From: Kai Becker (kmb@kai-m-becker.de)
Date: Thu Feb 27 2003 - 02:17:26 MST
Am Donnerstag, 27. Februar 2003 04:53 schrieb spike66:
> Let me distinguish between a terrorist and an
> interference-ist. A terrorist wants to kill people.
> An interference-ist just wants to raise hell and prevent
> society from progressing smoothly.
A terrorist wants to spread terror and fear, such that his opponents -
governments - change their course (because they get fire from their
people or think the costs to fight the terrorists are too high). We can
leave aside for a moment, that this strategy of terror will never achieve
any positive results for anybody (except for the security business).
Its not necessary to really kill people to spread fear. It's enough to
make many people think that they _could_ be victims at any time.
IMO, bin Ladin has perfectly achieved his goal. He turned some hundred
million positive thinking people into chicken-hearted rabbits being
afraid of an imaginary snake, and made a super-power change its course
from free, democratic and peaceful prosperity to less democratic hyper
security and war.
> My notion is that subways are so inherently
> vulnerable to terrorist attack and interference-ist
> attack that they are not a good investment.
Now, which technology is _not_ vulnerable? Airplanes, power stations,
computer networks, banks and stock exchange, oil and gas industry, ships,
...
Vulnerability to terror and fear is a structural feature of our society,
made of technology and media.
Kai
-- == Kai M. Becker == kmb@kai-m-becker.de == Bremen, Germany == "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced"
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