three things and leftover pecan pie

[lagilman]

1. The Good: Happy (almost belated) birthday, deire! Hope it was a dramallama-free day...

2. The Bad: Watching the news, we're left still wondering at who might actually be behind the terrorist attacks, and why they chose the targets they did. My mother (who knows a bit about the region, professionally) and I have both been thinking 'something about all this doesn't quite make sense...' I mean, as much as terrorism ever makes sense-as-sane-people-see-it. The actions and the politics and the probable/intended results aren't quite aligning yet. *sighs* I don't think humanity is ever going to get its collective shit together, no. We're still territorial apes, no matter if we're trampling each other for the sake of saving $ in our holiday shopping or shooting each other in cold blood over geo-political religious differences. *despairs*

3. The comic relief: this? Cracked me up.

http://www.henryhemp.com/node/3010

"OTTAWA — Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China...The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly "cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany....The 18 researchers, most of them based in China, subjected the cannabis to a battery of tests, including carbon dating and genetic analysis. Scientists also tried to germinate 100 of the seeds found in the cache, without success."

Humanity can be amusing and playful apes, too. Pity we don't do more of that.

Comments

[robling-t.livejournal.com]

'something about all this doesn't quite make sense...' I mean, as much as terrorism ever makes sense-as-sane-people-see-it. The actions and the politics and the probable/intended results aren't quite aligning yet.

My hunch has been that it's a set-up: some group who's also mad at the Usual Suspects is trying to provoke the authorities into going off to stomp them to bits (the first thing that came to mind when they started blaming Pakistan right off was "yeah, like Madrid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_March_2004_Madrid_train_bombings) was ETA, right?"). Okay, so maybe I'm way overthinking this, but as you say, the picture we've gotten so far isn't adding up either, and you do get the occasional anomaly like Rabin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Yitzhak_Rabin)...

[lagilman]

The urge to blame is foremost in my mind, yes. Pakistan? Maybe. But also, who has something to gain from India blaming Pakistan and worsening tensions there? And how does the reported targeting of US and UK citizens tie into that? Was the Jewish center next door a target, or a target of opportunity? And why was there no chatter claiming responsibility?

True terror comes from the unknown. When you don't know who or why or when, everyone is both target and terrorist, and paranoia and suspicion reign -- and truces and alliances fall apart. That's what I'm afraid of....

[vincam.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of a billboard I once saw: "Don't make me come down there!" -- God.

[rwglaub.livejournal.com]

This was well-planned and executed. That sounds like AQ. Or maybe a government entity (I hope not.). LT's changed in the past few years from fighting for Kashmir to being an all-around all-services terrorist orgnaization. They sponsor social services in Pakistan and thus gain the good will of the poor. They've been officially outlawed, but nobody has bothered to enforce it.