On 9/11/12, somehow the existence of an unknown movie provoked the worst sort of protests and the U.S. Ambassador to Libya was pulled out of his car, dragged through the streets, and brutally murdered. The video has gone viral throughout the Middle East and the same people who cheered the 9/11 bombings rejoiced once again in the defilement of the Great Satan. The choice of date was, I am sure, no accident. The Muslim world from Morocco to Pakistan is in a state of flux and uncertainty. The forces of extreme conservatism are on the rise and the hope of the Arab Spring has faded into the harsh reality of the same grinding poverty and hopelessness that gave rise to the protests. The price of flour has risen; a precursor to unrest going back to the days of the Pharaoh's granaries. And the monstrous conduct of the extremists is quietly accepted or even condoned.  The Egyptian government soldiers guarding the American Embassy in Cairo stood aside as a mob attacked and entered the...(Read Full Post)