zenpundit.com

[ by Charles Cameron — always amazed when theology makes its way into politics ]
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I missed this when it first appeared, but wanted to capture it now I’ve found it (via a Lewis Black routine) —

It is important to remember that amateurs built the Ark and it was the professionals that built the Titanic. @my_ccu pic.twitter.com/6Nqod4sicS

— Ben & Candy Carson (@RealBenCarson) October 29, 2015

Seems the amateur theologian Ben Carson — who relies heavily on his professional status as a neurosurgeon for credibility — thinks amateurs get the job done way better than professionals. Whether that opinion will lead to better ship-building by, eg, Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo is another question: they may or may not take note of Biblical precedent in this matter.

[ by Charles Cameron — sometimes a flurry of tweets can be the thing itself — see also today Michael Kenney on al-Muhajiroun ]
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Here you go — Daveed as recommended by Phillip Smyth just now: today

Assuming that ISIS was behind the Tehran attack, as it has claimed, I have a few observations.

1) Attacking Iran differentiates ISIS from al-Qaeda. AQ has probably wouldn’t attack Iran due to the contours of the AQ/Iran relationship. Similarly, ISIS propagandized against the Taliban by arguing that they wouldn’t fight Pakistan, while ISIS was killing Pakistani soldiers. So there’s an obvious propaganda play ISIS can make here for a Sunni audience, parallel to its earlier Pakistan propaganda.

2) Iran is at the forefront of pushing ISIS’s caliphate back. So this is similar to other ISIS attacks against coalition countries. Nor is it clear that ISIS is concerned about provoking Iran: They already have provoked Iran. It’s fighting them on the ground now.

3) Wild card possibility: Unlikely, but could ISIS be making a play for Sunni state support, similar to what al-Qaeda gets? There are various reasons that I would bet against this, but I would put it on the table as a possibility, however remote.

[ by Charles Cameron — lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate ]
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Scarier than any horror movie, more piercing than any fire and brimstone sermon, real life:

This tree was hit by lightning in Baldwyn, MS. It burned the inside. From @jkroxie pic.twitter.com/OKXNMZrmVi

— James Spann (@spann) April 22, 2017

It is highly unusual for an open portal to be captured on film, but meteorologist James Spann caught this beauty as it was closing behind an unfortunate colleague.

[ by Charles Cameron — hilarious, with a hat-tip to Dr Farls — thundering herds of battleships, eh? ]
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The Captive Battleship Breeding program failed when USS California rejected USS Tennessee, despite best efforts of marine biologists. pic.twitter.com/2AJK77vbSP

— Robert Farley (@drfarls) March 17, 2017

[ by Charles Cameron — category title would be along the lines of “the unobvious which ought to be blindingly obvious” — maybe that explains why these things are so hard to see ]
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It’s a pattern.

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You can stumble on an unintended blowback example any day of the week — and thrice on some days:

Probably most important thread you can read today from @rcallimachi. On why ISIS calls Trump's travel ban "The Blessed Ban" pic.twitter.com/qPwSuZrQaS

— Shadi Hamid (@shadihamid) February 8, 2017

let me quickly add the next two in Callimachi’s series:

12. The term they're using – "a blessed ban" – reminds me of what Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, spiritual founder of ISIS said about the 03 invasion

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

13. Zarqawi, founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which became ISIS, called the 2003 invasion of Iraq "the Blessed Invasion" https://t.co/VNT2h9YJ2v

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

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Sources:

TBIJ, Nine young children killed: The full details of botched US raid in Yemen

Politico, CIA Memo: Designating Muslim Brotherhood Could ‘Fuel Extremism’

Twitter, Rukmini Callimachi