Slashdot Mirror

We haven't had a major terrorist incident in the US for a while. Why?

A: There hasn't been any credible ability to do so by the bad guys
B: Nobody wants to harm the US any more
C: The counterterrorism efforts have prevented such an attack
For ANY of the above choices, how do you know? I mean, REALLY know, not just guessing or trying to shout louder than the guy next to you whose opinion is different than yours?

Survey says....C!

Al Qaeda Video Asks Detroit-Area Muslims to Act
US warned of mail bomb terror tactic last month
Explosive found in Dubai, part of US terror probe
'US terrorist tried to bring slaughter to subway in Washington'
US man pleads guilty in 'South Park' terror threat
'US thrice shared non-specific inputs on Mumbai attack'
Terrorist in failed LAX attack violated prison release with gun purchase
14 Charged with Aiding Terror Group Al-Shabab
Former Staten Island Resident Nabbed in Attempt to Join Taliban
Feds: NYC Subway Plotters Targeted London, Too (From July)

And in other news....

Osama bin Laden threatens French troops, criticizes France burqa ban
Canadian sentenced for leading terrorism plot
Hotels need EU help to defend against attack
MI6 chief Sir John Sawers says secrecy is vital to keep UK safe
Eight Britons 'trained in Pakistan for European terror strikes'
New security threat at Commonwealth Games, police, army seize explosives
British bobbies get SAS training, new weapons in wake of Mumbai-style terror threats
Gunmen storm Parliament in Chechnya, 6 dead
Bomb on bus in Philippines kills 10, wounds 9
Saudis warn Europe of terr

The problem is when you go after the consumers instead of the creator scumbag, it never seems to stop in a logical place. For example if you are stopped in the wrong place words on a page will get you sent to PMITA prison, and if that isn't thoughtcrime I don't know what is. I won't even bother posting the links where people have been thrown in prison for ink on a page, again no children involved in any way, shape, or form, because sadly we have all seen that before.

No matter how much it sickens us we have to accept our leaders in politics and the courts have proven time and time again they can't be trusted to have even the tiniest bit of common sense, especially with hot button issues. I used to have lunch with a buddy that worked at the state crime lab and he said a good 90%+ of the losers they busted with that crap hadn't touched anybody but themselves...well ever, because they were socially retarded and spent all their time at home whacking off.

It was a classic case of doing something about the actual problem being hard and expensive, but need to show they were doing something so they went for the easy targets, losers jacking off to kiddy pics on Kazaa. Now that they have about used up the low hanging fruit expect to see more and more being busted for cartoons and stories, just to say they are doing something to stop it and it is just gonna get worse. Where will it end? Romeo and Juliet? After all they weren't 18, it's child porn! Hell we are already busting kids for taking pics of their own bodies, so why the hell not?

Actually I don't blame Larry at all, in this witch hunt anyone that goes for the CYA strategy is just showing they have a brain. I mean we are living in an age where a drawing, no matter how crude, and that involves no real children what so ever can get someone sent to PMITA prison depending on their location.

The simple fact is it has long since quit being about "protecting the children" and become a classic witch hunt where I doubt anyone is truly safe if they end up with a zealous prosecutor and a hang 'em high judge. Is that an elf in the game you are playing? Looks like she might be loli! Hell we are gonna have to have every single fantasy/Sci Fi book have a porn style "all models depicted or described in this work was over 18" in the front of the book just to keep from risking jail!

So don't blame the guy for CYA when it is the whole system that is completely fucked. I mean you can go to prison just for having words on a page nowadays, so just the fact that he accessed those pages on his PC without reporting them could have landed the guy a jail sentence. I mean, what would you have him do, keep a stack of HDDs handy so he can burn his drive every time he accessed Wikimedia, in case something got cached? If you don't like this horseshit, write to your elected officials and try to organize your fellow citizens to get the laws overturned. Of course you'll probably be labeled a kiddy fiddler by the MSM and have your place raided, but that's what happens when you have a witch hunt and why most people will go for a CYA in this crazy time.

Matt Groening will be guest starring as himself this Sunday on the Simpsons in his first speaking role!

I always go to the regional news sources when i'm interested in what is going on. While AP/Reuters wire copy that appears at various sites are interesting, and RSS is making syndication of articles much more common, It's always important to "go to the source" as much as possible.

I suspect this whole "unelected" thing is likely political spin created by the parody website. It sounds like he was elected at something similar to a caucus in November (gleaned from skimming this). While this may not represent the "Direct" democracy that exists in the US, that's not the system that is in use in Canada. Not everywhere is using a Presidental system similar to the US, it sounds like Afghanistan is going to end up with a Parliamentary System. Nothing wrong with the other systems as much as they are not liked by the Americans.