[snarks_when_bored]

I'm still waiting for an avant-garde artist to create a 'Piss_Mohammed' (that is, Mohammed in a bottle of urine) and put it on display in an art gallery somewhere.

It's going to be a long wait, I'm sure.

[Dallas59]

The MSM has become a poitical party. They all want to play "Watergate".

[cwiz24]

It all goes back to the fact that Islam is the religion of peace...ahem...pieces.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[festus]

Bingo.

[Stepan12]

Some of us (certainly most freepers) know that they are savages; however, the reason I see for the Newsweek lied; people died remark is because payback is a bitch.

A lot of us were sick and tired of the interminable smear of the President; the Bush lied; people died crap that we decided to have some fun ourselves. Revenge is a dish best served cold. >>>veg<<<

[Tarpon]

The real lesson is hate blinds.

[SusaninOhio]

Of course he has a huge point - a culture that stones women and exempts men from same action, where fathers murder their own daughters, is not one that has any right to complain about extremism. And defacing a book, no matter how holy, is certainly not extreme.

I think the Newsweek participants need to be charged with treason (where are the lawyers when we need them?) and as far as anything remotely resembling an apology, it can come from Newsweek and not from our administration.

And where is the Republican backbone we have been looking for? I can't believe the pathetic reactions we are reading about - including Ms. Rice's comments - we the people of the United States have done nothing to the moslem world. They need to aim their anger at the real culprits.

And that is precisely the problem - Newsweek's lies and corruption have brought the anger of the moslem world on all of us, because that is the way the story has been spun.

And Newsweek knew that would happen. They should be shot.

[G.Mason]

"The gorilla in the living room that no one wants to notice, is that flushing a Qur’an down the toilet should not be grounds to commit murder.

NOTE: For the edification the mental defectives that keep making excuses for Islam: The "gorilla in the living room" is that the religion [?] of Moe Hammed is an instruction guide for the death of all self-described infidels. Yes, it is that plain and simple.

The muslims wish to destroy, not only Israel, not only America, but anyone and anything not Muslim.

The sooner we realize that little fact of life the better we will do our job of eradicating them from the world, or at the very least, negate them.

[starfish923]

Newweek was deliberate in its ongoing agenda of Bush-hating. They hate the Republicans and military.
This was pointed out to O'Reilly last night and he said that the anti-military attitude wasn't so bad. And the speaker said that it really was ANTI-MILITARY and Newweek HAS been bashing the military for YEARS and YEARS.

The entire liberal agenda deserves flushing, mainly because it seeks to destroy the fabric of our society.

This liberal NEWSWEAK-rag deserves flushing.

[Faraday]

What makes Spencer believe that political correctness is involved in the Cole and Marshall takes on the story? Of course, there are various aspects to the story. Spencer wants to emphasize the the brutal nature of fundamentalist Muslims. Fine. This is a lesson learned many times, especially in the last ten years. However, both Cole and Marshall understand that the more important political lesson involves whether the MSM can be exposed as an appeaser in the WOT and as an unreliable dispenser of information. Cole wants the blame to fall to President Bush, because he hates America above all else. Conservatives generally want to undermine the credibility of the biased media. The conservatives are winning this round. Spencer does a disservice to distract from that fact.

[kabar]

This article hits the nail on the head. I said the same thing yesterday. Specifically,

The Islamic fundamentalists have intimidated us. Khomeini put out an order to kill Simon Rushdie for what he wrote about the Koran. Pakistaini mobs burned down the US Embassy in Islamabad on November 21, 1979 based on a rumor that Americans were behind the takeover of the Grand Mosque at Mecca.

As much as I feel revulsion for Newsweek's unsubstantiated allegations, I think more attention should be paid to the reaction of the Muslim world. Why do we seem to excuse this extreme behavior and blame it on the West? If a rumor arose that said a group of Muslims had flushed a bible down a toliet and in response, a crowd of Christians surrounded a mosque and burned it down killing 16 people, would we focus on the source of the rumor and not the excesive reaction of the Christians?

What this incident reveals, as if we didn't know already, is that we are dealing with irrational zealots who want to kill us using any pretext. Unfortunately, I don't believe this extremism is limited to a fringe group in Islam, but represents the majority. We avoid saying that we are indeed involved in a clash of civilizations. Islam needs to change and become part of the 21st century. It is at war with Western Civilization.

[Tolik]

Robert Spencer:

...There is no excusing Newsweek’s irresponsibility in this. But this is not really a story about media bias or carelessness at all. There is a much larger story that is getting hardly any attention at all. The gorilla in the living room that no one wants to notice, is that flushing a Qur’an down the toilet should not be grounds to commit murder.

...Neither one says anything whatsoever about a culture that condones — celebrates —wanton murder of innocent people, mayhem, and destruction in response to the alleged and unproven destruction of a book.

The question here is one of proportionate response. If a Qur’an had indeed been flushed, Muslims would have justifiably been offended. They may justifiably have considered the perpetrators boors, or barbarians, or hell-bound unbelievers. They may justifiably have issued denunciations accordingly. But that is all. To kill people thousands of miles away who had nothing to do with the act, and to fulminate with threats and murder against the entire Western world, all because of this alleged act, is not just disproportionate. It is not just excessive. It is mad. And every decent person in the world ought to have the courage to stand up and say that it is mad.

......Rule #1 in the establishment (Left and Right) view of this present conflict is that it has nothing to do with Islam. To bring a moral judgment to bear upon Muslim people, or to explore the ways in which Islam fuels the conflict, is therefore absolutely forbidden.

This kind of analysis, dominant as it is in the media, does the Western world an enormous disservice. The reaction to the Newsweek story in the Muslim world only shows how critical it is that the elements of Islam that give rise to fanaticism and violence be examined and confronted. Lives are at stake. But Cole and Marshall, and many others like them on both the Left and the Right, can’t see this necessity through the enveloping fog of political correctness
 

Nailed It!
Moral Clarity BUMP !

This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of good stuff that is worthy attention. You can see the list of articles I pinged to lately on my page. I keep separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson, Lee Harris, David Warren, Orson Scott Card. You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about).

[PGalt]

The "elephant in the room" is the enemy within, and the lengths to which they will go. The lie is the first weapon used in the criminal's arsenal. The National Socialists have an unlimited supply and use them without fear of retribution.

That is why we the people have gathered here. The anti-freedom collective of individuals called Islam is a given in our minds.

[carton253]

What the author calls Newsweek's irresponsibility... I would call treason...

[jec41]

The gorilla in the living room that no one wants to notice, is that flushing a Qur’an down the toilet should not be grounds to commit murder.

The gorilla in the living room is MSM sedition and their attempts to overthrow government and impose control by the left.

[cricket]

Political Correctness in it's worst 'amok' yet.

And if we do not 'get a grip' on this culture-altering. . .mind-numbing' tactic of the Left-wing; we can ONLY do, further damage to ourselves. . .while jeopardizing further, America's future. (sorry, repeating myself per other posts)

The next 'issue/question' should be. . .'WHY do these prisoners have the frickin 'book' to begin with?'

Oh. ..that's right; it was just the PC thing to do; and it pacified the humanitarians - so called - of the Demrat Left. (An oxymoron bigger than the word itself)

But, you know. . .they are entitled to; and they take great comfort in this book; which simply reinforces their Muslim v a l u e s. . .

It is enough to make one cry. ..'stop the world!'.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Amen (oops, no pun?) to the article.

I can't believe hardly any1 is talking about the monstrous, atrocious behavior of the asshole idiots who start mob violence over something so stupid. I don't care whether Newsweek was correct or not about the "desecration", the Moslem childish murderous reaction is the real story.

(And I'd add, it's not just "fanatical" Moslems - it's the very root of the religion. If the root of the religion itself was anything peacable, there would not be such a riot by thousands at all.)

[Gritty]

Rule #1 in the establishment (Left and Right) view of this present conflict is that it has nothing to do with Islam

Exactly! This is like saying 19th Century Das Kapital and Karl Marx had nothing to do with 20th Century Communism and the Soviet Union!

How can we possibly be ultimately successful in carrying on a lethal war defending our civilization to a satisfactory conclusion when we refuse to be realistic in defining the enemy? At some point our fantasies will intrude, directing a fatal error in our strategies!

[Beckwith]

Lots of stuff on Newsweek blunder