You left out one of the important words in this story, "AGAIN!"
At the time Ritter came out against the war he had Saddam's money in his bank account. Being the suspicious former PI that I am, I am also fairly certain that Saddam had evidence of Ritter's, uh, preferences in HIS bank account. According to accounts of the weapons inspection regime in Iraq, the hotel lobby where the inspectors stayed was always stocked with inducements and incitements. From my experiences this is pretty typical in un-free countries. The hotels where the foreigners stay are always heavily baited. It's low cost proposition (often the target pays for it himself) and it can have a huge pay off.
Anyway, I've always been convinced that Ritter was bent. Now that he's irrelevant he's simply screwed. Couldn't happen to a worse weasel.
The affidavit says that Ritter started the conversation with the girl and then for some reason showed his face on camera. The video apparently was not recorded and the officer had to recognize Ritter from the photos he saw later. It is also not clear why he gave his full name and location. Is it so that he would not be confused with other Scott or Bill Ritters? Scott Ritter seem to act very fullish for an intelligence agent, that had been previously caught in a very similar sting. Someone seems to have created a very easy case for the local police office that had only few such cases, one of which happens to be Scott Ritter. In conspirators' defense, they did not try to totally destroy Ritter, even though they could. He may not get any time at all. Yet, his reputation is badly damaged already. The smear campaign could have failed, and then no one would have heard about it. But it has succeeded and it is all over the news.
But why bother? The Iraq war is behind. This time it could be about Iran. Ritter is the only voice in the Western world arguing that Iran is not trying to acquire nuclear weapons. The talk from the previous smear campaign seems to have faded away as he did manage to get on to cable news couple times, but he was put down again. It does seem like a cycle and no one will listen to him again. The only thing missing is a war on Iran...
A newsroom comprised entirely of leftists/liberals is no more capable of ideological objectivity than an all-white newsroom would be of racial objectivity, or an all-male newsroom of gender objectivity.
Captain Louis Renault
"Round Up the Usual Suspects."
The Drawn Cutlass Philosophy
Be as decent as you can. Don't believe without evidence. Treat things divine with marked respect, and don't have anything to do with them. Do not trust humanity without collateral security, it will play you some scurvy trick. Remember that it hurts no one to be treated as an enemy entitled to respect until he prove himself a friend worthy of affection. Cultivate a taste for distasteful truths. And, finally, most important of all, endeavor to see things as they are, not as they ought to be.
Ambrose Bierce
The Foe
When I am free to walk the streets of Mecca or Medina as the agnostic I am and receive nothing but curious glances, I will believe Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.
Sign On. You Know You Want To.
A Few Words From Some Founding Fathers
All Men Are Created Equal. (Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father)
But Differ Greatly In the Sequel. (Fisher Ames, Founding Father)
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.
Bob's Addendum To Cooper's Rules
A Gun is not a Toy. Don't Play With It.
Bob's Theory of Hush Puppies
Bob's Theory of Hush Puppies: The best hush puppies are oblong shaped, rather like dog turds. The worst ones are spherical, like balls. The spherical ones are usually made from the recipe on a pre-packaged box of hush puppy mix.
Restaurant Ratings
My restaurant ratings, mostly intended for BBQ restaurants, will be on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. Unlike most reviewers, I don't intend to play games with the rating scale by introducing fractions such as "2 and 1/2" or "4 and 3/4," I've always considered that stupid and a signal that the reviewer is trying to avoid making an honest 1-5 judgment.
Here is the breakdown of the ratings:
1 out of 5: waste of time, crap, unable to finish eating; apathy by staff/ownership
2 out of 5: edible, but no effort to impress; staff/management going through motions; desultory.
3 out of 5: average; reasonably good food, moderate effort by staff/management
4 out of 5: good; tasty, well-prepared food, staff alert, restaurant clean.
5 out of 5: great; excellent food, cooked fresh. Staff attentive and proactive, management responsive to complaints. Restaurant spotless.
On Self-Reliance
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
2 comments:
You left out one of the important words in this story, "AGAIN!"
At the time Ritter came out against the war he had Saddam's money in his bank account. Being the suspicious former PI that I am, I am also fairly certain that Saddam had evidence of Ritter's, uh, preferences in HIS bank account. According to accounts of the weapons inspection regime in Iraq, the hotel lobby where the inspectors stayed was always stocked with inducements and incitements. From my experiences this is pretty typical in un-free countries. The hotels where the foreigners stay are always heavily baited. It's low cost proposition (often the target pays for it himself) and it can have a huge pay off.
Anyway, I've always been convinced that Ritter was bent. Now that he's irrelevant he's simply screwed. Couldn't happen to a worse weasel.
The affidavit says that Ritter started the conversation with the girl and then for some reason showed his face on camera. The video apparently was not recorded and the officer had to recognize Ritter from the photos he saw later. It is also not clear why he gave his full name and location. Is it so that he would not be confused with other Scott or Bill Ritters? Scott Ritter seem to act very fullish for an intelligence agent, that had been previously caught in a very similar sting. Someone seems to have created a very easy case for the local police office that had only few such cases, one of which happens to be Scott Ritter. In conspirators' defense, they did not try to totally destroy Ritter, even though they could. He may not get any time at all. Yet, his reputation is badly damaged already. The smear campaign could have failed, and then no one would have heard about it. But it has succeeded and it is all over the news.
But why bother? The Iraq war is behind. This time it could be about Iran. Ritter is the only voice in the Western world arguing that Iran is not trying to acquire nuclear weapons. The talk from the previous smear campaign seems to have faded away as he did manage to get on to cable news couple times, but he was put down again. It does seem like a cycle and no one will listen to him again. The only thing missing is a war on Iran...
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