Nail on head. :o)<br>
Alex<br>
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: John Grigg <possiblepaths2050@gmail.com><br>
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org><br>
Sent: Sun, 6 Apr 2008 16:20<br>
Subject: Re: [ExI] Behavioral Screeners<br>
<br>
<div id=AOLMsgPart_3_c26bd0cd-397a-476d-b7c0-aef331124e6c>
<div>Samantha Atkins wrote:</div>
<div>The best solution is to stop being so gullible to the message of the<br>
terror mongers. The US administration would have us believe that we are<br>
facing a very highly organized international terror cabal that would put<br>
the old Cold War spy and intelligence networks to shame. We have been<br>
led to believe there are terrorist cells replete with sleepers<br>
everywhere. We spent a LOT looking all over the Afghanistan mountains<br>
for the purported highly sophisticated underground command and control<br>
bunkers to coordinate it all. The result? We found squat. Pretty much<br>
all the supposed terrorist cells uncovered in the US have turned out to<br>
be nothing or very very little. <STRONG>Yet what has been accomplished?<br>
Besides the biggest bureaucratic boondoggle and super pork barrel in US<br>
history, the DHS being created and a trillion or two poured out in Iraq<br>
and Afghanistan to basically pound sand and in the case of Iraq make the<br>
country and its people a lot worse off than they were, what else has<br>
been accomplished? The what else is that everyone is up in arms and<br>
thinking in terms of terrorist behind every bush to this very day.<br>
Perfectly rational wonderful people have had their thinking and<br>
priorities all screwed up for years. The administration has got away<br>
with bold power grabs, out and out illegal activity and pretty much<br>
wiping its collective ass with the Constitution. We the people have<br>
pretty much just gone along as we bleat "whatever it takes to keep us<br>
s-a-a-f-e". What a charade, a farce, a tragicomic dark and depressing<br>
travesty!<br>
>>></STRONG></div>
<div><STRONG></STRONG> </div>
<div>Amen to that! It really bothers me that conversations about this subject on the Extro-list turn "comical" with discussions of flying naked on planes. Is losing much of our civil liberties as the Western world turns into a massive high-tech police state amusing to Extro list members?? Or are the people here hiding behind humor because they are afraid of big brother monitoring them, should the conversation turn serious and insightful? </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Samantha continues:<br>
Please wake up. It is no Muslims, or Al Qaeda (pitiful little group of<br>
fanatics it really is) that you need to worry about. <STRONG>It is the end of<br>
all freedom as you know or have known it. It is living and being pushed<br>
about constantly by fear. It is sinking into a deep dark place where we<br>
forget about a bright future along with our freedom and turn our not<br>
inconsiderable intellects to every possible threat and search for,<br>
Einstein help us, some "final solution".<br>
</STRONG>>>></div>
<div> </div>
<div>I think *up to a point* Al Qaeda (and their allies) is going to be a chronic problem (but not a terminal disease, mind you) and the big question is whether the United States and other nations can do the required balancing act to effectively deal with them and yet not irreparably violate our own Western values and the concepts/laws regarding civil liberties and the rights of individual citizens. <br>
</div>
<div>I definitely believe a "bogeyman is going to get you/ let me protect you (but never seriously question/defy me...) mentality" is being used by many in power to slyly manipulate the general public and violate our own principles and laws and get away with it. We as citizens of our respective nations must stand up for the bright future we aspire to, or else it may be stolen from us (for our own good of course...). </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>John Grigg</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
</div>
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