caroljane

Yes, I agree. But you do post; sometimes you just want to chip in and agree or disagree, like a lot of infrequent posters. It is the ones who take the trouble to sign in but never want to say anything that I wonder about .

Sugar has calories. Does it satisfy hunger? Not unless your hunger is for calories. I thought you were talking about food, not single ingredients. Most ingredients have calories.

I do not know of Sec. Clinton's craven cooperation with the Islamic anti-blasphemists but I am sure you can enlighten me, When one general calls a dingbat fundamentalist and asks him to lay off already, and he doesn't, this could have a chilling effect on free speech. When a second general calls him up and asks him to lay off, and he says, "Oh I might and I might not", ... fool me twice. Silence, or the choice not to state the obvious, in diplomacy does not constitute "appeasement". Who is Bruce Bartlett?

That's Ok, you should see me greeting my Fatimas and Fawzias, Lee Chin Chos and Chow Chin Los, it is a nightmare. Of course I know Frum of Axis of Evil fame, I read him regularly. I don't agree with his conservative stance but he is an excellent political analyst. and tho he is a Washingtonian, he is indeed Canadian.

Carol, While the Morsi regime has made it most clear what they want to happen, I still don't know what you believe ought to happen in this case. You haven't criticized CNN for letting all the jihadis know what Mr. Nakoula looks like, and where they might find him—just in case they might like to kill him (as everyone at CNN, from the CEO to the janitor, knows they might). You haven't criticized the Obama administration for any of the remarks made by Ambassador Rice, Secretary of State Clinton, or the President himself. And while it's been years now since I called myself an Objectivist, I continue to think that posing diametric alternatives does sometimes help to clarify matters. Meanwhile, if Mr. Nakoula was trying to incite murderous violence, there ought to be evidence available as to his intent. His lack of artistry is apparent to all. But outstanding inability as a film-maker does not make him responsible for the deaths of Ambassador Stevens, an embassy staffer, and two Marines. Nor do Muslims receive an entitlement to kill when the person at whom they claim to take offense lacks redeeming artistic value. Robert Campbell Nice apple and orange pudding, Robert. I hereby criticise CNN, for displaying the face and whereabouts (although those are now unknown even to CNN) of a person who, along with thousands or maybe most of the US citizenry, terrorist Islamists want to kill. In the remarks of Obama and his administration I cannot discern any incitement to violence, or appeasement of murder, or condemnation of free speech. When I do I will criticise them. as to Nakoula's intent, I have said repeatedly he is a fall guy and as you point out, the likeliest to get knocked over, It is the intent of his employers which is not in question, Diametric alternatives are only clarifying when they are true alternatives, Edit, I forgot your first sentence. NOTHING ought to happen in this case, nothing. Nobody should get killed, there should be no rioting, no violence, no further sparks of hatred flowering into fire. That is what I think ought to happen, and I hope and pray does happen. But I fear that it won't.

Another difference is in the way your two-party system has held steady, while ours has evolved to a three (or four if you count the Separatists). I think this is why there are proportionately fewer libertarians here. The fiscal libertarians are happy in the Conservative party (as they should be, since the prime minister is one of them), and the social libertarians are happy in the NDP or Liberal parties. The extreme wings did not need to be stuffed wholesale into the mainstream parties, causing the strange bedfellows we see in the GOP for example.

Interesting, I had never heard of Fund. I did not know there were Canada watchers in the US like the US watchers here! The length of a government's term in our respective countries was the subject of my very first post on Canadian Boring. We operate on the If-it-Aint-Broke-We-Wont-Fix-It model, but with the proviso that if it breaks we can stop it at any time within any given five years.

I am just wondering, what are the advantages of joining a forum, when you never want to participate in it? It appears that a huge number of forum members (not just here but on any site) never make any posts. I don't understand why that is, when you can get all the same information that members get simply as a browser. Maybe Internet Market Analysis has the answer. Michael?

I bet you could find evidence of this! If I were you I would contact James Valliant immediately and get working on the triumphant sequel to PARC: The Final Deception !

Carol, Well, the idiot Baptist minister named Terry Lewis resides in Florida. But that isn't the point. Robert Spencer and Pam Geller didn't make up this Egyptian law. Nor did they invent the attitudes of Mohammed Morsi and others in the present Egyptian regime. Would you prefer that the Obama Justice Department prosecute Nakoula, Sadek, Lewis, et al. for defaming Muhammad? With an old-timey shari'a penalty on the table? Robert Campbell Of course not, and you know that I do not believe in prosecution for such things at all, and i have clearly stated that/ (Why does any statement an Objectivist doesn't like , instantly evoke a "would you prefer (worst possible opposite/ the other side does it response? Is it the black-white "between two things" Rand worldview?) Egypt however does have such a stupid irrational law. I was remarking that this will make a good publicity platform for the United Artists involved. The idiot Baptist named Terry Jones does indeed live in Florida, and Morris S. lives in DC, where he is not in fact so safe from his shoe-wielding co-parishioners. The others I am guessing were the financiers, interestingly Jack A. is a realtor, although not Israeli. And consultant Steve Klein (not charged) has described himself as a failed real estate developer who lost a bundle in the recession.

That is a neat metaphor for the propaganda weapons, also.

Surely this is backwards? Physiologically it is the calories that satisfy hunger, whatever their nutrition element.

John Fund? Are you sure that is the right name? I know the media here pretty well and that rings no bells.

Ah, the real Mitt. The Man Nobody Wanted. The Parisiens probably didn't want him beaming the Light of Truth into their dingy hallways, the Republicans mostly didn't want him but the other candidates were so palpably unelectable that he was the best Anybody but Obama they could settle for. It is not about his personality whatever it is, so much as the one political skill he has failed or refused to learn: the art of persuasion. Probably he quit trying to learn it after he gained 3 converts in his year as a missionary. Thereafter he has simply told people what he wanted them to do, and now he is telling them, underneath everything he says, why they should do it: "Because it's obvious, I am more suitable as a president than that Marxist Kenyan! And I deserve it! I've worked hard all my life and I've never cheated on Ann and I wanna be President, darnit!" I'm entitled to be President!"

Carol, You will probably read more about this later when the mainstream catches up to Glenn Beck. He floated an idea today that sounds completely plausible. Beck asked what the hell Stevens was doing in Benghazi around 9/11 with a protection detail that seemed more from the CIA than from the Marines. He also called out ABC on shoddy reporting since (1) he got several of his facts from ABC broadcasts, and (2) ABC is now pretending they are investigating what they already broadcasted several months ago. I won't go into this ABC stuff since I am going on memory and don't want to screw it up. It will all come out later, anyway. Apparently Benghazi is an extremely dangerous place for foreigners, but one very familiar to Stevens. It was in Benghazi that he helped get USA arms to the hands of rebels during the Arab Spring. (Note, there was a lot of concern at the time because the rebels around that area were permeated with elements from Al Qaeda.) Now that a lot of weapons have gone missing in Libya, the Obama administration is sending in people to try to find out what happened to them. It would be a major disaster if USA weapons showed up when USA people got killed, especially in light of the Fast and Furious scandal. Beck thinks it is a good possibility that Stevens was in Benghazi on such a mission and something went wrong with the negotiations. He would have had to deal with the same people as before, except those people were no longer interested in USA help in overthrowing Gaddafi. Stay tuned. Michael That certainly sounds plausible, I lhave been looking at Blaze lately and find the major stories (not the commentary so much) to be generally properly sourced and gasp, often evenhanded. Does he employ investigative reporters or only fact-checkers, editors etc?

Egypt has charged 7 American-based Copts (though not Nakoula) plus terry Jones with whatever blasphemy crime the film is under Egyptian law. This is unfortunate. They all seem to be part of the Spencer/Geller crowd and will make a total field day out of their persecution, while they are safe in California.

Sorry Robert, but I still think my analogy holds up better than yours. The difference between Rushdie and the Danish cartoonist, and Nakoula, is the reason. The former two created works of literature and satire, knowing that they might be offensive but not wishing or hoping for the death of their enemies, much less themselves or their friends, as a result. Any work of literature or satire will offend somebody. Nakoula and friends created a deliberate work of propaganda, with no pretence to art, knowing and very likely hoping that it would help provoke violence and death. They have admitted this. Again, neither Rushdie nor Nakoula committed a legal crime. But Nakoula committed a moral crime, if you will, and Rushdie did not. And yes, I do think Nakoula will get protection, although he may have to pay for it himself.

Finally we are in agreement. That is exactly my estimation of the responsibility of Nakoula etal in the murder of Stevens. Stevens was the "face", the symbol to the murderers of the infidel, the enemy, the Muhammad-defiler, as is Nakoula, more directly,He is not a symbol but a real person who depicted and defiled Mohammed as did Rushdie (sorry Rushdie to put you in such revolting company) in the minds of the murderers. And he is likely to stay alive as did Rushdie.

Finally we are in agreement. That is exactly my estimation of the responsibility of Nakoula etal in the murder of Stevens. Stevens was the "face", the symbol to the murderers of the infidel, the enemy, the Muhammad-defiler, as is Nakoula, more directly,

So if he is killed, does Cnn bear any responsibility?

I feel really sorry for the actors who were used for this purpose. I wonder if any of them were Muslims, Sometimes there really is such a thing as bad publicity.

Exactly, Robert. Why? It can only inflame the Islamists terrorists in India, who you can be sure will hear about it through the same channels that will provide the video to Banerjee.

Brant, I am very glad that you survived, to bear witness.

The film is going to be shown here by a Hindu group (the same one who organized a dog-walking event in front of a mosque last Friday, because a lot of Muslim cabbies won't carry dogs). Ron Banerjee, spokesman, says "there is a lot of interest" in it. 99% of Toronto's Hindus are furious and want nothing to do with the wretched thing or Banerjee's loony group. Some are frightened that backlash will endanger their jobs or even their lives. But of course, it is his perfect right to show a film, any film, if he can get a venue. Nobody seems eager to welcome a sellout crowd onto their cinematic premises for this one.

PS you should tryout for Project Runway (seriously)