The rapists were given sentences of 2 to 9 years in prison.

The woman was originally sentenced to 90 lashes for being with an unrelated male, the guy in the car who was not involved in the rape, but that was upped to 200 once she publicly criticized the court in media interviews.

The U.S. State Department has criticized the Saudi government for it's ruling and New York based group, Human Rights Watch, has asked King Abdullah to drop all charges against the woman. Saudi Arabia has announced plans to 'overhaul' their punitive system.

Islam is bad. Where are it's resident defenders now?

Yes, Liz, it does...but, I think you are mischaractering what I actually said. Your parsing of the issue suggests my approach is retaliatory or puntive. It is not. Not at all. It is about protecting ourselves and ensuring our survival as a civilization. Christians are supposed, according to their bible, to turn the other cheek rather than pursue an eye for an eye. Does that requirement mean they ought to submit meekly to their murderers? Or, can they fight to survive...to preserve their lives? If someone is trying to kill you, to eradicate your life, the lives of your family, the entire culture and civilization from which you come for no better reason than that you come from such a culture and civilization then I think it is the very height of foolishness to worry about things like the efficacy of an eye for an eye thought processes. Instead, take action to defend yourself...even if that action involves eliminating the source of the threat.

Liz, there is a fundamental difference between the West and the islamic world. The western world is willing to co-exist with an islam that does nto try to eradicate Western values and civilization. The islamic world is NOT willing to co-exist with western values and civilization because it sees them as an affront to Allah and any co-existence as sin and apostasy. There can ultimately be no compromise between Islam and the west unless Islam somehow becomes something other than what it is...soemthing willing to co-exist peacefully with something other than itself. What I ma suggesting and have been suggesting all along is that the people of the West need to awaken to the mortal threat Islam poses to our civilization and we need to address that thret. If we can effect change in Islam, make it into something willing to coexist peacefully with us then great...lets do it. If we cannot make that change, and I personally do not believe we can, then I suggest we are going to have no choice but to eradicate Islam from the earth...well, we have one other choice, we can accept the destruction of our own civilization instead.

Law,

As you know, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' comes from the Old Testament. 'Turning the other cheek' comes from the New Testament--the 'new' agreement between God and man.

Islam is still in the Old Testament era of belief. We can't 'wipe them out' any more than Christians were wiped out by the Romans or anyone else who moved to 'wipe them out.'

History is replete with the attempts to do so. Christianity has survived, Judaism has survived--it remains to be seen if Islam survives. I think it will. It appeals to too many people who are striving for 'redemption'--a 'oneness' with whatever god they call God.

niks an

Really? I doubt it. Do you have anything to back that up with? It's quite a claim.