You may have seen
Newt Gingrich this past Tuesday on
The Daily Show describing Obama's decision to try the Underpants Bomber in the courts as "radical." He pointed
out an incident in 1942 when Franklin Roosevelt suspended habeus corpus for Nazi saboteurs dropped off on Long Island by submarine to wreak havoc on Ameica. While "Nazi
Terrorists" might be almost comic book class villains, Newt probably would prefer people not to recall the true story and villains of
Operation Pastorius.
posted by justkevin
on Feb 11, 2010 -
43 comments
"Operation Northwoods [pdf]
, which had the written approval of the Chairman and every member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called for innocent people to be shot on American streets; for boats carrying refugees fleeing Cuba to be sunk on the high seas; for a wave of violent terrorism to be launched in Washington, D.C., Miami, and elsewhere. People would be framed for bombings they did not commit; planes would be hijacked. Using phony evidence, all of it would be blamed on Castro, thus giving Lemnitzer and his cabal the excuse, as well as the public and international backing, they needed to launch their war." [
YouTube]
[more inside]
posted by blue_beetle
on Aug 12, 2008 -
54 comments
If you see an unattended bag in New York this holiday shopping season, you better just leave it alone. If you pick it up and don't immediately report it, it could net you a class E felony. The NYPD is planting the bags themselves and
this isn't the first time. Operation Lucky Bag first started in 2006, but now they're intentionally loading the bags with credit cards to increase the crime (or non-crime) from a misdemeanor to a felony.
posted by yeti
on Nov 28, 2007 -
111 comments
Circumcised at 22: A romantic epic. It didn't feel as good. It
really didn't feel as good. It was an entirely different experience from sex with a foreskin, kind of like
Star Wars vs. Star Wars: Episode I. I never realized how much sexual pleasure was derived from my foreskin rubbing back and forth against my glans - a little bit of masturbation mixed in with sex.
posted by skallas
on Dec 4, 2003 -
60 comments
Operation Pretentious Platitude One of the awful aspects of
"Operation Iraqi Freedom" is having to listen to this name used without irony.
"It all comes down to branding" ...
"Don't waste a public relations opportunity -- remember that the operation name is the first bullet in the war of images."
"Churchill ... warned specifically against using words that imply an "overconfident sentiment." He knew as well as anyone how history delights in throwing unforeseen ironies our way."
Here's a list of mostly recent real names.
But how about "Operation Rouge-wearing Caliph"?
"Operation Evangelical Fatwa"?
"Operation Expect No Mercy From Our Privet Bush"?
"Operation Overpriced Cannon"? "Operation Irate Economy"?
"Operation International-law-ignoring Manticore"?.
Try for yourself.
(Here's
how it's done).
posted by lathrop
on Mar 22, 2003 -
34 comments
