Montreal Paper Includes "Draw Mohammed" Connect-The-Dots Picture. But let's consider another point: Counterpoint update

Townhall  "In response to the massacre of the staff of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the French-language Canadian newspaper Le Journal Montréal included a connect-the-dot picture of "Mohammed" in today's issue so that its readers can "draw" their very own Mohammed cartoon."


" 'Mohammad cartoons in the next Charlie Hebdo." "Print out the sheet and connect the dots. Will join your pencil with theirs.' "

UPDATE: Ann Althouse is not impressed with the "Let's draw Mohammad" gig    There are other points to consider besides spiting the radicals. Somewhat chastened, I give you an excerpt of Ms. Althouse's post:

"'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day' is not a good idea."

I have endless contempt for the threats/warnings against various cartoonists who draw Muhammad (or a man in a bear suit who might be Muhammad, but is actually Santa Claus). But depictions of Muhammad offend millions of Muslims who are no part of the violent threats. In pushing back some people, you also hurt a lot of people who aren't doing anything (other than protecting their own interests by declining to pressure the extremists who are hurting the reputation of their religion).

He's back! Jimmy Carter Blames The Paris Terror Attacks On Israel

First Official Meeting of Habitat for Hamas

Sweetness & Light  From the Daily Caller:

Jimmy Carter Blames Recent Terror Attacks On ‘Palestinian Problem’

By Jamie Weinstein | January 13, 2015
… In the wake of the Islamist terror attacks in France against cartoonists and Jews, former President Jimmy Carter’s first reaction was to pin the motivation for such terrorism on Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Appearing on “The Daily Show” Monday, Carter was asked by host Jon Stewart whether the violence the world saw on the streets of Paris was actually fueled by something else other than Islamic extremism.
“Well, one of the origins for it is the Palestinian problem,” Carter replied. “And this aggravates people who are affiliated in any way with the Arab people who live in the West Bank and Gaza, what they are doing now — what’s being done to them. So I think that’s part of it.”

"What is being done to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza? They can vote. Even their women can vote, drive and even go out in public without a male member of the family. In reality, the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza enjoy a lot more freedom than most of the people who are living in the Middle East under Sharia Law." . . .   Daily Caller: 

Radical Islamic terrorism creates some irony

Embarrassing: Josh Earnest Says WH Summit Will Include All Types of Terrorism… Not Just Islamic Extremism "This presidential sideshow has gone from humorous, to concerning, to downright embarrassing.

"White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters today the Terrorism Summit next month will focus on “all types of extremism” not just Islamic extremism.
(What other types of terrorism threatens Western civilization?)
"They still don’t even understand who we are at war with.
"Just pathetic.
"Earnest would also not say what the president was doing on Sunday.
"He had no idea."

Conspicuous by his absence   "But I've come up with a new parlor game, which would be even more amusing if it weren't so tragic.  The game is to come up with analogies for Mahmoud Abbas marching to condemn terrorism.  My first three suggestions are as follows:

1) Mahmoud Abbas marching to condemn terrorism is like Larry Flynt marching to condemn pornography.
2) Mahmoud Abbas marching to condemn terrorism is like Jack the Ripper marching to condemn violence against women.
3) Mahmoud Abbas marching to condemn terrorism is like Colonel Sanders  marching to condemn fried chicken.

alltherightsnark

(MSNBC'S) Al Sharpton: “Peddlers of Islamophobia” Use The Same “Twisted Logic” As The People Who Criticize My Race Baiting After Ferguson And Garner…

"Sharpton never fails to work himself into a story that has nothing to do with him." Via Al Sharpton (HuffPo):

No matter how many battles Canada wins on Keystone, Obama has the last shot

Canada.com

... "The Alberta pipeline company keeps winning battles, but gets farther away from winning the war. That’s because, no matter how many victories it racks up, President Barack Obama has the last shot. All he has to do is avoid saying yes, and the answer is no. And avoidance is something he’s proven good at.
...
" Mr. Obama had repeatedly cited the need to wait for a decision from Nebraska before making a final ruling on it. There is little doubt he will ultimately reject approval – just this week the White House said he would veto a bill approving Keystone if the new Republican-dominated Congress sends him one – but rather than admit his bias he has preferred to hide behind protestations that each new delaying tactic must be allowed to play itself out."

 

It is truly hard to find an unbiased source, but we will try here: Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Pros, Cons, and Other Facts

"The Keystone XL project is a proposed plan to construct a 1,179 mile-long crude oil pipeline across the US-Canada international border. The northern leg of the 36-inch wide pipeline plans to connect Hardisty in Alberta to Steele City in Nebraska. The Southern Leg connects Steele City with Port Arthur in Texas. Since the northern leg passes through the international border, it is pending approval from the Department of State of the US Federal Government, since 2008, when TransCanada first proposed it. The Southern Leg of the pipeline became operational in 2014. The Keystone XL project is expected to cost around US $7 billion."

 

A negative issue that I feel is overemphasized: the tar sands

The pollution caused by extraction of tar oils is thrice that which is caused by conventional oils. Tar oils have routinely been described as the 'dirtiest fuel' that can be used. Also, there are fears that by approving this project, US technology will become almost completely dependent on such polluting energy sources.

The tar sands have and will continue to have been extracted no matter if Keystone is built or not. 

"If the project is not approved, then US will still be dependent on its oil sources in the Middle East. Such transport of oil over long distances will definitely increase carbon footprint, compared to direct piping of oil from Canada.

"It is much safer to transport crude oil by pipelines than by railroads or tankers, where the chances of explosions is higher. The chances of spillage is lesser in pipelines. In more than 80% spills from pipelines, less than 5 barrels of oil were wasted. The Keystone XL project would have one of the safest pipelines equipped with sensors that send data to monitoring satellites every 5 seconds. "

Why is Hillary Clinton Silent on Paris Attacks?

Frontpage Mag

 

"Hillary Clinton is largely running based on her, failed, time as Secretary of State. Not long ago her people were promising a more vigorous foreign policy. But after all this time, she hasn’t even bothered to make the most basic statement about the Paris terror attacks.

"In the original primaries, Hillary boasted that she would be there to take 3 AM phone calls. Meanwhile days later, she still can’t even comment on the attack.

"We’ve slammed Obama before for his inattention and laziness, but Hillary Clinton seems to be even worse. And Benghazi is a reminder of how her sloppiness and inattention to important details already cost lives." ...

"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand" Mark Twain

Sultan Knish tells us to laugh at Islam.  "The true war against Islam is not a military war, it is a cultural war. For Islam it is a religious conflict by an empire intent on transforming every aspect of life into one defined by Islam. For us it is about preserving our way of life. The cartoon controversy woke many Europeans to the fact that free speech and many of the other attributes of democracy that they take for granted are incompatible with Islam. Under the relentless pressure of multi-culturalism, they and we are increasingly deciding that our way of life has to bow to theirs.

. . .
"Our culture is being invaded. Our nations are being overrun. In England some government offices  banned mugs featuring Piglet on them. In Israel a woman was sentenced to jail for drawing a cartoon of Mohammed as a pig. In America defaced Korans are being investigated as hate crimes. This is the power of the law backing up the power of the cultural consensus of our politicians and press which prevents any criticism or mockery of Islam as if this were Saudi Arabia.

 

. . .
"Battling Islam with humor quickly clarifies the stakes for the west in an undeniable way showing that our choice is between maintaining our freedoms or losing them forever. Islam's apologists, our press, our politicians, our academics have been cooking us like lobsters in a pot, slowly raising the temperature until we're broiling and barely notice it. Muslim rage raises the temperature a lot. It wakes up some of those in the lobster pot as the murders of Theo VanGogh and the Cartoon controversy did." ...

Here's a good place to start: Top Saudi Cleric Issues Fatwa Banning Snowmen For Being “Anti-Islamic”…

... " Quoting from Muslim scholars, Sheikh Munajjid argued that to build a snowman was to create an image of a human being, an action considered sinful under the kingdom’s strict interpretation of Sunni Islam." ...

More picture commentary on the Charlie Hebdo massacre

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Cartoonist Solidarity slide show

http://www.demilked.com/charlie-hebdo-shooting-tribute-cartoons-cartoonists/

 

The ridiculous reason why Islamic terrorists murdered journalists at Charlie Hebdo

UPDATED: So our president skipped the march by world leaders; what's the big deal?

Confirmed: Obama watched NFL playoffs instead of going to Paris  ... "If Kerry actually had the guts his Vietnam War decorations normally signify, he would have resigned in protest over the president’s absence, and earned an honored place in history." ...Mr. Kerry calls all this "quibbling".

President Obama Watches Football As World Leaders Rally Against Terrorism

 

Conservative Lady

Où Est Le Président?  ... "The world noticed that President Obama was not there. This is a man who ran for the Presidency claiming he would rebuild relationships abroad, restore our image with the world, and act as a citizen of the world instead of as an “ugly American.”

"Yesterday, that campaign promise officially expired. The President, again, behaved as if he wanted the title and perks, but not the actual job."

So our president skipped out; what's the big deal?... " From Obama’s point of view, since no American was attacked, no American was killed, and no American was involved he clearly thinks that our involvement in this matter is thus unnecessary."

"I don't mean this as a criticism of the Obama administration, but as an American, I do wish that we were better represented in this beautiful procession of world leaders,"

Too little too late? Kerry says he WILL go to Paris but only after U.S. was shamed for snubbing historic weekend rally of world leaders

 Is the Obama White House Crazy or Cowardly? "When, following the Benghazi attack, the Obama Administration apologized for a movie insulting Islam, it encouraged the intolerant and the killers. President Obama and Secretary Clinton were so desperate to appease these haters that they paid for TV commercials in Pakistan apologizing for any offense people might have taken to free speech the U.S. government had nothing to do with.

"When the French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, printed cartoons about Islam two years ago, the Obama White House said, "We are aware that a French magazine published cartoons featuring a figure resembling the prophet Muhammad, and obviously we have questions about the judgment of publishing something like this.' "...

Obama's statement: 'The Future Must Not Belong To Those Who Slander The Prophet Of Islam' seen in its context.The speech traveled a long road so those exact words could be used. 

 From PJ Media:

Update from HopeN'Change  ... "Barack Obama wasn't there. Of course he wasn't there! Just because a couple of days ago he declared that he would "stand with France" doesn't mean that he should actually have to, you know, stand with France. Especially on the weekend."
 

 

So, President Barack Obama skipped the French anti-terror unity march.

Obama, Kerry absent from unity rally in Paris

Holder, top US official in Paris for terror talks, not seen at unity march

The roll call of world leaders who were in the march here.  Just to be snarky, let me point out that both the US and Iran sent no top officials. 


RedState  "There is a very simple explanation for this: “President Barack Obama will not join other world leaders at Sunday’s Paris march in tribute to the victims of this week’s Islamist attacks in France, a US official told AFP.” Basically, President Obama legitimately and genuinely does not understand why it is necessary for him – or a sufficiently dignified surrogate* – to represent our country at an activity such as this.  From Obama’s point of view, since no American was attacked, no American was killed, and no American was involved he clearly thinks that our involvement in this matter is thus unnecessary. And since the formal solace and condolences from foreign dignitaries would offer no comfort to him in similar circumstances, Barack Obama apparently feels that offering his own detached sympathies would be essentially equally pointless.
...
 "I think that the last few years have demonstrated pretty clearly why the American people default to looking to the Republican party for their foreign policy cues."

This is how it was seen by our allies in the United Kingdom: America snubs historic Paris rally: Holder skipped out of proceedings early, Kerry was in India, Obama and Biden just stayed home
"Neither President Obama or Vice President Joe Biden attended the historic event,  though both of their schedules were open" (Emphasis in the original)

 "Fox News host Greta Van Susteren said: 'This is really embarrassing - WHERE IS PRESIDENT OBAMA? Why didn't he go?'  

"While the President Obama is a busy man, his absence at the show of international solidarity was notable, considering his schedule was wide open today.

"Vice President Joe Biden often fills in for the president at events like this, but he was no where to be seen either, despite his similarly empty schedule.

"Most remarkable was the fact that Holder, one of the top members of Obama's cabinet, was in Paris on Sunday - but skipped the rally." . . .

Remember How Obama Regime Sent 3 Representatives To Mike Brown’s Funeral?

FLASHBACK: French President Jacques Chirac First Foreign Leader To Visit WH After 9/11
 "Fast forward to today where Obama snubbed France by failing to attend, or send any top officials, to a rally against Islamic terrorism in Paris attended by more than 50 world leaders."

 

Charlie Hebdo Could Never Have Existed on an American College Campus

toonpool

NY Times  …”If they had tried to publish their satirical newspaper on any American university campus over the last two decades it wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds. Student and faculty groups would have accused them of hate speech. The administration would have cut financing and shut them down. …

“Just look at all the people who have overreacted to campus micro-aggressions. The University of Illinois fired a professor who taught the Roman Catholic view on homosexuality. The University of Kansas suspended a professor for writing a harsh tweet against the N.R.A. Vanderbilt University derecognized a Christian group that insisted that it be led by Christians.
…”Americans may laud Charlie Hebdo for being brave enough to publish cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad, but, if Ayaan Hirsi Ali is invited to campus, there are often calls to deny her a podium.
“So this might be a teachable moment. As we are mortified by the slaughter of those writers and editors in Paris, it’s a good time to come up with a less hypocritical approach to our own controversial figures, provocateurs and satirists. . . .
“If you try to pull off this delicate balance with law, speech codes and banned speakers, you’ll end up with crude censorship and a strangled conversation. It’s almost always wrong to try to suppress speech, erect speech codes and disinvite speakers.” . . .
Read the full column. Also see our reporter Christopher White’s look today at why comedians have such a tortured relationship with stand-up gigs on campus.
                                                                               ADFMedia
Via College Insurrection

Where Did Those Strange Old Phrases and Sayings Come From?

StrangeCosmos  "Ever wonder where some of those old sayings come from? Neither have I... and now I'll never worry about wondering again..."

A SHOT OF WHISKEY: In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents. So did a glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a 'shot' of whiskey. THE WHOLE NINE YARDS: American fighter planes in WWII had machine guns that were fed by a belt of cartridges. The average plane held belts that were 27 feet (9 yards) long. If the pilot used up all his ammo he was said to have given it the whole nine yards.    BUYING THE FARM: This is synonymous with dying. During WWI soldiers were given life insurance policies worth $5,000. This was about the price of an average farm so if you died you "bought the farm" for your survivors. IRON CLAD CONTRACT: This came about from the ironclad ships of the Civil War. It meant something so strong it could not be broken. PASSING THE BUCK/THE BUCK STOPS HERE: Most men in the early west carried a jack knife made by the Buck knife company. When playing poker it as common to place one of these Buck knives in front of the dealer so that everyone knew who he was. When it was time for a new dealer the deck of cards and the knife were given to the new dealer. If this person didn't want to deal he would "pass the buck" to the next player. If that player accepted then "the buck stopped there". RIFF RAFF: The Mississippi River was the main way of traveling from north to south. Riverboats carried passengers and freight but they were expensive so most people used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts which were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts was called a "riff" and this transposed into riff-raff, meaning low class. COBWEB: The Old English word for "spider" was "cob". SHIP STATE ROOMS: Traveling by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on the boats were not numbered. Instead they were named after states. To this day cabins on ships are called staterooms. SHOWBOAT: These were floating theatres built on a barge that was pushed by a steamboat. These played small town along the Mississippi River. Unlike the boat shown in the movie "Showboat" these did not have an engine. They were gaudy and attention grabbing which is why we say someone who is being the life of the party is "showboating". OVER A BARREL: In the days before CPR a drowning victim would be placed face down over a barrel and the barrel would be rolled back and forth in an effort to empty the lungs of water. It was rarely effective. If you are over a barrel you are in deep trouble. BARGE IN: Heavy freight was moved along the Mississippi in large barges pushed by steamboats. These were hard to control and would sometimes swing into piers or other boats. People would say they "barged in". HOGWASH: Steamboats carried both people and animals. Since pigs smelled so bad they would be washed before being put on board. The mud and other filth that was washed off was considered useless "hog wash". CURFEW: The word "curfew" comes from the French phrase "couvre-feu" which means "cover the fire". It was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps and candles. It was later adopted into Middle English as "curfeu" which later became the modern "curfew". In the early American colonies homes had no real fireplaces so a fire was built in the centre of the room. In order to make sure a fire did not get out of control during the night it was required that, by an agreed upon time, all fires would be covered with a clay pot called-a "curfew". HOT OFF THE PRESS: As the paper goes through the rotary printing press friction causes it to heat up. Therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press it is hot. The expression means to get immediate information. A SQUARE MEAL: Comes from old wooden sailing ships, where a sailor was served his meal on a square plate that fit in a set of wooden angles on a table so it wouldn't slide off during rolling seas. A THREE DOG NIGHT: In old England on a very cold night it was common to allow a dog to sleep in bed with you for extra warmth. If it was extremely cold night, it was called a THREE DOG NIGHT. POSH: An acronym from early English passenger vessels. As there was no air-conditioning in those days, the out-bound (north to south) leg exposed the summer afternoon sun to the starboard side of the ship making those staterooms much warmer than the port side rooms. This was reversed on the leg home. Wealthy passengers were allowed to change sides of the ship to be more comfortable, so their tickets read: Port Out; Starboard Home, and was abbreviated as P.O.S.H., which now denotes very comfortable quarters. BARRELS OF OIL: When the first oil wells were drilled they had made no provision for storing the liquid so they used water barrels. That is why, to this day, we speak of barrels of oil rather than gallons. HOT OFF THE PRESS: As the paper goes through the rotary printing press friction causes it to heat up. Therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press it is hot. The expression means to get immediate information. FALLEN OFF THE WAGON: The expression refers to the water wagons used to sprinkle water on the streets to keep the dust down. During the times of Prohibition in the 19th century, men often climbed onto these wagons and took an oath they would give up alcohol and drink only water. This gave rise to the expression to be on the water cart/wagon; it was later shortened to on the wagon. When these individuals broke their pledge and started hitting the bottle again, they were said to have fallen off the wagon.

Alfred Charles Sharpton, an American Excess Story

obamacartoon.blogspot.com

Townhall  "When a history of the American Presidency for the last fifty years is compiled, listed among the most curious aspects of those five decades of presidential administrations will be the inclusion of Alfred Charles Sharpton as a ‘trusted presidential advisor’ to the Obama Administration.Countless photographs from presidential and news media archives will show Alfred virtually glowing in his self-importance, seated at the side of the president...

"Alfred has been able to insinuate himself into countless incidents where a racial aspect might or might not be involved.If one isn’t there, he’ll create it.Having no facts or evidence (it never stopped him before), Alfred is always ready and able to inject charges of racism and stir up civil unrest.All for his own ego gratification and to line his own pockets with money. ...

"Alfred’s excesses will continue as long as the money keeps rolling in and the American news media keep providing him coverage. And American race relations will continue to suffer a setback every time Alfred arrives on the scene."   (All cartoons added; TD)

 D.W. Wilber is a former Intelligence and Counterterrorism Officer, and the owner of Secur-Intel-Solutions.

Hat tip to Robert Hope; Sacramento, CA