Living the Dream.





Showing posts with label Baron Bodissey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baron Bodissey. Show all posts

Friday, June 15, 2012

re: "A Rational Actor in Pursuit of Wholly Irrational Goals"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna (" At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe. We are in a new phase of a very old war. ") isn't falling for the mirror-imaging fallacy.

Money quote(s):

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is on the verge of building an operational nuclear warhead. It already possesses ballistic missiles capable of delivering it.

Those who understand the eschatological doctrines of Shi’a Islam know that a nuclear-capable Iran will not be deterred, as the Soviet Union was deterred during the Cold War, by the prospect of Mutually Assured Destruction. According to Shi’ite theology it is the duty of faithful Muslims to bring on the End Times and expedite the appearance of the Twelfth Imam. One of the recommended ways of hastening the Shi’ite apocalypse is to cause widespread destruction in the world by whatever means come to hand.

Given these circumstances, it would be foolish to assume that the mullahs in Teheran can be discouraged from using nuclear weapons once they acquire them. "

It's not sufficient that the "average" Iranian might be freedom-loving, might "love" the U.S., might have normal and peaceful ambitions for life, employment, and a family.

Not when their nation is controlled by mullahs (and their ilk) who take this sort of thing seriously.


3/1




Friday, April 13, 2012

re: "Losing Our Senses"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe.We are in a new phase of a very old war.") noted the logical (and grammatical) fallacies.

Money quote(s):


"Those of us who follow the progress of Islamization on both sides of the Atlantic have observed in recent months the remarkable successes realized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in achieving its agenda. By focusing on “Islamophobia”, the OIC has skillfully pushed all the available guilt buttons on government officials, academics, and the media. The fear of being seen as racist or intolerant trumps everything else. Getting with the OIC program is the path of least resistance — follow it, and you are guaranteed to feel good about yourself. Even better, you are less likely to be sued by CAIR."


Remember. A "phobia" is an irrational fear of something.


"The concept of “violent extremism” is the height of absurdity. Extreme what?" (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)


Extreme (we're-not-allowed-to-say), of course.


"Without a substantive to modify, the adjective “extreme” is worse than incoherent — it is without linguistic or semantic meaning. This is the depth to which our official policy-making has sunk."


To be fair, adding "-ism" (and dropping the silent "e") does transform the adjective "extreme" into the noun "extremism." It doesn't add any semantic content, mind you (as the good Baron helpfully pointed out), but it does make it a noun of some sort.


http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2011/08/losing-our-senses.html







8/27

Monday, November 28, 2011

re: "Islam Does Not Belong in Europe"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe.We are in a new phase of a very old war.") shared the translation of an essay in German.




6/29

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

re: "An Alpine Superpower?"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe.We are in a new phase of a very old war.") noted a limited outbreak of rationality in Europe.

Money quote(s):

"The European Union’s lack of military capability has made it somewhat of a joke in recent years. Among the various member states of the EU there are some exceptions — Denmark comes to mind — but, generally speaking, Western Europe lacks the capacity to defend itself without the help of the United States. If the American hegemon were to withdraw or collapse, Europe would become vulnerable to foreign predation long before it could rearm.

Not so Switzerland. The Swiss have a long tradition of muscular self-defense, and are now intent on beefing up the size and strength of their army."

Our NATO allies have continued cashing their peace dividend checks long past the end of actual peace. Witness their limited capabilities in support of whatever their Libyan objectives actually were.

So, while in absolute terms calling Switzerland a "superpower" is a bit of a stretch, in comparison with their neighbors, perhaps not so much of a stretch.

"In defiance of all European trends to saving, there will again be 100,000 soldiers prepared to defend the country."


(6/26)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

re: "The Ideology of Pestilence"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe. We are in a new phase of a very old war.") explains how conspiracy is not necessary when consensus suffices.


Money quote(s):



"To conceive of the Islamic invasion as a centrally-directed process is to misunderstand its nature and impose a Western model of behavior on the collective psychological, social, and political actions of Muslims.

Overall Islamic strategy is not coherent and well-organized, no matter how shrewd and effective any of its individual actors and groups may be. To conceive of it as a political entity with a dictator or single decision-making body is to miss the point.

Islam is effective precisely because it is a distributed phenomenon, and utilizes what might be called a micro-ideology — a small set of easily-understood instructions that are encoded and replicated in hundreds of millions of minds across the length and breadth of the Ummah.
" (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)

Author Tom Kratman says something similar about transnational progressivism; that it's not necessary for there to be a conspiracy, only a widely-accepted consensus about a world-view.


"The exploitation of the infidel may involve a full violent jihad. It may also take the form of razzia — armed raids, pillaging, looting, rapine, and destruction.

In 21st-century Europe, Canada, and the United States, however, the preferred method is what has been called the “stealth jihad” — the gradual but steady infiltration, occupation, and subversion of Western countries.

This does not need to be a hierarchically-arranged and centrally-directed process to be effective. In fact, a full onslaught organized by an outside political entity would be detected and countered, because this is the traditional form of political conflict which the West recognizes, and in which it is supreme.

The stealth jihad in all its forms is the only strategy which can conquer the West, and it is very effective indeed, since our political systems have no template that includes it. We cannot fit it into any conceptual framework, and seem unable or unwilling to devise a new one that would allow us to deal with it effectively.
" (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)


The Muslim Brotherhood actually developed, and U.S. law enforcement discovered, the plan for an Islamic takeover of the U.S. Set your search engine for the Holy Land Foundation trial and take a look at was was entered into evidence. Or peruse some of my earlier posts with the Muslim Brotherhood tag.


"Most of the boat people who arrive on Lampedusa or Pantelleria do not view themselves as the vanguard of an Islamic invasion. They come with all the various motivations that you would expect from a group of poverty-stricken and mostly illiterate refugees — fear of repression and violence back home, a desperate search for a better means of subsistence, the desire to take advantage of the legendary bounty of Europe, etc.

However, since they carry within themselves the encoded instructions of Islamic micro-ideology, their modus operandi will be one of rapacious exploitation. They will have no moral scruples of the sort that a Westerner would understand, and feel no shame or embarrassment about being indolent parasites upon their infidel hosts — the simplified Islam they bring with them tells them that this is exactly their due, their basic right as members of a superior social group living amidst their inferiors.

Individual behavior driven by this imperative, when multiplied by thousands or millions, aggregates into an Islamic conquest. Not necessarily suddenly. It doesn’t have to happen all at once. Gradually, over decades, there are more and more Muslims. Always taking, taking, taking from the kuffar. Slowly, imperceptibly, as they become more numerous, our system fades away and is replaced by theirs.

In the long run, Islamic exploitation always fails. The parasite always kills its host. The process takes centuries — the glory of the Persians and the Byzantines persisted for a long time after the Islamic conquest. But in the end their lights guttered and died, and they became corrupt and backward satrapies until the magic of petroleum revived them.
"


This process is well understood among leading Islamic scholars. Witness a recent call, in the interests of ending Egyptian poverty, for the taking of loot, booty, and slaves from the (infidel) West.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

re: "BREAKING: NATO Airstrike On Gaddafi Home Kills Son But Not Colonel Crazy"

DrewM. at Ace of Spades HQ questions the targeting.


Money quote(s):


"So, I'm still unclear if the purpose of the NATO mission is to topple the regime and/or kill Gaddafi or just protect civilians. I'm not a military expert but I'm not clear on how bombing someone's home protects civilians hundreds of miles away. Actually, I do (no Gaddafi, no danger) but I was told by the President that killing Gaddafi wasn't part of our military strategy. It's almost like Obama and the rest of the NATO leaders are saying one thing but acting very differently."


&


"Now suddenly talking out of your ass about policy and military goals is a good thing, Smart Diplomacy one might say.


Let's just be honest...we want this guy dead and we're going to kill him. Is that so hard?"


_____


Interestingly, the casualty list from this attack needs an update:



"Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi revealed that Col. Muammar Qaddafi’s son was not really killed by a NATO attack on the Gheddafi family compound. He says that intelligence information indicates that Khadafi fils was not even in Libya at the time of the attack, and that the Colonel’s grandchildren were also unharmed."



_____



Hat tip to Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe.We are in a new phase of a very old war.").

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

re: "Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/7/2011"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe.We are in a new phase of a very old war.") has a follow-on development on the big news from Munich this week.

Money quote(s):

British Prime Minister David Cameron followed up on his declaration that Multiculturalism has failed in the UK by ordering the removal of funding from suspicious Muslim community groups. Such groups have previously received state funds in a bid to reach troubled youth and discourage them from turning to extremism, but the prime minister believes they may be soft on terrorism.

This takes Angela Merkels comments about the failure of multiculturalism to another level entirely.

Friday, April 9, 2010

re: "Denmark Tightens Immigration Rules"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe. We are in a new phase of a very old war.") relayed some heartening news from Denmark.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

re: "Killing the Golden Goose"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe. We are in a new phase of a very old war.") made some interesting points about Islam being an "Evolutionary Stable System" or ESS.

Money quote(s):

"(B)ecause the system is parasitic — it produces no wealth, but depends on booty, slave labor, and tribute to maintain itself — the environment must eventually change. When the host dies, so does the parasite. The ESS fails, and Islam reaches a dead end."

Friday, February 27, 2009

re: "Chump Change"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe. We are in a new phase of a very old war.") has an excellent explanation of currency and fractional reserves.

At least, from what I remember from my econ and finance classes that is.

Money quote(s):

"Today’s system of commercial and consumer credit is made possible by the practice of fractional reserve banking. Until the late 18th or early 19th century, banks did not lend out their cash reserves of depositors’ money. The advent of fractional reserve banking made it legal for a bank to lend out a portion of its deposits, and required it to keep only a fraction of those deposits — in modern times, typically 20% — as an actual cash reserve.

This means that when Joe Consumer deposits $1000 into his bank account, the bank can lend up to $800 of it and keep $200 of the deposit as a fractional reserve, maintaining the loan on its books as an asset. At this point the initial $1000 in cash has morphed into $1800 in cash assets and credit — in effect, $800 worth of money has been created.

When the borrower deposits the $800 into another bank, that bank in turn can loan out $640. And so the process continues, forming a geometric progression of assets which cannot exceed $5000 (500% of the original deposit), $4000 of that in loans listed as assets on the books of the respective banks.

This practice seems bizarre and imprudent at first glance, but it was absolutely essential during the expansion of our industrial economies. Industrialization created wealth where none existed before, but without a way to extend the money supply to match the added wealth, the capitalization of industry would have lagged, and growth would have been much slower. Fractional reserve lending allowed credit to be extended to industrial entrepreneurs, and as long as loans were made prudently and repaid on time, and banks retained their depositors’ confidence, the system functioned well."