I had a nice tidy blog post all ready to go. [1]
It wasn’t a masterpiece of snark or derision. It wasn’t a world changing essay. It was geeky: I managed to talk about Boomer, Athena, Caprica Six and Solaris Zones.
Just a projection - it wasn’t really there.
But, the heck with it. It’s not nearly as good as something that has Grace Park and unix in the same post should be.
Solaris is a marketing term, but SunOS is clunky.
Instead, an article by a bint who gets all worked up that the nearly 10,000 Marines and sailors at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base have access to a beach, post exchange, a Wal-Mart and your standard gift shop selling t-shirts.
fear, mortal terror, etc.
Cross posted to Space For Commerce.
[1] Originally it was not going to be posted here, but since it veered off into a link to a bitchy news article editorial about Guantanamo Bay, it - sort of - belongs here.
I want one of the black coffee mugs.
Comment by Joe — 20080508 @ 0735
Oh, my - what delicate little flowers these international ambulance-chasers be! And that Amnesty International has the vapors over tacky holiday souvenirs…
I left a comment at the site, trying to explain some facts of life to our delicate little flowers, but it hasn’t posted.
Last week they finally brought Army Sgt. Matt Maupin home, didn’t they? Very nice funeral, too, from all acounts - I wonder if Amnesty International sent a wreath or something? Before they got their panties in a twist about what’s for sale in the PX, they used to give a s**t about prisoners in other places than Gitmo.
Comment by Sgt. Mom — 20080508 @ 1138
Brian! Thanks for the tip! One of my son’s friends (a recent ensign) has recently been assigned to Gitmo, now I know what to ask for in souvenirs. I think I’ll go for a coffee mug and t-shirt.
On the link? Cry me a river. I personally don’t care if they end up fertilizing daisy’s from underneath. Some people forget these people WANT to kill other people (as the recent suicide bomber so cogently demonstrated).
And it is readily apparent the ass-hat never had been to Guantanamo, paradise it is not. (but it sounds much improved from the short liberty tour I had there in the ’70s).
I ask Chris to send me a 3/4 view picture of the stoplight outside the BX. I wonder if the Navy ever got a ‘real’ stoplight or if they are still using the light box someone cobbled together? (FYI for those who’ve never been there. It (the stoplight) used to be simple affair of RED-YELLOW-GREEN top-to bottom on two sides and GREEN-YELLOW-RED top to bottom on the other two sides. The engineer who designed that out of scrap at the time used a simple mechanical timer and three bulbs. Cheap, effective, kluge. Wouldn’t work now because of the ADA. If you are color blind you’d have to know which side of the sign was which to decide if the top color was red or green. bummer.)
Comment by JoeC — 20080508 @ 1348
I left a comment for that article as well. So far only one comment is posted, from Melissa in Utah fretting about the awful things the US does at Gitmo. I’ll be interested to see if my comment and Sgt Mom’s ever show…
Here’s mine:
Angela, you’ve written a great steaming load of propagandistic nonsense.
The inmates are illegal combatants who fought without regard to any law, international or otherwise. Even if treated as POWs, they can and should be held for the duration. Abdul al-Ajmi proved that.
The only human rights violators at Gitmo are safely contained in a prison that is overly solicitous of their welfare. You may recall Belgian official visitor that stated that Gitmo’s condition were far better than any European civil prison, or how the lies of David Hicks’ lawyers and supporters were revealed when a very portly Hicks waddled his way back to Australia.
Great idea of the US to contrast a pristine US run holiday spot with Fidel’s 50-year human right blot - you know, an actual island-sized political prison. Odd you missed that.
Glad that you brought the holiday facilities tho. It gives me an idea of how to use one of my retired veteran bennies. Sorry, have to sign off now - I have to pack.
Comment by Eric — 20080508 @ 1444
7 PM, and still no more comments that the first, from Melissa. I posted another comment, and noted that their comment policy is “Your comment will be reviewed shortly. Comments may be edited and not all will be published.”
Ok, so that pretty much says all neccessary.
Old media. What’s not to like? ‘Not all will be published’.
Comment by Sgt. Mom — 20080508 @ 1839
I would not hold out hope for comments to appear in that article. I submitted mine on the 6th.
I like the black mug as well - wonder if they have mail order?
Comment by Brian — 20080508 @ 2211
Another day, another day without more comments to the Gitmo article. Whatever could have happened to them…
Comment by Eric — 20080509 @ 0811
“Another day, another day without more comments to the Gitmo article. Whatever could have happened to them… ”
Oh, my guess would be that the unposted comments are pouring such pointed scorn and derision upon them that they cannot bear to post them. How ‘old media’ can you get?
Just out of curiosity, I did a site search for Angela Levin - looks like she is more of an entertainment writer. Lots of light and fluffy TV and gossip. It figures.
Comment by Sgt. Mom — 20080509 @ 1302
Sunday, 11 May 08, 1015 San Antonio time — Just checked again. Still only the one comment from “Melissa.”
Comment by Eric — 20080511 @ 0922
Like, we were expecting anything better from an old-media/crude agit-prop org like this?
Thank god I’m not paying money for dreck like that from a newspaper.
Bet they are the sort of place that only publishes fawningly approving letters-to-the-editor, too.
Comment by Sgt. Mom — 20080511 @ 1238
Tick,tock,tick,tock,tick…
Comment by Eric — 20080514 @ 1905