Another example of those rarely seen qualities: compassion and common sense.

 
This is a great piece exposing the infantile solipsism of many of our celebrity artists and public intellectuals. After September 11 the term "wake-up" call was favoured by the squitterati. But do you think they'll wake up now? I doubt it. These people and their fellow travellers have been sleepwalking for decades. My guess is that they'll just suck even harder on their literal and metaphorical bongs, bury their heads ever deeper into their pillows and retreat still further into their puerile fantasy worlds.

 
Just did a quick search on psychology of terrorism (probably quite a popular one over the last year or so). This brief article mentions the tribal impulse, among others. And this one has some interesting points about emotional retardation. It quotes expert Rona Fields who says that terrorists "feel angry, but don't feel guilty about their anger". I'd say that cuts them adrift from 99.9 % of humanity -- and even many animals.

 
Most of the other bloggers have been posting up-to-the-nanosecond stuff about the unfolding horror in Bali. All I can add is that it just completely confounds me that anyone can possibly contemplate perpetrating such a cruel and inhumane thing. I don't care what reasons you have. Killing huge numbers of innocent people who wish no harm upon others and are merely trying to have a good time is just the nastiest, most nihilistic thing I can imagine.

That said, it's also incredibly fucking stupid. There'll be no peace for you for the rest of your days (almost certainly numbered). Chances are you'll end up riddled with bullets in some gutter, or lying crushed under tonnes of earth. And even if you had a real right to be angry your cause instantly loses all credibility in the mind of any remotely intelligent person. The fact that many prominent figures in the media and academe actually sympathise with -- and even admire -- these scum-sucking mud-fuckers is just too disgusting for words.