Your Danish Cartoons Hangover Update

* much more was revealed about a letter-bomber arrested after such a bomb went off in his Copenhagen hotel room, some of it dire: he's a one-legged Chechnyan in his early 20s named Lors Dukayev, he has the same kind of international background that a lot of the more recent detainees and suspects have had (he was living in Belgium), and yes, officials now feel safe saying Dukayev had made the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, original publishers of the Danish Muhammed Cartoons in 2005, the target of a terrorist bombing attack using the same letter-bomb technology that failed him in his hotel room.

In light of the new accusations and evidence, a Danish court has extended Dukayev's detention by two weeks. His lawyer did not express surprise over the move in an impromptu press conference held after the decision. He has so far been charged with possessing explosives and putting those around him in danger. Terrorism charges seem a likely future step. The detention is now scheduled to end October 4.

* the writer and journalist Ezra Levant, who was treated horribly unfairly for re-publishing the cartoons, talks about the recent Koran burnings and decisions to do/not do the same. I'm with him on the issues generally, with the possible exception that one isn't free from criticism because they are exercising a right. I'd also hesitate to describe the Danish Cartoons as leading to murders as opposed to their leading to deaths via riots.

* it's not like seriously talking about matters related to the Danish cartoons is a skill anyone seems to have, if this comments thread on Molly Norris' fade from public life is any indication. Extremist groups and individual wack-jobs who threaten people are extremist groups and individual wack-jobs; they're not representatives of some broader conception of a religious sports team for whom score is then kept. Like many journalists in a similar position, I've been threatened for content posted to this site, but the only category I feel safe lumping those people into is "assholes."

* the New York Times looks at German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent keynote speech at an awards ceremony that honored Danish Muhammed cartoonist Kurt Westergaard in terms of changing European attitudes towards Muslim communities within their borders.
 
posted 9:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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