This is the non sports related post. If you're into sports, the entry I made earlier today will be of interest to you. Otherwise, don't bother.
First, I had mentioned I've got a new laptop for work. I noticed it was starting to get scratches on it from being in unfriendly environments such as backpacks, desk, and so on. This past Sunday I got a protective case for it. Very cool.
In news that surprised nobody Mark McGwire admitted today that he used steroids when blasting through all those records followed by his unexpected retirement when the investigations began. I already had little respect for baseball and I'm sure they'll do nothing in this case either.
For fans of YouTube's legendary Simon's Cat, of which I am one myself, he's now got a book out and it's awesome. Worth every single penny. Go buy it now.
The heater in my house is toasted. I'm displeased as it was in the 30s last night. I mean, you don't use something for over a decade, it works fine for two days, and then dies. WTF? Anyway, in theory they're coming tomorrow to look and see what's wrong. I'm suspecting the relay since the unit won't come on at all, but the circuit breaker is not tripped at all.
*******
Lastly, this will probably offend some people but I just don't care all that much. It was originally going to be posted to my humour list but it's just not that funny.
Security at airports continues to be a joke and remains more about making you feel safe than actually making you safe. I've said this repeatedly. This item that ends my post comes from Fran. I agree and it needs to be said:
(I am not the author of what's written below, nor do I know who did write it. But it's true.)
Absolutely No Profiling! Pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test. These events are actual events from history. They really happened! Do you remember?
1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d . Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davey Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Bill's women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was heroically diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
14. Fort Hood Texas a soldier goes crazy, killing 13 people and wounding 30 some odd others. Who is he?
a. Conan O'Brien
b. Barack Obama
c. Dick Cheney
d. a Muslim male extremist between the age of 17 and 40
15. The USS Cole was attacked and US soldiers were killed by:
a. Jay Leno
b. Halle Berry
c. Barbara Walters
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
Do you see a pattern here to justify profiling? So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest they be guilty of profiling.
Note: I am not offended, but since you want to start with 1968...
ReplyDelete1969: Montreal Stock Exchange bombing and Piazza Fontana bombing in Milan by Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
1970: Jewish Defense League bombs Aeroflot, obviously a plot by Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
1975: Sarah Jane Moore, a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40, attempts to assassinate Gerald Ford.
1979: The year of my birth, ETA separatists bomb two railway stations in Madrid. ETA is clearly made up of Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40. Also, Puerto Rican nationalists, who are Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40, explode a bomb outside of the Shubert Theater in Chicago.
Up until recently, the UK was terrorist-tempered by numerous IRA attacks, clearly by Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.
Let's fast forward to more recent times, blowing past the Communist/Socialists operating in Western Europe (likely Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40).
This one is my favorite:
1995 had the Oklahoma City Bombing by Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40 as well as the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
1999: Columbine High School massacre (compare to Fort Hood), instigated by Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.
Let's not forget that most American of expression, "going postal": 2006, Jennifer San Marco, a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40, kills 6 postal employees and a seventh person before committing suicide.
This is merely a demonstration that I can cherry-pick my facts as much as any other racist. I don't think we should avoid screening for fear of racial profiling; I just think that it's not as easy as you think. You can't always tell if the guy you're looking at is Muslim. You definitely can't tell that the white guy next to you isn't an extremist and a convert. If we're going to screen, we have to screen everybody.
Yeah but the point is checking infants is silly. Checking people who are clearly not a threat is silly. If you check everyone, that's fine. But if you're going to selectively do it, at least do it intelligently. The system now was broken, is broken, and the steps being taken to 'fix' it aren't fixing it.
ReplyDeleteIf someone getting on a plane is clearly in the target group he/she should definitely be checked. Then you have to make intelligent choices. Random checking just isn't going to work. And I totally agree, you can't tell by looking.
That was (and is) my point. Though I agree that anyone can pick whatever statistics they want to make a point.
(Somehow I knew you were going to reply.)
I agree with Jose completely. Here is an interesting stat from a country that is under attack by terrorists way more often than the United States. During the height of the Al Aqsa Intifada in Israel 2002, 220 people were killed by terrorist acts. The same year 552 people died as a result of car accidents. (sources: the first one courtesy of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign affairs, the second one from Israeli Police). I argue that in the United States you are probably more likely to die as a result of a car accident, some guy going on a killing tour with his automatic rifle and besides a million other things. Spending the amount that the U.S. does for measures that only incrementally highten security is ridicilous. After 7-7 the London mayor came on the news and said something to the effect of "That's it?!!! C'mon! We had the Blitz! This was nothing!" Maybe that is the key: resilience. Accept the fact that once in awhile one will get through. There is no such thing as 100% security. Oh! And did I mention that AQ tries to recruit people with "clean passports?" from countries and ethnicities where profiling does not apply and that body scanners only scan the outside but what happens when you you hide it inside your body.... prepare to get xrayed rather sooner than later.
ReplyDelete