Other Chat DCC

[Neo Emolga]

I'm not sure how many of you guys have heard yet, but there was a terrorist attack in Belgium this morning. Two bombs went off at the Brussels airport and another at Maelbeek Station. 34 people were killed and it's estimated that more than 230 people were wounded. ISIS has already claimed responsibility for the attack. As of now, Belgium is still at Terror Alert 4 (the highest possible).

I have friends and family in Belgium, but thankfully they're okay and weren't affected. I hope that if any of you have friends or family there, they're okay also.

I just can't understand how these terrorists intend to benefit from any of this. They cannot ever hope to win when most of the free world despises everything they do.

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

I just can't understand how these terrorists intend to benefit from any of this. They cannot ever hope to win when most of the free world despises everything they do.

The reason is that IS built it's identity on just a few pillars. Two of them were adhering to a incredibly strict Islamic fundamentalism in opposition to the secularization and/or stagnation experienced by the vast majority of the Middle Eastern countries with sizable Sunni populations, and the building of a functional state, complete with taxes, running water, and garbage collectors. IS's efforts at both of these goals are apparent when one looks behind the front lines of the ongoing conflicts and observe how they are attempting to run the territory that they control. The third pillar, however, is about attention-seeking. This is a common trait of revolutionary movements because in politics as in warfare the mere perception of momentum can be decisive, especially when one is seeking a revolutionary shift to the global order because it explicitly seeks converts to the cause. But whereas Napoleonic France sought renown through military victories in Europe and the Soviet Union through revolutions around the globe, IS has married itself to the idea that the Caliphate is ever-expanding. Recent and not-so-recent developments in the Middle East have hindered the growth of the territory controlled by them, so they have resorted to Al-Qaeda style foreign terrorism in order to demonstrate reach and strength. This way they can dominate the media coverage, which has the twin benefits of getting their name out there, especially through various social media platforms, to those who would already be susceptible to that message (a particularly successful campaign so far given the large number of European Muslims who have made the trek to Syria and Iraq to fight for IS and the not-insignificant number of people from around the globe who have made the attempt to do the same) and to reinforce the isolation of Muslims in Western society especially, hearkening back to the strategy of the mother organization, Al-Qaeda, which was to frame the conflict as a holy war between believers and non-believers. Attacks like the one this morning thus demonstrate strength to potential recruits, but also plant the seeds of doubt and division that make future recruitment efforts more successful.

As far as winning goes, I would be willing to hazard a bet that the leadership of IS does not see the rest of the world as being united on the necessity of stopping them. For all of the surface agreement about how bad IS is, they are in a pretty prime strategic position where the United States is not only exhausted by what are looking to be unending commitments in the Middle East, but is also being led by the nose by the Sunni Monarchies who do not want to get into too much direct conflict with IS for fear of angering their own populations and thus preferring to focusing on waging a sectarian civil war in Yemen with US aid, and does not entirely trust Turkey, Iran, and Russia who could all be valuable partners in stopping IS except for the fact that each of them have disagreements with the US over how this should be done, with Turkey preferring to overthrow Assad and the Syrian government first while also fighting the Kurds who are fighting IS and Russia and Iran preferring to support Assad's regime as the legitimate government of Syria and out of fear of what would come next, while the United States has picked the position of claiming that both Assad and IS must go but, lacking the will to carry out those proclamations, is relying on proxies that have different objectives (i.e., the Kurds seeking to form their own independent state out of pieces of Iraq, Syria, and Turkey) or who are completely useless or nonexistent (most notably the FIVE "moderate" Syrian rebels who had billions of dollars lavished on them and promptly surrendered their weapons to jihadists at first sight). The Middle East right now is very much like a scenario straight out of the Hunger Games, or Battle Royale if you have more street cred. IS does not need to fear a grand alliance like the ones that halted Napoleon and Hitler because its opponents all will find excuses to prioritize other matters over doing what would have to be done in order to wipe them out. A good indicator of this is the United States presidential election primaries going on right now. While there will certainly be plenty of platitudes about the horror of today's attack and calls for "something to be done", this will fade away and we'll return to the main focus of the election: the stagnating world economy and the undecided verdict on globalization. This is because IS has so far done exceptionally well on balancing on a tight rope where they launch attacks that gain them notoriety without provoking too much of a repercussion that it would cripple them outright. Unlike the downing of a Russian passenger plane that led to Russian involvement, I do not think that this attack, for all of the grief and pain that it has brought people, has altered the fundamental calculus in the mind of policymakers and world leaders.

That's all just the analysis of an undergrad in history and international relations of course so please do take it with a grain of salt, but I stand by what I wrote.

[Chibi Altaria]

I just saw that as breaking news this morning when I woke up. Honestly I just scowled as soon as I heard. This whole ISIS thing is getting ridiculous. Australia, for one, is still accepting these people to our country and though it may be harsh, I say to prevent any further distress (like what is happening in Belgium) we ship all the Arabic people back on a boat to their own country. I know it's unfair for a lot of people who actually DO the right thing, but sometimes extreme measures have to be taken.

I hope anyone who has friends/family there has been in contact with them, and they're okay. Thankfully I don't have anyone outside the country, but I still feel awful for all those involved.

Honestly, these terrorists need to just let things go, accept what they have and live with it. Makes me ashamed that they're even human.

[Neo Emolga]

What irks me the most is the fact they think their way of life is better than ours and they believe that gives them free reign to terrorize other countries with death and murder. Do they REALLY think major superpower countries are going to give in to these kinds of cowardly, infantile antics?

And yes, I mean cowardly. Only a coward would hide among civilians and attack non-combatants with weapons and explosives because they know they wouldn't have a chance against that country's military in an isolated battlefield setting. The reality is they can never win doing that. They may cause fear, anger, and unrest, but you can't take over a whole country or cause a country to surrender doing that stuff. No one of sound mind would want to join a terrorist organization because they feel it's the only way to survive. They may have killed 30 people in these attacks today, but there are still billions of people who want nothing to do with ISIS or the Islamic States.

I'm also wary of the immigrants and refugees. I would be perfectly happy and willing to accept them if they understand that they can't expect to bring in their culture and laws, and that they need to assimilate, adapt, and heed the rest of the country's laws, cultural norms, and morals, or take on the consequences of not doing so. Problem is a lot of them don't assimilate, and Sharia law isn't always compatible with the laws of many other nations that believe in equal rights regardless of gender/race/background. You can't expect the country you're moving into to suddenly change themselves to compensate for you. You don't come as a guest to someone's house, act like you own the place, and then declare what everyone is having for dinner and what they'll be watching on TV. If they can't agree to that, then they need to consider moving elsewhere or they should just stay where they are.

[Chakramaster]

Honestly I have so much I could say on the whole ISIS situation, but I think a lot of it you all already covered. It doesn't make any sense why they could believe such. It's almost inhuman. I can't believe that they even can THINK it's justifiable or will even bring so called "peace" to the world or the people of it in any way. The fact they try to prove their point by killing people AND at the cost of their own men it's insane!

My thoughts and prayers go out to any falamilies involved in this tragic spineless attack.

Aww, she sounds so cute! That's awesome of you to do. :] And yeah, post a picture for sure!

Edit: Well the picture didn't come out right =3. I'll have to fix that =/

[Suicune's Fire]

Honestly I have so much I could say on the whole ISIS situation, but I think a lot of it you all already covered. It doesn't make any sense why they could believe such. It's almost inhuman. I can't believe that they even can THINK it's justifiable or will even bring so called "peace" to the world or the people of it in any way. The fact they try to prove their point by killing people AND at the cost of their own men it's insane!

My thoughts and prayers go out to any falamilies involved in this tragic spineless attack.

Why did I get a notification for you apparently quoting me in this post? xD

Maybe somehow PXR knew I WANTED TO SEE YOUR DOG OH MY GAWSH SHE IS THE CUTEST DOGGY I EVER DID SEE!!!! <3

[Chakramaster]

Why did I get a notification for you apparently quoting me in this post? xD

Maybe somehow PXR knew I WANTED TO SEE YOUR DOG OH MY GAWSH SHE IS THE CUTEST DOGGY I EVER DID SEE!!!! <3

Lol oh no I quoted you, but something broke and I tried fixing it by deleting the post and quote and everything ended up going wrong xD. I'm on mobile so I tried to fix it fast enough. Maybe that's what broke it was posting an attachment from my iphone. Lol thanks! She's a big handful though. Loves digging and begs us for food whenever possible lol, but she's an adorable little husky. A total fuzzball though because she sheds like crazy xD

[Suicune's Fire]

Lol oh no I quoted you, but something broke and I tried fixing it by deleting the post and quote and everything ended up going wrong xD. I'm on mobile so I tried to fix it fast enough. Maybe that's what broke it was posting an attachment from my iphone. Lol thanks! She's a big handful though. Loves digging and begs us for food whenever possible lol, but she's an adorable little husky. A total fuzzball though because she sheds like crazy xD

Haha! That's okay. I thought that was probably the case. It was funny when I clicked on the notification and it took me to a quoteless post. XD I was like "PXR ARE YOU ASLEEP?"

D'aww. <3 I've always loved huskies. Possibly because I love wolves and they're sort of wolflike! >w<

[Chakramaster]

Haha! That's okay. I thought that was probably the case. It was funny when I clicked on the notification and it took me to a quoteless post. XD I was like "PXR ARE YOU ASLEEP?"

D'aww. <3 I've always loved huskies. Possibly because I love wolves and they're sort of wolflike! >w<

I totally tried fixing it, but it was my first time making an actual attachment photo here, especially on mobile. So, learning experiences!

Lol yeah they totally are! She's no different. Though I feel kind of sorry for her since she's got such a thick coat of fur, but now she's in ye South in Sping and soon to be Summer. She's going to need to be inside so much more than outside xD

[Neo Emolga]

Haha! That's okay. I thought that was probably the case. It was funny when I clicked on the notification and it took me to a quoteless post. XD I was like "PXR ARE YOU ASLEEP?"

D'aww. <3 I've always loved huskies. Possibly because I love wolves and they're sort of wolflike! >w<

Get a Malamute. Now that's a dog that's probably as close as you can get to a wolf, although huskies are awesome too. :D