but who is the fastest American in the world?

Usain Bolt of Jamaica has just won the 100m race at the Olympics. In the process, he smashed a world record -- his own record, if I recall correctly. So, according to tradition, he can now claim the title of "fastest man in the world".

But I can't help wondering: When anyone in the USA refers henceforth to the "fastest man in the world", to whom will they be referring?

Think back to the 1996 Olympics for a moment. Donovan Bailey of Canada set the world record when he won the 100m event. But the 200m winner, who happened to be from the US, was introduced as the "fastest man in the world" whenever he was interviewed on US television.

If at least one men's track event is won by someone on the US team, then the precedent is clear: One of those men, not Bolt, will be the "fastest man in the world" according to our friends in the US. And if not? It's anyone's guess.

facing Islam, responsibly

In a civilised world, we would all understand the difference between attacking people and attacking ideas. Attacking ideas -- any ideas -- should absolutely never be restricted by legislation, by treaty, or by cultural taboo.

But horribly, tragically, the Islamist efforts to impose their anti-blasphemy laws on the entire world have made a great deal of progress.

Here in Canada, we have increasingly ridiculous "Human Rights Commissions" that are more and more often working against human rights, kowtowing to the radical Islamist agenda of forcing the rest of us to pretend to "respect" their religion. And what of the rest of the world? Even the UN General Assembly has agreed that "defamation of religion" should be condemned!

Johann Hari spells out the issue better than I can.