Who's your favorite assassin?

As a side note, has anyone been keeping up with the Boondocks comic strip lately? That dude is rapidly approaching Doonesbury-level brilliance. A guilty pleasure, sure, but...

eh?

and

prove it (not in this thread tho.)

milo beat me to Czolgosz so I'm going with Guiteau.

Myth : The word assassin is derived from the word hashish.

It is a common myth that the word assassin comes from the Arabic word haschishin for hashish user.

The story is that al-Hassan ibn-al-Sabbah used hashish to enlist the aid of young men into his private army known as assassins (aschishin - or follower of Hassan). One of the primary sources for this information comes from the writings of Marco Polo who visited the area in 1273, almost 150 years after the reign of Al-Hassan.

There are many conflicting facts and sources for this information.

In the early 11th century, al-Hassan became the head of the Persian sect of the Ismailians, a rather obscure party of fanatics which gained local power under his guidance. In 1090, al-Hassan and his followers seized the castle of Alamut, in the province of Rudbar, which lies in the mountainous region south of the Caspian Sea. It was from this mountain home that he obtained evil celebrity among the Crusaders as "the old man of the mountains", and spread terror through the Mohammedan world.

In the account given by Marco Polo in "The Adventures [or Travels] of Marco Polo" it is told that "The Old Man kept at his court such boys of twelve years old as seemed to him destined to become courageous men. When the Old Man sent them into the garden in groups of four, ten or twenty, he gave them hashish to drink. They slept for three days, then they were carried sleeping into the garden where he had them awakened.

"When these young men woke, and found themselves in the garden with all these marvelous things, they truly believed themselves to be in paradise. And these damsels were always with them in songs and great entertainments; they; received everything they asked for, so that they would never have left that garden of their own will."

When the Old Man wished to kill someone, he would take a young man and tell him they could return to Paradise if they entered his service and followed his instructions or died in his service.

From this account it is farily clear that hashish was not the substance used. First, hashish is seldom prepared in a liquid form Hassan would drug young men with a substance which "cast them into a deep sleep" from which they could not be awakened. They were then carried to a beautiful secret garden which was impenetrable and unseen by any but those intended to be his haschishin. When they awoke in the garden, surrounded by beautiful naked women and boys, they were told that they were in Paradise. After a few hours of bliss, they were again made unconscious with the unknown substance. Awakening back in the presence of "The Old Man of the Mountain" they were told that he had given them this glimpse of Paradise and that they would go to Paradise if they entered his service and followed his instructions or died in his service. Thus, he recruited an army of assassins who were the first terrorist gang.

It is from this story that the connection between the words assassin and hashish is drawn. It is said that the word assassin comes from the Arabic word haschishin for hashish user. But Hassan and his followers didn't speak Arabic; they were Persians. Assassin comes from Hassassin -- a follower of Hassan.

Hassan, in fact, was a hashish prohibitionist. He argued that the Koran's ban on alcohol was a ban on all intoxicants, so his assassins were drug free terrorists. Except in the false Paradise where they were served wine as one of the joys of heaven. So, it is desire for alcohol not hashish that helped motivate the Assassins.

Guiteau had whiled away his hours in prison expecting to command large lecturing sums following his release (a well-known and thoroughly-hated atheist made $30,000 last year, he mused) and dictating his autobiography to the press, complete with singles advertisements ("I want an elegant Christian lady of wealth, under thirty, belonging to a first class family..."[3]). In short, Guiteau expected his release from prison to be heralded in song and gracious deed. Meanwhile, the prison itself was being deluged with letters:

You dirty, lousy, lying rebel traitor; hanging is too good for you, you stinking cuss. We will keep you spotted, you stinking pup. You damn old mildewed assassin. You ought to be burned alive and let rot. You savage cannibal dog.[4]

Editorials in national newspapers held similar views:

There is an American judge whose decisions are almost always just, and whose work is always well done. His name is Judge Lynch; and if he ever had a job that he ought to give his whole attention to, he has it waiting for him in Washington.[5]

Garfield died on September 19, sending Guiteau into a short period of fervid prayer. It dawned on Guiteau that his mission really had been divine; after all, how else could God dictate Garfield's death and deny the prayers of so many other god-fearing Americans? On October 14, Guiteau was arraigned:

I plead not guilty to the indictment and my defense is threefold: 1. Insanity, in that it was God's act and not mine. The Divine pressure on me to remove the president was so enormous that it destroyed my free agency, and therefore I am not legally responsible for my act. 2. The president died from malpractice[6] ...if he had been well treated he would have recovered. 3. The president died in New Jersey, and, therefore, beyond the jurisdiction of this court.[7]

---

The trial was a showcase for the psychological debate of the time, that is, whether or not an insanity defense was legitimate.[21] Both sides brought in their share of neurologists and phrenologists. For example, Dr. Allan McLane Hamilton, a phrenologist, mesaured Guiteau's head to determine any mental illnesses. Hamilton found a normally-shaped head, and said "the flatness of Guiteau's head was due to his haircut."[22]

Each group made Guiteau all the more testy, especially towards his own lawyer:

You are about as consummate a jackass, I must say, as I ever saw... I would rather have some ten-year-old boy try this case than you... I could have got three or four first-class lawyers on this case that were anxious to come if you hadn't elbowed them off with your consummate egoism and vanity."

Get off the case, you consummate ass. You have got no more brains for this kind of work than a fool... you have compromised my case in every move you make."

Perhaps feeling a little guilty, Guiteau later stated, "It is said that I have been abusing Mr. Scoville... his business is examining titles... I can't sit here when my life is at stake, and have him compromise my case in that way." When not bashing his lawyer, Guiteau grew fond of jauntily addressing the crowd in the courtroom:

I had a nice Christmas. Plenty of fruit, flowers, candies, etc., and plenty of lady visitors and gentlemen.

I had a very Happy New Year. I hope everyone else did. I had plenty of visitors, high-toned, middle-toned and low-toned people. That takes in the whole crowd. Public opinion don't want me hung. Everynody was glad to see me. They all expressed the opinion without one dissenting voice that I be acquitted."[23]

On January 23, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before sending Guiteau to the gallows. Even after the sentencing, he tried to cash in on his new-found celibrity. He tried to sell the suit he shot Garfield in for $100; he sold his autographs or autographed pictures ($9 a dozen, advertised in local newspapers). On June 30, he awoke to be led to his death. He requested the flowers doubtlessly sent by his legions of admirers be sent to his cell, only to be told there were none. He recited an interminable, repetitious, self-penned poem while standing before the noose ("I am going to the Lordy, I am so glad/ I am going to the Lordy, I am so glad/ I am going to the Lordy, I am so glad," etc.[24]), and the State promptly stretched his neck for the assassination of President James A. Garfield. The crowd of thousands cheered.

Ned - I read all the comics, though I don't know why. Marmaduke is offensively unfunny, as are most of them, these days. I feel like the only living person who reads the comics. I'd stop, but they're always on the same page as the crossword, and I can't help it. My eyes just go there. I even read Annie.

That said, the only ones I actually enjoy are Doonesbury, Boondocks and that one with the dog and the cat...Get Fuzzy.

I like The Boondocks. It's funny. That's all.

http://www.parmaq.com/truecrime/Images/guiteau.jpg

The book in question -- Dark Horse, by Kenneth Ackerman. Absolutely essential read and it well deserves the 5-star rating it received; it's easily one of the best such histories of its kind, detailing a hell of a lot of information about a time that's really only dimly remembered and understood at best among many, especially about politicians and issues that then were of national importance but now are as nothing. Well written, well researched, one of my best random finds at the UCI library ever.

Someone tell me how to post images, please:

http://badassmovieimages.com/movies/shogunassassin/images/shogun-1000-1.jpg

sgs, put an i at the start of http://

http://dvdscan.com/chow3.jpg

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWprincipP.jpg

(x-post - it's Gavrilo Princip, Sarah - move your mouse over the picture)

http://www.cinefile.biz/ghdog3.jpg

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:bwfa0i-7NDgJ:ultimatecomics.free.fr/Stormwatch/miniatures/

THE FRANCHISE WILL FAIL!! etc.

http://www.beerintheevening.com/articles/12pubsofchristmas/cock.jpg

Charles Koppel: clubkiller.

http://www.ultra8.ca/images/zatoichi1.jpg

xpost

http://www.1worldfilms.com/Japan/sleepy4.jpg

http://www.spiderfan.org/characters/images/aunt_may/deadpool0.jpg

http://www.spiderfan.org/characters/file_photo/kaine.jpg

"I'm a war hero and I've faced tougher shit in my time. FUCK YOU."

Maybe Skull & Bones has it!!!!

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/bickle.jpg

The guy who plays Ogami Itto has a double chin?

"Felix enjoyed dressing up in his mother's clothes and going out to restaurants and clubs in St. Petersburg. As a teenager he looked stunning in women's attire and officers of the Imperial Guard made passes at him, but this kind of adventure was risky business and seemed bound to get him in trouble eventually. The danger excited and intrigued Felix and he was egged on in this behavior by his brother and his girl friend, Polia. Felix' face was fairly well known, he had a famous portrait of him done by Serov which was widely admired and reproduced in magazines, and his mother's clothes and famous jewels also widely recognized in society. It seemed certain that one day, sooner rather than later, someone would tell his parents what he was up to. There is a story, one that Felix loved to spread, that none other than grey-bearded Edward VII of England tried to make the acquaintance of a certain beautiful, mysterious woman, which was Felix in masquerade.

One night Felix was at a famous St. Petersburg club. He was corseted in one of his mothers finest evening gowns, adorned in her famous jewels and furs. During the evening a long stand of priceless pearls suddenly broke and the gems shot out, hitting the floor with a rattle and rolling about the room. Although after a frantic hunt by Felix and his friends most of the pearls were recovered, some were missed, left behind in dark corners of the room. Later, they were recovered by the proprietor of the club, who knew the identity of his careless guest. The next day the incident came to the attention of his parents when the missing pearls were returned. Felix was in deep trouble; everything came out about his cross-dressing expeditions. His father angrily put his foot down about this behavior. Henceforth, Felix was to be a made into a real 'man' and the feminine tendencies of his character were to be driven out by any means. Ex-military men where hired to accomplish the job. For a while things were pretty tough for Felix, but the new rules imposed by his father were gradually eroded and Felix returned to his old ways."

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/images/felix.jpeg

Charlotte Corday