Quick Roundup 22

Curse of the Moderates

Awhile back, I encountered this excellent Charles Krauthammer column which made the point that much of what passes for "moderation" in the Moslem world and the leftist intelligentsia is not, in fact the attitude of political tolerance which we would hope for.

A true Muslim moderate is one who protests desecrations of all faiths. Those who don't are not moderates but hypocrites, opportunists and agents for the rioters, using merely different means to advance the same goal: to impose upon the West, with its traditions of freedom of speech, a set of taboos that is exclusive to the Islamic faith. These are not defenders of religion, but Muslim supremacists trying to force their dictates upon the liberal West.

And these "moderates" are aided and abetted by Western "moderates" who publish pictures of the Virgin Mary covered with elephant dung, and celebrate the "Piss Christ" (a crucifix sitting in a jar of urine) as art deserving public subsidy, but are seized with a sudden religious sensitivity when the subject is Muhammad.

...

The worldwide riots and burnings are instruments of intimidation, reminders of van Gogh's fate. The Islamic "moderates" are the mob's agents and interpreters, warning us not to do this again. And the Western "moderates" are their terrified collaborators who say: Don't worry, we won't. It's those Danes. We're clean. Spare us. Please.

Want an example? How 'bout Maylaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Badawi:

Abdullah Badawi, seen as promoting a moderate form of Islam in largely Muslim Malaysia, said many Westerners saw Muslims as congenital terrorists.

As he spoke at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, thousands protested outside at cartoons of the Prophet [sic] Muhammad.

...

On Thursday, Mr Abdullah shut indefinitely a Borneo-based paper, the Sarawak Tribune, for reprinting the cartoons.

He described their publication as "insensitive and irresponsible". The paper had apologised for what it called an editorial oversight.

...

They think Osama bin Laden speaks for the religion and its followers," he said, quoted by the Associated Press news agency.

...

"The West should treat Islam the way it wants Islam to treat the West and vice versa. They should accept one another as equals," he said.

So what would "Mister" Abdullah prefer? That the West reciprocate for his shuttering of a newspaper by banning Korans (for their insensitivity to non-Moslems), or that they begin to reciprocate our respect for their freedom of speech by, say, not crying, rioting, and burning things up when we publish cartoons they don't care for. His choice is not encouraging, coming from a "moderate". (And get a load of what some state-controlled Moslem presses publish! HT: The Simplest Thing, and boy, there isn't even a comparison between the Danish cartoons and the vile stuff at that link!)

Blogroll Addition

I have added the very interesting blog of the Software Nerd to my blogroll. He doesn't publish regularly, but when he does, it's very good and very interesting. He focuses mainly on business and technology, and thinks outside the box. Go over and start scrolling. If nothing else, consider his very good advice on passwords. The Software Nerd also took over maintenance of the Objectivist Metablog some time back and has been doing a great job in that role. (HT: Literatrix)

Did China attack an American in America?

In a comment to this post, Software Nerd pointed out an article at Forbes that describes what sounds like an attempt by the Chi-Comms to silence an American critic by attacking him in his own home.

Peter Yuan Li--a key figure in the Falun Gong's technologically sophisticated attempt to undermine the Chinese Communist Party--was brutally attacked and beaten in his home in Duluth, Ga., as Forbes was going to press with its cover story on how the spiritual movement is penetrating the Chinese government's hi-tech censorship. At 11:15 A.M. on Feb. 8, according to the Fulton County Police Department Incident Report, Asian men stormed the house of the Princeton-educated information technology technician, bound and gagged and beat him, before fleeing with two 16-inch Sony laptop computers, Li's wallet and yet unknown material from his files. [bold added]

The article later refers to Li as a "U.S. citizen". If China was indeed behind this attack, it would be consistent with past behavior by Chinese authorities.

This happened well over a week ago and yet this is the first I have heard about this incident. This should have been all over the place by now!

-- CAV

Updates

Today: Removal of three paragraphs from first section and several minor edits.