98. I will remember to check links before posting. 99. I will remember to check links before posting. 100. I will remember to check links before posting.
What kind of idiot would Swallow Spammer's Pills?
on
The Economics Of Spamming
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
"What kind of an idiot would buy penis-enlargement pills?"
I say, what kind of idiot would swallow a Spammers penis-enlargement pills?
While I appeciate the humor in this article (especially the Penis Man outfit) I have to wonder, did the author actually buy the pills, and take them?
I mean we all have guesses at the ethics some of these spammers possess. It wouldn't suprise any of us for a spammer to just take the money and run. Is it that far a stretch to imagine some psychopath spammer sending out poison as penis enlargment pills? (Also, I think some of the traditional aphrodisiacs are in fact mild poisons.) (I'm getting distracted.)
It's gotten so bad that I sometimes think about sending out spam myself, but as a parody, something to the effect of "Fuck you! Give me Money!" and an explanation that this is what spammers are really saying. I would never actually do this because as Faith said when she took over Buffy's body "It would be Wrong."
I was thinking of these things while reading the comments and got another idea. What if there was spam sent out warning people that spammers selling penis enlargment pills are actually selling poison. Or better than poison, but a poison that renders you completely impotent for life? (For the irony.)
And then I thought that it wouldn't even be neccessary to send it via spam. You could just write up an urband legend "Forward this to Everyone you know! Won't Someone please think of the Children!" type of email a la Good Times warning people of the danger of Spammers Penis Enlargment Pills. Just put a fake quote in there about the FDA or other government organization (OHS?) and the clueless idiots would do the rest.
The Urband Legends websites could write an explanation that it was a hoax meant to point out the fact that you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet and you should never trust a spammer and anyone who buys from a spammer should have the shit beat out of them (or at least people think about it, even normally non-violent people).
Hopefully it wouldn't quote me because then people would be out to beat the shit out of me. That's the problem with these hoaxes, once they get started they get completely out of control.
So in conclusion, this post is just something that is nice to think about. You should not actually do it because it would be wrong. Not to mention that I don't want to get the shit beat out of me repeatedly for starting yet another forward this to everyone you know email hoax.
(I seem to be making a lot of pointless posts lately.....)
XANDER: "Buffy, this is all about fear. It's understandable, but you can't let it control ya. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger. No, wait. Hold on. Fear leads to hate, hate leads to the Dark Side. Hold on, no. Um... First you get the women, then you get the money, then you... okay, can we get forget that?" BUFFY: "Thanks for the dada-ist pep talk. I feel much more abstract now."
If the MS Users are all posting in.doc binaries then we could just set our newsreaders to killfile all Outlook posts, and the Outlook users could killfile all those meanies who post in old fashioned text and we could happily ignore each other.
(Problem with that is I'm still using tin which doesn't have very sophisticated filtering. I really need to learn a better newsreader.)
Anyway, if all the Outlook users were posting in.doc then maybe the spammers would switch over to.doc and then all the old Unix/Linux geeks would be rid of the spam problem forever!
The main reason why I would want to use a program like this is so that when I play mp3s on random that I don't have to be continually re-adjusting the volume between every song. Not to mention if a "loud" song plays after a "quiet" song.
And Laurie Anderson's United States Live Parts 1-4 is recorded particularly "quiet." You seem to imply that I can adjust the volume when I rip the CDs to start with?
How do you do that? If I ripped them at a louder then I wouldn't need this program to adjust them.
(Or I could just RTFM for Grip, but then I'm just using this as an excuse to post to/. because I don't really post all that often. I think I still have stuff on my userpage from y2k.)
Re:I think the more important question...
on
Is Louder Better?
·
· Score: 1
... is why the hell were cats in your recording studio?!?
1. They are Neo-pagan and like to have their familier(s) near them while they record.
2. It is experimental music and cats are involved in some, but not all of the music.
3. You never know what is going to provide inspiration.
Quote from IndustrialNation #16 interview with Edward Ka-Spel:
IN: (Calyxx) was on the back of Textures of Illumina, and he was also on "Saucers..." I noticed in the liner notes of Hallway, and then I listened to it and he has little shouting bits in the background.
EK: We had to persuade him with an ice cream. Well he was in the studio booth , and I was recording "The Saucers are Coming", and he was going "the saucers are cominging the saucers are coming" and soon as we got him behind the microphone he was just like "....... No." So we had to bring him ice cream. Oh god, "come on Calyxx, do it!" He held us at ransom, he was great, and cute as a button.
I bet the Python skit actually increased sales! But I can honestly say that receiving unsolicited email has never given me the craving for their canned meat product.
It might have increased sales, but I doubt that it increased people consuming their product.
Why am I posting this? I hardly ever post at all and now I'm posting something like this that is completely pointless.
I think I might as well start posting to usenet again. I don't care how bad the spam is anymore.
I've been wondering what Sarah Michelle Geller was going to do next with her career.
Re:Usefulness of a gun in the house
on
DVRs for Cop Cars
·
· Score: 1
Not to say that you did the wrong thing, on the street I'm OK, but even as an adult I'm a bit disturbed when dealing with "ragged strangers" at my home.... but reading your post I recalled that in Arizona it is against the law to refuse to give water to someone that asks.
(Not only is this getting really off topic, but that's a pretty bad run-on sentence.)
The law dates back to the gold prospecting days, but the reality of dehydration in Arizona still makes it a usefull law.
Replying to posts from meta-moderation is a great way to randomize your posts.
Interesting system and it sounds like it works good (or is that "works well"), but while reading this I kept thinking why not have 3 testers so that you can have a majority and minority report.
But then what do you do if you get 3 minority reports? It's probably less expensive to weed out the inconsistant graders from pairs, and maybe more effective. Not to mention the risk of getting sucked into a PKD universe.
After the "first" Gulf war, it was irresponsible to let Hussein stay in power. The reason Bush I gave for letting him stay in power was "Stability."
I've been reading Noam Chomsky's Lettersw from Lexington, and need to look up the right quote that explains this.....
The Wall Street Jornal observes that Iraq's "clumsy attempt to hide nuclear-bomb-making equipment from the U.N. may be a blessing in disguise, U.S. officials say. It assures that the allies [read: US and UK] can keep economic sanctions in place to squeeze Saddam Hussein without mounting calls to end the penalties for humanitarian reasons." No annoying noises, then, from the PC crowd as we joyfully "watch the country starve for political reasons."
The Bush-Times conception of "the best of all worlds" is not universally shared. London banker Ahmad Chalabi, a spokesman for the Iraqi democratic opposition, describes the outcome of the war as "the worst of all possible worlds" for the Iraqi people. Another contradiction, but again only apparent and readily resolved. The worst of all possible worlds for the Iraqi people may well be the best of all worlds from the perspective of offices in Washington and New York. Right-thinking people may agree with Chalabi that "the tragety in Iraq is awesome," meanwhile recognizing that the important concerns are those spelled out by the State Department spokesman at the Times. "Before Mr. Hussein invaded Kuwait," Friedman writes, "he was a pillar of the gulf balance of power and status quo prefered by Washington," employing his "iron fist" with our approval and generous assistance. He made a false move on August 2, 1990, "but as soon as Mr. Hussein was forced back into his shell, Washington felt he had become useful again... That is why Mr. Bush never supported the Kurdish and Shi'ite rebellions against Mr. Hussein, or for that matter any democracy movement in Iraq."
Welcome to the morning news. In its long and deadly war with Iraq, Iran has repeatedly sought international condemnation of Baghdad's alledged use of chemical weapons. The Iranians have
??? the opportunity to make their case. A city in eastern Iraq, recently occupied by Iranian forces, (?captured ??? by the siege?), according to Iran, the Iraqis bombed the city with chemical
weapons. After the defeat the Iranians said the attack killed more than four thousand civilians. Welcome to the VX Gas Attack.
at ground zero
pro independence
heavier than air fumes
city of chemical
alleged cyanide gas
on to karbala
what is the difference between israel's plight
a belief in outside
influence like scalding water
a side effect of
their faces and lungs burn
a sudden harsh smell
2 weeks after still coughing and choking livid skin blisters burn often
posters leaflets
nightly radio and television programs
dead instructions in the use of such basic devices as a damp towel lined with charcoal to be applied to the face and mouth when the beep beep beep gas attack warning signal
sounds the dead were among porcelain
face of cloud of frozen gas poison
jagged fragment jew iranian iraqi bombs sun
the first cyanide gas warning vx nerve gas
I've definately met some really stupid potheads over the years, but I've met some smart potheads too. And then if they are really smart, you are not aware they are potheads in the first place.
One of the latest Partnership ads in this series shows a crash test dummy crash in reverse, and at the end it says "1/3 of those tested, tested positive for marijuana after accidents."
They see, to be implying that 1/3 of accidents are caused by people smoking pot, or for people even more clueless about statistics, that 1/3 of people who smoke pot get in car accidents. Anyway, even assuming that that is a correct statistic it only means that, 1/3 of those in car accidents, that were suspected of drug use, and therefore tested, tested positive.
Not to metion, as you pointed out, most people that smoke pot also drink alcohol at the same time. These two drugs combined make you even more dangerous to drive than either drug alone. And anyone that is stupid enough to smoke pot and drive is also probably stupid enough to drink and drive.
I realize that most statistics quoted in the mainstream media are worthless, but sheesh!
The commercials list some possibilities, but they are not saying that *will* happen. It's a scare tactic, but that's the point.
Consider that the supposed goal of the Partnership ads is to actually reduce drug use.... Hasn't it been repeatedly shown that scare tactics just don't work? Especially when they are more or less lying? I've heard that these tactics don't effect the use of "soft" drugs, but they do effect the use of hard drugs because kids figure if the powers that be were lying about pot, they were lying heroin too.
(I gotta look up referances to this stuff if I'm going to quote it but it's late.)
Getting even more off topic, in the city I live in we have the bizarre situation where the police crack down on pot users, but practically ignore heroin use. And they are especially dilligent in cracking down on people who are home owners who have good jobs and make good money, ie. people who are neither a threat nor a burden to the community.
(Do we get enough opportunities to rant about the disaster that is drug prohibition?)
That's a sticker that I've ironically put on my car.
But I do ride my bicycle to work nearly every day.
When the Partnership ads came out, I was thinking a more interesting parody would be "Everytime you buy gasoline, you are supporting terrorism." I'd like to put that on my car, but wonder how the gas station attendance might react. And I feel like I've been lazy, using my car to see my girlfriend, or pick up groceries. It was a lot easier when I didn't have a choice by owning a car.
Anyway, I think a lot of the animosity about SUVs is that in a car you can't see around the darn things, as well as that many of them are badly designed and very dangerous. (And ironically people buy them because they feel safer in them.) My father has one of the better designed SUVs, that is built on a car chasis, and even driving that I felt like I had to be very careful about rollover. (Is this getting off topic enough yet?)
Anyway, I've that "They" say that if we could just have better efficancy, we would be able to support all our gasoline needs without needing to import. So while it might be a misguided tactic to focus on SUV drivers, fuel efficancy is part of the cumulative effect. Just like riding a bicycle whenever you can plays a part.
And I do appreciate the information from the web site you refer to, and I'll try to avoid gas stations that use Middle East oil, just like I do not do business with Shell because of their actions in Nigeria. (hmmm.... just thought, I wonder if Shell has anything to do with those 419 scams? Nah!)
(At least free cards like the Safeway[tm] Club Card.)
Mine says Emanual Goldstein.
Winston Smith might be more appropriate. I'm not sure.
Act like nothing's wrong.
(Of course now that I've posted this on the internet they can find out who I really am. I'm sure I'm the only one in the whole world to ever think of this.)
The United States government supported Osama bin Laden. We funded, armed and
trained his forces, both in war and terrorism. We helped build his terrorist army to fight a superpower, the Soviet
Union. I don't like communism, but our politicians created a monster in
Afghanistan. Now it seems that monster has attacked us.
This is hard to say but I feel like I have to say something.
It goes without saying that this has been a terrible day.
The loss of life, and a horrible way to die.
However, I'm even more terrible than the acts of terrorism
are the possible reactions to these acts.
We cannot afford to become reactionary. We cannot afford to lose
our heads. I overhead some co-workers making racist comments today.
Being multi-ethic and Jewish that rather upset me. Well, I don't
have to be Jewish to be intolerant of racial prejudice, but it does
make me feel even more threatened since some people are equally
racist against Jews as Arabs and Muslims. So I take it personally.
Anyway, above all, as Americans in this crisis,
_WE NEED TO KEEP OUR HEADS_
This is a crisis but we must not let our emotions get out of control
or the reaction will be worse than what happened today.
At the very least we need to wait for due process of law and
have proof of who really committed these atrocities. We cannot tolerate
harassment and violence against ethnic minorities who may be blamed.
If it does turn out that the Osama Bin Ladin is responsible for this
that we cannot tolerate the bombing of civilian populations in Afghanistan.
The Taliban is a fascist government. Many of the Afghanistan people
are against the Taliban but they do not exactly have the same freedoms
of free speech and assembly that we enjoy in this country. Bombing
civilian targets in Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Yugoslavia etc. etc. etc.
is just as bad as the atrocities American experienced today.
Understand that the mainstream corporate media does not widely report
what our government has done to countries around the world. Also consider
that our government is partially responsible for placing the Taliban in
power by supporting them during the Soviet Union's war with Afghanistan.
Most likely the terrorists who committed these atrocities today
are only out for revenge. They have no other motive and they feel
like they have nothing to lose. We cannot win a war against small
groups of people who are only out for revenge. We need to think
very thoroughly about the calls to war and what it will really mean.
This has been a terrible terrible day. History might show this to be
a day of great change. Now we must decide whether that change will
be for better or for worse. We need to mourn our losses. I hope
that I can appeal to our better nature. That we as Americans will
not give into the madness of this terrible day. I hope that we will
rally around the call for peace instead of the call for revenge
that would be the downfall of us all.
I know that some may take my statements as derogatory.
Please think about what I have said. While I am critical of
some of the actions of our government, I do love this country.
I say what I say is because despite what has happened today
and in the past I still hope for the best.
My prayers go out for the victims, their friends and family,
the spirit of our country, and for the entire world.
Yes, I'm one of those kooks, but it's not what you think.
You see, we had been on the moon even before JFK made that speech, but I'll tell you, the moon isn't what you think it is. I can't tell you what its actually like because well, because!
Anyway, Richard Nixon got involved and they faked it so that the masses would be satified, and yet no one would no the horrible secret. Only Hello Kitty protects us from what really lies on the moon.
Slashdot Mirror
98. I will remember to check links before posting.
99. I will remember to check links before posting.
100. I will remember to check links before posting.
Here is the humorous article I was refering to.
"What kind of an idiot would buy penis-enlargement pills?"
I say, what kind of idiot would swallow a Spammers penis-enlargement pills?
While I appeciate the humor in this article (especially the Penis Man outfit) I have to wonder, did the author actually buy the pills, and take them?
I mean we all have guesses at the ethics some of these spammers possess. It wouldn't suprise any of us for a spammer to just take the money and run. Is it that far a stretch to imagine some psychopath spammer sending out poison as penis enlargment pills? (Also, I think some of the traditional aphrodisiacs are in fact mild poisons.) (I'm getting distracted.)
It's gotten so bad that I sometimes think about sending out spam myself, but as a parody, something to the effect of "Fuck you! Give me Money!" and an explanation that this is what spammers are really saying. I would never actually do this because as Faith said when she took over Buffy's body "It would be Wrong."
I was thinking of these things while reading the comments and got another idea. What if there was spam sent out warning people that spammers selling penis enlargment pills are actually selling poison. Or better than poison, but a poison that renders you completely impotent for life? (For the irony.)
And then I thought that it wouldn't even be neccessary to send it via spam. You could just write up an urband legend "Forward this to Everyone you know! Won't Someone please think of the Children!" type of email a la Good Times warning people of the danger of Spammers Penis Enlargment Pills. Just put a fake quote in there about the FDA or other government organization (OHS?) and the clueless idiots would do the rest.
The Urband Legends websites could write an explanation that it was a hoax meant to point out the fact that you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet and you should never trust a spammer and anyone who buys from a spammer should have the shit beat out of them (or at least people think about it, even normally non-violent people).
Hopefully it wouldn't quote me because then people would be out to beat the shit out of me. That's the problem with these hoaxes, once they get started they get completely out of control.
So in conclusion, this post is just something that is nice to think about. You should not actually do it because it would be wrong. Not to mention that I don't want to get the shit beat out of me repeatedly for starting yet another forward this to everyone you know email hoax.
The article clearly states that this is per week but just to beg the question.....
How many hours are spent online while watching television and listening to the radio at the same time?
I know I do this more often than most sane people could handle. (This is probably more of a statement about my sanity than bragging.)
(This post has been brought to you by the people who post randomly based on meta-moderation.)
(I seem to be making a lot of pointless posts lately.....)
XANDER: "Buffy, this is all about fear. It's understandable, but you can't let it control ya. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger. No, wait. Hold on. Fear leads to hate, hate leads to the Dark Side. Hold on, no. Um... First you get the women, then you get the money, then you... okay, can we get forget that?"
BUFFY: "Thanks for the dada-ist pep talk. I feel much more abstract now."
If the MS Users are all posting in .doc binaries then we could just set our newsreaders to killfile all Outlook posts, and the Outlook users could killfile all those meanies who post in old fashioned text and we could happily ignore each other.
.doc then maybe the spammers would switch over to .doc and then all the old Unix/Linux geeks would be rid of the spam problem forever!
(Problem with that is I'm still using tin which doesn't have very sophisticated filtering. I really need to learn a better newsreader.)
Anyway, if all the Outlook users were posting in
(OK, I'm an optimist.)
The main reason why I would want to use a program like this is so that when I play mp3s on random that I don't have to be continually re-adjusting the volume between every song. Not to mention if a "loud" song plays after a "quiet" song.
/. because I don't really post all that often. I think I still have stuff on my userpage from y2k.)
And Laurie Anderson's United States Live Parts 1-4 is recorded particularly "quiet." You seem to imply that I can adjust the volume when I rip the CDs to start with?
How do you do that? If I ripped them at a louder then I wouldn't need this program to adjust them.
(Or I could just RTFM for Grip, but then I'm just using this as an excuse to post to
1. They are Neo-pagan and like to have their familier(s) near them while they record.
2. It is experimental music and cats are involved in some, but not all of the music.
3. You never know what is going to provide inspiration.
Quote from IndustrialNation #16 interview with Edward Ka-Spel:
I bet the Python skit actually increased sales! But I can honestly say that receiving unsolicited email has never given me the craving for their canned meat product.
It might have increased sales, but I doubt that it increased people consuming their product.
Why am I posting this?
I hardly ever post at all and now I'm posting something like this that is completely pointless.
I think I might as well start posting to usenet again. I don't care how bad the spam is anymore.
I've been wondering what Sarah Michelle Geller was going to do next with her career.
Not to say that you did the wrong thing, on the street I'm OK, but even as an adult I'm a bit disturbed when dealing with "ragged strangers" at my home.... but reading your post I recalled that in Arizona it is against the law to refuse to give water to someone that asks.
(Not only is this getting really off topic, but that's a pretty bad run-on sentence.)
The law dates back to the gold prospecting days, but the reality of dehydration in Arizona still makes it a usefull law.
Replying to posts from meta-moderation is a great way to randomize your posts.
Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. ~Steven Wright
(Is it funny if I'm quoting someone?)
Interesting system and it sounds like it works good (or is that "works well"), but while reading this I kept thinking why not have 3 testers so that you can have a majority and minority report.
But then what do you do if you get 3 minority reports? It's probably less expensive to weed out the inconsistant graders from pairs, and maybe more effective. Not to mention the risk of getting sucked into a PKD universe.
Will this comment be reviewed for grammar?
I've been reading Noam Chomsky's Lettersw from Lexington, and need to look up the right quote that explains this.....
-- Noam Chomsky, August 12, 1991
I'm not really into Black Sabbath.
m
How about some Skinny Puppy?
I've tried to parse it in the right places, but it is a chaotic song, even for Skinny Puppy.
For an interpretation of the samples and non-printed lyrics to the song, go here:
http://www.monmouth.com/~sgoldberg/songs/vxgas.ht
Note that this song was released in 1988.
Welcome to the morning news. In its long and deadly war with Iraq, Iran has repeatedly sought international condemnation of Baghdad's alledged use of chemical weapons. The Iranians have ??? the opportunity to make their case. A city in eastern Iraq, recently occupied by Iranian forces, (?captured ??? by the siege?), according to Iran, the Iraqis bombed the city with chemical weapons. After the defeat the Iranians said the attack killed more than four thousand civilians. Welcome to the VX Gas Attack.
at ground zero
pro independence
heavier than air fumes
city of chemical
alleged cyanide gas
on to karbala
what is the difference between israel's plight
a belief in outside
influence like scalding water
a side effect of
their faces and lungs burn
a sudden harsh smell
2 weeks after still coughing and choking livid skin blisters burn often
posters leaflets nightly radio and television programs
dead instructions in the use of such basic devices as a damp towel lined with charcoal to be applied to the face and mouth when the beep beep beep gas attack warning signal
sounds the dead were among porcelain
face of cloud of frozen gas poison
jagged fragment jew iranian iraqi bombs sun
the first cyanide gas warning vx nerve gas
I've definately met some really stupid potheads over the years, but I've met some smart potheads too. And then if they are really smart, you are not aware they are potheads in the first place.
One of the latest Partnership ads in this series shows a crash test dummy crash in reverse, and at the end it says "1/3 of those tested, tested positive for marijuana after accidents."
They see, to be implying that 1/3 of accidents are caused by people smoking pot, or for people even more clueless about statistics, that 1/3 of people who smoke pot get in car accidents. Anyway, even assuming that that is a correct statistic it only means that, 1/3 of those in car accidents, that were suspected of drug use, and therefore tested, tested positive.
Not to metion, as you pointed out, most people that smoke pot also drink alcohol at the same time. These two drugs combined make you even more dangerous to drive than either drug alone. And anyone that is stupid enough to smoke pot and drive is also probably stupid enough to drink and drive.
I realize that most statistics quoted in the mainstream media are worthless, but sheesh!
Consider that the supposed goal of the Partnership ads is to actually reduce drug use.... Hasn't it been repeatedly shown that scare tactics just don't work? Especially when they are more or less lying? I've heard that these tactics don't effect the use of "soft" drugs, but they do effect the use of hard drugs because kids figure if the powers that be were lying about pot, they were lying heroin too.
(I gotta look up referances to this stuff if I'm going to quote it but it's late.)
Getting even more off topic, in the city I live in we have the bizarre situation where the police crack down on pot users, but practically ignore heroin use. And they are especially dilligent in cracking down on people who are home owners who have good jobs and make good money, ie. people who are neither a threat nor a burden to the community.
(Do we get enough opportunities to rant about the disaster that is drug prohibition?)
That's a sticker that I've ironically put on my car.
But I do ride my bicycle to work nearly every day.
When the Partnership ads came out, I was thinking a more interesting parody would be "Everytime you buy gasoline, you are supporting terrorism." I'd like to put that on my car, but wonder how the gas station attendance might react. And I feel like I've been lazy, using my car to see my girlfriend, or pick up groceries. It was a lot easier when I didn't have a choice by owning a car.
Anyway, I think a lot of the animosity about SUVs is that in a car you can't see around the darn things, as well as that many of them are badly designed and very dangerous. (And ironically people buy them because they feel safer in them.) My father has one of the better designed SUVs, that is built on a car chasis, and even driving that I felt like I had to be very careful about rollover. (Is this getting off topic enough yet?)
Anyway, I've that "They" say that if we could just have better efficancy, we would be able to support all our gasoline needs without needing to import. So while it might be a misguided tactic to focus on SUV drivers, fuel efficancy is part of the cumulative effect. Just like riding a bicycle whenever you can plays a part.
And I do appreciate the information from the web site you refer to, and I'll try to avoid gas stations that use Middle East oil, just like I do not do business with Shell because of their actions in Nigeria. (hmmm.... just thought, I wonder if Shell has anything to do with those 419 scams? Nah!)
Fortunately, fearless leader already has a plan to save us from the moon falling out of orbit and destroying our way of life.
(At least free cards like the Safeway[tm] Club Card.)
Mine says Emanual Goldstein.
Winston Smith might be more appropriate. I'm not sure.
Act like nothing's wrong.
(Of course now that I've posted this on the internet they can find out who I really am. I'm sure I'm the only one in the whole world to ever think of this.)
Maybe the spammer should be forced to personally write a check for 40 cents to each and every person he spammed?
(Better not have an account with per check fees)
Skinny Puppy!
(replying to posts at random)
The United States government supported Osama bin Laden. We funded, armed and trained his forces, both in war and terrorism. We helped build his terrorist army to fight a superpower, the Soviet Union. I don't like communism, but our politicians created a monster in Afghanistan. Now it seems that monster has attacked us.
Those that are now protesting against the bombing in Afghanistan condemned the Taliban long before tragedy of September 11. And yet the United States continued to fund them through May of this year.
I do think that something should be done about the Taliban's tyranny, but you have to realize that the Afghans are the first victims, not our enemies.
If we are really to put an end to terrorism we must stop our politicians from creating terrorists in the first place.
This is hard to say but I feel like I have to say something.
It goes without saying that this has been a terrible day.
The loss of life, and a horrible way to die.
However, I'm even more terrible than the acts of terrorism
are the possible reactions to these acts.
We cannot afford to become reactionary. We cannot afford to lose
our heads. I overhead some co-workers making racist comments today.
Being multi-ethic and Jewish that rather upset me. Well, I don't
have to be Jewish to be intolerant of racial prejudice, but it does
make me feel even more threatened since some people are equally
racist against Jews as Arabs and Muslims. So I take it personally.
Anyway, above all, as Americans in this crisis,
_WE NEED TO KEEP OUR HEADS_
This is a crisis but we must not let our emotions get out of control
or the reaction will be worse than what happened today.
At the very least we need to wait for due process of law and
have proof of who really committed these atrocities. We cannot tolerate
harassment and violence against ethnic minorities who may be blamed.
If it does turn out that the Osama Bin Ladin is responsible for this
that we cannot tolerate the bombing of civilian populations in Afghanistan.
The Taliban is a fascist government. Many of the Afghanistan people
are against the Taliban but they do not exactly have the same freedoms
of free speech and assembly that we enjoy in this country. Bombing
civilian targets in Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Yugoslavia etc. etc. etc.
is just as bad as the atrocities American experienced today.
Understand that the mainstream corporate media does not widely report
what our government has done to countries around the world. Also consider
that our government is partially responsible for placing the Taliban in
power by supporting them during the Soviet Union's war with Afghanistan.
Most likely the terrorists who committed these atrocities today
are only out for revenge. They have no other motive and they feel
like they have nothing to lose. We cannot win a war against small
groups of people who are only out for revenge. We need to think
very thoroughly about the calls to war and what it will really mean.
This has been a terrible terrible day. History might show this to be
a day of great change. Now we must decide whether that change will
be for better or for worse. We need to mourn our losses. I hope
that I can appeal to our better nature. That we as Americans will
not give into the madness of this terrible day. I hope that we will
rally around the call for peace instead of the call for revenge
that would be the downfall of us all.
I know that some may take my statements as derogatory.
Please think about what I have said. While I am critical of
some of the actions of our government, I do love this country.
I say what I say is because despite what has happened today
and in the past I still hope for the best.
My prayers go out for the victims, their friends and family,
the spirit of our country, and for the entire world.
Yes, I'm one of those kooks, but it's not what you think.
You see, we had been on the moon even before JFK made that speech, but I'll tell you, the moon isn't what you think it is. I can't tell you what its actually like because well, because!
Anyway, Richard Nixon got involved and they faked it so that the masses would be satified, and yet no one would no the horrible secret. Only Hello Kitty protects us from what really lies on the moon.
"Well, pardon me for breathing, which I don't do anyway, so I don't know why I bother apologizing and Oh god I'm so depressed."
-- Marvin the Robot
(Your plastic pal whose fun to be with.)