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Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an ad spot featuring Rachael Ray wearing a scarf around her neck because some thought it was a subtle nod of support to Palestinians.
Does Dunkin’ Donuts really think its customers could mistake Rachael Ray for a terrorist sympathizer? The Canton-based company has abruptly canceled an ad in which the domestic diva wears a scarf that looks like a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men.
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Some observers, including ultra-conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, were so incensed by the ad that there was even talk of a Dunkin’ Donuts boycott. ‘‘The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,’’ Malkin yowls in her syndicated column. ‘‘Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant and not-so-ignorant fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.’’
The company at first pooh-poohed the complaints, claiming the black-and-white wrap was not a keffiyeh. But the right-wing drumbeat on the blogosphere continued and by yesterday, Dunkin’ Donuts decided it’d be easier just to yank the ad.
Said the suits in a statement: ‘‘In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.’’
 The terrorists have won. Or maybe we’ve just gone collectively insane.
I was blissfully unaware of both the commercial and the the controversy surrounding it until seeing a link on memeorandum this morning. But, seriously?
It’s true that wearing the keffiyah as a fashion symbol has been a recurring trend among Palestinian sympathizers and various hipsters over the years. But Ray’s scarf doesn’t look anything like Yasser Arafat’s.
Further, the terrorists wear headdresses because that’s how men throughout the Middle East and North Africa dress. It’s a protective covering for the head in brutally hot climates. In any case, none of them are paisley.
The iconic “spider-web” black-and-white keffiyeh is often displayed symbolically by members of Arafat’s Fatah party (which more generally uses yellow as its party colour), although it has never been able to expropriate it as their exclusive symbol. The zig zag style of stitching is sometimes described as symbolic of their historic struggle and their inability to progress towards their objectives without having to avoid obsticles. This is in contrast to how many members of the radical leftist PLO factions (such as PFLP, PFLP-GC DFLP) prefer the checkered red keffieyhs — red being both the traditional colour of the workers’ movement and the red scarf supposedly more indicative of a bedouin and rural (thus poorer, more popular) background. The Islamist factions, such as Hamas, use green — representative of the Islamic faith — as a party color, but for keffiyehs they stick to the traditional black-and-white or red variants, with no particular preference evident. While widely known, this color symbolism is by no means universally accepted by all Palestinians, and its importance should not be overstated — red or black-and-white scarves are used by Palestinians of all political stripes, as well as by those with no particular political sympathies.
But, just to be safe, we should assume that every white chick wearing a scarf is a terrorist or terrorist sympathizer. Ray’s lucky her ad’s just been canceled and she hasn’t been hauled off to Gitmo for questioning.
 UPDATE: Via Steven Taylor, I see that Tom Grant has discovered a much more egregious example of terror chic:
These fiends are everywhere. (While Taylor is reminded of an old Monty Python sketch about communists, it seems more to me like Ray Stevens’ “Santa Claus is Watching You.”)
Meanwhile, Doug Mataconis thinks sympathy for Arafat is the least of Ray’s crimes.
(And while we’re on the subject, what’s with the extraneous “a” in Ray’s first name? Perhaps another homage to Arafat? Or . . . Al Qaeda?)
 UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has even caught Meghan McCain — daughter of Juan McCain, hero of the Reconquista — wearing a purple plaid scarf keffiyah! Gawker has the photographic evidence. Nick Denton’s terrorist loving staff thinks it’s funny. They won’t think it’s funny, though, when the Straight Talk Express rams into Gawker HQ and explodes!
Cross-posted from OTB.
Michelle Malkin shot a “Vent” video featuring her crushing a Miller High Life can with her open-toed high heeled shoes. She was protesting Miller’s sponsorship of a pro-immigration rally but all her readers can focus on is her shoes and toes.
Here are some choice comments:
Money Shot: High Heels vs. Miller Light - GPE
Great shoes MM! - labwrs
I’ll take the heels over lite. - Wade
btw, I love those shoes, Michelle. - pullingmyhairout
Crushing a beer can in heels? That is a cool trick. - austinnelly on September 7, 2006 at 10:17 AM
and oh yeah, great vent MM, but upon seeing the high-heels vs. beer can, I now have that JohnCougarMellonhead song going round and round in my brain .. hurts so-oo good, c’mon baby make it hurt so good .. ;-) - Fogpig
How many takes til you got the can crush? I noticed the left foot on the can in the wide shot and the right one in the closeup. Let’s see the out-takes! - jdpaz
You’re too sharp, jdpaz. I was hoping no one would notice the foot switch ;) - Bryan
And some paint on those nails would look nice too! - Dread Pirate Roberts VI
Just when I thought I was over my foot fetish. - withoutfeathers
I loved the heels, gotta get a pair of those myself! - Catie96706
Pumps 1, Can 0 - GenFX
I was logging in to say: “Hey, those are really nice shoes, Michelle!”, but was then disappointed to see that so many others have already made that comment. Nevertheless, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Great shoes … and feet! - MoonbatMedia
Why can’t I get the sight of those shoes out of my head? Or those toes! BTW, some glossy, dark red polish on the toenails would be peachy! What’s that? No time? I volunteer with no charge! - rightside
Raise your hands if you can hear (or would LIKE to) the sound of Michele in the background saying, “Are you ready, boots? Start Walkin’!” - 52Ranger on September 7, 2006 at 2:06 PM
Jeez. . .Michelle’s high heels, Bethany’s wink. My Thursday afternoon’s pretty much shot. What’s next? The InstaWife modeling a t-shirt for some obscure rock band. . .like Ken Layne and the Corvids? Aaahhhhh! Help!! - Gottafang
red polish on the toenails would be peachy! What’s that? No time? - rightside
Once the kids come, toenails are the first thing to go! EVERYTHING ELSE comes second! - Dread Pirate Roberts VI
I was going to say foot fetishism might be worth taking up. - mikeyboss
I’d add my two cents’ worth to the “Admirers of Michelle’s er, shoes” fan club, but I’d just be piling on at this point. - Spurius Ligustinus
Don’t paint those toenails, Michelle. You look really classy in natural. - MoonbatMedia
Great vent as always! And, yes, love those shoes! - K.
Great shoes. - Claire
If the blogging thing doesn’t work out, Malkin could apparently make a decent living selling foot fetish crush videos to her fans.
Rush Limbaugh is once again in trouble for prescription drug irregularities: This time, he was carrying Viagra without his name on the bottle.
Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription. Customs officials found a prescription bottle labeled as Viagra in his luggage that didn’t have Limbaugh’s name on it, but that of two doctors, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
A doctor had prescribed the drug, but it was “labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes,” Roy Black, Limbaugh’s attorney, said in a statement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection examined the 55-year-old radio commentator’s luggage after his private plane landed at the airport from the Dominican Republic, said Miller. The matter was referred to the sheriff’s office, whose investigators interviewed Limbaugh. According to Miller, Limbaugh said that the Viagra was for his use, and that he obtained it from his doctors. Investigators confiscated the drugs, which treats erectile dysfunction, and Limbaugh was released without being charged.
One could understand the fuss if Limbaugh were carrying Viagra in case quantities, raising the possibility that it was for resale. But, really, they’re detaining people for hours for a mismatched drug label? Indeed, devoting man-hours to reading the labels on drug bottles and cross-checking them with ID cards?
Further, granting that Limbaugh is a public figure, why are they having a news conference about what, at most, is a second-degree misdemeanor? Unless they’re charging people with something, one would think citizens have some right to privacy in these matters.
AP has a video entitled “Limbaugh Carrying Viagra Without a Prescription”
Crooks and Liars has video from an early report on this by Keith Olberman.
UPDATE: Much discussion in the comments about the nature of Limbaugh’s “probabation.” Commenter just me provides a link to the plea agreement. I’ve thumbnailed it below.
  
If he’s actually charged with a crime here, he’s clearly in violation of #1. One wonders if “the Dominican Republic” constitutes a violation of #9; methinks not. Of course, the reason Limbaugh was allowed to cop to a non-plea was not, as many commenters claim, he’s a bigshot but, because the prosecutors didn’t think they had enough to convict. That’s unlikely to change with the discovery of improperly labeled Viagra on his person.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin agrees, wondering where the “privacy mongers” are on this issue. She also observes, “Why the hell is the Sheriff’s Office releasing the name of the drug–other than the attempted public humiliation of a conservative icon? Why wouldn’t it have sufficed to identify it as a non-narcotic prescription drug?” Indeed.
UPDATE: Limbaugh joked about the incident on today’s show, according to AP:
Limbaugh joked about the search on his radio show Tuesday, saying Customs officials didn’t believe him when he said he got the pills at the Clinton Library and he was told they were blue M&Ms. He later added, chuckling: “I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it.”
Later in the piece, we get some legal analysis:
This latest case may simply be dismissed if prosecutors can confirm with Limbaugh’s doctor that the prescription was indeed for Limbaugh, said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney in Florida. “It’s perhaps a little embarrassing but not highly incriminating,” Coffey said. In addition, possession of Viagra is in a “completely different universe than a matter that would involve Schedule Two (controlled) substances such as OxyContin” Coffey added.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Viagra is not considered a controlled substance because “it’s not something you can be addicted to,” said DEA Investigator Maria Gilbert.
I’ll refrain from commentary on that one….
OTB
UPDATE: More funnies via Drudge via Hot Air:
RUSH LIMBAUGH: ‘HOW DID BOB DOLE’S LUGGAGE GET ON MY AIRPLANE? I TOLD MY DOCTOR I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE NEXT ELECTION‘…
Heh.
Comedy Central censored an image of Mohommad in last night’s episode of “South Park” making fun of television networks and others bowing to pressure from Islamist extremists by censoring Muhammad. They displayed the following image during the show:
One might have presumed this was just a gag by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. That would have been my guess (I watched the previous week’s episode but have not watched last night’s, which is in my TiVo) and it was Ed Morrissey’s presumption. Stephen Spruiell discovered otherwise.
I just got off the phone with a Comedy Central spokesman. I asked him about last night’s episode of South Park in which, at a moment right before the prophet Mohammed was supposed to make a cameo, the words, “Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network” appeared on the screen.
I asked him whether this truly was Comedy Central’s decision or whether this was just another gag (with South Park, you never know). He said:
They reflected it accurately. That was a Comedy Central decision.
Just in case there was any confusion, that settles it. Comedy Central censored the image.
Quite bizarre and gutless. Not to mention hypocritical, given that “South Park” continually does vicious parodies of other sensitive topics, apparently without censorship from the network. They will apparently make fun of Christians and Scientologists but yet they are afraid to incur the wrath of intolerant Islamists. Which, again, was the very topic of this two-part episode?
Wow.
Michelle Malkin, from whom I got the above screen cap, has the video of last night’s episode available for download.
Jim Lindgren provides an episode summary and quotes a commenter, “Comedy Central apparently allows South Park to show Jesus defacating on others and being defacated on, but prohibits showing Mohammed ‘just standing there, looking normal.’”
Ironic, too, the week after “South Park” won a Peabody Award:
“South Park” was praised as a show that “pushes all the buttons, turns up the heat and shatters every taboo,” Peabody Awards Director Horace Newcomb said. “Through that process of offending it reminds us of the need for being tolerant.”
Or not.
Update: Matthew Stinson does not engage in the present controversy but has an excellent summary of why this two-parter was classic “South Park.” This passage from the first part is especially fitting in light of the no-show decision:
Cartman: And in just a few weeks from now, “Family Guy” will be off the air forever.
Kyle: Off the air? But, we’re just trying to get the Mohammed episode pulled.
Cartman: It’s simple television economics, Kyle. All it takes to kill a show forever is get one episode pulled. If we convince the network to pull this episode for the sake of Muslims, then the Catholics can demand a show they don’t like get pulled. And then people with disabilities can demand another show get pulled, and so on and so on, until “Family Guy” is no more…
I guess we shall now see.
Update 2: Kevin Aylward isn’t buying it. Caltechgirl points to the following image, which is on Wizbang’s server (but not linked by Kevin):
It’s from the opening sequence for the current 10th season of “South Park.” Among those in the crowd shot are Jesus, a recurring character with his own public access show, Satan (who is gay–not that there’s anything wrong with that–and having an affair with Saddam Hussein) and–in the little box–a figure that looks suspiciously like Mohammed. Interesting.
Update 3 (4/14): AP Television Writer David Bauder has more details.
Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of “South Park” skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon’s most recent episode. The comedy — in an episode aired during Holy Week for Christians — instead featured an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.
In an elaborately constructed two-part episode of their Peabody Award-winning cartoon, “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper’s publishing of caricatures of Muhammad. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous.
[...]
Parker and Stone were angered when told by Comedy Central several weeks ago that they could not run an image of Muhammad, according to a person close to the show who didn’t want to be identified because of the issue’s sensitivity. The network’s decision was made over concerns for public safety, the person said. Comedy Central said in a statement issued Thursday: “In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision.” Its executives would not comment further.
[...]
A frequent “South Park” critic, William Donohue of the anti-defamation group Catholic League, called on Parker and Stone to resign out of principle for being censored. “The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central — that’s their decision not to show the image of Muhammad or not — it’s Parker and Stone,” he said. “Like little whores, they’ll sit there and grab the bucks. They’ll sit there and they’ll whine and they’ll take their shot at Jesus. That’s their stock in trade.”
That’s certainly what the Family Guy manatees would have done.
Crosspost from OTB
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Related posts below the fold.
SOUTH PARK
MOHAMMED CENSORSHIP
See these cartoons in full size here.
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