- Thoughts on placing blame: Eleven people, among them U.N. officials, were killed in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif today. ABC News reports the killings occurred after a crowd of people protesting Pastor Terry Jones were informed of his completed Koran burnings. To be clear, what Terry Jones did in burning the Koran was at best a crass publicity stunt and at worse bigoted antagonism, and before he did it U.S. military figures warned of possible violent outcomes. He bears a responsibility for his actions, actions which in the strictest literal sense seem to have caused horrific destruction. It should be said, though, that burning a book in almost any definition of civil society can’t be grounds for murder, no matter your affinity for the words printed inside. Keeping this in perspective is important in an honest, nuanced debate on these issues. source
