News from Nader: Nader is not a spoiler (video)

Yeb, you've read it right; contrary to popular believes Ralph Nader is not a spoiler. I just received an email from his campaign team, telling his supporters where he stands:

What the inside the beltway partisans just don't understand is that we are on the opposite side of the fence from the corporate Republicans and Democrats.

And we are determined to build a nationwide movement to challenge their corporate policies.

To do this effectively, we first need to get Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot all across the country.

Simple, right? If a movement is on the opposite side of the the fence from corporatists, then how can this be a "spoiler" movement?

Hear Ralph Nader's announcement of his VP running mate Matt Gonzalez on YouTube, in which he addresses one of the main problems of the United States: corporatism.



LINKS
- YouTube: Nader announces VP running mate, Matt Gonzalez
- Nader for President (official website)
- Wikipedia: Ralph Nader
- Wikipedia: Corporatism

Film Fitna by Dutch MP Geert Wilders reason for Egypt boycott of Dutch children's film

From Radio Netherlands website:

The International Film Festival for Children in Cairo is boycotting the Dutch entry Where Is Winky's Horse? in protest at the imminent release of an anti-Islam film produced by Dutch MP Geert Wilders. It's the first time that a Dutch product has been boycotted in connection with the controversial film "Fitna" by the leader of the right-wing Freedom Party. The organisers of the festival have also boycotted the Danish entries.

Fitna will be a film in which Geert Wilders is taking the viewer through the Qur'an, he said in an interview with BN-De Stem newspaper on 9 February 2008. Using texts from Islam's Holy Book, and documentary footage, he intends to show that 'the terrible Qur'an is not a dead letter, but that it can cost us our freedom unless we act.'

Fitna means 'ordeal' or 'trial' in Arabic, and usually refers to situations where Muslims' faith is put to the test. The extreme nationalist right-wing MP sees Islam as a trial for Western democracies, after those of nazism and communism.'

Fitna's closing scene will involve a picture of the Prophet Mohammed. 'Something will happen to that picture, but I won't say what,' Mr Wilders said in the interview. Depicting the Prophet is considered a sacrilege by Muslims.

Government action
Two ministers summoned Mr Wilders on 27 February 2008 on behalf of the Dutch cabinet in an attempt to dissuade him from releasing his anti-Qur'an film. The government expects the film to damage the reputation of the Netherlands and to have consequences for Dutch businesses abroad.

The MP was warned that he could face prosecution for bringing out the film. Mr Wilders described the meeting as an attempt at intimidation.

LINKS

- Radio Netherlands: Egypt boycotts Dutch children's film
- Wikipedia: Geert Wilders

No, YOU're an asshole and YOU get lost, Mr. Sarkozy!

Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity just got another hit. A president calling a bystander an asshole doesn't really make one more popular, or does it?

Nearly one million people from France saw the amateur movie, and how Mr. Sarkozy said "get lost, you asshole" after the man had refused to shake his hand.

These latest denigrating comments by Sarkozy show that Sarkozy is not the right man in the right position. And this is not the only proof; a pattern of "bad" behaviour is evolving.

Divorcing and remarrying within three months, kozying up with wealthy cronies while enjoying luxurious holidays, these type of things are not taken lightly by the more traditional French. They're additional proof that Nicholas Sarkozy is not showing the sort of statesmanship one should be able to expect from the president of France.

Let's not forget the following video, in which he scolds his press secretary (calling him an "imbecile") for arranging a meeting with American TV that doesn't seem to fit in his schedule (in English). Mr Sarkozy, you're an asshole!

LINKS
- Wikipedia: Nicolas Sarkozy
- Trouw: Nicolas Sarkozy overladen met kritiek na uitglijder (Dutch only)
- Youtube: Sarkozy at CBS

True Progressives Support Ralph Nader for US President (video)

Yes, he's going for it again: in Meet the Press Ralph Nader announced he will be running for US president again.

I have great respect for those who will stand up for what is right, regardless of the outcome. Most people would not bother running for president when chances of winning are this slim: but not Ralph Nader.

I remember listening to an interview on CBC radio in my car, probably about a couple of years ago, and I learned to admire his enthusiasm for doing the right thing in life; how inspiring his words were!

All that's left here for me to say is: "Good luck, Ralph!", and to my readers:

Watch him speak here and you'll quickly find out that Ralph Nader is the ONLY candidate that progressives should support.

UPDATE: More progressive support for Nader by
- To ride, shoot straight and speak the truth: Two points on Ralph Nader



LINKS
- Ralph Nader for US president website: Vote Nader!
- Wikipedia: Ralph Nader
- MSNBC: Meet the Press - Ralph Nader for President (netcast)

May I introduce to you: independent Kosovo

- Wikipedia: Kosovo

Muhammad Cartoons reprinted in Denmark newspapers

Radio Netherlands: Danish five major newspapers have reprinted the controversial cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.

The newspapers are publishing the cartoon in response to the arrest on Tuesday of three people who allegedly were planning to kill the artist who drew the cartoon, Kurt Westergaard. The suspects are a Dane of Moroccan origin and two Tunisians.

The publication of the 12 Muhammad cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten two years ago led to angry demonstrations in many Islamic countries; some 150 people were killed.

- Radio Netherlands Worldwide: Danish Newspaper Republish Muhammed Cartoons
- Wikipedia: Muhammad Cartoons
- All Muhammad Cartoons (image .png)

Joran van der Sloot's telephone response on latest Natalee Holloway accusations by Peter R. de Vries (video)

In the Dutch TV show "Pauw en Witteman" Joran van der Sloot was asked to discuss the upcoming 2 hour TV show (screening this Sunday) by Peter R. de Vries. Watch this show, which has English subtitles:

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch student Joran van der Sloot denied Friday that he had anything to do with Natalee Holloway's disappearance, saying he lied when he told someone privately he was involved.

The statement came hours after Aruban prosecutors announced they were reopening their investigation into the disappearance of the Alabama teenager after seeing secretly taped material from a Dutch journalist.

Van der Sloot was interviewed by the respected Dutch television show "Pauw & Witteman" following reports that crime reporter Peter R. De Vries had captured him making statements about the case.

"It is true I told someone. Everybody will see it Sunday," Van der Sloot said, referring to De Vries' planned television show. De Vries claims to have solved the mystery of Holloway's May 2005 disappearance with the help of an undercover investigation.

Van der Sloot spoke to the late night current affairs show by telephone. His voice was recognizable from an earlier appearance on the show, which has closely followed the Holloway case.

"That is what he wanted to hear, so I told him what he wanted to hear," Van der Sloot said, adding that he had built up a relationship with the man he spoke to, but had never fully trusted him. He did not identify the man.

"It is so stupid, it is so stupid, it is really stupid," Van der Sloot said, his voice cracking.

Aruban prosecutors said earlier Friday that they are reopening their investigation into Holloway's disappearance after seeing De Vries' material.

"The recordings made available to the Public Prosecutor have given the Public Prosecutor a reason to reopen the investigation," the public prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Aruba prosecutors made no reference to the possibility of an arrest, and Van der Sloot said he does not expect to be arrested again.

"It's easy to prove that what I said is not true, and that actually this is much ado about nothing, and so it's actually a shame that her mother has flown here and everything," he said.

One of Van der Sloot's attorneys, Joseph Tacopina of New York, said his client shouldn't have discussed the case.

"He should have hung up the phone, but he didn't. Clearly it's not something his parents are happy about," Tacopina told The Associated Press.

"The evidence refutes what Joran supposedly said," said Tacopina, who said he heard of the interview through media reports. "It doesn't change the truth of this case. And the truth is, Joran had nothing to do with Natalee's death."

De Vries has not made clear what the "confession" consists of. Dutch newspapers published a partial transcript of his talks with Aruba prosecutor Hans Mos, and Mos' office said Friday that "what appeared on the Internet seems to be a reproduction of a part of the conversation."

In the transcript, De Vries refers to a "confession" he obtained from suspect van der Sloot, but doesn't say what he allegedly admitted to.

"This is very impressive," Mos is quoted as responding in the transcript, though it was not clear what specifically he was referring to. "We have thought to ourselves that this was a very probable chain of events but until now we lacked sufficient evidence."

In another part of the transcript, the prosecutor says: "Clearly, it's the first time that he's confessed to somebody. This is his coming out."

Holloway, 18, of Mountain Brook, Ala., was last seen in public leaving a bar with Van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers — Deepak and Satish Kalpoe — hours before she was due to board a flight home from a school trip to Aruba. No trace of her has ever been found.

The three were re-arrested in November, but released within weeks for lack of evidence. Prosecutors then dismissed their case against them, saying they lacked evidence even to prove a crime had been committed. Authorities have said the case could be reopened if new evidence surfaces.

Van der Sloot, who lived in Aruba at the time of Holloway's disappearance, has always denied any role in her disappearance, as have the Kalpoe brothers.

On Thursday, Aruban prosecutors had said they were investigating new information provided by De Vries. Without providing details, the prosecutors said the new material might help them determine how Holloway died and what happened to her body.

De Vries told Dutch television that he used a hidden camera in Aruba and the Netherlands to obtain images "that have proved to be very important" and that he would reveal what happened to Holloway on Sunday.

Two weeks ago, after an appearance on "Pauw & Witteman" with De Vries, Van der Sloot threw wine in the journalist's face after he challenged his credibility.