People invested in conspiracy theories that put the US government behind 9/11 will point out that there is no proof directly tying him to the attacks, that the FBI hasn't updated its file to include 9/11 as one of the crimes he is "wanted" for, etc. They'll say that the above video is faked, mistranslated, misinterpreted. And none of it matters -- OBL was the leader of the al Qaeda organization, he has openly called for Muslims to kill Americans going back to 1996, given interviews praising terrorist attacks and claiming that the Quran's proscriptions against killing innocents don't apply when dealing with the American's for various reasons. He led jihadists to broaden the fight against their local governments to a fight against the US and Israel, and transformed a significant part of the jihadist movement along those lines. The obsession with finding OBL's fingerprints on 9/11 begs the question of what we do know -- which is that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned the attacks and that they were carried out by Muslim extremists. Saying that we can't prove that OBL attacked the WTC does not mean that Dick Cheney did.
Bin Laden had a pretty cushy safe-haven there. He figured as long as he didn't piss off the Taliban leaders, they'd give him safe haven. And he figured the U.S. would not attack a sovereign nation. Which may have been true under Clinton, but he probably miscalculated how much the political climate was going to change once those towers fell.
First, that wasn't "true under Clinton" at all. Look at Clinton's speech of August 20 1998 in response to the Kenya and Tanzania bombings. Bush's first major speech after 9/11 was nine days later (9/20/01) and all of the main points are virtually taken verbatim from the Clinton speech. Obviously the US response was different in 2001 because the stakes were much higher -- it's a lot easier to get the American public on a war footing in response to an attack on New York than one on embassies in African countries most Americans had never heard of.
Second, bin Laden was banking on the US responding. I think he underestimated the size of the response and the ability of the American public to withstand American casualties, but he was hoping for the US to attack Afghanistan -- he believed that Muslims around the world would rally to al Qaeda's defense in Afghanistan the way they had in response to the Soviet invasion. That just didn't happen, not in any significant numbers (although it did a few years later in Iraq thanks to the U.S. blunder there). So I agree with you that bin Laden miscalculated big time, but I think the miscalculation was different.
Wow, if the source is credible that's pretty damning.
Erm, the "source" in this case is a known terrorist who issued a fatwa in the 1990s calling for Muslims around the world to kill Americans every chance they get. How "credible" can he be? Seriously, there is nothing new here. Bin Laden gave interview well into late 2001 claiming that he didn't do it. (And he probably didn't "do it" in any direct sense, since we know KSM was the main planner who put the operation together). But he has since given speeches praising the "magnificent 19" (what he calls the hijackers) and clearly taking credit for being their inspiration. Whether or not he had any direct hand in it, he was the leader of the organization responsible, and he had been calling (over and against other jihadi leaders) for attacks on the United States (the "far enemy") for quite some time. This message was not "too sensitive to release" -- it differed little from other messages he was giving at the time.
The iPhone has a really invasive program that actually keeps track of all your appointments, dates, meetings; pretty much everything you do every day of your life. I can't believe Apple is getting away with this surveillance!!
I've been a victim myself of a web smear campaign, and I can tell you that it's no fun. Plus it will stay around forever, depending on how it's done.
I've seen a lot of negative things posted about you on the internet; I didn't realize that it was part of a smear campaign! From now on I will not trust anything I read about "Anonymous Coward"!
I never thought of that -- you can just lie during the interview process to get the job! Why just lie about listening to a violinist though -- I'm sure you would have been a shoe-in for the job if you lie about your job experience, degree earned, etc. What a great tip -- Thanks!
You people do realize we need to start with the toaster if we really want to do something about the kiddy porn problem. After all, studies have shown that many child pornographers start their day with a piece of toast for breakfast. Why should corporations be providing child pornographers with equipment that helps them exploit children in this manner?!
Don't get me wrong, the world would be a great place of everyone followed the advice of Jesus
That's for sure! If everyone learned to turn the other cheek it would be so much easier to overpower and enslave them all and run the place! MUWAHAHAHAHA!!!!
The GP post asked about "libraries of congre," clearly a misspelling of "libraries of conger" as in [[daggertooth pike conger]], a species of fish. So we're really talking upwards of 7,000 libraries of conger rather than 47 libraries of congress.
Yes but the substantive content and intrinsic profundity of the messages has increased over the years. Further costs are incurred as a result of the sheer philosophical depth of these messages.
Slashdot Mirror
People invested in conspiracy theories that put the US government behind 9/11 will point out that there is no proof directly tying him to the attacks, that the FBI hasn't updated its file to include 9/11 as one of the crimes he is "wanted" for, etc. They'll say that the above video is faked, mistranslated, misinterpreted. And none of it matters -- OBL was the leader of the al Qaeda organization, he has openly called for Muslims to kill Americans going back to 1996, given interviews praising terrorist attacks and claiming that the Quran's proscriptions against killing innocents don't apply when dealing with the American's for various reasons. He led jihadists to broaden the fight against their local governments to a fight against the US and Israel, and transformed a significant part of the jihadist movement along those lines. The obsession with finding OBL's fingerprints on 9/11 begs the question of what we do know -- which is that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned the attacks and that they were carried out by Muslim extremists. Saying that we can't prove that OBL attacked the WTC does not mean that Dick Cheney did.
Bin Laden had a pretty cushy safe-haven there. He figured as long as he didn't piss off the Taliban leaders, they'd give him safe haven. And he figured the U.S. would not attack a sovereign nation. Which may have been true under Clinton, but he probably miscalculated how much the political climate was going to change once those towers fell.
First, that wasn't "true under Clinton" at all. Look at Clinton's speech of August 20 1998 in response to the Kenya and Tanzania bombings. Bush's first major speech after 9/11 was nine days later (9/20/01) and all of the main points are virtually taken verbatim from the Clinton speech. Obviously the US response was different in 2001 because the stakes were much higher -- it's a lot easier to get the American public on a war footing in response to an attack on New York than one on embassies in African countries most Americans had never heard of.
Second, bin Laden was banking on the US responding. I think he underestimated the size of the response and the ability of the American public to withstand American casualties, but he was hoping for the US to attack Afghanistan -- he believed that Muslims around the world would rally to al Qaeda's defense in Afghanistan the way they had in response to the Soviet invasion. That just didn't happen, not in any significant numbers (although it did a few years later in Iraq thanks to the U.S. blunder there). So I agree with you that bin Laden miscalculated big time, but I think the miscalculation was different.
Wow, if the source is credible that's pretty damning.
Erm, the "source" in this case is a known terrorist who issued a fatwa in the 1990s calling for Muslims around the world to kill Americans every chance they get. How "credible" can he be? Seriously, there is nothing new here. Bin Laden gave interview well into late 2001 claiming that he didn't do it. (And he probably didn't "do it" in any direct sense, since we know KSM was the main planner who put the operation together). But he has since given speeches praising the "magnificent 19" (what he calls the hijackers) and clearly taking credit for being their inspiration. Whether or not he had any direct hand in it, he was the leader of the organization responsible, and he had been calling (over and against other jihadi leaders) for attacks on the United States (the "far enemy") for quite some time. This message was not "too sensitive to release" -- it differed little from other messages he was giving at the time.
I'm sorry. I was only off my one consonant.
Make that two now.
You sir, by denying the very first verse of the Bible, deny Christianity and are I contend are NOT a Christian.
You, sir, by arrogantly presuming the spiritual and scriptural authority to excommunicate someone based on a slashdot post, ARE a douchebag.
much like similar abilities in other species, such as sharks.
yeah but where does the platypus put the laser beam?
Damn; you spoiled my joke with your stupid facts. :P
podophile.com?! But this is about sneakers, which go on feet; wouldn't the proper prefix be...
Oh. Never mind.
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
Yes but on the other hand, pig lips on a stick are quite tasty!
The problem is the source code looks something like this:
if ($suspect == black) {
print ".12";
}
elsif ($suspect == hispanic) {
print ".14";
}
elsif ($suspect == irish) {
print "ERROR";
}
... as opposed to the defense attorneys who will do their jobs?
Fixed that for you.
The iPhone has a really invasive program that actually keeps track of all your appointments, dates, meetings; pretty much everything you do every day of your life. I can't believe Apple is getting away with this surveillance!!
Wow, your post did a wonderful job of proving the grandparent's point!
Some professions may not be subject to this, of course.
True -- politics, for example :)
I've been a victim myself of a web smear campaign, and I can tell you that it's no fun. Plus it will stay around forever, depending on how it's done.
I've seen a lot of negative things posted about you on the internet; I didn't realize that it was part of a smear campaign! From now on I will not trust anything I read about "Anonymous Coward"!
I never thought of that -- you can just lie during the interview process to get the job! Why just lie about listening to a violinist though -- I'm sure you would have been a shoe-in for the job if you lie about your job experience, degree earned, etc. What a great tip -- Thanks!
You people do realize we need to start with the toaster if we really want to do something about the kiddy porn problem. After all, studies have shown that many child pornographers start their day with a piece of toast for breakfast. Why should corporations be providing child pornographers with equipment that helps them exploit children in this manner?!
Well, duh. What good is a touchscreen with only one button?
is that the explanation would cut into valuable phone-sex time.
Don't get me wrong, the world would be a great place of everyone followed the advice of Jesus
That's for sure! If everyone learned to turn the other cheek it would be so much easier to overpower and enslave them all and run the place! MUWAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Someone I know was threatened with a screwdriver for just trying to replace a router.
What's the big deal? Drink the screwdriver and then replace the router.
The GP post asked about "libraries of congre," clearly a misspelling of "libraries of conger" as in [[daggertooth pike conger]], a species of fish. So we're really talking upwards of 7,000 libraries of conger rather than 47 libraries of congress.
Yes but the substantive content and intrinsic profundity of the messages has increased over the years. Further costs are incurred as a result of the sheer philosophical depth of these messages.
The study that talks about the 64 second recovery time was published in *2002*.
They must have meant 64 months.
I think everyone's entitled to take a piss without being called on their cell.
Unless it's during a commercial!