BlackHat's Journal: The moonshine boys/ The vultures drool

Quote(1):
With two or three exceptions, all the hundreds that volunteered for my crew were very much in earnest. Many of them sent their photographs. Ninety per cent. offered to work in any capacity, and ninety-nine per cent. offered to work without salary. "Contemplating your voyage on the Snark," said one, "and notwithstanding its attendant dangers, to accompany you (in any capacity whatever) would be the climax of my ambitions." Which reminds me of the young fellow who was "seventeen years old and ambicious," and who, at the end of his letter, earnestly requested "but please do not let this git into the papers or magazines." Quite different was the one who said, "I would be willing to work like hell and not demand pay." Almost all of them wanted me to telegraph, at their expense, my acceptance of their services; and quite a number offered to put up a bond to guarantee their appearance on sailing date.

Some were rather vague in their own minds concerning the work to be done on the Snark; as, for instance, the one who wrote: "I am taking the liberty of writing you this note to find out if there would be any possibility of my going with you as one of the crew of your boat to make sketches and illustrations." Several, unaware of the needful work on a small craft like the Snark, offered to serve, as one of them phrased it, "as assistant in filing materials collected for books and novels." That's what one gets for being prolific.

"Let me give my qualifications for the job," wrote one. "I am an orphan living with my uncle, who is a hot revolutionary socialist and who says a man without the red blood of adventure is an animated dish-rag." Said another: "I can swim some, though I don't know any of the new strokes. But what is more important than strokes, the water is a friend of mine." "If I was put alone in a sail-boat, I could get her anywhere I wanted to go," was the qualification of a third--and a better qualification than the one that follows, "I have also watched the fish-boats unload." But possibly the prize should go to this one, who very subtly conveys his deep knowledge of the world and life by saying: "My age, in years, is twenty-two." --London

Quote(2):
If the decision by arms lies at the foundation of all combinations, then it follows that the enemy can defeat each of them by gaining a victory on the field, not merely in the one on which our combination directly depends, but also in any other encounter, if it is only important enough; for every important decision by arms--that is, destruction of the enemy's forces--reacts upon all preceding it, because, like a liquid element, they tend to bring themselves to a level.

Thus, the destruction of the enemy's armed force appears, therefore, always as the superior and more effectual means, to which all others must give way.

It is, however, only when there is a supposed equality in all other conditions that we can ascribe to the destruction of the enemy's armed force the greater efficacy. It would, therefore, be a great mistake to draw the conclusion that a blind dash must always gain the victory over skill and caution. An unskilful attack would lead to the destruction of our own and not of the enemy's force, and therefore is not what is here meant. The superior efficacy belongs not to the MEANS but to the END, and we are only comparing the effect of one realised purpose with the other.

If we speak of the destruction of the enemy's armed force, we must expressly point out that nothing obliges us to confine this idea to the mere physical force; on the contrary, the moral is necessarily implied as well, because both in fact are interwoven with each other, even in the most minute details, and therefore cannot be separated. But it is just in connection with the inevitable effect which has been referred to, of a great act of destruction (a great victory) upon all other decisions by arms, that this moral element is most fluid, if we may use that expression, and therefore distributes itself the most easily through all the parts.

Against the far superior worth which the destruction of the enemy's armed force has over all other means stands the expense and risk of this means, and it is only to avoid these that any other means are taken. That these must be costly stands to reason, for the waste of our own military forces must, ceteris paribus, always be greater the more our aim is directed upon the destruction of the enemy's power.

The danger lies in this, that the greater efficacy which we seek recoils on ourselves, and therefore has worse consequences in case we fail of success. --Clausewitz

News taken with little resistance:
Mugabe's got it in the bag? Zimbabwe's next elections will not be "free and fair" Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo has warned. The outspoken government critic said he had evidence of massive electoral fraud and called for an independent electoral commission to oversee 2005 elections. And these orders are [still] such fun.

Saudi police have begun confiscating mobile phones with cameras if their owners use them in public, amid scandal about a phone clip of an alleged rape.

Hoon to remove all jobs in the MoD that; report, audit or perform, any informational tasks that could enable the public or Whitehall's oversight of their operations or funds. He does not want a MI6ing.

No severed head in a bag, nothing.

Rummy's boy? Jonathan K Idema said the US government had abandoned him. Washington says he was a mercenary. and does not add 'payed and directed by The Donald' Who, just may get to unload his armored lemons on the Iraqis.

An Australian government minister has described Fahrenheit 9/11 film-maker Michael Moore as "the quintessential ugly American". While Moore may be fat[is very fat, Burly?], Mr Peter Costello is a pasty-lard-assed-twat. And as for his bumboy leader, Howie, he can rub that brown-nosing-kiss off his saggy ass now. Before it festers.

Responding to a request from Greece, the United States committed 400 American special forces soldiers to help protect the Olympic Games... Is one view while Greece says national Olympic teams will not be allowed to bring their own armed security guards to the Games. The country's public order minister said state leaders could take armed guards but Greece alone would protect international athletes.

Noam sings XTC. ...ba ba ba.

Texttoon:
Ink on paper/scan/jpg: Drawing of a brown paper bag on a curb. Something round is in side and a trickle of blood leaks out one bottom corner. Caption text at the base in Movie-Poster style; "Summer 2004- Fear The White Chair. Staring George 'dubya' Bush, Dick 'fuck' Cheney, Colin 'the boy with the stick' Powell, ..." continuing the cast names and producer listing with the current US administration members etc.