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How the terrorists have won Mk II
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by The_Cynic | December 27, 2009 at 07:36 pm
160 views | 30 Recommendations | 2 comments
I wrote a story about how the terrorist have won a short while ago - this, in the wake of the most recent terrorist attempt - is an addition to that story.
With most things you have to put them into perspective, which, as we have seen from the clamour and calls, isn't what is happening - it is a matter that airport draconianism is more a harbinger of more doom. This, in itself, adds once again to why - because of one nut-case, the terrorists have won hands-down.
Terrorism is all about fear and terror - so think, how terrorised are you once again?
Let's expand Joyner's scope out to the past decade. Over the past decade, there have been, by my count, six attempted terrorist incidents on board a commercial airliner than landed in or departed from the United States
Of course many do not read linked stories so I though, as a matter of debate, would re-post those figures here:
Over the past decade, according to BTS, there have been 99,320,309 commercial airline departures that either originated or landed within the United States. Dividing by six, we get one terrorist incident per 16,553,385 departures.
These departures flew a collective 69,415,786,000 miles. That means there has been one terrorist incident per 11,569,297,667 mles flown. This distance is equivalent to 1,459,664 trips around the diameter of the Earth, 24,218 round trips to the Moon, or two round trips to Neptune.
Assuming an average airborne speed of 425 miles per hour, these airplanes were aloft for a total of 163,331,261 hours. Therefore, there has been one terrorist incident per 27,221,877 hours airborne. This can also be expressed as one incident per 1,134,245 days airborne, or one incident per 3,105 years airborne.
Now do read those - think about them, absorb what you can from them because they are quite astonishing.
Again, do we have to be vigilant? Well of course. But once all our freedoms are watered down because of one incident every 3000 + years, the odds are, in fact, stacked in our favour and not theirs.
Therefore, the odds of being on given departure which is the subject of a terrorist incident have been 1 in 10,408,947 over the past decade. By contrast, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are about 1 in 500,000. This means that you could board 20 flights per year and still be less likely to be the subject of an attempted terrorist attack than to be struck by lightning.
As unfortunate as this is we have to, again, put this all into perspective. Is it worth all the fear? Is it worth giving away your freedoms so a simple-minded group can say, by their threats of a certain action, dictate what you can do, where you can go?
Or, do we finally stand up to the terrorists, not just with guns and bombs - nor, for that matter rough diplomacy. Why do we not tell them that they are no longer going to scare us - we will not give in, we will not give away what we had, or indeed, still have.
I know which category I fit in to.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 01:12 on December 28th, 2009
Good post and well put into perspective. Terrorism is often generated by the entity that proclaims or advocates fighting it.
Terrorism has broth into power such doubtful governments such as the NAZI with the Reichstag fire (German: Der Reichstagsbrand) was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.
The fire was used as evidence by the Nazis that the Communists were beginning a plot against the German government. Similar incidences where used to blame Poland and the Jews. All orchstrated by the NAZI them self to instal fear into the general population and allow the NAZI to do as they pleased with out any real opposition. They removed little by little all safe guards of the constitution and evolved into a totalitarian regime.
Al-Qaeda is a US made terror group and does serve the US well, not only against the former Soviet Union as they where intended to in the 80s, but still today and this for political reasons and more so to cause fear with in the population to allow the government to do as it pleases.
at 03:57 on December 28th, 2009
VERY TRUE
Instead of over reacting to any terrorist act (i.e. fulfilling their desire), we must initiate measures to downplay the fear train.