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Terrorist Special Olympics in the UK

05 July 2007 in Media, Politics by Stilgherrian | 4 comments

I’ve unsubtly hinted at this before, but the mainstream media doesn’t seem to run this angle: The “terrorist” “bombings” in the UK just now were completely half-arsed and simply don’t deserve the attention they’re getting — unless it’s about having a really good belly-laugh.

Bruce Schneier, ever the clear-thinker about these issues, says it in his headline:

Terrorist Special Olympics in the UK

First London and then Glasgow. Who are these idiots? Is there a Special Olympics for terrorists going on in the UK this week?

Two points about Glasgow:

Thumbnail of Glasgow car burning

One, airport security worked. And two, putting a propane tank into a car and driving into a building at high speed is the sort of thing that only works in old episodes of The A Team. On television, you get a massive, extensive explosion. In real life, you only get a small localized fire.

I am particularly pleased with the reaction from the Scots, which is measured and reasonable. No one was hurt; no need to panic. Life goes on.

But don’t let this reality disturb the paranoid Fox News uberreality in which we live. Lo! There is grainy vision of a burning car. Lo! There are foreign men with funny names and dark skin. Lo! We raid their homes and find “religious literature”…

Hang on! Did I miss the day “religious literature” became suspicious?

Bruce Schneier’s essay on that laughable plan to blow up JFK (the airport, not the dead president) makes an important point about that:

Terrorism is a real threat, and one that needs to be addressed by appropriate means. But allowing ourselves to be terrorized by wannabe terrorists and unrealistic plots — and worse, allowing our essential freedoms to be lost by using them as an excuse — is wrong.

Indeed.

And let’s repeat the point. You’re far more likely to be killed by lightning or by drowning in your own bathtub than being killed by a terrorist.

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  1. jason’s avatar

    jason on 06 July 2007 at 9:08 am

    Half-arsed or not, we may need to pre-emptively nuke Brisbane just to be on the safe side.

    Reply

  2. Stilgherrian’s avatar

    Stilgherrian on 06 July 2007 at 1:57 pm

    @jason: Maybe Senator Kerry Nettle can broker a deal on some second-hand nukes. Still, a shame to see Brisbane go…

    Reply

  3. Zern’s avatar

    Zern on 06 July 2007 at 6:41 pm

    Watch out for people with medical literature…

    Reply