I certainly didn't want to offend you either, and I am sorry if I have. My reply was formed because of what is on my mind, and I too have a right to write what I want.

The reason for my reply is the current debates in Europe (at least my part of it) about tolerance and integration. Following the murder of Theo van Gogh there has been a huge, and very nescesary, discussion about the right to free speech, and how far it should go when it comes to critizising religion.

Europe is facing a challenge to tolerance and integration - the war on Terrorism has made the entire religion og Islam suspicious in the eyes of many, and the Theo van Gogh slaying has been the thing that has started off the discussion - should religions be critizised, or should they have the same protection from free speech as individuals, who can usually not be critizised because og race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, without the law being violated?

What does this have to do with Chineese eating habbits, one could ask? At first glance nothing, but it ticked me off nontheless: If different cultures are to coexist peacefully tolerance is needed - and to me there are much more important areas than eating habbits. If militant Islamists tried to ban pork in Holland or Denmark, I'd say integration had taken a big step backwards.

So if my reply was too harsh it had nothing to do with you, Iggy - it much more reflected my frustration when facing all the hard work we have ahead of us here in Europe.

qanatoli