Last night and this morning in the U.S., people no doubt are wrapping their heads around the announcement that Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces yesterday. The question now becomes--will that change anything?
If we still are occupying Afghanistan and Iraq, if U.S. lives and treasure are still being squandered there, what did this accomplish?
Now do we bring our fellow citizens home, or does the war against Oceania Eastasia continue?
Will we still look upon torture as a good thing?
My entire adult life, with the possible exception of the Clinton era (then, no ground troops were in combat), we have been on a war footing, first against the Soviet Bloc, then against 'terror.' When does it end?
I can already imagine the proud warhawks arguing that the fight goes on. After all, bin Laden had a second in command. And that second in command will have a key aid. And... But will the rest of us finally enforce some sanity?
Or will the war--actually wars--against Oceania Eastasia continue? Because I am very tired of this:
Celebrate and have a good time, but the wars will go on, the 4th amendment is still a dead letter, the 1st amendment is on life support, the economy is in the toilet, gas is over $4 a barrel, Democrats and Republicans are still negotiating how fast to cut your SS and Medicare, unions are still being gutted, schools are still being turned into profit centers, and TSA agents will still touch your junk.
Surely, it is time for peace? Or at least, a respite from war.
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Oceania?
I buy gas by the gallon... would be heaven if I could find a barrel of gas for $4, and strangely enough in over 200,000 miles flown, not a single TSA agent has touched my junk.
DRK @1: Mike was trying for a 1984 reference there, but didn't get it quite right. We are Oceania. We are allied with Eurasia and at war with Eastasia, and have always been allied with Eurasia and at war with Eastasia. At least, until the day we suddenly find ourselves at war with Eurasia, at which point we will always have been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia.
Good thought, but prepare for many, many more years of cognitive dissonance...
"Will we still look upon torture as a good thing?"
It sounds like, from what few details I saw floating around the news this morning, that this was accomplished by plain old-fashioned lead-following and detective work. While it apparently took some time, it would seem to strengthen the case that results can be achieved by conventional methods and torture is indeed unnecessary.
No, Al-Qaeda will not immediately fold up and blow away, but I think this will weaken them. The ones who are left to take over probably will not be able to fill bin Laden's sandals, as it were. It should mean we can accelerate our withdrawal from those areas, but I wouldn't hold my breath over that.
But Who will be Goldberg now??
K.I.S.S. NO.
Longer answer; if there are any well-paying jobs left in the USA, they are probably in the arms business.
Al Qaeda is now a franchise operation, and is going strong...well, with the minor exception that they never saw the upheaval in the Arab world coming. Mind you, neither did any of the Western world's intelligence agencies, so we can give them a pass on that one. And now they have their own founder as a martyr. Good marketing tool.
The 1st Amendment? Ref Ben Franklin and his quote about about exchanging freedom for security.
What does matter, to most voter(it seems), is the 2nd Amendment, and that is going from strength to strength. USA, USA!
Fuel prices are more a reflection of heightened demand caused by the rise of China and India. You are still paying sweet fuck all, compared to Europe. By the way, that is one reason why any European car will get better mileage than the "gas-guzzlers" you insist on producing.
It sounds like, from what few details I saw floating around the news this morning, that this was accomplished by plain old-fashioned lead-following and detective work. While it apparently took some time, it would seem to strengthen the case that results can be achieved by conventional methods and torture is indeed unnecessary.DRK @1: Mike was trying for a 1984 reference there, but didn't get it quite right. We are Oceania. We are allied with Eurasia and at war with Eastasia, and have always been allied with Eurasia and at war with Eastasia. At least, until the day we suddenly find ourselves at war with Eurasia, at which point we will always have been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia.
Will we still look upon torture as a good thing?"
It sounds like, from what few details I saw floating around the news this morning, that this was accomplished by plain old-fashioned lead-following and detective work. While it apparently took some time, it would seem to strengthen the case that results can be achieved by conventional methods and torture is indeed unnecessary.
No, Al-Qaeda will not immediately fold up and blow away, but I think this will weaken them. The ones who are left to take over probably will not be able to fill bin Laden's sandals, as it were. It should mean we can accelerate our withdrawal from those areas, but I wouldn't hold my breath over that.
Hola turksek
It sounds like, from what few details I saw floating around the news this morning, that this was accomplished by plain old-fashioned lead-following and detective work. While it apparently took some time, it would seem to strengthen the case that results can be achieved by conventional methods and torture is indeed unnecessary.DRK @1: Mike was trying for a 1984 reference there, but didn't get it quite right. We are Oceania. We are allied with Eurasia and at war with Eastasia, and have always been allied with Eurasia and at war with Eastasia. At least, until the day we suddenly find ourselves at war with Eurasia, at which point we will always have been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia.
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The 1st Amendment? Ref Ben Franklin and his quote about about exchanging freedom for security.
What does matter, to most voter(it seems), is the 2nd Amendment, and that is going from strength to strength. USA, USA!
Fuel prices are more a reflection of heightened demand caused by the rise of China and India. You are still paying sweet fuck all, compared to Europe. By the way, that is one reason why any European car will get better mileage than the "gas-guzzlers" you insist on producing.
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It sounds like, from what few details I saw floating around the news this morning, that this was accomplished by plain old-fashioned lead-following and detective work. While it apparently took some time, it would seem to strengthen the case that results can be achieved by conventional methods and torture is indeed unnecessary.
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