug in his heels.

"We batted this back and forth, but I held my ground," he said. "I could see why they felt, 'We don't want to step into this mess.' People are already antsy about discussing Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. Also, even though the Mideast is not a huge market for films and TV, it's an important source of money for productions. So producers and executives pull in their horns. They say, 'Let's shade this a little differently' because the truth is, they want the Mideast money."

I think this sums up the root cause of the problem: many studios and publishers have sold out to moneymaking, mainly overseas. All because they don't have confidence in movies filmed on a studio set to sell as well as those filmed on location, and that's just a starting example. If this is what we've come down to, then there's no point supporting a lot of these movie studios, because they're already certified cowards, and what's the point in supporting studios that do cave to PC? What needs to be done as a reaction is establish studios and distributors who will show the guts to tackle serious issues, and find millionaires who can provide the needed backing.

MUST SEE TV: TOMMY ROBINSON SPEAKING AT OXFORD

THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WARNING EUROPE ABOUT ISLAMIZATION FOR THE LAST DECADE - 

AND AS A RESULT HAVE BEEN ATTACKED BY THE POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS AND MASS MEDIA AS "FASCIST", RACIST WARMONGERS - 

SHOULD NOW BE UNIVERSALLY HAILED AS COURAGEOUS TRUTH-TELLERS AND DEFENDERS OF LIBERTY. 

• THEO VAN GOGH. 
• PIM FORTUYN. 
• GEERT WILDERS. 
• ORIANA FALACCI. 
• NIGEL FARAGE. 
• PIA KJAERSGAARD. 
• MARINE LE PEN. 
• MATTIAS KARLSSON.
• AND TOMMY ROBINSON.

JE SUIS FED UP

"Don't bring a candlelight vigil to a gunfight." - David Burge @iowahawkblog

I DO NOT RECALL LONDONERS HAVING LARGE CANDLE-LIGHT RALLIES IN 1940.

I RECALL BRITS FIGHTING BACK:

 "We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...." - WS CHURCHILL

HUH... FUNNY HOW WINSTON DIDN'T MENTION T-SHIRT SLOGANS OR CANDLE-LIGHT...

NEITHER DID JFK:

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge--and more. 

WE NEED SOLIDARITY, AND THESE RALLIES OFFER A LITTLE FEEL-GOOD VERSION OF THAT.

BUT WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS TO COUNTER-ATTACK AND WIPE THE ENEMY OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

CANDLE-LIGHT AND T-SHIRT SLOGANS WON'T ACCOMPLISH THAT, AND NETHER WILL RALLIES.

WE NEED ACTION AND WE NEED IT NOW - AND I DO NOT MEAN CHARGING THE PERPS WITH MURDER AND HAVING A TRIAL!

I MEAN COUNTER-ATTACKING WITH 100x THE FORCE THEY USE ON US.

WHEN RADICAL ISLAMISTS ATTACK US HERE IN THE WEST, THEN WE SHOULD COUNTER-ATTACK AGAINST RADICAL ISLAMISTS - ANYWHERE WE DAMN CHOOSE.

THEY'RE TRYING TO USE TERROR TO MAKE US AFRAID.

THEY'RE TRYING TO TURN ISLAM INTO A HORNET'S NEST WE DARE NOT TOUCH.

WE NEED TO MAKE THE WEST INTO THE HORNET'S NEST.

AND THE SOONER THE BETTER.

THE CURRENT CROP OF POLITICIANS IN EUROPE AND THE USA ARE NOT LIKELY TO DO MORE THAN HAVE TRIALS AND CANDLE-LIGHT VIGILS.

WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP AND WE NEED IT ASAP.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

UPDATE: FROM THE COMMENTS:

Always On Watch said...

• All the candlelight vigils in the world won't stop these barbarians. In fact, I'm sure they are laughing at the recent "determined" masses holding vigil. 

Punditarian said...

• Excellent post. What we need is not twitter hashtags, candle light vigils, standing-with, or "I am" campaigns. What we need is to eradicate jihadism and jihadists.

EXACTLY.

CBR WRITER CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY JIHADISTS MURDERED CHARLIE HEBDO'S CARTOONISTS

CBR writer Brigid Alverson either can't get a clue or won't say exactly why:

While the specific motive for the shooting is unclear, Charlie Hebdo has a history of satirizing Islam, and Charbonnier was included on a “most wanted” list published in the Al-Qaeda magazine Inspire. [...]

Gee, hasn't it dawned upon her why? She did say at the end:

The magazine’s offices were firebombed in 2011 when it published an issue “guest-edited” by the Prophet Muhammad. The following week, the magazine responded with a cover image of Muhammad kissing a male Hebdo journalist. In 2012 Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of a naked Muhammad, and in 2013 released a serious cartoon biography of the prophet. News reports at the time noted that Charbonnier had received death threats and was living under police protection.

And yet she provides no clear explanation for the whys: because under Islam, you dare not mock the "prophet".

However, in a followup, she comes close:

That the gunmen reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) and “The Prophet has been avenged” points to the likelihood that the shootings were in retaliation for the several issues of the magazine that carried cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Shouldn't that be "makes clear"? Of course it was in revenge over some mere cartoons that the savages murdered the people at the magazine, yet she seems hesitant to admit that. No wonder comics journalism is as screwed up as regular journalism.

ROUNDUP OF COMICS CREATORS' COMMENTS ON JIHAD ATTACK IN PARIS

A repulsive bloodbath took place at the office of the Charlie Hebdo weekly in Paris. All over some mere cartoons satirizing the "prophet" Muhammed. What do any comics creators have to say? Here's one by cartoonist Francesco Francavilla:

Sad news to wake up to: my heart goes to Paris to the families of cartoonists & other victims of this barbaric attack pic.twitter.com/R9rPXtxdB6
— FrancescoFrancavilla (@f_francavilla) January 7, 2015

I think he's got the best take here so far. But then, we have Ron Marz, who first says:

Slaughtered over cartoons? Monstrous and insane. http://t.co/YILGfeqZ9Z #CharlieHebdo
— Ron Marz (@ronmarz) January 7, 2015

Yes, he's correct that it was monstrous and barbaric. But then, he says:

If you think your religion tells you to kill someone, you're not religious. You're insane. #JeSuisCharlie
— Ron Marz (@ronmarz) January 7, 2015

Uh, Marz, I don't suppose you'd like to research the Koran to see how the religion those barbarians worship does tell them? Have you seen Pamela Geller's advertisements featuring Sura 3:151, which says, "Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers", and Sura 47:4, which says, "When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds; then set them free, either by grace or ransom, till the war lays down its loads"? It would appear Marz has chosen to side with political correctness yet again. What next, will he start telling apostates from Islam they're nuts to think the religion they've left calls for their extermination, when Sura 2:217 and 4:89 prove otherwise? Next is G. Willow Wilson:

The usual suspects will say "where are the Muslims condemning this?" All major Muslim inst. already have. Your media doesn't cover it.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) January 7, 2015

Condemnation alone is insufficient. You have to be willing to acknowledge what verses the Koran contains. Otherwise, you remain unconvincing. And what does she mean by "your media"? American, even though she lives in the USA? Ahem. The LA Times, a very prominent publication, reported it, and the WSJ also reported that Muslim leaders allegedly condemn the attack, but they fall back on the same old complaints of anti-Muslim sentiments, without admitting there's Koranic verses that give reason to worry. But there you have it, contrary to what she's claimed, there are major papers reporting what she says they don't. Next comes Sandman/Books of Magic writer Neil Gaiman:

IT'S TIME WE IN THE WEST MADE OUR ENEMIES AFRAID OF ATTACKING US

THEY USE TERROR TO MAKE US FEARFUL AND SURRENDER TO THEIR HIDEOUS IDEOLOGY, TRYING TO TURN THEMSELVES INTO A VIRTUAL HORNET'S NEST THAT NONE DARE TOUCH.

WE MUST DO THE SAME - ONLY BIGGER, BADDER AND WORSE.

FOR EVERY ATTACK, WE SHOULD RESPOND 100-FOLD IN THEIR NECK OF THE WOODS,

AND WE SHOULD PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE THIS POLICY -

AND MAKE IT CLEAR TO THE LEADERS OF NATIONS WHO HARBOR THESE EVIL-DOERS...

THAT IF THEY DON'T STOP THEM BEFORE THEY ACT...

THEN WE WILL RETALIATE AFTER THEY ACT....

AND WE WILL RETALIATE ON ANY EXTREMIST LOCATION OF OUR CHOOSING -

WHETHER THEY ARE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE SPECIFIC ATTACK AT HAND OR NOT;

ANY ATTACK ON US BY EXTREMISTS, MUST PUT EXTREMISTS EVERYWHERE AT RISK.

UNTIL THEN, I EXPECT ONLY MORE ATTACKS BY THEM ON US.

POLITICIANS WHO ATTACKED PEGIDA ARE GUILTY OF APPEASING ISLAMISM AND ARE THEREFORE PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HEBDO ATTACK

NPR:

Germany has turned off the lights at some of its most famous monuments. 

It's part of a counterdemonstration against recent marches nationwide by a group protesting what its supporters see as the "Islamization of Europe." 

Here's the background: A group calling itself PEGIDA — Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West — has protested since October against Germany's asylum and immigration policies, which it views as lax. Germany takes in more refugees and asylum-seekers than other European Union countries. 

PEGIDA's views aren't in the political fringe. One German journalist told the BBC that many of its supporters felt "hard done-by" by the media and politicians. And a recent poll in Stern magazine showed 1 in 8 Germans would join an anti-Islam march. 

PEGIDA says it is not racist or xenophobic, says it opposes extremism and calls for the preservation of the country's Judeo-Christian culture. One demonstration organized by the group in Dresden before Christmas drew 17,500 people; another one on Monday in the same city attracted 18,000 people. 

But attempts to replicate that turnout elsewhere have been met with counterprotests. 

Counterdemonstrations that drew thousands of people were held in Berlin, Cologne, Dresden and Stuttgart. Efforts by PEGIDA supporters to march in Berlin on Monday were thwarted by counterdemonstrators who blocked their way. About 80 German politicians, celebrities and athletes signed a petition — headlined "No to PEGIDA" — in the newspaper Bild. They include former Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder, as well as Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Family Minister Manuela Schwesig. 

And in her New Year's Day speech, Chancellor Angela Merkel called on her fellow Germans to be wary of groups such as PEGIDA. 

"Do not follow people who organize these, for their hearts are cold and often full of prejudice, and even hate," Merkel said.

INSTEAD OF ATTACKING PEGIDA - MORE HARSHLY THAN THEY EVER ATTACK ISLAMISTS, I MIGHT ADD - POLITICIANS FROM ALL PARTIES SHOULD BE MARCHING WITH THEM.

PEGIDA SHOULD BE A NON-PARTISAN AND UNIVERSAL MOVEMENT FOR ALL WHO LOVE LIBERTY,

AND ALL WHO WANT THE WEST TO REMAIN A JUDEO-CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION AND NOT DESCEND INTO ISLAMIST MADNESS (LIKE IRAN AND IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND LIBYA AND SYRIA AND TURKEY).

APPEASERS IN EUROPE WHO TURN OUT THE LIGHTS TO ATTACK PEGIDA ARE ATTACKING THE WRONG TARGET.

THEY ARE SUICIDAL.

ISLAM WILL TURN OUT THE LIGHTS OF THE WEST IF THE APPEASING POLITICIANS REMAIN APPEASERS.

APPEASEMENT ALWAYS JUST ENCOURAGES THE BULLIES TO MAKE MORE AND WORSER ATTACKS.

THE HEBDO ATTACK PROVES THIS ONCE AGAIN.

THE HEBDO ATTACK IS EUROPE'S LAST CHANCE TO RESPOND POLITICALLY.

IF THE POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS AND CHRISTIAN PRIESTS/CHURCHES FAIL TO DEFEND THE WEST, THEN THE PEOPLE WILL - AS VIGILANTES.

AND SOONER THAN ANYONE THINKS...

BRRRRRR!: NYTIMES: BRUTAL COLD CLOSES SCHOOLS IN MIDWEST

MORE PROOF MAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE IS BS.

BTW: WARMISTS ARE CLAIMING 2014 WAS WARMEST YEAR EVAH!

BS.

ONLY THE HADLEY CENTER HADCRUT RECORDS SHOW THIS - AND THEY RELY ON LAND-BASED READINGS PROVEN TO BE SUSPECT BY INSPECTION.

AND REMEMBER: THIS IS THE OUTFIT IN BRITAIN WHOSE EMAILS WHOSE HACKED EMAILS PROVED THEY CONSPIRED TO LIE ABOUT WARMING.

SATELLITE READINGS SHOW 2014 WAS AS WARM/COOL AS ANY ON THE LAST 20 AND NOT WARMER THAN 1998.

THE HEBDO ATTACK: PROOF ISLAMISTS MUST BE EXPELLED FROM THE WEST

THIS IS JUST THE START.

A NAKED ATTEMPT TO SILENCE OPPOSITION TO ISLAMIZATION, TO SHARIA.

AN ATTACK ON LIBERTY, ON THE WEST.

IT WILL GET WORSE UNTIL WE FIGHT BACK TWICE AS HARD.

EVERYWHERE.

I EXPECT ATTACK IN LONDON AND NY AND MADRID AND ROME AND MUNICH WILL FOLLOW.

IT MEANS ISLAMISTS MUST BE EXPELLED FROM THE WEST;

THEIR IDEOLOGY IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH CIVILIZATION.

IF POLITICIANS WON'T DO IT, THEN THE PEOPLE WILL TAKE JUSTUCE IN THEIR OWN HANDS AND SEFEND LIBERTY WITH THE SAME FIERCENESS AS THOSE WHO OPPOSE IT.

AND SOONER THAN ANYONE THINKS....

SHOOTING AT CHARLIE HEBDO HQ IN PARIS

Another attack's been made at the office of the satirical weekly, and this time, tragically, there appear to be casualties of jihad:

Several people have been killed by armed gunmen in a shooting at the Paris offices of a satirical magazine, according to French media reports.

Shooting was heard at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine known for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2012.

"Several men in black cagoules were heard to shout 'the Prophet has been avenged'", wrote Pierre de Cossette, a broadcast journalist with Europe1 News.

"I think there are casualties," said the publication's cartoonist, Renaud Luzier.

The magazine is based in Paris's 11th arrondissement.

It should be clearer than ever now that France is under siege by jihad, and this was bound to happen. But is the leftist government now in charge going to take effective action? There's no telling if they will.

NOAH BERLATSKY SUGARCOATS THE MUSLIM MS. MARVEL TOPIC

Would-be reporter and Hooded Utilitarian owner Noah Berlatsky wrote a sugary article for CBR (via IO9) where he fully ignores Islam's own relations with violence while claiming the Muslim Ms. Marvel book is a perfect statement against violence, using the new Gotham TV series as a contrast:

The connection between adulthood and violence is a well-established trope -- think of "Full Metal Jacket," or any number of war films where the fresh-faced, innocent protagonists goes through fire and combat to become a man who understands. But even if it's ratified by Kubrick and Hemingway, the fact is that there's nothing especially realistic or mature about violence, per se. Why is having your parents shot more "real" than going to a movie with them and not having them get shot? Why are piles of dead bodies more real than spending time with your kids? We've collectively decided that violence is more real than peace; that shooting someone in the head is more real, or more important, than exchanging pleasantries. Without trauma, the superhero genre seems to say, your stories don't matter.

Which is part of why I love G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona's "Ms. Marvel." Kamala Khan doesn't become a superhero because she's traumatized; there are no dead Thomas Waynes or Uncle Bens in her origin story. Instead, she stumbled into superpowers, and then, inspired in part by her family and in part by her Muslim faith, she decides that she wants to use them to help people. And most of that helping is not especially violent -- her first super-act is to save a drunk girl from drowning, and it takes her several issues to actually fight anybody. The first battle is with a confused fellow student who is sort of, kind of robbing a store; he ends up shooting her, which is presented both as low-key and as a big deal. Ms. Marvel isn't permanently hurt (she has stretchy super-powers and is invulnerable) but the one accidental shot is still presented as terrifying and wrong. Violence here isn't truth, but aberration; a fissure in real life rather than real life itself.

It sure is fascinating how a series depicting a character who isn't motivated by trauma happens to be one that whitewashes a bad religion and won't be transparent about any of the Koranic verses like Sura 3:151, which says "soon we shall cast terror into the hearts of unbelievers", and Sura 4:89, which calls for murdering apostates. And how about these women working for ISIS who tortured mothers for breastfeeding in public? Is that helping?

Now it may be true that some parts of western society have collectively decided violence is better, and more "real" than spending time with family & friends. But that's what the Koran's violence verses preach too, and if Berlatsky turns his back to that, then he's rejecting reality in turn. Failure to be honest about the Koran's content only destroys whatever point Wilson's supposedly making, which I'm guessing could be pacifism, as the following hints:

Ms. Marvel does go on to fight more and more dangerous opponents, and to use greater levels of violence. In issue #7, illustrated by guest artist Jake Wyatt, she teams up with that avatar of grim, gritty violence, Wolverine, and the two do battle against a giant alligator. Ms. Marvel holds the alligator back, and Wolverine does what she calls his "claw thingee," putting an end to the giant critter off-panel. Wolverine (who had lost his regenerating power) thanks Kamala for saving him, but she isn't so thrilled. "I don't like hurting stuff," she says, "Even giant sewer alligators. I mean… is it possible to help people without hurting other people. Or, you know… reptiles?"

Wolverine, predictably enough, doesn't think it is. "It all circles around," he says, "The hurt, I mean." He argues that if you don't hurt others, you'll get hurt yourself. "The pain's gotta go somewhere." As he makes that speech, he leans over, massaging his aching back — the old guy who's been there, done that, and knows how violence works. "You're young," he tells Ms. Marvel.

Gee, that sure does sound pretty ambiguous, making no distinctions between good and evil. It sounds like Wolverine was written to talk as though he's brainless. I thought it was a case of where, if you don't fight back against a violent criminal or a bully, you'll be the one on the receiving end of violence. But Wilson and company probably don't.

It's not exactly clear whose side we're supposed to take in the discussion between Wolverine and Kamala. Wolverine is the voice of age and experience; you could see him as telling hard-earned truths. But he's also, maybe, just old -- Wyatt draws him weirdly out of proportion, with a giant torso and spindly legs; he looks ridiculous, bulky and stiff next to Ms. Marvel (when she's not stretching). Like Wolverine says, Ms. Marvel is young -- both in the sense that Kamala is still in high school, and in the sense that the comic she's in, featuring a young, Muslim, Pakistani girl, can be seen as a different kind of effort at relevance. Rather than making reality a function of body count, "Ms. Marvel" suggests that you can be more real by including the experiences of folks whom superhero comics has largely ignored.

Is he serious? Until the recent miniseries chronicling Logan's demise for a sales stunt, he was not ignored at all. Wolverine was practically Brian Bendis's prime choice for the "New" Avengers along with Spider-Man as a cast member a decade back. The characters who were really ignored for several years are folks like Scarlet Witch. Even Wasp was bumped off and ignored a few years after the Avengers: Disassembled embarrassment. Until now, I had no idea Berlatsky, who's written on occasion for The Atlantic, was so sloppy.

And in doing so, it seems like the comic provides a more realistic take on violence, too. Wolverine's hard-boiled, world-weary, kill-the-alligators-and-let-the-sewer-sort-them-out sounds like that old comic book realism. But if you had to kill someone, or even an alligator, wouldn't you be upset? The superhero genre is one where realism is often defined in terms of death and carnage, but in "Ms. Marvel" it's the gentleness that seems genuine.

And if he knows what the verses in the Koran are like, he'll know why it's not. In fact, his whole take on violence is very misleading, alluding more to the modern crises with violence in comics than to the pre-1990 era, when you didn't have as much of this as seen today. And all this from somebody who probably isn't even asking for Marvel and DC to reverse much of their mess and do more character drama with already established heroes and co-stars like Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Berlatsky is just a joke.

WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH, NASSER AND AL SISI OR THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD?

MANY IN THE BLOGOSPHERE ARE REGALING EGYPT'S PRESIDENT FOR HIS FORTHRIGHT ATTACK ON ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY IN A SPEECH HE GAVE AT AL AZHAR UNIVERSITY CAIRO:

In a major positive development, Egypt's President Al Sisi has made an impassioned plea for a "religious revolution" in Islam.  Speaking at Al Azhar University in Cairo, Sisi spoke directly to the religious establishment of Egypt:  

Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill the rest of the world's inhabitants – that is 7 billion – so that they themselves may live? Impossible!I am saying these words here at Al Azhar, before this assembly of scholars and ulema – Allah Almighty be witness to your truth on Judgment Day concerning that which I'm talking about now.All this that I am telling you, you cannot feel it if you remain trapped within this mindset. You need to step outside of yourselves to be able to observe it and reflect on it it from a more enlightened perspective.I say and repeat again that we are in need of a religious revolution. You, imams, are responsible before Allah. The entire world, I say it again, the entire world is waiting for your next move... because this umma is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost – and it is being lost by our own hands.  

Egypt has long been considered a leading nation in the Arab world, and for its president to call for a "religious revolution" is a historic event.  Al Sisi may represent a powerful undercurrent that has been growing in the Arab world that Islam needs a reformation to come to terms with the modern world.  As with the Soviet Union, many people have been thinking that and quietly talking about it, but they have been afraid to speak up.  Al Sisi's declaration to the religious authorities in Egypt is likely to start a much-needed open debate among Muslims around the world.

WHILE IT IS CERTAINLY NICE THAT AL SISI IS SPEAKING OUT AGAINST ISLAMISM, IT IS HARDLY SURPRISING OR A HARBINGER IN MY OPINION.

THE EGYPTIAN ARMY HAS LONG BEEN ANTI-ISLAMIST.

SADAT WAS ASSASSINATED BY THEM.

SADAT'S SUCCESSOR - MUBURAK - WHO HAD BRUTALLY KEPT THEM IN CHECK AS A RESULT - WAS OVERTHROWN BY THEM.

EVEN NASSER OPPOSED THEM WHOLEHEARTEDLY.

AND WITH RIDICULE AND DERISION. HERE'S A VIDEO;

I THINK THE FACT THAT THE AUDIENCE IN THE NASSER VIDEO ARE LAUGHING AND THE ONE ON THE AL SISI VIDEO ARE AUSTERE IS VERY TELLING. 

TRUE: AL SISI IS ADDRESSING THE CLERICS, AND NASSER WAS ADDRESSING HIS PARTY MEMBERS.

BUT STILL, NASSER'S ATTACK SEEMS MORE COMPLETE.

 THE DISDAIN... TOTAL.

AL SISI SEEMS TO BE CHALLENGING AN ALMOST EQUAL POWER, WHEREAS NASSER WAS RIDICULING A GROUP HE HELD IN CONTEMPT.

THIS MAY BE A RESULT OF A SIMPLE FACT: THE ISLAMISTS ARE FAR MORE POWERFUL NOW, THAN THEY WERE IN 1952.

TO DEFEAT THEM IN EGYPT, THEY WILL HAVE TO BE DEFEATED IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ AND SYRIA AND TURKEY.

IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN WORDS TO DO THAT.

ANTI-ISRAELI ACADEMICS DEFEATED

Commentary's Jonathan Marks sends the good tidings that the American Historical Association voted overwhelmingly against anti-Israeli academics who tried to drag them into the Israel-PLO conflict. Thank goodness.

INDOCTRINATION FROM INFANCY

ISIS is calling on mothers to raise their children on hatemongering straight from the crib:

The Islamic State has released a new guide informing mothers within the caliphate how they should properly raise their babies to be fully prepared to fight in the Muslim extremist jihad.

The publication, called "Sister's Role in Jihad," surfaced online and is designed to encourage mothers to begin training their children at an infant age to take on a radical mindset in order for the kids to be prepared for battle when they reach the appropriate age to join ISIS' fighting ranks, the Daily Mail reports.

The publication, which was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute in a report they are conducting on the indoctrination of children, asserts that the most important job for women in the ISIS caliphate is indoctrinating their children into Muslim extremism "while they are babies."

This made me think of something: if you raised children on violent television from infancy and told them what you saw on the screen was how life should be led, I think it is perfectly logical they could grow up to be savages. And we shouldn't be surprised if some Islamic regimes do have "TV tactics" for raising children on jihad as much as the Koran itself. That's why I would strongly advise against arguing visual media has no serious impact on youngsters.

WSJ ON GRAPHIC NOVELS AIMED AT WOMEN

The Wall Street Journal wrote about new comics aimed at women. Unfortunately, they just had to include a very bad choice for women who're realists:

Marvel’s new series, “Ms. Marvel”—about a Muslim girl living in Jersey City, N.J.—was the publisher’s No. 1 best-selling digital title of 2014, according to Marvel. (The trade paperback version, “Ms. Marvel Vol. 1,” released in October, has been through seven print runs.)

[...] Sana Amanat, the Marvel editor behind “Ms. Marvel” and “Max Ride,” said the success of “Ms. Marvel” came as a surprise.

“I honestly thought that people would see this and say ‘Uck, God what a gimmick,’” she said. “It was a bit of a risk.”

And despite what she says, it is a gimmick. If they didn't want anybody to think that, they would've left religion out of the mess. Interesting they haven't told how much it's really made in sales, digital or otherwise.

I wonder why this book matters, but not some of the other series they've published with female leads, like the Capt. Marvel book now starring Carol Danvers in the role of her male predecessor? If the WSJ wanted to, I'm sure they could've put that into the text instead of the Muslim Ms. Marvel. Now that I think of it, this article's used a gimmick, and not a very good one.

PLO'S ATTEMPT TO DELEGITIMIZE ISRAEL AT UN ASSEMBLY FAILS

Joseph Klein wrote on Front Page Magazine about the PLO's latest attempt to delegitimize Israel at the UN grotto, which thankfully failed.

OBAMA'S PALS IN CUBA STILL JAILING DISSIDENTS

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/with-no-consequences-in-sight-cuba-continues-to-crack-down-on-free-speech/2015/01/01/d4cb8b62-9122-11e4-ba53-a477d66580ed_story.html?hpid=z3

THE CASTRO REGIME GOT A SWEET DEAL FROM THEIR COMRADE.

NO SURPRISE. OBAMA ONLY AIDS ISLAMISTS AND SOCIALISTS.

I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO NAME A DEMOCRATIC ALLY OBAMA HAS STUCK HIS NECK OUT FOR.

MEANWHILE, OBAMA STABBED MUBARAK AND KADDAFY IN THEIR BACKS AND ABANDONED IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND EASTERN EUROPE.

MAYBE OBAMA ISN'T SECRETLY WORKING FOR OUR ENEMIES, BUT HE MIGHT AS WELL BE.

CAMPUS OPPRESSION

Alexandra Zimmern lets us all know how universities today are restricting free speech on draconian levels, and it's not just dangerous for Israel, but for other people too:

The infamous Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns and “apartheid week” displays on college campuses are not the only threat to Jewish students. A much greater threat looms: the inability for students to publicly defend their beliefs. While universities claim to be havens of open debate and intellectual curiosity, they are in reality black holes of political correctness. On campus, only certain ideas are worthy of consideration and Zionism is definitely not one of them. This culture doesn’t just threaten members of the Jewish community, who are terrified to challenge those who accuse Israel of the most heinous crimes. Rather, it threatens all of us who value free speech and its ability to encourage criticism, debate, and original thought on college campuses.

While speech codes are thought to be a thing of the 90s, the truth is that college students today are facing the most serious threats to their civil liberties. From “trigger warnings” to “free speech zones,” universities are slowly training students to become hypersensitive and incapable of deviating from ideologies that are in vogue.

But unlike the 90s, universities are now controlling speech in a much more insidious manner. Speech codes today manifest in vague and poorly written policies that try to protect students against harassment, sexual assault, and bullying. Seemingly, these policies serve the best interest of students who face these issues on campus. But practically, they give university administrators the power to punish students for harmless speech protected by the First Amendment, while ignoring due process for the accused.

It is shocking how many universities have such policies. Lehigh University, for example, defines harassment as “…unwelcome statements, jokes, gestures, pictures, touching, or other conducts that offend, demean, harass, or intimidate.” I suppose they weren’t planning to invite Sarah Silverman (or any other decent comedian) anytime soon. Georgetown University’s Code of Student Conduct includes punishable measures against incivility defined as behavior that “disrespects another individual.” Since when is being disrespectful a crime? In Minnesota, St. Olaf College has a policy that disallows “creating or posting material that is offensive” on a campus computer. In other words, no emailing political memes, cartoons, or opinion articles…all of which could potentially offend someone.

Therein lies the real danger. How can we punish students or professors for saying something that might be understood as disrespectful? And should universities have the authority to decide what does and does not fall under these definitions on a case-by-case basis? For many students, the positions that conservatives take on social issues are offensive: anti-gay marriage, anti-abortion, etc. But that shouldn’t mean that these positions are illegitimate and that those who hold these opinions should be discriminated against. These policies, though, allow for exactly that.

Exactly. And the only time anti-gay marriage stances are considered appropriate are when Muslims object to it. It's extremely disturbing how university staffs are basically teaching their students to be thin-skinned towards anything they disagree with. How can anybody at a college be a true success if they have low self-esteem? Most bewildering is how people with no ownership or property certificate to a college campus can make such a fuss about people they don't agree with giving lectures there, or why they'd even want to attend. Staying at home would be a much better way to go, yet these leftists waste all their time yelling at people they despise, acting vulgar and hardly presenting somebody you'd want to hang around with.

I think one of the challenges now is to get universities to stop teaching their students to be thin-skinned and start acting with self-confidence. Better still, they could teach them to be apolitical and not act like politics are something they must adhere to no matter what.

MALMO'S POLICE HQ UNDER SIEGE

In Sweden's most Islamized city, it's like a plotline out of Assault on Precinct 13, as one of their police stations has been under attack by jihadists with bombs, having experienced 36 attacks this year alone. Predictably, while the police are cordoning off part of the street to protect it, the authorities are doing nothing to set up raids to capture the urban jihadists committing the crimes.

ISLAMIZATION IN FRANCE DURING 2014

Soeren Kern summarizes what's been going on with Islamofascism in France during this past year. Some very awful things have happened, and more effort than ever is needed to get European dhimmi governments to cut out their cowardice and start showing muscle against the modern jihad invaders.