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Mark Steyn: Osama bin Laden Is … Not Dead
The Spectator ^ | January 15, 2005 | Mark Steyn

Posted on 01/13/2005 9:42:00 AM PST by quidnunc

It was wrong to say that al-Qa’eda’s commander-in-chief was dead, but not very wrong. Osama has been rendered powerless by America

Just before the election, in a column over on this side of the Atlantic, I wrote, ‘As for this Bush-failed-to-get-bin-Laden business, two and a half years ago I declared that Osama was dead and he’s never written to complain.’

And this time it worked! My plan to flush him into the open by mocking him as a corpse year in year out finally paid off. Within 48 hours, bin Laden had popped up to admonish the American people and in a curious passage — suggesting he’s been spending way too much time in the cave boning up on the electoral college and has become something of a convert to states’ rights — promised that any state which voted for Kerry would not be targeted by al-Qa’eda. So skip Florida this summer and try Hawaii.

This was the late Osama’s first appearance since I proclaimed him dead in a piece for this magazine called ‘Dust Bin’ back in 2002. To judge from the ‘Quotes of the Year’ round-up I saw in the Observer the other week, the collapse of my confident prediction has evidently caused some amusement among my colleagues in Fleet Street. A spot of post-election ill health prevented me addressing the subject and prompted a lot of mocking emails from jeering readers who thought I’d gone skulking off to find my own cave to lie low in for three years. On the other hand, a few loyal correspondents suggested artful ways that he could have left posthumous yet topical videos: …

-snip-

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Extended News; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; manhunt
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To: Pokey78

But anything by Steyn (and Coulter) really MUST be read by all.


21 posted on 01/13/2005 11:04:13 AM PST by omniscient
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To: Lekker 1
[ We haven't found Osama bin Laden, therefore he never existed..(oh..wait a second, no that's weapons of mass destruction I'm thinking of) ]

There you have it then... Sadaam killed all them Kurds by pushing them out 3rd story windows.. let's call "them" weapons of mass Smush'ation.. works for me, their just as dead.. and the Smush'erator is in the slammer.. for smusher'ating his own people.. just goes to show you, Islam is a religion of peace to muslims, unless you're the WRONG muslims.. Wonder if the "infidels" are worthy of getting pushed out 3rd story windows.. NAH!.. they might comit "weapons of mass destruction", on them guys.. cause their ARE no right or wrong infidels, they are ALL wrong.. and some of them very dumb too.. they would lick the boots of the head choppers.. ugh.. window thrower out'ers..

22 posted on 01/13/2005 11:21:59 AM PST by hosepipe (This propaganda has been ok'ed me to included some fully orbed hyperbole....)
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To: Pokey78
Pokey78 wrote:

Q does it just to irritate people. When q finds something q feels like MUST be read by all, he will post the entire article.

Wrong!

I only post complete articles if I consider them must-read and (1) they are not available on-line, (2) on-line access is available only with a paid subscription or (3) permission to reproduce in toto is specified.

23 posted on 01/13/2005 11:24:04 AM PST by quidnunc (Omnis Gaul delenda est)
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To: omniscient
Assuming your comment is serious, you must have missed that huge bulge in Steyn's cheek, which of course is his tongue.

Could be Copenhagen.

24 posted on 01/13/2005 11:47:45 AM PST by Minn
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To: curmudgeonII
"My plan to flush him into the open by mocking him as a corpse year in year out finally paid off.

What an egotist. What makes him think that Osama knows [or cares] who this author is?

- Obviously you are not a person who has read much of Steyn in the past. Either that or you have had limited exposure to the use of irony.
25 posted on 01/13/2005 11:59:29 AM PST by finnigan2
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To: quidnunc

Just make one up. Create a dummy yahoo account and do all registrations through that. No muss, no fuss.


26 posted on 01/13/2005 12:12:30 PM PST by AmishDude
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To: quidnunc

Thank you for posting. I adore Steyn's writing and look for him, here, several times a week.


27 posted on 01/13/2005 12:13:26 PM PST by Naomi4
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To: quidnunc

"The solution is really very simple, don't open any threads which I post and your problem will be solved."

- The solution is even simpler. Let another, more daring freeper post the full article in the first place and avoid these weekly running battles that we've all become tired reading about. It ruins a good thread when half the posts consist of bickering and carping.


28 posted on 01/13/2005 12:14:36 PM PST by finnigan2
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To: quidnunc
I only post complete articles if I consider them must-read and (1) they are not available on-line, (2) on-line access is available only with a paid subscription or (3) permission to reproduce in toto is specified.

Follow me on this: If the article is available for free (with or without a bit of annoying registration) you will excerpt it. But if the company goes out of its way to protect its copyright, you will circumvent that.

Do I have it right?

29 posted on 01/13/2005 12:15:14 PM PST by AmishDude
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To: AmishDude

Sorry but dummy@yahoo.com is taken, you'll need to use something else.


30 posted on 01/13/2005 12:16:54 PM PST by ASA Vet (I issue a MEJI report on all Trolls.)
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To: daviddennis
So I don't think there's any reason to excerpt from publications that have not requested it. For ad-based publications outside of the US, we may be doing them a favour by reducing their bandwidth usage while leaving ad revenue unchanged.

That's brilliant and so true! Of course, no publisher will state that sort of thing outright, but you are correct on that score. Canadian sites might still want to advertise in the US market, but not people based in the UK.

31 posted on 01/13/2005 12:19:10 PM PST by AmishDude
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To: Eurotwit
I’d say something slippery along the lines that, in a sense, Osama is dead: he made no demands, no threats, no invocations of Allah even.

I'm certain Osama is dead and that was a Moore-on on that video tape. I mean really, a jihadist who doesn't mention Allah?

That was more likely a college professor in a beard who thought Kerry would win if only enough people saw Farenheit 9/11. So he put the beard and read a synopsis for the camera.

In addition, the prof thought all Americans were as cowardly as him and if he threatened terror attacks on the states that voted for Bush, we would surrender.

32 posted on 01/13/2005 12:20:42 PM PST by Oschisms
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To: Eurotwit
" Ask not for whom the goat butts, he butts for thee. "

God, I love this guy.

L

33 posted on 01/13/2005 12:29:38 PM PST by Lurker (Caution: Poster is too old to give a s*** anymore.)
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To: ASA Vet

That's mine :-)


34 posted on 01/13/2005 12:31:54 PM PST by Eurotwit
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To: Eurotwit
Imagine how many FReepers and lurkers have clicked on it to see if it's valid.
The poor owner will be removing FR spam forever.
35 posted on 01/13/2005 12:37:24 PM PST by ASA Vet (I issue a MEJI report on all Trolls.)
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To: omniscient; Oschisms

oschisms is getting close to the meaning of the graphic.


36 posted on 01/13/2005 12:41:28 PM PST by ASA Vet (I issue a MEJI report on all Trolls.)
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To: finnigan2
The solution is even simpler. Let another, more daring freeper post the full article in the first place and avoid these weekly running battles...

You're exactly right. Steyn is so popular on FR there's no danger of his columns not being posted. The only logical reason for q to continue his annoying habit is because he likes the attention.

37 posted on 01/13/2005 12:51:16 PM PST by whd23
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To: ASA Vet
I wasn't meaning to.

But I got curious and googled "s1mone"

This was the first link. Now I understand.

38 posted on 01/13/2005 12:54:16 PM PST by Oschisms
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To: quidnunc
I only post complete articles if I consider them must-read and (1) they are not available on-line, (2) on-line access is available only with a paid subscription or (3) permission to reproduce in toto is specified.

So you'll do something that you claim will violate copyright laws (reasons 1 & 2 above) if it suits you? So much for all your posturing...

39 posted on 01/13/2005 12:55:19 PM PST by whd23
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To: ASA Vet
oschisms is getting close to the meaning of the graphic.

Is this a contest? You are copying quidnic by teasing us and not showing the rest (the best part)

40 posted on 01/13/2005 1:00:41 PM PST by CharlieOK1 (4 more years!!)
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