[OT] NYC Terrorism (was: RE: [dvd-discuss] Re: Sen. Hollings plans to introduceDMCAsequel : The SSSCA)

[Richard Hartman <hartman(at)onetouch.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Zulauf [mailto:johnzu@ia.nsc.com]
...
>
> Richard Hartman wrote:
> 
> 
> > Some people actually _prefer_ conflict.
> 
> well said.  What "reasonable" people often fail to understand is just
> how non-universal reasonability is.  

Thank you for your support.  A truely reasonable person must be
able to recognize irrationality, and also to recognize the futility
of nominally reasonable responses.  British Prime Minister Neville 
Chamberlain was a _nominally_ reasonable man.  But a reasonable
response to unreasonable opponents is _not_ truely reasonable.  


(*whew*, try and parse that one a few times and your head starts 
to hurt ;)

...
> As for the cause of these atrocities -- it is pure misunderstanding. 
> Somehow the terrorists think that their targets actually have 
> something
> to do with their percieved oppression.  

Now there, John, I have to disagree with you.  Terrorists are
not interested in whether their targets actaully have anything
to do with anything ... else why bomb a german Disco?  Terrorists
are interested in terror.  Shows of power.  Symbolic acts.  The 
WTC was a huge _symbol_, and a place where they could be assured
of a massive death toll.  Nothing more.  Same really with the
Pentagon.



> 
> The attackers also misunderstand that we value our freedom to 
> much yeild
> it to those who would bring terror.  

Well, there now we have to wait on Dubya.  I sincerly hope that
he has the guts to do what needs to be done.  (For a well-written
piece that says exactly what _I_ think needs to be done, check
here: http://www.claremont.org/precepts/296.cfm  This piece
was written by Bruce Herschensohn directed to President Clinton
after the incident in Saudi Arabia in '96 -- it is even more
valid today than it was then.)


>They would need to do 
> this sort of
> thing once a week for quite some time before our freedoms 
> would be even
> temporarily abridge 

Again, I'm not so sure.  The airports are already retooling
their security procedures.  The new procedures may very well
include random searches of baggage (checked or carry-on I
don't know...).  That is abridgement right there.

...
>I'm
> sure they were untroubled by the facts -- and died believing 
> their evil
> was good.

On that we can again agree.


Let us hope that the rhetoric about this being another 
Pearl Harbor is taken to heart.  The Nation of Terrorism
has been at war with us (civilization, not just the US)
for a long time.  It is time we dealt with that fact, and
recognize (again) that unreasonable men do not respond to
reason.


-- 
-Richard M. Hartman
hartman@onetouch.com

186,000 mi./sec ... not just a good idea, it's the LAW!