troll - Well, yeah...I certainly wasn't excusing it...just indicating that it is something that often happens when law and order breaks down. I would be the first to agree with you that the statements of fanatical Muslim extremists are quite repugnant, as are the statements of fanatical Israeli, Serbian, or Kosovar extremists, likewise. I would not wish to be within easy reach of any of them, if they considered me their enemy.

You said: "It is my opinion that the suspected collaborators were murdered so the people who did it could feel that they were still in charge of something and still capable of striking a blow at their enemies."

Exactly right. I couldn't agree more. That's why some of them become suicide bombers too, and it's why many Japanese pilots volunteered for kamikaze missions in '44 and '45. That...and sheer pride and a sense of duty in the face of defeat, impotence, and catastrophe. Some American pilots made suicide dives on ships in damaged planes too during World War II...it was their one last attempt to show they could still strike a blow at a hated enemy, and still exert some control over the situation.

I think Carol feels she is simply evening up the odds in the media propaganda war...which she thinks has been unfairly tilted against Arabs and Palestinians.

Whether someone else agrees with that depends more on his or her acquired prejudices than on any particular set of facts.

People are naturally attracted to facts that support their chosen position. For example: I disagree with almost every opinion expressed by the Toronto Sun about anything, because it's very right-wing and very lacking in "class". It's a truly vulgar rag with very slim content and a ton of advertising. Accordingly, I seldom read the Sun, and I look upon it with contempt. I like the Toronto Star...so I often read it. This is typical. People are just naturally more inclined to seek out info they already agree with, and to ignore, reject or discount info they don't already agree with.

It's entirely possible that some valuable info WILL surface in the Sun, and I will miss it, because I basically don't think the Sun is worth reading. We are all like this. It's human nature.

- LH