durok

I know this might be difficult for you to believe Durgan but free speech means that someone is free to print the cartoons but it also means that someone else doesn't have to print the cartoons. I'm no fan of Harper but I do believe he has the right to decide his own opinion on the cartoons and on whether or not printing them is the correct thing to do. People with your attitude do as great a disservice to our rights and freedoms as do the Muslim protestors (although I doubt that you can understand that).

For things that I simply don't comprehend, like this rioting over cartoons episode, I try to find an analogous situation in 'my world' and figure what we'd do. Knowing that there's nothing in the Koran against drawing cartoons of The Prophet (it's just something the clerics have thought up) I tried to find where something like this had happened in Christendom to see how we reacted. The closest I've come to a comparison is the prohibition for Catholics (I was raised Catholic) from eating meat on Fridays - it wasn't in the Bible but was instituted by the Pope (the prohibition ended about 30 ago but I spent my entire childhood 'knowing' it was a sin to eat meat on Friday). I'm trying to remember how many riots we Catholics went on because the Protestants, Jews, Muslims, etc, disregarded our beliefs and ate meat on Friday. Of course, I don't remember a single instance of us thinking that other religions had any reason to abide by our tenets. What in hell are these crazy muslims doing anyways? I've come to one conclusion. Anyone who thinks this is a religious issue is looney-tunes. It's 100% political and, as happens so often in the Middle East, their powers-that-be (the clerics) are fomenting rage against the West in order to keep it's focus off of them.

I figure there'll be unwelcome U.S. troops in Iraq for decades after Iraq has become a 'democracy' (elected their own government). The U.S. is building large U.S. bases in the Iraqi desert right now (4 huge ones) that they'll likely occupy for a century or more. Iraqis are very sectarian and will vote for their religious leaders .... Iraq will become another Iran and the Imams and Ayatollahs will govern (with the people's consent). The U.S. bases will resemble Guantanamo in Cuba .... it's there although the Cubans wish it weren't. The day will come when Americans (and other westerners too) will wish that secular Sadam Hussein was back in power.

I heard on a news program within the last day or two that the reason Islamists don't allow depictions of The Prophet (Mohammed) is because he is a man and 'The Prophet' but he isn't Allah. They are frightened that if there were to be pictures or statues of Mohammed, some of 'the faithful' might start worshipping Mohammed as well as (instead of?) Allah. Does anyone know if that is the reason? i.e. you can't show me a picture of someone because I might start worshipping him? I hope the reasoning is not that silly. Why it would almost be like making women wear lots of heavy clothing and veils so that men don't see a lock of hair or an elbow and become aroused - - but, of course, no one would do that.