The day the world changed...

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Panther
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The day the world changed...

Post by Panther »

(with credit to L.Neil Smith, Claire Wolfe, and Vin Suprinowitz)

Tuesday the world changed for each of us. A day like Pearl Harbor or the JFK assassination, when every one of us will remember forever where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news.

The inconceivable, indiscriminate, savagely well-planned attack on innocents in New York, Pennsylvania, and D.C. (yes, even though I'm outspoken about the ills that permeate the capitol, there are surely some innocents even there). An attack that combined the maximum carnage with a maximum display of bravado. This was at once an act of brilliantly evil human mindwork and limbic-level stupidity.

As awful, emotional and scary as these acts are, we all know, in a way, what will happen next: Greater loss of liberty in the name of security. False security. One more stomp of the boot on the road to the police state. In some areas that has already started.

It's extremely difficult to think coherently about long term effects at a time like this, let alone to get it all down in writing... especially when you learn that, not only were hijacked commercial aircraft used to commit these unspeakably evil acts, but that 90 passengers died helplessly in the first plane, and another ~200 more died in the planes used for the subsequent attacks. The lose of hundreds of people at the Pentagon and who knows how many thousands... no... tens of thousands in New York. But... Somebody has to think about it, though, or this situation will be used to turn the Bill of Rights off forever.
It may already be too late.

All air travel was shut down through noon today, and I shudder to think about what flying will be like from now on. The Clintons, Schumer, Feinstein, Waxman and Liebermans will try to shut down the Internet, calling it a breeding ground for terrorism. They have already come out and lamented our having "too much freedom." Listening to FEMA directors and other government officials make comments such as "we need to re-examine allowing people to move about freely and act without oversight" is frightening. But listening to the people being guided through interviews by the media saying that they would gladly carry interstate passports, go through security checks and searches at state borders to keep this from ever happening again is alarming! The calls for more Big Brother government have already started and make no mistake about it, the Bushes and Cheneys will "reluctantly" go along.

And Rush Limbaugh will cheer them on.

Not long ago, I was pointed to the report of a bipartisan commission (always duck when you hear those words, it means some truly egregious proposal is being made) headed by former Sens. Warren Rudman and Gary Hart. In January of this year, these men and their cohorts issued a report recommending that "to combat terrorism" the U.S. should create a draconian, cabinet-level "homeland defense agency" that would control EVERYTHING from domestic policing to international computer security. Yesterday morning, I watched as Joe Lieberman not only made the same proposal, but actually used the name, "homeland defense agency"... Your freedoms are under attack and the terrorists aren't Islamic fundamentalists. When I first read that report, I wondered why nobody was talking about it. The moment I read it, I thought, "There is going to be something truly horrible to justify doing what they propose. A horror is going to descend upon us."

And folks, if what happened on Tuesday isn't horror, then the word has no meaning.

"They" -- Rudman, Hart, Gingrich, FEMA, the military, and all the creepy corporations who sell them their spy cameras, their bio-war supplies, their retina scanners, their metal detectors, their facial recognition systems and the other gear of the crushing Big Brother state -- have been waiting for something like this to happen AT LEAST since January. (Since much longer, really.) "They", those powerful people who like us little folks cowed and submissive, need this to convince us rebellious little Americans that we need them and their "protective" power.

Now it's happened. And despite the fact that I'm not quite paranoid enough to believe they engineered it, the famous old rhetorical question, "Qui bono?" keeps ringing through the chaos in my paralyzed and shock-saturated brain.

"Qui bono?" It means: "Who benefits?" Answer that question and you'll probably know who's responsible.

Who did this? I don't know. That's one thing that makes it worse, in its way, than Pearl Harbor: nobody to strike back at... yet.

Who benefits? That you already do know: those who, through our fear and rage, can manipulate us into placidly, or with wild enthusiasm, doing their bidding. It really doesn't matter in the end whether it was Osama bin Laden or some other evil gnome.

Closing down the First or Second or any other Amendment is not an appropriate response to what's happened. If we give up our very way of life by sacrificing our individual freedom and liberty for a little security, then we don't disserve either freedom OR security... AND the terrorists will have truly accomplished their goal of destroying America.
Watch out! Any politician or bureaucrat in office who attempts to capitalize on yesterday's horrors is committing a blatantly criminal act. Be aware, they will soon start their propaganda dance in the blood of the innocent. In fact, some of them already have.

These things happen to nations with imperial ambitions. There has never been a major act of terrorism I know of that hasn't resulted from an act of government that violated somebody's rights. The U.S. can expect to remain hated by the majority of the world as long as we continue to provide the teeth for the U.N.'s "police powers"... The way to keep this sort of thing from happening again is to stop those violations.

It's important to act swiftly and be completely vigilant if we're to preserve anything resembling the freedom that made this civilization great.

May there be a true hell for those who engineered this, and may they suffer through an eternity for each and every victim who was so much as scratched yesterday. May they feel every broken bone, every torn limb, every screaming pain of every burn, every desperate smoke-filled breath, every spike of panic... and every wail of grief within everyone who loves the wounded or dead. May they feel every drop of sweat, every ache of exhaustion, every bit of wrenching nausea felt by every rescue worker. FOREVER.

Then may they suffer another eternity of hell for every victim who, in the name of "protection" from sadistic, senseless monsters, loses the rights that make life worth living.

In the end, those victims will far outnumber the dead.

God bless America,

Take care and be good to yourselves...



[This message has been edited by Panther (edited September 13, 2001).]
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The day the world changed...

Post by Valkenar »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Panther:
Be aware, they will soon start their propaganda dance in the blood of the innocent. In fact, some of them already have.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You say their political position is propoganda, I say yours is. Does your belief in your own correctness on this issue make it okay to use statement such as:
"If we give up our very way of life by sacrificing our individual freedom and liberty for a little security, then we don't disserve either freedom OR security... AND the terrorists will have truly accomplished their goal of destroying America."
which I think pretty clearly draws a correlation between believing what you have to say about politics and preventing the terrorists from getting what they want.

The grand sweeping comments about the result of not following your advice, the appeal to not let the terrorists get what they want, these things are precisely the same kind of statements your opposition is making when they say "If we don't do something to ensure security, things like this will happen again."


I'm not even saying you're wrong here, but when people start saying "look at how others are using this issue for their propaganda" that makes me think the issuer of that statement is using the issue for his own propaganda. Maybe I'm mistaken.

And for the record, the last damned thing I want is interstate passports, the internet to be shut down, or any of the other extreme security measures. In no way do I believe that it's good, reasonable or acceptable to establish a police state to prevent this sort of thing
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The day the world changed...

Post by LenTesta »

I have to agree with Val's last paragraph...We can not allow the politicians to disrupt the freedom that we all enjoy as being citizens of the greatest country in the world. For if we do, the terrorists will acomplish what they originally set out to do.

However, Val and others, lets be rational while discussing what has been the biggest nightmare since WWII. Do not post, condone, or admonish such hasty comments without thinking clearly. Our credability will diminish each time we do so.


------------------
Len

[This message has been edited by LenTesta (edited September 17, 2001).]
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The day the world changed...

Post by Van Canna »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I have to agree with Val here.
We can not allow the politicians to disrupt the freedom that we all enjoy as being citizens of the greatest country in the world.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Isn't this what panther has been saying?


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Van Canna
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The day the world changed...

Post by LenTesta »

Panther:

Let me clarify this mess before it gets out of hand.

This is what I was agreeing with
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
And for the record, the last damned thing I want is interstate passports, the internet to be shut down, or any of the other extreme security measures. In no way do I believe that it's good, reasonable or acceptable to establish a police state to prevent this sort of thing
My statement...
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Folks, lets be rational while discussing what has been the biggest nightmare since WWII. Do not post, condone, or admonish such hasty comments without thinking clearly.
Was for Val.

Sorry for the confusion, but there are many people who apear to be writing these posts purely with their emotions.

I have not read every single post in every forum and may have missed something myself.

The one thing we must avoid, and this is partly what the terrorists wanted to happen, is for the american people to start fighting among themselves.



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Len
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The day the world changed...

Post by Valkenar »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Yosselle:
Excuse me, but I really didn't understand a word of your statement/question above. Could you rephrase it using coherent sentences?
Sure thing
You say their political position is propoganda, I say yours is. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Panther thinks some politicians are using propaganda, I think that his post was a fine example of propaganda from an alternate viewpoint.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>For example, does the word "which" refer to Panther's belief in his own correctness or his quoted statement
...
And finally (once we've cleared up the stated ambiguities), what correlation are you talking about?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The sentence did two things. I will explain them both. The overall purpose of sentence can be rephrased as follows:

A) Panther doesn't want politicians to capitalize on this tragedy for their own political ends.

B) Panther is capitalizing on this tragedy for his own political ends.

C) Why is B acceptable while A is not?

In the second part of the sentence I quoted Panther. I used this quote as an example of B).

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Actually, nothing Panther said remotely resembles "If we don't do something to ensure security, things like this will happen again."
Quite true. I'll highlight the parts of my statement it looks like you missed
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>...these things are precisely the same kind of statements your opposition is making when they say "If we don't do something to ensure security, things like this will happen again."
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
-----------------------------------
Originally posted by Valkenar: I'm not even saying you're wrong here
-----------------------------------
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Yes, you are.
I don't think his position is incorrect. I agree with his message (mostly). I disagree with his approach.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
If a German citizen of 1942 pointed out that Göbels was a master propagandist, and if that citizen tried to warn his fellow citizens that Göbel's "solutions" to the "Jewish problem" were insane, I would hardly label that citizen as a political opportunist.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Quite true. Panther, used the emotion of the attack in order to make his point. He made a political point seperate from the event he capitalized on. The citizen in your example is making a point about the event he is speaking of.

I hope that was clear enough for you. If not, I'm willing to try again.

Panther: You said "Valkenar has a problem with this?!?! "

Just to set the record straight, I don't have a problem with the things you were saying, for the most part. The problem I have is that I perceived your post to be somewhat hypocritical in nature. At the same time you complained about politicians using this emergency to their advantage, you seemed to be using this emergency to advance your own civil liberties agenda.

Despite what you seem to think of me, I adore civil liberties. My comment here isn't that you're wrong to complain about these measures. The only thing I'm complaining about is your use of emotional appeals to feelings of victimization people are having as a result of this attack to make your point. And the only reason I'm even complaining about that is because you always complain when other people do it.
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The day the world changed...

Post by Panther »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LenTesta:

Let me clarify this mess before it gets out of hand.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Sorry for the confusion, but there are many people who apear to be writing these posts purely with their emotions.
Well I was wondering if it was really you or if someone had commandeered your account. Image

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
The one thing we must avoid, and this is partly what the terrorists wanted to happen, is for the american people to start fighting among themselves.
Which, IMNSHO, is an even greater reason to remain hyper-vigilant in guarding our freedoms, liberties, rights and very way of life... in the face of those who have already come out calling for drastic and draconian measures.

Now, about the American people fighting among themselves...

Today, I'm driving my truck... it's been raining. But for the past few days I've been on my motorcycle. Wednesday morning (before it seems to have become the "thing" to do), I left for work, gassed up and then, i dunno why, I stopped at the local hardware store. They had plenty of flags. Little ones, a little bigger, medium ones and... A nice 3'x5'one with a 6' aluminum pole. Well... THAT one ended up flying on my bike. It's still on my bike and has been ever since. To work, to home, out with friends, back home, back to work, out to lunch, cruising around, out again, back home... The flashing headlights, the honking horns, the thumbs up, the raised fists, even a few older folks who stopped and placed their hands over their hearts... and a couple of older gentlemen, obvious veterans, who stopped and saluted as I passed. On Wednesday morning after getting to work, I was lamenting the fact that none of the folks that had acknowledged Old Glory were soccer moms... They had seemed to look the other way and drive on. I actually was saddened and also upset at that. But yesterday, that all changed. They were just as quick if not quicker to raise fists, wave, honk, shout out their windows... I take back all those "bad thoughts" I had about them... it isn't "WE, the People" for nothing...

I don't know what lesson these terrorists hoped to teach us with their cowardly acts or what they hoped we'd learn, but I can assure them with pleasure that they failed.

If they wanted recognition and respect for their "cause", in the eyes of America they just damned their cause.

If they wanted us to be cowering in fear, they just brought us together in our resolve of strength.

They did not tear us apart, they brought us together... unified as a nation.

All the racial, cultural, political, economic, gender, sexual-oriented, and religious division in this country... all the things that these terrorist think make us weak, just vanished.

They are wrong. We are not weak... and through the pain and the grief and the shock of how horrendously we, as a nation and a people, have been hurt... these terrorists will learn the lesson that was learned by the last people who hurt us badly.

They have awakened the American public. And when roused, we are righteous in our outrage and terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of heinous barbarism, we have and will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.

These terrorists have no idea what they've done. Their attempt to strike a blow at the very fabric of American existence lacked any understanding of what truly makes America great.

The future is scary. The finger-pointing, accusations, and misguided calls for revoking our basic freedoms have already gone out.

But We, the People of the united States of America will go forward. Sad and somber, but enlightened and determined as well... More determined than these terrorists could have ever imagined.

That is why and where our enemies, those who never understand what it means to be an American and don't know us well, always miss and underestimate.

The Bald Eagle is weeping.

Americans are mourning.

But We, the People of the united States of American will rise up to defend all the things that we hold dear!

I don't know what these terrorist hoped to accomplish, but I'm certain of one thing they don't know...

They don't have a clue what they just started.

But they're about to find out...

Valkenar (or anyone else) can think this is rhetoric all they want... I don't give a rat's @$$. It's what I believe... and anyone else can rot in hell...
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Post by Yosselle »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Valkenar:
...I hope that was clear enough for you. If not, I'm willing to try again.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Quite clear, now. Thank you.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Valkenar:
The problem I have is that I perceived your (Panther's) post to be somewhat hypocritical in nature. At the same time you complained about politicians using this emergency to their advantage, you seemed to be using this emergency to advance your own civil liberties agenda.

Despite what you seem to think of me, I adore civil liberties. My comment here isn't that you're wrong to complain about these measures. The only thing I'm complaining about is your use of emotional appeals to feelings of victimization people are having as a result of this attack to make your point. And the only reason I'm even complaining about that is because you always complain when other people do it.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ahem... having read Panther's post that includes a reference to a rat's @$$, I can hardly argue that his appeals are non-emotional, however... you, Val, seem to think that it's hypocritical when pro-liberty advocates complain about unfair emotional appeals by the other side and then finally resort to the same tactics.

That's like watching a gloved boxer get the snot beat out of him by a guy with brass knuckles, and then disapprovingly wagging your finger at him when he finally decides it's better to take the gloves off and adopt street fighting techniques than to get killed.

Let's stop quibbling and wasting time arquing about how many angels can dance on the head of pin. The issue on the table is freedom not debating technique.

The only progress liberty (ie. the civil liberties you adore) has ever made was at the hand of radicals. All retreats of liberty can be blamed not on fascists and tyrants, but on compromising "supporters" of freedom. In the near future, everyone will have to choose sides.

Yosselle


[This message has been edited by Yosselle (edited September 17, 2001).]
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Post by Yosselle »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Originally posted by Valkenar: You say their political position is propoganda, I say yours is. Does your belief in your own correctness on this issue make it okay to use statement such as: "If we give up our very way of life by sacrificing our individual freedom and liberty for a little security, then we don't disserve either freedom OR security... AND the terrorists will have truly accomplished their goal of destroying America." which I think pretty clearly draws a correlation between believing what you have to say about politics and preventing the terrorists from getting what they want.
Excuse me, but I really didn't understand a word of your statement/question above. Could you rephrase it using coherent sentences? For example, does the word "which" refer to Panther's belief in his own correctness or his quoted statement. Does the word "believing" refer to your believing, his believing or others' believing? Does the word "preventing" refer to prevention by Big Brother or prevention due to other (more natural and libertarian) methods? And finally (once we've cleared up the stated ambiguities), what correlation are you talking about?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Originally posted by Valkenar: The grand sweeping comments about the result of not following your advice, the appeal to not let the terrorists get what they want, these things are precisely the same kind of statements your opposition is making when they say "If we don't do something to ensure security, things like this will happen again."
Actually, nothing Panther said remotely resembles "If we don't do something to ensure security, things like this will happen again.". Indeed, even if one were to acknowledge the common "goal" of "never again", the similarity of his thesis and that of the "opposition" ends there. This is the same argument that has been made endlessly between pro and anti gun groups. They both want "a peaceful world". So what? The anti gun people think that coercive institutions are the answer (http://home.sprynet.com/~owl1/commons.htm). The pro gun (pro liberty) people reject coercive institutions as doomed to failure no matter how you slice it.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Originally posted by Valkenar: I'm not even saying you're wrong here, but when people start saying "look at how others are using this issue for their propaganda" that makes me think the issuer of that statement is using the issue for his own propaganda. Maybe I'm mistaken.
Yes, you are. If a German citizen of 1942 pointed out that Göbels was a master propagandist, and if that citizen tried to warn his fellow citizens that Göbel's "solutions" to the "Jewish problem" were insane, I would hardly label that citizen as a political opportunist.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Originally posted by Valkenar: And for the record, the last damned thing I want is interstate passports, the internet to be shut down, or any of the other extreme security measures. In no way do I believe that it's good, reasonable or acceptable to establish a police state to prevent this sort of thing
Nice to know.

Yosselle
No person is so grand or wise or perfect as to be the master of another person.
~ KARL HESS



[This message has been edited by Yosselle (edited September 14, 2001).]
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The day the world changed...

Post by Panther »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LenTesta:

I have to agree with Val here.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Really?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
We can not allow the politicians to disrupt the freedom that we all enjoy as being citizens of the greatest country in the world.
I wrote: "Closing down the First or Second or any other Amendment is not an appropriate response to what's happened. If we give up our very way of life by sacrificing our individual freedom and liberty for a little security, then we don't disserve either freedom OR security... "
(Please note at the end of this post I am including the original quote from which I plagarized that ideal...)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
For if we do, the terrorists will acomplish what they originally set out to do.
I continued: "... AND the terrorists will have truly accomplished their goal of destroying America."

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Folks, lets be rational while discussing what has been the biggest nightmare since WWII.
I wrote: "A day like Pearl Harbor or the JFK assassination... ...inconceivable, indiscriminate, savagely well-planned attack on innocents... "

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Do not post, condone, or admonish such hasty comments without thinking clearly.
You tell me... What wasn't rational? What do you think was a "hasty comment without thinking clearly"? What did you disagree with so much that you fear it being posted or condoned? While I was well aware that posting my observations surrounding the calls for more police powers for the government would likely cause a variety of reactions, I'm glad to know where people stand when it comes to my freedoms, liberties and rights. Especially, if that person is ready and willing to either don the jackboots themself or assist those that they grant power to don the jackboots... Image

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Our credability will diminish each time we do so.
How is my credability diminished from posting observations of factual statements made by government officials and then warning against their advocated lose of our freedoms, liberties and rights to gain some false sense of security?

<blockquote>"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin</blockquote>

Valkenar has a problem with this?!?!
Len Testa thinks this is a hasty comment posted without thinking clearly?!?! (though I have to wonder... The way I read it, there is a statement in agreement with Valkenar and then a fundamental restatement of one of my very points and then an admonisment against such things... is that for my comments or not? It seems very confusing, so I am going under the assumption that the first sentence of your post is your accurate position. If that isn't the case, then please clarify and restate your position so that I can make an appropriate response... until then, this reply will stand.)

Image

For the record, I am proud to stand by Benjamin Franklin and his beliefs over those of the modern Statists, those who will blindly and gladly do the bidding of the Big Brother state not placidly, but with wild enthusiasm.



[This message has been edited by Panther (edited September 14, 2001).]
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Post by Panther »

Well, Yosselle has stated things better than I could... thanks.

Valkenar thinks I'm a hypocrite. Doesn't like the way I deliver the message... Fine.

I've laid out through out my posts on the forums exactly where I stand. Valkenar wish to quibble over my "delivery" and, so far, not commit to any position one way or another.

Yosselle is right on two counts. First, I really don't give a rat's *** about anyone that disagrees. Second, everyone will have to choose sides.

So, Valkenar... Put it out here... where do you stand? What side are you on? Forget my delivery... Give us your position. I've had the 'nads to lay out where I stand for everyone... you want to quibble with me about the message... fine... Put it down in words right here exactly where you stand. (IMNSHO, any non-answer or evasive answer is an answer will be viewed as equivalent to a disagreement with my position... period.)
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Post by Panther »

And another thing...

While I might find it distasteful to resort to using the tactics (emotional rhetoric) of the enemy, the fact is that this is war.
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Post by Ian »

No offense, all; while I frely admit I was voted most argumentative in my class in 93, and was captain of debate, and yadda, yadda, well, this doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

There are many thousands dead.

What can be done?
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Post by Yosselle »

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
Originally posted by Ian: What can be done?
I don't normally like forcing people to follow links out from my posts to make my points, but in this case, I will direct you to these three excellent articles on the disaster, its aftermath and solutions. The first two provide similar solutions but lament that they will never be implemented. The third has a much broader scope:

Airport Insecurity And Why Manhood Cures Terrorism http://FrontPageMagazine.com/guestcolumnists/anderson09-13-01.htm

The Passengers Were All Disarmed http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/libe139-20010917-08.html

and finally (pointing out the real danger ahead):

America Under Siege http://www.thenewamerican.com/departments/feature/2001/terrorism.htm

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Post by Ian »

Here's an interesting little sequence of events that is not only probable but virtually certain once we let everyone board our planes with uzis:

1) Usama sub 2, 3, etc board first class with their uzis.

2) At cruising altitude, above nut(s) charge(s) cabin spraying bullets.

3) Said nut(s) is/are shot to little bits by rest of cabin shortly before airplane with swiss cheese pilots and additional problem of explosive decompression to surrounding air pressure plus obliterated control panel smacks into Somewhere, USA at 700 mph.

4) 260 million Americans realize that little more than a single extremist with enough dough to buy a plane ticket and a firearm can pretty much take down or nearly take down a jet at will.

5) Air traffic just about ceases, signaling the triumph of fear over America.

This is not meant to apologize for the ninnies who would frisk me for a plastic fork when I, deforked or no, could render them unconscious with a swift elbow faster than they could say ouch. Flying out of Providence a few weeks ago, I was forced to check my kubaton in my luggage "or have it destroyed" leading me to wonder how quickly sales of wooden but equally useful kubaton will climb. Will I be asked to check my fists in the luggage like that kubaton? A few days before this disaster my bf, noticing that food isn't supposed to go thru the xray machine, handed two opaque containers of peach cobbler to Logan security who sent them along to the flight without going through the metal detector or an inspection. Might as well have been a 38 or some C4.

Try some real airport security? Down to the soda stockers?

Arm the pilots? And don't hire fundamentalist pilots from Afghanistan? Make the cabin secure?

Tighten up the way we hand out visas to people from states that sponsor terrorism?

Work a little faster identifying hijacked planes?

While I agree that it was absurd that 19 people armed with knives could kill 5,000 people in a morning, the conclusion that masculinity is dead is a bit premature. After all, as soon as someone (as far as we know) on a flight knew what the terrorists were up to, they fought back effectively. What happens the next time a terrorist tries to take an american plane? No longer will passengers assume they should ride things out and hope for little more than a detour.

****The terrorists know this.****

We have to anticipate their response.

Note: this is NOT to say I don't wish more people were capable of decisive action instead of just decisive snack food gorging and hand wringing.
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