One-Trick Ponies

Pakistan hunt for blast survivors
Rescuers in Pakistan have been working into the night to search for survivors in the rubble left by a car bomb at a school being used as a polling station.

At least 33 people died in the attack during a by-election in the north-western district of Buner, on the edge of the restive Swat valley.

The bomb destroyed the school, trapping people under the rubble. Two police were among the dead and 15 hurt.

The Taleban say it was in response to an attack on their fighters.

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Children killed in Afghan attack
A suicide bomber has hit a government building in eastern Afghanistan, killing 16 people, 14 of them children, local police said.

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Suicide blast kills 6, wounds 36 Afghans
KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed six people, including four children, and wounded 36 others in the southeastern Afghan province of Khost on Sunday, a provincial official said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, part of the worst spate of violence in Afghanistan this year, itself the bloodiest period since the militants were overthrown in 2001.

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Is this really the way to get things changed? Look, muz dudes, this terrorist bombing stuff ain't working (okay, Spain was an exception), so how 'bout trying a different tack? Doing the same thing over and over and over again, year in and year out, is getting old and you have all become just a parody of yourselves. No one takes you seriously and more bombings just reconfirm your perceived status as a bunch of ham-handed, cloddish, dolts.

Take a tip from an American who has watched the ploy I'm going to tell you about work for decades in America and you'll have a better chance of accomplishing your goals, whatever they are (it's difficult to tell anymore with all of the smoke and body fragments everywhere): re-cast yourselves in the role of the victim. That's right, it's just that simple. Play your part well, with all of the insincere sincerity you can muster, and you'll eventually have the world eating out of your hand and smooching your hairy backside. Then, hire a stable of legal whores (lawyers) to carpet bomb and clog the world's courts with your petitions of woe and you're well on your way to whatever it is you're striving for (Israel's destruction?).

Of course, this method is not as exciting as blowing up men, women, and children, but if your goal is to achieve your goals, it's the only real chance you have. Good luck, and may the force, or whatever it is you believe in, be with you.

Take care.
DAL357

P.S. The photo above is not from any of the bombings of the news blurbs above. It's from yet another terrorist bombing, this one being the attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan on 6-2-2008.

And so this is Christmas

However you conceive of the holiday, a very merry Christmas to you and yours! May you have many, many more to come.

Take care.
DAL357

Bush administration finally throws gun owners a bone

According to this story, the Bush administration is throwing an 11th hour lagniappe to gun owners in the form of reversing a quarter-century-old federal rule that essentially banned the carrying of loaded guns in national parks.

Good, GW, now what else do you have in your sack of gifts for the folks who were instrumental in electing you not once, but twice, to the White House? Anything?

As might be expected, the gun banners are predicting catastrophe once the new ruling is enacted. I especially love the following quote by career politician Dianne Feinstein:

"The Reagan-era rules have stood the test of time and make our national parks safe for all who visit them," [emphasis mine] Feinstein said. "The Bush administration changes will make our national parks more dangerous and will upset the delicate balance that exists between park visitors and wildlife."

Well, not quite safe for all, Miss Ruling Elite. Check out this link to a story from back in 2000 about some brutal murders in Yosemite National Park. Your precious gun ban didn't help those four women, did it?

Regardless, this is a good thing and it looks like I know where I'll be spending at least part of my summer next year: in one of the National Parks here in Colorado...finally.

Take care.
DAL357

Crushing bargain

By now, you've no doubt read/heard the story about the Wal-Mart 34-year-old employee who was trampled to death by customers clamoring to get into the Long Island, New York store for smokin' Black Friday bargains. I'm not going to go into commentary about how I can just imagine the fat cows/great unwashed squeezing through a portal to retail heaven and letting nothing, least of all a fellow human being, stand in their way. No, instead I'm going to relate my experience, albeit a small one, with a crushing crowd.

My father being in the military, I attended high school in Germany in the 1970s. He was stationed about an hour outside of Frankfurt, Germany and all high school students were bussed to the big (well over 1,000 students) American high school in Frankfurt. Three buses ferried the students from our small town, Butzbach, to school. When the buses arrived in the morning, groups of students would pool around the door to each, and that's when the fun began. Kids were so intent on getting on the bus first that those in the front were pushed by those behind them, who were in turn pushed by those behind them. This added up to a lot of pressure and I was unlucky enough, once, to get caught in the middle of this mass. It hurt! The ordeal went on for only a few seconds, but it seemed so much longer, and I recall not being able to take a breath because of all of the weight pressing in on me from all sides. This episode taught me two lessons about crowds I've never forgotten: One, people shed any sense of personal responsibility while in them, which makes crowds extremely dangerous. Two, avoid them like the plague if at all possible.

For what they're worth, my condolences go out to this man's family. Here was a guy just trying to make an honest buck and he gets the life squeezed out of him by "bargain" hunters. Although it's too early to know whether any of the perpetrators who directly caused this man's death will be held accountable for their actions, or if they can even be identified, I'm sure I speak for all decent people everywhere when I say the following: may whatever you bought that day bring you only the deepest grief and misery.

Take care.
DAL357