Jakarta, Mon Amour

Sometimes we forget… I know I do… that Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation on Earth. When something happens there, it is no sideshow. And although CNN is still putting hurricanes at the top of its front page, the real hurricane today is man made.

This is the third catastrophic terror bombing ascribed to Islamofascist Jemaah Islamiah (the BBC still calls them a “militant Islamic group” – I’ll say) in a matter of months, not years. Similar events seem to be happening now on a worldwide basis with such rapidity that we are almost becoming inured to them. We better not be, because this will only encourage the psychopaths to raise the stakes. Like the most notorious serial killers, they are out for attention. But the Islamists put the Ted Bundys to shame when it comes to reach. Their scale is global.

Meanwhile, as Kaus points out, the candidate of my putative party, is running around proposing a “Department of Wellness,” as if we should all be heading off for a shiatzu massage at Esalen. [He’s trying to get out the Big Sur vote.–ed.] Never mind that beneath all the brouhaha of a “health care crisis” the life expectancy of the average American is higher than it ever was. There won’t be centers for anything if we don’t take the struggle against Islamism with the utmost seriousness and as by far our number one priority. Nothing is even close.

Am I being unnecessarily apocalyptic? Maybe, but I wouldn’t want to bet on it. Would you?

UPDATE: From the BBC again, an updated profile of Jemaah Islamiah, including some details of their contacts with Al Qaeda. What’s always interested me is the degree different people seek to prove/disprove the precise relationship between groups like JI and AQ when their nearly identical ideologies make close coordination almost unnecessary. They act in concert just by acting.

MORE: For those who still wonder what I mean about the “New Reactionaries”… As of 9:35AM PDT, the Jakarta Bombing is no longer listed among CNN’s Top Stories (there are eight, not including the hurricane), although “Pup shoots man, saves mates litter” is.