Apolitical Staples

“There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, which came just hours after a leading Somali cleric condemned the pope’s remarks last week on Islam and violence. The head of security for the Islamic militia that controls much of southern Somalia, Yusuf Mohamed Siad, said one man had been arrested and the second was being hunted. He said the killing might have stemmed from the uproar over the pope but stressed he didn’t know for sure. “They could be people annoyed by the pope’s speech, which angered all Muslims in the world, or they could have been having something to do with S.O.S.,” he said. “We will have to clarify this through our investigation.”

Now, with that many mights, maybes, innuendo and conjecture, this sounds like someone in the media, or even the head of the islamic militia security himself, trying to whip up a frenzy for their own puproses.

If they did it because of the Pope, then yes, its inhuman and stupid. But right now, that is still an if. Its just as likely the story is being hyped to sell papers and make a local warlord look good to the West (for capturing the perps) and to his own for linking it to the Popes remarks, whether they were really related or not.

Right now all we have is an Italian nun (and her body guard) being murdered in a war-torn, anarchy and strife driven country and that murder coincides with controversial remarks by the Pope.

I will happily vent my condemnation when there is more proof of motive.

What’s the matter, Greg, are you not enjoying the clash of civilizations the nutters in the conservative movement are trying to push us into?

Yeah, it is conservative nutters that are murdering nuns and kidnapping Catholic priests in Iraq. You can call it clash of civilizations or not, I don’t really care, but the reaction to the Pope’s speech is insane.

If it was a reaction to the Pope’s speech. She was in Somolia and had a body guard for a reason. /Somalia was a dangerous place before Rat opened his mouth.

Perhaps she was murdered because of what the Pope said, perhaps she was murdered for some other reason. Point is we don’t really know. And to assume she was killed becuae of what thPope said, without proof, samcks of some media outlet trying to take advantage of this to sell papers.

I personally am going to be more skeptical. If she was killed because of this, I hope that warlord give them some justice.

Mike,

First let me say I understand your logic and am inclined to agree.

Having said that, nobody dies because of what the pope says. Nobody dies because a koran was erroneously reported to have been flushed down a toilet. And nobody dies from cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. These things do not kill people.