The power of real and reel imagery

You won't find this gate decor in Germany.

   Imagine my surprise receiving an 'intra' email targeted to us development dwellers announcing a plea to support the Diwali Hindu festival by signing a petition, blah, blah, blah.
   Not the usual hew and haw about dog poop on the sidewalks or unsightly weeds usually discussed in our community forum, but one thing caught my eye.
   I was about to dismiss the outreach outright when something made me pause.
   One address included in the en masse mailing seemed odd: swastikengineers.dudesname@gmail.com
wuzzat? 
swastikenginers?
   I searched further for dudesname, learning that he is a consultant for Swastik Engineers, headquartered in Nagpur, Maharahtra ... the heart of India.
   So as you can tell from the photo of the company's gate, the can-do Hindus specialize in metal signs and sport a swastika as part of their very own gate ornament.
   Since the swastika originated in India (and can be found in other cultures) it remains a popular religious symbol, at times causing consternation when it is woven into apparel that ends up in North America and Europe.
   How freakish, I thought, that both the victims of the Wisconsin Sikh attack and their killer could hold such polar interpretations of the same symbol.
   Which brings me to briefly interject that we have officially entered the Age of Unrestricted Visuals Guaranteed to Incite Fanatics to Action.
   What we now must accept is that any idiot on Earth who wants to "attack" the US can piece together the crudest 'movie' possible and have it produced, shot and posted on YouTube in the USA.
   This new line of [essentially] cyber warfare — anonymous inflammatory propaganda — will continue to poke the Islamic world using the US (and other Western nations?) as a scapegoat.
   The 'Mohammed' "filmmaker" knew exactly what would happen when he lit up the world-wide web with his crude smear of Islam.
   Others will learn from him.
   Uncharacteristically, the French are stepping into the fray with a newspaper's publication of cartoons depicting the prophet wearing only a turban. Yikes.
   I guess the French figure since they've royally pissed off the Brits by publishing pics of the princess' mammaries, they may as well take on the Muslims while they're at it.
   I wouldn't be planning any vacations to gay Paree in the near future.
   Scribbler's note: The email spiel is a bonafide appeal for signatures for the USPS to create a stamp honoring the Diwali festival. Here's the link to the petition.