Sunday 3 April 2011

Terrorism

Not allowed: nail-clippers.
Allowed: to go into the shop after security and buy a large glass bottle of flammable liquid (e.g. vodka) that you could take on the plane and break into a formidable weapon and a fire bomb.

Let's be honest – a lot of the security measures at airports are there either as a PR exercise to make people simply feel safer, or because the security managers wanted to increase their staff numbers, and therefore their own importance.

If someone has a modicum of intelligence and is prepared to die, then there is nothing you can do to stop them killing at least some people.  
Why are airplanes targeted anyway?  It would be a lot easier to get a van with a bomb in it onto a ferry, or just parked in Wall St.  Many people would die, there would be just as much publicity, and you could keep your own life.  If public fear and disruption is the objective then I just don't think taking down an airplane is good value for them; these terrorists have no imagination.  No logic behind their actions either - if you asked one of the terrorists how what they do is going to advance their cause, then I doubt they would demonstrate a well thought-through logical connection between the act and their aims.

Headline news in the UK today is a bomb last night in Northern Ireland; some Republicans killed a Catholic policeman.  While I'm sure they viewed him as some kind of traitor, I doubt they would say it was a simple act of punishment - they would claim it advances their cause somehow... but I highly doubt whoever planted it would have a coherent explanation of how it achieves this.

19 comments:

I love tn said...

"They would claim it advances their cause somehow... but I highly doubt whoever planted it would have a coherent explanation of how it achieves this."

I doubt they'd be able to give a coherent explanation of their cause either.

ZKM said...

Their cause is to undo the Evil cause of the fucking Establishment. The western world has been pissing down the throats of the Everyman for far too long!

Or something like that. You just know the heads of half these terrorist organizations are bored psychopaths who wanna see how far they can make idiots go for Made Up principles. Getting someone to blow the shit out of themselves for a slew of fantasy virgin whores is an extremely impressive feat of manipulation. I'm jealous.

ResCogitans said...

i'm not sure the leaders are psychopaths - possibly so... certainly it is fun to talk someone into believing something completely retarded. as you say, to get to the point where you make someone believe they will go to a magical fantasy happy land if they blow themselves up is quite impressive.

closest i've come is getting a hippy to believe that i had magical powers such as being able to turn invisible and cause interference on the radio (like a cell phone does).
i also talked a minister into having a crisis of faith - that was fun, but it was talking him out of the ridiculous beliefs, rather than into them, so not sure it counts :)

know any good emo forums i can troll to see if i can be the straw that broke the camel's back, lol?

I love tn said...

Haha. You know I've always wanted to start a cult...

ResCogitans said...

you can join my cult! i'll make you Vice Minister ;)

BTW been meaning to ask - why the glucose molecule avatar?

ZKM said...

I've heard a great place to find Emos is DeadJournal. Yknow, Livejournal for the attention-seeking.

Hmm, a cult. Sounds like a lot of energy. I'd rather start a drug Smuggling Brothel Ring. Any joiners? Must be willing to show some skin and shimmy' whilst cutting varying amounts of 'crank' with laxitive laced plexiglass.

I love tn said...

Because I'm sweet like sugar of course! :)

Sugar, a sweet, delicious, desirable mix of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen... Not quite the same when know just what it's made of.
That and I happen to have a model on my desk. Hehe.

Kelly said...

I know what you mean by airport security measures from personal experience. For instance, I was allowed to carry rubbing alcohol (which is flammable, of course) on board a plane, but when they saw I had sun tan lotion, they freaked out and I had to go to a side aisle and have every little thing in my bag checked out.

Erika said...

I have questioned this before whenever I'm at an airport.

But please. Do not give me more reasons to become paranoid XD

Anonymous said...

I don't like you.

Anonymous said...

'i also talked a minister into having a crisis of faith - that was fun, but it was talking him out of the ridiculous beliefs, rather than into them, so not sure it counts :)'

LOL! How did you do it and how did he react?

ResCogitans said...

ZKN - cheers for the forum tip, will let you know ;)

i love tn - are you a chemist? i was fascinated to find that both cis and trans glucose taste sweet as only one type is naturally occurring i'd have thought we'd have only tasted that one as sweet...

anon - oh no! i'm devestated. please like me!

notme - erm by pointing out all the good valid arguments against all his ridiculous beliefs, lol. have tried on a few but most have a logic forcefield. like i said, it doesn't really count if you manipulate someone into having the correct belief - that's just called "winning a debate"

Haven said...

Frankly I think it would just be stupid for terrorists to continue with the hostile plane maneuvering.

By now it's too expected. You can't be effective when people are prepared for you.

Airport security is a joke. Everything can be a weapon. Shoelaces and plastic shivs all get through security.

I love tn said...

Nope, formal education wasn't my thing. But I do like chemistry, and science in general really, went to a lot of lectures and events in those years I was skipping school... Seems to defeat the point eh?

Disillusioning a deeply religious person is an ambition of mine.

I love tn said...

And the thing about sweetness only just registered. Yeah that is curious but there's a lot of artificial sweeteners, I don't really know why they taste sweet.

Garrett Brown said...

Security regulations are a mess

Anonymous said...

Suck my dick res.

CandleintheDark said...

They need to make these more common sense

Anonymous said...

Years following years steal something every day, at last they steal us from ourselves away.