terrorism

Love And Death In The Incel World

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

When incels started shooting women, it seemed to me that I had read an analysis of something similar. It took me a while, but I recalled Leslie Fiedler’s Love and Death in the American Novel, from the early 1960s. Seems like now might be a good time to look at that book.

In the early 1960s, second-wave feminism was just getting started in the United States. Birth control pills were new. The civil rights movement was ramping up. AIDS and public recognition of gay issues were in the future. I wondered whether Love and Death could still be relevant. I hadn’t read it in a long time and didn’t remember much of it.

I looked it up and bought a copy of the revised edition from 1966. The original was 1960, before Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique, although after Simone de Beauvoir’s Second Sex. I skimmed the sections about earlier literature, but the critique of 19th century literature, particularly James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Henry James, and Mark Twain was clearly relevant. Read More

Links – March 4, 2018

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

National Security Pros, It’s Time to Talk About Right-Wing Extremism.

Russia cancels talks with US. This just after Vladimir Putin displays his, um, nukes. Twelve-year-old boys are in charge of at least three nations’ nuclear arsenals.

Reactions to Putin’s “state of the nation” speech. More about the weapons mentioned in that speech. Yet more from Jeffrey Lewis. I take Putin’s claims with a grain of salt. Russia has claimed weapons that never went into production. I suspect significant exaggeration in his claims of testing. But we have to keep open the possibility that the weapons are real, if not yet ready for use. Read More

Links – June 3, 2017

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

Every Russia story Donald Trump said was a hoax by Democrats: A timeline.

Watch what he does, not what he says: Trump’s words and budget for NATO.

A devastating portrait of Donald Trump.

Everyone at Vladimir Putin’s table at that RT dinner with Michael Flynn and Jill Stein, identified.

Long read on phishing and faking emails.  When emails are released, consider that some of them may be faked or modified.

What does Russia want? Basically, a sphere of control and for the West to come to its senses. Very much a case of two parties talking past each other.

The historic B-52 bomber no longer carries nuclear gravity bombs. Cruise missiles, yes. Photo from here. Read More

Links – June 17, 2016

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

Broadening the areas of interest today for weekend reading.

Why young Americans are giving up on capitalism. It’s important to think about the different worlds that constitute our pasts. The world that millennials have grown up in was shaped by Ronald Reagan and the conservatives who cut taxes and government. Good job, guys!

The interesting thing that happened when Kansas cut taxes and California hiked them. The opposite of what those conservatives predicted. Read More

Thinking About Terrorists’ Motives

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

The police in Orlando, Florida, say that the attack early Sunday morning was terrorism. Information coming out about the attacker offers a great many possible motives: he might have been unable to deal with conflicts between religion and sexuality; he was generally a violent and hate-filled person; he declared his allegiance to ISIS during the attack, to other organizations earlier. Read More

Coverage of Nuclear Security Summit presents confusing message

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

On 31 March President Obama convened in Washington, DC, the fourth and last Nuclear Security Summit of his presidency. The goal of the summits has been to secure nuclear materials against diversion and unauthorized use. And indeed, the summits have encouraged countries to make significant progress toward that goal. Why, then, do so many reports on this summit emphasize the fear of nuclear terrorism rather than the steps that are being taken to prevent it? Read More

Links – March 16, 2016

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

Russia is partially withdrawing its troops from Syria. It will maintain its naval and air bases there but will remove some unspecified amount of troops and equipment. Every reason you can think of has been offered in the speculation as to why and why now. Here’s a reasonable interpretation from Randa Slim, who has been involved in Track II discussions with Russia. Also from Mark Galeotti. How much will Russia continue to support Assad? Will Assad support the peace process with his protector partially gone? And how will other parties to the conflict respond? Nobody really knows. Here’s an article about strained relations between Russia and Iran. Read More

Lessons From the Oregon Standoff

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

I’ve been intrigued by the Oregon standoff since it hit the news, more than six weeks ago. It’s not national security in the sense of most of what we write at Nuclear Diner, but it overlaps.

The group who occupied the refuge intended to overthrow parts of the federal government on the basis of their interpretation of the United States Constitution and perhaps other documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Bible. Part of their interpretation of the Constitution encourages armed force against the government. Read More