Many of the deathes occurred in Afghanistan after our good friend Afghan President Hamid Karzai helped things along by highlighting the Florida incident. The dead include United Nations workers. Karzai has been using any opportunity lately to denounce the United States and express sympathy for the Taliban — while insisting that we continue our spending of billions in his country.
Most Afghans were unaware of the incident on March 20th until Karzai made it the focus of a recent speech.
Jones is an example of how anyone can call himself a preacher and the head of a church — even though he seems to have only a handful of followers. He has expressed no regrets: “It was intended to stir the pot; if you don’t shake the boat, everyone will stay in their complacency.”
The fact is that Jones’ hateful act is protected speech in this country. Despite Obama’s support for an international blasphemy resolution, we remain committed to free speech — even speech that others find insulting and sacrilegious. He was roundly denounced in his country and has lost most of the small number of people in his church. Yet, I will not join those blaming him for this violence. It is a mistake to blame unpopular speakers for such mob responses. It is the fault of these murderous extremists. What Jones is responsible for is his own act of hateful desecration. Instead of showing that it is Jones who is the extremist and the symbol of intolerance, these Muslim extremists have played into dreams of anti-Muslims like Jones.
Source: Yahoo
Hayabusas
Are you saying the pastor is a terrorist?
Murdering people for burning a holy book is definitely an equal response. These people are nuts and prove to me that the FBI’s measure to not tell them their Miranda Rights is a step in the right direction in catching these terrorists: http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2011/03/31/fbi-will-no-longer-give-miranda-warnings-to-terrorism-suspects/
Its certainly easy for cowards with keyboards to defend this book burning preacher from the safety of their couches. There are Americans in harms way (whether we support the wars or not) and David Patraeus got it right last September when he warned about this, and yesterday when he condemned the act.
Extremist fundamentalists believe their ends justify the means, ask the friends and family of Dr. Tiller about their liberty. Tolerance of intolerance is freedom for one at the expense of another’s freedom; hardly the vision of the first amendment.
rafflaw
1, April 4, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Swarth more,
You forgot that Japan was hit because of the gays
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i recall ahmadinejad said there are no homosexuals in iran. no tsunamis there.
gay people are tsunami magnets.
Don’t know if it can be resolved that easily. Some of the resentments are too deep.
AY,
Hey sweetheart … I’m so damned tired I can’t see straight … going to bed
No country totally controls its destiny if the US Empire wants a say in it. You’re right about that.
My earlier point is that we have the power to stop most terrorism against us by simply withdrawing from the region. We have no right to be there in the first place. Not only does our constant meddling infuriate the local population and incite US hatred, but it is bankrupting us and the simmering resentment represents a huge risk to our national security.
Swarth more,
You forgot that Japan was hit because of the gays! 🙂
puzzling, I will still say that the are always other factors at work. Japan did not have control of its destiny either. No country is totally in control of its destiny.
Swarthmore mom,
Glenn Greenwald explained this view better tonight than I could, exactly one minute after I posted here.
Primitive Muslims’ unique love of violence
Evening Blouise….
puzzling, I don’t think we necessarily control our fate. There are many forces at work in the world.
A fundie Muslim camel and a fundie Christian camel walked into a bar …..
get it? Never mind.
Here is the meme: Core teachings of Islam drive an inhuman savagery among followers, compelling them to act out against so-called free societies in the West and particularly the United States.
The reality: Aggression and terrorism against the United States is primarily created by illegitimate and immoral US actions in the region. This includes decades of military action, occupation, murders, theft and installation of US-backed dictatorships.
I see no sign that the apparent bipartisan consensus seeking US hegemony throughout the middle east will end, and therefore I see no end to the incentives to apply terrorist tactics to stop us. Islam really has no bearing on this dynamic. We control our fate; the Quran does not.
Buddha, well said, as usual!
BIL,
They say that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” … but is it flatterly if coming from a dumbass troll? 🙂
Islam is no more a real live boogie man than any of the other fairy tale based religions like Christianity. Which is not to say it’s not a boogie man. It’s just not the only boogie man. And the world would be a much better place if everyone would just come to realize that there is no difference between an adult who believes in an invisible judgmental sky daddy and a child who believes there is a boogie man under their bed. They are both prone to act irrationally.
Don’t go to sleep with your closet open or Mohamed will get you!
And if you fall asleep with a foot hanging off the bed, Jesus will pull you under and eat your face!
These statements are no more and no less ridiculous than “We have to follow these rules because Our Big Black Book of Ancient Fairy Tales says so.”
no, actually fundamentalist Islam is indeed a real live boogie man.
puzzling,
Islam is the big Boogie Man that the government needs to keep people afraid.
Our government only pretends to condemn those who fan the flames of Islamophobia. Even Bush understood that domestic support for seemingly endless war in the region only rises with increased fear of Islam. The neocons – including many in the White House – are no doubt pleased with this new fuel on the fire.