Jonathan Gibson wrote: > >> Because the USA may be the target of nuclear terrorism. OTOH, >> nuclear terrorists might explode a bomb anywhere they can, just >> to show they have it. > > OK. > How does this make any difference? We faced nuclear megadeath > of enormous proportions for decades w/o erosion of our rights - > well, actually we have, but that's another topic - or, at least > the ones we curtailed are a "comfortable pain" we are already > long familiar with. > Nuclear Islamic Terrorism is far more dangerous than Nuclear Communism. They had something to lose, while the islamic fanatics don't - not even if the retaliation would reduce every sacred islamic place to radioactive dust.
> I fail to see what scale of boogeyman is acceptable when > North Korea has become a growing and real nuclear threat, > while GwB and that crowd chase snipes they damn well knew > weren't real. > But what is the solution to North Korea's problem? There's no simple solution. Not even starving the kp-ians to death does any good. Maybe offering a huge bribe to kp's dictator, making sure he will spend the rest of his life in some tropical paradise and nobody will ever touch him or his fortune could solve that problem, but this would establish a predecent that would make every dictator try to get the same "bonus". > This was a world-class canard although I > did expect to find a few nerve and gas casings as we went in. I > never thought Saddam would deploy them on our troops as our > retribution would have been mighty & righteous. > It's surprising that he didn't. Maybe the war was too quick for his thought processes conclude that he would be really deposed, instead of just another 1991 bundle. > As would others, but this was true BEFORE the fall of the Soviets. > Following more than Fox News and AEI/Heritage flacks (...) > If you think Fox News is biased, you don't know Rede Globo :-) >> I didn't say that - I said that my family _is right now_ in the >> crossfire >> of a drug war. I also said that your family is right now in the >> crossfire >> of another war. > > I'd call it something other than a war. > Ok, it's not a war, but people are still in the crossfire. > To me it looks more like a provocative set of actions to make > mountains out of mole-hills. It's designed to make our defense > industry an Immovable Object to bill against the Irresistible Force > of the brownskins, well, everywhere... These hind-brain dinosaurs we > call a defense industry need to lean against something or they can't > stand up and w/o a Cold War, etc, they seek justification for the > megabucks they seek. I've been a US Defense Contractor and know what > I speak of. > Yes, Fear is a great motivation for the military industry. >> No, there's no such study. I am just extrapolating from the behaviour >> of criminals in my home city. When one profitable way is cut down, >> they switch to another kind of crime. If suddenly they would lose >> the huge profit from drug trade, they might use their formidable >> arsenal to rob homes or mass kidnapping. > > Thanks, I wanted some thoughts on this to try and get past the handy > labels and notions that get bandied. I don't think there is > anything to resolve here as your opinion rates casual life-taking > too cavalierly for my notions of a stable solution... > I am not _that_ callous about life-taking! It's just that I live in fear _now_: I change my routine all the time to chose safer routes, my wife quitted jobs that would expose her when crossing danger zones, my kids can't get in the streets alone, etc. This is a warzone, and we are losing it :-/ BTW, I didn't have data when I wrote, but this Sunday's newpaper had a study showing that the drug dealers are losing income from Coke and Marijuana, and they are compensating it with bank robbery and flash kidnappings - just as I said. > I am reminded > of the callous adolescent writings of Aynn Rand where she gladly > smites innocent children if they've been fed the honey corrupt > parents bring home. I am not trying to paint you this way, Alberto, > but this conversation hangs in my mind as an echo of Atlas Shrugged. > Ayn Rand is in my to-read-list, just after the Gor Masterpiece :-) Alberto Monteiro _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
