They caught him, OK?
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight with a bomb he got in Yemen, did not blow up the airliner. The airliner did not blow up.
Yet, driven by the false equivalence of the mainstream media and the political hucksterism of the right-wing media, here we go again into another War On Terror alert.
Want to go overseas on business? Well the only choice will be Guantanamo Air. No carry-on bags and you can't even read a book the last hour of the flight? Give me a break.
Republicans are already trying to raise money on the President being "soft on terror." Which party was in power on 9-11 again? Their solution to every problem seems to be more racism.
There are two threats here. One comes from America. For every innocent killed during 9-11, we have already murdered more than 100. Iraq had nothing to do with it, yet we let Blackwater take over the country and kill anyone they wanted, even rape American women, and no Republican has yet called them out on it. (They just get huffy when someone else does.)
This is the crap Al Qaeda recruits on. It's not about the Internet. It's about the murders. And the Republican answer? More murders. Which means more recruitment, more terrorists. Stop the killing over there and the problem will go away.
The second threat is our media. Republicans made hay for a generation on the myth of the "liberal media," something that was already a canard when the charge was made, and which became an excuse for applying a political litmus test on the profession. Now the shoe is partly on the other foot — there is nothing "fair" or "balanced" about any Rupert Murdoch outlet — but the problem goes deeper than that.
I can illustrate it with an example. Is gravity real? The reporter asks the question, and finds one person who will say it's not, at which point it becomes an open question. Conservatives have learned to use this laziness to create hosts of false controversies over the last year, destroying good people and good ideas because reporters are afraid to call a lie a lie.
Death panels are a lie. Obama's Kenyan roots are a lie. The tea party's charges are lies.
When large political movements are built on lies, reporters do not have a duty to give them equal time. They have a duty to call them out. They have a duty to call the liars liars, and to stop using them as sources, to exile them from their newsrooms. Instead these self-created assholes are called upon again-and-again.
It has gone on too long. We have reached a point where conservatives consider anyone who seeks the truth a liar, an ideologue, projecting all their own craziness on "the other," dehumanizing at will.
That's terrorism. That's people terrorizing themselves, and seeking to terrorize others. FDR said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, but we still must fear it, we still must fear fear, and fight fear.
As far as I'm concerned anyone selling unreasoning, nameless fear is un-American. And one of the great tasks of 2010 must be to bring that point home.
I'm not afraid. I refuse to let you scare me. That doesn't mean I'm not vigilant, that I'm naive, or that I have a "pre-9-11 mentality." It means I'm an American. And if you're not afraid, so are you. If you are, I no longer want anything to do with you.
I’m concerned about the useless no-fly list. I write my congressman a lot and always get at least a form reply back..when I bring up this issue.they never respond. This was in a national magazine so the terrorists must know about it. If you’re on the no-fly list, buy a ticket in the name of someone who’s not. Print the boaarding pass out on your home computer. Since it’s an HTML file, print another but edit the name, putting your no-fly name on it. At the 1st security point, present your driver;s license and the fake pass. That agent doesn’t have a scanner…just matches the pass (fake) with your ID and signs your pass. When you get to the plane, use the real pass with the good name on it to get by the scanner that does the no-fly check. Boom, terrorist on plane. This works because the no-fly database is ‘one way’, a file distributed to the airlines to use in their scanners. The 1st TSA agent would need a scanner for each airline at his post to read the airline-specific boarding pass. See if you have any better luck than me getting a response if you write your congressperson.
I’m concerned about the useless no-fly list. I write my congressman a lot and always get at least a form reply back..when I bring up this issue.they never respond. This was in a national magazine so the terrorists must know about it. If you’re on the no-fly list, buy a ticket in the name of someone who’s not. Print the boaarding pass out on your home computer. Since it’s an HTML file, print another but edit the name, putting your no-fly name on it. At the 1st security point, present your driver;s license and the fake pass. That agent doesn’t have a scanner…just matches the pass (fake) with your ID and signs your pass. When you get to the plane, use the real pass with the good name on it to get by the scanner that does the no-fly check. Boom, terrorist on plane. This works because the no-fly database is ‘one way’, a file distributed to the airlines to use in their scanners. The 1st TSA agent would need a scanner for each airline at his post to read the airline-specific boarding pass. See if you have any better luck than me getting a response if you write your congressperson.
I’m reminded by several things the Joker said in “The Dark Knight” (2008):
“You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!”
“You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength.”
“I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm? You know… You know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of the plan.” But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!”
“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!”
. . . . . . . . . . .
We’re like a guy in those old Westerns, shooting at someone’s feet to make them dance. Every time there’s even a sniff of these events, Dick Cheney starts making calls and blubbering quotes. Getting pretty tired after nine years.
I’m reminded by several things the Joker said in “The Dark Knight” (2008):
“You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!”
“You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength.”
“I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm? You know… You know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of the plan.” But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!”
“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!”
. . . . . . . . . . .
We’re like a guy in those old Westerns, shooting at someone’s feet to make them dance. Every time there’s even a sniff of these events, Dick Cheney starts making calls and blubbering quotes. Getting pretty tired after nine years.
Try Googling ‘how to beat the no fly list’ and see all the ‘video has been removed’ you see as well as hardly any matches for such an obvious search. Let’s just stick our heads in the sand rather than fix the problem…..
Try Googling ‘how to beat the no fly list’ and see all the ‘video has been removed’ you see as well as hardly any matches for such an obvious search. Let’s just stick our heads in the sand rather than fix the problem…..
1. Of course Obama is not an American. He can’t even produce a decent birth certificate.
2. I agree all the new airline rules are over the top. What needs to happen is (a) realize that 100% of the terrorist attacks are done by muslims; (b) Consequently, stop the political correctness of not wanting to do racial profiling; (c) Focus security energy on muslims.
1. Of course Obama is not an American. He can’t even produce a decent birth certificate.
2. I agree all the new airline rules are over the top. What needs to happen is (a) realize that 100% of the terrorist attacks are done by muslims; (b) Consequently, stop the political correctness of not wanting to do racial profiling; (c) Focus security energy on muslims.
and the madness continues..
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/01/04/how-to-make-muslims-hate-the-west-in-one-easy-step/
and the madness continues..
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/01/04/how-to-make-muslims-hate-the-west-in-one-easy-step/
All Congresscritters pass the mail off to interns, with stylized responses based on subject matter. I did this work 35 years ago for Sen. James L. Buckley of New York.
As to the No Fly List, I agree it's stupid. But I'm not unconvinced that reform is coming. It takes time to get your arms around a bureaucracy. There's no magic involved. But voters all want magic.
Dana
All Congresscritters pass the mail off to interns, with stylized responses based on subject matter. I did this work 35 years ago for Sen. James L. Buckley of New York.
As to the No Fly List, I agree it's stupid. But I'm not unconvinced that reform is coming. It takes time to get your arms around a bureaucracy. There's no magic involved. But voters all want magic.
Dana
Thank you for writing, my friend.
Madness has a constituency on both sides of any dispute, and it's important to note who that constituency is.
A primary constituency on both sides of this dispute is religion. Evangelical Fundamentalists exist among Christians as well as Muslims.
I think that for the coming decade the place to watch is Africa. I think both sides are engaging in a proxy war there, and that it will escalate. Civil society in Uganda has the same problems you do in Pakistan, only there it's Christians who are the radicals. And American Protestants backing them.
What do radicals gain to benefit from chaos? The maintenance of control over frightened people. The "war on terrorism" needs to become a war against anyone terrorizing people — American Presidents, Iranian Presidents, mullahs and evangelists both.
It's hard to fight ignorance when it carries a cross.
Dana
Thank you for writing, my friend.
Madness has a constituency on both sides of any dispute, and it's important to note who that constituency is.
A primary constituency on both sides of this dispute is religion. Evangelical Fundamentalists exist among Christians as well as Muslims.
I think that for the coming decade the place to watch is Africa. I think both sides are engaging in a proxy war there, and that it will escalate. Civil society in Uganda has the same problems you do in Pakistan, only there it's Christians who are the radicals. And American Protestants backing them.
What do radicals gain to benefit from chaos? The maintenance of control over frightened people. The "war on terrorism" needs to become a war against anyone terrorizing people — American Presidents, Iranian Presidents, mullahs and evangelists both.
It's hard to fight ignorance when it carries a cross.
Dana
Oh, boy, a birther. The President's birth certificate is on file, and all the possible documentation has been given. Yet still you repeat the lie.
Why is the lie necessary? What is its purpose? Is this the same thing as "Bill Clinton killed Vincent Foster?" You have to assume that a President you disagree with is some sort of otherworldly "other" — that they can't be an American — or you go mad?
Well, go mad. Barack Hussein Obama was elected by a wide majority of the American voting public. It happened. He really is the President. I happen to be proud of that fact. It's proof America is better than you think it is, better than you deserve, in fact.
It's true that 9-11 was the work of Muslims, but the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was the work of Christians, Bill. People like you.
Stop, turn around, or your madness will consume you in fire. I am your final warning.
Dana
Oh, boy, a birther. The President's birth certificate is on file, and all the possible documentation has been given. Yet still you repeat the lie.
Why is the lie necessary? What is its purpose? Is this the same thing as "Bill Clinton killed Vincent Foster?" You have to assume that a President you disagree with is some sort of otherworldly "other" — that they can't be an American — or you go mad?
Well, go mad. Barack Hussein Obama was elected by a wide majority of the American voting public. It happened. He really is the President. I happen to be proud of that fact. It's proof America is better than you think it is, better than you deserve, in fact.
It's true that 9-11 was the work of Muslims, but the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was the work of Christians, Bill. People like you.
Stop, turn around, or your madness will consume you in fire. I am your final warning.
Dana
More on airline security.. Google ‘kurt haskell’. You can also Yahoo! white pages him and see he is a real person.
More on airline security.. Google ‘kurt haskell’. You can also Yahoo! white pages him and see he is a real person.