>>>>>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17884897
>>>>>
>>>>>Yeah, surface-to-air missile batteries on top of apartment buildings in London - that's truly the Olympic spirit.
>>>>
>>>>yes and no - I remember Munich games vividly...
>>>
>>>With respect, I'd argue you should not remember the Munich games so vividly.
>>
>>I wasn't in Munich but I remember pretty vividly the impact it had on those in my world at the time. ( Isn't Thomas close to my age?)
>
>I can't precisely define "Olympic Spirit", but I do know that billion-[insert your currency here] security budgets aren't part of it. Nor are terrorists or athletes getting murdered. In a perfect world, those wouldn't happen, so the Munich games would be no more memorable than any others. That's why I say the Munich games should not be more memorable.
>
>It's getting to the point where large gatherings of people of any importance are becoming unmanageable. Security for the G8/G20 conferences in Ontario in 2010 was over C$1B: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_G-20_Toronto_summit#Security

Exactly the reason the public has to become more realistic about the choices. Playing defense is not practical. As much as it offends the tender sensibilities of those who measure against the "perfect world" playing offense at the risk of hurt feelings and political incorrectness is really the only option.

A good deal of the "security" that is high profile, even-handed and politically correct is to make people feel secure, albeit at enormous cost and inconvenience.

Fortunately there are people who have become reasonably good at threat reduction who are doing things that are much less visible and much more effective. And they aren't afraid to "profile". In the real world in which they operate that is not a bad word.