farmdoc's blog post number 430

Canaries were once used as an early warning system in coal mines. Toxic gases including CO2 and methane would kill the birds before affecting the miners. Because canaries sing much of the time, they provided both visual and audible cues of danger. Since 1911 two canaries were used in each British coal mine. In 1987 electronic detectors replaced them [1]. Nowadays ‘coal mine canary’ refers to a person or thing that serves as an early warning of a coming crisis. I don’t know if I’m being a coal mine canary, or a worry wort, but the possible Islamisation of western countries including the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, is on my mind. I wrote about it last 5 May. Last week I watched the 2008 film Fitna. About 17 minutes long and named after an Arabic word, Fitna is the brainchild of 45-year-old Geert Wilders, a Dutch parliamentarian and leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom. Because of Fitna, earlier in 2009 Wilders was prosecuted in Holland ‘for the incitement to hatred and discrimination’, and he was banned from entering the UK because he’s considered a ‘threat to one of the fundamental interests of society’. To me the major question’s whether or not Fitna depicts objective actuality. Watch Fitna here and make up your own mind. Even if you can’t, time will decide if Wilders is a coal mine canary. Or a xenophobic lunatic.