Pick of the Week

“And for some inexplicable reason, Miley’s figure is set right in the middle of some traditional Christmas decorations, including a Christmas tree, stockings over the fireplace, a reindeer, presents and more.”

“Born in Queens, New York, Ron Jeremy, aged 61, left his job as a teacher to pursue a career in acting. After his girlfriend submitted a photo to ‘Playgirl’, he modelled for the magazine and moved into porn films. Jeremy is listed in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for Most Appearances in Adult Films, starring in over 2,000 films.”

Alas, his prodigious dietry habits nearly caught up with him back in early 2013 when he suffered a heart aneurysm. Dr. Mo Mowlam (history.co.uk), “a hot firebrand of a woman” and “friend”. Not many politicians could count on both prolific porn stars and republican and and loyalist paramilitaries with whom she brokered peace for sincere personal praise, for sure

Okay, trivia, because it invariably… comes up. Indeed, The Hedgehog was noted for skills including autofellatio in the 1970s.

“At least 12 people are dead after shots were fired at the headquarters of the magazine, with multiple attackers escaping. Two police officers are believed to be among the dead, with 10 journalists killed. One of the dead is said to be editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, was the magazine’s top cartoonist and was placed on the ‘Al Qaeda kill list’, published last year in its magazine Inspire. […] Three other cartoonists from the magazine are also said to be dead. One of them is Jean Cabut, known as Cabu who drew the cover of the Charlie Hebdo magazine that riffed on the Danish Mohammed cartoons, as well as Verlhac Bernard, better known by the pseudonym Tignous, and Georges Wolinski, whose work had also appeared in Libération and Paris Match.”

Charlie Hebdo: A profile of the French satirical magazine (independent.co.uk).

“Charlie Hebdo is a left-leaning French weekly satirical magazine known for its provocative tone and anti-religious stance, and features cartoons, reports, polemics and jokes. The cartoon-led secular magazine mocks religious faiths of all kinds, defends women’s rights, and satirises public figures, from politicians to judges, bankers, and religious founders.”

Charlie Hebdo prints magazine cover with prophet Mohammed as millions of copies published (huffingtonpost.co.uk).

“French newspaper Libération published the Charlie Hebdo cover online late Monday night, ahead of the satirical magazine’s sale on Wednesday. The cartoon shows a bearded man in a white turban, ostensibly the Prophet, with a tear streaming down his cheek, and holding a sign reading ‘Je suis Charlie’. Overhead is the phrase: ‘Tout est Pardonne’—‘All is Forgiven’.”

For sure, why shouldn’t he cry for what is being done in his name.

(Updated 3rd Feb.) You can read Charlie Hebdo issue 1178 the “survivors issue” online here (issuu.com).

After accusations of appeasing Muslim fanatics by the artist behind one of those infamous cartoons of Mohammed (dailymail.co.uk) the BBC has also scrapped its ban on depicting Prophet Mohammed as being “out of date” (telegraph.co.uk).

“The corporation has now clarified its stance, insisting that the guidelines were already considered out of date and are in the process of being revised. Copies of the original guidance including a blanket ban on depictions of Mohammed have been removed from the BBC’s website.”

So, why does Islam forbid images of its prophet, and was it always so? (Jul. 2011).

“Islam’s prohibition of pictures of Mohammed stems from its opposition to idolatrous images. This extends to all figurative art … yet art in some Islamic cultures, notably Persian, has depicted human beings, Mohammed included. Pictures of Mohammed figure in manuscripts from Persia [Shia Islam] under Mongol rule in the 13th and 14th centuries. Examples survive in libraries in London, Edinburgh and Paris.”

So you see, under strict interpretations of Sunni Islam it’s not just Mohammed, even the figurative snowman is no-go: Saudi cleric condemns snowmen as anti-Islamic (msn.com).

“Quoting from Muslim scholars, Sheikh Munajjid argued that to build a snowman was to create an image of a human being, an action considered sinful under the kingdom’s strict interpretation of Sunni Islam.”

“‘Papa est parti pas Wolinski,’ read the post, which translates to ‘Papa has left (is gone), not Wolinski.’ The words from Elsa Wolinski were accompanied by an image of what is thought to be Georges Wolinski’s study, his drawing board on his desk with a pencil on a white page. Wolinski, 80, was well-known for his tongue-in-cheek spoofs on romance and sexuality, though never refrained from making cynical observations on politics and society.”