Hi Greg,

"Security" is a whole lot easier to "sell" (and to accomplish) than to grow a society that empowers more and more of the governed to pursue their dreams (whatever they may be) with a modest chance of success.

The whole "war on terrorism" is clearly geared toward PERSONAL "security" given that it has been evident from the start that these Muslim Fundamentalists, as well as the home-grown McVeigh/Nicholls types or other 'anarchist'-leaning groups and their ilk HAVE NO CHANCE OF OVERTHROWING THE GOVERNMENT.

One antidote to the Muslim Fundamentalist's terrorism is to go back to practising and isolationist policy, as the U.S. did for most of its existence. However, the world has changed and the U.S. (now) needs more oil than it produces and U.S. corporations quite enjoy becoming richer on the backs of near-slave labour.

It's interesting to observe that this concern for your "personal safety" extends only TO your borders. Your President, who repeats as frequently as he can that his main job is to "keep the American people safe" pays no regard whatsoever to a few simple things that KILL thousands of Americans every year. Things like automobile accidents, medical
mistakes, pollution (air and water), gun proliferation/use, gun "accidents", poverty preventing adequate medical care and drugs, degraded maintenance of electrical infrastructure, exploding plane fuel tanks, etc.

Then there's the neo-con aspect of the Administration. As you likely know, the neo-cons abhor the direction that your society has been taking since the early 1960s and have long wanted to turn it around. The Bush Administration has numerous well known personalities of the neo-con leaning in powerful positions in the Administration and they have been exercising their influence to undo much of what has evolved in the last 50 years.
A critical factor in turning things around is getting "the people" USED TO TAKING ORDERS FROM AUTHORITIES. This is done bit-by-bit in disparate areas of daily life.

We put up with EVERYONE having extensive searches of our persons, but only at airports. Then those searches are extended to include x-raying of EVERYONE'S shoes on the flimsiest of excuses. Then those searches are extended to subway travellers. Then the rules exclude liquid items from permission, again for EVERYONE and again on the flimsiestd of excuses.

At the same time your overseas communications are monitored without your knowledge and without oversight by warrant.

At the same time money transactions by wire are scrutinized by security officials without your knowledge and without oversight by warrant.

At the same time "snitch lines" are proliferated to encourage neighbours to squeal on neighbours and friends.

At the same time torture and rendition are authorized for people held off-shore to skirt laws. Oh, and it is "determined" that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to such "detainees".

At the same time people are taken off the streets around the world and transported by clandestine CIA airplanes for interrogations in countries with laws more lax than American law. I'll give them this much - there's no record of having killed such disappeared people.

At the same time we see local authorities installing cameras on street posts to cover their entire jurisdiction to WATCH EVERYTHING EVERYONE DOES.

At the same time laws that prevent government security organizations from collecting information on citizens are flouted by buying such information from 'commercial' entities. I can imagine too that some of these entities are entirely creations of a security agency.

I'm sure there's much more that we haven't "connected" yet.
All this bit-by-bit with the expectation that the huge majority will slough it off with "I ain't doing nothing wrong so it doesn't bother me and I'm happy they're catching bad guys". And guess what - they are right in their expectation that people will place their personal security above their personal freedoms.

Once the infrastructure is in place you just watch the things that will happen. And then it will be too late.



>Wow. And, I thought the book '1984' was scary. But it still odds me. I look at the anti-progress we have achieved in the last several years, and wonder if we are heading in the direction of dystopia. Is this what our great government wants? Are we truly freer now, and then we were before 9/11? How much more do we have to sacrifices in the name of freedom before we realize who the true enemy is. IMO.
>
>>Let's just hope it's not here:
>>
>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid's_Tale
>>
>>
>>>The more I see of the police and military carrying guns in public, the more I fill that the terrorists have already won. They set out to impose fear and terror in our country. To us be suspisus of each other. And god help us, we are. We (the US) and even Europe have taken a few step backwards from where we were only a few decades ago. Where are we going from here...
>>>
>>>SET RANT OFF
>>>
>>>>I guess you've never flown into Germany? Back in the early 80s I was amazed at the number of police and types of weapons carried at the airport and train stations...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Hay, I commute via the Sounder train every morning to work. (It saves me hundreds of dollars a year). But, recently, there have been police standing guard on the trains. Even the military have been seen patrolling the trains and stations. All this started after the train bombing in the EU. I am not sure if I am safer or not. I feel as I did when I visited Mexico and saw all the military guards walk about with guns. What kind of country are we becoming?
>>>>>
>>>>>>What makes more sense is that the railroad is behind this - it is well known that the train is markedly less secure than flying - how better to increase business but to make it too dangerous, scary, or too much of a hassle to fly?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>I have an open mind about this. Do you think the "thwarted terrorist attack" this morning was legit or a diversionary tactic? Personally I am skeptical. It seems like every time the polls are down the government announces it has thwarted another terrorist attack. "This one was going to be really bad but we managed to stop it." Oh, did you really? Thoughts?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>My wife was listening to the news all day... and royall republicly pissed off with "how come they all know so much about it... every expert they call has a mouthful to say right off the bat! Dang, back then we had real terrorist attacks in the middle of tourist season, and you wouldn't notice anything on the streets, all the trains and busses and planes flew normally... and here it's a successfully defended attack and all of a sudden a bottle of water is a weapon? C'mon... what was it this time? Liebermann lost? What is it they need attention diverted from? Lebanon? November elections? Or something else we won't know for weeks?"... more or less. It went on and on all day, with breaks though.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>It may as well be the magical anti-elephant powder.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>What if they had succeeded? What would you have posted then?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>They didn't succeed and we have no more reason to consider this a legitimate threat than that English lugnut with an explosive in his shoe. The fact is they never got to first base. Just because the government, one with a long track record of lies and obscufation, says it was a legitimate threat doesn't mean it was.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I heard on the radio that airport lines are markedly longer, reportedly 2 hours at O'Hare on average, due to new security checks for liquid carry-ons. Shampoo, mouthwash, nasal spray, all into the collection bags. Good lord. People still ask whether something like 9/11 will happen again. Here's how I look at it. The 9/11 operation reportedly cost Al Qaeda $200,000 in American dollars. How many billions has it cost us to date, not to mention the psychic cost? Of course it will happen again.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Personally, I think the terrorist have got something going on. Make a bomb out of anything that is carried on planes, and then the security people will band it from the plane. What next, exploding cloths? Will we all have to fly naked?
>>>>>>>:)