Is it hypocritical to defend free speech and to wish that cartoons of Muhammad had never been published? Without too much reflection, this seems to be my natural position. I have little empathy with those who are offended by the cartoons. At the same time, I have no idea why someone would see their publication as a great defence of free speech. They just simply offend one group of people, titilate another group by crossing a boundary, and make little impact on anyone else. I can’t help the feeling that the publishers are at best creating controversy to sell newspapers, and at worst trying to whip up hate.