This article was written a long time ago, when Bin Laden was still alive. It is, however, just as relevant today with ISIS as it was back then: Terrorist Strategy 101: A QuizThe two most relevant points ( Read more... )

Various news outlets remain confused as to whether or not the San Bernardino shooting earlier this week was terrorism or workplace violence. In support of the later, the shooter worked with these people and apparently had an argument with one of them, left the event, and returned with guns. On the other hand, he'd had guns, pipe bombs and the ( Read more... )

Like the label on the tin says:

1) From Frank Rich Thomas Frank, How a gang of right-wing con men destroyed Washington and made a killing. Basically, the College Republicans of the 1980s went into business - the business of politics ( Read more... )

Thought #1

Various gun people will tell you that "an armed society is a polite society." By that standard, modern-day Somalia must be the most polite country in the world, and the post Civil War American west the most polite era in American history.

Thought #2We frequently call terrorists "cowardly" even those that launch suicide attacks. Now, ( Read more... )

Random links, presented randomly:

A) Interesting trivia about WWII - True fact: The last Nazi SS troops defending Berlin were…French. The Nazis were very concerned about racial purity when the war was going well, but by 1943, they changed their tune and busily recruited everybody they could find. This "everybody" included Indians from then ( Read more... )

Occasionally, somebody else says something to which my only response is "that's just what I would have said." From here, today brings one of those cases. The topic is targeted drone strikes overseas against US citizens ( Read more... )

Over the weekend, I went to see Zero Dark Thirty, the Academy-Award-nominated movie about the hunt to find and kill Bin Laden. I highly recommend it ( Read more... )

Like the label on the tin says...

A) Coming home from work yesterday, the road leading to my house was blocked. Three ambulances, two cop cars and two fire trucks were called out for an acid spill at the local wading pool.

B) Gollancz, the SF and Fantasy imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, announces the launch of the world's largest digital ( Read more... )

Because they're cluttering up my web browser, that's why.

1) The California Vikings?. Actually, evidence suggesting that some of the American Indians came by boat.

2) One of the things that is becoming apparent to me is that advanced civilizations tend to be much more efficient in their use of resources, including energy. Exhibit # 5343? using ( Read more... )

A few additional thoughts:

1) In a perfect world, Bin Laden would have been captured alive. Since we don't live anywhere near perfect, as the commercial goes, Bin Laden dead and buried in the ocean is more than adequate for me.

Two thoughts from Top Ten Myths About Bin Laden's Death:

2) Bush 43 did not spend his time hunting Bin Laden. In ( Read more... )