If only I were fluent in french! I suppose part of what I'm trying to say is that where some others point to differences between "us" and "them," I see significant similarities between the extremist factions of both sides.

As for the "lighten up" plea from Amsterdam... that's just a cop-out. Comedy almost always has more of a purpose than a giggle, at least to those who recognize the difference between Andrew Clay and Lenny Bruce.

A statement like "you have your religions and we have ours" is inherently divisive. Somewhere there has to be an agreeable balance between respecting freedom of speech and respecting each other's beliefs. While I thoroughly support freedom of speech (accepting the inevitable "bad" with the good) I do think that the intent of publishing that cartoon is questionable.