The list of countries where so-called "Islamist extremists" battle or plot to secure their demands is alarmingly long: Indonesia, Russia, India, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Sudan, Uganda, Somalia, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and more… all hotbeds of "terrorist" activity and/or training conducted by "Muslim fundamentalists". The governments in and around these countries have justified all sorts of measures in thwarting these uprisings, many in violation of basic human rights, by appealing to the new policy dictum of choice: "We cannot tolerate terrorism."

On July 5th the United Nations Human Rights Council approved, without consensus, a draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration will now go to the General Assembly, hopefully in September.

The United States is expected to reject it.

According to James W. Zion who served as an Indigenous Delegate when the draft was discussed prior to being submitted to the UNHRC, the Declaration emerged from a sharply contrasted committee. The State Delegates engaged in double-talk and informal closed-door meetings outside of the committee while the Indigenous Delegates answered vague disapproval of the draft with reasonable requests for objections to be more specific and tied to issues of international law. In the end, the Indigenous Delegates could only guess at what the true objections were, noting that the US Delegation added as little to the public discussion as possible.

During the legendary 1918 Red Sox vs. Cubs World Series, The Star-Spangled Banner played during the seventh-inning stretch of one of the Chicago games, for the first time associating the tune with the National Pastime. It quickly became part of baseball tradition long before ascending to the status of U.S. National Anthem in 1931. To this day many baseball fans believe that the last two words of the anthem are, "Play ball!"

When fans hear the rousing bars that make them instinctively stand to attention, they remove their caps and gaze upon the Stars and Stripes. But only some attempt to sing along with the honored vocalist. In spite of hearing the song performed hundreds of times, few can recall the words. Cumbersome verse and a tune that’s not catchy are typically blamed, but others claim that the lyrics simply don’t speak to modern American sensitivity. The words say nothing of justice, equanimity, or the splendor of the land. They don’t move us, so we don’t remember them.

I can’t think of anything more appropriate for my first weblog than an article to address the publishing of inflammatory comic strips in the Danish tabloid Jyllands-Posten back in September 2005 that resulted in widespread and sometimes violent protests among Muslim’s worldwide early this year. I mean, really, who better to speak to the issues of deference to religion and freedom of speech than the Grandchild of Christ?

Yeah, I can’t think of anyone better either.

So first of all let me address the strips themselves. The most obvious thing I can note about them, as one who has seen them, is that many of them are, in fact, inflammatory. Hateful even. To portray the central figure of Islam as an evil extremist is not humorous or clever or editorially responsible.