15
Bali-hoo and Nonsense
I continually try to convince myself that thickheadedness isn’t a prerequisite for employment at the Guardian, but (daily, it seems) those blokes keep letting me down. Dammit guys, gimme one day where you don’t fill your comment pages with foolishness and I’ll consider myself lucky. Is that asking too much?
According to Jonathan Freedland, apparently so. I suppose this post is especially apt right now, coming as it does right after my defense of fisking. So let’s get to it then.
The world has every right to feel angry. Not just with the perpetrators of the Saturday night massacre in Bali, but with the governments who vowed to wage a “war on terror” which would make attacks like it less likely.
Of course, no one is accusing our leaders of having a chance to prevent this act of mass murder and deliberately failing to take it. (No one, that is, except the conspiracy obsessives of radical Islamism, already spreading the word that Saturday’s bombers were US agents, seeking to justify and intervention.)
I’d just like to make the point that I highly doubt you’ll find that the majority of people saying this attack was perpetrated by a Western conspiracy are Islamist radicals. That is of course, unless you lump in a vast majority of the population of the Middle East in that extremist category. It would be instructive to remember at this point that government sponsored newspapers all over the mideast, their “papers of record” all “reported” on, and editorialized on the veracity of the disgusting myth that the Mossad had carried out the attacks. This was the most mainstream of mainstream media, and the vaunted “Arab street” believed it wholeheartedly (not that they wouldn’t have anyway without the collusion of Arab media).
I would also like to point out that it was outlets like the Guardian who issued a full-court press, immediately post-9/11, to treat this as a criminal matter, to seek out and capture the members of al Qeada and try them as we would any other criminals. Repeatedly we were told that the idea of a “War on Terrorism” was a foolhardy and unethical affair.
And yet now those same sources are the biggest cheerleaders for prosecuting exclusively the WOT and disregarding any other concern (ie Saddam) as tangential and unimportant, because of course, the WOT is so very important! I hope you will forgive me if I jump to the cynical conclusion that you merely have a knee-jerk anti-American response to whatever action is proposed. I’m a simplistic American, after all.
Onward.
But there is much western governments promised to do after 9/11 which would at least have obstructed the path of the men who plotted evil last weekend. Washington called it a “war on terror” and, with remarkably little resistance, most of the world’s people either signed up for it or acquiesced in it. Prevention of horrors like Saturday’s was the new strategy’s primary purpose. Yet all too little of that “war” effort has actually materialised dog fucking girl.
I beg to differ.
No, actually, I full-throatedly demand differing. First of all, I would like to know in what warped alternate reality does the phrase “remarkably little reistance” refer to constant, repeated, high-pitched criticisms about the conduct and even the very nature of the WOT as initially outlined by Bush? Any statement made by the president was greeted with derision and “enlightened” scorn by our apparent social and moral betters in the EU. Perhaps, considering just how softheaded and generally cowardly the EU is in its outlook towards foreign policy, we can say that it was “remarkable” that they didn’t try to have the US expelled from the UN or declared a rogue state for its actions. Thank you for your cooperation, fellas.
Secondly, what is maybe an even greater insult to reality is Freedman’s contention that the WOT hasn’t really “materialised.” I thought journalists were suppose to like, watch the news, at least once in a while (although I wouldn’t be particularly shocked were it to turn out that the Guardian actually got all it’s ideas from a Ouji board or magic 8 ball). Let’s read a bit more before we go on to say exactly why this apparent phony phantasm of a real WOT ranks so high on the silliness scale.
This new global gameplan was meant to have two core elements at least according to its British advocates. First would be a ruthless, unblinking pursuit of al-Qaida. In the pained weeks that followed the attacks on New York and Washington, citizens in the US and beyond imagined the full force of the state - its army, police and the complete battery of its secret services - deployed against the new enemy. Nothing would be allowed to distract from this goal. If that meant unholy alliances, so be it. If that meant temporarily shelving other foreign policy interests, OK: hunting down Osama bin Laden and his henchmen was to be the sole priority.
On this view, Afghanistan was merely the beginning. Uprooting the al-Qaida bases that had mushroomed there was necessary, but hardly sufficient. The whole terrifying point about al-Qaida was that it was not located in one targetable territory, neatly confined to one set of borders. Instead it had spread like a vapour to as many as 50 countries, with up to 100,000 militants ready for action. Bombing a few camps would hardly reach this enemy at all.
So essentially what you’re saying is that you want to have more big noises and things that blow up real good like in Afghanistan?
I have to admit, a wide-eyed wish for shiny, blood-spattered carnage isn’t the sort of thing I expect a Guardian columnist to be pining for. It’s a weird and wonderous world we live in.
After all, you seem to be saying that there are no more high-profile, Afghanistan-like military campaigns means somehow that we have given up on the WOT exotic animal porn. I don’t suppose you’ve forgotten about that prison in Cuba where there are several hundred guys who used to be cowering in caves now enjoying three squares a day and Muslim services, courtesy of the US Army? I seem to remember you guys were pretty upset about it or something a while back.
We haven’t given up, but what we have done is direct military resources elsewhere since their mass presence searching out Al Qeada would no longer be productive, since we already have shattered thoroughly the main base of operations of Bin Laden’s group. By all accounts, he himself is dead. Vast numbers of his lieutenents have been captured or killed. The ruling entity that harbored them is broken and gone. The operating head of the organization has been cut off, smashed into 50 pieces, burned, and had its ashes scattered to the four corners.
Think of Al Qeada as a toxic spill. It’s a rather simple job of cleaning up the first 95% of that spill. You just send in a bunch of dumptrucks and guys in special suits, and they scrape the shit off the ground and cart it away to like, New Jersey, or wherever. But it’s the last 5% that takes a long time, and getting rid of that is a much more precise and slow process, because now you’re talking about investigations into how much of the stuff has seeped into the ground and whether it has reached the groundwater, etc, etc. This part of the operation is lengthy, expensive and labor-intensive, and not particularly visible. Well, we’re in the 5% stage of the Al Qeada spill now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it lasted years and we never saw another grand military action like that of Afghanistan. But just because you don’t see lots of bombs dropping and jets going whoosh! doesn’t mean the WOT has stopped, it just means we’ve got a smaller group of guys in white coats quietly and painstakingly doing geological and toxicological analysis rather than a small army shoveling green glowing goop into the backs of trucks.
Which brings us to the second prong of the war on terror many of us thought we signed up to a year ago. This held that if al-Qaida was truly to be defeated, killing or arresting its activists would not do the trick: lopping off a head today would only make another grow tomorrow. Every counter-terrorist struggle in the world, from Algiers to Belfast, had taught the same lesson: in the end, there can be no military victory over an enemy which enjoys even a limited degree of popular support. Instead, there has to be political action. Not an attempt to compromise with the killers - Bin-Laden is hardly demanding roundtable talks - but to win over the constituency that offers them tacit backing: to drain the sea in which they swim.
Hmmm… now this sound suspiciously like the same tired point that’s been beating itself to death since 9/12: the “root causes” hobgoblin horses watersports. Let’s find out…
That meant, among other things, a new alternative energy strategy, aimed eventually at weaning the west off oil. No longer would the US and others need to manipulate the Middle East just to safeguard their petrol supply. They could let the peoples of the Arab world choose their own governments for once. The US would move its troops out of Saudi Arabia, healing one of the sores Bin-Laden most likes to inflame: the presence of “infidels” on holy Muslim soil. And Washington would pick up where Clinton left off, devoting serious political muscle to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Genuine movement in that area would instantly rob the Islamists of one of their greatest recruiting pitches.
Excuse me???
I don’t exactly recall Bush (or anyone else who actually had anything significant to do with forming policy) saying anything about defeating Islamists through the use of solar powered-cars. That was your (idiotic) idea, and it was rightfully dismissed as jelly-headed folly. It must be nice to live in a fantasy world where everything you believe is automatically agreed upon and implemented by the powers that be.
Bin-Laden was allowed to vanish,
The way a frog vanishes when you stick a firecracker in its mouth.
…along with the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, who escaped the wrath of the mightiest army in the world on board a clapped-out motorbike.
And he’s been raining holy terror on us ever since, huh?
The jump-suited captives at Camp X-Ray appear too low-level to have much useful to say. Nor do the US intelligence agencies inspire much confidence: they remain at war with each other while their political masters tend to hear only what they want to hear.
I wish I had your complete clairvoyance so that I, too, could see with crystal clarity into the innermost workings of the most secretive government agencies and make generalized pronouncements about them. You’ll never hear about all the terrorist attacks that were foiled by these apparent bumbling fools, because they were, well. k9 porn.. foiled.
None of this is a surprise. For the prosecutors of the war on terror - who promised to focus like a laser beam - have let their eye wander. Like the rulers of Orwell’s 1984, our leaders have urged us to switch our hatred overnight not from Eastasia to Eurasia but from al-Qaida to Baghdad. Now we are to believe Saddam is the urgent, number one priority.
Right.
Of course.
Obviously.
Al Qeada, Bahgdad… equally constructed boogeymen, that’s it and that’s all. Anyone who doesn’t see this LOVES BIG BROTHER.
It’s nice that Freedman doesn’t bother going into any of the arguments that make it very clear that Bahgdad is part of a similar, probably linked, and much greater threat than Al Qeada, cuz then he would have to go through the process of looking stupid for another three or four paragraphs trying to belittle them.
Bali has proved why that is a woeful error. A war on Iraq will win yet more backing for jihadism in the Muslim world, apparently concerning all Bin Laden’s most lurid predictions of a clash of west against Islam.
What’s that I hear? Whispers in the background? They’re saying…. ARAB STREET free beastiality pictures.
Ah… you forget grasshopper, the only way that Bin Ladenism and his bananer claims about a final West v. Islam showdown will seem attractive in the least is if they can produce actual victories, because that’s what will galvanize the Arab street, something that was demonstrated exhaustively in the last year. After the attacks, cheering and rallies. After Afghanistan, silence. All we needed was some tumbleweeds and the picture of the Arab street ghostown would have been complete. The way to dry up Al Qeada’s pool of recruits is to pound it into their thick skulls that taking up Bin Laden’s flag is the fastest road to a quick, painful, useless death.
needed now was healing, closure; in short, to "get over it" and "move on."obviously they have lost loved ones or friends."
And perhaps because of the collective weight of all those accumulated exhortations, perhaps from the psychic weariness
support (in the small, mostly insignificant ways that are possible for one such as myself)
we could go and stop the Soviets and all their expansionist hijinks, but then we'd like, have to go all the way over to
to make the first world poor and make sure the third world stays that way.
to all of you warmongering neanderthals" tone of voice. She then struck a pose of righteous exasperation when she asked
of righteousness; and it becomes a very evil thing if it serves merely as a mask for cowardice and
vulnerability.
Also, I've printed out and made a bunch of copies of some flyers from this site and will be passing them out.
Bush also spoke of an "international coalition" that would disarm Hussein. Bush knows the American public is loathe to
Meanwhile, the fact that we are able to use pre-emptive action when deemed necessary is a fact of our strength, not weakness
The BBC has a story about the so-called "master hacker", in which it does a good job of destroying the mythos that
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
No nation deserves to exist if it permits itself to lose the stern and virile virtues; and this
use grown-up scissors), but nevertheless, even though he really didn't deserve it,
just now. Admittedly they do face significant challenges in carrying out their duties due to their imaginary nature,
Quite the contrary, Bush's aggressive rhetoric, disregard for international law, and his lack of any vision other than war
attack against the United States. Even though President Bush acknowledged in his speech that Iraq does not currently
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
really just put Saddam in a better situation than he was before because the presence of inspectors invites complacency and
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
about equal probability.
You mean everyone in America aren't like San Franciscans?
University or Diversity
obviously they have lost loved ones or friends."
And perhaps because of the collective weight of all those accumulated exhortations, perhaps from the psychic weariness
who has been deprived of food for at least 6 hours - sounds like an unusually cruel thing to do, I know, but I'm sure
When they aired some actual interviews with the protesters, I started to honestly think they were part of some sort of
I wish that I could just be told "Hundreds of people died in a terrorist bombing today," and instantly feel the kind of rage
At the very least, don't let me hear any of these things when you're standing in my presence, unless you want a faceful
During that protest, my girlfriend had to take a midterm in Wheeler auditorium and had to step over the bodies lying in
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
use grown-up scissors), but nevertheless, even though he really didn't deserve it,
but they make up for any lack of actual existence with pure unadulterated enthusiasm.
without end is causing traditional friends of the United States to
It seems the Muslim version of a slander suit is cutting off your head. Now when I read this I was shocked, just shocked
for the life of me, cannot see it. The news showed a clip of a guy trying politely to walk around a woman so self-righteous
I suppose you mean that it's not "multilateralist" unless France says so?
the efforts to find these people and eradicate them, to ferret them out from their cowardly hiding places and vaporize
destroying the technological infrastructure of Western civilization again. And it's only 3 months away!
Kevin Mitnick will be able to use a computer again in approximately 3 months.
Eventually he got a little ticked off and said roughly, "Get away from me!" I was hungrily anticipating the energetic dissenter
Kevin Mitnick will be able to use a computer again in approximately 3 months.
off a bunch of secretaries and other office workers who probably agree with them on the war anyway will further their
support (in the small, mostly insignificant ways that are possible for one such as myself)
That is, until this morning. Now I'm glad to say that I've gotten over getting over it, and am thoroughly pissed again.
and the decisions to do so would based on (as in this case) measured calculations of the relative benefits and costs,
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
satisfy you. I'd be much more amendable to the idea however if you were willing to be a personal eye-witness to this
I finally went and did it.
psychopathic fancy without fear of retribution.
to make the first world poor and make sure the third world stays that way.
Don't you people ever get tired of just pulling shit out of your asses?
conflict.
And perhaps because of the collective weight of all those accumulated exhortations, perhaps from the psychic weariness
on the civilized world. And when I resort again to that frame of mind, it will be because I realize, intellectually and
I figured that was the way to go. But then I read this.
Watching Channel 7 news today (the Simpsons were in a commercial), they reported on a wad of dingbats who blocked access
and the UC Divestment folks will be holding a rally for what looks like the primary purpose of protesting the fact that
which is all about the biggest threat to the security of all companies: their own employees.
In your face, Space Coyote!
"to prolonged indulgence in luxury and soft, effortless ease, or to the deification of a warped and twisted sentimentality"?
it is shoved, in all its detailed horror, right into my face.
so that he will be better equipped to fulfill point 1). Show me another nation that's like that today.
I mean come on, when you're arguing with someone who's just going to call you a Nazi when you spend 2,000 words making
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
War, by three fellows that hail from Global Exchange. You know who I'm talking about. The folks that want to "build an
without end is causing traditional friends of the United States to
occurred, smashing the window of their hotel room.
Well that's not really true. People on a different side of the debate than I are not necessarily jerks, just wrong.
really just put Saddam in a better situation than he was before because the presence of inspectors invites complacency and
I tried to present my ideas in an honest and truthful way, and not be seriously offensive, even when he acted in ways
that has the temerity to look at us cock-eyed.
not just "fear," as if we're going to indiscriminantly nuke the floor under our beds because monsters might be hiding there.
side of the political spectrum... what are they called?
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
"What I found personally to be true was that it's easier to manipulate people rather than technology," he said.
fact that these people are thugs, bullies and liars.
Quite the contrary, Bush's aggressive rhetoric, disregard for international law, and his lack of any vision other than war
So seeing as how we've got massive approval from the House of Representatives and similar support in the senate is likely,
cause, but I,
and that it wasn't fair for these people to stop them, the girl started literally screaming at her about selfish she was.
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
Many in the global community also distrust the Bush administration's expanding war aims. It is not easy for our friends around
that has the temerity to look at us cock-eyed.
University or Diversity
Mr Mitnick even had to get permission from his probation officer to use a computer to write his book, The Art Of Deception,
assures everyone that "Don't worry, the problem is being taking care of by the inspectors."
serves? As far as I can tell, all they did was take some people who were probably overwhelmingly against the war anyway,
about equal probability.
why she thought there weren't more stories about protests going on in the news, "Well, because the media is corporately
threaten the United States, he said we must "assume the worst." Essentially, the White House is proposing that the
For that reason and others, I didn't actually start reading the news coverage until this morning.
them into a thin paste of protein on a cave wall, to wipe out every last vestige of the disgusting stain they have left
You try to make it seem as if the Joint Chiefs were lying around on a Sunday afternoon and said to themselves, "Yeah sure,
but they make up for any lack of actual existence with pure unadulterated enthusiasm.
Stand up to these thugs This Wednesday, the 16th at noon, an apparent composite of the Students for Justice in Palestine
for the life of me, cannot see it. The news showed a clip of a guy trying politely to walk around a woman so self-righteous
And perhaps because of the collective weight of all those accumulated exhortations, perhaps from the psychic weariness
assures everyone that "Don't worry, the problem is being taking care of by the inspectors."
Shiite Muslim clerics in Lebanon and Iran have reacted with rage at the Rev. Jerry Falwell for calling Islam's prophet
Why are you still here?!
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
lying in order to gain information that gave him access to restricted systems.
and that it wasn't fair for these people to stop them, the girl started literally screaming at her about selfish she was.
Hey, didn't there used to be a city where this smoking crater is?
we could go and stop the Soviets and all their expansionist hijinks, but then we'd like, have to go all the way over to
Watching Channel 7 news today (the Simpsons were in a commercial), they reported on a wad of dingbats who blocked access
and the UC Divestment folks will be holding a rally for what looks like the primary purpose of protesting the fact that
let you know when there's a mushroom cloud over New York, because that's the only "final proof" that seems to be able to
The Muslim world -- whose support is vital to any real effort to end the causes of terrorism -- is adamantly opposed.
"I said it's being taken care of, dammit. Mind your own business."
Russia and shit. Besides, it's just the Russians. Why don't we just contain them or something? Hey, who's up for some
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
to really concern yourself with, except in a somewhat general, theoretical way.
satisfy you. I'd be much more amendable to the idea however if you were willing to be a personal eye-witness to this
Containment and deterrence were responses to US weakness, you silly-headed dunderpate. It was obvious that using direct
morally, that this is the right thing to do.
Heh. Didn't Nostradamus write something about "a bespeckled plague rising in the West..."?
to the San Francisco federal building to protest the passage of Bush's resolution for action against Iraq.
Wheeler Hall last spring.
satisfy you. I'd be much more amendable to the idea however if you were willing to be a personal eye-witness to this
to elicit empathy had been raised considerably since 9/11,
"I said it's being taken care of, dammit. Mind your own business."
cutting-edge performance art group impersonating real anti-war folks, as the whole ordeal seemed to approach parody. No,
Yes, well I suppose you're suggesting that we would be well-served to wait for this "final proof," then? Very well. I'll
jerkwad I encounter, an order for them to be beheaded with extreme prejudice until the the point at which they are dead
I tried to present my ideas in an honest and truthful way, and not be seriously offensive, even when he acted in ways
It is time for a new day to dawn in the Blogosphere, my gnome brothers. A glorious day. A day when no longer will we
Stand up to these thugs This Wednesday, the 16th at noon, an apparent composite of the Students for Justice in Palestine
coming off them. It was really a terrible sight," she said. "You could just hear people crying up in the Bounty foyer -
and eastern Europe, Australia and the middle east. Is that not multilateralism?
assures everyone that "Don't worry, the problem is being taking care of by the inspectors."
destroying the technological infrastructure of Western civilization again. And it's only 3 months away!
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
the real fault of that government or its citizens, or the West in general, or capitalism, or any other ridiculous boogeyman
Maybe I can't change the fact that I have to be intimately confronted with the death and pain in order to really feel the
vulnerability.
Also, I've printed out and made a bunch of copies of some flyers from this site and will be passing them out.
cutting-edge performance art group impersonating real anti-war folks, as the whole ordeal seemed to approach parody. No,
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
Already, even if the UN thumbs its irrelevant nose at the idea of going after Iraq (and if it actually does, then they'll
weapons inspections in Iraq represent a good example of how the rule of law has been used, and can be used again, to avert
vulnerability.
be replacing the old site that was hosted on that evil of evils, that bane of banes, that something-really-awful of
Really, how often is someone able to so perfectly crystallize the dilemmas that will exist a century in the future
One of the great advances of the modern era has been the spread of the rule of law. This is the now common idea that
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
Now at this point, most people would just say, "let it go, and move on."
chanting in his face and moved in front of him every time he tried to get around her.
I urge anyone in the bay area who has the time on the 16th to come as well and lend credence with your example to the
Bush also spoke of an "international coalition" that would disarm Hussein. Bush knows the American public is loathe to
that boiled up to the surface when I read things like this.
of fist.
Don't worry, I'll sit here with my rifle ready to take out any airborne porcines, should they come flying by.
"The lethal combination is when you exploit both people and technology," Mr Mitnick told BBC News Online.
Heaven forfend them not being on board with us!
Please. I can't swing around a dead Saddam on a rope without hitting this argument these days. At bottom, it's a slippery
that boiled up to the surface when I read things like this.
has been built up around Mitnick, a basically curious guy who just as often used old face-to-face (or voice-to-voice)
getting an education. When she tried to talk to one of the organizers after her test about how some people were just
No nation deserves to exist if it permits itself to lose the stern and virile virtues; and this
Heaven forfend them not being on board with us!
slope proposition, claiming that because we go after Saddam, we'll suddenly be all aggro-ed up to obliterate any country
"The death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community," Shabestari,
lying in order to gain information that gave him access to restricted systems.
find testimonials to diversity. Flip through any recent social sciences or humanities textbook and diversity pops up with
Now could someone please tell me what concrete purpose that woman's behavior, and that of her great chanting unwashed bretheren,
but I hope to do that soon. I also hope to win the Nobel Prize in Kickboxing, and judge each of those things to be of
Quite the contrary, Bush's aggressive rhetoric, disregard for international law, and his lack of any vision other than war
It seems the Muslim version of a slander suit is cutting off your head. Now when I read this I was shocked, just shocked
for the life of me, cannot see it. The news showed a clip of a guy trying politely to walk around a woman so self-righteous
hunting dairy cows with a high-powered rifle and scope."
support (in the small, mostly insignificant ways that are possible for one such as myself)
who like to chant slogans and can't come up with any better rhyme than something that has to do with the number "four" and "war."
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
to all of you warmongering neanderthals" tone of voice. She then struck a pose of righteous exasperation when she asked
sloth, or as an instrument to further the ends of despotism or anarchy.
I suppose you mean that it's not "multilateralist" unless France says so?
the teacher trying to impress both of them.
cutting-edge performance art group impersonating real anti-war folks, as the whole ordeal seemed to approach parody. No,
that boiled up to the surface when I read things like this.
of fist.
a careful, precise argument, what point is there in engaging them verbally anymore?
And exactly how do you go from no "final proof" to there being no evidence of impending aggression? The very fact that
Well, being the abject conformist that I am, I would like to welcome all new and oldcomers to my new blog, which will
Really, how often is someone able to so perfectly crystallize the dilemmas that will exist a century in the future
Another Australian tourist, 18-year-old Rachel Hughes, said she and her boyfriend had just arrived in Kuta when the blast
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
the way. Apparently that wasn't enough for the however, because they then started pulling at her legs to keep her from
And exactly how do you go from no "final proof" to there being no evidence of impending aggression? The very fact that
superiority.
way why we're doing all of this, and why, if they still choose to berate us about "root causes" and "birds coming home
going to be monitored so closely that I'd be surprised if he were able to put in a phony name at a porn site and not have
Peace is generally good in itself, but it is never the highest good unless it comes as the handmaid
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
The article also points to this site, which maintains a running clock of how long it will be until Mitnick can start
to make the first world poor and make sure the third world stays that way.
care. Just don't let me hear anything about how this bombing that specifically targeted Australian civilians was somehow
that I hadn't thought of it first!
Mr Mitnick even had to get permission from his probation officer to use a computer to write his book, The Art Of Deception,
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
and make them wish that congress had instead passed a resolution authorizing military force against people
to make the first world poor and make sure the third world stays that way.
course grew out of the experience of 9/11.
I mean come on, when you're arguing with someone who's just going to call you a Nazi when you spend 2,000 words making
The book details the ways that employees can inadvertently leak information that can be exploited by hackers to compromise
I finally went and did it.
morally, that this is the right thing to do.
hacky-sack?"
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
anger that is so justifiable -no, demanded- by these despicable acts, but if that must be the case, then from on, I'll be
You must be triple jointed to be able to twist words like that.
The fact that this is being published in the Chronicle is no small feat. Even more reason for you to go read it.
lap dance.
I simply love it when my case is made for me.
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
find testimonials to diversity. Flip through any recent social sciences or humanities textbook and diversity pops up with
to prolonged indulgence in luxury and soft, effortless ease, or to the deification of a warped and twisted sentimentality.
but I hope to do that soon. I also hope to win the Nobel Prize in Kickboxing, and judge each of those things to be of
to roost," those sniveling, carping appeasers,
that I hadn't thought of it first!
of righteousness; and it becomes a very evil thing if it serves merely as a mask for cowardice and
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
the teacher trying to impress both of them.
The article also points to this site, which maintains a running clock of how long it will be until Mitnick can start
Replace "powerful" with "crazy and armed with nukes" and you'd be right. Otherwise, your statement is nonsense.
If and when you find one, that means that I'll be perfectly willing to advocate an attack against them as well.
, "I don't believe the American people support this war. Everyone I've talked to is against it!"
rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong.
I was already in a state of "moving on" and being "over it" before I even heard about the Bali attacks, with the result
morally, that this is the right thing to do.
lap dance.
According to the president, "we cannot wait for the final proof" that Saddam Hussein's government is planning an imminent
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
find testimonials to diversity. Flip through any recent social sciences or humanities textbook and diversity pops up with
news editors of Cannel 7 to allow, as the segment ended right there.
50 Ways to Leave Your Folly Common Dreams, that goldmine of general silliness, showcases this piece, The Folly of Pre-emptive
to roost," those sniveling, carping appeasers,
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Yes, well I suppose you're suggesting that we would be well-served to wait for this "final proof," then? Very well. I'll
needed now was healing, closure; in short, to "get over it" and "move on."
who has been deprived of food for at least 6 hours - sounds like an unusually cruel thing to do, I know, but I'm sure
When they aired some actual interviews with the protesters, I started to honestly think they were part of some sort of
It is time for a new day to dawn in the Blogosphere, my gnome brothers. A glorious day. A day when no longer will we
some of their cohorts are actually being held accountable by the university for their disruptive, illegal actions at
sloth, or as an instrument to further the ends of despotism or anarchy.
However, several of the exchanges I have had have definately been with those you might describe as "challeneged" in
assures everyone that "Don't worry, the problem is being taking care of by the inspectors."
When they aired some actual interviews with the protesters, I started to honestly think they were part of some sort of
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
so that he will be better equipped to fulfill point 1). Show me another nation that's like that today.
I'm going to be checking the weather channel for reports of snowflakes in Hell, but meanwhile you should go read it now.
to get a good smack upside the head (or as I call it, a "hippie hello"), but that was apparently too much for the niggardly
be replacing the old site that was hosted on that evil of evils, that bane of banes, that something-really-awful of
of constant uncertainty and increased insecurity where almost anything could lead to war.
and the decisions to do so would based on (as in this case) measured calculations of the relative benefits and costs,
I don't know about you people, but I'm already stocking up on extra food, water, and electrons.
To quote a boozed up, cynical and misanthropic individual whom I greatly admire: "Making fun of these people is like
act such as this. In a few days or weeks, I'm sure it will subside to a colder, more focused resolution to continue to
I tried to present my ideas in an honest and truthful way, and not be seriously offensive, even when he acted in ways
It is time for a new day to dawn in the Blogosphere, my gnome brothers. A glorious day. A day when no longer will we
lap dance.
looks like a green light, no?
In fact, the idea of pre- emptive attack depends on fear. It presupposes insecurity and assumes we will always be threatened.
find testimonials to diversity. Flip through any recent social sciences or humanities textbook and diversity pops up with
to prolonged indulgence in luxury and soft, effortless ease, or to the deification of a warped and twisted sentimentality.
rivals.
care. Just don't let me hear anything about how this bombing that specifically targeted Australian civilians was somehow
I mean come on, when you're arguing with someone who's just going to call you a Nazi when you spend 2,000 words making
sloth, or as an instrument to further the ends of despotism or anarchy.
And perhaps because of the collective weight of all those accumulated exhortations, perhaps from the psychic weariness
By tossing out any reasonable standards of evidence as a prerequisite for military action, the White House puts us in a state
we could go and stop the Soviets and all their expansionist hijinks, but then we'd like, have to go all the way over to
Kevin Mitnick will be able to use a computer again in approximately 3 months.
when you apply your own internal calculus of death and suffering and conclude that it isn't something that you need
I guess not. The fact that the UN is anything but democratic since the vast majority of countries represented there do not
Hesiod over at Counterspin Central is one such fellow. Not only with myself, but in his conversations with Den Beste,
If a good education is meant to produce independent thinkers, I've seen precious little evidence it does. Education is
Really, how often is someone able to so perfectly crystallize the dilemmas that will exist a century in the future
not just "fear," as if we're going to indiscriminantly nuke the floor under our beds because monsters might be hiding there.
side of the political spectrum... what are they called?
predictable frequency. Follow a politician to a school photo-op,
I tried to present my ideas in an honest and truthful way, and not be seriously offensive, even when he acted in ways
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
One middle-aged woman who looked like she hadn't combed her hair since Jerry Garcia died had this to say, when asked
coming off them. It was really a terrible sight," she said. "You could just hear people crying up in the Bounty foyer -
information with your heads crammed so far up your asses, so I'll give you a pass.
and you'll get diversity in the speech by the politician, in the one by the principal who welcomes him and in the one by
to penetrate.
about equal probability.
the real fault of that government or its citizens, or the West in general, or capitalism, or any other ridiculous boogeyman
An insightful, well-written and quite simply excellent column somehow found its way in the SF Chronicle's website today.
chanting in his face and moved in front of him every time he tried to get around her.
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
Saddam will use these nukes when he gets them, whether that use takes the form of vaporizing a city or merely being hung
rivals.
he is willing to act aggressively and recklessly and cannot be reasonably deterred and 2) is working to get and use nukes
Wheeler Hall last spring.
we despise no less the coward and the voluptuary. No man is worth calling a man who will not fight
The Muslim world -- whose support is vital to any real effort to end the causes of terrorism -- is adamantly opposed.
My sentences, thus decreed, will be subsequently carried out by my elite brigade of Beheading Gnomes, whom I made up
I have to admit I'm pretty curious just to see what he's going to do. The guy has shown himself to have an overpowering
Sure, it'd be nice to be a leader...
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
Well I'm far far far too petty a person to do that.
news editors of Cannel 7 to allow, as the segment ended right there.
So welcome. If this is the first and/or only post you can see, it means I haven't imported my archives from Blogspot yet,
that has the temerity to look at us cock-eyed.
not just "fear," as if we're going to indiscriminantly nuke the floor under our beds because monsters might be hiding there.
sloth, or as an instrument to further the ends of despotism or anarchy.
But anyway, right there you've got yourself eight nations total in the coalition, hailing from North America, both western
support (in the small, mostly insignificant ways that are possible for one such as myself)
we could go and stop the Soviets and all their expansionist hijinks, but then we'd like, have to go all the way over to
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
After 3000 of your countrymen die in a couple hours, anything less than that is wont to be downplayed in significance
conflict.
last update : 5-2-2012
