A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
What was the purpose of America's longest war?
...
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. The Afghan president fled the country. Almost all of Afghanistan is now under Taliban control. It marks the end of an era: America’s longest war is now over, and it lost. And it happened fast, stunning the world and leaving many in the country racing to find an exit.
But even among those surprised by the way the end played out, many knew the war was destined to end badly. According to some experts, the seeds of disaster were planted back at the war’s very beginning.
Ever since the American war in Afghanistan began in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the US government has struggled with answering exactly why the military was there. In the very beginning the goal was relatively clear: to capture the perpetrator of the attacks, Osama bin Laden. But almost immediately, the goals became murkier, and more complicated.
In this video, investigative reporter Azmat Khan and former US ambassador to Afghanistan Michael McKinley explain what the US military was actually doing in Afghanistan, what it got wrong, and why America’s long intervention there is considered a failure.
Welcome to mission creep. As I wrote ten years ago, we should have gone in, got the job done, then got out while declaring victory. It would probably have been better than what actually happened.
In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast, Robert Crews, a professor of history at Stanford University, joins to reflect on the history of the Taliban and talk about the current political landscape in Afghanistan. The podcast crew also discusses how Americans are responding to the Biden administration’s handling of the end of the Afghanistan War.
Dr. Crews told a series of depressing truths about Afghanistan, including that the counter-terrorism mission ultimately failed with the situation made worse by the addition of ISIS, AKA the Sith Jihad, during the past decade and that oppression of women and ethnic minorities will return. Sigh. At least the American people generally support ending our military involvement and leaving the country, even if they're not pleased about the execution. Still, it's enough to make me return to comedy the next time I examine the subject. Stay tuned.
#AustralianWildFires climate denial claims, "it's arson! it's been warmer before! fire's natural!" The truth? Human-induced climate change is a threat multiplier. It takes existing risks + amplifies them beyond imagining, affecting every living thing on this planet: including us.
Can environmental threats actually become security issues? Tami Relph will explore patterns of conflict and will share how global issues can escalate if left unchecked. Tami Relph is an interdisciplinary engineer in the Environmental Security department at Naval Facilities Engineering & Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC). Ms. Relph has substantial experience in water security, wastewater systems, and sustainable engineering. Her interest in engineering stemmed from a knack for problem solving and a desire to improve living conditions sustainably in communities around the world. She joined Engineers Without Borders in 2011 and quickly became a leader in both her student and professionals chapters. Since then she has led project teams to design, implement, and evaluate sustainable engineering projects supporting community-driven, small-scale infrastructure needs in Nepal, Peru, and Tanzania. She has a Civil Engineering M.S. and Environmental Engineering B.S. from CU Boulder, an Anthropology B.A. from UCLA, and is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in CA. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
While I've written a lot about both climatechange and ISIS/Daesh, who I call the Sith Jihad, I haven't written before about how climate change, drought, and crop failure contributed to the latter's rise. I'm glad Relph gave me a chance to correct that omission. It also serves as an example of Commoner's First Law of Ecology, "Everything Is Connected to Everything Else. There is one ecosphere for all living organisms and what affects one, affects all," something I teach my students.
I also teach my students environmental literacy. This video not only shows connection between the environment and security but also goes through all the steps of environmental literacy, awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills and action. I could definitely use it in my classes, which resume on Monday. I also hope that it inspires my readers to take action themselves. It certainly is inspiring me.
“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen
It should come as no surprise that I'm rooting for "RBG." Given the kind of electorate that voted for "Icarus" as Best Documentary Feature last year, I also think it's the favorite. It helps that it's the only documentary with a second Oscar nomination, which is for "I'll Fight" as Best Original Song. Those are the same two categories that "An Inconvenient Truth" won. That's a good precedent, although I don't think "RBG" will win original song. As I predicted for the 2019 Grammy Awards and the 2019 Golden Globes, it's between "Shallow" and "All the Stars," with "Shallow" being the favorite.
I thought the final two nominations would be for "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" and "Three Identical Strangers," but both were snubbed. I am not surprised; the Documentary Branch snubbed "Jane" last year, even though I thought it was the second-best documentary of 2017. In the comments to the YouTube video above, user Connor Webb made the following observation.
I've been feeling a certain way about the Documentary branch, and the snub of Won't You Be My Neighbor proves it. I don't think they like the idea of a person winning multiple Best Documentary Oscars. If Won't You Be My Neighbor was nominated, everyone would vote for it to win. So they didn't let it get nominated.
That's what I think about both "Jane" and "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" not being nominated. They would have won if allowed to be put before a vote of the full academy membership, so they weren't nominated. I hope both get an opportunity at the Emmy Awards. That certainly will happen for "Minding the Gap," which is on Hulu.
Instead, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” and “Of Fathers and Sons” earned the final two nominations. I had at least heard of “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” so I wasn't completely surprised at its nomination, but "Of Fathers and Sons" blindsided me. However, the latter's documentation of life inside the Islamic Califate AKA the empire of the Sith Jihad makes for a valuable social and political contribution. That written, even though this is the second most political film of the field, I don't think it has much of a chance. For starters, it's originally in German. “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” is at least in English and about the American South.
“I’ll Fight” is performed by Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson with music and lyrics by Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe-winning, and 9-time Academy Award-nominated, songwriter Diane Warren.
I'll have more about the Oscar nominees as well as the winners of other awards shows, beginning with the SAG Awards, which take place tonight. Stay tuned.
The Nobel Laureates are announced at the beginning of October each year. A couple of months later, on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, they receive their prizes from the Swedish King – a Nobel diploma, a medal, and 10 million Swedish crowns per prize. All Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, except for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. (When Alfred Nobel was alive, Norway and Sweden were united under one monarch, until 1905 when Norway became an independent kingdom with its own king.)
The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Oct. 5 to Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, and Nadia Murad, a Yazidi activist. Both have worked to place the spotlight on ending sexual violence in armed conflicts.
Congratulations to both, but especially Murad, who I consider to be a hero in the struggle against the Daesh AKA the Sith Jihad.
Next, the winners of the Economics Prize, which isn't really a Nobel Prize, but is important nonetheless. I have particular reason to celebrate this year, as the Financial Times reported Nobel economics prize winners change how we think about growth.
Technological and environmental change have transformed economies. The FT's Martin Sandbu says next time you marvel at your app or worry about extreme weather give a thought to Paul Romer and William Nordhaus, the winners of this year’s Nobel prize in economics.
Technology and environment in economics — these are definitely on-topic for my blog! I should probably examine Nordhaus and his ideas in depth in a future entry, as I consider myself a supporter of the field he founded, environmental economics.
There will be no Nobel Prize for Literature awarded this year, because the organization that decides the winner is dealing with a scandal over sexual assault allegations. The Swedish Academy says it will announce the 2018 winner along with the 2019 winner next year.
I did not plan on closing the circle by making the first and last videos about sexual violence; it just worked out that way. Still, I find it grimly satisfying that the Literature Prize selection committee has to follow the lead of the Peace Prize in fighting against sexual violence. May they clean up their act enough to be able to award two prizes next year. one for 2018 and another for 2019.
I observed that "Mass shootings, hurricanes, and Syria dominated the news last year, so it's no surprise they dominate the nominations and I plan on writing about all the nominees about them." I've written about nominees coveringhurricanes and mass shootings, so after taking a break from the News and Documentary Emmy nominees, to celebrate National Coffee Day and Wester, it's time to return to the News and Documentary Emmy Awards and examine the 11 nominees with 17 nominations among them that reported on the Syrian Civil War.*
Syria has been such a dominant story that I have mentioned at least one nominee covering it in every entry about the News and Documentary Emmy Award nominees so far, beginning with Putin and Trump-Russia at the Emmy Awards. There, I noted that "'The Wounds of War' and 'Cries from Syria' are probably the toughest competition, as both have four nominations each, tied for the most nominations for any single entry with 'Charlottesville: Race and Terror' by Vice News Tonight." Since my preference is to work my way down from the nominees with the most nominations, I am beginning today's examination with "Cries from Syria," breaking the tie because the list of nominees mentions it first.
No less than three documentaries about Syria premiered in Sundance this year. Director Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts looked at the citizen journalists reporting from Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIS in Syria. Last Men in Aleppo, from Feras Fayyad, looked at the so-called White Helmets in Aleppo, a group that goes in after every air raid in the Syrian city under siege to help save victims from the rubble. Both documentaries had a rather narrow focus that allowed them to explore the human impact and dimensions of a small part of the conflict.
Evgeny Afineevsky, who directed Cries From Syria, does the opposite, packing an overview of the entire six years of the complex conflict into a film of just under two hours in an approach that’s strongly reminiscent of his Oscar- and Emmy-nominated film Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom. Essentially a primer for those who haven’t watched or read the news from a reputable source since 2011, this compact and more than occasionally gruesome item is especially strong for its first three chapters, before it tackles the Syrian refugee crisis in too superficial and sentimental a manner.
I can see why it was the fourth most honored documentary of 2017 as of the end of last year, tied with "ChasingCoral." The trailer alone shows a well-made and gripping film.
Joining "Last Men in Aleppo" as nominees for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary are "Beware the Slenderman" and "Cries From Syria" from HBO, "National Bird" from "Independent Lens" on PBS, and fellow "POV" on PBS candidate "Almost Sunrise." "Cries from Syria" also earned nominations for Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Research, and Outstanding Music & Sound, so it has a better chance of winning a statuette than "Last Men in Aleppo."
Four of the five nominees in this category have a direct or indirect relationship to the Syrian Civil War, with both "Cries from Syria" and "Last Men in Aleppo" being about the conflict itself, while "National Bird" examines U.S. drone warfare, some of which takes place in Syria as part of the fight against ISIS/Daesh, and the effect it has had on the veterans who have waged it. "Almost Sunrise" looks at the issue even more indirectly, as described in IMDB.
The epic journey of two friends, ex-soldiers, who battle the moral injuries of war, and the temptation to escape through suicide, as they walk across America. Step by step, Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson confront the demons that haunt them, while discovering the power of community and spirituality to heal them.
"Almost Sunrise" even more directly examines the suffering of veterans.
The odd film out is "Beware the Slenderman," which is about the horror figure from urban legend. I might look at that for Halloween. Right now, there is enough real-life horror to write about.
Speaking of which, it's time to continue being a good environmentalist and recycle what I wrote about the nominees for Outstanding Writing: "'Putin's Revenge' faces a less tough field for Outstanding Writing, 'Alma' and 'The Wounds of War' from 60 Minutes, fellow 'Frontline' episode 'The Divided States of America,' and 'Cries from Syria'..." Outstanding Writing may be a less tough field than Best Documentary, for which "Putin's Revenge" is also nominated, but both "Cries from Syria" and "The Wounds of War" have four nominations at these awards and I think one of them may have a better chance than "Putin's Revenge."
"Cries from Syria" and "The Wounds of War" are also in direct competition for Outstanding Research along with "Let It Fall: Los Angeles: 1982-1992," also nominated for Outstanding Historical Documentary, "Frontline" episode "Iraq Uncovered," also nominated for Outstanding Investigative Documentary, and "The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick," also nominated for Outstanding Promotional Announcement as well as being a four-time nominee at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, making it the only program nominated at both editions of the Emmy Awards for which it was eligible. My intuition tells me that "The Vietnam War" has the inside track for this award simply because of Ken Burns' history, pun intended.
For their third nominated category, both "Chasing Coral" and "Yosemite" are competing for Outstanding Music & Sound along with the HBO Documentary Films "Cries From Syria" and "The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble" and the "Independent Lens" episode "Tower." The most formidable overall are "Cries from Syria," which also has nominations for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, Outstanding Writing, and Outstanding Research, and "Tower," about the first mass school shooting in U.S. history at the University of Texas, which earned a nomination for Outstanding Historical Documentary as well...However, I suspect "The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble" might be the fiercest competitor for Outstanding Music & Sound; it also earned nominations for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary and Outstanding Editing: Documentary.
"Charlottesville: Race and Terror" finally runs into one of the other entries with four nominations in the field for Outstanding Video Journalism: News, where it is competing against "60 Minutes: The Wounds of War," which is about the Syrian Civil War. That makes for an intriguing match-up. The other nominees in this category include "BBC World News America: Fight For Raqqa – Darren Conway," CNN's "Global Warning: Arctic Melt," and "Vox Borders," none of which have other nominations. Yeah, I think this contest is between Charlottesville and Syria.
"BBC World News America: Fight For Raqqa – Darren Conway" is the other nominee about the Syrian Civil War, but I would be surprised if it won.
The final category for which "The Wounds of War" earned a nomination is Best Story in a Newsmagazine, where it is competing against fellow "60 Minutes" segment "Investigating the Opioid Epidemic: The Whistleblower and Too Big to Prosecute" produced in cooperation with The Washington Post, the "Fault Lines" report "Heroin's Children" from Al Jazeera International USA, another nominee about the opioid epidemic with two other nominations for Outstanding Science, Medical and Environmental Report and Outstanding Editing: News, and two episodes of "Frontline," "Battle for Iraq" and "Inside Yemen." The former also has a nomination for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story, while this is the only nomination for the latter. Based on its total number of nominations, I think "The Wounds of War" is the favorite, but it is facing stiff competition for the trophy, particularly from "Heroin's Children."
Follow over the jump for the rest of the nominees covering the Syrian Civil War.
After adding up all the points, I've ranked the qualifying films as follows with films having the same score arranged alphabetically. To see the awards and nominations, click on the link in the title to read the relevant IMDB page.
That's an impressive list of worthy films. I don't envy the documentary branch of the Motion Picture Academy; they had their work cut out for them, as there were 170 eligible documentaries this year. The top five from my list alone would make for a good Oscar field, but that won't happen, if for no other reason than the fifteen film short list has already been released and "Cries from Syria" did not make it. In addition, "Faces, Places," "Jane," "Long Strange Trip," "One of Us," and "Unrest," which are not on my list, have made the Oscar shortlist and are as good as any of the my top five. On top of which, "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" also made the Oscar shortlist and could make the final five based on it's being a sequel to a previous winner and as a response to the current political climate. If so, it would probably replace "Chasing Coral," which would be a shame, if understandable. As I have found out by examining awards shows, not every electorate is the same and the pool of voters matters.
Follow over the jump for the films arranged by general subject along with their plot summaries and my commentary.
I begin with the fourteenth most read entry of the past blogging year, Liberty vs. Security on Bastille Day. As of March 20, 2016, it had a total of 528 page views according to the raw counter. Like all the rest of the top entries, I'm being a good environmentalist and recycling how it got most of them.
The third most viewed entry of the month and the single most viewed one actually posted during July 2015 was Liberty vs. Security on Bastille Day posted July 14, 2015. I shared this visual commentary on the Coffee Party Facebook page. Infidel 753 then linked to it. Between the two, it earned 445 page views, 446 according to the raw counter. That was enough to earn it the new entry trophy for the month.
I shared it at the Coffee Party Facebook page again late last night and it has earned more page views in the past 12 hours than it has in the previous 12 months. Considering what happened last night in Nice, France, I'm not surprised.
A truck drove into the streets of the French resort city of Nice during the French equivalent of Independence Day, also known as Bastille Day. The event took place at 10:30 during Bastille Day Fireworks. The French media has reported that at least 84 people were killed during the attack. The driver drove for over a mile on the city's main street.
I detest Daesh AKA The Sith Jihad, but I hope the French don't sacrifice their liberty while fighting them.
Follow over the jump for two more holiday entries that made the top 20 last year.
Northeastern University terrorism expert Max Abrahms seemed to encapsulate a predominant sentiment by tweeting “Was the #OrlandoNightclubShooting terrorism? Was it a hate crime? Was it a mass shooting? Yes.”
Yes, it was all those things.
“I literally never want to hear again that LGBT people in the bathroom are a threat to public safety,” tweeted freshman U.S. Rep. Jeremy Moss (D-Mich.).
Same here. However, I have to correct the attribution. Jeremy Moss is a freshman state representative from Michigan, not a U.S. Representative. That written, I'm proud to write that he is my state representative. I'll be happy to cast a vote for him twice this year, first in the August primary and again in the November general election.
*I'm still in favor of this action. As for other measures, such as banning gun sales to people on the terrorism watch list or people convicted of domestic violence, I may be in favor of them, but I don't know if either would have stopped any of these crimes. They do make for great wedge issues, so expect them to be proposed again.
Purim has just about arrived. The date is among the most joyous celebrations in the Jewish calendar, as it celebrates the survival of the Jewish community against an ancient Persian Empire plot to annihilate it. Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar, which falls on a Wednesday this year. It begins in the evening and runs until sunset Thursday.
Although Jews began marking the date in the first century, it grew into a popular holiday during the Middle Ages. Today, it is celebrated with food and treats, dancing, festivals and costumes. So what’s the holiday all about, and how is it celebrated? Here’s a handy guide to help answer that question.
Click on the link to read more about the event in history the holiday commemorates and how the holiday is celebrated.
The proposal from fellow GOP candidate Donald Trump to shut the nation’s doors to Muslims, was a violation of the United States constitution which prohibits discrimination based on religion, he said.
Instead, “We need to monitor the Internet to a much greater extent for early warnings and put out different messages to show people there is a very different way. We need to attack their servers and use cyber warfare against them,” Carson said in an interview with the Free Press. “I’d also be working with Imams and clerics and say you’ve got to help us to identify people who are radicalize and encourage the moderate Muslim population to recognize that they play an important role.”
Carson wasn't the only Republican candidate to visit Michigan Wednesday. Marco Rubio made a stop in Oakland County, which WXYZ covered in Rubio campaigns in Waterford.
Senator Marco Rubio is campaigning in Waterford as he visits Michigan.
Between Carson and Rubio, it looks like the Republicans have decided to make national security and the threat from the Sith Jihad a major campaign issue. After the attacks in Paris and SanBernardino, I shouldn't be surprised.
Soccer fans responded to a series of explosions and shootings in Paris by singing the French national anthem as they were evacuated from the stadium.
Vive la France!
*That's right, as Reuters via The Huffington Post reported today "Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Deadly Paris Attacks." First the Russians, now the French. Keep making enemies by the boatloads, assholes. As Infidel753 quoted Comrade Misfit today: "Other than the Americans, there aren't many nations capable of projecting military force at a considerable distance beyond their own borders. The terrorists have, in the last two weeks, seriously pissed off two of them."
When I checked Gas Buddy two weeks ago, the stations in my old neighborhood were selling regular for $2.76. Tonight, it shows them at $2.65. Furthermore, the Detroit average has fallen to $2.72, 21 cents below the $2.93 it was at two weeks ago. It appears likely to fall even more, as Reuters reported last Friday in Oil falls to lowest close since March, down a fourth week.
Brent and U.S. crude futures settled on Friday at their lowest since March and posted their fourth straight weekly decline as weak economic data from China and a rise in U.S. oil drilling rigs applied pressure. ... Brent September crude fell 65 cents to settle at $54.62 a barrel, the lowest close since March 19 and off 4.3 percent for the week. The $54.30 session low was the lowest front-month price since April 2.
U.S. September crude fell 31 cents to end at $48.14, its lowest settlement since March 31 and down 5.5 percent for the week. The session low of $47.72 was the lowest intraday price since April 1. ... Brent and U.S. crude have so far clocked double-digit losses in July. With U.S. crude off 19 percent, it could challenge December's 19.4 percent drop, which was the biggest monthly slump since the financial crisis in 2008. ... Demand for gasoline has been strong, keeping refineries churning at high utilization rates, but August U.S. RBOB gasoline futures settled below its 200-day moving average of $1.8514 a gallon on Friday.
"This looks like profit-taking as the end of the U.S. driving season gets closer," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
I promised reports on cyberwarfare as waged by ISIS AKA The Sith Jihad, China, and Russia in the footnote to National Donut Day 2015. I took care of the first in Sith Jihad's use of social media a double-edged sword. Now it's time to see how the junior partner in The CoDominion treats its senior partner. ... I should also examine American cyber-snooping in the wake of the passing of the USA Freedom Act--after I write about the Russians.
Cybersecurity experts now believe that the attack on France’s TV5Monde, which shut down all television broadcasts for 18 hours, was likely carried out by Russian hackers. According to cybersecurity experts who have examined the attack, the Russian hacker group known as AT28 posing as the ISIS “Cyber Caliphate” were likely behind the hack of France’s TV5Monde television channel. U.S.-based security firm FireEye observed similarities in the infrastructure used by the Russian group and the one involved in the TV5Monde attack.
I could stop here, as this video closed a circle by tying Russia to The Sith Jihad. I won't. Follow over the jump for a story about the largest nest of Agents I've ever read about.
In the footnote to National Donut Day 2015, I told my readers to stay tuned for "my weekly gas price post with bonus coverage of the OPEC meeting, a special cyberwar report covering China, Russia, and The Sith Jihad, and the monthly meta." While I took care of the first with Gas up in some neighborhoods as OPEC decides to keep pumping, I have so much material for the second that I decided to split it up into three parts, beginning with the online operations of ISIS AKA The Sith Jihad. I begin with a 21st Century example of "loose lips sink ships" as CNN reports 'Moron' posts selfie, gives away ISIS location.
Social media revealed the location of an ISIS compound. Gen. Hawk Carlisle explains what happened next.
I plan two more entries in this series, the next about movements I really detest and the last about winners from the back catalog. Stay tuned.
Leading off tonight's retrospective about detestable reactionary movements is last year's 14th most read entry, What the Sith Jihad wants includes science crime scenes with 443 page views. It earned its readership through promotion at first Greer's then Kunstler's blogs. I shared the link at The Archdruid Report on June 25, 2014, the same day I posted it at my blog.
As for an "age of charismatic warlords," you're right; the U.S. isn't there yet, although I doubt it's a coincidence that one of our cultural icons is a tormented fictional mobster named after the high female voice in a choir, one that the real Governor of New Jersey is [nick]named after. On the other hand, one can look at two states in collapse, Iraq and Syria, and see what an organized band of would be 21st Century feudal warlords is doing over there.
I opened my comment a little differently at Clusterfuck Nation.
“ISIS is behaving in a psychopathic manner.”
No kidding, and they’re following the same playbook that the Taliban did in Afghanistan and Ansar Dine in Mali.
Even though I started the two comments differently I ended both the same way.
They seem to be intent on starting a Dark Age on fast forward by destroying the cultural artifacts of rival traditions, among their other violent acts...Yes, I call ISIS "The Sith Jihad." That's because I was twitting another blogger, Elaine Meinel Supkis, who thought they looked like Jedi. I told her that they looked more like Sith. My readers liked the comparison, so the name stuck.
Readers at both sites liked the Sith reference. Here are the ones I got in the comments to Greer's post.
@Nathaniel Ott wrote: "@ Pinku-Sensei if it's alright with you I am totally stealing 'The Sith Jihad' for conversation with my fellow Star Wars nerd buddy who I'm sure is going to get drunk with the darkside and go absolutely bonkers over the term!"
Be my guest. It's a meme and memes are meant to be spread through imitation.
@Cherokee Organics wrote: "Hi Pinku. Haha! Liked the sith reference. Tidy work."
Thank you. If it weren't for Elaine Meinel Supkis providing the inspiration, I probably wouldn't have thought of it.
At Kunstler's blog, the quote I responded to and included attracted the attention.
Seawolf77: I disagree. They are wholly calculating. They are goading America and the West to come back in; in fact they are begging. To tell you the truth I am surprised they haven’t found some babies in incubators and … well you get the picture.
Me: The two claims, that ISIS AKA the Sith Jihad is psychopathic and that it is acting in a calculated manner, are not mutually exclusive. Psychopaths can be quite calculating. As for the American response, give it time.
(Reuters) - Divided by mistrust and mutual recriminations, the Russian and Ukrainian leaders will hold rare talks on Tuesday that offer only a slim hope of progress towards ending five months of separatist war in Ukraine.
Since Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko last met on June 6 in France, Ukraine has turned the tide of the conflict and largely encircled pro-Russian rebels holding out in two cities in the east of the former Soviet republic.
But the diplomatic crisis has only deepened, especially since the downing of a Malaysian airliner over rebel-held territory last month with the loss of 298 lives.
This was the most read story on Reuters last night. My Ukrainian and Russian readers can make of it what they will. And, yes, I have lots of readers from both countries. Ukraine and Russia are top two non-U.S. sources of readers for the blog this month, and Russia is the largest foreign portion of the audience in the history of the blog; Ukraine is in eighth, and will pass France for seventh at current rates in a few months.
Follow over the jump for the stories about war, death, and destruction from Iraq, Gaza, Congo, and elsewhere that made headlines last night.
[T]he rest of the outlets in the neighborhood...are now at $3.32. What did I write last week? "The three stations down the street could drop a few more cents to $3.33 or $3.32 early next week"--called it!
Unfortunately, the strict reading of the next prediction won't happen.
Now I just have to wait for the corner station to match them.
It won't match them at $3.32, as all of the stations down the street raised their price to $3.45 today. It isn't yet matching them at that price either, as it is still at $3.65. So what went wrong?
First, GasBuddy shows the national average stuck between $3.46 and $3.47 for two days running, while the Detroit average went up for the first time since the end of June, bouncing off the floor of $3.38 to $3.41 today. According to that metric, the local stations are overpriced, as they are usually a dime below the metro average, not four cents higher. They normally would have stayed at $3.32. Something must have spooked the retailers. That something was U.S. action against ISIS AKA The Sith Jihad. Follow over the jump for more.
An ancient temple made famous in the film The Exorcist has fallen into the hands of the Islamic militants who have taken over northern Iraq, the Telegraph has learnt.
The pre-Christian worship complex at Hatra, a vast network of 200-ft high sun-god temples that is a Unesco world heritage site, features in the opening sequence of the 1973 horror classic.
...
Director William Friedkin filmed in Hatra for the first scene in The Exorcist, in which a priest at an archaeology dig unearths an ancient talisman belonging to Pazuzu, an ancient Mesopotamian demon. A child bogeymen in Mesopotamian folklore, Pazuzu is said to be alerted whenever his talismans are disturbed or touched, and in The Exorcist he goes to possess a young American girl.
Should ISIS deface the temple, may Pazuzu curse the Sith Jihad.
"The Exorcist" isn't the only item of popular culture in which Pazuzu appears. He also makes a cameo in Rockit by Gorillaz.
If I ever need a new theme song, I could use this one. I might find "blah, blah, blah, collapse" useful some day.
When I posted ISIS looks like Sith, not Jedi on Facebook, someone called ISIS "The Sith Jihad" in comments. That's such a good label, I'm using it for them from now on. Unfortunately, the best image is one from the prequel trilogy to "Dune." The rest are too offensive. So be it.
We know that ISIS, the al-Qaeda breakaway group that's gaining more and more ground in Iraq at the moment, is an exceptionally well-trained and disciplined fighting force, with a shockingly sophisticated social media strategy to boot. But did you know that they also produce annual reports with fancy infographics detailing all the operations they carried out over a given period?
The most recent report, published on March 31, details the group's operations from November 2012 to November 2013. It's a dense, text-heavy 410 pages, with plenty of data tables tallying up various actions the group took. A previous report covered the period from November 2011 to November 2012 over a much more concise 198 pages. Each report begins with a big, splashy infographic counting up various actions undertaken in the previous year.
The infographics at the link show how many bombings, assassinations, prisoner rescues, and other military operations took place during the reporting period. The latest includes how many cities they've captured. I don't know whether to be disgusted or impressed.
That's not all ISIS wants. Apparently they want to create a bunch of science (and culture) crime scenes. Follow over the jump for the story explaining how and why that I originally included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Summer Solstice 2014).
The US patrol of Iraq was a howling failure and this photo shows one element of this failure: the ridiculous way our troops looked.
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Yes, they have lethal weapons. But they are way overburdened with junk and look sad sack to boot. Lucas Films has this right:
If these Jedi Knights showed up wearing camo pajamas, no one would be amazed, they would laugh at them. I would also suggest this should have been the uniforms worn by our Afghan troops. Then, the Taliban would at least felt they were honorable fighters and not mud walls.
She elaborated her point using her personal experience in comments.
Rulers knew eons ago you have to LOOK the role.
I used to fight medieval style in the SCA years ago. I would enter the battlefield with full pomp, ceremony and wearing classy armor, shield painted with my standard arms, gold leaf details on the edges of the armor, etc.
The other day, I wrote about the ugly computer generated mud wall uniforms worn by NATO, US troops invading Muslim nations. Look at the al Qaeda fighters! As I compared earlier to Star Wars, they ARE ‘Star Wars Jedi Knights’. Only very, very brutal. These vicious men are out to rule with an iron fist and they will succeed because Iraq was tottering off a cliff ever since Saddam disarmed and let the US invade.
At this point, I threw the rotten tomato at her.
Jedi wore brown; these guys wear black. That means that the ISIS fighters look like the Sith from the days of the Old Republic, back when there were more than two at a time. That’s what you get when you have vicious, brutal people with the power of Jedi Knights [who want to rule with an iron fist]. They may be strong in The Force, but they serve the Dark Side. All they need are the red-bladed light sabers.
That was two days ago, and so far I still have the last word.
