Brickmuppet Blog 2.0

January 10, 2015

So....

Focus on current events is understandably directed towards Europe and Jihadism at the moment, where MI-5 is reporting that...

Parker said British security authorities had "stopped three UK terrorist plotsâ€ in recent months but added that "we still face complex and ambitious plotsâ€ by extremists who want to "cause large scale loss of lifeâ€ by targeting transport networks and iconic landmarks.

If that is worrisome, then this 2006 article in Der Spiegel is high octane nightmare fuel. It's a review of a book by a Jordanian journalist named Fouad Hussein who had considerable contact while in Prison with Al Zarquawi and was able to interview others associated with AlQuaeda. He says AlQaeda has a 7 point plan for world conquest and even has tentative dates for the completion of each phase.

Since the article was written in 2006, surely we can laugh at the comically wrong predictions...right?

The First Phase Known as "the awakening" -- this has already been carried out and was supposed to have lasted from 2000 to 2003, or more precisely from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington to the fall of Baghdad in 2003. The aim of the attacks of 9/11 was to provoke the US into declaring war on the Islamic world and thereby "awakening" Muslims. "The first phase was judged by the strategists and masterminds behind al-Qaida as very successful," writes Hussein. "The battle field was opened up and the Americans and their allies became a closer and easier target." The terrorist network is also reported as being satisfied that its message can now be heard "everywhere."

The Second Phase "Opening Eyes" is, according to Hussein's definition, the period we are now in and should last until 2006. Hussein says the terrorists hope to make the western conspiracy aware of the "Islamic community." Hussein believes this is a phase in which al-Qaida wants an organization to develop into a movement. The network is banking on recruiting young men during this period. Iraq should become the center for all global operations, with an "army" set up there and bases established in other Arabic states.

The Third Phase This is described as "Arising and Standing Up" and should last from 2007 to 2010. "There will be a focus on Syria," prophesies Hussein, based on what his sources told him. The fighting cadres are supposedly already prepared and some are in Iraq. Attacks on Turkey and -- even more explosive -- in Israel are predicted. Al-Qaida's masterminds hope that attacks on Israel will help the terrorist group become a recognized organization. The author also believes that countries neighboring Iraq, such as Jordan, are also in danger.

The Fourth Phase Between 2010 and 2013, Hussein writes that al-Qaida will aim to bring about the collapse of the hated Arabic governments. The estimate is that "the creeping loss of the regimes' power will lead to a steady growth in strength within al-Qaida." At the same time attacks will be carried out against oil suppliers and the US economy will be targeted using cyber terrorism.

The Fifth Phase This will be the point at which an Islamic state, or caliphate, can be declared. The plan is that by this time, between 2013 and 2016, Western influence in the Islamic world will be so reduced and Israel weakened so much, that resistance will not be feared. Al-Qaida hopes that by then the Islamic state will be able to bring about a new world order.

The Sixth Phase Hussein believes that from 2016 onwards there will a period of "total confrontation." As soon as the caliphate has been declared the "Islamic army" it will instigate the "fight between the believers and the non-believers" which has so often been predicted by Osama bin Laden.

The Seventh Phase This final stage is described as "definitive victory." Hussein writes that in the terrorists' eyes, because the rest of the world will be so beaten down by the "one-and-a-half billion Muslims," the caliphate will undoubtedly succeed. This phase should be completed by 2020, although the war shouldn't last longer than

OK the rather large transition from step six to seven seems a tad dubious to be sure, but steps 3, 4 and 5...wow. It also lends credence to the notion that a big putsch may be coming on the jihadi front in the near future.

Farther afield, Jihadists are even now having some spectacular successes. Boko Haram has sacked Baga City, overrun a military base and killed 2000 civilians. This was largely buried by coverage of the attacks in France, but this is probably a bigger story. Note that Boko Haram has also gained control of 20,000 square miles and declared itself a caliphate.

And closer to home, Molly Norris is still in hiding.

Meanwhile:

Around one million people are now displaced in the Ukraine.

China faces fears of...deflation?

On a related note, James MacDonald has written a book because he does not want you to sleep soundly.

For some, the glass is always half empty. (facepalm)

Finally, as if things were not crazy enough, this headline was in Thursday's New York Times: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Publish a Novel About Sherlock Holmesâ€™s Brother Mycroft

"That's it. We're doomed."

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 11:47 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 869 words, total size 9 kb.

Nevermind.....

Kansas Is NOT a Completely Different Country....

There are THREE seasons of Dog Days...the latest of which debuts on the 15th of this month and, as of this writing, has not been licensed outside of Asia.

So....ignore the rest of this post and go take Don's quiz.

Heretofore, I had been under the impression that Kansas was covered by US Treaties. However, it turns out that Kansas is actually a wondrous and weird place that exists in some other reality.

Don who resides in the Magical City of Wichita, points out that in his world the Dog Days page on Crunchyroll has this annoying bit of information posted...

However, here, in the tedious, banal dimension that the rest of us call reality, a click on the episode icons on a Saturday morning, results in s Saturday morning cartoon. It is playing in another tab as I type this.

It appears to be a fight show and never saw the first series, so I'll probably pass.

(Full disclosure: The annoying bit of information is present in this reality as well...perhaps its an old banner that hasn't been taken down yet, or it was put up early and Dog Days 2 is about to be pulled. )

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 12:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 206 words, total size 2 kb.

January 09, 2015

They Got'em

The French have reportedly killed both the Islamic terrorists who butchered the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo as well as another associate who had taken the customers of a deli hostage. It looks like some hostages may have died in the process, but given the fanaticism and brutality of the hostage takers it is likely that this was unavoidable. There will be some recriminations over this affair, but it is important to remember that we are dealing with people who are utterly barbaric.

No doubt the confederates of these savages will point to the fact that they were successful, having only died after killing who they set out to kill and that every other person they killed was simply icing on the cake of their victory.

And they will claim a double victory since our 'betters' are sending the message that such actions get results.

It is, therefore, up to the rest of us to demonstrate that these fiends died utterly in vain.

I would not normally post some (most) of these because they are not my cup of tea and it would ordinarily be rude and offensive. Additionally, there are muslims out there who deserve to be saluted rather than mocked.

Furthermore, I'm from a culture that greatly values propriety.

However, I, my culture and most of the various other cultures that make up this nation as well as the one that gave us Voltaire can agree on at least one thing. We value freedom of expression more.

If you try to shut us up with threats or violence, you are going to get more of what pisses you off and little or none of what you find congenial. (Though accommodations can be made regarding martyrdom)

To do otherwise is to give those who threaten and intimidate us our leash.

Those in the media who would back down before this are empowering these barbarians and giving their message and their followers affirmation. It is the responsibility of the rest of us to show that those quislings do not speak for us and that our society is composed of sterner stuff than them. We must see to it that such Quislingry is mocked and evaded.

Here's how it works in a civilized nation:

You do not have a right to silence those who offend you.

All stop.

Vive la France

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 01:18 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 392 words, total size 5 kb.

January 08, 2015

1d6...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 2 words, total size 1 kb.

January 07, 2015

They Did Not Yield

Cabu, Charb, Tignous, Georges Wolinski and at least 8 more of the cartoonists and staff of Charlie Hedbo were murdered today for no more reason than that they published cartoons the murderers found offensive.

Had I been aware of them before today I would have (likely as not) had a generally dim view of them as they put out a left wing atheist publication that presumably had nothing but contempt for people like myself.

However, they did stridently stand by one of the bedrock principles upon which a free society is based, namely that no one has a right not to be offended. They published satire mocking those things that they did not believe in, as is the right of free people everywhere. They were threatened, and yet refused to cease because they understood that to yield to such threats would be a betrayal of their readers, a compromise of their principles and a submission to the bullies veto...which only emboldens and encourages the bullies.

This was especially gutsy in France, where a large unassimilated minority has become increasingly violent in recent years.

Over the last decade the paper had been under threat of violence from muslim groups and under intense pressure from the government and various people of status in France to tone it down.

They did not.

These journalists stood up for what they believed in in the face of considerable pressure.

Today they were executed for their art and their journalism. The highly organized group of Islamists who did this also killed the first police officers to arrive on the scene before they escaped.

In broad daylight.

In downtown PARIS.

As I type this, the terrorists are still at large, which is an even more terrifying development as it indicates a truly remarkable degree of training and planning as well as the distinct possibility of a considerable support network. France is on its highest alert level for good reason.

The proprietors of this tiny boutique magazine are with us no more, but they carried on a proud French tradition going back to Voltaire. They continue to be an example, not only of individuals willing to stand on principle in a civilized way, but also of what is at stake with regards to freedom itself. In this all civilized peoples should all find common ground.

To that end...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 12:39 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 394 words, total size 4 kb.

January 05, 2015

Teh Banshee on Kanazawa

Suburban Banshee has an interesting post up on the Kanazawa Peasants Republic where she ponders the former nation's influence upon Japan's pogroms against Buddhists and Christians.

My attempts at commenting on her post were unsuccessful, but I would note that Kanazawa is neat and its history is really interesting. There is an awful l lot of "What If" potential there. Additionally, I gather that Lady Eboshi's outpost from Mononoke no Hime is based in part on this town.

The area still has a reputation of having a bit of an independent streak.

I took some pictures when I was there.

One thing that probably helped them initially (and most likely moved them up on the 'conquest priority list') was the fact that the area has one of Japan's few natural resources. Specifically, the river there is fairly rich in gold. ( Panning is NOT allowed today...the gold in the river is the property of some mining company which has a filtration plant....and any gold flakes that make it past are still company property...and can just go out to sea)

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:04 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 183 words, total size 1 kb.

Golly...

Yeah. That was...unexpected.

(I'll probably elaborate on this later.)

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 10:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 10 words, total size 1 kb.

January 03, 2015

Mixed Emotions

Over the last 3 days there's been a bit of back and forth on the veracity of this story, but as I type this it is looking like there has been an ebola outbreak within the ranks of ISIS. Now this could not happen to a more deserving bunch of scumbags, so the first impulse is to just snark.

Ebola Tan by åœ°ä¸‹å®¤

However, this is actually a dreadful development if true.

For one thing, you will be shocked...SHOCKED to learn that ISIS, is not responding to the situation with the rational calm of a civilized military (Eisenhower with the Spanish Flu) or religious (Samaritan's Purse against Ebola) organization. Instead, they are killing the doctors who won't go near ebola patients without protective gear....so...they are killing the sane competent doctors. One of the reasons ebola spread so fast in East Africa was due to the fact the area had been ravaged by a recent war. The areas under ISIS influence are being ravaged by an ongoing one, and ISIS is being particularly efficient at spreading blood around in ways not seen since Tamerlane.

But it gets worse:

The disease will go wherever the blood is spattered and that means into the local population which means it could easily get into the waves of refugees....

...or pilgrims.

...and that has the potential to be an unspeakable calamity.

The hadj is not until September this year, but Mecca is open to pilgrims year round. (Medina too)

The Saudis have astutely banned entry to Mecca for people from Ebola affected areas. However, ISIS is not known for respecting border restrictions. Furthermore, one of the more likely ways ebola could have reached Mesopotamia is via jihadis traveling from Africa. If these people were willing to travel all the way from West Africa to fight in a war, little will stop them from making the much shorter hop to a place their faith requires them to visit before they die.

Fortunately ebola victims tend not to be terribly mobile while contagious, but given that they tend to become quite messily contagious it's easy to see where this could get out.

The doctors of East Africa are not incompetent, yet a huge number of them have died even after getting proper equipment. Samaritan's Purse and Medicines Sans Frontiers have highly trained and well equipped people yet they have both had their people infected and despite heroic efforts the disease is still ravaging the area. ISIS is ill equipped, untrained and stark raving mad.

The question of how it got there is troubling as well. While the most likely vector was jihadis traveling from the infected area it is conceivable that given their megalomanic outlook ISIS was trying to weaponize the bug. Ebola is a poor bioweapon (though its terror potential is considerable) and the chances of ISIS being able to successfully transport and deploy the thing is quite remote. However given that they are stark raving nutters the chance that they might try and fail spectacularly has always been much higher.

Closer to home....

As bad as this could be it is still likely that the higher death toll this year will be from the flu, especially given that this years flu shot did not work. New Jersey is reporting its hospitals are full due to the current outbreak, which the CDC has just officially declared an epidemic.

I think its possible that we could see the worst flu season since 1968.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 11:35 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 578 words, total size 6 kb.

January 02, 2015

Crunchyroll Troubles

Is anyone else having issues with Crunchyroll?

Specifically, I'm having problems watching Fate Stay Knight and have for several days.

It just stops...then starts again and stops.

Oddly enough, other shows do not seem to be affected.

I've missed the last 2 episodes now and while a TV show is generally a trivial thing, this situation is now of somewhat greater concern than it would otherwise be....

more...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 03:07 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 79 words, total size 1 kb.

Amazon Reviews

Via Small Dead Animals

The product being reviewed is here, though as one might glean from the enthusiasm, out of stock.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 02:08 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 23 words, total size 1 kb.

Intermission

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 01:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 1 words, total size 1 kb.

Dreadful News

U-2s Bono took a nasty fall on his bicycle in Central Park back in November. Now, as the year begins, he still can't move around and in part because he had his elbow replaced, he may never play guitar again.

Just terrible.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 11:02 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 44 words, total size 1 kb.

Thoughts on Privilege and Structural Bigotry

A friend of mine who I respect a tremendous amount pointed me to this SJW screed....approvingly.

The article is actually thoughtful and well written, and I don't mean "by the standards of SJW screeds" either. I'll elaborate on my disagreements with it in a moment, but I urge you to read the whole thing.

The article ( by a Laurie Penny) is actually a response to a blog comment by MIT Professor Scott Aaronson . The comment (which the author doesn't directly link to) is here. It is also thoughtful and I encourage you to take time to read it.

If you've read both article and post, you've already lost 12 minutes of your life so you won't miss what you'll lose by reading on.

more...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 02:27 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 1594 words, total size 13 kb.

January 01, 2015

2015

May the year bring you all happiness and may the spammers find other, more lucrative work.

Art by Taicho128

more...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 02:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 72 words, total size 1 kb.

Epic Has Its Limits

Tonight, by chance, I googled something, which is unusual as I normally use DDG or Bing. I was curious as to why the Google Doodle did not appear to be particularly new-years specific.