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Osama's Hideout Gets 3 Out of 5 Stars on Google Maps

Posted by samzenpus on from the too-bad-we-can't-stay dept.

Many submitters have pointed out that Osama bin Laden's hideout is getting a lot of reviews on Google Maps. Some of my favorites of the 600+ so far include: "The hotel is obviously doing quite well, as evidenced by the fact that the cleaning crew is actually helicoptered in each evening, and in fact they go so far as to destroy any furniture that they feel is outdated or in need of repair," and "Privacy was great...until being leaked out on the Playstation Network."

83 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Awesome Streetview Tagged Photo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I love that someone already tagged the location with a streetview photo of the Arrested Development model home.

    All in all, it's amazing what Americans can accomplish when the Playstation Network is down.

    1. Re:Awesome Streetview Tagged Photo by Riceballsan · · Score: 1

      Well what is less suspicious, a street view shot of a house, or a big black square like Cheney's house.

    2. Re:Awesome Streetview Tagged Photo by lxs · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's not an edit but an artifact caused by the hellmouth in his basement.

    3. Re:Awesome Streetview Tagged Photo by rgbatduke · · Score: 1

      Oh for a mod point -- funny!

      --
      Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
  2. And with all that attention... by Deadstick · · Score: 2

    ...nobody in the media has noticed that Osama chose to hide out in a city named after a British colonial overlord.

    rj

    1. Re:And with all that attention... by blair1q · · Score: 1

      What?

      I thought it was named after a '40s straight-man.

    2. Re:And with all that attention... by QuasiSteve · · Score: 2

      nobody in the media has noticed that Osama chose to hide out in a city named after a British colonial overlord

      Seriously? Maybe you should change your venue of media. It was explicitly mentioned on the Dutch news in several of the first few news broadcasts on Monday morning.

      Checking Google News, I'd say there's also plenty of other media that spent 30 seconds on Wikipedia or something to find out a little historical background on the town;
      http://www.google.com/search?q=Abbottabad+"james+abbott"

    3. Re:And with all that attention... by sqldr · · Score: 1

      random google image search..

      Here's two tourists "hey, lets check out that nice town" who have now discovered that fucking UBL is probably somewhere in the background :-)

      http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2185/2347384304_785d311309.jpg

      --
      I wrote my first program at the age of six, and I still can't work out how this website works.
    4. Re:And with all that attention... by gmhowell · · Score: 2

      What?

      I thought it was named after a '40s straight-man.

      What's on second.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    5. Re:And with all that attention... by seyyah · · Score: 1

      Oh yes they have: Abbottabad â" pretty Himalayan town, pity about the poem

      I quote:

      There is some argument over whether General Sir James Abbott founded Abbottabad. Herbert Edwardes, another soldier and administrator in the Punjab, has his claims. But it was Abbott who managed to put his name to the place, and he really should have left it at that. The encomium he composed when he left the hilltown he loved must be one of the worst poems ever written.

    6. Re:And with all that attention... by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

      Well, I wonder why Douglas Adams did not scratch Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Greenbridge, Essex, England off and give the award to James Abbot.

      --
      sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    7. Re:And with all that attention... by macshit · · Score: 1

      Ugh. No doubt Abbot's poetry is awful, but the sort of smug snarkiness shown by the article author seems in very poor taste. It's the sort of thing one expects from random blogs, of course, but this guy is a "poetry professional," writing in a major newspaper (ok, it's the Grauniad, but still).

      Bad form, sir.

      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
    8. Re:And with all that attention... by vk2sky · · Score: 1

      ...nobody in the media has noticed that Osama chose to hide out in a city named after a British colonial overlord.

      I thought it was named after an American comedian. I bet al Zawahiri won't be staying in Costelloabad much longer...

    9. Re:And with all that attention... by Surt · · Score: 1

      You feel it likely that this played significantly into his decision making process?

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
    10. Re:And with all that attention... by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      What?

      I thought it was named after a '40s straight-man.

      What's on second.

      I'm not asking you who's on second!

      No, who's on first.

      I don't know.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    11. Re:And with all that attention... by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      The encomium he composed when he left the hilltown he loved must be one of the worst poems ever written.

      That's quite a steep claim, but I'm not minded to pursue it. In the last couple of days I've been exposed to two of McGonagall's [ahemm]"masterpieces" dedicated to the Tay Bridge (one praising it's obvious strength, the other lamenting it's collapse). That is quite enough competition for the "worst poet in the world" for me for a few days^H^H^H^H^H years^H^H^H^H^H^H decades.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    12. Re:And with all that attention... by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      So who's straight?

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    13. Re:And with all that attention... by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Third Base.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  3. No Streetview by chargersfan420 · · Score: 1

    Sadly, the Google Streetview team hasn't driven past the place yet.

    1. Re:No Streetview by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Eh?

    2. Re:No Streetview by Sabalon · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's okay. I hear there was a commissioned low altitude aerial fly by.

  4. Review by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Needed a nice place in Abottabad for wife's honeymoon. So impressed when I saw the place it nearly blew my eyes out of their sockets. Interior left something to be desired. Surprising number of rowdy Americans staying here.

    1. Re:Review by sqldr · · Score: 3, Funny

      "a guest on the third floor had some late night guests who made far too much noise. the common area was a mess the following morning, and there was a helecopter up on cinder blocks. no wifi"

      --
      I wrote my first program at the age of six, and I still can't work out how this website works.
    2. Re:Review by plover · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Abbottabad? More like Abbottas-bad-as-it-gets . Worst customer service, couldn't even find the place. And worst of all their meals are loaded with trans-fatwas."

      --
      John
    3. Re:Review by elrous0 · · Score: 2

      Cons: Room was obviously previously occupied by someone who smoked.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  5. That's a lot of visitors by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    I don't think it's a very good hideout if that many people have visited it...

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:That's a lot of visitors by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      It's called hiding in plain sight. Think of it like playing Where's Waldo, just instead of a funny shirt you look out for a face eating beard.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:That's a lot of visitors by osu-neko · · Score: 2

      It's called hiding in plain sight. Think of it like playing Where's Waldo, just instead of a funny shirt you look out for a face eating beard.

      Spotting the guy with a face eating beard isn't as easy in Pakistan as it is in Delaware.

      --
      "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
    3. Re:That's a lot of visitors by francium+de+neobie · · Score: 1

      But you need to take the Shadowdancer prestige class to Hide in Plain Sight.

    4. Re:That's a lot of visitors by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      He had it. Why do you think it took the US so long to build that character?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:That's a lot of visitors by vegiVamp · · Score: 2

      One would presume it would be a lot easier in Pakistan. Unless you're searching for a very specific one, of course.

      --
      What a depressingly stupid machine.
  6. Computers? by aywang31 · · Score: 2

    The military supposedly recovered a lot of digital information (hard drives, DVDs, flash drives, etc.) over there. I'm wondering how Osama reconciled the use of computers with his anti-Western beliefs (which I assume includes Western technology).

    1. Re:Computers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I'm wondering how Osama reconciled the use of computers with his anti-Western beliefs

      Maybe because like most extremists, his professed beliefs were convenient bullshit. See also: Republican Party, Teabaggers, Operation Rescue, etcetera

    2. Re:Computers? by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You may rest assured it was made in China, that's cool.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Computers? by gmhowell · · Score: 2

      Wait, China is communist now? When did that happen?

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    4. Re:Computers? by JWSmythe · · Score: 3, Informative

          It's just an unsubstantiated rumor. Now move along before we have to send you to a re-education camp.

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    5. Re:Computers? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      You would likely assume wrong. Now, as with many religious enthusiasts, he likely would have professed a disagreement with some of the social and psychological structures that are included in the aspects of western societies that helped produce those technologies and artifacts(compartmentalization is certainly doable, and many do it; but the structures of thought and society that characterize a contemporary global capitalism guided by a mixture of pragmatic empiricism and hedonic appetite are not... fully... compatible with those that any of the rather dusty and parochial Abrahamic monotheisms would hold up as historical ideals...)

      However, comparatively few religious groups follow through their ideological disagreements to include a pruning of material culture(except with respect to taboos concerning uppity women and specific food items, about which virtually all can agree to be outraged, and particular stylistic conventions that serve largely as in-group/out-group signifiers). The Amish are sort of an interesting outlier, in that they specifically, and consciously, target for social pressure those technologies that they see as harmful to their social structures. Bin Laden and fellows, though, don't really attach taboos to specific western-derived artifacts, especially useful ones, they just don't much like the culture they are embedded in.

    6. Re:Computers? by LordLimecat · · Score: 1, Insightful

      See also: Republican Party

      How your post gets modded will say an awful lot about Slashdot, and its ability to deal with differing opinions in a rational way.

    7. Re:Computers? by LordLimecat · · Score: 2

      Being against western beliefs doesnt mean that he was Amish; he simply believed that western culture and governments are "bad" (to put it mildly).

    8. Re:Computers? by sqldr · · Score: 2

      his point does have some merit. muslims (particularly fundamentalist) strive to live like mohammed who was according to hadith "a most excellent character". This includes pass times, such as horse riding and archery which he actually did, as opposed to chess or (god forbid) listening to music. In his rhetoric, he regularly dismissed certain things like wearing jeans as "western".

      Meanwhile, there is nothing in my views which says I can't be pragmatic about where the stuff I buy is made. Fundamentalist muslim doesn't know the meaning of pragmatism unless it involves killing infidels. Case in point, you must never lie.. unless it enables you to win the battle of the Trench, where he did exactly that to turn the confederation against each other.

      I should really stop reading into this shit.

      --
      I wrote my first program at the age of six, and I still can't work out how this website works.
    9. Re:Computers? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      I'm not really convinced in his case(or in that of a fair number of other extremists). Religions are full of charismatic con-men acting out L. Ron Hubbard's famous advice, and politics is larded with people whose 'principles' conveniently match their interests; but it is both the empirical fact that, and absolutely necessary to the success of the cynics that religions be full of genuine suckers ready to be milked dry, and politics have a supply of voters ready to line up and cheer lest the wrong pathological narcissist be awarded the right to reward his friends and owners out of their pockets.

      In Osama's case, he abandoned a relatively straight shot into comfort and ease, born somewhere between third base and home plate, in order to take up the relatively risky and poorly paid cause of stirring up the distaste of the world's major powers. That seems like a rather illogical move, unless jihad is, in fact, a kind of extreme sport, in which the more adrenaline-dependent trust fundies recreationally engage...

    10. Re:Computers? by vk2sky · · Score: 1

      I'm wondering how Osama reconciled the use of computers with his anti-Western beliefs (which I assume includes Western technology).

      Same way he rationalised drinking Coke and Pepsi, I guess.

    11. Re:Computers? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      his anti-Western beliefs (which I assume includes Western technology).

      It doesn't.

      For the same reason, Muslim insurgents use AKs and RPGs (developed by a God-defying atheist infidel regime, no less - worse than America!) rather than swords and bows.

    12. Re:Computers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You mean like how you apparently taking AC's lack of mention of democrats to indicate that democrats can do no wrong says an awful lot about you?

      Or like how my presuming your post was about AC's lack of mention of democrats says an awful lot about me?

    13. Re:Computers? by greenbird · · Score: 1

      Being against western beliefs doesnt mean that he was Amish;

      If that's the case they're gonna be really disappointed when they start going through all that data and all they find is porn.

      --
      Who is John Galt?
    14. Re:Computers? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      They practice what they call "Communism with Chinese characteristics". Westerners know it as "Crony capitalism" or "what we are busy running headlong into".

    15. Re:Computers? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      They call it "The intelligence community". Don't you think that, like any community, it probably has a creepy, lecherous old man somewhere who would patriotically volunteer to work days, nights, and weekends, with nothing but Ramen and lotion for sustenance, to crack the secret of what diabolical plans of terror could be hiding within the depths of 4.6GB of "Bad Burqa Babes: Ankle exposed! vol. 1-237" and 3.2GB of what looks alarmingly like palestinian-occupied-territories-produced amateur femdom/malesub with titles such as "Mossad Lesbians: Haraam Jewesses XXXposed"?

    16. Re:Computers? by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Being against western beliefs doesnt mean that he was Amish; he simply believed that western culture and governments are "bad" (to put it mildly).

      In lay terms,

      He could use western technology, software and firearms but could not listen to American music.

      No wonder he amassed so many followers, some of them even saw American Idol.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    17. Re:Computers? by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Oh, c'mon, about all of this "western technology" has been manufactured in Far East.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  7. Street view? by defaria · · Score: 1

    What no street view? No wonder he was so hard to find!

  8. Which one? by blair1q · · Score: 1

    The one that was getting all the "reviews" yesterday is apparently not bin Laden's compound, but a girl's school.

  9. Re:Mansion? by perpenso · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who exactly, thinks this dump is a mansion?

    The millions who live nearby.

  10. 3/5 with no phone or internet? by perpenso · · Score: 1

    How can you get 3/5 without phone or internet? Sure you can not put these distractions in the guest's room but the facility should offer these somewhere.

  11. Street view by phrostie · · Score: 1

    What, no street view?

  12. And it's at least 50km . . . by Elviswind · · Score: 1

    . . . to the nearest Pizza Hut. I hope he tipped well.

    1. Re:And it's at least 50km . . . by JDeane · · Score: 1

      Not sure about the tip but I would imagine the 30 minutes or less rule was out the window.... Unless they flew it in by chopper hmmmm

  13. Arrested Development. by drhank1980 · · Score: 1

    Props to whoever used the Arrested Development house image on their reviews, its what came up when I clicked it.

  14. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  15. Re:epic lawls by SharpFang · · Score: 2

    This is Idle.
    Idle is all about non-newsworthy stuff.

    --
    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  16. Re:Waidaminute... by SharpFang · · Score: 2

    "Oh c'mon, there's no way he would be hiding there! That place is on Google Maps Street View for pete's sake!"

    --
    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  17. Your princess by sourcerror · · Score: 4, Funny

    Your princess is in another cave.

  18. something's missing by Asaf.Zamir · · Score: 1

    No Street View? Lame.

  19. Re:Waidaminute... by Intron · · Score: 1

    Good point. I just typed "hideouts near abbottabad pakistan" and it came right up.

    The funniest thing is that on the list of places is: UBL's O Face Saloon

    --
    Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
  20. SOCOM 4 by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

    I'm just waiting for the "Osama Bin Laden's Compound" DLC.

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  21. Re:epic lawls by rgbatduke · · Score: 2

    No, Eric is Idle. This is one more piece of evidence in time travel. The reviews are clearly from the future, when the compound is a bed and breakfast that advertises "Bring your wives and children! Sleep in Osama's bed!"...

    --
    Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
  22. NPR did on "All Things Considered" by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 1

    Incorrect. It was pointed out yesterday on NPR's "All Things Considered". Now, if you said "nobody in the mainstream media", you might be right, but I ignore most of them if I can help it.

    ...nobody in the media has noticed that Osama chose to hide out in a city named after a British colonial overlord.

    rj

    --
    I8-D
  23. Not quite by Syberz · · Score: 1

    As one of the "reviewers" pointed out, it's not in the Bilal section of Abbotabad, it's not on a dead end street and it doesn't have 12-18 foot high walls. So whoever's house that is, it wasn't Osama's last one.

    --
    ~Syberz
  24. maybe it got good reviews, by spacefem · · Score: 1

    but everyone agrees it takes forever to find the place.

    --

    spacefem.com
  25. subhumans by Tom · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Everyone who gloats about this in any way, including writing "funny" reviews, is somewhat less than human.

    Not that I feel sorry or wish he'd still be alive. Snap out of that "black and white", "with us or against us" mindset you brainwashed drone.

    I strongly believe the adequate reaction is a solemn acknowledgement of the fact that there is now one dangerous man left on the planet. Though how dangerous exactly he was in the past past years and for the future is a matter of debate, but we can ignore that.

    But gloating? Happiness? Celebration? You're not an inch better than the muslims that celebrated 9/11.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    1. Re:subhumans by x6060 · · Score: 1

      I was taking you seriously until you said that everyone else is sub-human. Osama thought that everyone else is sub-human as well and figured it was fine and dandy to kill us "sub-humans". Your words really tell us much more than I think you wished to say. Congratulation on being far more narrow minded than those you accuse. Also, we are better than those muslims that celebrated 9/11. The people in the World Trade Center were innocent, Osama is far from innocent.

    2. Re:subhumans by stdarg · · Score: 1

      Whew, good thing you're not susceptible to "black and white" mindsets yourself.

    3. Re:subhumans by green_abishi · · Score: 1

      I've seriously had enough of the small crowd of people, sitting atop their high horse, saying that no one should be celebrating anything here.

      Someone was brought to justice for a terrible crime in which thousands of people died. That bin Laden resisted arrest and got himself killed is irrelevant. He needed to either be captured or killed, and he chose the latter by (apparently) resisting capture. What's being celebrated here is that justice has been done, and there is nothing wrong with it.

      If you had the principles you seem to be accusing others of lacking, you would wish he were still alive, but perhaps captured. I myself don't care one way or the other so long as he is no longer capable of causing harm in the world.

    4. Re:subhumans by Tom · · Score: 1

      I've seriously had enough of the small crowd of people, sitting atop their high horse, saying that no one should be celebrating anything here.

      I can only repeat: "Snap out of the black-and-white thinking, you brainwashed drone".
      The usage of the all-quantor is misleading or dishonest. Nobody is telling you to not celebrate anything.

      However, I will point out that you celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden is on the same ethical level as him celebrating the 9/11 attacks.

      What's being celebrated here is that justice has been done, and there is nothing wrong with it.

      Revenge is being celebrated, not justice. Stop kidding yourself. Look at the snide comments. No, wait, I am wrong. It's not even revenge. You know what is being celebrated? Osama managed to hurt the US on their own turf, something that has never happened before (you fought all your wars after the revolution elsewhere except the one where you fought each other). He hurt your pride. He demolished the illusion of invulnerability. That pride is now restored, through revenge. That is what quite a lot of you celebrate. Just look closely.

      If you had the principles you seem to be accusing others of lacking, you would wish he were still alive, but perhaps captured.

      I don't care half as much as that. Frankly, I'm fairly sure that Osama himself hasn't been important for at least five years. There are other, more active terrorist masterminds now. Some of them thanks to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

      But captured - yeah, why not? Dead - why not? You seem to mistake me for some kind of teethless hippie. I totally understand why he was killed and not imprisoned, though I think capture would have been the bigger victory. Then again, given what I expect of the USA these days, it would've been an even more horrible spectacle. One thing I know is that you definitely would not have brought him to the international court in the Hague.

      Nah, dead is just as fine with me. I just don't think it's something to celebrate. Or do celebrate, but admit that you're not an inch better than the terrorists who celebrate your dead.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    5. Re:subhumans by Tom · · Score: 1

      Osama thought that everyone else is sub-human as well and figured it was fine and dandy to kill us "sub-humans". Your words really tell us much more than I think you wished to say. Congratulation on being far more narrow minded than those you accuse.

      In your mind. Let me stress that properly: In your mind.

      Apparently you agree with Osama that sub-humans somehow deserve a worse treatment or can be killed at will.

      What makes you think I share that sentiment?

      The people in the World Trade Center were innocent, Osama is far from innocent.

      His guilt has not been proven in a court of law.

      Oh, you do believe in the principles of our justice system, do you? Or are you one of those people who think the principles don't always apply?

      I'm not saying I believe he's innocent. It's sad one has to point that out explicitly. But I am saying that full-blown humans should be proud of living under the rule of law, not the rule of arbitrary self-defined justice.

      But Osama was never even tried in court. His guilt was assumed, established, stated - anything but proven.

      And that is his victory over you. He has caused the west - the west that he considers degenerate, evil and false - to behave in exactly those ways.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    6. Re:subhumans by Tom · · Score: 1

      He was a bastard, and the world is just a little bit brighter now that he's dead.

      So if I think you are a bastard, I am allowed to kill you?

      No? Thought so. But hold that thought for a second. Me thinking you're a bastard isn't enough, but apparently - see your argument above - somewhere someone thinking that is enough.

      So how many people do have to think that you are a bastard before it is ok to kill you? Or is it not a majority vote but some specific people's opinions are the ones that count? Whose, and why?

      If you can't celebrate the death of someone who brought that much disutility into the world, you need to reevaluate your morals.

      There is a gulf between us that we won't be able to cross. I deeply believe that if you do celebrate the death of anyone, your morals are all fucked up.

      Strangely, the pope thinks the same way. I think that and the colour of the sky are the only things we agree upon.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    7. Re:subhumans by green_abishi · · Score: 1

      The usage of the all-quantor is misleading or dishonest. Nobody is telling you to not celebrate anything.

      However, I will point out that you celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden is on the same ethical level as him celebrating the 9/11 attacks.

      You said, "everyone who gloats about this in any way, including writing "funny" reviews, is somewhat less than human." But you are also saying that it is ok to celebrate something. Can you detail what exactly you think is acceptable, namely what sort of celebration is permissible?

      What's being celebrated here is that justice has been done, and there is nothing wrong with it.

      Revenge is being celebrated, not justice. Stop kidding yourself. Look at the snide comments. No, wait, I am wrong. It's not even revenge. You know what is being celebrated? Osama managed to hurt the US on their own turf, something that has never happened before (you fought all your wars after the revolution elsewhere except the one where you fought each other). He hurt your pride. He demolished the illusion of invulnerability. That pride is now restored, through revenge. That is what quite a lot of you celebrate. Just look closely.

      What snide comments are you referring to? I hope you are not making a generalization about the US response to this in any way based on some Slashdot posters. As far as revenge, pride, and invulnerability go, I don't think any of that matters. The man committed a crime in which thousands of Americans were killed. He deserved to be brought to justice.

      Nah, dead is just as fine with me. I just don't think it's something to celebrate. Or do celebrate, but admit that you're not an inch better than the terrorists who celebrate your dead.

      And again, I argue that most people are celebrating the delivery of justice after a ten year wait, not death. Here is an article on the issue:

      http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/05/opinion/main20060085.shtml

      It makes the point that to believe that people are celebrating the death of bin Laden would mean these celebrations would not occur (or I'd say would even be less fervent) if bin Laden had been captured rather than killed. We will never know now, but I strongly believe there would be an equal celebration of his capture.

    8. Re:subhumans by x6060 · · Score: 1

      In your mind. Let me stress that properly: In your mind.

      Apparently you agree with Osama that sub-humans somehow deserve a worse treatment or can be killed at will.

      What makes you think I share that sentiment?

      How did I say I agree with killing anyone? So thats a pretty bad strawman argument, and at worst out right intellectually dishonest. Which by the way if you are going to take the "In your mind" approach the exact same can be said for your arguments which would render EVERYONES ARGUMENTS ABOUT ANYTHING SUBJECTIVE AS MOOT. So really thats another bad argument to use as well as it renders your opinion meaningless at the same time.

      Personally I do not look down on anyone as sub-human. My family is from Poland and those are the words Nazis used to define my family, and how they justified murdering much of them. Osama admittedly ordered an attack on innocent civilians, and he would have most likely gladly done so again if given the opportunity. So his passing is a happy occasion.

      His guilt has not been proven in a court of law.

      Oh, you do believe in the principles of our justice system, do you? Or are you one of those people who think the principles don't always apply?

      I'm not saying I believe he's innocent. It's sad one has to point that out explicitly. But I am saying that full-blown humans should be proud of living under the rule of law, not the rule of arbitrary self-defined justice.

      But Osama was never even tried in court. His guilt was assumed, established, stated - anything but proven.

      But that argument holds NO actual context. We dont have a trial for EVERY enemy combatant engaged in a battle. We dont drag judges and lawyers around a battlefield so everyone can hold a trial while people are shooting at you. So that argument is moot and actually kind of stupid if you took any time to think about it. But again, nice try at a straw man argument.

      On October 30th 2004 Osama bin Laden released a tape to Al Jezeera (and they aired it) where he explained his reasons for ordering the 9/11 attacks. Essentially this would be construed as an admission of guilt.

      So, to re-cap, a high profile enemy combatant is killed in a foreign country, with the permission of the country the operation was performed in, and youre complaining about legal proceedings? I personally think its funny that the irony of your statements is totally lost on you.

      And that is his victory over you. He has caused the west - the west that he considers degenerate, evil and false - to behave in exactly those ways.

      Well to combat an argument like that I guess will be to meet it with an equal amount of stupidity and use one of your arguments. "In your mind" =P

    9. Re:subhumans by Tom · · Score: 2

      EVERYONES ARGUMENTS ABOUT ANYTHING SUBJECTIVE AS MOOT.

      Subjective creates objective - opinions shape our actions which shape our world. Subjective is anything but moot, I don't know why this meme hasn't died out long ago. Subjective is in no way less important or vital than objective is.

      My family is from Poland and those are the words Nazis used to define my family, and how they justified murdering much of them.

      Accepted, that explains how you came to that conclusion. Then let me simply explain that I don't think less sophisticated and more barbaric humans, like americans or fanatical muslim terrorists, or fanatical right-wing christians, for that matter, should be killed or otherwise treated badly. I maintain they are missing out on many of the more refined advancements of the human race.

      We dont have a trial for EVERY enemy combatant engaged in a battle.

      Osama was not a soldier on a battlefield, even if he liked to think of himself that way on occasion. He was shot in his bedroom, next to his wife, man! That's not what I picture in my mind when I read "enemy combatant engaged in a battle".
      So no, I will not withdraw that argument and I challenge your claim that it's a straw man.

      On October 30th 2004 Osama bin Laden released a tape to Al Jezeera (and they aired it) where he explained his reasons for ordering the 9/11 attacks. Essentially this would be construed as an admission of guilt.

      Yes, very likely. And I am quite certain that the ICC would have found him guilty. But - it did not, because no trial was ever conducted. And that is a vital and important point. Judges pass verdicts in a civilized society, not presidents, not generals, not navy seals.

      So, to re-cap, a high profile enemy combatant is killed in a foreign country, with the permission of the country the operation was performed in, and youre complaining about legal proceedings? I personally think its funny that the irony of your statements is totally lost on you.

      Yes, I am complaining about legal proceedings. Because without a judgement, this is plain and simple murder. Nothing else.

      Argue that he needed killing, I'll gladly go there, we have almost 3000 years of philosophical discussion on the topic, with the ancient greek question of the murder of a tyrant providing most answers, not really has been added in the 2000 years since.

      But all this "enemy combatant" quack is just propaganda. We don't like to admit that we're vanishing and torturing people, and breaking the Geneva Convention, so we give it different labels. But labels don't make things. You can't eat the menu. A rose by another name is still a rose. And so is murder.

      I'm not a peace hippie, far from it. In fact, my personal list of people the world would be better off without doesn't even start with terrorists. What I do insist is calling things what they are and facing yourself in the mirror to admit that you're not that much better. When you break into people's houses to shoot them, you've left a part of civilization behind. You can argue it was necessary, it was good, it was whatever you want it to be - but you should start dropping the marketing speech and admitting that it was cold-blooded murder, that unarmed civilians were involved, and that there was absolutely no legal justification to make it ok whatsoever. No court verdict, no UN mandate, it was a demonstration of power.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    10. Re:subhumans by Tom · · Score: 2

      You said, "everyone who gloats about this in any way, including writing "funny" reviews, is somewhat less than human." But you are also saying that it is ok to celebrate something. Can you detail what exactly you think is acceptable, namely what sort of celebration is permissible?

      A good weekend, best friends, whatever it is you have to celebrate.

      The man committed a crime in which thousands of Americans were killed. He deserved to be brought to justice.

      Yes, but he was not.
      He was killed.

      I thought we had left the middle ages behind in which we equate those two different things.

      Bringing someone to justice involves, in my mind, well, justice. You know, a trial, a court, a judge, a verdict. All of that is missing here. How can you talk about justice when absolutely no element of the justice system is involved? What kind of justice is that? Is it not a cornerstone of our society that we do not each define our own justice and deal out our own punishments?

      Losing that is in my book a bigger loss than the death of a terror leader is gain.

      That is my point. That is why I think we should be shocked instead of happy. Much of what we should stand for has been trampled into the dirt. In Iraq, in Guantanamo and now in Abbottabad. Every time an american speaks of justice, much of the rest of the world will answer with a sad laugh. Because your actions do not match your words. You speak of justice, but you conduct revenge, and abductions, and torture, and invasions.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    11. Re:subhumans by green_abishi · · Score: 1

      Apparently there was a firefight, so he resisted arrest. If you murder someone, the police come to get you, and you engage them in a firefight, what are they supposed to do? Keep sending in police to get shot at until you are brought out alive and unharmed?

      Now you can claim that there was not a firefight and the reports are false - that we went in there, everyone put their hands up, and we killed bin Laden anyway. That is a different argument.

      The man forfeited his right to a trial, a court, a judge, and a verdict when he and his people opened fire.

    12. Re:subhumans by Tom · · Score: 1

      If you murder someone, the police come to get you

      Unless it is in flagranti or followed from the scene of crime, they come with a warrant. Issued by a judge.

      I don't see how I can make myself any more clear. Every argument you throw out comes back full circle to that point. In civilized countries, prosecutor, judge and police are not the same person. It has once again become clear that the USA is only a part-time civilized country.

      The man forfeited his right to a trial, a court, a judge, and a verdict when he and his people opened fire.

      You can not forfeit your right to a trial. Show me the clause in the law where it says that. You are back to arguing from emotion and against established law.

      Answer me this: 9/11 was 3524 days ago. Almost 10 years. That was more than ample time to bring a case to the ICC and get a verdict on bin Laden. Then, with an international warrant issued by a court accepted by 114 countries, go and arrest him. And then, if he resists, by all means shoot him.

      But that is not what happened. What happened was that the military went out on an order from the executive branch of a single country, broke the souvereinity of a foreign country and killed someone with no legal justification whatsoever.

      You are happy it was bin Laden. It could have been someone else. No checks and balances, remember?

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  26. Here's what really happened by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    http://www.infowars.com/top-us-government-insider-bin-laden-died-in-2001-911-a-false-flag/
    http://www.prisonplanet.com/inside-sources-bin-ladens-corpse-has-been-on-ice-for-nearly-a-decade.html

    If you do a little research, it quickly becomes apparent that the US government has proclaimed Osama to be dead no less than 9 times. Witnesses are now appearing that indicate that Osama has been dead for almost 10 years. This announcement is just a stunt to get Obama's tanking popularity back up in preparation for 2012.

  27. Re:American Idiots by bstender · · Score: 1

    Not all US citizens are duped about this, you are observing the effects of a media monopoly. True many US citizens are looking no further than yourself, but sit with us for coffee sometime, you might be surprised to find signs of intelligent life. and you've got your own dim lemmings wherever you're from too i'd wager!

    --
    look sig is kool