com-by-ya moment in Paris - Doug thinks

Julien Warnand/EPA/Landov

The com-by-ya moment in Paris last week which was attended by many world leaders to show solidarity for freedom of speech and denounce terrorist acts was more form than substance. President Obama took a lot of heat for his administrations lack of participation but I'm thinking he saw it as it for what it was, a giant photo op and he keep us above that.

Blogger Daniel Wickham a student a the London School of Economics documented the realities of some leaders attending based on their records of these things at home. I'm sure you will agree this is not a group the president of the free world would want to hang with.

• Nigeria - President Goodluck Johnathan -  Who in his own country turns a blind toward the atrocities of the Muslim group Boko Haram.  Oh ya and how about the 200 school girls who went missing last spring, he is still looking into that.
• Saudi Arabia - Where a blogger has just be sent to prison for 10 years, fined the equivalent of 266,000 US and the worst part is the 50 lashes he will receive every Friday for the next 19 weeks. All for criticizing religious teaching of Celtics from the little know Islamic sect Wahhabism. 
• Turkey - Prime Minister Ahmet Davatoglw  - Presently holding the record for the most number 40, journalists jailed.
• Egypt - Meanwhile President  Abdel Fattah-Sissi  put to use novel way to cut campaign costs, jail the competition - jailing thousands. 
• Russia - Where journalism is considered a high risk occupation and dissidents are regularly jailed .

I'm in HCM City so I really can't give a first hand account of the event but only what I've gleamed from publications and the internet.  I've picked up on Vietnam's low keyed comments that they feel the world should adapt to our modern age and control free speech.  So incidents like the killings at  "Charlie Hebdo" wouldn't happen. 

The French are famous for flash but not for much dash regarding leadership in the solving international events.  So kudos to Barack for keeping the USA above the goofiness. Oh ya and John Stewart go do it to your self..