The KGB Oracle Forums General Public Discussion (PUBLIC) The Pub A great blog entry.

The guy who writes this blog is actually an author, of many good books, all afaik , pure fiction. However this blog entry isnt about his writing, its about the US of A and freedom.

I think he sums it up rather nicely.


Blog Entry

Fun posts to read, they of course reflect the kind of first reaction thinking many of us probably have... "No liquids or gels on the plane!?!? What next? Will we have to take off our clothes and everyone is given a plain white robe to wear during flights?"

He says all the extra security doesn't effect future crimes. How could he know that; how could we? It's far to complex of an issue to just say, "Well i've never seen them pull a guy out of line, pat him down, and then find a bomb on him; so all the security must be worthless."

You gotta stop and think for a second that maybe the reason why they don't often times catch people is because the terrorists know the security is there, so not to even try in the first place.

Not that I approve of the increased security in London now, no gels, liquids, or iPods... I think that's pretty silly and like he said, who pays for your losses? The girl I flew with on my last trip didn't check a single bag in because she had a number of expensive clothing items in there. No one would of paid for her losses if they had lost her bag; carrying your luggage on board removes that gamble.

And I agree with him that this is how freedom is taken away from people. Leaders know you can't do it all at once or else you'll get a revolt, so you do it slowly and in the name of "safety". You do it over the span of generations, literally waiting for the ones who knew real freedom to die off. Meanwhile you condition their grandchildren to tolerate a life with a lack of true freedom in the name of "safety". The old grandparents told stories though about their true freedom so even their grand kids are "tainted" in the leaders' minds. So then you have to wait for them to die off but after three generations, man... it's all over. Now everyone left has been conditioned to live in your freedom lacking "safe" world.

"" He says all the extra security doesn't effect future crimes. How could he know that; how could we? It's far to complex of an issue to just say, "Well i've never seen them pull a guy out of line, pat him down, and then find a bomb on him; so all the security must be worthless.""

Generally speaking, I think just about every security consultant and reporter who has tried to smuggle things and break airport security has succeeded. Its impossible to say though, if it has in actuality had much effect though, you are right about that.

But the general gist is whats important. I think historically, many more people have died and suffered as a result of living in police states, than have as a result of terrorism. Its a social/psychological aspect that people are inherently more afraid of outlandish, unlikely things than of more mundane dangers, even though the mundane dangers are far greater.

If you look at the number of traffic deaths in the past decade and compare it to the number of terrorism-related deaths in the USoA, one can clearly see that driving to work
is far more dangerous as a practical matter than Islamic terrorists, statistically speaking.

It just seems silly overall, and can make one wonder exactly who all the rules and survielance are supposed to serve. Which in turn leads to some pretty unpleasant lines of thinking.

yeah I second u Derid. The national anthem thing is the one that make me smile.

The security reduces the number of attempts of terrorism, and then slightly the percentage of attempts that succeed.(such as Britain)

People need to learn balance, security at airports to reduce the amount of death does not signify a totalitarian government.

The line of thought i see here seems to say that there is a shade of totalitarian government in effect in our country(and every other country). All gradients are moving in the wrong direction(airport security today, hangings in town square tomorrow). Therefore the only safe choice is anarchy...


The fact is, we all know there has to be a line drawn somewhere. But a lot of people freak out and draw it way to soon. Soon enough to allow people to die.

Quote:

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Finally, there is the argument, put forward many times in the comments, that airport "security" is a "small inconvenience" and much preferable to being blown up by terrorists.

The fact that so many people will actually advance this argument with a straight face really does suggest that the terrorists are winning.

Why do you think they call it TERRORISM, folks? The point of terrorism is not to kill us, but to MAKE US AFRAID.

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Extremists can really be a waste of time to listen too. Security actually makes most people feel more secure and comfortable. The fact that terrorist are winning or not was decided along time ago, security is just something to lessen its affects.

A lot of this guys points are flawed, but thats mostly because hes pushing a pretty shaky point that doesn't really make any sense.

Shakey point that doesnt make much sense?

Stop selectivly reading, he never said we are in a totalitarian govt because of airport security. He was talking about the trends he has seen and felt over his lifetime, which as he pointed out, is longer than many peoples.

There are definatly ways people can have reasonable disagreements with his stances, but if you dont think he makes any sense you should re-read until you understand it better.

Something to consider.

Put all your security in the airlines, they'll destroy a mall. Put guards in the malls, they'll destroy a sporting event. Put them there, they'll move elsewhere.

Regardless if we have total security or none at all, dedicated folks WILL find a way to make it happen. The question is, how much of your liberties are you willing to forgo in the quest to feel ' safe ' ?

Note I didn't say BE safe, I said FEEL safe. Because that's all it is. It's a big dog and pony show for our benefit to make us feel better. They want to down a plane, they'll do it. End of story. </silly movie plot terrorism> Hell, the really dedicated will eat a brick of explosive wrapped around a timed detonator. See your air screener find that one. "Sir, will you please puke into this bucket for me ? We need to check the contents of your stomach. " </end silly movie plot terrorism>

The point is even under the strictest of rules, these folks find a way. Do what you can to defend against it, but don't wipe out what your country stands for in the process.

-Daye