Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
February 15, 2008
Weird Stuff

Terrorists increasingly favor using women as suicide bombers to thwart security and draw attention to their causes, a new FBI-Department of Homeland Security assessment concludes.


For example, the assessment points out women can hide explosives in prosthetic devices that mimic the look of pregnancy.
U.S. agencies warn of female suicide bombers, CNN, Feb 12, 2008

Seems like these nuts had time to read Ivan Bloch during office hours.

Further, in the course of the eighteenth century, the peculiar fashion of false stomachs, ‘pads’ or ‘paddies’, was revived. These were used for a time at the end ‘fifties, and were seen again in the ‘nineties. Archenholtz says: ‘This was the most senseless invention, against all decency and delicacy, and disfiguring the female body; it caused a deformity which is only seen in the female sex during pregnancy. These decorations were called pads, and the smaller ones paddies; they were usually made of tin, and were therefore called "tin pinafores". These artificial stomachs were in great favour, particularly with unmarried women, which caused the wits to say that a revolution had taken place amongst the signs of the Zodiac, and the Twins had come too near Virgo. But above all, these pads were the butt of jokers, who used them unmercifully, and their use soon had to be discontinued. Such a fashion was in too bad taste to last long. It was in existence in London in February 1793, but by the end of the spring it was over in England and went to Dublin, where it was welcomed by the women. During the migration which took place as a result of the French war, it was taken to Germany by refugee English women, but was not copied there.’
Ivan Bloch: Sexual Life In England Past and Present 1903/1938 quoted here.

Why else would they come up with this threat when:

The assessment said the agencies "have no specific, credible intelligence indicating that terrorist organizations intend to utilize female suicide bombers against targets in the homeland."

Nuts …

Comments

This German traditional, Die Wacht am Rhein, fits the ‘Homeland’ moniker in ‘DHS’. (‘Vaterland’, fatherland, was replaced with ‘Heimatland’, homeland, in the nazi era propaganda.)
Refrain:
Dear fatherland, put your mind at rest,
dear fatherland, put your mind at rest,
solid stands, and staunch, the Watch, the Watch at the Rhine!
Solid stands, and staunch, the Watch, the Watch at the Rhine!
7th stanza:
So lead us, you are approved;
With trust in God, grab the sword!
Hail Wilhelm! Down with all that brood!
Erase the shame with foes’ blood!

Posted by: b | Feb 15 2008 19:48 utc | 1

Wow, brilliant psy-op to combine the fear of the Swarthy Other with the perennial patriarchal fear of women, fear/loathing of life (fecundity), horror of the female body, etc.
Coming next: pregnant women prohibited from travelling as their bellies may be mistaken by airport security for bomb compartments? All pregnant women must be x-rayed at the luggage security scanner?
How ludicrous can these notions become before even the great, dopey, easily-distracted public starts to roll on the floor laughing?
I’m reminded — reverting to pop trivia for a moment’s relief — of the butler character in “Upstairs Downstairs”, who consistently and passionately repeats the government propaganda line all through WWI… a true believer of everything he read in the newspapers, afraid that cricket fields would be used by the Germans as secret air landing strips and so on.

Posted by: DeAnander | Feb 15 2008 20:43 utc | 2

Hail Wilhelm! Down with all that brood!
Erase the shame with foes’ blood!

translated into another national idiom:
Now, Avenging Briton!
Smite as he has smitten!
Let your rage on history’s page
In Saxon blood be written!

This (hypermasculinist) notion that shame can only be expunged by blood is pernicious, need we say… whether it manifests in national hatefest anthems like these or in the stoning of a woman for adultery. It’s not enough to kick out the invaders, they have to be slaughtered.
Of course, most occupiers won’t leave until substantial numbers of them are slaughtered, so the greed/obstinacy of the conqueror matches the rage/bloodlust of the vengeful conquered for maximal nastiness all around. Sigh.

Posted by: DeAnander | Feb 15 2008 20:50 utc | 3

Hudson! The first ditto-head.

Posted by: beq | Feb 15 2008 22:29 utc | 4

thanks for reminding me of the name beq. actually, those wartime episodes of UD may be worth watching again as they comment rather astutely, if slyly, on government propaganda and public credulity, also on the collaboration of the press in warmongering… very contemporary really. the old dogs of imperialism know no new tricks, they only recycle the old ones w/a lick of paint…

Posted by: DeAnander | Feb 15 2008 22:42 utc | 5

and children. Thats why they are cowards, and I know most muslism are food folks, we should put all our cowards (like the guy at Northern Ill) and theres in a cage match

Posted by: rawdawgbuffalo | Feb 15 2008 23:44 utc | 6

Speaking of the Illinois guy, these things (anonymous revenge killers killing the anonymous) are approaching enough regularity to be considered as a form of terrorism, in the formal sense. Seeing that terrorism itself is distinguished by its political non-state, rather than state status, I wonder just how far down does the motive have to ratchet in order to equate a political motive to a psychological motive. Obviously these people have much in common, both in their motives and their tactics. Are they inspired by each other, do they understand each other, do they sympathize with each other, do they have an agenda in common, do they want something, are they trying to make a point? If not, why do they all display similar behavior, and partake in similar action?

Posted by: anna missed | Feb 16 2008 1:23 utc | 7

annamissed
to paraphrase, i think they are as american as apple pie

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Feb 16 2008 2:13 utc | 8

Yeah, I thought that one was a bit of a stretch as well (you decide if there’s an intentional pun there).

Posted by: Monolycus | Feb 16 2008 3:23 utc | 9

a bit of a stretch
i’ll say. once they make us fear.. eeer. what’s left? maybe they will tell us they plant bombs in little sleeping babies.
no sanctity of life, those terrorists..

Posted by: annie | Feb 16 2008 4:44 utc | 10

annie, those babies are not so innocent after all, here is Ronald Reagan (who is still dead by the way) describing how those supposedly innocent little darlings are in fact demonic drug dealers.

I don’t know, maybe I’ve told you this before, but I have to give you a glaring example of what I’ve taken too much time to explain here. San Bernardino, California, several years ago: Two narcotics agents, based on the evidence that they had, obtained a legal warrant to search a home of a man and woman suspected of peddling heroin. They searched the home. They didn’t find anything. But as they were leaving, just on a hunch, they turned back to the baby in the crib and took down the diapers, and there was the stash of heroin.
The evidence was thrown out of court and the couple went free because the baby hadn’t given permission for the violation of its constitutional rights

from speech at CPAC

Posted by: dan of steele | Feb 16 2008 8:44 utc | 11

Only at CPAC could that story be considered “credible”.

Posted by: IntelVet | Feb 16 2008 15:10 utc | 12

Mundane explanation:
Shoplifting is a terrorist act.

Posted by: biklett | Feb 17 2008 0:34 utc | 13

Seems like these nuts had time to read Ivan Bloch during office hours.
Let me tell ya, a couple times over the past 8 years, I could have sworn these idiots have used parts of my novels to formulate op plans. Now, I write a good story but they’re fiction, every last one of ’em pulled out of my ass. I guess it’s the same reason those guys love 24 so much.

Posted by: Fixer | Feb 17 2008 1:15 utc | 14

dos, lol. goes hand in hand w/his fabricated welfare queen stories.

Posted by: annie | Feb 17 2008 1:46 utc | 15

Better round up those pesky homeless people…er, I mean, “potential terrorists”.

Posted by: Monolycus | Feb 20 2008 15:47 utc | 16

Nuts …
Used by McAuliffe(?) at Bastogne in response to surrender terms, it has been used by millions of Americans as a rallying cry to save a favourite TV series by sending over 20 tons (16 tonnes) of peanuts to the network threatening to cancel…
there’s lots of passion out there folks, but I don’t think most people share yours for politics

Posted by: jcairo | Feb 20 2008 17:10 utc | 17