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Letters
Tuesday, February 5, 2008 12:00 AM

Fun and games with terrorist threats

Al-Qaida is coming ... Al-Qaida is coming ... Al-Qaida is coming.

The letters thread is now closed.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:13 PM

@ Derbig Mooser

You make a valid and worrisome argument. Just because Hillary and Barack promise they will start getting out immediately after taking office, doesn’t mean it will happen. McCain is going to call his opponent weak, traitor, un-American and anything else he can come up with to force our candidate into backing off some on his/her primary promise. The genius Petraeus will be called on to explain how leaving when the surge is working and after all those sacrifices have been made just can’t be an option. McCain will say that his military comrades can’t be made to watch all their sacrifice go down the drain. McCain is a one trick pony on the war just like Rudy was on 9/11.

Since he has no other real selling point, McCain will try to take over Obama’s main selling points that he can unite and stop the division and represents real change. As long as he remains tied to the Busheviks because of his war support and he doesn’t drop 20 years in age, we can tie him to all the major Bush disasters and unlawful conduct.

The larger the margin of victory for the Democratic candidate, the easier it will be to try and hold to the War promise. That is why we all need to do what we can to trounce the Repugs in the congress as well as the executive branch.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:26 PM

@WT, Ondelette

As digital photos improve, and we have the bandwidth to transmit higher-quality recordings, who's to say that the digital trade-offs we now accept won't go the way of Wonder bread as well.

Please excuse a bit of criticism, you two can express ideas orders of magnitude better than I can, but there is a bit of the luddite in both of you, in different ways. Digital video may have been pushed into the market a bit early, but it is certainly vastly superior to film in its potential and even in practice now in some ways. The digital revolution in audio was about 25 years ago, and the instant superiority of CDs was apparent, but we still have folks who worship scratchy plastic records, and highly (but pleasantly) colored tube amplifiers. (OK, guitar amps need the coloration, but not stereo HiFI, and the compression in audio recordings for transmission is unacceptable, but this is, as WT says, temporary.) How much of the superiority of film is just in being keyed to its particular limitations and strengths?

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:32 PM

Arnie L.a 'cheers

I just am testing the neighbors computers. I pretend my part time job is determining

what the daily color and flavor should be based on if there are jumping beans or peanuts in peoples computers.

Today's color code:

Lime Lie Green.

Pisstaschip-o

Al-Scream-0.

ice-creme-o. Cheerer-o

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:34 PM

Bucky-1

You mentioned LBJ a few posts ago.

Have you ever been there?

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:34 PM

Oh, Mona!

You are forgiven.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:38 PM

"WTF! WTF!" bin Laden is Dead! And He worked for the CIA! The Council of Intergalactic Aliens!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGAOH_E3aQQ

Stupid Americans. The truth is that Aliens have taken over the planet! Wake up before it is too late! The New Otherworld Order! Help!!!!!

Osama Bin Laden rumors

In an interview given to David Frost in November 2007, Benazir Bhutto states that Osama bin Laden was killed by Omar Sheikh. [16]. Omar Chatriwala, a journalist for Al Jazeera English, claims that he chose not to pursue the story at the time because it was an apparent slip of the tongue. [17]. A month before Frost interview, in Oct 2007, Bhutto stated in an interview that she would cooperate with the American military in targeting Osama bin Laden.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Omar_Saeed_Sheikh#Osama_Bin_Laden_rumors

Bhutto and Bin Laden in the rumor mill

http://www.shardmedia.com/syntheticjungle/?p=319

(...)

I admit, when I first heard her say it in early November, I did a double-take. I remember asking someone else in the newsroom if she just said “the man who killed bin Laden”. As if by coincidence, a transcript of the interview was sitting next to my desk.

While she did say what I (and now lots of others) thought she said, and which at first got me wondering what memo I had missed, what seemed evident, both from reading the transcript and re-watching the clip, was that she simply misspoke, meaning to say “the man who killed [WSJ reporter] Daniel Pearl” - which Omar Sheikh is accused of - in such a matter of fact tone, because it is well known.

It appears she didn’t realize what she said. Even Frost, that ever-cunning interviewer, seems to have missed it.

Speaking not for the Al Jazeera network, but for myself - as a journalist - I can say that the question should have been cleared up in the interview. But why I chose not to pursue the story: Not because of a conspiracy or a cover-up, but because it was an apparent slip of the tongue.

But for the rest of the internets, Digg if you love a good conspiracy!

Addendum: Also worth noting is this theory’s appearance on the Osama bin Laden Wikipedia entry.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:40 PM

Think

"You see, Watson, the value of imagination is the one quality which Inspector Gregory lacks. We imagined what might have happened, acted upon the supposition, and find ourselves justified."

---Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Granada Television

Based on stories by Arthur Conan Doyle

~~~

Holmes always worked independently of Scotland Yard. He worked only with the support of Dr. Watson, relying as well on Mrs. Hudson, who maintained Holmes' London flat at 221-B Baker Street.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:42 PM

Kitt is an Alien!

And Mona said "coon".... Heh. Heheh-heh.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:46 PM

Gooooood Celery-O

like yours too. always need good celery. kind to the mind.

gotta shuffle, though i'd gladly welcome apathy. just won't stick.

Cezanne shuffled, though he said; "I think, everything is lost." still, he shuffled to the end.

wonder, often, are you & bebop one?

hope you didn't find too many crawlers in the hard-drive...

it's all in the cards. double-down on double-think.

democracy hangs on by a silver-fine thread...

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:47 PM

It may surprise some of you to find out that Timbaman

is an alien.

Is bebop an Alien?

He is alien even to the aliens!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:50 PM

Earth to Bucky1! Come in, Bucky1!

Bucky1 is an earthman in orbit.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 03:55 PM

bebop stuck on celery good or not

Anonymust recommended Salon employee Sam Porter to me for unraveling aspects of my account. I'd recommend you email him.

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