Gemini on Terrorism

 

This information was obtained through Google AI, Gemini.

Terrorism, while a historically present phenomenon, has evolved significantly in its origins, identity, and current manifestations.

Origins of Terrorism

The term "terrorism" itself originated during the French Revolution's "Reign of Terror" (1793-1794), where the Jacobin government used systematic violence, including mass executions, to suppress opposition and enforce state obedience. Initially, the term was associated with state-sponsored violence.

However, the use of terror as a political weapon by non-state actors has much older roots:

 * Ancient Times: Some scholars trace acts resembling terrorism back to groups like the Jewish Sicarii Zealots in the 1st century AD, who assassinated Roman collaborators, or the Hashashin in the 11th century. These early forms often had religious or ethno-political motivations.

 * 19th Century: The mid-19th century saw the term increasingly associated with non-governmental groups. Anarchist movements in Europe, Russia, and the United States employed assassinations and bombings to achieve revolutionary political and social change. Groups like the Irish Republican Brotherhood (Fenian dynamite campaign in 1881) are considered early examples of modern terrorist techniques.

 * 20th Century: The 20th century witnessed a diversification of terrorist groups, including nationalist-separatist organizations (e.g., IRA, ETA), leftist revolutionary groups (e.g., Red Brigades, Red Army Faction), and right-wing extremists. The 1970s, in particular, saw a rise in international attention to terrorism with conflicts like the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Identity of Terrorism

Defining "terrorism" is complex, with no universally agreed-upon definition. However, key aspects of its identity generally include:

 * Use or Threat of Violence: Terrorism involves the intentional use or threat of violence.

 * Non-Combatant Targets: It typically targets non-combatants or civilians, distinguishing it from conventional warfare. The goal is often to spread fear and psychological impact beyond the immediate victims.

 * Political or Ideological Goals: The violence is not random but aims to achieve political, ideological, religious, or social objectives. It's a method of coercion to influence a larger audience or government.

 * Psychological Impact: Terrorism seeks to create widespread fear, sow insecurity, and pressure decision-makers to change policies.

 * Rational, Not Insane Actors: While their ideologies may be extreme, terrorists are generally not clinically insane or irrational. They are often rational actors who employ terrorism as a deliberate strategy to achieve their objectives.

 * Group and Personal Identity: Terrorism is often linked to strong group and personal identities. It can stem from a confluence of a collectivist cultural identity, fundamentalist adherence to principles (religious or cultural), and a social identity based on sharp contrasts between "us" and "them."

 * Not Solely Linked to Poverty or Psychopathology: While socioeconomic factors can contribute to grievances, terrorists are not necessarily drawn from the poorest segments of society and typically do not exhibit a common personality profile or psychopathology.

Current Situation of Global Terrorism

The global terrorism landscape continues to evolve and presents a complex threat:

 * Increased Lethality, Fewer Incidents (Overall): While the number of terrorist incidents globally has decreased in some recent years, the lethality of attacks has increased, meaning fewer attacks are causing more deaths.

 * Geographic Shift: The epicenter of global terrorism has largely shifted from the Middle East to sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the Central Sahel region. This region now accounts for a significant proportion of global terrorism-related deaths.

 * Persistent Threats: Major international Salafi-jihadist organizations like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), though weaker than their peak, remain committed to attacks against Western interests and continue to operate in various regions.

 * Rise of Domestic Terrorism: In countries like the United States, domestic terrorism (driven by ideologies such as white supremacy, partisan extremism, and Salafi-jihadism) poses a greater threat than international terrorist organizations.

 * Lone Wolf Attacks: Lone actors or small, decentralized groups, often radicalized online, are a significant and challenging threat, especially in the West. They are harder to identify and disrupt due to their lack of clear group affiliation.

 * Online Radicalization and Recruitment: The internet and social media continue to be crucial tools for terrorist organizations to spread propaganda, radicalize individuals, and recruit new members, enabling attacks by sympathizers.

 * Interconnectedness with Conflict: Over 90% of terrorist attacks and 98% of terrorism deaths in recent years have occurred in conflict zones, highlighting the strong link between conflict and terrorism.

 * Emerging Trends: The threat from certain groups, like the Houthis in the Middle East, has increased regionally. There's also been a surge in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate globally, which can be linked to heightened tensions and potential for violence.

 * Adaptation of Terrorist Groups: Terrorist organizations are becoming more adaptable, forming loose coalitions and leveraging complex collaborative networks for sharing resources, information, and personnel.

In summary, while the historical roots of terrorism are diverse, its contemporary identity is characterized by its strategic use of violence against non-combatants for political ends, often fueled by extremist ideologies. The current situation shows a geographic shift of the primary threat to sub-Saharan Africa, alongside persistent dangers from established groups, the rise of lone wolf attacks, and the pervasive influence of online radicalization.

Blogger's note:

Judging by the above, the following instances are definitely terrorism:

1. Hiroshima and Nagasaki

2. Sabra and Shatila

3. Gaza invasion by Israel

4. Indian aerial attack of 7th May.

4. Indian atrocities in Kashmir

5. Assassinations of various political and religious figures.

Truth about the BVR War

 

At about midnight of sixth and seventh May 2025, nine Rafale jets of the Indian Air Force loaded with long-range cruise missiles carrying heavy explosive charges headed for nine mosques in parts of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. Three of them were shot down on the way while six hit their targets. They were sent by the Hindutva leaders of India to annihilate the root cause of terrorism.

 You will ask how?

Well, they thought that by killing the nearly 3000 young seminary students sleeping in the madrasa hostels attached with the mosques, they would bring about the end of terrorism. The intention was the cold-blooded murder of 3000 poor and peaceful young men devoted to peaceful faith. Apparently Indian spies had also placed homing devices in the hostels to reduce collateral damage.

Fortunately, Pakistani military intelligence had anticipated the attack and evacuated those buildings before the terrorist attack by high-tech missiles. But quite typically, they forgot to ask the civilian neighbors to sleep out that night, resulting in 26 deaths and twice as many injured. This makes one wonder if the Army school massacre in Peshawar in December 2016 was also planned and executed by the Indian leadership through their proxies in Pakistan.

When American President Donald Trump first heard about the incident his comment was that India and Pakistan have been fighting for the last 1400 years. While it seemed strange to some, it is the truth. The animosity between Pakistan and India is the perennial war between monotheism and idolatry. Perhaps it started the day when Prophet Muhammad demolished all the 360 idols placed in the Kaba by the pagans of Arabia. It is mentioned in the Quran that Abraham had done the same in his own homeland. Also, the Torah states that God, when he held court at Mount Sinai, prohibited the making and worshipping of idols by the Jews. However, the Aryans who had been worshipping idols at least since the time of Hammurabi brought it to the Indian subcontinent when they migrated and made it the home of Idolatry.

In the early incursions of Central Asian and Afghan Muslims into India such as Mahmood Ghaznavi, Hindu temples such as Somnath were destroyed, and their treasures taken away as war booty. The Mughals were careful not to hurt the religious feelings of the Hindus and mosques and temples were built side by side in many places. A sort of harmony between monotheists and Idolaters was maintained for nearly 300 years. It continued during the British Raj. When the British decided to leave India, it was partitioned on the same old thesis of monotheists being one nation the idolaters being a separate nation. Small states like Hyderabad of the famous Nizam with majority Hindu population where assimilated into India. But for whatever reason the Hindu ruler of Kashmir which was a predominantly Muslim state declared accession with India and the people of Kashmir revolted. India promptly sent its troops into Kashmir and established it's occupation. The Kashmiris have ever since been fighting for their freedom from Indian rule and union with the Muslim state of Pakistan. The United Nations has passed a number of resolutions to hold plebiscite to allow the people of Kashmir to decide whether it should be annexed with Pakistan or India. There are half a million Indian soldiers in Kashmir, which has a population of about 12 million i.e. one Indian soldier for every 24 Kashmiri men, women, and children.

The Indians have quoted the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22nd April 2025 as their inspiration for the invasion of Pakistan. I have read all the reports of the incident and I found gross inconsistencies.

It says that one fine afternoon when a large number of people were assembled in a park in the Pahalgam area, a number of men in army uniforms appeared on the scene. It did not raise any alarm as Indian army men are a common sight in Indian occupied Kashmir, their ratio being one to 24 in the population. The reports then go in two different directions.

One account is similar to a couple of terrorist attack on passenger buses at the border between Pakistan’s Baluchistan and Iran in which the assailants asked the passengers about their ethnic or sectarian identity and those belonging to a certain group were shot at close range and killed. In this case it is said that the tourists were taken hostage and were asked to prove their identity as Muslims. Those who failed were shot at close range. Were the same mercenaries employed on all three occasions?

The second account says that the terrorist started shooting indiscriminately while the crowd ran for cover. The uniformed men ran into the jungle nearby after killing a number of men, women and children. This scenario is very similar to what happens so often at public places of Europe, USA, and other countries.

It is possible that an unbiased international enquiry may find that nothing unusual had happened that day.

Antiquity of Judaism

 The following chronology of the Jewish scriptures is based on AI searches on the Internet.

It is obvious that the Talmud as we know it was compiled centuries  after the publication of the Quran and the authors of Talmud may have benefited from its study.
The oldest recognized fragments of the Torah are the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE. These scrolls, discovered in the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea, include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons. While not complete Torah scrolls, they offer the oldest known textual evidence of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. 
The first printed editions of the Torah, Mishnah, and Talmud were all published in Venice, Italy, during the 16th century. The Babylonian Talmud and Palestinian Talmud were first printed between 1520 and 1522, while the first complete printed edition of the Mishnah is dated to 1523. The Torah, however, existed long before printing was invented, with the oldest known complete Torah scroll, the Bologna Scroll, dating back to the 12th century. 
Elaboration:
• Torah:
The Torah, also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses, is a foundational text in Judaism. While the earliest extant Torah scroll, the Bologna Scroll, dates to the 12th century, the Torah's composition is believed to have been completed around the 5th century BCE, according to modern scholars. 
• Mishnah:
The Mishnah, which contains the Oral Torah, was compiled in the 2nd century CE by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi in Palestine. It was first printed in Venice between 1520-22, along with the Babylonian Talmud. 
• Talmud:
The Talmud is a compilation of rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah. Two versions of the Talmud exist: the Palestinian Talmud (also known as the Jerusalem Talmud) and the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled in Babylonia around the 5th century CE. Both Talmudic texts were first printed in Venice between 1520-22. 
The oldest complete book of Talmud is the Jerusalem Talmud, also known as the Talmud Yerushalmi. It predates the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli) by roughly a century. The Jerusalem Talmud was compiled between the late 4th and early 5th centuries CE, while the Babylonian Talmud was compiled sometime in the 6th century. The Leiden Jerusalem Talmud (Or. 4720) is the only extant complete manuscript of the Jerusalem Talmud. 
The oldest extant manuscript fragments of the Talmud, of any kind, are Cairo Genizah fragments, dating back to the late 7th or 8th century. The oldest complete manuscript whose date is precisely known is Ms. Firenze 7, dating back to 1177. The oldest complete manuscript of the Jerusalem Talmud is the Leiden Jerusalem Talmud (Or. 4720), copied in 1289 and located at Leiden University.

The first printing of the Talmud, encompassing both the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds, occurred in Venice in 1520-22 and 1523, respectively, by printer Daniel Bomberg. These editions were a significant milestone as they standardized the text and facilitated wider access to this crucial Jewish religious text. 

New Book

 

All Time Publications

 

To assess the literary richness of various languages, the following data was obtained with the help of AI searches:

Chinese: China has one of the largest publishing industries in the world, with estimates of several million titles in various genres, including traditional and simplified Chinese

Spanish: Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages, and there are millions of published works, including novels, academic works, and non-fiction.

English: Over 2 million books have been published.

Arabic: Estimates vary, but likely over 1 million

Hindi: The Hindi language has a growing number of publications, with estimates in the hundreds of thousands to over a million titles, covering literature, education, and more.

French: Approximately 1 million titles.

German: Around 1 million titles.

Latin: Hard to quantify due to historical texts, but several hundred thousand.

Greek: Similar to Latin, with several hundred thousand texts, including ancient and modern.

Japanese: Japan has a rich literary tradition, and there are hundreds of thousands of books published in Japanese, encompassing manga, literature, and academic works.

Italian: There are hundreds of thousands of published works in Italian, including literature, academic texts, and more.

Modern Hebrew: Since the revival of the Hebrew language in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there has been a significant increase in Hebrew publications. Estimates suggest that there are over 100,000 published works in modern Hebrew, encompassing literature, academic texts, and non-fiction.

Ancient Hebrew: This includes religious texts like the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and various other ancient writings. The number of distinct ancient texts is limited, likely in the thousands.

 

 

 

The Monotheistic God – the street view

 

The concept of God in the various scriptures also seems to be influenced by the aspirations of their followers except in Qur’an whose original revealed text has been preserved. The comparison, which is a personal opinion based on observation of attitudes and expressions of the adherents is as follows:

The Jews seem to think of God (Yahweh) as a desert wandering shrewd businessman who made many deals with individuals whom he thought could build Empires for him and controlled his subjects by making them oppress each other and by causing disasters. The European money changers turned Israelites believe that by including forgeries in Torah they have obtained lien of all the world’s riches and rendered God worthless and useless so that they are free to commit any injustice or crime. Interestingly enough Verse 19:3 of Exodus clearly differentiates between The House of Jacob and the Children of Israel ho migrated from Egypt. (Model of Colonialism)

Gods address to the congregation of Moses seems to be the only divine instruction to the faithful in the Torah. Although in Torah many Biblical characters are said to have met God in person (probably in the presence of the narrators), there is no description of God anywhere in any of the books.

The six-pointed hollow Star of Devid is the symbol of Judaism, but on close examination it turns out to be two triangles tangled together in different ways by different artists.

The popular Christian concept of God is of a Playboy in the Penthouse of heaven who briefly visited the earth to immaculately impregnate Virgin Mary and then left his loved woman and innocent son at the mercy of the Romans. Desperate sinners are still clinging to the replica of Jesus nailed to a cross , hoping that on the day of judgment he will regain freedom and conquer God’s throne and send all his followers ( faithful or pretenders) to paradise for nothing.  (Model of Capitalism)

According to the book of Luke (a Turkish contemporary of Jesus who apparently witnessed or has a vision of the event) in New Testament, Jesus was sired by the Arch Angel on behalf of God and ordained to be called Son of God through Mary, a married woman who was still a virgin. Hence, the concept of Trinity and the catchy slogan of Father Son and Holy Ghost, as well as reverence for Virgin Mary. The Sermon on the mount appears to be the only divinely inspired text in the New Testament.

Christianity is symbolized by the Cross which looks like a plus sign with a downward extended column, and denotes the sentiment associated with the crucifixion of Jesus son of Mary by the Romans.

Allah is the Muslims' preferred name for God. After centuries of bickering on its semantics, Muslim scholars decided that the word Allah is a proper noun, rather than a derivative of the word elah which means master, object of worship, sustainer etc., and collectively represents all the 99 attributes, qualities or properties mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. Allah’s act of creation includes the imparting of properties to basic neutral matter that define the existence of an element or object – living or nonliving. The Quan is supposed to contain a complete code of civilized life. Unfortunately, many Muslim communities have transgressed from the idealistic to materialistic philosophies borrowed from other local religions and started worshipping all sorts of objects from the stone of the Kaaba to the graves of assumed saints.

The Crescent was used by the Ottoman Caliphs to symbolize Islam. It may represent the lunar calendar used for Muslim religious observances which rotate over the seasons due to the difference in length of solar and lunar years. The crescent with or without the star also denotes love and hope.

 

Lexicons for Sacred Texts

 I asked AI when the first same language dictionaries of greek, latin, hebrew and arabic were published. The following is the reply:

The first same-language dictionaries for Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic were published at different times in history:

1. **Greek**: The first Greek dictionary is often attributed to the works of **Apollonius Dyscolus** in the 2nd century AD, but it was not a comprehensive dictionary as we know today. The first complete Greek dictionary is considered to be **"Etymologicum Magnum,"** compiled in the late Byzantine period (around the 10th century).

2. **Latin**: The first Latin dictionary is often associated with **"Glossae"** (glossaries) that appeared in the early medieval period. However, a significant early Latin dictionary is **"De Etymologiae"** by **Isidore of Seville** in the 7th century. The first comprehensive Latin dictionary, akin to modern dictionaries, was **"Dictionarium"** by **Petrus de Vinea** in the 13th century.

3. **Hebrew**: The first comprehensive Hebrew dictionary is credited to **Rabbi David Kimhi** (also known as Radak), who wrote **"Sefer ha-Shorashim"** in the 12th century, focusing on Hebrew roots. However, earlier works like **"Mikhlol"** by **Moses ibn Ezra** in the 11th century also contributed to Hebrew lexicography.

4. **Arabic**: The first comprehensive Arabic dictionary is typically considered to be **"Kitab alAyn"** (The Book of the Eye) by **Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi**, completed in the 8th century. 

This dictionary organized words based on their phonetic root structure.

These dictionaries represent significant milestones in the development of lexicography for their respective languages

POTUS STATS

 Total US presidents till Jan. 2025.    46

Early profession of US presidents.
Lawyer.  22
Teacher.  6
Soldier  ..5
Business.   4
Eng/Surv.    2
Farmer.    2
Tailor.   2
Actor.     1
Public office.   1
Editor.    1
Vice presidents
who became president.     13

All blogs 05-12

 

The Valley of Death

 

Almost everywhere the life and training of soldiers and cadet is glorified to ensure that young men and women will continue to join this dangerous profession. 

The universal motto of a soldier can be summed up as, “kill the enemy without asking any question and do not regret it”. That is how wars have been won since time immemorial. Those who need the military for their survival, it is bravery, discipline, and pride.

However, in a world of changing realities, both real and virtual, one must do a ruthlessly realistic analysis of the soldier’s training.

By virtue of his training based on professional necessities،, a soldier or cadet develops three distinct character traits.

1.    1.   Has no respect for human life. The instinct of mercy has to be erased to ensure that he will not hesitate before shooting the enemy. He should even kill unarmed civilians without hesitation if ordered to do so.

 

2.       2.  Obeys orders against his better judgment.

I quote what Tennyson wrote about one hundred seventy years ago:

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew  

Someone had blundered. 

Theirs not to make reply,

 Theirs not to reason why,

 Theirs but to do and die.

 Into the valley of Death

 Rode the six hundred.

 

Yes. All units and all soldiers must act according to specific orders meant for them as they form parts of a larger plan. If everyone acted on his own judgement, the planning would fail. So, it seems pertinent to condition the soldiers and officers to wait for orders and blindly obey them without thinking whether it is right or wrong. A soldier or officer cannot afford any original thinking.

3.     3.   Does not take responsibility for his actions. A soldier is likely to be court marshalled and even shot dead for not obeying orders. Which means that everything a soldier does is effectively in self-defence. So, the conscience of a soldier must be crushed to such a degree that he does not regret any of his actions and hesitate in repeating them.

This is all very good as long as officers and soldiers are dedicated to military duties related to armed offence or defense against an enemy. But what would happen if such a person is placed in a civilian administrative position? How will a department perform if its head did not have respect for human life, could not take decisions but waited for orders and finally did not take responsibility for his actions? The simple answer is disaster. The department would become dysfunctional.

This is exactly what has happened in countries that have seen long periods of military dictatorships during which civilian institutions were intensely infiltrated by active-duty and retired military personnel. The bureaucracy and police got totally corrupted and crippled, and anti-government feelings became common trait. Worse still, the political scene came to be dominated by lackeys and cronies of the military dictators. Now, no amount of foreign assistance can restore the crumbled economy unless the active and retired servicemen are completely flushed out of the entire system and the state within the state is demolished.

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