Times Square Terrorism: Retribution for "South Park"?

Here are the facts as they currently stand:

Authorities on Sunday are continuing to investigate a failed car bombing at New York City’s Times Square on Saturday evening. Governor Paterson called it an ‘act of terrorism.’The incident started at 6.34 p.m. EDT on Saturday when a t-shirt vendor alerted a mounted police officer to a suspicious dark green Nissan Pathfinder that had been parked at 45th Street near Broadway with its lights flashing. The officer noticed smoke coming from objects in the backseat of the car and smelled gunpowder. He then called in additional resources, including the fire department.

It is unclear who was driving the SUV, which had a license plate that did not match the vehicle, and no arrests were made as of early Sunday. Officials said the vehicle was seen driving west on 45th Street at 6.28 p.m. EDT in security camera footage. Additional footage from security cameras is being sought.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the car contained three propane tanks, consumer-grade fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components. A black metal box resembling a gun locker was also recovered.

“We avoided what could have been a very deadly event,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a press conference near the scene of the incident. He described the bomb as being ‘amateurish.’

Well, terrorists are never known for their professionalism (even the 9/11 bombers were most often seen boozing it up in local New Jersey nudie bars), nor judged on it, only by the number of innocent people they kill. And has this "amateurish" bomb gone off in the early evening at the busiest crossroads in the known universe, well, it would have been considered pretty damn "professional" by the folks tasked with scraping the body parts of the pavement. So please, Mr. Mayor, no false platitudes or lies to make me feel safer. The fact that you are already trying to blow smoke around this makes me feel less safe - much, much less safe.

But let's get to the "why" of this attempted slaughter. Just the random killing of Americans to avenge Guantanamo, the Iraqi War, the Afghanistan War, or to show displeasure with the slow pace of the Israeli-Palestinian "peace process"? (that's Obama's favorite,by the way).

Maybe. But let's check that location again. Broadway and 45th street? Who has their corporate headquarters in that location? Why, Viacom, interestingly enough. The same Viacom who owns Comedy Central. The same Comedy Central that airs South Park. The same South Park which had an episode referencing Muhammad. An episode that was then censored to Comedy Central in order to avoid offending psychotic Islamists.



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So how'd that work out for you?

If there is any lesson that should be learned here by the entertainment industry, it is that bending to the sensitivities of Islamists will not deter them, only embolden them. Of course, there is virtually no doubt the industry will take the exact opposite course, and pre-emptively ban any speech that might be deemed offensive to Muslims, thus handing them a tremendous propaganda victory as well as de facto control of free speech in the United States of America. Which will,of course, lead to more instances like the aborted terrorist attack in Times Square, as the demands of the Muslim radicals increase with their power.

The problem for Viacom, the media, and politicians is that if history over the last six months or so have taught them anything, it is that Americans do not like to have their freedoms stripped from them. How will they respond to a list of words that now must not be spoken on TV/radio/films under threat of Islamist vengeance.

My guess? Not to well. And the politicians who abdicate their freedoms out of fear, and the entertainment companies that censor their products out of cowardice, will feel the brunt of the people's rage.

And the next time you see a Hollywood celebrity pat themselves on the back for their "courage"? Spit in their faces, unless they are Trey Parker and Matt Stone...