totalitarianism today

The revolutions will radicalize you.

Weapons in a Free Syrian Army safehouse in the town of Taftanaz. Photo credit: John Cantilie/Getty Images. Originally posted in Guardian UK.

Daria Solovieva writes about the growing radicalization in the heart of the Syrian rebellion right now:

In fact, the growing role of international fighters in Syria’s rebellion against the government, which started as a peaceful movement, is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Syria’s transformation into the center of gravity for international terrorists is becoming a reality,” according to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

But the number and role of fighters from the North Caucasus should not be overstated. “There are countries with much bigger numbers [in Syria],” said Aaron Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

And it is not the presence of foreign fighters alone that is driving the war, as the underlying conflict and dim prospects for its resolution take their toll on the morale of citizens in that country.

“Syrians themselves are becoming more radicalized because of the situation they are in,” Jarrah said. “Normal people are becoming more violent, more sectarian.”

We have reason to be worried. The tone is reminiscient of what happened in the former Yugoslavia once Milosevic and his minions came to power. Consider the Free Syrian Army's requests for guns and training as similar to those made by Bosnian Muslims once the ethnic cleansing began. France continues its historic commitment to arming the underdogs and those fighting for freedom, as the US continues its historic commitment to shifty navel-gazing.

Contrary to what the ultra-nationalists at the Serbian Network would have you believe, most Bosnian Muslims became radicalized as a result of the extermination policies implemented by the Serbian nationalists. 

Due to lack of support from Western democracies, Muslims in the former Yugoslavia lacked the option of choosing their friends- they took the guns needed to protect themselves from anyone who offered them. As negotiators and elected politicians were percieved as unable to protect their Muslim constituencies, the people-power behind the KLA increased. Of course, jihadists had plenty of guns to go around around the war in Afghanistan, and they wasted no time in arriving on the scene.

As Samantha Power observes in her excellent survey of "the age of genocide":

The perpetrators of genocide were quick studies who were remarkably attuned both to the tactics of their murderous predecessors and to the world's responses.

Nationalist Serbs see themselves as the victims of history. Anyone who wished to rise rapidly to power in the former Yugoslavia only needed to distract citizens from the poverty and misery by waving a big flag of injustice and finding the Muslims to blame. If you imagine Serbian nationalists to be big, tough daddies on a hate rampage, just remember the bullies in high school- those guys who lash out at everyone because they are ultimately simpering inside. Their victimology allows retribution at any price.

Milosevic and his friends clearly consulted the history books in their plans to create a Serbian homeland. In fact, the Serbian Network continues to claim that:

While talking about the horrors of the Holocaust, Jewish literature tends to be ethnocentric. It is understandable to a certain degree. Still, when talking about suffering in Yugoslavia, all of the literature talks with one voice about "Serbs and Jews"... For Jews and Serbs the destiny was the same.

Professor Enriko Josif provides a personal account of the shared history of Jews and Serbs- an account that could not be more agitproppy if Enriko ultimately announced that the Serbian ethnicity is actually Semitic. This reference to the suffering of the Jews during the Shoah is an attempt to reveal why the Serbs deserve their own homeland. Just as they Jews needed Israel for their security as a people, the Serbs need a greater Serbia for the security as a peoples. Otherwise, obviously, the Serbs will be eradicated from history. 

What is it about nationalism that makes it so difficult for me to keep my sarcasm under wraps? Since 1993, the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has indicted 161 people for crimes associated with the wars that overthrew the Yugoslav federation. 94 of these prisoners are Serbian. Although 15 people have been acquitted, several dozen suspects remain on trial.

Serbian extremists continue to consider themselves victims of a Western world who wishes to reneg on its promises of national self-determination while destroying cherished Christian churches and historic places. Muslim extremists continue to interpret history so as to weave a tight knot between persecution of Muslims and the need for Islamic republics.

In the meantime, the presence of jihadist enclaves within the former Yugoslavia continues to grow. And the truth fails to capture anyone's attention. Perhaps the future of foreign relations will involve a more "humanitarian" national self-interest than previously imagined as officials realize that it is in the US's interests to aid victims of ethnic and religious persecution before the international jihadist network steps in and does the "aid" in their stead.

MORE ON THE SITUATION IN SYRIA AND SO ON:

• Jonathan Freedland urges governments to involve "religious fundamentalists" in the Middle East Peace process. Find out why.
• Chris Preble examines the "push for a war in Syria". Listen to the podcast. 
• Ted Carpenter untangles the Syrian civil war and "its implications". Learn more. 
• The history of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo from 1999 to 2004 is a drastic one. Take a look at these maps to see where terrorism arose in the aftermath.
• The Canada-based Center for Peace in the Balkans is not what it seems. (On the upside, it does provide access to archived articles from the international press.) Here's why.
• Alija Izetbetgovic's Notes From Prison is available online in full text for the reading. Read it. 
• Samantha Power left the Obama administration in February of this year to "spend more time with her family". This seems implausible given the amount of space she devotes in her writings to the resignation fallouts of Clinton's inhumane responses to global genocide. I'd be interested to learn more about the details...

A close-up of the Boston Islamic Society and the "terrorists" to which it is reportedly connected.

The price of living in a free country is having to live with others who prefer that it not be free. Everyone knows the names of publicity-huntering freedom-haters like Jerry Falwell, the Westboro Baptist Church, James Dobson, and Dick Cheney.

But there are also individuals who aren't quite as famous and yet still know (often, from personal experience) that a little provocation and a few bombs always leads to massive reduction in civil liberties and individual rights. In that sense, any killer, rapist, or mass murderer can be considered a fan of less freedom and more security cameras. 

Of course, these days our myopic visions are focused on the "War on Terror" as kickstarted by President Dubya Bush. Much attention right now is being focused on the Boston area mosques, where the Tsarnaev brothers may have worshipped or through which they may or may not have meet the mysterious radicalizer named "Misha".

Writing for the International Business News, Jill Heller reports:

Tsarnaev’s aunt, Patimat Suleimanova, told the news outlet that an uncle of Tsarnaev’s had contacted a mosque the family attended and requested a funeral, but had been turned down. In addition, the Islamic Society of Boston, where Tsarnaev sometimes attended prayers, has also distanced itself from the Marathon bombing suspect, telling reporters that Tsarnaev was disruptive and received warnings from mosque leaders. 

Imam Talal Eid of the Islamic Institute of Boston, a research institute that sometimes organizes local funerals,  told the Huffington Post that he would not consider having a funeral for Tsarnaev, and that his alleged involvement in the Marathon bombings went against the Quran.

"I would not be willing to do a funeral for him," Eid said. "This is a person who deliberately killed people. There is no room for him as a Muslim. He already left the fold of Islam by doing that. In the Quran it says those who will kill innocent people, they will dwell in the hellfire."

Journalist Oren Dorell did a bit of research on the "terrorist" affiliations of the Islamic Society of Boston. The list is not short.

But it's also not detailed enough to serve as more than a jumping-point for further investigation. And I can never resist the siren call of "further investigation".... 

For those of you who like electronic databases, the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) allows you to search for alleged "militants in the War on Terror" who have lived in the US. It is a useful resource for understanding how name missspellings and English-based computer programs don't always lead to a match or a catch.

TAREK MEHANNA

Tarek Mehanna who "worshiped at the Cambridge mosque, was sentenced in 2012 to 17 years in prison for conspiring to aid al-Qaeda". According to Oren and federal investigators in Boston, "Mehanna had traveled to Yemen to seek terrorist training and plotted to use automatic weapons to shoot up a mall in the Boston suburbs".

But Glenn Greenwald disagrees and sees the Mehanna case as one in which "the architects of the policies he felt compelled to battle" will be the ones revealed as criminals by the long march of history. It is certainly worth a read and the elegance of your consideration. Greenwald is one of the most committed civil libertarians still signing his name these days, and his writings make me "proud to be an American".

See also the Free Tarek website for more about the specifics on how Tarek's arrest came about. Don't miss this thoughtful interview with Mehanna's family to find out why Howard Zinn's books may soon be swept off the bookstore shelves.

AAFIA SIDDIQUI

Aafia Siddiqui worshipped at the Cambridge mosque while completing her PhD in neuroscience at Bradeis. According to Oren, "she was arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 while in possession of cyanide canisters and plans for a chemical attack in New York City". Siddiqui is currently serving an 86-year-sentence for "trying to grab a rifle while in detention and shooting at military officers and FNI agents". Ultimately, the FBI got serious about pursuing her after "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed gave up Aafia's name as being a major Al Qaeda operative". Aafia's family maintains a Justice for Aafia website, while her supporters maintain a Justice for Aafia Coalition, and Stephen Lendman defends her with details.

Judy Bello can't believe that Aafia was "convicted of separate counts of attempted murder and assault for every American in the room, sentenced to 86 years in prison and incarcerated in Carswell Medical Center in Texas" when she did not so much as shoot a fly. In fact, it was she who was shot and had to have a kidney and part of her intestine removed. It is a strange and complicated case- one in which a mother and her children just vanished into part of the post-terror gulag. 

DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV

More recently, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has earned a Respect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev facebook page created by his friends, like Troy Crossley, and supporters who cannot imagine why "Jahar" would ever do something so nihilistic. A petition to President Obama urging a fair trial for Dzhokhar has also appeared on Change.org. 

 ABDUL RAHMAN AL-AMOUDI

Abdul Rahman al-Ahmoudi was a powerful player in American Muslim politics and lobbying. As the founder of the American Muslim Council, he broke bread with some of Washington's most eminent politerati. In July 2000, al-Amoudi and other leaders met with then-presidential candidate Dubya, offering to support his bid for the White House in exchange for Bush's commitment to repeal certain anti-terrorist laws. 

Daniel Pipes has, of course, no kind words to say about al-Amoudi in his article describing the crimes for which al-Amoudi is spending 23 years in prison. But Daniel Pipes has never been much of a diplomat. It's important to remember that anyone attempting to act as a moderating influence between extremists and the US government will be required to make contact with extremists.

If the US government plans to ensure that no American citizen communicates with radicalized Muslims, even for the purpose of trying to de-radicalize them, then we can expect a blooming of homegrown jihadist bombs in the future. The truth remains that the US has honed its skills in bombing and torture much more than its skills in public and private diplomacy. That's what we're known for- it's what you call a "reputation".

Reputations determine how facts are interpreted and assimilated by an audience. Our reputation for "winning hearts and minds" is akin to that of a heroin-addled prostitute sporting a "Jesus Saves" tshirt on the international scene. What on earth do I mean by that? Simply this- if you let us into your bed (or country), you'll find yourself host to a few diseases (or armed bases) that you couldn't have guessed were part of the bargain.

"The Pricker" imagifesto: Exploring the literary merit of conspiracy theory manifestos.

The world of Kevin Harris is like nothing I've ever imagined. What happened in Costa Mesa on April 15th, 2012 was either a conclusion or a subplot in Harris' online imagifesto. Police are still struggling to sort through the "17,000 word essay" dubbed "The Pricker" to make sense of Harris' actions. As the officials continue sorting and scratching their heads, I'm going to take a different route and explores its merit as an imagined subsect of the "fantasy" genre.

"Publicity is the culture of the consumer society. It propagates through images that society's belief in itself," said John Berger. 

As a conspiracy theory, The Pricker is actually rather mediocre. As a form of postmodern speculative fantasy, however, it deserves a thorough reading. Harris speaks in first person and uses his own name, which gives it the feel of autobiography. At those times when Harris reveals his strangest hallucinations, the text grows heavy with that confessional impulse carefully cultivated in evangelical churches.

In Harris' world, the US government and its mysterious allies control the flow of information to the public. Control of information is maintained by the assassination of dissenters through freak accidents and diseases, including cancer and AIDS. Harris renegotiates he common currency of pop culture, discovering, for instance, that the government arranged the murders of John Lennon and Nicole Brown Simpson, organized the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, and caused the death of Righteous Brothers singer Bobby Hatfield. All this is accomplished through use of the ultimate WMD, which Harris calls "the pricker":

The pricker is an assassin’s weapon that deposits biological agents into a victim’s skin, on contact, without their knowledge.  It can be deployed in the palm of a hand, or hidden in a ring worn on a finger.  The pricker is capable of inducing a wide array of lethal, potentially lethal and non-lethal conditions.

He explains how the pricker functions and why it is so effective. And Harris wants everyone to know that he is in on this metaphysical secret. He has spoken truth to power; he is a footsoldier in truth's revolution:

I have delivered copies of The Pricker to staff in the offices of representatives Loretta Sanchez, Linda Sanchez, Christopher Cox, Edward Royce, Maxine Waters, Grace Napolitano, and Gary Miller, they have not responded.  On 8/6/05 I revisited Dana Rohrabacher by handing him a copy of this. He is now Chairman of the International Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. Ordinarily, when you write to a legislator about anything, you can expect a response.  I’ve never had any response from any legislator on any of these issues.  That is because if they respond, they will have acknowledged receiving this information.  If they acknowledged receiving this, they would have to act on it.  While it is possible that some are actually unaware of my work, I think most simply don’t want to act.  Their predecessors would not have passed a law repealing all other laws (50 USC 412) if they had not intended to wield unconstitutional power.

Kevin Harris shared a name with a player in the events at Ruby Ridge. In fact, you can learn alot about the pricker by browsing the 9-11 Truth website. Reading "The Pricker", I become very conscious of my roles as a spectator- first as a stranger priivy to Harris' inmost fantasies and second as a consumer of these fantasies or conspiracies (though I think the term "conspiracy" overlooks their literary value).

John Berger described our modern role as spectators in Ways of Seeing, his notable book on art criticism and theory. For Berger, the advertising and marketing agencies (which today would include social media) have changed the way view, receive, interpret, and value art. "Publicity" is the word he uses to encompass all the levels of mediated, ad-based visuals in our lives. Berger writes:

The purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of life. Not with the way of life of society, but with his own within it. It suggests that if he buys what it is offering, his life will become better. It offers him an improved alternative to what he is. 

So the underlying assumption is that there is some "way of life of society" which is eminently ideal and worth chasing. Berger continues:

All publicity works upon anxiety. The sum of everything is money, to get money is to overcome anxiety. Alternatively the anxiety on which publicity plays is the fear that having nothing you will be nothing. Money is life. Not in the sense that without money you starve. Not in the sense that capital gives one class power over the entire lives of another class. But in the sense that money is the token of, and the key to, every human capacity. The power to spend money is the power to live. According to the legends of publicity, those who lack the power to spend money become literally faceless. Those who have the power become loveable. 

Harris takes this anxiety personally. He can't ignore it. So he confesses and "outs" it in a rather astute analysis of the popular TV show, Survivor:

That show presents an experiment in sociology in which all players are enemies who are dependant on those they seek to destroy.  The show was produced to sell us the idea that this is how we live.  It is how they think we should live, working cleverly for those who will destroy us. The twisted artificiality of that show is made to seem more real by calling it reality TV.  In real reality, people trapped in a difficult situation consider themselves successful when everyone gets along, rather than when everyone destroys each other.  I propose we seek that reality for ourselves rather than the insane artifice of Survivor.

With a handful of pixel-dust, Harris conjures up community of seekers united by the sentiment that Survivor obviously sucked in more ways than one. Wearing his paranoia like a badge, he makes skepticism the ultimate communual virtue while ignoring the fact that consumption of conspiracies is still consumerism, albeit of a very specific and often unpopular fantastic product. 

Kevin thinks his conspiracy product is not receiving the consumption it deserves. In the last section of "The Pricker", Harris comfortably straddles the line between fiction and confessional reality. Just after warning his readers about the "destruction" of society, he comforts them by admitting that he has "destroyed the alien spaceship plot". Just in case you were begining to take all this too seriously.

This is the long term failure of democracy, and every other known form of government.  Our social structures serve purposes diametrically opposed to their stated purposes.  Rather than defend and uphold the Constitution, officers of government undermine and attack  it.  Rather than suppressing murder, it is inflicted on an industrial scale.  Rather than preserve and disseminate information, disinformation is disseminated and information is suppressed.  Rather than protect society, its destruction is sought.

I have destroyed the alien spaceship plot, but there are more plots coming, more subtle and powerful motivational implants, robot weapons, biological weapons, and colossal deceptions.  We all need to realize that if we do not get this situation under control (or out from under control), that our entire species will perish.  At the end there will be only one of us left.  One person who has enslaved or killed all others.  All of the billions of people, with thousands of languages, cultures, and civilizations of history, with only one person left, very soon.

"Only one person left...", a classic line to build suspense when plot as a whole lacks direction. Surely we can understand the implications of a lone human on Earth? Surely we can muster the gratitude to save the lonely, misunderstood man who wants to save us from such an end? Harris mourns:

I have been looking for people who understand what is at stake; people who are not fakes, have not been fooled, tempted, intimidated, killed, crippled, or jailed, and who can not be ignored.  I have come to understand that the enemies we face can not tolerate such people because they know that just one such person could disrupt the growth of their power.  Because I have not found such a person, I have had no choice; I have had to become such a person.

As Harris whines his way onward, Orlando Figes' Lenin comes to mind- the last man, the only one who sees through it all. The theorist of the revolution is doomed to become its dictator.

If they really mean it, then why are they killing the only person on earth who can credibly assess and report whether they mean it or not?  Why do they want to hold the power of life and death over me?  Absolute despotism is coming, and the people who are bringing it have no intention of quitting.  When they are well and truly caught, they may say that this exposure has fixed everything.  It would be the same old lies, with a new bunch of fake reformers and watchdogs.

They have always recognized the vulnerability of the alien spaceship plot, and have taken it into account.  They have amplified the idea of the Antichrist, so as to be able to focus all the blame on one person, if they get caught (their supreme leader is unlikely to be the one identified).  The person who exposes their fake Jesus can then be hailed as the real Messiah.  That person would have the moral authority to pardon the unspeakable brutality of these criminals.  They will make sure that person works for them – If they can eliminate me.

I am at 3152 Bermuda Dr., Costa Mesa, CA, USA.  You can tell it’s me because I am the only one who can get into my house.  I think it may be dangerous for you to come to my house alone.  My only reader to come alone lives nearby, and so, would have been hard to identify as a visitor.

As a postmodern James Dean, Harris makes it clear that all the guns in the world won't save us from the pricker. The only thing that can save us is forming a community "in the know"- a group of loyal Americans devoted to saving the Constitution and revealing the pricker, a group which must obviously be led by Harris himself, the hero without a horse, the hero willing to blow up his own house in the service of the revolution.

"For publicity the present is by definition insufficient," said John Berger.

Harris falls in good company with wise critics of consumer society, but he parts ways with them by way of hero worship. The hero, of course, hasn't been given the opportunities to demonstrate his heroic powers. Instead, he muddles around through the mundane. There, he discovers that the boringness of the day-to-day is actually profane. He is the hero who needs your help to fix the world, to resacralize it. Pass the donation plate. Hurry. Our shelf life is ticking away.

For thousands of years people have observed the corruption of their leaders.  The leaders I have described here betray everything that is sacred.  Sacred, not in someone else’s terms, but by their own definition.  Truth, justice, human life, God, country, friends and family are all expendable commodities to them.  Think of this treatise as a test of character.  What do you do when you are presented with reasonable indications of unreasonable betrayal and abuse?  If we can hear of these things, and remain silent, then we should not, and will not be allowed to remain as entities with free will.  If we want to change the way things will be we can start by exposing the way things are. This is our last opportunity, don’t let it slip away. Your neighbor, Kevin, October, 2005.  First edition May 31, 2002.

Ultimately, "The Pricker" keeps you reading through what I can only describe as a taut tedium- a condition of suspense with the weight of gravity holding it down. Like good spec-fi or fantasy, it plays with your head by lending gravitas to the ordinary. Like religion, it invests alternate explanations for reality with a deep and binding meaning. Go ahead- let Harris play with your head. 

IF YOU'D LIKE TO CONTINUE THE MIND GAMES:
Ways of Seeing by John Berger (free online text via ScribD)
The Cryptogon (Kevin's alleged "friend") 
"The Strategy of Tension: Part II" (Cryptoscatology) 
"Boris Berezovsky Obit" (Telegraph) 
"Berezovsky did not kill himself" (Telegraph) 
Netspionage (The New York Times) 

List of links: Homegrown terrorism and its trends.

A Practical Test of the "Ember Bomb" As Described in Inspire, Issue 9
(California State Threat Assessment Center, 12 May 2012) 
A long description of how diy bomb failed to work per instructions in jihadist journal.

  A pissing-match between Iran and al Qaeda about Sept. 11th
(Public Intelligence)
 There's something incredibly lame about testicule-driven oneupmanship.

"Informational Bulletin 063-10"
(Oregon-Titan Fusion Center, 13 October 2010)
Intelligence analysis of Inspire Magazine content.

Abdellah Tounisi arrested yesterday on his way to Syrian training camps
(Michael Tarm writing for the AP, 20 April 2013)
Jihadists' courting of American teens continues and some question whether Inspire is an FBI or CIA plant to reveal homegrown terrorists. This humble observer believes that any such propaganda would backfire by radicalizing the same teens attracted to US gang violence and membership.

"Statement of the Command of Mujahideen of Caucasus Emirate's Dagestan Province in relation to events in Boston"
(Kavkaz Center,  20 April 2013)
Jihadist groups in Dagestan refuse to claim credit for Tsarnaev attack. Reiterate that their actions are aimed against the Russians who they believe occupy their territory and not against the US. 

"Looking down the barrel of terror"
(J.M. Berger for New York Daily News, 22 May 2011)
Why jihadists don't want gun restrictions in the US. Wonder if we could track their donations to the NRA? 

And my plug for J. M. Berger's book, which should be hot right now.

Inspiring teens to terror.

How did the Tsarnaev brothers get radicalized? The question continues to bother those of us who’d like to think that democracy and freedom lead to tolerance, pluralism and other bedrocks of civil society. And the answer is more disconcerting than the question.

Contrary to founding mythologies, American democracy does not line a path towards personal success, virtue, or community- it merely sustains the institutions which facilitate and protect these goals. We know from terrorist groups like the KKK and the IRA, or mass shooters like Dylan Klebold or bombers like Timothy McVeigh that it is just as easy to choose the wrong path as the right one. When the wrong paths create secondary victims, we rely on the rule of law and the courts to administer something akin to "justice" and resolution. 

The country that has enough freedom for Hustler and Reality-TV also has enough freedom for a racist drug-war, Christian fundamentalism, the mordant postmodernism of abortion clinic bombers, apocalyptic conspiraces, and Islamic extremism. That's what the First Amendment exists to protect. 

Coming back from that aside, global jihadist networks have been focusing on the recruit of young American and Western teens- the demographic group prone to pot-smoking, video-gaming, faux hustling, and a generalized ennui when faced with the pressures of tightened job markets and diminishing returns on those college degrees. And Inspire magazine certainly showed up on the computer screens of the Tsarnaev brothers, who are part of the demographic suffering from a lack of purpose or vision for their future.

Produced by the Al-Malahem Media Foundation, which claims to be the Arabian Peninsula’s “media organization” for Al-Quaeda, Inspire is an eye-catching online magazine which aims to “inspire” young English-speakers with a lean towards jihadism. It is the magnum opus of Samir Khan, an American jihadi believed to have been killed in 2011 CIA drone strike in Yemen. 

Mark Schone and Matthew Cole tell the tale:

Khan, 25, was the Saudi-born, New York-raised editor behind "Inspire" magazine, the English language online publication of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. Khan had become a rising figure in jihadist propaganda and an "aspiring" Awlaki, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

But while Awlaki relied on sermons to recruit jihadis, Khan used sarcasm and idiomatic English in an attempt to appeal to Western youth. As Khan himself has said, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I [am] Al Qaeda to the core." He titled a rebuke of toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak "A Cold Diss." Khan's ability to use American vernacular, like a graphic depicting graffiti that reads, "Jihad 4 Eva," had prompted concerns that young Muslims with an interest in jihad and al Qaeda would be drawn to a voice similar to their own.

For those familiar with the street lingo of American gangs, Khan promised the greatest gang ever known- a global gang that would stop at nothing with all the machismo required to shoot the bird at death. The Insuire post from March 3, 2013 offers access to the tenth issue of magazine and mentions nine other issues intended "for educational and informational purposes", most of which involve righting the wrongs of the Crusades and waging "holy war" to "defend the honor of Islam".

There is no question about the powerful lure of this propaganda in recruiting Western teens for jihad. The most recent issue (dated Winter 2013) is preceded by a flyer juxtaposing the quote “And victory is not but from Allah” with images of past covers dedicated to leaders in the global jihadist movement. The table of contents looks tiny next to the large yellow font reading:

Crusaders, you will never enjoy tranquility. Your nations will never enjoy security as long as we have pulsing veins and pumping hearts. We are coming by the will of Allah! O lions of Tawheed, be determined when you hear this call that no night will fall except your swords are dripping off the enemies’ blood.

Advertisements for agitprop films narrow the intended audience to those who would appreciate "English subtitles".

Profiles of recent martyrs sit next to inspirational quotes from the Suras, reinforcing the splendor and honor of dying a jihadist's death. If you're tired of playing X-box and hooking up with girls who hate themselves enough to hook up with you, why not find a meaning to all the "gibberish" in jihad? Why not join the global jihad gang made up of the "hardcore gangsters", those willing to die for their loyalties and "defend" Muhammed with AK47's?

For those inclined towards social justice, there are promptings to learn how Islam is "the solution to racism". I did not read, however, any quips about mass terrorism being an "equal opportunity" killer. Maybe it's in the back issues.

It's the "Lone Mujahidid Ad", however, that really got my attention. Perhaps I can just imagine Dzhokhar smoking a bowl, leaning back in his chair, pulling up his hoodie, and finding an email from his brother with a copy of this issue. Bored, high, maybe slightly interested, he flips through the pages until he gets to this one- and then he sees himself, the self who is failing out of school and "wasting his life", the self who will disappoint his parents, the self who hates to disappoint people and prefers when everyone around is happy and "laid back".

There's a way out of facing mom and dad with his failure. There's a way out of working as an auto mechanic, like his old man. There's a way out of all the pressures and stress of modern life. Dzhokar Tsarnaev knew his time was running out. He took the way out.

6 asides concerning Hannah Arendt: How to bide the time between now and the next shoot-out or bombing.

Like Hannah Arendt, my liberalism gets edgier with each provocation, those of past week being a case in point.

1
A postcard from Walter Benjamin to "Hannah Stern" (above)
(Bard Collection) 

2
"The Spiritual Quest of Modern Man: The Answer of the Existentialists,"
a lecture given by Hannah at the New School for Social Research in New York City circa 1952
(The Hannah Arendt Papers at the Library of Congress)

3
Arendt's marginalia
(Bard Collection) 

4
"The Hidden Principles of Totalitarianism: Logos and Nihilism",
a two-part audio lecture in which Hans Bluecher argues that bringing science into human relations is "the mistake of totalitarian politics"

Part 1

Part 2

(The Bluecher Archive at Bard) 

5
"Arendt's Diagnosis of the Crisis of European Bourgeois Class Society",
a lecture by John Grumley 
(My Arendt)

6 
Futurlogical Brickbracks Anthology,
a fascinating yet remotely Arendt-engaging creation by Dale Carrico
(Amor Mundi)