Let's not center our lives on terrorists

POST: Bruce Schneier on TSA Absurdity and the Need for Resilience, By Jeffrey Goldberg, 29 Dec 2009

Nice explanation of the sort of common sense we need to apply to the problem.

Townsend, Bush's homeland security adviser, was on CNN yesterday saying that we should figure out terrorists' plans beforehand and then put the special security procedures in place versus applying them retroactively. Wow, that sure would be nice, and after another big bong hit I might think it was actually possible. But do I want to make anti-terrorism the central fact of my existence? Does it make sense to offer these peon enemies the gift of symmetry?

Or do we simply continue pushing behind the one big force that will make them all irrelevant in the end--aka, globalization? Fortress America or f--k-em-up with social revolution through connectivity? Which sounds like a better future where we make more money?

(Thanks: Patrick O'Connor)

Comments

[ET]

Schneier had a good CNN piece "Is aviation security mostly for show?" on 12/29 that I wanted to forward to many people.

[Mark Fragale]

Tom,

Kind of combining responses to a few posts about the attempted destruction of the Detroit flight.

It was a success...he got through with something that should have went boom. A cabin fire would have achieved the desired effect as well. Terror.

Weirdo loners are VERY common. Creepy stalker types abound and are perfect recruits to detonate underwear bombs. No sane person would want to do that, think about it.

The system worked just like it was designed to. Look at ALL that security. Aren't you all warm and fuzzy now. I had to turn off all the news about this . I just could not take it any more.

Arm the pilots. Train the crews. Let cops (after proper training) carry guns on domestic flights while off duty and give them arrest powers. Tell EVERYONE (drunks, rude people,terrorists that acting up on an American flagged aircraft gets your ass kicked or shot and this silliness will end. Some moron will test the system, get his ass kicked, and be the example to others.

Very solvable problem if all the talking heads, politicians, "experts" and government officialdom would shut up and let the worker bees do their jobs.

[large]

You're dealing with cockroaches . . you can wait for one to scurry across the floor or go find where they all live and exterminate them . . and they have a lot of places to live . .

Like I said the other day, we're currently playing international "Wack-A-Mole" and sooner or later, the politicians are going to have to recognize that . .

Solutions? Dunno . . I'm a better observer than Exterminator . . But, we need to have more help from the other Western nations than we're getting now . .

[Ted O'Connor]

Francis Frago Townsend....good grief! She won't go away. Exactly the kind of drivel she spouted at the meetings when she was working for Bush. Can't stand not being in the inner circle anymore. At least Rummy has the decency to keep quiet.