The complications of life

In a number of ways. There's been a lot printed, electronically and on paper, about how modern communications has changed things. 'Things' from talking to friends to sending mail to ordering a product to spreading news and on and on. Someone can whip out their phone and take a picture of something and send it to friends; someone in a newspaper makes a claim and people can check it out, and spread the word if it's not true or inaccurate, as fast as the paper put it out(sometimes faster); and news that many major media types don't want to report travels around the world at roughly the speed of light. It makes for lots of information getting out faster, and in some cases getting out at all- or at least spreading faster- than ever before.

Instapundit had a link to this from the PRC; a guy not only got information out without it being censored, but it spread far faster than the reaction of the PRC government could try to chase it down. Big changes in China, changes that, like the genie, cannot be put back in the bottle, enabled and fueled by this marvel of tech. It's happened and is happening in other places, too.

Speaking of stuff the major media doesn't want to deal with, let's move to the cartoons and other stuff dealing with Islam, fascist and otherwise. How many western papers and magazines and networks have refused to print or show the cartoons? Most. Lots of excuses: 'respect for Islam', 'do not want to inflame the situation', and so on. They'll report endlessly on the 'grievances' of muslims and how we should be 'understanding' and 'tolerant', while not demanding the same tolerance from the idiots burning and rioting and murdering in the name of their prophet and deity. Tim Blair has a post up on this mess, and has a quote from one as to why he published the cartoons:
"Has Jyllands-Posten insulted and disrespected Islam? It certainly didn’t intend to. But what does respect mean? When I visit a mosque, I show my respect by taking off my shoes. I follow the customs, just as I do in a church, synagogue or other holy place. But if a believer demands that I, as a nonbeliever, observe his taboos in the public domain, he is not asking for my respect, but for my submission. And that is incompatible with a secular democracy."

Exactly. Big difference between saying that religeous values are a good thing, or to be tolerated, and saying "You will be ruled by my beliefs, no matter what you believe". As the picture shows:

















The freedoms of speech and expression this clown places no value on is why he can run around with his little sign and show his comtempt for us, and he sees those freedoms as weaknesses to be used to help destroy us.

I mentioned once before that I've been reading about Islam, and if you're going by the writings and teachings then a religeon of peace it ain't; it's a religeon of submission, and to the devout and nutcase levels who go strictly by the Koran and hadiths, it's a case of ALL must submit or be destroyed. I understand the 'moderate' muslims being scared of the nutcases, but they're going to have to stand up to them anyway. Someone once wrote that in a guerilla war all the locals had to do to be on the side of the guerillas was 'nothing'; not speak of them, not report them, simply do nothing to oppose them whether they agreed with them or not. Well, if the moderates do that, we have to see them at least somewhat as being on the side of the enemy. No, that doesn't make me happy to say; I doubt they're happy to be looked at that way. But unless they do at least speak out against them we have to see them that way; and the more people go out of their way to avoid 'offending' the jerks, the harder it is for the moderates to speak out. We ALL have to speak out, which includes refusing to be censored by their demands that we live/speak/think according to THEIR demands.

Further thoughts from TigerHawk and sisu

And while the French are rattling nuclear sabres, they're also refusing to call hate crimes what they are. At least in some cases.

For further commentary from less, er, 'reputable' sources, go here.