Free Republic

STOCKHOLM – A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog was assaulted Tuesday as furious protesters interrupted his university lecture about the limits of free speech. Lars Vilks told The Associated Press a man leaped from the front row and head-butted him as he was delivering his lecture at Uppsala University, breaking Vilks' glasses but leaving him uninjured. Police later said the attacker was stopped before he could reach Vilks and that the artist may have bumped into plain-clothes officers who briskly evacuated him from the room. Three people were detained, but it wasn't...

Seven Muslims were arrested by Irish police on Tuesday on suspicions of conspiracy to murder a Swedish cartoonist who drew the prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog.

Seven Muslims were arrested in the Irish Republic today over an alleged plot to assassinate a Swedish cartoonist who depicted the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog, police said. Al Qaida put a 100,000-dollar bounty on the head of cartoonist Lars Vilks after a newspaper published his cartoon. The four men and three women were detained after an investigation involving European security agencies and the United States' CIA and FBI.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – A Somali man armed with an axe and suspected of links with al Qaeda broke into the home of a Danish cartoonist whose drawings of the Prophet Mohammad caused global Muslim outrage and was shot and wounded by police. Hours later, the 28-year-old was stretchered into court on Saturday and denied charges of trying to kill Kurt Westergaard. The Somali also denied trying to murder a police officer at Westergaard's home in the town of Aarhus late on Friday after he broke into the house armed with a knife and an axe, police said.Danish police intelligence said...

Intruder Shot At Danish Cartoonist's Home Sat Jan 2 2010 Danish police shot and wounded a 27-year-old man trying to enter the Aarhus home of Kurt Westergaard, who drew controversial cartoons of Islam's prophet Mohammed, Danish media reported.

Danish police shot and wounded a 27-year-old man trying to enter the Aarhus home of Kurt Westergaard, who drew controversial cartoons of Islam's prophet Mohammed, Danish media reported

Danish authorities say a Somali man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder for an attack on an artist whose cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad ignited riots and outrage across the Muslim world. Jakob Scharf, head of Denmark's intelligence agency, said the 28-year-old Somali man with ties to al-Qaida broke into Kurt Westergaard's home in Aarhus on Friday night. The 75-year-old artist pressed an alarm and fled with his 5-year-old granddaughter to a special safe room. Police say they then shot the attacker in the hand and knee when he threatened them. The suspect was charged at a...

Danish police have shot and wounded a man at the home of Kurt Westergaard, whose cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad sparked an international row. Mr. Westergaard was at home Aarhus when a man broke in and threatened him. He pressed a panic button and police entered the house and shot the man. Danish police said the intruder was a 28 year-old Somali linked to the radical Islamist al-Shabab militia.......

Shooting At Home Of Mohammed Cartoonist 12:58am UK, Saturday January 02, 2010 Rob Cole, Sky News Online Danish police have shot a man trying to break into the home of a controversial cartoonist armed with an axe. Police attend scene of break-in at home of the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Police attend scene of break-in at home of the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard A 27-year-old Somalian was wounded in the incident at the Aarhus home of Kurt Westergaard, 74, who drew cartoons of Islam's prophet Mohammed. Guards stopped three men trying to break into the house, Danish media reported. The...

COPENHAGEN – Denmark's intelligence service says police have foiled an attempt to kill cartoonist Kurt Westergaard — the artist who drew cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, causing outrage in the Muslim world. Jakob Scharf, who heads the PET intelligence service, says a 28-year-old Somalia man was armed with an axe and a knive when he entered Westergaard's home in Aarhus. The Somali man was shot by police in the knee and the shoulder during the Friday attack. Preben Nielsen of the police in Aarhus, where the attack took place, said the suspect was seriously injured but his life was not...

Danish police say they have shot an al Qaeda-linked man armed with an axe who broke into the home of a controversial cartoonist. Police say the 28-year-old Somali man was trying to kill Kurt Westergaard, who triggered worldwide protests after drawing cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammed. The intruder was linked to Somali terror organisation al Shabaab and al Qaeda leaders in east Africa, police said. The intruder was shot twice and is being held in custody. Lotte Mejlhede, of TV2, told Sky News Mr Westergaard, 74, fled to a safe room at his Aarhus home after spotting the would-be attacker.

COPENHAGEN – Police foiled an attempt to kill an artist who drew cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that sparked outrage in the Muslim world, the head of Denmark's intelligence service said Saturday. Jakob Scharf, who heads the PET intelligence service, said a 28-year-old Somalia man was armed with an ax and a knife when he attempted to enter Kurt Westergaard's home in Aarhus shortly after 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Friday.

LONDON, England For Saudi Arabia's lone female cartoonist drawing is more than just satire, it's "a duty." "I think men have put women in an unfavorable position in this part of the world. They've put women in an oppressive situation," said Hana Hajjar, who works for the English-language newspaper Arab News. "I feel it is my duty towards women to speak out on their behalf, because I have the tools and venue to do so," she told CNN. Hajjar's drawings both challenge gender roles and critique political policy, often depicting inequality between the sexes and support for the Palestinian people,...

The arrest of a controversial Dutch cartoonist has set off a wave of protests. The case is raising questions for a changing Europe about free speech, religion and art. Amsterdam On a sunny May morning, six plainclothes police officers, two uniformed policemen and a trio of functionaries from the state prosecutor's office closed in on a small apartment in Amsterdam. Their quarry: a skinny Dutch cartoonist with a rude sense of humor. Informed that he was suspected of sketching offensive drawings of Muslims and other minorities, the Dutchman surrendered without a struggle. "I never expected the Spanish Inquisition," recalls the...

U.S. NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, June 13, 2008 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Vaughn R. Larson, a syndicated editorial cartoonist, arrived here two months ago as one of 20 members from the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. Army Sgt. 1st Class Vaughn R. Larson is a syndicated editorial cartoonist serving with the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Larson is the editor of The Wire, the official weekly publication for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, which handles detainee...

THE HAGUE, 21/05/08 - A broad Lower House majority yesterday requested an interlocutory debate on the arrest of cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot. Labour (PvdA), the Socialist Party (SP), the conservatives (VVD), Party for Freedom (PVV), leftwing Greens (GroenLinks) and independent MP Rita Verdonk all backed a request by centre-left D66 for a debate. As well as Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Education Minister Ronald Plasterk will be called to account. He is responsible for culture and media policy. The Christian democrats (CDA) and small Christian party ChristenUnie are much less critical than the Lower House majority, which considers that freedom of...

AMSTERDAM, 17/05/08 - Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has attracted sharp criticism from a large part of the Lower House following the surprise arrest of cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot. He is facing charges of discrimination. The arrest took place last Tuesday. The well-known stand-up comedian Hans Teeuwen, a friend of Nekschot, said on TV programme Pauw en Witteman that around 10 police dragged the cartoonist out of his home in Amsterdam in a brutal manner. His computer and telephone were seized, according to a furious Teeuwen. The Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) in Amsterdam confirmed that Nekschot ('Neck Shot') was arrested for...

PHILADELPHIA - Cartoonist Ted Key, whose comic strip "Hazel" about a bossy maid went from magazine page to TV screen, has died. He was 95. He died Saturday at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Tredyffrin Township after a 1 1/2-year battle with cancer, his son Peter Key said Monday. "Hazel" was a popular feature in The Saturday Evening Post from the time it debuted in 1943. It evolved into a prime-time series in 1961 that starred Shirley Booth and ran for four years on NBC and one year on CBS. Key also created the characters Mr. Peabody and...

“Living legend” is how Joe Simon is categorized on the list of special guests appearing at the New York Comic Con at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center this weekend. Mr. Simon, 94, has a different take on it. “I call it the old-geezer table,” he said during a recent interview at his Midtown Manhattan apartment. Mr. Simon will take part in the “Legends Behind the Comic Books” panel at 3 p.m. on Friday, one of numerous events planned at the convention, a three-day celebration of all things comics. Mr. Simon earned the “legend” title with his partner Jack Kirby...

Investor's Business Daily cartoonist and Senior Editor Michael Ramirez won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday, his second win of the nation's most prestigious journalism award and the newspaper's first in its 24-year history. Ramirez won the 2008 award for a "distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing and pictorial effect." In awarding Ramirez, the Pulitzer panel lauded his "provocative cartoons that rely on originality, humor and detailed artistry." We couldn't agree more. "Michael is in a league of his own and at the top of his game," said Wesley...