Everybody Draw Holocaust Day; More Muslim tolerance on display

I missed yesterday’s episode of ‘The Michael Coren Show’, but thanks to SDAMatt2, I was able to watch this segment and listen to the discussion of “Everybody Draw Holocaust Day”… Urgh…

and…

As SDAMatt2 said in his description of the video, this is very much “Everybody Deny The Holocaust Day”. The Anti-Defamation League has been following this trend of anti-semitic hatred/Holocaust denial in the Middle East, pointing not only to the denial of the basic facts, but to the applauding by Arab of the extermination of the Jewish people under the Nazis. This is the same with the hatred of the United States, as the very people who deny the September 11th attacks, claiming that it was the work of the American government, are the same people who applaud the actions of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The fact that we have this “Everybody Draw Holocaust Day” when “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” wasn’t promoted by the Jewish community demonstrates to me just how intolerant many of these Islamic extremists are. How does anyone even defend, let alone condone this kind of nonsense?

Monte Solberg makes the point that the reaction to “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” by North American Muslms is troubling, and I couldn’t agree more. It isn’t surprising that those who live under totalitarian Muslim regimes would be upset with anything we do in the West, but the fact that those who have moved to Canada and the United States haven’t accepted our ways and made efforts to assimilate. Tarek Fatah highlights this “threat from within” by quoting a study which says that thirteen percent of Muslims openly admit that if the “Toronto 18″ are convicted for plotting a terrorist attack, that the terrorists were justified in their actions, with five percent wishing that the plot has succeeded. Take in mind that this is just those radical enough to openly admit their belief, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t think those numbers weren’t significantly lower than the real percentage. While this is a minority within the Muslim community, it is far larger than we are told it is. I would honestly like to see how the Muslim community responds to “Everybody Draw Holocaust Day”, and see if this “silent majority” will dismiss this nonsense as inflammatory or simply ignore it as they have done with “Israeli Apartheid Week”.

While I didn’t see any reason to participate in “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” myself, especially considering how offensive and inflammatory some of the drawings were, I do believe that making such a political statement was important after all this censoring that had been going on lately. In response to the response to the censorship, Islamic radicals have demonstrated not only their intolerance, but their hypocrisy. Why should they have the right to deny the freedom of speech of others while preaching this bigoted nonsense? It doesn’t belong in our society, nor does it belong in any civilized society… Pathetic…

UPDATE: What would this post be without a report, or something very similar to one, which helps explain it? Loganswarning posted on this story, posting the summary for this Facebook event…

The difference is that you draw Lies about Muhammad and we draw Truth about you. That you seek to bring unrest and conflict, and we wish to uncover the reality so injustice is no more

We are here to reflect about the foundational myth of the secular cult. A cult which has delivered human kind the biggest genocides recorded in history:

From the tens of millions massacred by the Atheist Soviet regime, to the other several millions wiped off the face of the earth by the hand of the Western secular fanaticism in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Iran, and an endless list of nations who have suffered the arrogance of Man over God.

Much of the injustice that takes place in our world stems from ignorance. We reject being emotionally blackmailed by Hollywood tales and holocaust museums which legitimize the war crimes and crimes against humanity of the extremist Atheist regime of Tel-Aviv.

Seems rude? Or insulting? Or immoral? Actually it doesn’t matter. Because the secular brand of Freedom of Speech never cares about any of the above. Right? Today I learned my lesson. Never be quiet. You have to be intensely speaking out insulting to people, even innocent ones. Is that how freedom goes?

It seems that they want to practice ‘Freedom of Speech’ not for bringing up any kind of logic, but to insult a person who is not even present to defend himself. Ok. Lesson learned. Thanks for your “morals”.

I know who they are. They are the ones who do not care that you are Muslim, Jew, Christian. They want religions and morals to be wiped off from the face of the earth. The only things that they care about are power and money and “The Zionist state of Israel”. Their excuse is Holocaust.

Now, I have a simple question for you guys. Am I as free as you? May I practice my Freedom of Speech too?

Let’s research critically about the Holocaust then.

Research this critically? It has been researched critically. University courses that cover the Holocaust go into detail about how the “Final Solution” was reached, how , at the Wannsee Conference senior Nazi officials decided the fate of millions of Jewish people. All the gruesome facts are known, and the only discussion these bigots want is one that allows them to preach their nonsensical belief in denying the Holocaust ever happened. This isn’t about a discussion about faith, this is hatred of the worst kind of hatred…

Bigotry isn’t critical thinking, it is an expression of hatred, an abuse of freedom of speech, and not welcomed in our society… Pathetic…

Red Dead Whining: Say NO! to Fair Trade nonsense

With the release of Red Dead Redemption, the controversy about the game’s production has heated up. Gamasutra’s published a letter from the spouses of Rockstar Games San Deigo employees earlier this year, stating, among other things, that “the extent of degradation employees have suffered extends to their quality of life and their family members”. After sorting through this letter, I find that many of the claims made by Rockstar employee spouses are vague, exaggerated, and downright inflammatory. Considering that all types of work, be it full-time or part-time, are less than enjoyable, I have a hard time taking it seriously, especially with these absurd claims that the treatment the employees have received has effected their quality of life and driven many to contemplate suicide.

In my employment experience, I have been subjected to unsafe working conditions, harassment and intimidation from both co-workers and management, even being wrongfully terminated, and all of this before leaving Canada to teach in Nantong, China. Even with the Rockstar paying $2.75 million in an out of court settlement following previous complaints, considering that the case was about unpaid overtime (even I have been denied overtime pay), I have yet to find any reason to feel sympathetic to employees of one of the biggest developers in gaming today. If these employees truly felt abused, why not leave the company? They wouldn’t be hard pressed to find new employment when their resume includes work on the top selling titles of the last few years.

This fiasco is personified in Nels Anderson’s article, “Do We Need Fair Trade Games?” For the purpose of this post, here is the entire article…

Red Dead Redemption came out last week and while I know I’m going to buy it, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t somewhat hesitant to do so.

It seems the controversy is now mostly forgotten, but in January, the spouses of a number of Rockstar San Diego developers penned an open letter decrying the working conditions in the studio. Reminiscent of the then unnamed Erin Hoffman’s EA Spouse letter, it details conditions that grossly overreach the usual game development crunch time. And of course, the response from Rockstar HQ and Take 2 was typical mealy-mouthed PR bullshit. While I’m sure plenty of other games I have enjoyed were made under similar conditions to Red Dead Redemption and simply didn’t receive public outcry, a pall is still cast over RDR that it won’t ever be able to fully shake, at least for me.

Hearing the alleged conditions in Rockstar San Diego were also unfortunately familiar; by several accounts, Bully was created at Rockstar Vancouver under very similar conditions. And even though I quite enjoyed Bully, I couldn’t help but feel a little … uncomfortable about it. It was that same twinge of discomfort you get seeing “Made in Bangladesh” on the tag of your shirt. I don’t mean to pick on Rockstar, I’m sure this is a problem at many studios, but you know, they did pay out almost $3 million after a lawsuit was filed by employees about a year ago.

While I’m being facetious about the idea of “fair trade” certification for games, even if such a thing could exist, I’m not sure something like it would actually be desirable. The purpose of fair trade is to avoid purchasing goods produced in unfair conditions. But if I had slaved away on a game, seeing it sell poorly because consumers disagreed with the conditions it was made in would only be adding insult to injury.

And of course, I don’t think it’s very risky to say most of the potential audience really doesn’t care. Most are simply unaware of such circumstances at all and of the small percentage that are, many seem to have the perverse and naive attitude that being a game developer is some invaluable gift. Once this legendary position has been obtained, all expectations of fair and decent working conditions evaporate.

A couple choice comments from the Shacknews post about this: “Come to NY and see who cries for you.” “Oh please. These guys have the best jobs in the world and they love doing it. Have a problem with it? DON’T MARRY THEM.” “This sucks, but god damn those screens look good.”

Unfortunately, this attitude exists even in some new entrants to the industry. Willing to do virtually anything to “break in,” their enthusiasm results in a seemingly unending supply for the digital salt mines. Eventually circumstances like the above burn them out and they leave for good, resulting in less than one third of developers making it to ten years in the industry.

And I have no idea what to do about it. It seems buying Red Dead Redemption is better than not doing so in protestation, but good sales likely aren’t going to inspire change at Rockstar San Diego. More likely, a good swath of people will leave, replacements will be brought in and things will get as bad again the next time a project is well behind schedule. I do not think the solution is a union, as I’m very skeptical of a union ever being a good idea for knowledge workers. The great, bloated beasts SAG and the WGA have become certainly give me little hope.

The only thing I can do, personally, is refuse to ever work at a studio that operates under such conditions and strongly council others to do the same. If great, experienced developers will only operate at studios with respectful, fair working conditions, and they make this known, that might incentivize certain changes. The passion people have to making games is also a great weakness, because it can be exploited. Game developers will tolerate conditions I can’t imagine someone making accounting software ever would. We cannot allow our passion to be taken advantage of.

I really hope Red Dead Redemption is a big success, both in terms of quality and sales. It’s better condolence than the alternative. It sure sounds like its creators were asked to give far too much and there’s a part of me that will feel a little guilty enjoying the game because of it. I long for the day when developers’ passion will be respected rather than exploited, but honestly, I don’t know how soon that day will come. Not soon enough, I think.

Let me start by saying that I am not a supporter of “fair trade”. Not only does it distort pricing, creating excess supply, but with the drop in demand due to the higher prices, it does more to hurt those it claims to help in the long run. It is the product of guilt-ridden “elites” who aren’t satisfied with paying competitive prices for what they consider “ill-gotten” goods, and because of it, consumers and supplies suffer. Turning to Nels’ article, suggesting that consumers boycott game companies that “exploit” their workers leads to only one outcome; the increase in game prices and the decrease in game development. It would be akin to unionizing the gaming labour force, something Nels says he is skeptical of, leading to same short comings that we see in the auto industry with automakers like General Motors that are being forced to produce inferior quality vehicles at prices higher than their competition. I am further dumbfound by Nels’ remarks considering that Rockstar Games San Deigo employees not only produced a noticeably inferior product on the Playstation 3, but a game that is heavily glitched on both systems. This kind of laziness shouldn’t be rewarded, nor should these employees be treated like victims if they can’t produce quality games after more than five years of development.

Let’s not pretend this is some sort of non-biased account of what has happened at Rockstar Games San Diego. Nels alerts his readers to his anti-corporate/anti-Rockstar Games bias with statements like “the response from Rockstar HQ and Take 2 was typical mealy-mouthed PR bullshit” and “many seem to have the perverse and naive attitude that being a game developer is some invaluable gift”. His second statement is particularly dumbfounding because being a game developer is to many, including myself, an invaluable gift. The gaming industry is very competitive, and many people are forced to seek work in other game markets, if they are even lucky enough to get that since the positions in North America are hard to come by. This statement is akin to a professional athlete complaining about his/her troubles, unaware of the millions of individuals who would give anything to have their life. Nels can complain about how he wants studios to operate with “respectful, fair working conditions”, but the truth is that the gaming market has become very competitive and the feelings of a few workers will be sacrificed if not doing so will cost companies like Rockstar Games money, which in turn costs jobs. The truth of this point is that Nels refuses to acknowledge that game developing is a business and that, for the most part, should be run like a business. As hard as that may be to accept, this is the reality of the matter since “happiness and pleasant thoughts” won’t pay bills.

Let’s stop pretending this is about working conditions. Rockstar Games San Diego is a far cry from Foxconn in Shenzhen, China where people are committing suicide due to what apparently is poor working conditions. Notice how he doesn’t write about the fact that Foxconn, who makes parts for Apple, Dell and HP computers, might ACTUALLY be treating their employees in the way he and others depict Rockstar Games San Diego’s treatment of its staff. Why doesn’t he want “fair trade” iPads and iPhones? Honestly, Nels doesn’t really care at all about this nonsense. He hates how game development has become more business oriented and has targeted Rockstar Games because of this ongoing fiasco. He can pretend that the treatment of the staff at the San Diego office will affect his decision, but if he really did care, he would purchase Red Dead Redemption to ensure that the team that worked on it would get their bonuses. The better the game sells, the more likely that not only will the developer want to keep them, but also more likely that they will be rewarded for their hard work. Returning back to the article, Nels completely ignores the point made by Garnett Lee in ShackNews article that this increase in pressure on the staff may be due to the fact that many developers are being forced to close in these fiscally hard times, instead focusing on comments made by readers that these complaints are nonsense. While employees at Rockstar Games San Diego complain about working conditions, many people, both insides and outside the gaming industry, find themselves out of work and see that these whiners are lucky to have a job to complain about, let alone a steady paycheck.

In the end, that is all this is, a group of employed individuals complaining that they are being mistreated. Seeing how it took them more than five years to release a glitch-ridden title, as many have noted, they should be grateful they still having a job. Nels can pretend to be this victim rights advocate, but you know as well as I do that if he actually cared, he wouldn’t hesitate to pick up this title. What we have here is a gameplay programmer making a political statement about the video game industry. It doesn’t matter what the facts are, he simply wants recognition for a ill-conceived and biased opinion about this ongoing fiasco at Rockstar Games San Diego. Considering that these are fiscally difficult times, I have no use for his ill-informed “elitist” rhetoric. Many of us are unemployed, and we don’t have money to be wasted on political statements.

If Nels Anderson wants to play political games, he better expect myself and others to call him on his nonsense. Unless people are ACTUALLY being mistreated, unless people are ACTUALLY committing suicide, you and the rest of the whiners better SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, AND BE THANKFUL THAT YOU STILL HAVE A JOB, let alone one in the video game industry. Downright pathetic…

The Shiksa Dilemma

The problem with keeping my eye on American and international issues is that I sometimes miss interesting stories in Canada. Even with the National Post and various other Canadian publications, some stories do tend to slip through the cracks. I heard about this on ‘The Michael Coren Show’, and thanks to SDAMatt2, I can show you the video of the segment.

While the word “shiksa” is offensive, I’m having trouble seeing any real reason to ban it. It is downright mind-boggling when even silliness like this banned, but that is the point isn’t it? We have developed this culture where anything offensive is banned, where certain statement, no matter their validity, lead to calls for apology. Has Canada become so thin skinned that we can’t, by law, say anything that may offend anyone else? I could go on about the value of free speech, and how protecting the feelings of others has hurt it in Canada, but I think I made my point. There is, however, another side to this story which both Michael Coren and Blazing Cat Fur point out; the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), which is up in arms over banning this word, has a history of demanding certain words be banned. Oh sweet delicious irony…

Maybe this will teach the CJC that their nonsense has a way of turning around on them. While I definitely don’t support outlawing offensive words, I do enjoy sitting on the sidelines watching the “language police” fighting amongst themselves. If this word isn’t banned, it demonstrates the double standard of these political correctness obsessed hypocrites. If the word is banned, well that is a blow to the credibility of the CJC to protect the Jewish community isn’t it? Either way, it will hopefully force these people to reexamine how their campaign to make Canada free of insulting words. Am I holding my breath on this one? Obviously not, especially since this will most likely end with “shiska” being put on an exception list, but I can still hope for a better outcome right?

Where does this political correctness campaign end? This is the problem I see with this whole fiasco. Maybe if the CJC bothered to think about where their efforts would lead, they wouldn’t be in this situation. This is a problem they have helped create and now we get to see if they will be able to have to “have their cake and eat it too”… Mind-boggling…

UPDATE: Joseph Brean at the National Post is reporting on the CJC’s reaction to banning the word “shiksa”. If you are looking for a more detailed account of this fiasco, I recommend you give this story a read.

Lars Vilks Victim of Arson; Muslim tolerance continues to amaze

I could have simply continued to update my previous article on this, but I feel that this story is far from over. The Associated Press’ Louise Nordstrom has more of the continue story with this article published in the Washington Post…

The home of a Swedish artist who once drew a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad as a dog has been hit by a suspected arson attack, police said Saturday.

Lars Vilks, who lives in Nyhamnslage in southern Sweden, was not at home during the attack late Friday night and no one was reported injured.

It was the latest in a week of attacks on the 53-year-old cartoonist, who was assaulted Tuesday by a man while he lectured at a university and saw his Web site apparently attacked by hacker on Wednesday.

Police were alerted just before noon Saturday, as people passing by the artist’s house noted that several windows had been smashed. When officers arrived, they discovered plastic bottles filled with gasoline and fire damage on the surface of the building. Attackers are also suspected of having tried setting the inside of house on fire, but the flames are thought to have fizzled out.

Police have no suspects in the case, police Spokeswoman Sofie Osterheim said.

Vilks, who often jokes about the threats he has received since his 2007 sketch of Muhammad, including from al-Qaida, said the latest attack doesn’t raise his fears more than usual.

“I’m not really more afraid than what I think is realistic,” he told the Associated Press over the telephone.

Vilks has faced numerous threats over his drawing. Earlier this year, U.S. investigators said Vilks was the target of an alleged murder plot involving Colleen LaRose, an American woman who dubbed herself “Jihad Jane,” and who now faces life in prison. She has pleaded not guilty.

Vilks depicted Muhammad more than a year after 12 Danish newspaper cartoons of the prophet sparked furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006. Images of Muhammad, even favorable ones, are considered blasphemous by many Muslims.

Even with their “victory” at Uppsala University, it seems these radical Muslims won’t be happy until Lars Vilks is dead. As the story indicates, neither Vilks nor his dog, Muhammed, were hurt in the attack, so we can be thankful that just like previous terrorist attempts, this arsonist was incompetent. The issue here is that no amount of pandering to these extremists will stop them from committing further attacks. I would even go as far to warn those at Uppsala University who organized the Lars Vilks event to take precautions as they themselves might be the next target of “Muslim tolerance”. If these two events have demonstrated anything it is that Sweden is suffering under the intolerance heel of fundamentalist Islam. Fundamentalist Islam is very much reminiscent of Nazism, and Europe is experiencing this first hand. As Jumanah Imad Albahri, clearly indicated, these radicals area looking at repeating the “Final Solution” before turning their sights on the rest of us…

I will continue to update this post as more information comes out. Suffice to say, I do think this story is far from over… Troubling…

UPDATE: Allahpundit at Hot Air has more on the arson attack, reporting that Lars Vilks doesn’t feel safe anymore in his house at the latest attempt on his life. As Allahpundit points out, while Vilks is a provocateur, it is these Muslim extremists who have been far worse in this regard. Their not so subtle intimidation tactics have silenced many of their more outspoken critics already, and inaction on the part of society to combat this growing trend is actually bolstering the fundamentalist cause. Why isn’t this reported on in the media? Why don’t we see this covered by national and international news? Until you can call this what it is, Islamic extremism, you can’t stop it. Let’s remember that… Frustrating…

UPDATE: In a related story, Michelle Malkin is reporting on the threats participants in “Draw Mohammed Day” are all receiving from “tolerant” Muslims. I have received death threats for comments I have made on other sites like YouTube (apparently Jesus Christ is going to decapitate me), so none of this really shocks me anymore. For those who haven’t been threatened with beheading or are simply curious about the threats others are getting, give Jumping in Pools’ post on this a look. This is definitely not the peaceful religion that we keep hearing about… Pathetic…

Pets Euthanized: Protesters and their obsession with saving animals

In the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit that I have never had a dog, let alone any pet for that matter. I have mild allergies, mainly to cats, but my mother has a noticeable allergic reaction to both them and dogs, so our house has been pet free. That isn’t to say I don’t envy those with pets, quite the contrary. There is also something to say about those who adopt abandoned animals, shelter pets who have been abused previously. It is one of the reason I respect Mark Levin, a man who’s done a lot to support animal shelters, even adopting abandoned pets himself. I recommend animal lovers give his Pet Corner a look as it contains moving tales about pet adoptions, along with stories from people who have lost their furry family members. With that said, I am not here to write a post to support the protesters in Newmarket, Ontario. This from CTV Toronto.

Police have issued tickets to two activists protesting the killing of hundreds of ringworm-infected animals at the York Region SPCA.

The protestors, who were detained and released after each received a $55 ticket for trespassing on Wednesday afternoon, returned to a crowd of dozens picketing outside the Newmarket, Ont. facility where officials have not been able to contain a ringworm outbreak among more than 300 cats and dogs.

Ringworm is a highly contagious fungal infection that is easily spread to humans. Six shelter workers have contracted ringworm and, in one instance, the infection has been passed on to a family.

CTV Toronto’s Andria Case reported that 48 cats and two dogs have been put down so far.

OSPCA officials say that only the animals with the most severe cases are being put down, and it could take months before the outbreak is contained, Case reported.

In fact, officials aren’t even sure if ringworm is the only illness afflicting the animals.

Still, protesters said that the OSPCA isn’t doing enough…

If you want to read the rest of the story, click the link above. Despite the claims of protesters, ringworm isn’t athlete’s foot. While both are a fungus, the former is fairly painful and can be very difficult to treat. Aside from the fact that the pets that have been euthanized are also suffering from other diseases, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) doesn’t have the funds or facilities to handle the treatment of more than three hundred pets that are infected. Let’s not forget that ringworm is passed easily from pet to pet, as well as from pet to human, so euthanizing these infected animals seems the best course of action in dealing with this problem. Am I wrong? Maybe it is because I don’t have my own dog or cat, but I find myself supporting the OSPCA in this matter.

Instead of listening to the misguided pleas of protesters who have their hearts, but not their heads, in the right place, why not examine the facts.

UPDATE: Television host and conservative commentator Michael Coren weighs in on this issue. While I will disagree with Coren on a few things, I can’t disagree with what he points out in this post, that activists seem to care more about animals than humans. While pets are treated as full members of the family, the fact that they are animals and not humans seems to be ignored, especially by animal rights activists like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Give the post a read, it is very good. I also recommend reading the exchange between Coren and an animal rights activist who quotes Mahatma Gandhi, stating that societies are judged by how they treat animals. Michael responds by pointing out that Gandhi wasn’t the moral figure many people portray him as, and not only did his action cause significant civil unrest, but that Gandhi himself was known for taking women other than his wife to bed. Is it any surprise that Gandhi’s view of women was so twisted knowing how he treated them as sexual objects? Couldn’t have said it better myself Coren. Perfect…