Displaying 511 To 540 Of 3,237 Comments Undermining ISIS on Five Fronts- The Emerging Strategy Dune- Love it. Of course Herbert was doing just as you say. Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses, in control of individual planets, owe allegiance to the Padishah Emperor, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose noble family accepts the stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis. As this planet is the only source of the “spice” melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe, control of Arrakis is a coveted — and dangerous — undertaking. Dune has been called the “first planetary ecology novel on a grand scale. Lorenzo DiTommaso compared Dune’s portrayal of the downfall of a galactic empire to Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire which argues that Christianity led to the fall of Ancient Rome. Many other “falls of empire” can also be seen in this story. Many words, titles and names (e.g. the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, Hawat, Bashar, Harq-al-Ada) in the Dune universe as well as a large number of words in the language of the Fremen people are derived or taken directly from Persian and Arabic (e.g. erg, the Arabic word for ‘dune’, is used frequently throughout the novel). Paul’s name (Muad’Dib) means in Arabic ‘the teacher or maker of politeness or literature’. Throughout the Dune series and particularly in Dune, Herbert employs concepts and forms borrowed from Zen Buddhism and Mystic Islam. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 21, 2014 @ 2:53 pm Really good summary. Question…can you play this paragraph out a bit more. I think I know where you are going with this but I’d rather you spell it so I do not head down the wrong read. “Other adversaries of whom”- us, ISIS, the Syrian government, Iran? “A real complication is that Syria and Iran are also enemies of ISIS. Will other adversaries work with them at risk of undermining our policies against them?” I hope we get some others jumping into this discussion here. It is interesting. I have posted this a four sites and the discussion is limited. Looking at other posts on the topic, it is the same. Is this topic too fearsome, too complex, too nuanced, too foreign? That, in and of itself, is worth discussing. My sense is that many Americans hate what Isis is doing but they keep hoping that the Justice League of America or the The Avengers will how up and take care of them. Well this is as close as we are going to get to that. [img]http://assets2.ignimgs.com/2011/03/29/justice-league-of-america-20110329015318555-3421843_320w.jpg[/img] [img]http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/6/60473/3935397-colors_avengers_ink_by_fredbenes_by_danoliveira-d66pgjl.jpg[/img] This is tough stuff and I am glad that we have The Commander in Chief we do. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 21, 2014 @ 2:33 pm Things seem to be moving rapidly in this area. PM Cameron has called for a meeting of NATO leaders with their Middle Eastern counterparts immediately. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 21, 2014 @ 2:31 pm UPDATE: Halting ISIS Would Require Attacks in Syria, Top General Says WASHINGTON — The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria cannot be defeated unless the United States or its allies take on the Sunni militancy in Syria, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday afternoon. “This is an organization that has an apocalyptic end-of-days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated,” the chairman, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said in his most expansive public remarks on the crisis since American airstrikes began in Iraq. “Can they be defeated without addressing that part of the organization that resides in Syria? The answer is no.” But both General Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who appeared beside him during a Pentagon news conference, deflected questions about whether the United States military would pursue the Sunni militants from Iraq into Syria, an issue that many defense experts say lies at the heart any attempt to defeat ISIS. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 21, 2014 @ 1:05 pm The Revolution Will Be Criminalized…Unless You’re White Ad Libs point from a slightly different but very supportive and sympatico perspective. As seen on Fox [img]http://www.dcclothesline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/napolitano-2nd.jpg[/img] You make the case quit clear ad lib…If “they” are on the side of the right wing, they are good. If “they” are not “ours” then they are bad. That simple and that horrific. As many of you know I live in a very red, gun-heavy area. At the grocery store tonight there were two of my neighbors talking about putting together a group of patriotic volunteers to go to Ferguson to “spell our cops”. “Take a rest fellas, we got your back.” One of the guys laughed and said: “Of course we’ll be better armed and protected than most of those fellows and we know what gun were made for…shooting.” Even if the were bsing, the were scary. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 6:58 pm I just posted this at Daily Kos. I am going to amend my post with a link to yours. At Night in Ferguson FEAR of Concealed Congressman Clyburn Backs Idea Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who commands the security effort now in Ferguson, said at a 2 a.m. press briefing Tuesday that most peaceful protesters in the city should be applauded for their behavior. He then asked for their help in restricting future demonstrations to daylight hours to discourage criminals from infiltrating their ranks at night. I spoke with a deputy sheriff friend this morning. His take on this was enlightenging: “Almost anyone can have a gun here and although cops don’t talk about it much you never know whose going to be armed so you assume everyone is. It is a lot easier to get ahead of this in daylight than at night. I hate rowdy crowds at night. They are really dangerous.” Johnson noted that most of the protesters threatening police weren’t demonstrators. Instead, he said, they were criminals working under the cover of night and bent on using Molotov cocktails, guns and fireworks to ignite greater discord between law enforcement officers and the peaceful protesters. Ray Gillam, a community activist and expert on gangs, said: “Gangs love this kind of thing. It destabilizes the neighborhood. It makes their case – we have to defend ourselves. The messier it is the more they can operate.” In an interview this morning during a walk around the neighborhoods Johnson noted that “We use tear gas because that clears the crowds where armed criminals can hide mixed in with legitimate protesters and the media. We can’t get too close.” Congressman Jim Clyburn, a veteran of the protest movement, in an interview on August 19 on The Ed Show, has join Johnson is calling for morning and early evening protests noting his own experience in marching, in demonstrating, in getting arrested. He suggests that the morning event be a march and the evening event a rally at a common spot. In this way, the demands get aired, and the crowd and police are kept safe. He admits that lawless elements using the crowd as a mask require that community leaders work with the police in order to ensure the effectiveness of the message. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 12:38 pm What Can We Actually Do to Stop The Conflict Between Police and Minorities? Hi..I read your post earlier today. It is complex. It is rich. I wanted to think about it. Having done so, here is what I have to offer. The common thread running through your post, running through the several narratives you present is how corrupting the culture of violence is. I was taken back to an essay I read several year ago and spent quite a bit of time finding it. Here it is: http://www.gandhi-manibhavan.org/activities/essay_cultureofpeace.htm GANDHI – From Culture of Violence to Culture of Peace AND A PIVOTAL PARAGRAPH: As long as man lives on this Earth, Gandhi will be remembered as the first to have thought of non-violence as a governing idea of society. For Gandhi the present day society was imperfect in several ways. According to him, it is based on violence and continues to practise violence in almost all spheres of life. His perception was based not merely upon intellectual analysis, but also on the basis of his sensitivity. Someone has rightly said that he thought with his heart. Gandhi’s definition of Violence had a wide connotation. For him anything that smacked of exploitation was violence. Man’s exploitation of man, woman and the child as well as that of nature are all different instances of violence. Among the various manifestations of violence one could name alarming disparities in incomes, overdevelopment and underdevelopment, denial of basic needs, corruption, criminalization, communalism and consumerism. Unless they are mitigated one could never think of a peaceful society. A non-violent society of his dreams had to be a society that has no trace of exploitation. Gandhi’s non-violence was not a negative principle. It had a positive connotation and far reaching implications. Gandhi’s approach to non-violence places him as a farsighted, sensitive and perceptive man of peace. Modem peace researchers who have contributed to the idea of direct and indirect violence and particularly structural violence find Gandhi as an equally original contributor to the thinking of peace research. The concept of structural violence is a product of social relationships of exploitation. Viewed from this angle, the control exercised by an imperial power is a classic case of structural violence, the British domination over India being one of them. The fight that Gandhi carried on against it was a non-violent fight against violence. Gandhi’s concept of non-violence, therefore, stands for a society where there is no exploitation. This is far from the popular ideas about violence and non-violence consisting and embracing the narrow area of physical assault causing injuries. If Gandhi stood for peace and non-violence then obviously there was no place for violence of any type in his society. Both, actor- oriented direct violence i.e. wars and the system oriented structural violence involving exploitation were ruled out in Gandhi’s nonviolent society. ….the rest of the essay is just as admirable…AND THAT IS WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER. [img]http://web.uri.edu/nonviolence/files/Gandhi-on-Peace.jpg[/img] » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 22, 2014 @ 6:43 pm Ferguson: Why Does a Mostly Black City Have Mostly White Government & Police? UPDATE The People of Ferguson Have the Power To FIRE the ENTIRE Police Force Given the demographics of Ferguson, the people have the power to fire the entire city council, the mayor, the city manager, the chief of police, and to replace them with officers more capable who will fire the entire police force and replace them with individuals interested in serving and protecting the citizenry of Ferguson. This process can be accomplished entirely within a period of just over six months. BUT….Given the demographics of Ferguson, the people have the power to fire the entire city council, the mayor, the city manager, the chief of police, and to replace them with officers more capable who will fire the entire police force and replace them with individuals interested in serving and protecting the citizenry of Ferguson. The citizens have more than enough numbers to make it all happen. They just have to organize, register, and sign the petitions for recall. The people have all the power in this. They just don’t realize it. Yet. This process can be accomplished entirely within a period of just over six months. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 20, 2014 @ 8:03 am I agree, but the representation issue makes it even more difficult to make change than it would be otherwise. Imagine, a town that is overwhelming black and democrat having a government that is overwhelming white and GOP. Incredible really. Without political leverage any talk about change is just empty jawing. In the last off-cycle election the black turnout was 6 percent. Political clout does count and they have none. You might want to read my response to pollytics below in regard to my impression of the town. I think it reinforces your point of view. I would be interested in your thoughts. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 20, 2014 @ 7:42 am I have been to Ferguson three times. The first two times were for meetings re. the Affordable Care Act and the third was last Friday as a result of a call from area activists for a show of support. It’s quite a trip from my mall town to Ferguson which is just a few miles from the airport. I was part of a meeting at a local church in late morning which focused on techniques for maintaining good order while delivering a message in marches, demonstrations and rallies. There were 50 or so there. In the early afternoon we walked around in a group of 20 meeting people on the street. Another meeting in late afternoon looked at community organization. In the early evening we participated in a march which featured chanting and signs. Police presence was strong and assertive but thing were calm while I was there. We closed the night at the McDonald’s was so prominent in the first two nights of reporting and then went to a prayer service in an open lot which was quite moving. At the McDonald’s I live blogged with the Planet POV gang on our Vox Populi chat room. I passed messages from the Planeteers to the local folks in the McDonald’s who were impressed that we were discussing them and sending messages of support to them. They in turn sent back their thoughts to us. You can see that dialogue on the Vox Populi 8/15 in the Live Events Archive. Sadly, on the way back home (a two hour plus trip) we heard the news about the clashes with police, the tear gas, the arrests. It was a distressing end to what had been a good day. Beyond that I can add very little. What I saw in my visits there was a town that is largely lower middle class with significant pockets of poverty. Unemployment is high which is evidenced by how many young people seem to be spending so much of their lives on the streets hanging around. One gets the sense that there is no effective conduit for change. Good Lord, the town is overwhelming black and democrat and their government is overwhelming white and GOP. In the last election African American turnout was 6 percent. One also gets the sense that it is middle-aged and older women and church pastors who do the leading that gets done. Everyone is distressed about the overwhelming and heavily armed police presence BUT they are also afraid of what they call the “militants”- angry young men from the town who are trouble makers and have connections to gangs. The shooting AND the looting are two sides of the coin for them. Lastly, I did not get the sense that they expected there would be justice in this matter. They expect that the officer will get away with what they see as a murder in the name of law and order. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 20, 2014 @ 7:36 am I had no idea you were so informed as not to need additional insight. I tend to favor multiple sources. I will keep that in mind. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 6:21 pm Oh, I can see how it could happen. My question is does it? Your extrapolation is logical but is likely. I have a call into a deputy sheriff to ask that question. I looked into it today on line and could not nail it down. You have posed an interesting line of inquiry. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 6:18 pm Interesting comments in your last reply. If all that is in the report is as the ArchCity reports says, then your case is strong. The problem I have is that the report makes leaps from its strong reporting of the data you have cited and alluded to….to the kind of conclusions you last in your last post. I do not know the truth of it. I am looking for collaborating info….so far coming up empty. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 1:32 pm This is a good story about how Ferguson and other similar towns schedule elections. It supports your concern. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/18/1322606/-Ferguson-s-election-turnout-is-terrible-by-design-Here-s-how-to-fix-it » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 11:39 am This is a good story about how Ferguson and other similar towns schedule elections. It supports your concern. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/18/1322606/-Ferguson-s-election-turnout-is-terrible-by-design-Here-s-how-to-fix-it » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 11:38 am “Despite Ferguson’s relative poverty, fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of 2,635,400,” according to the ArchCity Defenders report. And in 2013, the Ferguson Municipal Court issued 24,532 arrest warrants and 12,018 cases, “or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household.” https://www.dropbox.com/s/vwptqn3mhq9xvy7/ArchCity%20Defenders%20Municipal%20Courts%20Whitepaper.pdf The report is interesting. Municipal Court. No felonies. These are almost all traffic violations. In my experience it is very rare for those in power to offer to share power with an emerging constituency- in fact nearly unheard of. BUT it is a different matter entirely when those in power block those who are not from access to the means to gain power. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 11:35 am Monica, you also made a reference to “Nazis” in reference to Brown Shirts…perhaps you did not intend to link them. PPO’ comment was about the tactic of blaming the victim for being shot by the police as the result of an escape attempt. You picked up on that with “You are correct in connecting the police in St. Louis county with the Nazi’s, they actually wear brown shirts, and are called the brown shirts by the citizens of Ferguson…coincidence? Maybe not. :)” And then you went on to say that you have people you know who refer to the police as Brown Shirts. SO….are you suggesting that the police are acting in ways that emulate the Nazis? Are you suggesting that local people here make that connection? Perhaps I am just confused. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 11:23 am Your comment on Off cycle elections – it pinpoints the necessity of strong, ongoing and focused leadership. When the tactics change so must the response to them. However, election dates are published one year in advance and surely a well organized community organization could address issues of registration, candidacy and turnout in that time? As to the Jeff Smith Story: Good insight from him in the NYT editorial page a couple of days ago. Here is a reference to it at Slate. http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/08/18/ferguson_police_department_the_economic_incentives_that_make_cops_harass.html I agree with it. I don’t how your story re. Jeff Smith’s parade experience and later conversation with a young black woman connects with your closing about knee-jerk white paternalism. By the way Smith who is white was a member of the State Legislature….who was running for Congress and got caught in a very interesting story. In sum: former Democratic member of the Missouri Senate, representing the 4th district from 2007 until 2009. His district covered the western portion of the City of St. Louis, including Ferguson. On August 25, 2009 he pled guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and resigned his seat. He admitted his involvement, and attempted cover-up, in two federal election law violations committed during his 2004 campaign for Congress. These violations involved his campaign’s coordination with an independent group to fund and create a mailer with information about the voting record of his opponent, Russ Carnahan. Fuller story at: » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 11:17 am Yes, I saw the Daily Kos story. I have some questions about how widespread the patterns described are. For one thing most small towns in this area make most of their money off of traffic stops. I live in an area where the speed traps are set up near bars because that is fertile ground for speeder and our population is overwhelmingly white. We have local police forces that spend most of their time raising money for the town. As to the practice of locking doors and starting early….that has been challenged by the court itself and by both prosecuting and defending attorneys as an exaggeration of a rare event. As to escalating charges…that one is more difficult to nail down. I am looking into that one as I think it could be significant. Finally, the Daily Kos article writer seems unaware of the narrative that I report here- African American political organization and moxy in Ferguson has not taken advantage of its population dominance. BTW, this pattern is common throughout the entire region AND a big problem. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 10:57 am Your history is accurate and does lay out the roots of much of the racial divide here and in many metropolitan areas. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 10:45 am What facts did she have wrong? » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 10:43 am “Okay, you are now trying to obfuscate so I’ll leave you to your misery. Have a nice day.” You left me the picture. My comment was meant to point out that just wearing brown shirts does not make one a Brown Shirt. Lots of policing forces wear these. No obfuscation at all. I do not find the image supportive of your point. As to “my misery”. I am having a great time. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 9:02 am Agreed, along with restrictions on registration and voting. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 8:42 am I have seen no mention of this in any media source available to me. I have been paying close attention. It seems to me that some reporter would pick up on such a provocative framing of the dress of Ferguson police as Nazi Brown Shirts. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 8:41 am I can show you dozens of images of police dressed in similar fashion from across the country. Brown, blue, and white are the three color most seen. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 8:39 am Tell me what you though I missed. Are you going to respond to my reply to your comment? » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 8:37 am I don’t think I ever suggested otherwise. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 8:36 am Norton is both a black and feminist activist who I have learned has lots of contacts within the broader community. I suspect she was was reflecting info from those contacts. I agree that citizens need to take control. It seems to me that best way of doing this is to agree to daylight marching/demonstrating only. It is not dark here until well into the evening. In that way anyone else in a mass gathering after dark becomes subject to extra scrutiny. That is the only way I can see to break the cycle. Citizen militia are not, in my mind, a good way to go, to much potential for widespread violence. The presence of provocateurs from outside the community is now pretty clear. As to the police- the militarization as a first step is a mistake and provocative in its own right. Further I do agree that there are police who welcome the rocks, bottles, and gun fire as ‘proof” of the necessity for their action. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 8:34 am when I left things were fine » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 8:21 am As a Missouri resident and as a community organizer who has been to Ferguson several times, most recently last Friday for a day of meetings with organizers and participation in a demonstration march and prayer service, and as someone who has worked hard to become familiar with the political and social environment there, I believe that the perspective offered in my post and in the responses to the comments made to the post are well founded. I found Congresswoman Norton’s comment this morning of particular value. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On August 19, 2014 @ 7:43 amComments Posted By MurphTheSurf3
and Open Carry of Guns is Real for Police
by Devavrat N. Pathak
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/magazine/81363/jeff-smith-fbi-car-bomb
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