YEAH, IT'S HIM

Why does the story always break like this? First, it's reported that a tape "believed" to have the voice of bin Laden is released. Then a couple days pass, and I guess we're all supposed to be waiting with bated breath to find out whether or not the tape is actually bin Laden. And then they always come back and say, "Yeah, it's him." Just like today.

I mean, my point is, why not just say it's definitely bin Laden when the tape is first "released." Bin Laden's got his own label, yo, and he's got to keep it fresh fo' his peeps. Again, the tapes are always confirmed to be the voice of bin Laden. I'm just wondering what sort of strategy the State Dept. or who-the-fuck-ever (in the above link, it's a "senior government official" speaking on "condition of anonymity") is in charge of releasing this information is trying to employ.

Some guesses

1. Fear (the waiting is the hardest part): Here's how they play this one: "Bin Laden is releasing tapes, so that means he's still out there and he's gonna getcha! But wait, he's an unreliable terrorist, we can't be 100% sure that the voice on this tape is even his. I hope the suspense doesn't kill you [wink, wink] while we try to determine if this very dangerous person is still at large and therefore a dire and immediate threat to your personal safety...Do do de do do...still running tests--it's gonna take a day or--oh wait, it is him. Be very afraid!"

2. Number one is my best, and really only, guess. I thought I had something else but forgot it while composing that little gem.

I'm not necessarily saying that the press necessarily connives to do this, but they feel like they have to go along with the game that the State Dept. or who-the-fuck-ever is playing with them. And so every single time it's like, a new OBL tape, is it him, authorities can't confirm, wait a couple days, yeah, it's him. And so the press is happy because they get a couple days of looking responsible and bringing you serious news and the State Dept. or who-the-fuck-ever is happy because they're doing their part to rattle everyone.

But it's all a bunch of bullshit.

So what?

So bin Laden is calling for a boycott of Iraqi elections. Big deal. That's within his purview. That's exactly what you'd expect him to do. But what is annoying is that now this makes it look like al Qaeda did have ties to Saddam before the war. Just to be clear, though, IRAQ AND AL QAEDA HAD NO OPERATIONAL CONNECTION BEFORE THE WAR. Maybe they do now, but this is after the fact--their current connection does not retroactively justify this godawful war we're currently in.

The Iraqi elections won't be for real anyway. Ayad Allawi will win, and if Bush doesn't let him get the job just because it's so predictable, it'll be some other American puppet who will be installed. And then we'll call it a free and clean election and keep right on killing and being killed and looking for ways to extract treasure from Iraq.

And you know, I was thinking today--it doesn't or wouldn't surprise me at all if Iraqis and Middle Easterners in general remained angry at us for a long time about our illegal invasion of Iraq. I'm still angry about it and I'm as WASP-y white bread as they come.

But anyway...

Take the "p" out of "pharmacy"...

Check this shit out...

As a drug company executive, I care about profits. When I was responsible for a region in Northern Europe, I doubled sales in two years by lowering drug prices, and in the process increased my company's sales ranking in Sweden from No. 19 to No. 7 in less than two years. I proved that it is possible to do good business with lower prices.

This guy is a vice-president of marketing at Pfizer...wonder if he'll be fired, killed (in an accident, of course), or given a raise as a buy-off to shut up making perfectly logical comments like these.

Because you know Big Pharma ain't gonna go out like a bitch...they gon' git they money...