Originally Posted by Ustwo

We have put pressure on the radicals, it makes sense that they would increase their own recruitment efforts in response. My point was that not doing anything but using harsh words and the odd missle strike wasn't doing anything to protect us. I would much rather these guys flock to Iraq, into the waiting jaws of our military than be free to organize an attack on US soil again. So far so good.

Originally Posted by roachboy

interesting.

the actual pretext for this thread--which is rapidly becoming little more than a repeat of the politics thread about the pope's speech a week ago friday--has largely disappeared. .


the guy whose opera production is at the center of this tempest in a teapot has made his ENTIRE career as a provacateur.
(again) i think it naive to not see this press release as a simple extension of these techniques.
(like i suggested earlier) maybe the production was axed for other reasons--like the bad reception of its 2003 run---and neuefeld responded by taking it public---at this particular moment--which has generated a huge amount of press most of which is in effect an argument that the production should be put on as some kind of act of defiance, a gesture in defense of free speech--so neuefeld positions himself as some kind of free speech martyr--the only beneficiary of this would be him--the outcome: more gigs for the martyr of free speech blah blah blah.

the actual problem here is simply that the opera company of berlin yanked the production from its schedule.

you DO understand that this is a non-event, right?

so the debate is, strictly speaking, about nothing.