Author: Moe_Lane

OK, this is kind of funny, if you’re a gamer.

There are apparently two R. Borgstroms in the gaming world: there’s Rebecca Borgstrom, who wrote Nobilis*…

…$150?  Excuse me while I get my copy out of the reach of children and into an inert nitrogen atmosphere.

…and then there’s Rolfe Borgstrom, who got mentioned in this article about gaming out Land of the Lost.  The main site (Transitive Property of Gaming) looks interesting, too.  As for the article… true enough, as far as it goes; but you should also try GURPS Dinosaurs & Cadillacs & Dinosaurs: there was also one involving an alien planet, dinosaurs, and cowboys, but the title has slipped my mind.

What? No, actually, I know plenty of women who game. My wife’s a GM, in fact. Why do you ask?

Moe Lane

*Which I personally feel would be just crying out for a d20 version, if only I had any morally justifiable reason to be that nihilistic and cruel.

Well, that certainly qualifies as a distraction.

Don’t watch this if you’re prone to epileptic fits.

Via Frank J. of IMAO, who notes: “It was weird to watch, because I kept waiting for Mount Rushmore to morph into a 3-headed Hitler who sends his eagle-morphing-into-a-vulture flying into the ghetto to devour screaming, helpless minorities or something.” I’d likewise make a sardonic anti-hippie comment in response, except that my eyes are still trying to decide whether they’re going to start bleeding.

BREAKING: Militia fires on Iranian protestors. #iranelection

@jaketapper

AP News alert FROM IRAN: AP photographer sees pro-government militia fire at opposition protesters, killing at least 1.

And if this is true:

@StopAhmadi (via AoSHQ)

The Basiji police that killed 4 ppl in Tehran got killed by the ppl! eye for an eye! #iranelection

…we’re now at the cusp of something. If the crowds start thinking that the militia are going to shoot at them anyway – well, they stop being ‘crowds,’ and become the Mob.

No, that is not good. The whole point of having a Velvet Revolution is to avoid waking up the Mob.

Moe Lane

PS: Jules Crittenden has put together a roundup of some of the reactions to the Iranian situation in general.

PPS: Via @magnolia_tree (her website, btw), these pictures. Whoa.

Crossposted to RedState.

Dennis Ross abruptly removed from Iranian envoy slot.

First off, let’s avoid euphemism, particularly when it involves the Iranian regime: Dennis Ross does not have a ‘Jewish background.’ He is Jewish: Jewish mother; observant of the Conservative sect of Judaism; co-founded a synagogue.  And bless him for all of that, although the anti-Semites currently in control for Iran certainly wouldn’t; it’s hardly surprising that they don’t want him as envoy from the USA.  I just can’t for the life of me understand why the administration would care.

But apparently they do:

Ross Ousted as Iran Envoy
Dennis Ross, “who most recently served as a special State Department envoy to Iran, will abruptly be relieved of his duties,” sources told Haaretz.

I would like to believe that the reason for the abrupt removal has nothing to do with his book Myths, Illusions, and Peace, which suggests that it is a fallacy “that Iran’s leadership is immune from diplomatic and economic pressure.”  I would like to believe this, because if the reason does have something to with it we are faced with the prospect that the White House does not intend to do anything meaningful about Iran’s recent election fraud.  I do not consider that to be an optimal response to the problem, and would like to think that we were planning something smarter.

Note the repeated use of the term ‘would like to.’

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Hiram ‘Slasher’ Monserrate to rejoin NY Dems.

And they’ll just let him?

So it seems, so it seems.

One week after deciding to side with Senate Republicans, a key architect of the state Senate coup says he’s coming home. A source close to Senator Hiram Monserrate says he will stay with the democratic caucus.

First off: feel free to take him back, Democrats. No. Really. You never really wanted him gone, anyway.

Second: this makes the entire NY Senate thing exceedingly complex. A 31-31 split will mean GOP-plus-Espada keeps control of the Senate… if his appointment is confirmed. That’s up in court today, and if the courts rule against Espada, the lack of a majority by either side puts the NY Senate back into chaos. There’s no Lt. Governor to break ties, you need 32 votes for a quorum, former Senate President Malcolm Smith’s being replaced as caucus leader… it is, in fact, going to be a glorious mess.

It’s even got a national implications: Democratic state senator Darrel J. Aubertine has been talked up to run for NY-23’s upcoming special election. The idea is probably giving his fellow-Democrats heartburn right now…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

“Now watch this drive.” #iranelection

Do you know what worries me about the current US response to the stolen Iranian election?

What worries me is that once we hear the official response, this (via @magnolia_tree):

Unfortunately, no focus group needs to be taken on one sad fact. America is to blame for this. The President and I would like to send our apologies to the Iranian people and government for our past action, which has led many to believe that this is how you react after a contested election. For those of you who don’t follow me, I have 3 words: Remember the Florida election!

Now I want to make one thing clear. All investigations after the fact showed that George W Bush was victorious. However, our actions during that recount were outrageous and set an example that the Iranian government is now following. I still have nightmares about watching the news from Florida as countless innocent people named Chad were hung. Night after night this took place while I watched in stunned silence at how we reacted to that election. I never knew Chad was such a popular name in Florida until then. So many of them were killed that the media even came up with a catch phrase for it, Hanging Chads. Disgusting. I never was able to track down one of their family members to express my condolences. It was as if they never existed. Scary indeed.

…won’t sound half bad.

I’d give the President’s response to this, but he was out golfing yesterday while Iranian thugs were beating people to death in the streets.  Unlike, say, his predecessor, he apparently wasn’t taking comments, either.  That being said, the administration is firmly on track to consider a plan to focus on a response to Iran’s reported human rights violations, which apparently excludes the concept of a ‘fair election.’  I suggest that people keep a good eye out for those who’ll reflexively endorse this decision as the received wisdom of the ages; it’ll be a helpful calibration.

Meanwhile: it’s clumsy and repetitive, but it’s real-time.

Crossposted to RedState.

Book of the Week: The Persian Night.

In tune with the generally-more-serious-than-I-personally-like kind of weekend that we’ve had here, we now replace Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . with The Persian Night: Iran under the Khomeinist Revolution.  Personally, I’d have preferred something a bit less unfortunately pertinent to current events, but Michael Totten insists that people need to read this, and he’s one of the go-to new media guys on the region.

Moe Lane

Does Jimmy Carter think that Ahmadinejad WON? #iranelection

While Jon Henke is correct – at this time the Carter Center remains completely silent regarding yesterday’s Iranian election fraud – the former President has made a statement on the topic.  One that is incompatible with any stance that considers what’s happening over there to be election fraud.

Carter said US policy would remain the same “because the same person will be there” in brief remarks after he met Palestinian officials in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

[snip]

Carter — who was president during Iran’s 1979 revolution that toppled the US-backed shah and the hostage crisis that followed — said the strength of the opposition during the campaign may push Ahmadinejad to “modify” his policies.

“I think this election brought a lot of opposition to his policy in Iran and I am sure he will listen to this opposition and may modify (it).”

If by “modify” one means “crack down on, violently attack, isolate (along with the rest of Iran) from the rest of the universe, and place under house arrest.”  Which, knowing Carter, cannot be ruled out: he gets just a little less tolerant of people contradicting his narrative every year.

Moe Lane

PS: You can keep up with this situation here.

Crossposted to RedState.