On Apr 17, 2009, at 09:32 , paul stenquist wrote:
I think you're correct. But it may well be the cautious attitude of
the government that has kept us safe thus far. 9/11 was much more
difficult to pull off than a suitcase of anthrax, yet it was
accomplished.
In part because the information gathered by the worker-bees and passed
up to the decision makers, and the lethargy at that level, showed us
that the decision makers were not paranoid enough.
Having spent 12 years in and around those we pay to guard our gates
through the use of intel gathering and parsing may be one of the
reasons I don't spend much time worrying about what might be. There
are tens of thousands of men and women we've hired to keep track of
possible threats. From the toll takers, cops, and the people on the
street who care, to the black ops crews who are on the ground all over
the world, the satellites in the sky, the computers all around the
world that look for key words and phrases in our phone , email, and
even conversations at the malls, across all radio spectrums,
information is gathered and countless scenarios a day are run based on
what informative hints might be assembled from a rolling window of
real-time data with a link to data based historical intelligence.
It's not perfect, but it the paid for paranoia of these folks works
pretty damn well to allow me to sleep and enjoy life.
I also find it interesting that Obama preached openness and
understanding in his campaign. But once he became privy to daily
security briefings, his opinions on a lot of matters seemed to
change sharply.
Happens to every new President, except maybe Bush 41, who came from
the dark side. And spawned a son, if you'll recall.
It's a frightening world out there. Paranoia can be a lifesaver.
This reminds me of an old seventies poster headline: "The fact that
you're paranoid doesn't mean that someone isn't out to get you."
Aimed at the end users of Mary Jane. Probably what someone in media
central picked up on as a key phrase around which to design the news
reporting model through which we now suffer.
On Apr 17, 2009, at 12:00 PM, Christian wrote:
paul stenquist wrote:
Sometimes I think it's wrong that we're always held on alert. Then
I see something like this: http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=0861ff3eabea1ceb73e4
So, the real question is: If it's so easy, why hasn't it been done
yet? Where are the suitcase dirty bombs, the anthrax in the water
supply. where is the one "brave" terrorist willing to carry it
across the border?
There is a better chance of me slipping in the shower and breaking
my neck than getting killed by anthrax or some other terrorist plot.
Never broken a bone, either!
However, when driving in urban areas, you should keep your senses
tuned for falling news and traffic helicopters.
:-)
Joseph McAllister
Pentaxian
http://gallery.me.com/jomac
http://web.me.com/jomac/show.me/Blog/Blog.html
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