Free Republic

A twilight zone of insanityCartoons in a Danish newspaper depicting the prophet Muhammed have set off a clash of civilizations. Problem is, all blonds look alike in a jihad.BARBARA AMIEL One of the easiest things to start off is a Muslim mob. Last September, author Kåre Bluitgen complained to the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that he couldn't get an illustrator for his book on the prophet Muhammed. For Muslims, depicting Muhammed is blasphemy. The newspaper's sophomoric response was to ask cartoonists to help Bluitgen commit it. Any Hollywood director can depict Christ as an adulterer or the Virgin Mary nude without...

The players take their positions for the "Great Game", Kipling's name for the geopolitical contest between Russia and other powers for influence in southern Asia and the approaches to the Middle East. In leaderless Baghdad, daily life is nasty. Saddam Hussein's regime had the monopoly on looting and lawlessness, but now it is in the hands of disorganised private interests. This is lost on BBC commentators, who blame everything - SARS, if only they could - on the coalition. About the only thing in Saddam's favour was that you could get the death penalty for listening to the BBC. UN...