Re: A Billion for Bin Laden
With the possibility of earning a $1 billion bounty, however, professional Bin Laden hunting firms would form, allowing the U.S. to enlist the efficiency and creativity of the free market in our fight against Osama.<<
This is brilliant, worthy of being called channelling Tim M. As it relies entirely on free association and the rational marketplace. Nevermind that the reward is stolen from the sheeple. What the DC future-corpses don't grok is that the Sheik's network is not financially or career motivated, unlike themselves. And xianity (or even amerikan patriotism which sometimes substitutes) is too neutered to counter it. Get your filthy hands off my desert, indeed, or else. See you in Athens.
Yeah, about as brilliant as a turd. Didn't they recently call Al-Qaeda's network a hydra? correct me if I don't recall my Ancient Greek myths, but when you cut off one head on the hydra, two more grow back, so are we to assume that future heads that grow back will carry such bounties? A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money. I guess they do realize that these guys are idologists and the allmighty dollar is anathema to them, so they have to raise the bounty in order to get someone to betray him... Never discount greed, no matter how ideological someone may be, at some ridiculous sum, someone somewhere will rat him out... perhaps just before the elections. ----------------------Kaos-Keraunos-Kybernetos--------------------------- + ^ + :"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. /|\ \|/ :They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country /\|/\ <--*-->:and our people, and neither do we." -G. W. Bush, 2004.08.05 \/|\/ /|\ : \|/ + v + : War is Peace, freedom is slavery, Bush is President. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Wed, 11 Aug 2004, Major Variola (ret) wrote:
This is brilliant, worthy of being called channelling Tim M. As it relies entirely on free association and the rational marketplace. Nevermind that the reward is stolen from the sheeple.
What the DC future-corpses don't grok is that the Sheik's network is not financially or career motivated, unlike themselves. And xianity (or even amerikan patriotism which sometimes substitutes) is too neutered to counter it.
Maybe Bin Laden would turn himself in in return for a billion $ for his cause (through a middle-man of course). Seem to remember that Bin Laden was relatively wealthy himself (>100 M$?), but you'd have to balance these rewards to not be too excessively much more than net worth of the individual. As a rational adversary would include in his game plan swapping himself for the money for the cause. Especially if it could be arranged in a way which tends to cast Bin Laden in the martyr role him and encourage the hydra effect where it galvanizes leutenants to step in. Bin Laden would have to balance also with how valueable he thought his leader ship was. Of course the lieutenants themselves might do the calculation and figure they would be closer to their goals after cashing in Bin Laden. Adam On Thu, Aug 12, 2004 at 03:37:32AM -0400, Sunder wrote:
Yeah, about as brilliant as a turd. Didn't they recently call Al-Qaeda's network a hydra? correct me if I don't recall my Ancient Greek myths, but when you cut off one head on the hydra, two more grow back, so are we to assume that future heads that grow back will carry such bounties?
A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money.
I guess they do realize that these guys are idologists and the allmighty dollar is anathema to them, so they have to raise the bounty in order to get someone to betray him... Never discount greed, no matter how ideological someone may be, at some ridiculous sum, someone somewhere will rat him out... perhaps just before the elections.
Adam Back wrote:
Maybe Bin Laden would turn himself in in return for a billion $ for his cause (through a middle-man of course).
Seem to remember that Bin Laden was relatively wealthy himself (>100 M$?), but you'd have to balance these rewards to not be too excessively much more than net worth of the individual. As a rational adversary would include in his game plan swapping himself for the money for the cause.
Especially if it could be arranged in a way which tends to cast Bin Laden in the martyr role him and encourage the hydra effect where it galvanizes leutenants to step in.
Bin Laden would have to balance also with how valueable he thought his leader ship was.
Of course the lieutenants themselves might do the calculation and figure they would be closer to their goals after cashing in Bin Laden.
Adam
On Thu, Aug 12, 2004 at 03:37:32AM -0400, Sunder wrote:
Yeah, about as brilliant as a turd. Didn't they recently call Al-Qaeda's network a hydra? correct me if I don't recall my Ancient Greek myths, but when you cut off one head on the hydra, two more grow back, so are we to assume that future heads that grow back will carry such bounties?
A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money.
I guess they do realize that these guys are idologists and the allmighty dollar is anathema to them, so they have to raise the bounty in order to get someone to betray him... Never discount greed, no matter how ideological someone may be, at some ridiculous sum, someone somewhere will rat him out... perhaps just before the elections. of course someone *really* cynical might think they already had him, but needed to spring a billion towards shrub's reelection campaign....
Nah, if Bush already had him in a hole somewhere to produce him just in time for the elections, he'd collect the billion for himself as his personal reward. ----------------------Kaos-Keraunos-Kybernetos--------------------------- + ^ + :"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. /|\ \|/ :They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country /\|/\ <--*-->:and our people, and neither do we." -G. W. Bush, 2004.08.05 \/|\/ /|\ : \|/ + v + : War is Peace, freedom is slavery, Bush is President. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Thu, 12 Aug 2004, Dave Howe wrote:
of course someone *really* cynical might think they already had him, but needed to spring a billion towards shrub's reelection campaign....
participants (4)
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Adam Back -
Dave Howe -
Major Variola (ret) -
Sunder