I really really enjoyed the book "The Rage and The Pride" by Oriana Fallaci. You can get it online from various book sellers. GREAT book! You can read it in an afternoon. In fact, you can't put it down.
I think this Hanson guy may be something of a moron. He wrote: "context means little, intent nothing, learning less than zero"
If he had read what the pope wrote he would know that that was exactly what Pope Benedict XVI was talking about at that point. I guess he didn't even read the document?
Self-serving does not begin to describe McCain. . .
I hope Repubs send him to political oblivion; when push, finally comes to shove. . .
He forgot the idiology of American Liberalism. . .
I have NO sympathy for Ratzinger (as Oriana preferred to call him as do I). For an individual who during the controversy of the Danish muzzie cartoons said that people (the cartoon creators) "cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers.". Well guess he should have listened to his OWN advise. And further, IMHO, it's BS for him to say that just b/c he quoted the emperor didn't mean that he agreed w/ him. Uhmmmm????? Let me see, what is SOP for when someone quotes another but DISAGREES w/ the statements of the other - Let me think - thinking - thinking - thinking - OH YEAH, they USUALLY SAY THEY DISAGREE W/ THE STATEMENTS or GIVE COUNTER-ARGUMENTS to the statements. So for him to say NOW that he doesn't agree w/ the emperor seems to me to be just CYA in hindsight on his part.
And now the terrorists muzzies that are PO'd about his remarks are providing proof of the words of the Byzantine Emperor by attacking churches, nuns & so on incl the "mujahideen's army" movement threatening the life of Ratzinger himself.
As Paige Hopkins & others have pointed out (& even Barbara Walters, I hear)...when the leader of iran threatens to "wipe Israel off the face of the Earth" you didn't see supporters of Israel nor the Jews themselves bombing mosques & killing islamic workers OVER WORDS spoken by iran...nor did you hear most of the same muzzie & non-muzzie folks who are now complaining about Ratzinger's speech content making the same "dust-up" over the iranian comments then either.
cricket, McCain & his ilk keep IGNORING the FACT that 99.999999999999% (if not all) of the "detainees" are NOT REPEAT NOT covered by the GC b/c they fall into the category of "un-uniformed" hostiles. IMHO, he is still just PO'd that the torture he went thru got him to sign a CONFESSION.