I agree with Ian.

George P. said: But this doesn't stop this honours move being insensitive, crass, provocative and illogical in today's world.

Not so. Suspending all such recognition until things settle down in the Middle East surely condemns writers like Rushdie to no acknowledgement of their life's work. That would be silly. There many are people in the Middle East (and other nations with large Muslim populations, such as India, where he is actually FROM) who are not part of the current madness and who still care about these kinds of things. Ignore the "squeaking wheel" for once and give others a chance at enjoying a bit of normalcy.

Stop acting as if this madness that George W. Bush has escalated and Israel has exacerbated to its fullest is ruling the entire Muslim world. It isn't, and many people who aren't terrorists would like to get on with their lives and perhaps some of them who aren't fundamentalist zealots even enjoy his work. Let them.

SRS