The Charlie Hebdo killings are abhorrent. A Voltaire quote sums up my feelings on the matter: "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This has echos of the muhammad cartoon controversy a while back. On this side of the pond, Gilbert Gottfried's tsunami jokes got him fired from Aflac. Interestingly, on Sunday's episode of Celebrity Apprentice he said "no one has ever died from an offensive joke"... And now there's 12 dead in France. Focus: Are public figures like this basically assuming the risk now? The editor of Charlie Hebdo made Inspire's (terrorist magazine) most wanted list and was given police protection because of it. (It should be noted that no religion and no topic, was off limits for Charlie Hebdo; they didn't just satire Islam.) Alt. Focus: What's the most offensive joke you've ever heard? Are you a fan of that kind of comedy? Why or why not.
I really don't want to discuss this in its own thread, because I don't want to give them the attention they're seeking. Never mind that it'll break the "no religion" rules about as much as is possible. Suffice it to say, I think No One Murdered Because Of This Image is probably the most non-satirical article The Onion has ever published. And I miss Hitchens.