Now, for a limited time, Reprobates is bringing you a special section that is devoid of humo(u)r. How is that different from the usual drivel we serve up? you might well ask. Well, not only is it devoid of humo(u)r, it's also lacking in references to bodily excretions, gonads (with or without strife), drugs or any of the other, err, finer things in life.

So how does it qualify for inclusion in Reprobates? 'Coz I'm a moderator, dammit, and I say so. Yes, dear reader, Reprobates is a dictatorship, and the most important thing to remember about that is, you can't say "dictatorship", without saying "dick".

Anyway, the point is this. The Western world seems to be on the brink of ... something. There are more opinions, and more "information" (good, bad, correct, incorrect, or indifferent) available to the general public than at any time before any previous military action. I don't know about you, but I've been exposed to more information about the geo-political make-up of the Middle East than I ever wanted to know before. Some of it I sort-of knew, or thought I'd heard before, but suddenly, now, every little detail seems so much more relevant, germane, crucial. I was dimly aware, for example, of the British role in creating Israel, as documented in this personal screed that has been fairly widely circulated (this particular copy of it comes from, of all places, the 7-Series BMW Bulletin Board). Also on the same BB, however, is a piece about Afghanistan, too.

Some of what I've learned must seem hopelessly trivial to those people some of us went to college alongside - you know, the poli-sci students, and so on. Those same graduates must now be some of the most clued-in burger flippers around. For example, I learned that Iranians are not Arabs. At that revelation, some of you must be saying "Duh!", while others are saying to themselves "I had no idea there was a difference" and yet others are simply thinking "Mmm ... orange ..." But I digress.

It's also becoming increasingly clear that whatever is coming is probably (hopefully) not a war in the conventional WWI/WWII/Korea/Falklands/Vietnam/Gulf sense - the "enemy" is too sneaky to face a conventional force across anything resembling a recognizable battlefield. The author of piece on Afghanistan quoted above makes a fascinating and terrifying point - to draw the West into a pitched battle against Islam is precisely what Bin Laden wants, because he believes Islam will win.

One insight into the kinds of activities that the West will be increasingly undertaking can be gleaned from an article in Sunday's Washington Post about networks.

Bush is right when he says this won't be a short war - it took years for the terror networks to build up to their current level of sophistication, and it will take years to dismantle them. This will be an action that continues long after the spectacle of war fades from our TV screens, and we will know little about its methods and its successes, but I fear we'll know all too well about its failures.

Many in the UK wonder whether the US's new-found sense of outrage and horror towards terrorism will mean that the Boston & New York Irish will finally stop funding the IRA. Personally, I doubt it. I don't think most of Noraid's contributors are bright enough to make the mental leap, but there you go.

For one final link (because everyone likes links), I would like to remind everyone of the existence of my personal favo(u)rite wild card - Lyndon LaRouche. My biggest fear is that this man is not as deluded as he seems. Read just about anything on his site - particularly the stuff about terrorism - and make your own judgment.