Strange Times

[Dream of the iris]

Oh really? So answer this....when was the last time the U.S has had a terrorist attack. And school shootings don't count because by technicality thats not a terrorist attack thats just some crazy kid depressed and pissed at society. A terrorist is one who invokes terror in society in order to achieve some sort of political victory. The last terrorist attack I can recall is 9/11. You can't possibly say that there are not any terrorist cell groups forming or are already formed in America. They're in Europe so how can we be any different....and don't say because we have two oceans surrounding us from the rest of the World. This is the 21st century. We have shit for boarders where illegal aliens are comming in by the dozens. What would stop a radical terrorist from entering this country. On top of that what makes you think that all American's love the "Westernized" country that they live in? A few months ago they arrested this AMERICAN black dude for almost carrying out a planned terrorist attack at a mall in the middle of nowhere. I'm not saying lets have another red scare and not trust our neighbors but at least let the government handle things. I mean I don't particularly believe that the government are a bunch of saints either but Jesus, its not like they're going to turn this country into a totalitarian society....at least not this generation of politics. Honestly people who rant on about the U.S government having sole responsibility in 9/11 or that the government is misusing the patriot act is just like those stupid people who posts all those police brutality videos and without even questioning the situation take the criminals side and not even consider what the cops motive was. Don't get me wrong we have corrupt cops just as much as we have corrupt politicians, employers, employees and so on but not all cops are bad.....lol sorry for the rant guys. Too much coffee.

[fishman3811]

I think that the terrorism threat is overblown in the first place used by the government to justify illegal wars and the stripping of the rights of its population.Yes 9/11 was huge but since then their has been many warnings of terrorists planning on attacking bridges power companies and other targets but i feel thats just to keep the population scared.If youve ever noticed most of the warnings of a terrorist attack was just before the 04 elections but since then nothing really.

[Psycho4Bud]

I think that the terrorism threat is overblown in the first place used by the government to justify illegal wars and the stripping of the rights of its population.

Everybody has a right to their opinion.....I'm just glad that the people in charge of our national security don't feel this way.

Have a good one!:s4:

[fishman3811]

Really well how come 99% of the people charged with terrorism related charges are let off.

[ldg420]

Really well how come 99% of the people charged with terrorism related charges are let off.

99% really? any proof????? or just another absurd post...........:stoned:

[fishman3811]

According to Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Terrorism Risk Assessment, the Bush administration knowingly used bogus intelligence to make lawmakers believe there was the chance of an imminent attack on the U.S. Capitol, thus frightening them into passing the temporary expansion of his powers to spy on Americans under the FISA act.

so if terrorism is rampant why use bogus intelligence...............

[Psycho4Bud]

Rep. Jane Harman (D-California)

Jane Harman is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly (with the help of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) enlisting wealthy donors to lobby then-House Minority Leader (and current House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi to retain her position as the head Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. The investigation into the alleged campaign to support Harman for the leadership post began in mid-2006 after media reports said that Pelosi might name Rep. Alcee Hastings to succeed Harman. In addition to investigating alleged calls made at Harmanâ??s behest by wealthy Democratic Party contributors to Pelosi, the probe is also looking into whether, in exchange for help from AIPAC, Harman agreed to try to persuade the Bush Administration to go easy on AIPAC officials involved in a broader investigation. Both Harman and AIPAC have denied the allegations. Harman won reelection in November 2006, but was not chosen by Pelosi to head the Intelligence Committee.
Category:Members of Congress under investigation - Congresspedia

Now do you have a credible source?

Have a good one!:s4:

[fishman3811]

Fear of Terrorism Overblown?
By John Stossel

Politicians and security analysts constantly remind us that a terrorist attack is just a matter of time. Clark Kent Ervin, former inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security and author of "Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Attack," says we must have tougher security at stadiums, shopping malls, and even schools. "We can have deterrence measures like police patrols ... greater use of bomb-detecting dogs, and bomb sensors, other such technologies ... random bag searches," he told me. "If terrorists see that such measures are in place, they're less likely to strike."

This seemed illogical to me, and so I was delighted to discover the book "Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them." Its author, Ohio State political science professor John Mueller, points out the folly of arming shopping-mall guards: "A terrorist would say, well, if that mall has guards around it, I'll go to the one that doesn't. ... If you protect one thing and you simply displace the terrorist to a different threat ... it's an exercise in futility."

Mueller also says the threat to the average American is overblown. "Your chances of being killed, at present rates, by an international terrorist outside of a war zone is something like 1 in 80,000," he says. "It's about the same as being killed by an asteroid."

But on Sept. 11, almost 3,000 people died! Mueller replies that 9/11 was not a typical terrorist attack. Terrorists were able to capture four planes, and two huge buildings collapsed. "It's a spectacular exception to what terrorists have been able to do," he said. Sure enough, since 9/11, the biggest terrorist successes have been the bombings of commuter trains in Madrid and a nightclub in Bali. The death toll from each attack was about 200 people. "Outside of war zones, the amount of destruction is maybe 200 people a year," says Mueller. "That's 200 people too many, but that's hardly an existential threat. In the United States, between 300 and 400 people die every year just from drowning in bathtubs."

He says there's a terrorism industry -- I call it the "Fear Industrial Complex" -- made up of the media, the bureaucracy, business, and politicians. "Politicians notice that when they hype the terrorist threat, people respond favorably," Mueller says.

Then the bureaucracy hypes terrorism to justify its pork.

"Terror porn" is what economist Veronique de Rugy calls it. Why "porn"? "Because porn sells, [and] terrorism sells even better," she says. "It's great for politicians. They can campaign on the fact that they are protecting us. They also can campaign on the fact that they're bringing more money to their states."

Lots of small towns do get absurd grants for homeland security. Lake County, Tenn., a rural county with only 8,000 people, got nearly $200,000 in homeland-security money.

"I don't know that terrorists will come, but I don't know they won't come," Lake County Mayor Macie Roberson told us, smiling.

At least he didn't do what Columbus, Ohio did: spend it on bulletproof vests for police dogs.

Ervin concedes that some security money is wasted, but still says we need to spend more. "It's very important to reassure the American people that our government is doing everything it can to protect them," he told me. "If we do that, we will have succeeded in denying terrorists a major victory."

No. The opposite is true. It's overreacting that would give them a victory.

Of course, terrorism is a real threat. But fear kills people, too. A University of Michigan study found that an additional 1,000 Americans died in car accidents in the three months after Sept. 11, because they were afraid to fly. We need to keep risk in perspective.

"We have had dark moments in our history, far darker moments than those we face today," says The Rand Corporation's Brian Michael Jenkins. After studying terrorism for 40 years, he likes to remind people, "We've come through wars, plagues, pandemics ... The response to terrorism cannot be diving under the kitchen table and living in a state of fear. That's exactly what the terrorists are attempting to create."

So are you going to say John Mueller is just another left wing nutjob

[Psycho4Bud]

So are you going to say John Mueller is just another left wing nutjob

I saw him on Hannity & Colmes one night....nice to see you recognize nutjobs.:thumbsup:

Have a good one!:s4:

[fishman3811]

So everyone who is in favor of this illegal war and torture is ok but everyone else who opposes the war and torture and illegal wire tapping is a left wing nutjob.