Filed under: Bruce Schneier, Civil Rights, Emergency, Failure, Government, Humor, Predictions, Privacy, Terrorism
Good lord. I’d heard about this, as an “attempted assassination”, but I hadn’t heard the details:
On the evening of Aug. 28, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister â and the man in charge of the kingdomâs counterterrorism efforts â was receiving members of the public in connection with the celebration of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. As part of the Ramadan celebration, it is customary for members of the Saudi royal family to hold public gatherings where citizens can seek to settle disputes or offer Ramadan greetings.
One of the highlights of the Friday gathering was supposed to be the princeâs meeting with Abdullah Hassan Taleh al-Asiri, a Saudi man who was a wanted militant from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Asiri had allegedly renounced terrorism and had requested to meet the prince in order to repent and then be accepted into the kingdomâs amnesty program.
* * *
But the al-Asiri case ended very differently from the al-Awfi case. Unlike al-Awfi, al-Asiri was not a genuine repentant â he was a human Trojan horse. After al-Asiri entered a small room to speak with Prince Mohammed, he activated a small improvised explosive device (IED) he had been carrying inside his anal cavity. The resulting explosion ripped al-Asiri to shreds but only lightly injured the shocked prince â the target of al-Asiriâs unsuccessful assassination attempt.
Nobody tell the TSA, but last month someone tried to assassinate a Saudi prince by exploding a bomb stuffed in his rectum.
* * *
For years, I have made the joke about Richard Reid: “Just be glad that he wasn’t the underwear bomber.” Now, sadly, we have an example of one.
Richard Reid was the “shoe bomber”, and the reason why we all have to remove our shoes when you go through security at an airport.
Consider the possible reactions from the TSA. I suppose we all should limber up, and get used to literally bending over from now on.
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to UTI.)
Heard about this on “Wait Wait… “ this morning:
KALONA, Iowa (AP) â A tourism gimmick in the southeast Iowa town of Kalona is giving new meaning to the phrase three hots and a cot.
Last week the town’s Chamber of Commerce and Washington County sheriff pulled over people with out-of-state license plates and offered them an all-expense paid visit â including free meals and a night’s lodging just as if they were really being arrested â to the town of 2,300, about 20 miles southwest of Iowa City.
* * *
Then, along came Ron and Cheri Cunningham of Sedalia, Mo.
“I was behind a truck that I’d followed for about 15 miles. I wasn’t speeding. I didn’t know what I could’ve possibly done,” Ron Cunningham said.
Mr. Cunningham and his wife enjoyed their visit, however. But then, they’re from Sedalia. Almost anything would be an improvement.
Anyway, I’ve been to Kalona, back when I lived in Iowa. Used to drive through it pretty regularly, in fact, when the highway ran through it. They have a nice cheese shop there. But when the DOT relocated and modernized the highway, it was an improvement. And if I was driving by now I would really resent being pulled over for such a promotional stunt – it is nothing more than an abuse of police powers, and undermines the respect for those powers.
Yeah, at this point, they’d have to arrest me to get me to go back to visit Kalona.
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to UTI.)
Filed under: Comics, Failure, Fermi's Paradox, Humor, Science, Science Fiction, SETI, Space, tech
Ah, yes, xkcd gets the point across perfectly, once again:
Editing continues to go well with CoD, though this week has been slow due to other demands. Now done with Chapter 7, have trimmed a total of 11,086 words.
Jim Downey
Take a good look at this picture:
Guy looks reasonably well supplied, right? Good clothes, pump shotgun. Full sized backpack, sleeping roll visible on the bottom. He looks to be in decent physical condition, about 30-40 years of age.
Now read the first bit of the article that goes with that picture:
It promised to stretch reality television to the limit: one man pitting his wits against the Yukon wilderness with just a camera for company.
But hopes for an epic three-month contest between man and nature were dashed when adventurer Ed Wardle failed to go the distance.
Seven weeks after striding out into the rugged forests of western Canada armed with a rifle and a fishing rod, Mr Wardle had to be airlifted back to civilisation suffering from starvation.
Here’s another bit:
Mr Wardle was chosen for the project because of his abilitiy as a cameraman and producer, and his experience of filming in the North Pole and on the summit of Everest.
He has worked on shows for Channel 4, ITV, BBC and Discovery.
But he had no specific training for living alone in the remote territory, 80 per cent of which is pristene wilderness.
OK, I saw this story early this morning, and have been thinking about it. It’s stuck in my head sufficiently that I can’t concentrate on working on the caregiving book until I write about it and get it out of my system. I’ve had several reactions to the whole thing, but I keep coming back to: “what kind of idiot do you have to be to try something like this without at least rudimentary training in wilderness survival?”
But close behind that is: “what kind of idiot, that well equipped (the article says that he had a fishing pole and tackle, as well), would you have to be in order to *not* survive just fine for three months in an environment teeming with fish & game?”
I mean, yeah, sure, anything can happen. Twist an ankle or break your wrist in a fall, and you’re in pretty deep shit. But look back at that photo – that guy could easily have enough decent gear and a change of clothes to get through three months of living rough without any problems. Hell, I’m in poor physical condition (relative to him, anyway) and I’m confident that I could do it just fine. I would’ve preferred a good .22 over the shotgun – much lighter ammo, and living off of small game is easier – but still.
Well, OK, that’s out of my system. Back to work.
Jim Downey
Filed under: 2nd Amendment, Art, Book Conservation, Failure, General Musings, Government, Guns, Humor, Predictions, Press, Publishing, RKBA, Science Fiction, Society
I’d mentioned previously that I had been up for consideration for appointment to the local Planning & Zoning Commission, but had been mercifully spared selection. Well, when it was my turn to interview for the position with the City Council, it wasn’t just before the Council and city staff – the local press was there. No surprise.
Anyway, earlier this week I got a phone call from a pleasant young man who writes for the MU student newspaper. He had been at the interview, and thought that I might be an interesting subject for an profile piece for a series they’re doing about local weirdos. No, strike that, let’s say “personalities”. Anyway, he asked if I would be willing to chat with him about myself.
“Sure,” I told him. “Let me send you some links for background information. Then you can decide whether you still want to do the piece, and how to approach it.”
This is what I sent him:
Righto. First, here are my own websites/blogs:
My professional site: Legacy Bookbindery
My novel: Communion of Dreams
My personal blog: CommunionBlog
A big ballistics-research project: Ballistics By The Inch
And the related blog: BBTI Blog
My ‘archive’ site: A Fine LineThat last one also contains all the columns I wrote for the Columbia Trib when I was doing that, under the “Art & Culture” heading.
A few years ago someone actually created a Wikipedia page on me (which I need to update): James Downey
Then there’s this forum I created for the Neighborhood Alliance effort in June.
And I’m one of the primary writers at this blog: Unscrewing The Inscrutable
Beyond that, you can search the archives at the Missourian, and the Tribune for stories which have been done about me/my businesses over the years. You might also look under “Legacy Art” or “Legacy Art & BookWorks”, which was the gallery I had downtown (where Slackers is now) for 8 years.
That should get you started. đ
Thinking about it later, I came to the conclusion that perhaps my life hasn’t been a total waste to date. More than a bit . . . eclectic . . . perhaps, but not a total waste. That’s a good feeling.
Oh, I may have some news this weekend concerning getting Communion published.
Jim Downey
Went to see the new Harry Potter movie last night (which I enjoyed), and of course had to sit through about six days worth of “Previews of Coming Attractions” (which I didn’t). In amongst the usual eminently forgettable fare they were threatening us with was one particular movie that sent a chill up my spine.
No, it wasn’t a horror flick, though it certainly looks to be pretty horrible. It was Sherlock Holmes.
Good lord, they’ve tried to turn him into an “action hero”.
Now, granted, Holmes was able to take care of himself in a fight. Sir Arthur specified this in the books & stories. He was capable with sword, walking stick, and his fists. And most of those play their part in his lore.
But this preview wanted to portray him as some steampunk version of Batman. All that was lacking was a mask and cape.
Methinks the writers (there are four of them – never an encouraging sign for a movie) heard that Robert Downey Jr was to be in the role and thought that they had to somehow connect the story to Iron Man. And no, according to the ImDB, the screenplay is not based on any of the actual works of Conan Doyle. This is what can happen when fictional characters pass into the realm of the “public domain”.
Be afraid, be very afraid.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Apollo program, Failure, Government, NASA, Science Fiction, Society, Space
I mentioned the other day that I would provide some further recollections about the Apollo 11 landing and Moon walk, but yesterday after all other coverage of the event that I read and heard, I wasn’t really sure what to add. You can find a brief description of how I experienced that historic “small step” at UTI, if you’re interested.
But last night, after thinking about the whole thing a considerable amount, I decided to pop open the new NetFlix disc that arrived in the mail yesterday. Another in The Invaders! series I wrote about in June. And on it was an episode titled “Moonshot“.
Well, of course I had to watch it.
And I was . . . rather amazed.
Oh, it was the typical formula for the show: something happens that seems to indicate alien involvement, and the star of the show hears about it and comes to the site to investigate. There he meets up with someone else who has suspicions about the aliens, and together they try and thwart whatever evil plot is being cooked up (sometimes successfully, more often not – this is a series in which the good guys win at best marginal victories).
But this was different. Not because of the formula, or acting or anything. But because of *when* it first aired: April 18, 1967.
What is significant about that date? Well, because it was just three months following the Apollo 1 disaster. And the episode is all about how the aliens are killing off the astronauts selected for the first manned Moon mission.
I’d bet the episode was already “in the can” by the time of the Apollo 1 tragedy. Maybe not. But either way, it is rather astonishing that they decided to run the episode so soon after that event. Most people now don’t remember, or don’t appreciate, the impact that Apollo 1 had – it has been subsumed into the greater glory of the subsequent successful launches. But at the time, it was quite traumatic.
I’m just old enough to remember the series, as I mentioned in my June post. So I don’t remember any controversy around the airing of this particular episode. If anyone does and can shed some light on it, I would appreciate it.
Jim Downey
Well, at least the court ruled against him:
Man Burned at Burning Man Assumed Risk of Being Burned by Burning Man, Says Court
On June 30, the California Court of Appeal held that a man who was burned by the huge bonfire that ends the Burning Man festival each year could not sue the festival organizers. Anthony Beninati admitted he had intentionally walked into the fire, and that he had previously known fire was hot. But he argued, basically, that the organizers were negligent because they should not have let him approach the fire so closely.He did not win.
Seemed like the perfect item to post for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, as a cautionary tale. Here’s a bit more Schadenfreude:
Beninati’s complaint stated that when he approached the bonfire, the flames were still roughly 40 feet high. He walked around the bonfire three times, each time “circl[ing] a little closer to the fire.” Eventually, he walked still closer, into what was variously described as an area of “embers,” “low flames,” “burning remnants,” and “a spot where there was fire on either side of him.” Basically, he had walked inside a huge bonfire. Then, as you might have expected, he tripped on something and fell into the actual fiery part of the bonfire, burning his hands.
In his deposition, Beninati admitted he knew “fire was dangerous and caused burns” before he walked into one. He knew there was some possibility of falling into said fire. He admitted no one affiliated with the defendants asked him to walk into the fire or told him it would be safe to do so. But he testified that he did not think it would be dangerous to walk into the fire, although he knew it “was not ‘absolutely safe, because there [was] a fire present.'” And, as noted, fire is hot.
One suspects that some really good drugs and/or alcohol was involved.
Happy Fourth!
Jim Downey
(Via BB. Cross posted to UTI.)
Damn, this is funny:
First ‘anti-stab’ knife to go on sale in Britain
The first âanti-stabâ knife is to go on sale in Britain, designed to work as normal in the kitchen but to be ineffective as a weapon.
The knife has a rounded edge instead of a point and will snag on clothing and skin to make it more difficult to stab someone.
It was invented by industrial designer John Cornock, who was inspired by a documentary in which doctors advocated banning traditional knives.
No, seriously, this is not a joke. Here’s a bit from the company’s website:
In May 2005, my wife Liz watched a BBC TV news feature regarding a report produced by three UK doctors calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives. The report, written by Mike Beckett, Emma Hern and Will Glazebrook, cited long kitchen knives as the ‘weapon of choice in a high proportion of serious stabbings.’ The research they carried out in to the justification of a potentially lethal sharp point, led him to one conclusion – a ban was needed on all long pointed kitchen knives.
I wouldn’t advocate a complete ban though their observations made perfect sense – remove the lethal weapons from our kitchen drawers and you will undoubtedly witness a drop in serious knife injuries. However, this raises a pivotal question; what else do we use? Introducing an outright ban would create an immediate knee-jerk reaction, therefore the solution must be more considered.
Being keen home cooks, Liz and I considered how many times we needed a long pointed knife when preparing and serving a meal. After much thought, we realized that in the home, we could see virtually no justification for this type of knife point. Liz then gave me a completely novel idea – why not design a knife point which can be used for everyday cooking but without the dangerous long sharp point?
Wow. I wonder if they’ll outlaw files and sharpening stones, too.
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to UTI.)
Communion Of Dreams 