Don’t poke the Bear

It appears Israel recently received a rude lesson in why one should always avoid irritating the Russian Bear:

Syria will adopt a new rule of engagement with Israel now that Russia has taken a tougher and clearer stance on the conflict between Israel and the “Axis of the Resistance”. Henceforth, Damascus will be responding to any Israeli strike. If it damages a specific military target it will reply with a strike against a similar objective in Israel. Decision makers in Damascus said “Syria will not hesitate to hit an Israeli airport if Damascus airport is targeted and hit by Israel. This will be with the consent of the Russian military based in the Levant”.

“Russia has informed Israel that there are Russian officers present at every Syrian or Iranian military base and that any strike against Syrian or Iranian objectives would hit Russian forces as well. Putin will not allow his soldiers and officers to be struck down by Israel’s direct or indirect bombing”.

Moreover, Russia has given Syria the green light – said the source- to strike Israel at any time if and when Tel Aviv’s planes launch raids against Syrian military targets or launch long-range missiles without flying over Syria (for fear of the S-300 and to avoid seeing its jets downed over Syria or Lebanon).

The source confirmed that Syria – contrary to what Israel claims – now has the most accurate missiles, which can hit any target inside Israel. The Syrian armed forces have received unrevealed long and medium-range missiles from Iran. These operate on the GLONASS system – the abbreviation for Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, the Russian version of the GPS. Thus, the delivery of Iran and the manufacture of missiles inside Syria (and Lebanon) is now complete. Israel, however, claims it has destroyed Syria’s missile capability, including that of the missiles delivered by Iran. According to the source, Damascus controls a very large number of precision missiles, notwithstanding those destroyed by Israel. “In Iran, the cheapest and most accessible items are the SABZI and the missiles”, said the source.

The new Syrian rule of engagement – according to the source – is now as follows: an airport will be hit if Israel hits an airport, and any attack on a barracks or command and control centre will result in an attack on similar target in Israel. It appears that the decision has been taken at the highest level and a clear “bank of objectives” has now been set in place.

These claims of new rules of engagement in the Middle East may be false, of course. They may be nothing more than the usual public posturing. But we will soon be able to tell if they are in effect or not, because if Israel suddenly, and uncharacteristically, stops launching missile attacks into Syrian territory, that will be a strong indication that the reports of the new rules were genuine.

And I tend to suspect these new rules of engagement also have something to do with the recently announced US withdrawal from Syria, as there will no longer an American buffer to defend Israel from a direct Russian response or even a Russian response-by-proxy to Israeli provocations.

Needless to say, someone is lying, or at the very least, wrong. And based on the entire written historical record of war, it is usually the party claiming that the other party’s capabilities have been entirely destroyed.

Aquinas and the knowledge of God

While I harbor great respect for the intellect of Thomas Aquinas and rather like his philosophical methodology, no man’s reasoning is flawless. Consider the little Socratic switcheroo he pulls here on the subject of the knowledge of God.

Article 9. Whether God has knowledge of things that are not?

Objection 1. It seems that God has not knowledge of things that are not. For the knowledge of God is of true things. But “truth” and “being” are convertible terms. Therefore the knowledge of God is not of things that are not.

Objection 2. Further, knowledge requires likeness between the knower and the thing known. But those things that are not cannot have any likeness to God, Who is very being. Therefore what is not, cannot be known by God.

Objection 3. Further, the knowledge of God is the cause of what is known by Him. But it is not the cause of things that are not, because a thing that is not, has no cause. Therefore God has no knowledge of things that are not.

On the contrary, The Apostle says: “Who . . . calleth those things that are not as those that are” (Romans 4:17).

I answer that, God knows all things whatsoever that in any way are. Now it is possible that things that are not absolutely, should be in a certain sense. For things absolutely are which are actual; whereas things which are not actual, are in the power either of God Himself or of a creature, whether in active power, or passive; whether in power of thought or of imagination, or of any other manner of meaning whatsoever. Whatever therefore can be made, or thought, or said by the creature, as also whatever He Himself can do, all are known to God, although they are not actual. And in so far it can be said that He has knowledge even of things that are not.

Now a certain difference is to be noted in the consideration of those things that are not actual. For though some of them may not be in act now, still they were, or they will be; and God is said to know all these with the knowledge of vision: for since God’s act of understanding, which is His being, is measured by eternity; and since eternity is without succession, comprehending all time, the present glance of God extends over all time, and to all things which exist in any time, as to objects present to Him. But there are other things in God’s power, or the creature’s, which nevertheless are not, nor will be, nor were; and as regards these He is said to have knowledge, not of vision, but of simple intelligence. This is so called because the things we see around us have distinct being outside the seer.

Reply to Objection 1. Those things that are not actual are true in so far as they are in potentiality; for it is true that they are in potentiality; and as such they are known by God.

Reply to Objection 2. Since God is very being everything is, in so far as it participates in the likeness of God; as everything is hot in so far as it participates in heat. So, things in potentiality are known by God, although they are not in act.

Reply to Objection 3. The knowledge of God, joined to His will is the cause of things. Hence it is not necessary that what ever God knows, is, or was, or will be; but only is this necessary as regards what He wills to be, or permits to be. Further, it is in the knowledge of God not that they be, but that they be possible.

That’s all well and good. But now consider the subsequent statements in the two following articles.

From Article 12: Since God knows not only things actual but also things possible to Himself or to created things, as shown above (Article 9), and as these must be infinite, it must be held that He knows infinite things.

From Article 13: Since as was shown above (Article 9), God knows all things; not only things actual but also things possible to Him and creature; and since some of these are future contingent to us, it follows that God knows future contingent things.

Now, where is it shown in Article 9 that “God knows all things?” It was certainly CLAIMED in Article 9 that God knows all things, to be precise, Aquinas writes, “I answer that, God knows all things whatsoever that in any way are.” But it was not SHOWN.

This is an uncharacteristic Jordan Peterson-style appeal to self-authority. But at least Aquinas did not marvel at the wisdom of his own assertion.

When you’re beaten, retreat

Declaring victory and bringing the defeated troops home is absolutely the right move in Syria. The same thing should be done in Afghanistan and Iraq.

President Donald Trump’s decision to declare ISIS defeated and order a full US withdrawal from Syria has been met with anger and disbelief by the Washington establishment that hoped for regime change in Damascus.

Trump declared victory over Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) on Wednesday morning, as media reported that some 2,000 or so US troops will leave Syria within 60 to 100 days. Though Trump had openly spoken about wanting to leave Syria back in March, senior officials in his administration have said that US forces would stay there indefinitely.

One satirical news site perhaps put it best, “reporting” that both the left and the right were taking aim at Trump for “breaking with the longstanding American tradition of remaining in Middle Eastern countries indefinitely.”

Cue another round of “the troops weren’t defeated, they just weren’t permitted to win.” Such statements reflect a total ignorance of what war is. The USA completely failed to obtain its military objectives. Despite many, many threats, Assad is still standing and the US-Israeli proxy troops of the Islamic State and the Kurds were repeatedly defeated by the Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah-Russian alliance. All the US forces have accomplished is to prevent the complete destruction of their Syrian allies.

Like it or not, the USA is an empire in deep decline, and the sooner AIPAC realizes this and stops trying to parasitically make use of the US military forces to accomplish objectives it is incapable of accomplishing, the better it will be for everyone, especially Israel. Israel faces its own problems of a corrupt and declining military, as Martin van Creveld has been pointing out since before its failure to defeat Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon War.

But at least Israel can defend its own borders. The much-vaunted US military cannot even manage that.

Straining at gnats

David Bernstein aka the Volokh Conspiracy tries to spin why it’s just fine for states and the Federal government to try to force American businesses and sole proprietorships to do business with the foreign nation of Israel:

Texas has a law banning state entities from contracting with businesses, including sole proprietorships, that boycott Israel. As a result, just like local governments require contractors to certify that they adhere to many other state laws, such as anti-discrimination laws and financial propriety laws, they also must certify, in compliance with state law, that their business does not boycott Israel.

Here is the specific language Ms. Amawi was asked to sign (see appendix A):

Pursuant to Section 2270.001 of Texas Government Code, the Contractor affirms that it: 1. Does not currently boycott Israel; and 2. Will not boycott Israel during the term of the contract Pursuant to Section 2270.001 of Texas Government Code:

“Boycott Israel” means refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any action that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations specifically with Israel, or with a person or entity doing business in Israel or in an Israeli-controlled territory, but does not include an action made for ordinary business purposes; and “Company” means a for-profit sole proprietorship, organization, association, corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or any limited liability company, including a wholly owned subsidiary, majority-owned subsidiary, parent company or affiliate of those entities or business associations that exist to make a profit.

Note that, consistent with the language and obvious intent of the law (see the text here, it’s even titled “PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTS WITH COMPANIES BOYCOTTING ISRAEL”), the school district certification applies to the business, “it,” not the individual “she.” Contrary to what I’ve been reading all over the internet, Ms. Amawi is not being asked to pledge that she, in her personal capacity, will not privately boycott Israel, much less that, e.g., she will not advocate for boycotting Israel or otherwise refrain from criticizing Israel.

Briefly on the First Amendment issue, it’s no different analytically than requiring a contractor to pledge that the business does not refuse to hire Muslims, or Jews, or blacks, veterans, or another state-designated group. [Clarification: “it” means the First Amendment analysis. There are obvious moral, practical, historical, and other differences between boycotting Israel and boycotting members of American minority groups; those differences just aren’t constitutionally salient.] The sole proprietor contractor, or the certifying officer for a larger contractor, is still permitted to refuse to invite a Muslim to his house for dinner, or to advocate against Muslims in any way he chooses. The business simply can’t engage in action that the state disapproves of.

This is a typical lawyer’s perspective, focusing like a laser on the irrelevant LEGALITY of a law, at least, legality as it is defined by a few judges finding nonexistent emanations and penumbras in a text that says something entirely different.

Darkstream: the labor mobility problem

This mass-firing by Ryanair of all its Dutch personnel is an excellent example of the problem that labor mobility poses the ideology of free trade:

Ryanair has fired all its pilots and cabin crew members based in the Netherlands after they did not agree to be ‘voluntarily’ relocated to bases as far-flung as Morocco and Belarus.

The Irish low-cost airline officially filed for the collective firing of all personnel at the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV), an autonomous government administrative authority that handles unemployment benefits.

Ryanair cites bad economic results for its Dutch base at Eindhoven, which was closed on 5th November, as the reason for the mass-dismissal.

To realize the full benefits of free trade, there can be no limits upon workers moving to where they can be most efficiently employed. It doesn’t matter if you don’t speak Ukrainian, if your family doesn’t want to relocate to Morocco, or if your ancestors have lived in Eindhoven for hundreds of years. If it is more efficient for the airline to fly from Belarus or Rabat, then you must go and live there or lose your job to a more cost-effective Moroccan pilot.

That’s not merely how free trade works, that’s what they mean by the necessity of immigration and the free movement of peoples. Of course, it will, incidentally, result in the complete destruction of every family and every national bond, but then, as Jordan Peterson reassures us, group identities are pathological anyhow, so it’s really for the best.

I addressed the issue in tonight’s Darkstream.

History is not hate speech

The Voxiversity video SINK THE SHIPS has been removed from YouTube. You can still view it on BitChute. YouTube has also assigned a warning strike to the Voxiversity channel.

Hi Voxiversity,

As you may know, our Community Guidelines describe which content we allow – and don’t allow – on YouTube. Your video “Sink The Ships” was flagged for review. Upon review, we’ve determined that it violates our guidelines. We’ve removed it from YouTube and assigned a Community Guidelines strike, or temporary penalty, to your account.

Video content restrictions
We encourage free speech and defend everyone’s right to express their points of view, even if unpopular. However, YouTube doesn’t allow hate speech. Sometimes there’s a fine line between what is and isn’t considered hate speech. If you’re not sure whether or not your content crosses the line, we ask that you don’t post it. Learn more here.

The impact of strikes
This is the first strike applied to your account. We understand that users seldom intend to violate our policies. That’s why strikes don’t last forever – this strike will expire in three months. However, it’s important to remember that additional strikes could prevent you from posting content to YouTube or even lead to your account being terminated.

How you can respond
If you believe this was a mistake, we’d like to hear from you. Please follow both of these steps as simply deleting the video won’t resolve the strike on your account.

    – The next time you sign in you will be asked to acknowledge this strike on your account.
    – If you would like to appeal this strike, please submit this form. Our team will thoroughly review your appeal and will contact you again very soon.

Sincerely,
– The YouTube Team

I appealed the strike and pointed out that history is not “hate speech”, that advocating the defense of national borders is not “hate speech”, and that endorsing military action is not “hate speech”. But this is yet another reminder of how it is vital to build our own platforms and utilize non-converged platforms like BitChute.

If YouTube does not remove the strike, I will investigate switching my Darkstream channel chat over to Stream.Me in the place of the YouTube chat until the strike expires. This action is further evidence, as if any was needed, that SJWs will attempt to eliminate history that contradicts the current narrative.

UPDATE: Upon further review, YouTube has decided that history is hate speech.

Dear Voxiversity:

Thank you for submitting your video appeal to YouTube.

After further review of the content, we’ve determined that your video does violate our Community Guidelines and have upheld our original decision. We appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

— The YouTube Team

I’m sure you’re just as shocked as I am.

Facebook doesn’t SELL your data

They just GIVE IT AWAY to all their SJW social media buddies:

When he stood before Congress in April, following yet another scandal at Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg declared ‘We don’t sell data to anyone’.

That may technically be the case, but a new New York Times expose has revealed that Facebook gave 150 companies access to hundreds of millions of users’ data without their knowledge or consent. Records obtained by the Times reveal that the amount of data Cambridge Analytica received from a Facebook app paled in comparison to the access that was granted to the social media giant’s biggest partners, including Amazon, Spotify, and Netflix.

Facebook gave Netflix, Spotify, and the Royal Bank of Canada the ability to read, write, and delete Facebook users’ private messages and to see all participants on a thread, according to the internal records. It also allowed Microsoft’s search engine, known as Bing, to see the name of all Facebook users’ friends without their consent.

Amazon was allowed to obtain users’ names and contact information through their friends, and Yahoo could view streams of friends’ posts. As of last year, Sony, Microsoft, and Amazon could all obtain users’ email addresses through their friends.

It must be that amazing 115 IQ that has enabled Mark Zuckerberg’s astonishing success. It can’t be because he is a shameless, amoral deceiver who doesn’t even hesitate to ever-so-cleverly dazzle and confuse his inquisitors with his astonishing verbal skills.

Of course, it’s hardly surprising that the morons in Congress didn’t think to ask him any follow-up questions concerning the obvious variations and permutations on the privacy-violating theme in order to pin the evasive alien down. This revelation should be sufficient to shut down Facebook permanently for its repeated mass violations of privacy.

A revolution in publishing

You say you want a revolution? We have one right here just in time for Christmas. First, the audiobooks, all in DRM-free MP3 format:

This is all brand new to us, so if you have any problems with the process or if a file link is incorrectly assigned, please let us know and we will address it right away. Moira’s reading of her book is particularly good; her musical background is readily apparent.

Please note that we will never delay our ebook releases in order to create these digital bundles. Our production process is straightforward: ebook, print, audiobook. If you compare our prices with Audible and other audio options, it should be evident that you’re not paying for the ebook twice if you already own it, the inclusion of the ebook is merely added value for those who have not yet read the book and might like to be able to follow along with the audiobook.

In other book news, despite the metadata mixup that has temporarily the cover image out of the listing, THE DARK AVENGER’S SIDEKICK by John C. Wright is now available in a spectacular 596-page hardcover for $29.99 from Castalia House Direct. This is the trilogy that contains Moth & Cobweb Books 4-6: Daughter of Danger, City of Corpses, and Tithe to Tartarus and makes a handsome companion to The Green Knight’s Squire.

Some audiobook enthusiasts have asked us about the possibility of our developing a custom audiobook app that is integrated with our Arkhaven store. We have the technical capacity to do so, but our bandwidth is limited and it is a questionable use of our time and technical resources given the opportunity cost. Most likely, we would do a small crowdfunding for such a project in order to get an idea of the actual demand as opposed to the theoretical enthusiasm. If you have any thoughts on this, please feel free to share them here.

Why do you think?

The only thing more ridiculous than Justin Trudeau trying to deal with China is the thought of Jordan Peterson trying to do so:

A third Canadian citizen has been detained in China, Canada’s National Post newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing the Canadian foreign ministry. A spokesperson with Global Affairs Canada said it was ‘aware of a Canadian citizen’ who has been detained, but did not provide further details, citing the Privacy Act.

At a daily news briefing in Beijing, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she was unaware of the situation.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – who said on Friday the detentions were unacceptable – told CTV his government was taking the situation very seriously.

‘We have engaged with the Chinese officials to determine what exactly conditions are they being detained under? Why are they being detained?’ he said in an interview aired on Sunday. McCallum met Kovrig for the first time on Friday.

Canada apparently doesn’t understand that Uncle Sam doesn’t have the global muscle that he used to have. What we’re seeing here is another of the death throes of the neo-Trotskyite globalist order.

Darkstream 10k

I look forward to being able to call it Darkstream 40k. But in the meantime, that’s not so bad.

By the way, I was just on with Alex Jones. He actually had a copy of the Jordanetics paperback, which is more than I can say. It’s really rather remarkable how the globalists are desperate to corral the nationalist Right with their approved and controlled opposition; things are fairly obviously spiraling out of their control despite the lamentable failure of the Trump administration to do the two things it was elected to do.
  1. Build the Wall
  2. Drain the Swamp

Seriously, what morons in the Republican Party even hesitate to shut down the government. The government is the primary problem! Threatening to shut down the government is like threatening to throw Br’er Rabbit in the briar patch.

The White House suggested Tuesday that President Donald Trump could back down from his demand for $5 billion to fund his proposed border wall in a year-end spending bill.

Trump’s push for the money has threatened a partial government shutdown when funding for seven agencies lapses after midnight Friday. Last week, the president said he would be “proud” to close parts of the government over border security.

“We have other ways that we can get to that $5 billion that we’ll work with Congress,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News on Tuesday morning. She added that the Trump administration could support $1.6 billion in border security funding proposed by Senate Democrats, as long as it can “couple that with other funding resources” to get to $5 billion. She added that “at the end of the day, we don’t want to shut down the government. We want to shut down the border.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have cast the potential lapse in funding as the “Trump shutdown.

Instead of spending $5 billion on the promised Big Beautiful Wall, Congress is just going to give $10.6 billion to Mexico.

The United States pledged $5.8 billion in aid Tuesday for strengthening government and economic development in Central America, and another $4.8 billion in development aid for southern Mexico.

Shut it down, Mr. President. You had two jobs. And to date, you haven’t finished either of them.