The following was written after the cartoon fiasco and signed by 12 authors and activists. Quite a few of them have first hand experience of being persecuted for their writing.

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After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new global totalitarian threat: Islamism.

We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all.

Recent events, prompted by the publication of drawings of Muhammad in European newspapers, have revealed the necessity of the struggle for these universal values.

This struggle will not be won by arms, but in the ideological field.

It is not a clash of civilisations nor an antagonism between West and East that we are witnessing, but a global struggle that confronts democrats and theocrats.

Like all totalitarian ideologies, Islamism is nurtured by fear and frustration.

Preachers of hatred play on these feelings to build the forces with which they can impose a world where liberty is crushed and inequality reigns.

But we say this, loud and clear: nothing, not even despair, justifies choosing darkness, totalitarianism and hatred.

Islamism is a reactionary ideology that kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present.

Its victory can only lead to a world of injustice and domination: men over women, fundamentalists over others.

On the contrary, we must ensure access to universal rights for the oppressed or those discriminated against.

We reject the "cultural relativism" which implies an acceptance that men and women of Muslim culture are deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secularism in the name of the respect for certain cultures and traditions.

We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of "Islamophobia", a wretched concept that confuses criticism of Islam as a religion and stigmatisation of those who believe in it.

We defend the universality of the freedom of expression, so that a critical spirit can exist in every continent, towards each and every maltreatment and dogma.

We appeal to democrats and free spirits in every country that our century may be one of light and not dark.

Signed by:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Chahla Chafiq

Caroline Fourest

Bernard-Henri Levy

Irshad Manji

Mehdi Mozaffari

Maryam Namazie

Taslima Nasreen

Salman Rushdie

Antoine Sfeir

Philippe Val

Ibn Warraq

The amount of energy you get out of a liter of oil is the same as the energy that goes into making that liter of oil, but geological forces do the work for you, so oil is "efficient."

ummm...only if you ignore the energy that is "wasted" in any thermodynamic process.... the same reason why the production of corn for making ethanol to run SUVs is probably not going to be a viable option.

Yes, our energy doesn't have to come from one source but multiple sources. But is this country serious about exploring viable options? When will rich east coast liberals give up their war against the windmills? When will there be electric cars on the US roads (just take a look at the business that Reva is doing in India)? And, dare one even mention nuclear power? For the longest time, the US was not even a member of the ITER project.

And before you even talk energy production, how about getting serious about conservation? Not conservation, as in "I am rich, so I can afford to buy more carbon point", but conservation as in.... you know.... maybe we really don't need that heated indoor pool. Al Gore, the latest environmental messiah, apparently burns up more energy in his house than entire third world villages.

Well, Al Gore is a rich man - and it is so cool to be able to afford to redo your entire house with alternative energy and buy carbon offsets than it is to reduce obscene consumption...

And it is so cool to be rude to people instead of refuting their points.

Keep up with your hero-worship and keep dreaming your ethanol dreams. Both will be equally effective in solving our energy crisis.

At the risk of being accused of spouting Fox News soundbites, here I go again...

The right wing has its own agenda, but it doesn't help when the foremost proponent for climate control hands them weapons on a platter. Apparently, Al Gore lives in a 10,000 sq foot mansion. Is he moving to a smaller house? What exactly is he doing to reduce his consumption?

Yes, he may be using alternate energy sources - many people have been installing solar panels in their homes for a long time. But unless he is REDUCING his energy consumption, he is not doing much, really.

Thanks for the lesson in capitalism. I will sleep easier tonight knowing that Al Gore is sacrificing himself and being a guineapig so that the world might have a rosier energy future.

And as to your question about what I am doing personally, I could give you a long list - but you are not serious, right? You don't really believe that anecdotal claims on the internet matter, do you? That would be delusional!