Business is booming -- er, burning!

Have you ever wondered how protesters, such as these Pakistanis PO'ed about Salman Rushdie's knighthood, get those flags so fast? No matter what the targeted country du jour, they always seem to have the appropriate banners at hand to torch and stomp upon. Like when the Danish publication Jyllands-Posten angered Muslims with the Muhammad cartoons: Suddenly, every corner of the Muslim world had a plentiful supply of Danish flags to barbecue. One of the most profitable jobs must be flag-seller -- watch your profits go up in smoke!

Speaking of Rushdie, Pakistan's religious affairs minister, Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, said that knighting Rushdie would justify suicide bombings against Britain:

"This is an occasion for the world's 1.5billion Muslims to look at the seriousness of this decision. ... If someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so, unless the British government apologises and withdraws the 'sir' title."

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the insanity that defines our world today. Simply writing a book not only garners a fatwa, but is twisted into justification for slaughtering others as well.