Sri Lanka Easter teracts

[Jimmy Higgins]

Sri Lanka blames local Islamist extremist group for Easter bombings that killed 290

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka on Monday accused a local Islamist extremist group, the National Thowheed Jamaath, of being behind a string of Easter bombings at churches and hotels that killed at least 290 people. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the group, whose name roughly translates to National Monotheism Organization, perpetrated the attacks using suicide bombers at three churches and three hotels. He added that a foreign network was probably involved.

(Now that our local Trump-obsessed right wingers have gotten their points out, maybe we can have a discussion that doesn't make it all about American politics? Just a thought.)

These attacks were carried out with suicide bombings, so it was it looks like religious fanaticism was the main motivation for them.

As a reminder, the Tigers use suicide bombers before al Qaeda did.

 

[Copernicus]

It turns out that Sri Lanka's security forces had been warned well in advance of this attack, but they did nothing at all to try to stop it. So that has caused a crisis for the current government:

Sri Lanka Was Warned of Possible Attacks. Why Didn’t It Stop Them?

The NYT article does not explain why top government officials got blindsided by this massacre. However, I am seeing reports that it had something to do with an internal political struggle that came to a head in December:

Sri Lanka’s Disputed Prime Minister Will Step Down

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa planned to relinquish his claim to be prime minister in an address to the nation on Saturday, according to officials in his party. The current president, Maithripala Sirisena, appointed him as prime minister in late October, but the pair failed to clinch the majority in Parliament needed to secure their power. Mr. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament in November.

On Thursday, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled that the dissolution of Parliament had been unconstitutional, striking the final blow to Mr. Sirisena’s and Mr. Rajapaksa’s plans to take over the government.

The legally recognized prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, is expected to be sworn in again as premier on Sunday, members of his and Mr. Sirisena’s inner circles said Friday night.

So it still isn't totally clear what happened, but there is at least a possibility that the attacks were allowed to go forward as a way of destabilizing the current government.  Maithripala Sirisena is the current president of Sri Lanka, and he tried to get Rajapaksa installed as Prime Minister in December. However, his attempt to do so was thwarted by Sri Lanka's supreme court. So Rajapaksa withdrew until the next elections. Sirisena is in charge of the security forces. Although Sirisena was once a rival of Rajapaksa, he seems to now be deeply committed to making him prime minister. So, if the current prime minister,  Ranil Wickremesinghe, falls, then Sirisena may be able to finally bring Rajapaksa to power.

 

[Politesse]

Sri Lanka blames local Islamist extremist group for Easter bombings that killed 290

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka on Monday accused a local Islamist extremist group, the National Thowheed Jamaath, of being behind a string of Easter bombings at churches and hotels that killed at least 290 people. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the group, whose name roughly translates to National Monotheism Organization, perpetrated the attacks using suicide bombers at three churches and three hotels. He added that a foreign network was probably involved.

(Now that our local Trump-obsessed right wingers have gotten their points out, maybe we can have a discussion that doesn't make it all about American politics? Just a thought.)

These attacks were carried out with suicide bombings, so it looks like religious fanaticism was the main motivation for them. Christians were the major target here. Islamic extremists tend to see Christians as polytheists because of their concept of the Trinity--three gods in one--so it makes sense that a group called the "National Monotheism Organization" targeted them.

The irony is that "Thowheed" has the literal meaning of "fundamental unity". Unfortunately, religious terrrorists are immune to such self-critical irony.

 

[ZiprHead]

I know this is probably a derail but it was said the PM wasn't told about these probable attacks.

White House staffers are known to withhold information to Trump and also to not carry out his orders, basically because he's a dumbass that doesn't know what he is doing. What if the US is in the same situation as Sri Lanka, impending major terrorist attacks?

 

[Copernicus]

I know this is probably a derail but it was said the PM wasn't told about these probable attacks.

White House staffers are known to withhold information to Trump and also to not carry out his orders, basically because he's a dumbass that doesn't know what he is doing. What if the US is in the same situation as Sri Lanka, impending major terrorist attacks?

The situation is Sri Lanka is that the head of the security forces there was the president, who was a political enemy of the prime minister. So there is some possible (conspiracy) theory where the president intentionally ignored warnings in order to destabilize the government that he opposes. In Trump's case, we just have a president who doesn't pay attention to anyone other than people who feed him information that he wants to hear.

 

[barbos]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

I don't think anybody knows anything at this point. ISIS claimed the attack but why wouldn't they even if they didn't?

In Sri Lanka the conflict is between Buddhists and Hindus. So anybody attacking Christians is just bizarre. Muslims are a tiny marginalised minority. They've also been there for more than a thousand years. Nobody cares about them in Sri Lanka. They have no reason to make any noise. The whole thing is just strange.

 

[Politesse]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

I don't think anybody knows anything at this point. ISIS claimed the attack but why wouldn't they even if they didn't?

In Sri Lanka the conflict is between Buddhists and Hindus. So anybody attacking Christians is just bizarre. Muslims are a tiny marginalised minority. They've also been there for more than a thousand years. Nobody cares about them in Sri Lanka. They have no reason to make any noise. The whole thing is just strange.

Not if you're a very radical Muslim sect upset at the perversion of the Book. Hindus commit shirk openly. Christians do it in secret, and lie about having done so. They sneak Western imperialist symbols and ideas into the highest echelons of government with a friendly smile. Christians in the majority are brutal, violent rulers; Christians in the minority are always in conspiracy to gain power.

Or you could ignore theology and just look at social dynamics, perhaps more from a Marxist perspective. It's always in the interest of those in power for minority groups to fight each other, rather than their government. There are always those at the bottom of the pile who buy into the animus they are encouraged to feel toward their fellow downtrodden.

 

[repoman]

Regarding the usage of "Easter Worshippers", my guess is that there is probably a talking points center for both democrats and republicans, especially for severe events like this Sri Lanka attack. John Stewart used to show this on The Daily Show years ago. The repubs were more brazen and their talking points were dumber back then. I don't watch cable news anymore, so not sure about now.

For every "Easter Worshippers" republicans will use some inane euphemism going in the other direction.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

I don't think anybody knows anything at this point. ISIS claimed the attack but why wouldn't they even if they didn't?

In Sri Lanka the conflict is between Buddhists and Hindus. So anybody attacking Christians is just bizarre. Muslims are a tiny marginalised minority. They've also been there for more than a thousand years. Nobody cares about them in Sri Lanka. They have no reason to make any noise. The whole thing is just strange.

Not if you're a very radical Muslim sect upset at the perversion of the Book. Hindus commit shirk openly. Christians do it in secret, and lie about having done so. They sneak Western imperialist symbols and ideas into the highest echelons of government with a friendly smile. Christians in the majority are brutal, violent rulers; Christians in the minority are always in conspiracy to gain power.

Or you could ignore theology and just look at social dynamics, perhaps more from a Marxist perspective. It's always in the interest of those in power for minority groups to fight each other, rather than their government. There are always those at the bottom of the pile who buy into the animus they are encouraged to feel toward their fellow downtrodden.

Christians in Sri Lanka are decedents of the puppets of the old ruling elite. While wealthy, they are not seen in a positive light. They keep a low profile. If you want power in Sri Lanka you need to be Buddhist. Sri Lankan nationalists are quite extreme... and Buddhists. They are not a tolerant lot. So if you are not Buddhist they all know to keep a very low profile. Sri Lanka is a very conservative culture. They don't tolerate anybody not following the Buddhist program. Everybody knows that. The Muslims are the descendants of Muslim traders. They are also very splintered. There's all manner of types of Muslims there. As typically happens in trading towns. Which breeds a very liberal easy going form of Islam.

When I was there I joined the Muslims prayers and they were really chill and welcoming. Happy that a white guy shows up and does their thing. I didn't tell them I was an atheist. I was only asked to leave at one small mosque in Colombo. But I think it was down to language problems rather than me violating some rule. Their English sucked.

 

[Copernicus]

Dr Z, you do know that Christianity is indigenous to large parts of southern India, right? It is now mainly Catholic, thanks to the Portuguese, but the original Christians probably came from Syria. It is interesting that their masses have choirs that sound like Buddhist chants. I was once exposed to the Christian tradition in Chennai there by a local Christian friend. Anyway, Christianity is not treated as a legacy of British rule, nor do the locals really seem to realize that much of their tradition goes back to the Portuguese rather than earlier missionaries.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

The Muslim terrorists consistently pick some recent event to claim as the trigger. Very often it's clear that that was just an excuse because the turnaround time is less than the time it would take to set up the attack.

That is probably the case here.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Dr Z, you do know that Christianity is indigenous to large parts of southern India, right? It is now mainly Catholic, thanks to the Portuguese, but the original Christians probably came from Syria. It is interesting that their masses have choirs that sound like Buddhist chants. I was once exposed to the Christian tradition in Chennai there by a local Christian friend. Anyway, Christianity is not treated as a legacy of British rule, nor do the locals really seem to realize that much of their tradition goes back to the Portuguese rather than earlier missionaries.

Until the Portuguese came to the island it had been untouched by Christianity.

Yes, I'm aware of Asian Christianity. An interesting fact is that a large proportion of the Golden Horde were Christians. And in the wake of the Mongol armies passing through Christian churches popped up. It went so far that China, (under Kublai Khan's decedents) was a christian country for a while. But a liberal form of Christianity that tolerated other religions. But all of this seems to have failed to touch Sri Lanka.

 

[ZiprHead]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

The Muslim terrorists consistently pick some recent event to claim as the trigger. Very often it's clear that that was just an excuse because the turnaround time is less than the time it would take to set up the attack.

That is probably the case here.

Really?

How long does it take to load up a bunch of explosives into back packs, strap them onto their backs, and walk into hotels/churches?

 

[DrZoidberg]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

The Muslim terrorists consistently pick some recent event to claim as the trigger. Very often it's clear that that was just an excuse because the turnaround time is less than the time it would take to set up the attack.

That is probably the case here.

Sounds like bullshit. Usually Islamic terrorist attacks are part of a concerted an ongoing war effort. As a part of that war. That's almost all of them.

Now and again attacks are carried out by random loons. But those are so damn random. What the hell is the pattern? The Orlando attack on a gay club was carried out by a guy who it turns out was gay himself. What a shocker.

The Stockholm attack was carried out by a man who had been lying to his wife about how great his life was here and was no facing being shipped back home. Can't face the shame. What does he do? He becomes a radical Muslim within a month, finds a bullshit excuse for the attack and changes his mind in the middle of the attack. Decides he wants to live, gets out of the truck that was supposed to explode and runs away, only to get arrested in a petrol station he was loitering in because he didn't know what to do now.

Until there's more information forthcoming it's hard to form any conclusion about the Sri Lanka attacks. This is a tiny terrorist cell in a region where Muslims and non-Muslims have gotten on fine for a millennia. The whole thing is just strange. But it is a country that has been in a long civil war, capped off by a devastating tsunami. The country is also corrupt. The place is still a mess. Who the fuck knows the real background here? I wouldn't be surprised if the real reason was internal politics, and Muslims have been used as scapegoats.

 

[repoman]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

The Muslim terrorists consistently pick some recent event to claim as the trigger. Very often it's clear that that was just an excuse because the turnaround time is less than the time it would take to set up the attack.

That is probably the case here.

Sounds like bullshit. Usually Islamic terrorist attacks are part of a concerted an ongoing war effort. As a part of that war. That's almost all of them.

Now and again attacks are carried out by random loons. But those are so damn random. What the hell is the pattern? The Orlando attack on a gay club was carried out by a guy who it turns out was gay himself. What a shocker.

The Stockholm attack was carried out by a man who had been lying to his wife about how great his life was here and was no facing being shipped back home. Can't face the shame. What does he do? He becomes a radical Muslim within a month, finds a bullshit excuse for the attack and changes his mind in the middle of the attack. Decides he wants to live, gets out of the truck that was supposed to explode and runs away, only to get arrested in a petrol station he was loitering in because he didn't know what to do now.

Until there's more information forthcoming it's hard to form any conclusion about the Sri Lanka attacks. This is a tiny terrorist cell in a region where Muslims and non-Muslims have gotten on fine for a millennia. The whole thing is just strange. But it is a country that has been in a long civil war, capped off by a devastating tsunami. The country is also corrupt. The place is still a mess. Who the fuck knows the real background here? I wouldn't be surprised if the real reason was internal politics, and Muslims have been used as scapegoats.

This is about Omar Mateen:

https://theintercept.com/2018/03/05/as-the-trial-of-omar-mateens-wife-begins-new-evidence-undermines-beliefs-about-the-pulse-massacre-including-motive/

There are plenty of murders committed because of internalized homophobia, but this one seems in doubt for that reason.

NEWLY RELEASED EVIDENCE today calls into serious doubt many of the most widespread beliefs about the 2016 shooting by Omar Mateen at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people, along with Mateen himself. Because the attack occurred on the club’s “Latin night,” the overwhelming majority of the victims were Latinos, primarily Puerto Ricans.

In particular, Mateen went to Pulse only after having scouted other venues that night that were wholly unrelated to the LGBT community, only to find that they were too defended by armed guards and police, and ultimately chose Pulse only after a generic Google search for “Orlando nightclubs” — not “gay clubs” — produced Pulse as the first search result.

Several journalists closely covering the Mateen investigation have, for some time now, noted the complete absence of any evidence suggesting that Mateen knew that Pulse was a gay club or that targeting the LGBT community was part of his motive. These doubts have been strongly fortified by the new facts, previously under seal, that were revealed by today’s court filing.

This article is 13 months old though.

 

[Gun Nut]

Investigators say it was a revenge for NZ mosque massacre.

The Muslim terrorists consistently pick some recent event to claim as the trigger. Very often it's clear that that was just an excuse because the turnaround time is less than the time it would take to set up the attack.

That is probably the case here.

Really?

How long does it take to load up a bunch of explosives into back packs, strap them onto their backs, and walk into hotels/churches?

about 8 minutes, if you don't care about being stopped before you get anywhere close to your target. About 8 months if you do care about actually succeeding, by way of collecting the materials needed for the explosives in a highly distributed (both regionally and temporally) manner so as to evade detection... and then proceed as if you do care about not just blowing yourself up by mistake in your safe house by following time consuming safety protocols.

 

[repoman]

 

[Trausti]

Usually Islamic terrorist attacks are part of a concerted an ongoing war effort. As a part of that war. That's almost all of them.

This is a clash of worldviews. The Islamist has been at war with the West and non-Muslims since the prophet (let shit rain on his head) ordered his adherents to wage that war. The Western mind sees the past as the past. For the Islamist, that war is ongoing until the whole world submits.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Sounds like bullshit. Usually Islamic terrorist attacks are part of a concerted an ongoing war effort. As a part of that war. That's almost all of them.

Now and again attacks are carried out by random loons. But those are so damn random. What the hell is the pattern? The Orlando attack on a gay club was carried out by a guy who it turns out was gay himself. What a shocker.

The Stockholm attack was carried out by a man who had been lying to his wife about how great his life was here and was no facing being shipped back home. Can't face the shame. What does he do? He becomes a radical Muslim within a month, finds a bullshit excuse for the attack and changes his mind in the middle of the attack. Decides he wants to live, gets out of the truck that was supposed to explode and runs away, only to get arrested in a petrol station he was loitering in because he didn't know what to do now.

Until there's more information forthcoming it's hard to form any conclusion about the Sri Lanka attacks. This is a tiny terrorist cell in a region where Muslims and non-Muslims have gotten on fine for a millennia. The whole thing is just strange. But it is a country that has been in a long civil war, capped off by a devastating tsunami. The country is also corrupt. The place is still a mess. Who the fuck knows the real background here? I wouldn't be surprised if the real reason was internal politics, and Muslims have been used as scapegoats.

This is about Omar Mateen:

https://theintercept.com/2018/03/05/as-the-trial-of-omar-mateens-wife-begins-new-evidence-undermines-beliefs-about-the-pulse-massacre-including-motive/

There are plenty of murders committed because of internalized homophobia, but this one seems in doubt for that reason.

NEWLY RELEASED EVIDENCE today calls into serious doubt many of the most widespread beliefs about the 2016 shooting by Omar Mateen at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people, along with Mateen himself. Because the attack occurred on the club’s “Latin night,” the overwhelming majority of the victims were Latinos, primarily Puerto Ricans.

In particular, Mateen went to Pulse only after having scouted other venues that night that were wholly unrelated to the LGBT community, only to find that they were too defended by armed guards and police, and ultimately chose Pulse only after a generic Google search for “Orlando nightclubs” — not “gay clubs” — produced Pulse as the first search result.

Several journalists closely covering the Mateen investigation have, for some time now, noted the complete absence of any evidence suggesting that Mateen knew that Pulse was a gay club or that targeting the LGBT community was part of his motive. These doubts have been strongly fortified by the new facts, previously under seal, that were revealed by today’s court filing.

This article is 13 months old though.

Thanks for enlightening me. This was news to me. Still looks like a random loon. He saw himself as an ISIS soldier, but wasn't. It had zero connection to ISIS other than that Omar Mateen wanted to be associated with it.