[heltduell]

Come on, guys. What's all this detailed analysis and concern over who might have been offended by what, and why? I never saw so many brain cycles assigned to the wrong task.

The idea of rioting, destroying building, and murdering people on three continents because you didn't like a political cartoon, is ABSURD. No one in his right mind would do it for that. And I include the present Muslim rioters among those who ARE in their right mind. They know what they are doing, and why. And a political cartoon, ain't it.

A political cartoon didn't trigger the rioting and killing. A bunch of angry, militant thugs triggered the rioting and killing. They merely used the cartoon as their excuse, this time. If the cartoons hadn't shown up at a favorable time, they would have rioted because someone stepped on a crack in the sidewalk. (That would have been about as sensible as rioting over a cartoon.)

These Muslims aren't trying to get us to stop "offending Islam" with political cartoons. Rather, they are trying to get us to fear militant Islamists when they get their dander up... while simultaneously trying to show us that they will get their dander up whenever and wherever they please, and we'd damned well better not try to stop them.

It's not a "cultural clash". It's not "misunderstood nuances of Islam".

It's merely a bunch of thugs trying to soften us up for the real fight, which comes later, when they try to start intimidating us into letting them dictate how our societies run. They have started by trying to get us to believe we SHOULD take their demands into account, no matter how silly the cause nor how murderous the result. The idea that we, in different countries, should obey THEIR religious dictates, is absurd on its face. But the handwringing in the press, tells them that they are on the right track.

Knock it off. The proper response is to laugh at them, call them the barbaric, murderous fanatics they are, and throw the pillagers and murderers in jail. We should probably thank them, for handing us such a persuasive example of the irrelevance of the "reasons" they choose to begin rioting and killing people.

They will attack, kill, and destroy, no matter what we do to placate them, appease them, or accomodate their nutty "demands". So, we should do none of those things. We should respond appropriately, with eyes open to their real goals and methods, and not try to pretend they have a legitimate grievance (political cartoons? Give me a break!).

They are thugs, wantonly killing and rampaging to achieve a political purpose. They are, in fact, terrorists.

They should be treated as such.