Obama urges UN to confront roots of Muslim rage

[No Elephants]

Obama urges UN to confront roots of Muslim rage

By BEN FELLER
— Sep. 25 12:51 PM EDT

<snip>

"I do believe that it is the obligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism," Obama said in a speech to the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly.

Obama also condemned the anti-Muslim video that helped spark the recent attacks, calling it "cruel and disgusting." But he strongly defended the U.S. Constitution's protection of the freedom of expression, "even views that we profoundly disagree with."

With U.S. campaign politics shadowing every word, Obama also warned that time to peacefully curb the Iranian nuclear crisis is running out.

He said there is "still time and space" to resolve the issue through diplomacy. But that time is not unlimited."

"Make no mistake: A nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained. It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations and the unraveling of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty," he said.

The foreign minister of Indonesia, the nation with world's largest Muslim population, said Obama's speech was a "clarion call" for all nations to shun intolerance and he expected Muslim nations to react positively. .

"There will be a lot of sympathy. It is an issue that galvanizes all of us," Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told The Associated Press. But he added that freedom of expression should be exercised with consideration to morality and public order.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/obama-un-shadow-campaign-politics


I did a double take because I thought the byline said "Ben Stiller."

A Night At The UN?

According to the Indonesian foreign minister, I guess free speech is great, as long as it has no chance whatever of riling up anyone anywhere in the world. So, decent people should self censor, to spare government the embarrassment of shutting them up? Chilling effect from the left?

Instead of seeking to have speakers STFU, how about saying the obvious: No sane person should be expected murders and rioting to result from a damned lousy film, made by some grifter with a Coptic ax to grind, especially when both the filmmaker and the murders purport to be acting on behalf of God?

Stupid speech does no damage to people or property; murderers and rioters do. But, sure, let's pretend the whole mess is the fault of free speech.

What happened to all the early stories that the film was nothing but a red herring, that Al Qaida had started the rioting to cover the murders of our people in the U.S. embassy in Libya, which were in retaliating for the death of one of its honchos? Wouldn't that mean the entire free speech issue is a red herring, too?

Will the real theory of the U.S. government please identify itself?

thanks ever so.