Rice Krispie Treats. They are the perfect metaphor for Neal Stephenson’s latest novel, “REAMDE.” Stephenson likes to make poetic illustrations about junk food in some of his books, most famously his paean to Cap’n Crunch in the “Cryptonomicon.” This time around, it’s the aforementioned Treats, an amalgam of two fully formed foods, puffed rice cereal and marshmallows. “REAMDE” mixes the international thriller and geek gamer novels, seamlessly blending the two with only occasionally forays into obscure tech-speak.

The book, like all of Stephenson’s, is extremely character driven, flipping from one viewpoint to another, often in the same time sequence, allowing the reader to experience the action from multiple viewpoints. It revolves around a growing cast of characters, starting with former marijuana smuggler, now online pole playing game mogul, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast. He brings along his adopted niece, former Eritrean refugee — now Midwestern girl — Zula Forthrast.

The motley lot expands to include an ex-Spetsnaz security expert, a Hungarian hacker, a Hakka guide, a Chinese virus righter, a Welsh convert to Islam cum-terrorist mastermind, an MI-6 agent, and an Irish American CIA agent.

(more…)

So The FBI and NYPD busted a homegrown terror cell Wednesday - a group of four men who wanted to replace two Bronx synagogues with a crater.

(Thank God religion had nothing to do with it.)

It turns out that all the explosives they purchased were fake – supplied by agents pretending to be Al-Qaeda militants. Chuck Schumer called the group “relatively unsophisticated,” which I guess should make us happy.

But it pisses me off. Frankly, I don`t give a flying imam how incompetent a terrorist is. I don`t care if they couldn`t tell the difference between a Stinger and a stapler, the fact is – it`s dangerous and stupid to make light of their ultimate goals, simply because they didn’t reach them. (more…)

Fade In:

Intertitle: Movies Are a Moral Landscape

The Battle of Algiers, (1965) directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, a perennial favorite on college campuses, is hailed as a modern classic. Certainly the skillful use of black & white cinema verite is highly effective, making the viewer feel as if he’s been plunged into the heart of the Algerian maelstrom. The scenes of torture and terror are stomach churning and bring chills to any civilized viewer.

But let’s be clear, the film is a work of leftist propaganda, beautifully crafted, to be sure, but a film that seeks to justify Islamic terror by proposing that the French were so brutal that the Algerians had no choice but to resort to unrestrained terror.

Sound familiar?

You better believe it.

When homicide terrorists first struck in Israel, spokesmen for Fatah, Hamas, Hizbullah and the slick terrorist network, Al Jazeera, immediately claimed that the, ahem, powerless Palestinians, had no choice against the brutal and inhuman Israelis.

In short, Jewish victims—the murdered, the maimed and the psychologically broken—were blamed for the bloody Islamic atrocities.

(more…)