I think the Philadelphia Inquirer made the right decision in printing one of the cartoons that has sparked violent Muslim riots in other parts of the world. Once again it comes down to freedom. It’s not always the most sympathetic of ideas, but it is always the best.
Muslims say their religion forbids depicting images of their Prophet because it could be seen as idolotry, which is forbidden by Muslim teachings; however, by engaging in these violent riots are they not raising Muhammad to the level of an idol? Why is it that Muslims — and I’m generlizing in a bad way here — always turn to violence when someone does not agree with their interprations or beliefs? Why is it that Muslim clerics — again, generalizing — always incite their followers to violence in answer to those who question them, or choose not to follow them?
Just days after stating they would begin immediate enrichment of uranium Iran now says it is still willing to negotiate. Wow, and we didn’t even have to invade them. Granted, this may mean nothing, but it shows that Iran can see that isolation from the world may not be worth the risk, after all. A nuclear Iran is something we should all fear and something we need to keep close tabs on. We can’t do that if we shut them out diplomatically.
I’m no fan of Roy Blunt’s politics, but earlier this week I found myself wondering why he lost out to John Boehner (R-OH). Maybe we know the answer now: he’s just biding time to see if DeLay will win his court battle and return to the position of Speaker. Blunt, power hungry as he is, would not have stepped aside, I think.
Granted, I’m stretching it here, but it is interesting to think about.
Some interesting articles on Global Warming:
If anyone can give Apple some true competition in the digital media arena it’s Amazon. With its vast customer base, Amazon already has the infrastructure in place to offer downloads of music, videos, movies, and books. What they don’t have, however, is the iPod, which is what gives Apple’s iTunes such an advantage over other download providers such as Yahoo. I’ve tried other MP3 players and none of them have been as good as my iPod. Unless Amazon can position itself with a state of the art MP3 player that offers the style and capabilities of the iPod they will play second fiddle to iTunes. The one big advantage I see with Amazon’s service is the dual media type. If I buy a CD from Amazon, I also get a digital copy that can then be downloaded to portable device. Two birds with one stone, so to speak. That is a major advantage over iTunes because sometimes you like to have that little CD in your hands, as well, and then rip it to your iPod. Of course, I doubt the products provided by Amazon will be downloadable to iPods.
Arlen Specter just refuses to play ball on the domestic spying issue. Arlen better watch his back.
