What to Say When You Have Nothing to Say

What do you say when you have nothing to say? That is the dilemma suddenly thrust on political leaders and editorialists in France since three masked gunmen entered the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and massacred a dozen people. The assassins got away.  But not for long. The men were well-armed killers.  Charlie Hebdo regularly received death threats since publishing derisive cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed several years ago.  But the controversy seemed to be largely forgotten, the weekly’s circulation had declined (like the press in general) and police protection had been relaxed. The two policemen still on…