The innocence of Muslim

With political unrest continuing in the middle east over a controversial movie trailer depicting the prophet Muhammad in a negative light, opinion has continued to rage in over who is in the wrong.The movie trailer, is an amateurish production allegedly made by Egyptian Coptic Christian Nakoula Basseley Nakoula who currently resides in America.

The outrage over the movie has seen content host Youtube prevent it from being viewed in some Islamic nations however they have resisted calls for it to be removed from the site entirely.

This after actress Cindy Lee Garcia laid charges against Basseley and Google (owners of Youtube) at the California superior court citing he made her appear to look like a 'religious bigot.' At certain points in the movie specifically where hateful remarks are made, it is clear that audio has been dubbed over what the actors are actually saying.

Despite this, the court ruled Thursday that Garcia would be unlikely to prevail in her attempt to block the distribution of the video and therefore Youtube would not be required to remove it from the site.

Meanwhile Egyptian authorities have laid charges against Basseley and seven others for insulting Islam as well as attempting to incite strife. The charges are largely ceremonial as none of those charged currently reside in Egypt.

As to the question of if the content of the video justifies killing? The Koran states that their shall be backlash for anyone insulting the prophet Muhammad. Does this give Muslim's the right to take another's life based on conflicting opinions or should free speech be allowed to rule?

Salman Rushdie

Whatever the answer only one thing is certain. The Islamic nation is going to take a very long time to forget this incident. Salman Rushdie, author of 1989 book The Satanic verses is still wanted dead in some circles for blasphemous writings about Islam. 

The bounty on Rushdie's head currently sits at $3.3 million. However recent threats in the wake of Innocence of Muslim have been dismissed by the author who feels it was, 'One priest in Iran looking for a headline.' He also had this to say about the movie calling it, 'The worst video on Youtube.'

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US election race heats up

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The US national election heated up last week following the Democratic national convention. Former president Bill Clinton formally recognised Barack Obama as his prefered candidate with an emotional speech that went on for more than an hour. The speech which had Clinton holding the audience in the palm of his hand can be found here.

The resounding performance had this response from Obama who complimented Clinton in a light hearted manner for his support in the race. He also had a retort for the words towards his wife Michelle:

  "As the other men in the audience know, our main goal when we marry is to improve our gene pool.  (Laughter.)  That's why my daughters turned out good.  (Laughter.)  Because you just -- you marry up and you marry somebody superior to yourself.  And you just -- you beg them until they marry you.  (Laughter.)  Persistence is the key."

 As the elections near D-day, many analysts think that the popularity of the Obama clan as a whole could could catapult Barack into a second term. A image of Michelle on the childrens TV show iCarly can be found here.

Despite bringing a more family friendly option to the ballot box, Obama has received criticism throughout his first term based on his failings with his proposed Obamacare as well as the poor handling of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The American people go to the ballot on the 6th November. A recent poll of New Hampshire voters by Suffolk/7 News sees the race tied at the infamous 47 percent. 

This leaves the 6 percent of undecided voters that both parties have been appealing to so desperately over the past few weeks. Whoever is able to garner the most out of this bracket will most likely fill office at the end of the year.

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South African TATTOO

Tattoo has returned to South Africa for another years run and I was privileged enough to receive complimentary tickets from Alphabet Soup Media. The show is an open air format that see's various Scottish pipe bands attempt to out (blow?) one another.

The shows tag line Blending the traditional spectacle of massed pipe bands with a uniquely African flavor rung true as the mainly local ensemble gave a world class performance that climaxed with the singing of the national anthem as a huge South African flag was pulled across the arena. 

This years show also featured the Johannesburg Harley Davidson owners club who gave a syncronised display to AC/DC's Thunderstruck. The sight of burly leather clad mustaches weaving deftly between each other in a controlled show of grace brought tears to more than a few eyes.

Also on display was the Affies girl's choir and Benoni rock band Haggis and Bong who's out of control rock antics contrasted beautifully with the precision of all the other acts. Seeing these hooligans attempt to march along with the Transvaal Scottish proved to be the highlight of the day. 

Due to the open air nature of the event combined with freak weather in Joburg over the previous few days, organizers have been forced to cancel a number of shows. In a statement on their website the organizers apologized for events out of their control and offered a refund of tickets - something that is not done at many other open air events.