It's a "Holy crap it feels like somebody shot me in the back!" kind of Bullet Sunday this week. Fortunately I have really good drugs to put me out of my misery so I can (hopefully) get some healing sleep tonight. Let's see how many bullets I have in me before I drop off...
• Quandary. As somebody who attempts to live my life according to Buddhist precepts, it is not possible for me to take joy in the death of any living thing. So call me unAmerican if you wish, but all I can think of today is the chain of events which began on September 11, 2001 and the horrific loss of life which continues to this day because of it. One more death on the pile... no matter how much one believes it was deserved... is not going to suddenly make everything better in my head. And I'm not sure how I should feel about that. About the only thing I can feel right now is regret. Not that an asshole terrorist and mass-murderer is dead, but that humanity has failed so badly for us to have gotten to this point.
• Accomplished? I keep running across people on the internet who are amused that today's news falls precisely eight years after a banner above former president George W. Bush's head declared "Mission Accomplished"...
Am I a tin-hat wearing conspiracy nut if I admit that the first thing that came to mind after first reading this was "Wow. That's really convenient!" Because, seriously, if you wanted to (further) embarrass President Bush over the failure to capture Public Enemy #1 on his watch, wouldn't this be the ideal way to do it? Hmmmmmm. Nah, it's most certainly just a coincidence. Especially when you consider Hitler's death was also announced on a May 1st. Irony can be so ironic sometimes.
• Who? Can I just say that Dr. Who under the brilliant mind of Stephen Moffat has evolved to one of the single best shows ever to air on television? I'm not kidding. The two-part season opener was jaw-droppingly amazing in every possible way...
If you have even a passing interest in really good sci-fi, this show is a must-see.
• Magnum! Another import that's well worth checking out? Magnum ice cream bars! It was just over two years ago I mentioned their advertising featuring Eva Longoria when I was in Germany...
And now they have arrived here in the USA! If you happen across the "Almond" variety, which is covered in chocolate with crazy-delicious large chunks of almonds, it is about the best-tasting thing you'll ever eat. Unless you're allergic to nuts. Then it's about the most deadly thing you'll ever eat.
Annnd... my meds are starting to kick in. That's kind of a bummer, because I didn't get to all the bullets I had jotted down. Oh well. Something to blog about tomorrow, I guess.
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This goes to show how little I watch the news, because I didn’t know about the death ntil now. Like you, it saddens me. It doesn’t have to be this way. It only adds to the fire.
And yet, from a tactical standpoint, it shows that the terrorist movement is not infallible and that any claims of a deity being on their side really can’t be the case. On the other hand, you are 100% correct. The flames are just growing higher.
I would have rather they caught Bin Laden alive and brought his ass over here for a trial. Yes it would have been costly, and yes it would have taken 2x the effort, but now we’re gonna have conspiracy theorists saying he’s still alive, there’s no body, no proof, and even if they did have a body to bring back now we’ve made the bastard a martyr to his followers. Great, we just gave them a rallying symbol to go out and cause more havoc to. Sigh….
I am relatively certain that proof would have been provided to ally governments just to make sure that everybody knows it wasn’t some kind of hoax. There is a disturbing photograph circulating which, while not conclusive proof, certainly makes a conspiracy theory harder.
That being said, I absolutely agree. It would have been much, much better if he could have faced justice in a very public way. But, apparently, it wasn’t possible.
Have you watched/enjoyed Torchwood? Because I’ve tried half a dozen times, but I just can’t get into Dr. Who. Torchwood, on the other hand, might be one of my favorite shows of all time. I can’t wait for the new season.
And yeah…this past 12 hours or so has been surreal.
Oh absolutely! In fact, before this past season of Doctor Who, I vastly preferred Torchwood to the series which spawned it. Like you, I can hardly wait for the new season!
One thing that has bothered me for years is people getting worked up about the “Mission Accomplished” banner on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
That banner was put up by the Lincoln’s crew to commemorate the Lincoln’s achievement, which was the completion of a 10 month carrier tour, which was a significant accomplishment.
Well… maybe. That was the reason originally given, and so that’s what it has ended up being in our history books. But, later on, there was information that came forward which kind of disproved this. At first it was said that the banner was entirely the Navy crew’s idea and they made it and hung it. The Bush administration later admitted that they produced the banner but the Navy crew hung it up. Even later, they admitted that they were the ones who hung it up, but it was at the request of the Navy crew.
Now, couple this ever-changing story with a statement by Defense Secretary Rumsfield about how he removed the phrase “Mission Accomplished” from an advance copy of the presidents speech because it was “too conclusive.” Now it looks like it was all Bush all the time, because the speech was “fixed” but they forgot the banner.
Of course, everybody makes mistakes. President Bush himself says he regretted the banner being there as it conveyed the wrong message. But since that was from an interview in 2008, who knows if this is looking through history with rose-colored glasses and perhaps he really did believe the war was over at that moment.
In any event, the whole media circus where he dropped in wearing that flight suit like he walked off the set of “Top Gun” made the sign redundant.
I have been dismayed with the gleeful joy people are displaying over the death of Bin Laden. A civilized society should not celebrate death, no matter how deserving. Oh, I guess that’s my answer- lately, I haven’t seen much evidence that we live in a civilized society.
Don’t put away that tinfoil hat just yet. Where’s the proof? No pictures, a quick burial at sea… convenient indeed!
One news report had a very disturbing photo for confirmation… but I guess even that’s not overwhelming proof in this digital age.
The photo on the internet of a bloody Bin Laden is faked. I saw the source photo and it is from many years ago- thus the lack of grey in his beard.
Hey! A little “Just for Men” coloring can remove the gray in just 5 minutes!
5 minutes?! OK, I withdraw my comment. The photo is obviously authentic. What was I thinking?
Greetings Dave II,
A few of things come to mind:
A quick burial at sea in order to honor Muslim law? Seriously? When did we start honoring Muslim anything? It all sounds very convenient. Maybe too much so.
And I was saddened by all of the photos of the people celebrating like it was some kind of frat party. Although most of the pictures I saw were just a bunch of drunk frat boys.
Not very civilized. Not the kind of reaction “I” would expect from the so called greatest country in the world. How about a little empathy for the continued and ongoing loss of life over something I find not worth killing or dying for. Religion, oil, politics, etc. Silly power games played by people who are detached from the actual tragedies that they are perpetuating
And, most importantly…Where did the little girl come from and how is she a Time Lord? I couldn’t sleep the other night thinking about it. I had to watch both episodes again trying to piece it together. I love Stephen Moffat. He had me with Coupling, but the new Dr. Who is Awesome. And Amy Pond might be the best companion ever. I do love red heads.
Did I say that out loud?
OK then, those are my thoughts.
Thanks for your time.
.
Amy Pond is indeed sublime. But she could have so easily been sabotaged if Rory was a idiotic prat. But, amazingly enough, Rory is just as good a companion as Amy, and I really like the way that the two of them balance out The Doctor.
And then there’s River Song… 🙂
I’m having a hard time with all the celebrating and joking and politicizing of this. I can understand how those who lost loved ones on 9/11 would feel a sense of retribution or closure, and I completely respect that. But like you I am not going to celebrate the death of anything, most especially another human. I am not sorry he’s dead, but I don’t feel happy either.
Which pretty much sums up my feelings. 🙁
I don’t believe the conspiracy stuff – I think they killed him, and I could care less if he’s buried at sea. Do people need proof of war victims? No. Weird.
Anyway, I am now wishing I had a Magnum ice cream, but I admit my first thought was condoms. 🙂
They should give you a free Magnum condom with every Magnum ice cream! Then there wouldn’t be any confusion!
I did not celebrate that man’s death, but I cannot help but feel a sense of relief, the sense that perhaps, given other things going on in that region, we are approaching a corner to turn. Maybe not, but somehow it feels that way.
Capturing Bin Laden and trying him would have been great, but I always imagined that there was no way he would have allowed himself to be taken alive.
Or, even worse, what his followers might have done to reclaim him.
If it makes any difference, it was already May 2 in Pakistan.
Ha! That’s right! Though there’s the Tea Party who thinks that President Obama deliberately timed his announcement so it would interrupt Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” show as it was airing, so there’s always conspiracy theories to be found if you keep looking! 🙂
River song is a lovely bonus and I do like Rory the Roman. He is a nice addition. Another immortal, much like Captain Jack.
Rory’s Auton duplicate which housed his consciousness did manage to “live” 2000 years, which I guess is pretty close to immortal by human standards!
I thought it was wrong to cheer and celebrate the death of bin Laden. Glad he is gone, but it seemed too much to cheer in the streets. After all, we didn’t like it when the extremists did it on 9/11.
As for that Magnum ice cream, I’ve seen the latest ads and seriously think it’s about condoms each and every time.
I dunno… they were celebrating the deaths of thousands of innocent lives. The people here were celebrating the death of a mass murderer and terrorist.
I find celebrating death kind of sad, but I suppose I understand why somebody would be moved to do so in this case… especially if they lived through the terrorist attacks on 9-11. Still, you’re right. It would be nice if we were above this.
Hell yes. Doctor who was mind blowing.
“I’m dying. But it’s quite alright. I can fix that.”
I nearly fell off my seat at that moment.
I loved Doctor Who, but I would suggest that Moffat’s “Sherlock” was even better. I can’t remember if you’ve written about that yet.