A Caricature Reveals a Fundamental Problem A Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published some caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. This sparked wide and furious outrange in the Muslim world. The cartoons may not have been the nicest or most thoughtful content of the paper. I, personally, don't like a lot of information published in the papers. Some issues offend me and I voice my concerns. But the reaction and the remedies called for reveals a defect in a sizeable part of the Muslim communities.

The worst part is not that they don't get the concept of free speech. The worst part is that they feel they have the right to control how others organize their society. There is also a blatant lack of reciprocity - there are quite a few caricatures of Jews in Muslim newspapers.

I just don't understand the reasoning that produces this collective hubris but it definitely reveals a weakness. Why all the drama? Practice an eye for eye, if you please, and publish caricatures on Christians. I promise, we can handle it.  ¶ 8:28 AM 0 comments

  Hamas and the Palestinians I am an optimist by nature but it's hard to find anything in the mid-east to feel good about. Sharon was a huge force for peace but he is out of the game. The nut case in Iran enjoys to challenge the rest of the world in a cynical political game to build domestic support for his Islamic fascist program. And he is surely going for the nuke. Not much good news from Iraq. Then, the last piece - Hamas wins the Palestinian election. What more can go wrong?

The Palestinians have created quite a mess. It's not strange that voters are frustrated with the Fatah leadership. Arafat and his successors have always been corrupt and incompetent but this is the Palestinian leadership and only Palestinians can do something about it. To turn to Hamas is just about the stupidest thing they could do.

The Hamas leadership has to choose - either stick with their current program or embrace the civilized means of a politics. The latter would include to recognize Israel, give up all form of terrorism, and support of terrorism. If Hamas will not change course should the west use all means possible to undermine it, the government they will command, and the people they represent. It may came across to be harsh but there simply has to be consequences to voluntarily adopt a terrorist leadership and it's simply unacceptable and dangerous with terrorists running a government.

The immediate consequences should include the following. All financial support to the Palestinians should cease promptly. All UN programs and activities in the Palestinian territories should cease. Sponsor specific Israeli programs to eliminate Hamas - it's leadership any anybody carrying arms for it.

I've always supported a Palestinian state but they may simply be too incompetent and too addicted to the struggle to be trusted with an independent government. Sad.  ¶ 4:23 PM 1 comments

  Another Tape So, bin Laden released another tape. It's immediately drummed up as "embarrassing" to the US, "a big blow" for the administration, etc. It's a hype. The guy is sitting in a cave somewhere in Afghanistan or Pakistan! Sure, we want to take him and we will continue to pursue that but his operational control is gone. It's true that the organization al Qaeda has evolved into a movement rather than an organization with a central command. But is has done so out of necessity and bin Laden and his guys would surely re-establish a more active part if they could. We have to prevent that.

Let bin Laden produce his tapes and don't waste too much attention on him. The only thing the organization has going right now is in Iraq. It's sad that we gave them this opportunity but they don't have much else going.  ¶ 11:14 PM 0 comments

  The Consitution, Stupid! Here we go again. President Bush goes unilateral. He doesn't turn his back on the world this time around. This time - he is pissing the the Constitution of the United States. This incredibly effective political instrument crafted by the Founding Fathers some two hundred years ago is challenged.

I am not at all upset that we're listing in on calls suspected of being related to terrorism. That's good. But it has to be done in a legal manner. This is a really serious issue - it's not like somebody lying about not committing adultery. This is the real deal and Bush failed this test too.

Of course, this is not the first time the sitting President challenge the Constitution. Terror suspect Padilla has been held for ages without due process. Do I care about him? No. Is he guilty? Probably. But what I care about is the constitution. The whole point with a constitution is that it always applies. There are no exceptions and nobody can legally defy it. One can argue that the Constitution is suspended all together if it's applied selectively.

I guess the Bush folks have forgot about defending the Constitution between all the talk about spreading freedom across the world and waving American flags.  ¶ 5:42 PM 0 comments