Monday, May 2, 2011

bin Laden & Shiner Hefeweizen

I feel like there are no moderate voices.  You're either on the AMERICA Parade lead by the press (and reciprocally reported on by the press) or leaving dour and pithy statements about the-war-is-still-happening/this-makes-things-worse.  Alright; yes, this will not affect the day-to-day war in Afghanistan for better or worse for several months, if at all.  But let's keep in mind that bin Laden was a wanted man well before the 9/11 attacks;  the '93 WTC bombing, murder in Libya, the Luxor Massacre '97, the US embassy bombings in '98, and the USS Cole in addition to an unknowable number of failed attempts.  He was no longer the potent threat he once was, but no justice system would have let all of that slide off.  The successful operation is still unequivocally a victory for the symbolic blow to those that supported him and felt he could evade forever.  Perhaps more importantly, this was successful operation because of the intelligence captured in the raid. I have no illusions that bin Laden was pulling the strings for all radical Islamic and anti-western activities and operations, but he was a respected and well-connected man within the community.  The information seized will be useful to intelligence agents. This was a victory, but it's nothing like VE day and certainly doesn't warrant the jingoism or dancing in the street.  The only folks that should be celebrating are those in the special operations community for conducting such a clean operation on a high-value target.  I wouldn't deny the 9/11 victims' families relief or closure either, but I doubt they were the ones filling the streets last night.

Shiner Hefeweizen is perhaps the 4th easiest Shiner product to find, behind Bock, Black, and whatever their seasonal offering/experiment is.  The label calls it a "wheat ale brewed with orange and lemon peels - with honey added."  It's far closer to American offerings like Blue Moon and Circus Boy than its traditional germanic cousins.  The citrus notes definitely pop first and the sweetness is there, though the honey flavors are subtle.  Very little aroma with this beer.  It's light in the mouth and refreshing when cold, but I rarely want more than two.  Something about the wheat and citrus just gets old faster than malted barley.  Still it's pretty tasty and while there's no Circus Boy here in Texas, I'll continue to get it on occasion.

3 comments:

  1. I've been wondering to what degree the press coverage is CREATING the political repercussions on which it's speculating/reporting. If all the newscasters had shrugged and said, "Oh, okay, cool," and moved on, would the event be so symbolically meaningful?

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  2. Well I think that's partly the nature of 24 hour news media but a symptom of the fact that many of these broadcast teams are based in New York and DC, so they have personal and visceral connections to 9/11 events. More so than even some folks that live in those cities. So this event is more meaningful and cathartic to the broadcasters than maybe it is or ought to be for most other people.

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  3. all i have to say is "controlled pair" sweet sweet justice/revenge or whatever you want to call it. the most wanted man for years and years is toast.

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