Spent the morning adding some new stuff over on the 'tooning site; mostly pieces from the archive and morgue files, but some of it never-before-seen. Restructured the whole site a little as well.

Not sure how the thing's flowing because my computer is- as The Simpsons' Mark Twain spoof had it- "powerful weak." Let me know if you encounter any problems.

As four (nice) of the "Remember the Fantastic Four!" Danish embassy cartoon protestors are jailed, the BBC reports that the whole affair has actually been pretty beneficial to the Denmark establishments on both sides of the argument; mosques in the country report increased visitor numbers, while the blow to Danish exports east has been emiliorated by an increase in demand elsewhere in Europe. Obviously radical Islam farther afield has been able to use it the whole mess as a rallying cry as well. The only losers, in fact, are cartoonists. The BBC notes that ten of the artists involved in the controversy have "yet to appear in public." No doubt the memory of Theo van Gogh looms large in their minds.

The recent brouhaha over Salman Rushdie's knighthood is relevant. I've never read any of his books, and so I can't argue whether he's that great a writer. And I doubt he didn't consider that the east might be a bit miffed by The Satanic Verses, and so any accusations of foolhardiness also carry some weight, I think. But I don't reckon he could have predicted or welcomed the response of Iran in particular, and the subsequent fatwa that had he and his family gripped by fear and the threat of bloddy retribution for years on end. Those who moan about the expense of the protection extended to him during that period are probably- I suspect- the same people who begrudge NHS care to anyone other than the most scrupulously health conscious and therefore "deserving" people, or who'd deny ex-convicts protection or care once returned to the community.

If he's getting a gong for any reason at all, it's surely for the bravery he displayed during that period of his life, and not a tacit approval for behaviour that pisses off Ayatollahs. And even if it were, we return to the nub of the matter; accept free speech as a concept (including words that contradict, criticise, offend or insult the mainstream) or embrace facism. It strikes me that the four fellows now cooling their heels at Her Majesty's have been inprisoned for no more or less than being woefully stupid and faintly embarrassing. Jail a man for committing acts of violence, not describing them. Arm yourself against an enemy who attacks you with swords and bombs, not placards and banners. And save your loathing for those who persecute horrible, illegal, literal wars, not glorious literary battles.